Chaldean Catholics Not Allowed To Read The Bible

[Alexander_Roman]

Dear Friends,

Although I love you all (and especially our Atheist friend!), forgive me when I say that you’ve completely missed the point of the thread!

There are two parts to the original question. The latter part is about touching the Book of the Gospels which is enshrined on the Altar.

This is something that only people in clerical Orders may touch and carry in processions etc. I was an altar server and I know this well enough. That does NOT mean that Eastern Christians cannot touch or read bibles that we get in stores etc. These are clean different things with the Book of the Gospels being a high sacramental.

It is also true that many Eastern Churches have bibles that are written in their liturgical languages which would be difficult, if not impossible, for people not trained in them to read and comprehend. I think it is just logic to assume that we shouldn’t be reading something, especially the bible, where we just don’t understand the words or understand something here and there but don’t get the full, comprehensive picture!

Throughout history, laity have been known to develop fictitious meanings around words they did not understand. A famous case is the lay translation for “Anastasis” which means “Resurrection” for “Anastasia . . .”

The letters in Greek for “He Conquers” that are to be found in Cross icons or “NIKA” were not understood by laity in Ukraine and Russia so they came up with the phrase “Na-holhofti Iskupyl Kroviu Adama” where the NIKA represents the first letters of the four word groups. (He saved Adam on Golgotha).

The “Deisis” Icon at the top of iconostases where Christ is enthroned between the Mother of God and John the Baptist was also not understood by laity so in Ukraine and Russia they came up with “DeIsus” or “Where Jesus is.”

So the question here is entirely about the Eastern Church context.

Alex

 

[coco2]

I am 52 years old and my mother told me that Catholics should not read the bible, because they might misinterpret it. We had one in the house but I didn’t see it ever opened. I finally bought myself one when I was in my 20’s, because I wanted to be able to understand what my Protestant friends were talking about all the time. My mom must have heard this somewhere. She reads many many books about prayer, Mary, saints; Catholic magazines and other publications; but still I haven’t seen her read out of the Bible. I am sure this fear was put into people due to the fact of the numbers of people leaving the Church and starting their own. Also the number of Protestant churches seems to grow daily. Anybody can start one.

 

[white_sheep]

Alexander’s excellent post notwithstanding, there is nothing that can be said which someone hasn’t claimed to have heard from a priest at some point.

 

[white_sheep]

I am 52 years old and my mother told me that Catholics should not read the bible, because they might misinterpret it. We had one in the house but I didn’t see it ever opened. I finally bought myself one when I was in my 20’s, because I wanted to be able to understand what my Protestant friends were talking about all the time. My mom must have heard this somewhere. She reads many many books about prayer, Mary, saints; Catholic magazines and other publications; but still I haven’t seen her read out of the Bible. I am sure this fear was put into people due to the fact of the numbers of people leaving the Church and starting their own. Also the number of Protestant churches seems to grow daily. Anybody can start one.

There’s a fine line somewhere, if only we can find it. Reading the Bible is an indulgenced act, the Church can hardly put a higher recommendation on something. Furthermore, we hear a fair amount of Scripture in mass, with commentary. I personally would prefer sermons instead of homilies, but that’s neither here nor there.

There are Catholics who think of the Bible as you mentioned, sure. There are Catholics who think everything, that doesn’t mean that they are correct. She has a poorly informed opinion on the matter, not a well rounded one steeped in the many teachings of the Church pertaining to the reading of Scripture. What we should not do is violate the proscription in 2Peter to make private interpretations of Scripture. That’s where the line is. If you start to fancy yourself as being your own magisterium as the Protestants do, you’ve gone too far.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I am 52 years old and my mother told me that Catholics should not read the bible, because they might misinterpret it. We had one in the house but I didn’t see it ever opened. I finally bought myself one when I was in my 20’s, because I wanted to be able to understand what my Protestant friends were talking about all the time. My mom must have heard this somewhere. She reads many many books about prayer, Mary, saints; Catholic magazines and other publications; but still I haven’t seen her read out of the Bible. I am sure this fear was put into people due to the fact of the numbers of people leaving the Church and starting their own. Also the number of Protestant churches seems to grow daily. Anybody can start one.

There is a fine line between reading and interpreting. We are encouraged by the Church to read scripture and appreciate it, understand it. If there are any questions, we should go to a competent authority, usually a priest or deacon but can also be any religious or even lay persons who has adequate training. The danger is if we start making conclusions ourselves, which opens the possibility of misinterpretation. That is why we have these hundreds of Protestant sects that don’t even agree with one another.

 

[jlhargus]

I was in a discussion with a person about how the Catholic Church encourages the reading of the bible and this was her response below. Has anyone else happen to them as an Eastern Rite Catholic?
“My Chaldean family lives here in the US. My mother in law was told that she cannot understand it, so she is not to read it as it will only confuse her. Also she was told in Iraq that a layman hands are too filthy to touch a holy book. This is common in the eastern rite”

Mark

 

[jlhargus]

But isn’t it true that until around this time The Bible was not available in the common languages, and that sermons were in Latin? Most people in the middle ages could not even read their own language let alone read Greek, Latin, or Hebrew.

JL: There where several common (valgar) language bibles in German, French, Slavic Italian, etc., long before Luther. Jerome’s Valgate was the common (valgar) language of it’s day, as Greek was not the language of the common people in the Western Roman Empire. Unauthorized translations were forbiden to protect people against errors in translations. german.about.com/library/weekly/aa030600a.htm

 

[KathleenElsie]

Given the choice and authority, I bet the Catholic Church today would ban half of the translations out there today. Not just because one translates it means its a good one. Banning a badly translated Bible is an act of mercy, not a conspiracy theory.

+10 on this. Another reason that very few Catholics read the Bible was the cost of Bibles. At one time they were hand copied by monks and could cost 10 years of a common man’s income.
I have never had a priest tell me not to read the Holy Bible. Quite the contrary they are very supportive of Bible study etc.

 

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