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Hi, Shelly —
In order to explain the authority the Church has to interpret the Bible, she has to explain that the Bible was written:
- by Catholics and their ancestors
- for Catholics
- for use in the Catholic Mass.
No where in the Bible does the Bible give a list of books that should belong in the Bible. The books in the Table of Contents of any Bible are books that Catholic bishops chose, guided by the Holy Spirit, back in
382 A.D. at the Council of Rome. Later, Protestants would take copies of Catholic bibles and remove books from the Bible; books Luther did not want in the Bible.
It's important to note that every time a Protestant opens their Bible, they are implicitly saying:
I trust the decision that Catholic bishops made back in 382 A.D. at the Council of Rome when they decided what books would make up the New Testament.
As a side note, if some of her classmates insist on believing in Sola Scriptura, they will have to explain how Christians who lived from 33 A.D. to 382 A.D. were saved without the Scriptures. When St. Paul refers to the Scriptures, he meant the Old Testament Scriptures.
As Catholic Christians, we would say, they were saved by the Oral Tradition that was passed down from generation to generation. (Luke 10:16,1 Corinthians 11:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:15)
In Jesus' time, very few people could read, let alone afford a Bible.
I hope this helps,
Mike
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