First off Bud, It should first be established, as a matter of historical fact, that the Catholic Church compiled the Canon of Scripture at the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397). The Douay–Rheims was translated before the
King James Version, and the Gutenberg Bible (the first printed Bible) was Catholic. And we can't forget the very important work of Stephen Langton, Cardinal Archbishop of Canterbury, who created the first Bible with chapters and numbered verses. I think it was best summed up by Martin Luther himself, who wrote in his Commentary on St. John: "We are compelled to concede to the Papists that they have the Word of God, that we received it from them, and that without them we should have no knowledge of it at all."
If the Catholic Church discourages Bible reading, then there are millions of Catholics that aren't aware of it. In fact, there would be over 1 billion Catholics that aren't aware of it, because Catholics read more Scripture than most Protestant ecclesial communities. For example, every Catholic Church in the world will be reading the following for this Sunday, Aug.9: 1Kings 19:4-8, Ps. 34:2-3,4-5,6-7,8-9; Eph.4:30-5:2; Jn. 6:51; Jn.6:41-51. These are the readings that
every Catholic Church will read this Sunday
During the Liturgy of the Word. This does not include the various Biblical phrases found littered throughout the Mass, such as "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and [I shall] be healed" (Matthew 8:8); The Lord's Prayer (our Father); or the Holy, Holy, Holy (Isaiah 6:3, Revelation 4:8). Those three are just a
few examples of Scripture versus that are sprinkled within the Mass. So, from a purely numerical point-of-view, the Catholic Church encourages the reading of the Bible. So much so, in fact, that she has incorporated Scripture as an integral part of her Mass and Liturgy.
The Bible doesn't just have to be presented in
word format, though. The Catholic Church has constantly proclaimed Scripture through the use of artwork and stained glass windows. Previous to wide-spread literacy, these would have been the second most common means of learning Scripture.
So you see Budman, your accusations (as usual) that The Catholic Church discourages Bible reading is a baseless one. We hear Scripture read every Sunday, we see the Bible presented in dozens of ways in every Church building, and the Catholic Church has always stressed the importance of personal Bible reading.
So......Not carrying a bible means nothing! Why not pull over sometime and go into one of these churches and find out for yourself?
This is a personal opinion.... nothing more.
The same Scripture over and over??? Thats nothing but a Bald-Face lie! If you'd stop into one of these churches in a course of weeks, you would see the lie you are commiting!
Hmmmm... isn't lying considerd a sin to you?
Pax Christi
From henceforth, all generations shall call me Blessed." ---Luke 1:48