The Once Forbidden Bible

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<h1>The Once Forbidden Bible</h1><strong> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Steve-0.aspx'>Steve-0</a></strong><br /><p>Today most people take owning a Bible and reading it for granted. Yet ownership of the Scriptures was once outlawed by the Catholic Church. To own one meant certain death. The Bible is a precious heritage and a priceless gift. It reveals the true God and his Son Jesus Christ, the Savior of all humanity. This once-forbidden book is presently available to many. "During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500), Rome burned Bibles along with their owners." - The Baptist Pillar, Published by the Bible Baptist Church of Canada. This was a time, when not only was the Bible banned, but literacy in general was prohibited and frowned upon. Very few people during this time knew how to read or write. Again, the Catholic Church was determined that the less knowledge that people had, the more easy it would be to rule them. The "Dark Ages" was a time of great ignorance. "Only ten percent of people in the Roman Empire could read...and those were generally in the wealthy upper classes." - River of God, Gregory J. Riley, page 66. The Church admits this in her own Laws: "Canon 14. We prohibit also that the laity should not be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books." - The Church Council of Toulouse 1229 AD Source: Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, Scolar Press, London, England 1980 by Edward Peters, pages 194-195. The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its second canon, ruled that: "No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days, so that they may be burned..." - The Church Council of Tarragona 1234 AD; 2nd Cannon. Source: D. Lortsch, Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, page 14. "The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally suppressed, opposed, and forbidden the open use of the Bible. It was first officially forbidden to the people and placed on the index of Forbidden Books List by the Council of Valencia in 1229 A.D. The Council of Trent (1545-63 A.D.) also prohibited it's use and pronounced a curse upon anyone who would dare oppose this decree. Many popes have issued decrees forbidding Bible reading in the common language of the people, condemning Bible societies and banning it's possession and translation under penalty of mortal sin and death. The Roman Catholic Church has openly burned Bibles and those who translated it or promoted its study, reading, and use. (John Hus, 1415 A.D.; William Tyndale, 1536 A.D.)" - Christian Equippers International, 2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd, South Lake Tahoe 96150. Tyndale wrote that the Church authorities, banned translation into the mother tongue, “to keep the world still in darkness, to the intent they might sit through vain, superstition and false doctrine, to satisfy, their filthy lusts, their proud ambition, and insatiable covetousness, and to exalt their, own honour... above God himself.” - William Tyndale’s New Testament., Worms (Germany), 1526, British Library. "For 600 years the Roman Catholic Church attempted to keep translations of the Bible out of the hands of the people. Bible-believing people were mercilessly persecuted and their Scriptures were destroyed. Those who possessed Bibles without a license were commanded to deliver them up to the Catholic authorities under threat of inquisition terrors. Booksellers were forbidden to sell any Bibles except to people who possessed a license from the Catholic Church. Huge quantities of Scriptures in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and in other languages were confiscated and destroyed throughout the 13th to the 19th centuries. Bible translators and distributors were imprisoned and burned. Even after the Catholic inquisition was outlawed in many lands in the 18th and 19th centuries, the popes continued to condemn the free distribution of the Scriptures. In Roman-dominated lands, the Bible was almost an unknown book among the common people. The Bible in Rome is a strange and rare book. Indeed very few of the common people know what we mean by the Bible." - Rome and the Bible: Tracing the history of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Persecution of the Bible and of the Believers, by David W. Cloud, Way of Life Literature, copyright 1996. "Book burnings which included Bibles were common after 1521. Sometimes the translators and publishers themselves were also burned. Possession of Bibles became criminal offenses and often resulted in the execution of the accused. There are cases on record of people executed by order of church for the "crime" teaching their children the Lord's Prayer or the Ten Commandments in their own native tongue."- What Happened this Day in Church History June 13, 1757, The Bible in Many Tongues. Christian History Institute. "In the two decades after Wycliffe’s death, many Lollards were burned at the stake, some even with their Bibles hanging from their necks to be burned with them." - Ron Minton, The Making and Preservation of the Bible. In countries today like China, Saudi Arabia and Iran; Bible reading or possession is difficult if not outlawed. Any freedom or privilege that has been light esteemed is easily forgotten or abolished in annuals of time and history. In America (which was established by Christian who sought religious and political freedoms) and many western countries this honor of Bible ownership and reading is now lightly esteemed. So in those same countries there's a great rise of the occult, New Age and Muslim religions. A great darkness will soon come upon those lands except they repent of their deeds, and do their first works. The book of Revelations reveals a great dictator called the Antichrist who demands allegiance and worship. He will rise exactly because the western nations turned their backs to the Lord. In like manner, even as they disregarded God, He will them over to cruel task masters who will lightly esteem their rights. What comes around, goes around. Or as the Scriptures put it: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:7-8) </p><strong>About the Author:</strong><br />Wikipedia, The Roman Catholic Church, The Catholic Encyclopedia, The King James Bible, The Baptist Church<p> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The-Once-Forbidden-Bible_115225.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The Once Forbidden Bible_115225.aspx</a></p>

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Keywords : Bible, prohibit, reading, dark ages, burned, books, council, Trent, forbidden, catholic, church, Roman, empire, dare, oppose, death, penalty, ,

Category : Society : Religion