Protestants - Catholics and the Bible...

[Singinbeauty]

CatholicGal1977:

As far as I’m concerned, given THE WAY that many Protestants toute the Bible as “the Final Authority” and hold it especially dear to them is enough to really scare me at times to the point I believe they truly are worshiping it.

I often see this ‘concern’ from many catholics when they speak of the certain affection that many protestants seem to have for the Holy Bible. For some reason, today this particular quote got me thinking…

Each group, catholic and protestant, accuse each other of worshipping SOMETHING other than God. Be it statues and Mary for the catholics or the Bible for the protestants. Something has to be wrong for the other group so we pick and pick at eachother as if we are trying to make the other group look bad in God’s eyes. Like ‘See Father, the catholics / protestants worship something other than you so they can’t be as worthy of your Love or your Grace as much as me…’

CatholicGal1977:

Seth:

…the closest I’ve seen to Bible worship (not that it was) was in a Catholic church I attended for about 5 months (St. Mary’s in Ottawa, ON, CA). The Bible (the Gospels in particular) were taken up and down the aisles and kissed by the Priest. I personally don’t know of anything similar in any Protestant church.

That is far from worship and just a gesture of respect as far as I’m concerned. It would be no different than you travelling back into time to kiss Jesus, your Rabbi, as his loyal follower.

I don’t mean to seem like I am picking on you CatholicGal but your posts are what got me thinking…
Though I don’t agree with kissing the Bible and I do see where this could be misconstrued as worshipping it I also don’t see what is wrong with having an affection for the Bible. THIS IS GOD’S WORD for goodness sake! He actually BREATHED this into life so that we might have a part of Him to take with us from day to day. We may not have Jesus physically here on earth to ask questions and hear His voice when He answers but we do have the Bible of which God took time to tell us exactly what we needed to know. How could you not Love the Word of God and hold it dear and close to your heart? This isn’t any normal book. I could see something wrong with taking the latest John Grisham book and quoting it and studying it believing it will change my life but the BIBLE? Come on, why would it be so terrible for someone to hold it in such a regard that it becomes their final authority in their life? God touched those pages when those men wrote down His inspired Word. How could I not hold this book close to my heart?

 

[Della]

I often see this ‘concern’ from many catholics when they speak of the certain affection that many protestants seem to have for the Holy Bible. For some reason, today this particular quote got me thinking…

Each group, catholic and protestant, accuse each other of worshipping SOMETHING other than God. Be it statues and Mary for the catholics or the Bible for the protestants. Something has to be wrong for the other group so we pick and pick at eachother as if we are trying to make the other group look bad in God’s eyes. Like ‘See Father, the catholics / protestants worship something other than you so they can’t be as worthy of your Love or your Grace as much as me…’

No one should assume to know what another communion believes without asking them. As for Protestants worshipping the Bible, I know they don’t–I was a Protestant, both liturgical and evangelical, so I know better than that!

I don’t mean to seem like I am picking on you CatholicGal but your posts are what got me thinking…
Though I don’t agree with kissing the Bible and I do see where this could be misconstrued as worshipping it I also don’t see what is wrong with having an affection for the Bible. THIS IS GOD’S WORD for goodness sake! He actually BREATHED this into life so that we might have a part of Him to take with us from day to day.

In the instance you cited, the priest was kissing the Gospel, not the whole Bible. This is done to show reverence for Jesus’ life and words written within its 4 books.

And while the word of God is “God-breathed” it is also written by men–the same men who taught the God-breathed words of God orally. To a Catholic there is no difference between them. We know that the Bible came out of the Sacred Tradition of the Church, which consists of both the written and the oral teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.

The Bible isn’t what Jesus left to us. Jesus never commissioned any writings to be done. What Jesus left us is his Church, which is the Body of Christ, and to whom he gave the authority–his Apostles and their successors, the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The NT is but the written record of the early Church, considered inspired because it contains the word of God given to the Apostles.

We may not have Jesus physically here on earth to ask questions and hear His voice when He answers but we do have the Bible of which God took time to tell us exactly what we needed to know. How could you not Love the Word of God and hold it dear and close to your heart? This isn’t any normal book. I could see something wrong with taking the latest John Grisham book and quoting it and studying it believing it will change my life but the BIBLE? Come on, why would it be so terrible for someone to hold it in such a regard that it becomes their final authority in their life? God touched those pages when those men wrote down His inspired Word. How could I not hold this book close to my heart?

Also, Jesus is very much with us. In both word and sacrament found within his Church–the Church that gave the Bible to the world. Without the Church for context and for proper interpretation, it would have no clear meaning for our lives. Proof of this is all the various Protestant denominations who all claim to know what the Bible teaches on important issues with which they very much disagree.

The Bible ought to be read and reverenced, but it also ought not to be taken out of its proper place within Christ’s Church nor thought of as something that stands on its own. It was never meant to stand on its own nor be used by all and sundry to cook up whatever doctrines they want, which is exactly what has happened in Christian churches that do not acknowledge the Bible’s true place within the Catholic Church.

 

[ALLFORHIM]

I often see this ‘concern’ from many catholics when they speak of the certain affection that many protestants seem to have for the Holy Bible. For some reason, today this particular quote got me thinking…

Each group, catholic and protestant, accuse each other of worshipping SOMETHING other than God. Be it statues and Mary for the catholics or the Bible for the protestants. Something has to be wrong for the other group so we pick and pick at eachother as if we are trying to make the other group look bad in God’s eyes. Like ‘See Father, the catholics / protestants worship something other than you so they can’t be as worthy of your Love or your Grace as much as me…’

I don’t mean to seem like I am picking on you CatholicGal but your posts are what got me thinking…
Though I don’t agree with kissing the Bible and I do see where this could be misconstrued as worshipping it I also don’t see what is wrong with having an affection for the Bible. THIS IS GOD’S WORD for goodness sake! He actually BREATHED this into life so that we might have a part of Him to take with us from day to day. We may not have Jesus physically here on earth to ask questions and hear His voice when He answers but we do have the Bible of which God took time to tell us exactly what we needed to know. How could you not Love the Word of God and hold it dear and close to your heart? This isn’t any normal book. I could see something wrong with taking the latest John Grisham book and quoting it and studying it believing it will change my life but the BIBLE? Come on, why would it be so terrible for someone to hold it in such a regard that it becomes their final authority in their life? God touched those pages when those men wrote down His inspired Word. How could I not hold this book close to my heart?

Beautifully put.:clapping:

 

[Pjs2ejs]

Singin beauty, I’m not sure what you’re post is really getting at. I think we all agree the bible is a special book, one which we all esteem with affection.

To me, the Bible is icing on the cake when it comes to the Church. It is a beautiful story of Salvation History 100% inspired word of God. It is sure enjoyable to read, inspiring most of the time, and really brings me close to the people and events that it talks about.

When I say icing on the cake, I say that because it is a very small part of Christianity. True Christianity, the Catholic church, was around long before the Bible. In fact the Catholic church was responsible for compiling the good book. Up until the 1400s to 1600s rarely did Christians have personal Bibles, let alone see one. It was just economically unfeasible. A good portion of Christians cannot even read. You see, being one with Christ is not about reading the Bible. One really doesn’t need a Bible. All one needs is the Eucharist. It is the food that will cause one never to hunger.

When Christianity split during the Reformation, the many of the splitters abandoned the Eucharist, Christ. Since then, they have been hungry. Nothing can satisfy that hunger except the Eucharist. They have clung to the Bible as the closest thing they have to Jesus Christ when the Eucharist is only a few blocks away and spoken of in the very book they cling to.

So what about the Bible. The church has been studying it for almost two millenia. Catholic liturgy is almost 100% from the Bible. It isn’t about the Bible though, it’s about Jesus. A question that I often pose, although hypothetical, is would you still be Christian if there had been no Bible put together? I know I would. The first Christians were.

 

[jay29]

A question that I often pose, although hypothetical, is would you still be Christian if there had been no Bible put together? I know I would. The first Christians were.

Nails it right on the head. Great job!

 

[JonathanKinsman]

A question that I often pose, although hypothetical, is would you still be Christian if there had been no Bible put together? I know I would. The first Christians were.

Great ending, Pjs2ejs, now start a new thread with this lead in to our non-Catholic (but Christian) friends here.

Pax Christi

 

[lak611]

I was baptized as a Catholic, did all the “right” Catholic stuff when I was growing up (CCD classes, Catholic high school and even Catholic college), but I never understood it. I felt like the Catholic Church was all about a bunch of rules. So when I was living on my own in my twenties, I fell away and did not attend any church. After being away from religion for about 5 years, a friend of mine took me to a Christian music festival. There were people from all kinds of churches at the festival: Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc. Somebody from the Baptist Church gave me a Bible (KJV). I had never read the Bible before, and for some reason, I decided that I should read it. I read it all the way through, and I had a born-again experience. I understood what a personal relationship with Jesus meant and that I was searching for meaning in my life, not through “stuff” but through Him. I repented of my sin, first directly to God and then to my priest. Since then, I have acquired many Bibles, both Catholic and Protestant, joined a Bible study at my Catholic parish and become an EMHC. I credit it all to Almighty God the Holy Spirit, because I was lost but He found me and brought me back to His Church. :bible1:

 

[guanophore]

I don’t mean to seem like I am picking on you CatholicGal but your posts are what got me thinking…
Though I don’t agree with kissing the Bible and I do see where this could be misconstrued as worshipping it I also don’t see what is wrong with having an affection for the Bible. THIS IS GOD’S WORD for goodness sake! He actually BREATHED this into life so that we might have a part of Him to take with us from day to day. We may not have Jesus physically here on earth to ask questions and hear His voice when He answers but we do have the Bible of which God took time to tell us exactly what we needed to know. How could you not Love the Word of God and hold it dear and close to your heart? This isn’t any normal book. I could see something wrong with taking the latest John Grisham book and quoting it and studying it believing it will change my life but the BIBLE? Come on, why would it be so terrible for someone to hold it in such a regard that it becomes their final authority in their life? God touched those pages when those men wrote down His inspired Word. How could I not hold this book close to my heart?

It is right to hold it close, because it tells us of Him. Just not to substitute it for His place in our lives:

John 5:39-41
" You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40 and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.

 

[jonk]

I was baptized as a Catholic, did all the “right” Catholic stuff when I was growing up (CCD classes, Catholic high school and even Catholic college), but I never understood it. I felt like the Catholic Church was all about a bunch of rules. So when I was living on my own in my twenties, I fell away and did not attend any church. After being away from religion for about 5 years, a friend of mine took me to a Christian music festival. There were people from all kinds of churches at the festival: Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc. Somebody from the Baptist Church gave me a Bible (KJV). I had never read the Bible before, and for some reason, I decided that I should read it. I read it all the way through, and I had a born-again experience. I understood what a personal relationship with Jesus meant and that I was searching for meaning in my life, not through “stuff” but through Him. I repented of my sin, first directly to God and then to my priest. Since then, I have acquired many Bibles, both Catholic and Protestant, joined a Bible study at my Catholic parish and become an EMHC. I credit it all to Almighty God the Holy Spirit, because I was lost but He found me and brought me back to His Church. :bible1:

The Bible was instrumental in my conversion from atheism. I picked it up and read but a few sentences. 5 years later I was going to Mass every Sunday. God’s Word sure is powerful.

 

[theresa1967]

I was baptized as a Catholic, did all the “right” Catholic stuff when I was growing up (CCD classes, Catholic high school and even Catholic college), but I never understood it. I felt like the Catholic Church was all about a bunch of rules. So when I was living on my own in my twenties, I fell away and did not attend any church. After being away from religion for about 5 years, a friend of mine took me to a Christian music festival. There were people from all kinds of churches at the festival: Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc. Somebody from the Baptist Church gave me a Bible (KJV). I had never read the Bible before, and for some reason, I decided that I should read it. I read it all the way through, and I had a born-again experience. I understood what a personal relationship with Jesus meant and that I was searching for meaning in my life, not through “stuff” but through Him. I repented of my sin, first directly to God and then to my priest. Since then, I have acquired many Bibles, both Catholic and Protestant, joined a Bible study at my Catholic parish and become an EMHC. I credit it all to Almighty God the Holy Spirit, because I was lost but He found me and brought me back to His Church. :bible1:

AMEN! Most of us “reverts” didn’t fully understand our Catholic teaching when we were young, honestly does any person on earth truly remember 1st grade 2nd rade etc…in detail…doubt it. the beautiful thing is…God built His Church, not man, I like to refer to it “HOME MADE” not “man made” and it is nice being HOME…1 Tim 3:15…