Why don't Catholics read the Bible?

Why don’t Catholics read the Bible?

Very interesting article ...btw as person who received a very rigid Catholic upbringing, I admit I was taught to dismiss the Bible as "book of great spiritual value that only priests can understand and interpret".....besides, priests don't mind discouraging you from reading it.

Thoughts?

Luca85 said:

Why don’t Catholics read the Bible?

Very interesting article ...btw my experience as person who knew a very rigid Catholic upbringing, I admit I was taught to dismiss the Bible as "book of great spiritual value that only priests can understand and interpret".....besides, priests don't mind you discouraging you from reading it.

Thoughts?

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Our parish opened a library where we can read the pope's encyclicals, of course the bible, devotional aids, and with bible study. I think its false that catholics dont want to read their bibles. My friend was born and raised and still is catholic but she wasnt taught to read the bible; so, she tries on her own.

I am more familar with evangalist thought that if you dont have the bible, you dont have christ. One thing stuck out in that article (very well written, mind you):

"For a Catholic, Scripture is not so much a book to be studied as a book to worship with."

That was my experience. If I want bible study, I go to a baptist church. If I want devotion, Id go to the catholic church. If I want salvation. I go to christ.

I think protestants mixed some things around. Speaking of non liturgical denominations.

Luca85 said:

Why don’t Catholics read the Bible?

Very interesting article ...btw my experience as person who knew a very rigid Catholic upbringing, I admit I was taught to dismiss the Bible as "book of great spiritual value that only priests can understand and interpret".....besides, priests don't mind you discouraging you from reading it.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I was also raised Catholic and personal Bible reading was never even mentioned or done in our home, I guess because we had the priest to do that and interpret the meaning for us on Sunday.

I have never gotten the impression that the Bible shouldn't be read. In fact, they gave us our own copy in RCIA.

The Bible is full of bigotry and ridiculous claims like Noah building an ark that could fit all animals (where did he get the food to feed them all).....Noah was 950 years old when he died....Wow! He had no tooth brush, he probably lost all his teeth and 8/9ths of his life was eating apple sauce of things that don't require teeth.

The Bible says stupid things like "Call no man Father" while at the same time saying "Honor your Father and Mother"...and Paul says "I became your Father"...and others referred to Abraham as their Father.

The Bible says "Ask anything of the Father and it will be done, faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, there will be many eunuchs for the Kingdom of God, better to remain a virgin than get married, those who believe in Christ will do the works that he did and greater works, they will pick up venomous serpents and drink poison and it will not harm them, " etc.

That is just a few of very many verses in Scripture that mislead people, and much evidence says that it isn't true. There is much bigotry, sexism, and atrocities that are justified in the Bible. There is a humongous amount of the Bible that isn't meant to be taken literally, that is easily taken out of context, that is parables, poetry, symbolism, and metaphors that people twist to their destruction. Fortunately, as a Catholic, we are taught that a person can follow their conscience and get to Heaven. When the Scriptures go against my conscience I don't follow them, pure and simple.

Many Catholics read the Bible and we hear it read every day if we attend daily mass like I do. The Bible becomes something we take with a grain of salt because it is hard to understand and stirs up division, bigotry, and hatred.

Btw,
you are wrong. We don't believe only a priest can interpret the Bible correctly.

Saint Frankenstein said:

I have never gotten the impression that the Bible shouldn't be read. In fact, they gave us own copy in RCIA.

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Wow. Forgot about that. I still have mine too.

I still remember an episode from Catechism Class very clearly...I was 11 maybe. My teacher took a Bible from her bag and told us: "please, don't tell Father Peter I read you the Bible, he'll get mad at me."

In fact...we only used Catechism books. I admit I've only read the Gospels in their entirety...lol...

Perhaps the priests know that one of the surest paths to atheism is through studying the Bible.

PopeADope said:

The Bible is full of bigotry and ridiculous claims like Noah building an ark that could fit all animals (where did he get the food to feed them all).....Noah was 950 years old when he died....Wow! He had no tooth brush, he probably lost all his teeth and 8/9ths of his life was eating apple sauce of things that don't require teeth.

The Bible says stupid things like "Call no man Father" while at the same time saying "Honor your Father and Mother"...and Paul says "I became your Father"...and others referred to Abraham as their Father.

The Bible says "Ask anything of the Father and it will be done, faith of a mustard seed can move mountains, there will be many eunuchs for the Kingdom of God, better to remain a virgin than get married, those who believe in Christ will do the works that he did and greater works, they will pick up venomous serpents and drink poison and it will not harm them, " etc.

That is just a few of very many verses in Scripture that mislead people, and much evidence says that it isn't true. There is much bigotry, sexism, and atrocities that are justified in the Bible. There is a humongous amount of the Bible that isn't meant to be taken literally, that is easily taken out of context, that is parables, poetry, symbolism, and metaphors that people twist to their destruction. Fortunately, as a Catholic, we are taught that a person can follow their conscience and get to Heaven. When the Scriptures go against my conscience I don't follow them, pure and simple.

Many Catholics read the Bible and we hear it read every day if we attend daily mass like I do. The Bible becomes something we take with a grain of salt because it is hard to understand and stirs up division, bigotry, and hatred.

Btw,
you are wrong. We don't believe only a priest can interpret the Bible correctly.

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There seems to be this attitude of incredible arrogance about someone who mocks the Bible considering it to be stupid, while coming from a position of superiority. Yet, according to God's word, it is this attitude that blinds such a person to ignorance of even a basic understanding concerning what the scriptures are saying, the context in which they are spoken, and to whom particular passages are addressed to.

Jude says mockers are given over to sin and are without the Spirit of the Lord, they are reprobates with a mind that is at war with God, so there is no way to comprehend or understand the scriptures.

But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. Jude 1:17-19

Luca85 said:

I still remember an episode from Catechism Class very clearly...I was 11 maybe. My teacher took a Bible from her bag and told us: "please, don't tell Father Peter I read you the Bible, he'll get mad at me."

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Wow! That is sad.

I’m glad you’re making an effort to read it more, now.

Luca85 said:

I still remember an episode from Catechism Class very clearly...I was 11 maybe. My teacher took a Bible from her bag and told us: "please, don't tell Father Peter I read you the Bible, he'll get mad at me."

In fact...we only used Catechism books. I admit I've only read the Gospels in their entirety...lol...

Click to expand...

Yep. For eight years I didn't see a Bible, except my Nana's old one when we wanted to write a name in the page in front after a confirmation or something. The Catechism was an effective tool of indoctrination. Math, Science, English, and Religion.

The Jesuits in my high school brought out the Bible though, on occasion. They certainly helped to get me thinking. Good teachers, most of them. I'm sure most of my classmates are still good Catholics

I never read the Bible so much as I have in recent years, but just the NT mostly. A talk by Richard Carrier and subsequent discussion got me reading the letters of Paul. I was pretty surprised that they were... letters, and not some kind of heavenly pronouncement. Interesting stuff. (Not sure what Carrier is on about by the way.)

tempogain said:

Yep. For eight years I didn't see a Bible, except my Nana's old one when we wanted to write a name in the page in front after a confirmation or something. The Catechism was an effective tool of indoctrination. Math, Science, English, and Religion.

The Jesuits in my high school brought out the Bible though, on occasion. They certainly helped to get me thinking. Good teachers, most of them. I'm sure most of my classmates are still good Catholics

I never read the Bible so much as I have in recent years, but just the NT mostly. A talk by Richard Carrier and subsequent discussion got me reading the letters of Paul. I was pretty surprised that they were... letters, and not some kind of heavenly pronouncement. Interesting stuff. (Not sure what Carrier is on about by the way.)

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But did you go to mass every Sunday? As the article points out, by doing that you get to read and hear a great deal of the bible. What is more, the priest will more often than not base his sermon on the bible readings you have just heard. So you get not only the readings, but a chance to ponder their meaning, their place in doctrine and theology and their relevance to the daily life of the Christian (whether you agree with the priest's interpretation or not - sometimes I find I don't but that is also an equally useful exercise).

I must say I only use my own copy of the bible as a reference book. But I do work my way through it over the three year cycle of the mass readings, and I am sure I get a lot more out of it that way than by just reading chapters at home on my own - which in any case I would not bother to do, frankly.

I have never gotten the impression that I was discouraged from reading Sacred Scripture. The lectionary - daily mass readings - covers both Testaments and the Psalms.

Usually there is a reading from the Tanakh, the responsorial Psalm, a reading from the New Testament and then a Gospel reading. The homily is then based upon and framed by the biblical readings. It is very thorough and wide-ranging if you go diligently through it annually.

As a child, I was taught about all the main biblical stories and Jesus's parables.

I distinctly recall reading through the Bible around age ten or eleven, in class. This made me want to read it for myself, which I did soon after with my grandmother's old Douay-Rheims translation. I then bought the NRSV.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that the Catholic Church doesn't believe in the "Bible Alone" concept followed by our Protestant brethren. Catholic theology is shaped by the Bible and Sacred Tradition (extra-biblical).

According to the Church, two sources of Revelation constitute a single Deposit of Faith, meaning that the entirety of Divine Revelation and the Deposit of Faith is transmitted to successive generations in the Bible and Sacred Tradition.

Historically (and I mean WAY back) this was a difference between Catholicism and some other Christian denominations (eg. Lutherans), right?
(Biblical translations and access)

lewisnotmiller said:

Historically (and I mean WAY back) this was a difference between Catholicism and some other Christian denominations (eg. Lutherans), right?
(Biblical translations and access)

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In terms of the medieval period, you are somewhat correct.

Translating the Bible into the vernacular (native languages) rather than Latin, so that it could be widely read and understood by the mass of the faithful, was one of the principal aims behind Luther's 16th century Reformation, arising from his doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers".

So it could be described a distinguishing feature 500 years ago, for the first few decades of the Reformation. But since the Council of Trent in 1563, this hasn't been the case.

Also, its important to note that for every vernacular translation (think William Tyndale's) that was discouraged or proscribed, approved vernacular bibles surfaced in many countries throughout the early and late Middle Ages (after Latin ceased being a common, widespread tongue).

Between 1466 and 1517 fourteen translations of the Bible were published in High German, and five in Low German. Raban Maur translated the entire Bible into Teutonic, or old German, in the late 8th century. Between 1450 to 1520 there were ten French translations, and also Bibles rendered in Belgian, Bohemian, Spanish, Hungarian, and Russian. 25 Italian versions (with express Church endorsement) appeared before 1500, starting at Venice in 1471.

But we're talking here about a time period when large numbers of people couldn't read or write anyway, whether in their mother tongue or in Latin.

Vouthon said:

I have never gotten the impression that I was discouraged from reading Sacred Scripture. The lectionary - daily mass readings - covers both Testaments and the Psalms.
.

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I really had that impression..not only attending 4 years of Catechism School (which are essential if you want to receive the first Confession, first Communion and Confirmation), but also at school, during the weekly hour of Religious Education.

The priest of my First Communion clearly told us that lay people cannot understand the Bible...so reading it without a priest can be misleading or counterproductive.
Obviously I am speaking of an Italian context; it's the Council of Italian Bishops that decides the guidelines of Catechism teaching.

lewisnotmiller said:

Historically (and I mean WAY back) this was a difference between Catholicism and some other Christian denominations (eg. Lutherans), right?
(Biblical translations and access)

Click to expand...

Imagine that in my country, until 50 years ago the Bible was popularly called "the book of the Protestants" and before the Second Vatican Council any Italian translation of the Vulgate (the only admitted Bible) was inserted into the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

I certainly wasn't encouraged to read the whole thing just snippets, but I like to read and I ended up reading the whole thing which naturally led to an existential crisis, and then out of what I would call the mental prison of christianity, because if you read it, you are gonna have some questions, and people don't like to talk about the barbarism exhibited in the book. And some of those laws...whooweeeee not good mayne.

Death as a punishment for almost everything.

Also 6th commandment- followed by millions of people killed in the name of god. And the loopholes there's a lot of them. If you read the whole book and you are have a semi solid moral fiber, you might likely end up as an atheist. And if you are young don't learn about other religions. Cause if you grew up like me knowing there are other one truth religions only makes me question the validity of the faith I grew up in.

Luca85 said:

Why don’t Catholics read the Bible?

Very interesting article ...btw as person who received a very rigid Catholic upbringing, I admit I was taught to dismiss the Bible as "book of great spiritual value that only priests can understand and interpret".....besides, priests don't mind discouraging you from reading it.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Why are Protestant Christians consider reading the Bible so important? The Word no longer resides in a book but is enfleshed in Jesus who is supposed to be in Heaven and who enters the hearts of believers through the Spirit, thus renewing them. This makes the Bible more of a legacy document does it not? A crucial point of difference between it and how Muslims view Quran, and yet, I find Protestants are like Muslims in their attitude to the Bible.

exchemist said:

But did you go to mass every Sunday?

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Many Sundays. I was a kid. I mostly tuned it out. I may well have done the same if I was given a bible to read, but I did find the bible an interesting topic in high school. By then I was rapidly stopping attending mass. I haven't been back since, minus the odd ceremony of course.

sayak83 said:

Why are Protestant Christians consider reading the Bible so important? The Word no longer resides in a book but is enfleshed in Jesus who is supposed to be in Heaven and who enters the hearts of believers through the Spirit, thus renewing them. This makes the Bible more of a legacy document does it not? A crucial point of difference between it and how Muslims view Quran, and yet, I find Protestants are like Muslims in their attitude to the Bible.

Click to expand...

I think it was a big part of the "back to basics" spirit of the Reformation. It was felt that a lot of dodgy and in some case self-serving bits of doctrine had got added on by the Catholic Church and there was a rejection of the clericalism that went along with it.

So they threw everything out, or at least set themselves a new test of whether doctrine should be retained, based on how directly it could be linked back to the bible. If not, out it went.

I have to say, as one raised as a Catholic, that the Protestant Reformation probably did the church a power of good. The stables did need to be cleaned. But the snag is that if taken too far, one can get local pastors with little theological training making it up as they go along and disseminating all kinds of daft ideas, based on the crazy notion of biblical literalism, which is very largely a c.19th and c.20th invention.