Can I Keep My "Protestant Bibles"?

[adstrinity]

Don’t know 'em.

Maybe you should spend more time reading books and less time burning them.

The burning of books, and the burying of scholars…

http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/images/exbig_images/30e9538ea98b408bf0a87b1a4bbe9605.jpg

Qin Dynasty, China

Hesychios, I have never wanted to say this before you to and chances are likely I never will again, so, before it subsides: Thank you.

For those naysayers about burning protestant bibles:

From EWTN’s library:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/PIUSXCAT.htm

32 Q. What should a Christian do who has been given a Bible by a Protestant or by an agent of the Protestants?

A. A Christian to whom a Bible has been offered by a Protestant or an agent of the Protestants should reject it with disgust, because it is forbidden by the Church. If it was accepted by inadvertence, it must be burnt as soon as possible or handed in to the Parish Priest.

This still doesn’t attest to what should one do if one bought the Bible his or her self.

Furthermore, let it be noted that the Pope was not speaking Ex Cathedra on the matter.

Let it also be noted that “The Catechism of Pope St. Pius X is his realization of a simple, plain, brief, popular Catechism for uniform use throughout the whole world; it was used in the ecclesiastical province of Rome and for some years in other parts of Italy; it was not, however, prescribed for use throughout the universal church.” <----Wikipedia.

And, finally, Pope Pius X died during WWI. That’s almost 100 years ago. We’ve come a long way in ecumenical dialogue since then. …But, again, if you continue to burn what you don’t want to hear, you may not know this.

 

[sancte_joseph]

I see that this thread has gone in an interesting direction, with catholics debating whether burning books are good or not.

My Two Cents:

Keep the protestant bibles, even if only used as a reference to debate protestants or to have different translations.

Book burning is a bit extreme… although if a bible does contain EXPLICIT heresy(whether in the notes or in the translation) then i guess that would be a method of disposing of it… but a less dramatic way is just throwing it out.

and I for one don’t really care for ecumenism… so thats not something influencing my opinion.

 

[JustaServant]

Already more Catholic than you think, you are!
(That’s a compliment, btw.)

And, incidentally, even if was a JW or LDS translation, I would still ask you to keep it just so you could see the distinction in translations. Protestant Bibles are alright to keep. Cleaning my Gram’s house, I ran across a Common Book of Prayer! Never read it, but, I now have it in my library, should I ever need it.

I still have a ‘Book of Common Prayer’ in my library. It’s an antique I picked up at a used book store when I was still a Baptist.
In my final year as a Baptist preacher I actually used the BOCP serveral times for thier communion service.
They never knew the differance. I had a few comments from people saying they liked how I did the communion service. They would have been horrified if I told them I was reading almost word for word out of the BOCP.

 

[JustaServant]

A Bible is a Bible. Some translations are superior to others.
When I came back to the CC, I never had a Catholic Bible. I had the KJV and the NIV (my favorite at the time). I still love the King James because it is translated so beautifully. When I am a lector at our parish I occasionally lapse into King James english. It’s a habit I had to break.
Part of the problem I have with some Protestant translations is the inclusion of modern english into the text.
God did not say to Moses: “Yo Dog!”

Anyway, if you don’t want the Protestant Bible, then give it away. Burning books is never the answer.

 

[JustaServant]

Yeah. I found one at a chain bookstore one time and thumbed through it. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
But that’s an extreme example. When I was Protestant I never liked the modern ‘Good News for Modern Man’ version. It was as if it was written on a forth grade level. I preferred the NIV because it was written on a college level (I thought).

 

[Holly3278]

What about giving the Bibles to a priest so that the priest can use them for studying Protestant religions and how to defeat their heresies?

 

[Anna_Scott]

This is a quote from the*** Introduction to the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version***, found in the The Catholic Comparative New Testament:

"For four hundred years, following upon the great upheaval of the Reformation, Catholics and Protestants have gone their separate ways and suspected each other’s translations of the Bible of having been in some way manipulated in the interests of doctrinal presuppositions. It must be admitted that these suspicions were not always without foundation. At the present time, however, the sciences of textual criticism and philology, not to mention others, have made such great advances that the Bible text used by translators is substantially the same for all–Protestants and Catholics alike

Is anyone willing to respond to or comment on my post. Please don’t shut me out because I am Protestant.

 

[DebChris]

A Bible is a Bible. Some translations are superior to others.
When I came back to the CC, I never had a Catholic Bible. I had the KJV and the NIV (my favorite at the time). I still love the King James because it is translated so beautifully. When I am a lector at our parish I occasionally lapse into King James english. It’s a habit I had to break.
Part of the problem I have with some Protestant translations is the inclusion of modern english into the text.
God did not say to Moses: “Yo Dog!”

Anyway, if you don’t want the Protestant Bible, then give it away. Burning books is never the answer.

When I first heard of these “street jargon” Bibles, my reaction was this can be used as a starting point, but the person reading this translation needs to be quickly led to a more accurate translation.
I know a number of people who begin with the paraphrastic Living Bible because it is easy to read and understand. Once they become more familiar with their faith, they move into a more literal translation.
One of the first posts on this thread pointed to secular sins when it comes to books. Burning them would definitely top the list. My first inclination with any book I no longer want is to give it away

William Tyndale was arrested and put to death “because he dared translate the Bible for the common person.” (Protestant take). His translation contained “strident anti-Catholic notes.” His translation used the terms “congregation,” “overseer,” and “elder” instead of “church,” “bishop,” and “priest” and gained the wrath of Henry VIII for omitting 1 Peter 2:13-14 about submission to “every human institution.”
The Catholic Source Book states “the banning and burning of Bibles needs to be understood in the context of the regrettable propaganda that became the nasty habit of the day.” Thomas Matthew’s note on 1 Peter 3:7, for instance, suggests “if a ‘wyfe’ be not obedient and helpful to her husband, he should endeavor 'to beate the feare of God into her heade, that therby she maye be compelled to learne her dutie, and to do it.”

 

[JustaServant]

Is anyone willing to respond to or comment on my post. Please don’t shut me out because I am Protestant.

I have a summer head cold, so my brain isnt working right now. Post it on the apologetics forum.

 

[Anna_Scott]

I have a summer head cold, so my brain isnt working right now. Post it on the apologetics forum.

JustaServant:
I am sorry you are not feeling well. I will not ask you to tackle this.

However, I am puzzled about your telling me to “post it on the apologetics forum.”

We are talking about what to do with Protestant Bibles on this thread. I did quote Catholic references regarding Bible translations. So, I do not think this is “off topic.”

Anyway, I will let you rest.

Anna

 

[brigid12]

JustaServant:
I am sorry you are not feeling well. I will not ask you to tackle this.

However, I am puzzled about your telling me to “post it on the apologetics forum.”

We are talking about what to do with Protestant Bibles on this thread. I did quote Catholic references regarding Bible translations. So, I do not think this is “off topic.”

Anyway, I will let you rest.

Anna

Anna,

I believe what the earlier poster may have been referring to regarding posting your question on the Catholic apologetics forum is that this particular question is not specifically related to Traditional Catholicism (speaking of the those Catholics who are not pleased either liturgically or doctrinally or both, with the results of VII or the results of the Novus Ordo Mass) and that you may have a better/clearer response by those Catholics who’s primary knowledge and interest in the forums (all are Catholic related, even the Non-Catholic forum) is on Scriptural matters or on the apologetics forum, if you ask the priest who moderates/answers questions from Catholics/non-Catholics (Father Serpa). Apologetics is the all inclusive answers to matters of the Catholic Church, whether those questions be Scriptural, historical, etc.
We certainly don’t want to shut you out (or make you feel as if you were shut out) but the specific question you are asking is not as likely to be adequately answered in this section due to the emense amount of knowledge about the Church there is. For instance, if you had just been or were going to a Traditional Latin Mass and had questions about that this would be the section of the forae to get that question answered. Similarly, if you had a question about how one of the earlier Pope’s encyclicals related to living your faith today, this would also be a good place to have that answered.
We want to help you as much as we can, and you’re certainly to be commended heartily for your research in response to His Grace.:clapping:

 

[Anna_Scott]

As a Protestant, let me say that there are many “Protestant” Bible translations that most Protestant Christians would not consider using for Biblical study.

It is interesting to note that many of the Catholics, who have commented on this Thread, prefer the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.

Ironically, many Protestants will only use the KJV. This is called “King James-onlyism” and is described under the Faith Tab on this website, in the article entitled, Bible Translations Guide. I noted this in a previous Post. Keep in mind this is the same KJV the Catholics use:

Faith Tab of this website:

Bible Translations Guide, What is the Best Bible?
. . . Some Protestants will tell you that the only acceptable version of the Bible is the King James. This position is known as King James-onlyism. Its advocates often make jokes such as, “If the King James Version was good enough for the apostle Paul, it is good enough for me,” or, “My King James Version corrects your Greek text.”

They commonly claim that the King James is based on the only perfect set of manuscripts we have (a false claim; there is no perfect set of manuscripts; and the ones used for the KJV were compiled by a Catholic, Erasmus), that it is the only translation that avoids modern, liberal renderings, and that its translators were extremely saintly and scholarly men.

Since the King James is also known as “the Authorized Version” (AV), its advocates sometimes argue that it is the only version to ever have been “authorized.” To this one may point out that it was only authorized in the Anglican church, which now uses other translations. For a still-in print critique of King James-onlyism, see D. A. Carson, The King James Version Debate, A Plea for Realism (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979).

Other Catholics, who have commented on this Thread, prefer the Douay-Rheims Bible. Again, I will refer you to the Catholic Bible Translations Guide.

Faith Tab of this website:

Bible Translations Guide What is the Best Bible?
As amusing as King James-onlyism may sound, some people take it very seriously. **There is even a Catholic equivalent, which we might call “Douay-Rheims-onlyism.” **The Douay-Rheims version, which predates the King James by a few years, (the complete KJV was published in 1611, but the complete Douay-Rheims in 1609) was the standard Bible for English-speaking Catholics until the twentieth century.

**What many advocates of both King James-onlyism and Douay-Rheims-onlyism do not know is that neither Bible is the original issued in the 1600s. **Over the last three centuries, numerous minor changes (for example, of spelling and grammar) have been made in the King James, with the result that most versions of the KJV currently on the market are significantly different from the original. This has led one publisher to recently re-issue the 1611 King James Version Bible.

The Douay-Rheims currently on the market is also not the original, 1609 version. It is technically called the “Douay-Challoner” version because it is a revision of the Douay-Rheims done in the mid-eighteenth century by Bishop Richard Challoner. He also consulted early Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, meaning that the Douay Bible currently on the market is not simply a translation of the Vulgate (which many of its advocates do not realize).

Faith Tab of this website:

Bible Translations Guide What is the Best Bible?
We recommend staying away from translations with unconventional renderings, such as the TEV, and **suggest using the Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition. This is a Church-approved version of the RSV that has a few, minor changes in the New Testament. It has been reissued by Ignatius Press under the title The Ignatius Bible **(available from Catholic Answers in both hardcover and paperback formats).

This is a quote from the Introduction to the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version, found in the The Catholic Comparative New Testament:

This edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been prepared for the use of Catholics by a committee of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain. It is published with ecclesiastical approval and by agreement with the Standard Bible Committee and the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. . . . A small committee of members of the Catholic Bible Association was formed and permission obtained to examine this translation and suggest any changes that might be required to make it acceptable to Catholics. The Standard Bible Committee of the U.S.A. was then approached and they gave warm welcome to the proposal.

So, a non-Catholic Bible became a Catholic Bible, and is now the Catholic recommended translation.

The Catholic Bible Association did not consider the Revised Standard Version to be a Protestant heresy. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, was edited for Catholic use; and became the Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition. It is now reissued under the title, The Ignatius Bible.

I think it is important to understand the history of Bible translations, and refrain from throwing stones at the Protestants, until you have all the facts.

 

[Malkin71]

I have many “Protestant Bibles”, and I personally do not see a problem with keeping them. Yes, they exclude the Deuterocanon, but they contain everything else.

What do you think? My Catholic Bible (The International Student Bible For Catholics; an NAB Study Bible) is my main one, of course. Though, I do love my KJV Bible and read it often.

I also have NKJV, NIV, TNIV, NLT.

Thank you, and God bless.

In Christ,
Amen

It is good to have them. Keep them for reference. I have The New American Bible, KJB, NKJB, NIV, NRST, Douey Rheims and a NWT Society Bible. Keep them for reference.

 

[Anna_Scott]

Anna,

I believe what the earlier poster may have been referring to regarding posting your question on the Catholic apologetics forum is that this particular question is not specifically related to Traditional Catholicism (speaking of the those Catholics who are not pleased either liturgically or doctrinally or both, with the results of VII or the results of the Novus Ordo Mass) and that you may have a better/clearer response by those Catholics who’s primary knowledge and interest in the forums (all are Catholic related, even the Non-Catholic forum) is on Scriptural matters or on the apologetics forum, if you ask the priest who moderates/answers questions from Catholics/non-Catholics (Father Serpa). Apologetics is the all inclusive answers to matters of the Catholic Church, whether those questions be Scriptural, historical, etc.
We certainly don’t want to shut you out (or make you feel as if you were shut out) but the specific question you are asking is not as likely to be adequately answered in this section due to the emense amount of knowledge about the Church there is. For instance, if you had just been or were going to a Traditional Latin Mass and had questions about that this would be the section of the forae to get that question answered. Similarly, if you had a question about how one of the earlier Pope’s encyclicals related to living your faith today, this would also be a good place to have that answered.
We want to help you as much as we can, and you’re certainly to be commended heartily for your research in response to His Grace.:clapping:

brigid12: I was writing Post #57; and when submitted it, I found your comments.

I really appreciate your kindness and suggestions.

I will take my questions regarding Luke 3:22 to the Apologetics Forum as you and JustaServant suggested.

Regarding the question on this Tread, Can I Keep My “Protestant Bibles”?: Please see my Post #57. I know there are some “Protestant” Bible translations that take liberty with the text to a point that even I would consider heretical. I have found this to be the case with some of the “Amplified” Bibles, where commentaries are placed in the main body of the text. I find this very offensive.

On the other hand, many Protestants, including myself, are very interested in the most accurate Bible translation.

As a side note: I also would like to say that I have come to these Forums in an effort to understand Catholicism. I do not think a Protestant can really tell me what Catholics believe. I am learning that Catholics have many misconceptions about Protestants. We are not all the same.

Though a Protestant, I am not a fan of Martin Luther or Calvin for that matter. This places me in an awkward spiritual position. Sometimes I feel that I do not belong in the Protestant world.

Yet, I come here and find so much animosity towards Protestants, as this Thread clearly demonstrates. This would naturally cause me to pull back. I just have to keep praying.

 

[Anna_Scott]

Interesting shift in perspective over time;

“A Christian to whom a Bible has been offered by a Protestant or an agent of the Protestants should reject it with disgust, because it is forbidden by the Church. If it was accepted by inadvertence, it must be burnt as soon as possible or handed in to the Parish Priest.” (Catechism of Pius X)

MORE HERE:
rencesvals.blogspot.com/2009/07/burning-protestant-bibles.html

Protestant Bibles are not the word of God. They have no value outside of apologetics.

I would burn them. They also make good doorstops.

. . . Why all the tears shed over burnt literature? Would you feel the same about burning a sexually explicit love novel? You know, my local parish had a used book sale once. I saw a hardcover book by Hans Kung for 50 cents. I couldn’t pass it up. I bought it so no one would innocently stumble upon this heretic’s works and we had a good ol’ fashion book burning in the back yard.

Best 50 cents I ever spent.

P.S. Just because a book says “Holy Bible” on it does not mean it’s the inspired word of God. The Jehovah’s witnesses version says the same. I

For those naysayers about burning protestant bibles:

From EWTN’s library:
http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/PIUSXCAT.htm

32 Q. What should a Christian do who has been given a Bible by a Protestant or by an agent of the Protestants?

A. A Christian to whom a Bible has been offered by a Protestant or an agent of the Protestants should reject it with disgust, because it is forbidden by the Church. If it was accepted by inadvertence, it must be burnt as soon as possible or handed in to the Parish Priest.

**For all of you who advocate burning Protestant Bibles, rejecting them with disgust, and claiming they are forbidden by the Church; please read this quote from the Introduction to the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version, found in the The Catholic Comparative New Testament:
**
This edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been prepared for the use of Catholics by a committee of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain. It is published with ecclesiastical approval and by agreement with the Standard Bible Committee and the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. . . . A small committee of members of the Catholic Bible Association was formed and permission obtained to examine this translation and suggest any changes that might be required to make it acceptable to Catholics. The Standard Bible Committee of the U.S.A. was then approached and they gave warm welcome to the proposal."

**So, a non-Catholic Bible became a Catholic Bible, and is now the Catholic recommended translation.

The Catholic Bible Association did not consider the Revised Standard Version to be a Protestant heresy. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, was edited for Catholic use; and became the Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition. It is now reissued under the title, The Ignatius Bible.

I think it is important to understand the history of Bible translations, and refrain from throwing stones at the Protestants, until you have all the facts.**

 

[Holly3278]

Look, I meant nothing against the Protestants by saying “Protestant religions”. I agree that perhaps my wording was a little off and I am sorry if I have offended you or anyone else. I agree that Protestants are our fellow Christians.

 

[RosaryCrusader]

Maybe you should spend more time reading books and less time burning them.

Nice ad hominem.

This still doesn’t attest to what should one do if one bought the Bible his or her self.

You’re not truly this intellectually helpless are you?

Furthermore, let it be noted that the Pope was not speaking Ex Cathedra on the matter.

See above comment.

Let it also be noted that “The Catechism of Pope St. Pius X is his realization of a simple, plain, brief, popular Catechism for uniform use throughout the whole world; it was used in the ecclesiastical province of Rome and for some years in other parts of Italy; it was not, however, prescribed for use throughout the universal church.” <----Wikipedia.

See above comment.

And, finally, Pope Pius X died during WWI. That’s almost 100 years ago. We’ve come a long way in ecumenical dialogue since then. …But, again, if you continue to burn what you don’t want to hear, you may not know this.

I was waiting for this to come up; ecumenical dialogue. Is the dialogue of which you speak a dialogue of a return or a dialogue of convergence?

Also, I’ve never burned a protestant bible - in case you’re curious. I have a leatherbound Nelson KJV study bible chock full of heretical footnotes as well as a NAB or two (might as well be protestant) the RSV-CE, the Navarre Bible, as well a Douay Rheims with Haydock commentary. My original contribution to this thread stated that there is a use for such bibles in the realm of apologetics but outside of that there really is no use for them other than tinder.

My point in quoting from the Catechism of St. Pius X was merely that a Catholic should not be slandered or called a fascist because he chooses to burn heretical works. Such a person is within his rightful duties as a Catholic.

Further, instead of trying to 'splain away prior Catechisms why not just ask “why?” The next question in the catechism would have satisfied.

**33 Q. Why does the Church forbid Protestant Bibles?

A. The Church forbids Protestant Bibles because, either they have been altered and contain errors, or not having her approbation and footnotes explaining the obscure meanings, they may be harmful to the Faith. It is for that same reason that the Church even forbids translations of the Holy Scriptures already approved by her which have been reprinted without the footnotes approved by her.**

 

[Anna_Scott]

. . . . I was waiting for this to come up; ecumenical dialogue. Is the dialogue of which you speak a dialogue of a return or a dialogue of convergence?

Also, I’ve never burned a protestant bible - in case you’re curious. I have a leatherbound Nelson KJV study bible chock full of heretical footnotes as well as a NAB or two (might as well be protestant) the RSV-CE, the Navarre Bible, as well a Douay Rheims with Haydock commentary. My original contribution to this thread stated that there is a use for such bibles in the realm of apologetics but outside of that there really is no use for them other than tinder.

My point in quoting from the Catechism of St. Pius X was merely that a Catholic should not be slandered or called a fascist because he chooses to burn heretical works. Such a person is within his rightful duties as a Catholic.

Further, instead of trying to 'splain away prior Catechisms why not just ask “why?” The next question in the catechism would have satisfied.

33 Q. Why does the Church forbid Protestant Bibles?

A. The Church forbids Protestant Bibles because, either they have been altered and contain errors, or not having her approbation and footnotes explaining the obscure meanings, they may be harmful to the Faith. It is for that same reason that the Church even forbids translations of the Holy Scriptures already approved by her which have been reprinted without the footnotes approved by her.

RosaryCrusader: since you have so vehemently bashed the “Protestant” Bibles; I would ask that you respond to my Post- cut and pasted below.

For all of you who advocate burning Protestant Bibles, rejecting them with disgust, and claiming they are forbidden by the Church; please read this quote from the Introduction to the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version, found in the The Catholic Comparative New Testament:

This edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible has been prepared for the use of Catholics by a committee of the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain. It is published with ecclesiastical approval and by agreement with the Standard Bible Committee and the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States. . . . A small committee of members of the Catholic Bible Association was formed and permission obtained to examine this translation and suggest any changes that might be required to make it acceptable to Catholics. The Standard Bible Committee of the U.S.A. was then approached and they gave warm welcome to the proposal."

So, a non-Catholic Bible became a Catholic Bible, and is now the Catholic recommended translation.

The Catholic Bible Association did not consider the Revised Standard Version to be a Protestant heresy. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, was edited for Catholic use; and became the Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition. It is now reissued under the title, The Ignatius Bible.

I think it is important to understand the history of Bible translations, and refrain from throwing stones at the Protestants, until you have all the facts.

Also, see my Post #57.

 

[PJM]

I have many “Protestant Bibles”, and I personally do not see a problem with keeping them. Yes, they exclude the Deuterocanon, but they contain everything else.

What do you think? My Catholic Bible (The International Student Bible For Catholics; an NAB Study Bible) is my main one, of course. Though, I do love my KJV Bible and read it often.

I also have NKJV, NIV, TNIV, NLT.

Thank you, and God bless.

In Christ,
Amen

Actually they don’t! Inaddition to being seven books short, many ommissions, and alterations have been inserted to support their own errant theology. That is why is took Luther about 60 years to come up with his KJV. If all he had to do was drop seven books, he could have has his bible in print 59 years eariler:thumbsup:

Love and prayers, if you want THEE truth, nothing but the THEE truth, read a GOOD Catholic Bible. IT ALONE IS GOD"S WORD:shrug:

 

[TristanCross]

Luther didn’t make the KJV Bible lol

I do read my Catholic Bible, now, mostly. Though, I still love my others.