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JMJ_coder
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Actually, the NAB introductions (or footnotes) aren’t very good. The Douay-Rheims introductions are better, or you could get a good Catholic commentary - which should give good introductions.
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reggieM
Guest
Translations are different because that’s the nature of translating from one language to another. Do you have any familiarity with another language besides English? If so, you’ll know that just about any paragraph or even phrase can be translated in a number of equally valid, but different ways.
The most important thing to learn about the Catholic view of the Holy Scripture is that the teachings of Christ were communicated to the Catholic Church first – before they were written in a New Testament Bible.
So, the Gospels and Epistles are part of the Sacred Tradition (what was handed down from Christ) of the Church. The Protestant view is Sola Scriptura – where the empahsis is placed on the written word. This causes severe problems when one Protestant group rejects the translation of another – because they focus on the written word without any Sacred Tradition to support it. This gets so extreme that there are even people who believe in a King James Only view of Scripture – as if that is the only version that is valid.
Joseph Smith really absorbed the Protestant Evangelical view of the Scriptures. His belief about the Book of Mormon was that it was required to purify the Scriptures. But that is an outcome of the Sola Scriptura view. He did not know that the Bible was given to him through the Catholic Church – and thus was possessed in its fullness by Catholicism since the time of Christ.
Just as the early church did not have a codified, written text to work from in preaching and teaching, we accept now that the true doctrines of Christ can be transmitted (in part) through any authorized translation of Scripture.
There are several authorized Catholic translations for one reason because the English language has changed quite a lot over the centuries. Words and idioms change and thus new translations are needed.
Additionally, creating a good translation requires a certain amount of literary artistry and different talents can replicate the poetry of the sacred text in different ways.
But over all, a simple answer is that any authorized Catholic version of the Bible is good. I prefer the Confraternity Douay-Rheims version (the Catholic bible used in the 1950s) and also the Msgr. Ronald Knox version.
The Church approves different versions because the Orthodoxy of Catholic teaching is preserved by the Magisterium of the Church and it can be reflected in different versions.
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reggieM
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On the change of topic – I hope you feel all of your other questions have been answered sufficiently.
Yes, our body will be reunited with our soul at the resurrection. We face an immediate judgement (known as the Particular Judgement) at the time of death. We will enter Heaven or Hell (or temporarily in Purgatory prior to Heaven) at death.
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C2M2C
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Excellent, thank you.
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RebeccaJ
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Interesting. Thanks for the tip. The NAB is good enough for a Mormon to understand how Catholics understand Revelations…that’s where I “got it”. (Mormonism has overlayed their erroneous beliefs over everything, including the meanings in the Book of Revelations. They are “endtimers”, look for, and see signs of the end of the world in everything, everywhere.)
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RebeccaJ
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c2m2c, the fall of Adam was not “planned”. Not as Mormons believe. The fall was caused by Satan tempting our first parents with godhood. Sound familiar? They fell for it, rebelled against God with this desire, and so the world was broken. It became something other than what God had created. Sin separates us from God.
God loves us, and desires that we are with Him. Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice, has restored what had been lost. This most certainly was planned by God. And most certainly, God has planned from the beginning of the world that what He Created, us, belongs to Him.
God did not place Adam and Eve into a double-bind. God did not make a plan that included Satan as the instigator of this plan.
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truthsilence
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Hi C2M2C, (&M2C) 
I think we can become so comfortable with our lives here on earth that some of us might wish to take it with us when we pass on, white picket fences and all. Because this is what we know; heaven we’re not so sure about. We fear the unknown, even heaven! Although God promises us it will be glorious. It already is glorious. A reality we can’t see, where angels and saints are already experiencing the fullness of Gods love.
The mass is a shadow of that reality.
Imagine though, how many families will be more separated than sealed, in Mormonism’s plan of salvation.
As an example, do you know of any instances where a husband and wife married in the temple, had children born in the covenant, years later they divorced, the wife obtained a temple divorce and then married again in the temple? The second husband is a man whose first wife (also married in the temple) passed away, so now he has two wives sealed to him? The first wife who passed away is now looking at a future polygamous relationship in heaven, but also, what happened to that first family, and their covenants?
I have heard Mormons say of these situations, along with all other types of complicated family situations, that God will work it all out in the end. I believe He holds everything in His power, and has had it all worked out, from the beginning. We just need to trust Him, follow Christ, and believe His promises.
God bless you and your family as you seek His truth.
I think we can become so comfortable with our lives here on earth that some of us might wish to take it with us when we pass on, white picket fences and all.
Because this is what we know; heaven we’re not so sure about. We fear the unknown, even heaven! Although God promises us it will be glorious. It already is glorious. A reality we can’t see, where angels and saints are already experiencing the fullness of Gods love.The mass is a shadow of that reality.
Imagine though, how many families will be more separated than sealed, in Mormonism’s plan of salvation.
As an example, do you know of any instances where a husband and wife married in the temple, had children born in the covenant, years later they divorced, the wife obtained a temple divorce and then married again in the temple? The second husband is a man whose first wife (also married in the temple) passed away, so now he has two wives sealed to him? The first wife who passed away is now looking at a future polygamous relationship in heaven, but also, what happened to that first family, and their covenants?
I have heard Mormons say of these situations, along with all other types of complicated family situations, that God will work it all out in the end. I believe He holds everything in His power, and has had it all worked out, from the beginning. We just need to trust Him, follow Christ, and believe His promises.
God bless you and your family as you seek His truth.
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truthsilence
Guest
Catholics look at each day as the day we could meet our Lord face to face. I hardly ever hear a Catholic talking about “end times”. At least not in the same way you hear “end times” preached in some churches. The book of Revelations has, unfortunately, been interpreted and twisted around by certain denominations soley to instill fear in people.
If I understand correctly, much of what is written in Revelations is what was being experienced by the early church. Their persecutions, their triumphs (and ours) through Jesus Christ.
We believe He will return again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Peace,
Tami
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Philthy
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Without getting too deeply into this topic, let me simply say that
every single desire of your heart has its true perfection in God, and only when we are completely in His presence will we understand how this could possibly be. Portions of our experience during our earthly lives “prefigure” or indicate what heaven will be like. We get a “foretaste” of heaven through various experiences here. Family is what we are in Christ! The love that you have for your wife and children is merely a foretaste of the eternal love that you will experience in Heaven. The love that you share with your wife - both physically and emotionally - mirrors the love that exists within the Trinity. In marriage “2 become one flesh” whereas in the Most Holy Trinity we have 3 persons as one God. Our experiences here - regardless of how good they are - are not perfect, but all the desires that we have that are partially satisfied here will be *perfectly *satisfied in Heaven. No one really understands how this can be.
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C2M2C
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Yes, thank youOn the change of topic – I hope you feel all of your other questions have been answered sufficiently.
So will we be spirits or in the flesh in Heaven? If I understand you are saying that we will be in the flesh in heaven- soul & body reunited permanently? I thought that I read somewhere that we will be spiritual beings in Heaven.
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JMJ_coder
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From the time of our death, until the Last Judgment, only our souls will be in heaven, purgatory, or hell (assuming of course that we don’t live until the Last Judgment). At the Last Judgment, our bodies will be resurrected and reunited with our souls, and we will have a glorified body.
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JRKH
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C2M2C
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Well I think it has more to do with the promises made in Mormonism. Again, Mormonism (as I stated in another thread) makes BIG promises. So after all of these years believing what was taught about the celestial kingdom, “time and all eternity” and “together forever” it’s hard to get over thinking of Heaven from a different perspective or that it’s even not going to be what I thought it was.I think we can become so comfortable with our lives here on earth that some of us might wish to take it with us when we pass on, white picket fences and all.
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C2M2C
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C2M2C
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Very good, thank you. I’m starting to get my head around it and this illustration has been very helpful.
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JMJ_coder
Guest
When Christ returns in His glory, He will gather all people to Himself. He will separate them, like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. To those on His right, He will invite into His Father’s Kingdom. To those on His left, He will cast out into everlasting darkness.
For those of us lucky enough to enter into the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (and I do hope I’m lucky) - it will be great. We shall see God face to face (but don’t imagine something like a sit down meeting with the President, this is infinitely more intimate and wonderful), we shall see Him as He is. We will be perfectly happy and our hearts shall be at rest. (Not THAT is what I call a BIG PROMISE!!!
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reggieM
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I can see that as a major challenge. It may help to remember that the Catholic teaching on heaven will include the “core values” of anything Mormonism could promise. In other words, there is nothing of goodness or value or pleasure or joy that will be missing in heaven – it will be more than you can imagine.
So it might be helpful to go through the list of the Big Promises of Mormonism and think about them in Catholic terms and “translate” them into the perfection of all goodness that God gives us in heaven.
I admire your efforts – it certainly is difficult in many ways to change deeply ingrained beliefs. But eventually, you’ll get perspective and see the eternal teachings of Catholicism more clearly.
I’ll be praying for you.
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reggieM
Guest
That was excellent. Thanks.
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truthsilence
Guest
What a beautiful post.
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Pax
Guest
Amen…that was beautifully stated Phil.
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