There is a common saying in the lips of our protestant brethrens that the Catholic Church before, stopped Christians from reading the Bible. That the church does so because she did not want her Christians to discover that what she teaches is not in the bible. And some of us Catholics believe this. But is this true?
The question is why would the Church come out with the Bible in the first place, if not for her children to read and understand the true person of the God they are serving? (Since the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that God created us to know him, love him, serve him and live with him for ever) How can the same church that was given the mission to teach the whole world the gospel prevent people from reading it? (Mt 28:19-20). Get this from me, God wrote the Bible and the Catholic Church produced it. Can a producer stop people from reading a book he produced? If so why did he produce it at all? Is it not in the same Bible that it is written; “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. Through Scripture the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Tim 3:16)
No the church has never issued a decree that people should not possess or read the Bible. All these allegations are created by protestant reformers who were in need of reasons to get followers from the Catholic Church. They would stop at nothing but attack the Church and draw out some of our brethrens. As Catholics we should not allow ourselves to be fooled. The church encourages the reading of the Bible in Lectio Divina, which is praying in the meditation of the Scriptures. The church does this because as we live in the darkness of this world, we need God’s words in all we do as Christians. But why are Catholics so reluctant to the reading of Scriptures?
We go to Church; prayer meetings as if we were going to the beer parlour, talk less of going to masses; where we go without even a prayer book or hymnal talk less of the Bible. Is this because the church says so? Is it because during masses the readings of the day are not given so that we can go home and read for our own private meditation or is it because the church does not give us the daily readings calendar? What can be the reason behind our reluctance to the reading of the Scriptures?
Some don’t even have the Bible! How can we know God intimately if we do not have a Bible and read it? Ignorance of the word of God starts with the lack of a Bible beside you. Time has come for us to wake up from sleep!
When I asked Christians in a doctrinal session why they did not come with their Bibles, I heard these answers; some said theirs were too big for them to carry, some said their wives/husbands were using the only Bibles they had at home; others don’t have at all, some did not know where theirs were. Everyone without a Bible had a reason. How can you come to doctrine lessons without a Bible?
If we really consider the Bible to be God’s word and God himself, (since He and his words are the same) then we would not harbour and be contented with the above reasons. How can a whole family boast of only one Bible?
Every Christian is supposed to have his/her personal Bible. It is not a family affair! We buy costly things for ourselves and children but to buy a Bible is a problem; it is not even in our plans. As the end of year festivities is fast approaching, how many parents are going to offer Bibles to their children and help them in reading it?
Today’s wisdom depends on our relationship with god and this begins from knowing him in his words. (Joshua 1:8) The Bible (God’s word) is all we need as Christians to lead our families, homes, companies, etc. We have to love it more than anything in this world just as the Psalmist says, “I love your commandments more than gold - the finest gold” (Ps 119:127).
It is this word than can bring true happiness as said in psalm 1. God has given his word through the church for our salvation and understanding of the God we serve. Let us make our Bibles our closest companions and God will bless us in all we do in Jesus name, Amen.
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