Catholic Church no longer trusts the Bible

[lovuian]

http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/16304_Bible.html

Catholic Church no longer trusts the Bible
10/14/2005 11:27
Catholic bishops declare that the story of the beginning of the world told in the Bible is full of contradictions

The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain has published a teaching document instructing the faithful not to trust the Bible too much. The declaration of the Catholic bishops of England, Wales and Scotland is called The Gift of Scripture.

The document has come out right at the time when conservative religious figures are getting particularly active in the West, the USA first of all. Many faithful insist that the creation stories told in Genesis must be taught at schools together with Darwin's evolution theory. They believe that the world appeared according to God's conception.

Right at this moment, British bishops declare that the story of the beginning of the world told in the Bible is full of contradictions, resembles the legends of other Ancient East people and cannot be considered historical. At best, it contains just few "elements of historical truth." They also deny the doomsday prophesies in the Book of Revelation. The authors of the document are sure the symbolic language of the Book should not be interpreted literally.


more...

Oh I wonder what the Pope said about this one!!!

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Brave, brave people. It had to be said. Someone had to take on the

whacky Creationist.

[RagAss]

2. Actually the pope probably agrees with this "finding"

He is a biblical scholar and has read the written accounts of all of the world's religions. He would never put the church in a position of displaying ignorance by literally keeping to the biblical account of creation...

This is not unusual in the Catholic Church. I was raised a Catholic and it was a Jesuit priest who taught us the theory of evolution in high school. Whenever he was asked about the biblical version he calmly answered that people did not have the science in those days to help them explain God's method of creation. I thought that was a beautiful answer and I will never forget it until the day I die.

[lovuian]

4. Thanks I was hoping so!!! Good for him!!!

:bounce:

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. Not news -- was taught this...

...as doctrine a generation ago.

[seabeyond]

5. this is how the majority of christianity always believed.

just since the fundie push and bushco's getting into power has churches tried to pawn off to members to take the bible literally. 2000 only 14% believed in creationism. over the years it has climbed to the most recent high of 54%. IN THE PAST A RELIGION NEVER TRIED TO GET PEOPLE TO BELIEVE CREATIONISM A literal story.

[RagAss]

6. True...Catholics still don't....I mean you hear it in Religion class

in a Catholic school, but evolution and the big bang theory etc. are covered in Science class from third grade on....Catholics don't spend money to send their kids to Catholic schools to come out 12 years later as morons.....

[noahmijo]

7. Catholics are taught not to take the bible literally that's one of the

reasons hate those of us who were brought up Catholic instead of being complete flat earthers-the-word-of-the-Old-Testament-shall-be-followed-to-the-T

I'm not sure why this is news because as far as I know it's always been this way....

[marew]

8. My Catholic HS taught evolution.

I went to Catholic institutions through my first year in college. Evolution was a given.
I'm sure you've seen the following letter. It has been going around the internet for a while. Hope it's okay to post. Really funny if you haven't seen it.

Dear President Bush,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I
learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and
support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you
said, "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a woman." I
try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone
tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind
them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End
of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements
of God's Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend
of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can
you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7 In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her
period of menstrual uncleanness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do
I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is . . . my
neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite
them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality.
I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of
abomination? Oh, sorry, IS there degrees?
7. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have
a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does
my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by
Lev.19:27. How should they die?
9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes
me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments
made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also
tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go
to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them?
Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family
affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev.
20:14)
I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy
considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.
Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and
unchanging.

Sincerely,
Bill Smith

(don't know how the smileys got in there... they weren't there before!)

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Wow

I'm really surprised. I wonder why they said that. :shrug:

[Metta]

10. I'll bet this'll get glossed over by the corporate media.

and their Xian counterparts.

[FlaGranny]

11. Surprisingly, I have a friend

who belongs to Assemblies of God. She and her family don't believe in the literal interpretation of the bible either. They believe in evolution.

[Kurovski]

12. It's nice that SOMEONE way up there is stating the obvious.

Although it's a shame that they need to do so at all.

[Historic NY]

13. I think people tend to forget the bible is actually a collection......

of stories, handed down over the ages. I would be most interested in the texts that the church did not include in the bible. We know that they left out lots of chapters. The "Dead Sea scrolls" hold many new truths or issues that we are only discovering. Perhaps their intention is to rewrite the bible again. The bible has never been clear on creation, it begs more questions than it answers.

[ngGale]

14. Being Catholic in a small southern town...

IMO, the reason for putting this out is because of the vast influence being gained, by our Dobson fundie bunch. There are only 2 Catholic church's in my whole county. Most people are northern, came down with textiles...not many cradle Catholic's born in this area. I'm really glad they put this out...the tension is unbearable here.
We don't have a private Catholic school, so even prayer in school is a big issue. Seems to me, the church just drew a line in the sand.
This time, I'm grateful.

[fishwax]

15. this has actually been the case for a long time

though the headline is probably a little misleading. It doesn't sound much/at all different from what they tought us in the Catholic instriction of my youth.