Fweethawt Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 I pulled this article from the main page of the site. As you read it, you will realize that even though they are making this bold proclamation, they still have a very long way to go. You'll see what I mean once you get to the TRUE/UNTRUE section Read on. FROM HERE Europe - The Times October 05, 2005 Catholic Church no longer swears by truth of the Bible By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent THE hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true. The Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland are warning their five million worshippers, as well as any others drawn to the study of scripture, that they should not expect “total accuracy” from the Bible. “We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision,” they say in The Gift of Scripture. The document is timely, coming as it does amid the rise of the religious Right, in particular in the US. Some Christians want a literal interpretation of the story of creation, as told in Genesis, taught alongside Darwin’s theory of evolution in schools, believing “intelligent design” to be an equally plausible theory of how the world began. But the first 11 chapters of Genesis, in which two different and at times conflicting stories of creation are told, are among those that this country’s Catholic bishops insist cannot be “historical”. At most, they say, they may contain “historical traces”. The document shows how far the Catholic Church has come since the 17th century, when Galileo was condemned as a heretic for flouting a near-universal belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible by advocating the Copernican view of the solar system. Only a century ago, Pope Pius X condemned Modernist Catholic scholars who adapted historical-critical methods of analyzing ancient literature to the Bible. In the document, the bishops acknowledge their debt to biblical scholars. They say the Bible must be approached in the knowledge that it is “God’s word expressed in human language” and that proper acknowledgement should be given both to the word of God and its human dimensions. They say the Church must offer the gospel in ways “appropriate to changing times, intelligible and attractive to our contemporaries”. The Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation, they say, but continue: “We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters.” They go on to condemn fundamentalism for its “intransigent intolerance” and to warn of “significant dangers” involved in a fundamentalist approach. “Such an approach is dangerous, for example, when people of one nation or group see in the Bible a mandate for their own superiority, and even consider themselves permitted by the Bible to use violence against others.” Of the notorious anti-Jewish curse in Matthew 27:25, “His blood be on us and on our children”, a passage used to justify centuries of anti-Semitism, the bishops say these and other words must never be used again as a pretext to treat Jewish people with contempt. Describing this passage as an example of dramatic exaggeration, the bishops say they have had “tragic consequences” in encouraging hatred and persecution. “The attitudes and language of first-century quarrels between Jews and Jewish Christians should never again be emulated in relations between Jews and Christians.” As examples of passages not to be taken literally, the bishops cite the early chapters of Genesis, comparing them with early creation legends from other cultures, especially from the ancient East. The bishops say it is clear that the primary purpose of these chapters was to provide religious teaching and that they could not be described as historical writing. Similarly, they refute the apocalyptic prophecies of Revelation, the last book of the Christian Bible, in which the writer describes the work of the risen Jesus, the death of the Beast and the wedding feast of Christ the Lamb. The bishops say: “Such symbolic language must be respected for what it is, and is not to be interpreted literally. We should not expect to discover in this book details about the end of the world, about how many will be saved and about when the end will come.” In their foreword to the teaching document, the two most senior Catholics of the land, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster, and Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Archbishop of St Andrew’s and Edinburgh, explain its context. They say people today are searching for what is worthwhile, what has real value, what can be trusted and what is really true. The new teaching has been issued as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of Dei Verbum, the Second Vatican Council document explaining the place of Scripture in revelation. In the past 40 years, Catholics have learnt more than ever before to cherish the Bible. “We have rediscovered the Bible as a precious treasure, both ancient and ever new.” A Christian charity is sending a film about the Christmas story to every primary school in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph had named their baby after a swear word. The Breakout Trust raised £200,000 to make the 30-minute animated film, It’s a Boy. Steve Legg, head of the charity, said: “There are over 12 million children in the UK and only 756,000 of them go to church regularly. That leaves a staggering number who are probably not receiving basic Christian teaching.” BELIEVE IT OR NOT UNTRUE Genesis ii, 21-22 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man Genesis iii, 16 God said to the woman [after she was beguiled by the serpent]: “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Matthew xxvii, 25 The words of the crowd: “His blood be on us and on our children.” Revelation xix,20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had worked the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone.” TRUE Exodus iii, 14 God reveals himself to Moses as: “I am who I am.” Leviticus xxvi,12 “I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” Exodus xx,1-17 The Ten Commandments Matthew v,7 The Sermon on the Mount Mark viii,29 Peter declares Jesus to be the Christ Luke i The Virgin Birth John xx,28 Proof of bodily resurrection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadfox Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 So they're adopting the "pick and choose" approach. "No" to all the politically incorrect statements and verses that are scientifically disproved, but "yes" to divine sex and the resurrection of the dead. It's about saving face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted October 6, 2005 Author Share Posted October 6, 2005 It's about saving face. Or, it's about the beginning of the fall of the church. Let's just keep our fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead_hobbit Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 Might I point out that this was a small group of Bishops - not the Pontiff. These guys could be finding themselves very quickly kicked out of the church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML13 Posted October 6, 2005 Share Posted October 6, 2005 I don't think this is new at all. Verbally addressing the problem is new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ ficino ♦ Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 This is nothing new. The encyclical "Divino Afflante Spiritu" promulgated by Pius XII already distinguished among biblical passages of different genres. No Catholic theologian is obliged, for example, to take the events of the book of Jonah literally. All Catholics are obliged to hold that God inspired the writer of that book and to see Christological foreshadowings in it. Similarly with many other parts of the Bible. The reason it doesn't bother Catholics a huge amount to distinguish between literal and non-literal levels of truth in scripture is that Catholics don't say that the faith is tranmitted through scripture as such. It's transmitted through tradition, of which scripture is the chief part. Then it's interpreted and preached by the Church, the final arbiter of questions being the bishops together as ratified by the Pope (or the Pope alone if necessary). Even back in the fourth century orthodox theologians distinguished four levels of reading scripture. Who should decide how to interpret a particular verse? For protestants that can be crucial to determining whether a given denomination stands or falls. For catholics it's a question for people to debate, but what's obligatory for the believer is what is taught by the Church's magisterium, not a view on this or that verse. Catholics point out that the bible was formed by and comes from the church, not vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aexapo Posted October 7, 2005 Share Posted October 7, 2005 I pulled this article from the main page of the site. A Christian charity is sending a film about the Christmas story to every primary school in Britain after hearing of a young boy who asked his teacher why Mary and Joseph had named their baby after a swear word. The Breakout Trust raised £200,000 to make the 30-minute animated film, It’s a Boy. Steve Legg, head of the charity, said: “There are over 12 million children in the UK and only 756,000 of them go to church regularly. That leaves a staggering number who are probably not receiving basic Christian teaching.” Proof of bodily resurrection <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Last year or so, I was in the employee lounge with another employee, when she was relating to me what happened when she and her son went to see "The Passion of the Christ." When they got home, they were talking about it, and she was nearly in tears as she described that "he didn't really understand what was going on. It was as if it was all new information to him. I don't know where I went wrong, I guess I should have been taking him to church more often . . ." Wa Wa Wa! I bit my lip, really wanting to tell him what a huge favor she did. Conversely, if he's not that bright (I don't know anything about him), this could make him ripe for the pickings of a nice fundy-costal evangelical church. "I never knew who the Lord and Savior was till I saw that film," . . . I can just imagine the "testimony." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest forever and ever Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 As a XXX christian and being possed,still with the wanting of truth. This day I ponder. How many times did I pray.As a christian and and my prayers where answered. Did anything happen as a christian that I can not explain. Can it be That what I believe I can have. Am I know more than flesh.Can I be who I am. Am I clothed with only feelings. Why are my thoughts not my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotBlinded Posted December 6, 2005 Share Posted December 6, 2005 As a XXX christian and being possed,still with the wanting of truth. This day I ponder. How many times did I pray.As a christian and and my prayers where answered. Did anything happen as a christian that I can not explain. Can it be That what I believe I can have. Am I know more than flesh.Can I be who I am. Am I clothed with only feelings. Why are my thoughts not my own. ??????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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