TRUE CHRISTIANITY vs ROMAN CATHOLICISM: A TIME WHEN THE BIBLE WAS BANNED AND BURNED

"When the early church departed from God and imbibed pagan errors, she became Babylon."
--Quoted From -- the International Sabbath School Quarterly, Feb. 29, 1896.

"It was by departure from the LORD, and alliance with the heathen that the...church became a harlot."
--Quoted From--The Great Controversy, Pg 382

The Latin language, as the language of prayer and worship in churches, was imposed by Pope Gregory I, 600 years after Christ

The Word of God forbids praying and teaching in an unknown tongue.

Thus, two Scripture verses to be kept in mind when reading this post:

1 Corinthians 14:9 (King James Version)

So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.

2 Timothy 3:16 (King James Version)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A TIME WHEN THE BIBLE
WAS BANNED AND BURNED -
By The Apostate Christian Church

[The church of Rome was NEVER Christian!]

A TIME WHEN THE BIBLE
WAS BANNED AND BURNED -
By The Apostate Christian Church

Many people are unaware of the fact that there

was a long period of time, when the Church of

Christendom - forbid the reading of the Bible.

Not only did she forbid the reading of the Bible,

but she also forbid having possession of a Bible

in one's own home.

These were called the "Dark Ages" for obvious

reasons. The Apostate Church of Christendom was

at the peak of her power, and was afraid that if

her subjects owned and read Bibles, that they might

question some of the Church's actions and teachings.

"During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500),

Rome burned Bibles along with their owners."

-The Baptist Pillar

CANADA'S ONLY TRUE BAPTIST PAPER

Published by Bible Baptist Church

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 Apostate Church was

determined that the less knowledge that people had,

the more easy it would be to rule them.

"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, pp. 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

copyright 1980 by Edward Peters,

ISBN 0-85967-621-8, pp. 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, p.14.

"Opened on Thursday alongside the Inquisition

archives was the infamous Index of Forbidden Books,

which Roman Catholics were forbidden to read

or possess on pain of excommunication. They showed

that even "the Bible" was once on the blacklist.

Translations of the holy book ended up on the bonfires

along with other ``heretical'' works...The Index

of Forbidden Books and all excommunications relating

to it were officially abolished in 1966. The Inquisition

itself was established by Pope Gregory IX in 1233...."

-Vatican archives reveal Bible was once banned book

By Jude Webber

ROME, Jan 22, 1998 (Reuters)

"Canon 14. We prohibit also that the laity should be

permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament;

...we most strictly forbid their having any translation

of these books."

- ITEM #2 COUNCIL OF TOULOUSE - 1229 A.D.

Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe,

Edited with an introduction by Edward Peters,

Scolar Press, London, copyright 1980

by Edward Peters, ISBN 0-85967-621-8, pp. 194-195

--After the death of Innocent III, the Synod of Toulouse

directed in 1229 its fourteenth canon against the misuse

of Sacred Scripture on the part of the athari:

"prohibemus, ne libros Veteris et Novi Testamenti

laicis permittatur habere"

(Hefele, "Concilgesch", Freiburg, 1863, V, 875).

ITEM #3 THE COUNCIL OF TARRAGONA - 1234 A.D.

The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its second canon,

ruled that:

"No one may possess the books of the Old and New

Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone

possesses them he must turn them over to the local

bishop within eight days after promulgation of

this decree, so that they may be burned...."

- D. Lortsch, Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14.

ITEM #6 THE BIBLE PROHIBITED BY

THE INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM

Pope Pius IV had a list of the forbidden books compiled

and officially prohibited them in the Index of Trent

(Index Librorum Prohibitorum) of 1559.

This is an excerpt :

"Whoever reads or has such a translation in his

possession... cannot be absolved from his sins

until he has turned in these Bibles...Books in the

vernacular dealing with the controversies between

Catholics and the heretics of our time are not to be

generally permitted, but are to be handled in the

same way as Bible translations..."

- Rule IV & Rule VI

Die Indices Librorum Prohibitorum des sechzehnten

Jahrhunderts (Tübingen, 1886), page 246f.

Source: The Reformation, by Hans J. Hillerbrand,

copyright 1964 by SCM Press Ltd and Harper and Row,Inc.,

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-15480,

pages 474, 475.

History's Most Indestructible Book

Many dictators have attempted to wipe

the Bible from existence. Yet it has

withstood all these attacks, remaining

the most popular book in the world.

More copies of the Bible are sold every year

than any other book, despite its image as

being "out of date."

Christendom Becomes - An Enemy of the bible

Christendom - as a political power

Unfortunately, this ultimately led to

persecution again as the church quickly

became a powerful political force, used to

control public opinion and political ambitions.

The Bible continued to be attacked, now from

within the church. Bibles in common languages

such as Greek were outlawed. The Latin Vulgate

Bible was produced and carefully controlled,

readable only by specially trained representatives

of the church. Laws were issued making it illegal

for any Christian to possess a Bible. Penalties

included burning at the stake. During the Dark Ages

even priests were unable to read the Scriptures

for themselves. As a result, they were unable to

compare the false doctrines sweeping through the

Roman church against the doctrines of the

Word of God. In Italy, it was still illegal to

own a Bible until 1870!

Political ambitions led to such crimes as the

Crusader Wars, purported to be in the name of

Christ but having no relationship with any

Christian doctrine. Christianity was primarily

an excuse used to give them credibility. Since

the people had no Bibles to check such things for

themselves, they were at the mercy of the corrupt

religious leaders behind these efforts.

"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

its 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 its 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

1525: Six thousand copies of William Tyndale’s

English translation of the New Testament were

printed in Cologne, Germany, and smuggled into

England—and then burned by the English church.

"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 C.188.a.17

Copyright © The British Library Board

ONLINE GALLERY

LANDMARKS IN PRINTING

"Tyndale’s New Testament was the first to be

printed in English. There are only two complete

copies surviving from the 3,000 or more printed

in 1526 by Peter Schoeffer in the German city

of Worms. Tyndale’s translation was pronounced

heretical in England, so his Bibles were smuggled

into the country in bales of cloth. Those discovered

owning them were punished. At first only the books

were destroyed, but soon heretics (those found with

the Bibles) would be burned too - including Tyndale

himself in 1536."

-William Tyndale’s New Testament.

Worms (Germany), 1526

British Library C.188.a.17

Copyright © The British Library Board

ONLINE GALLERY

LANDMARKS IN PRINTING

"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 Scripture."

-ROME AND THE BIBLE:

TRACING THE HISTORY

OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

AND ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE

AND OF BIBLE BELIEVERS, by David W. Cloud,

Way of Life Literature, copyright 1996.

"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 ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE

AND OF BIBLE 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

(n.p.; November, 2000) 216.

"By 1408 even reading the Bible in English

was outlawed."

- F. F. Bruce, PP 20-23

History of the Bible in English, 3rd ed.

(New York: Oxford University Press, 1978)

"One of Wycliffe’s followers, John Hus,

actively promoted Wycliffe’s ideas:

that people should be permitted to read

the Bible in their own language,

and they should oppose the tyranny

of the Roman church that threatened

anyone possessing a Bible with execution.

Hus was burned at the stake in 1415,

with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used

as kindling for the fire. The Catholic

Church excommunicated Hus in 1411 and

burned him at the stake in Constance on

July 6, 1415, having condemned him by

the Council of Constance, in an unfair trial."

-English Bible History; "John Hus"

GREATSITE.COM; the online showroom of

The Bible Museum, Inc. Since 1987

Burned at the Stake
For Owning A Bible

"During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500),

Rome burned Bibles along with their owners."

-The Baptist Pillar

CANADA'S ONLY TRUE BAPTIST PAPER

Published by Bible Baptist Church

"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

(n.p.; November, 2000) 216.

"October 6, 1998 marks 462 years since another

Christian was burned at the stake for his

translation and distribution of the English Bible."

-The Bible Gateway;

Topic : "William Tyndale"

Bible.Org.com

Tom White and Steve Cleary,

“The Smuggler,” The Voice of the Martyrs,

October, 1998, pp. 3-4

"Owning a Bible in English,

or even quoting Scripture in English,

meant death for countless men and women of God."

-1376-Indestructible Book: Story of the Bible

Bestselling Catholic Videos

in English and Spanish Languages

Largest Roman Catholic Marian Resource

"Many people died at the stake

for owning a Bible, or for helping

to translate one, or for distributing

them to others."

- Sermon of

Rev. Orland Wolfram (1912-1987)

Pillar of Fire Church

Missionary to Guatemala

"The principal accusation against those

who are subject to... (the inquisition)

is heresy...of such who read the Bible

in the common language...

Upon all occasions the inquisitors carry on

their processes with the utmost severity,

and punish those who offend them

with the most unparalleled cruelty."

-Fox's Book of Martyrs; Chapter 5

An Account of the Inquisition

Author: John Foxe (1516-1587)

Taking the Bible for Granted

Many people today, ridicule those who search

the scriptures for truth. And even many of

my readers make fun of me and say that I should

not take the Bible so seriously. I am told

to lighten up. But I know that Jesus replied

to almost all of the questions that were

presented to him, by quoting from the Bible's

Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures). I know too,

that the apostles and early Christians died for

their belief in the Bible's laws and principals.

Through the centuries, courageous men and women

have treasured the Scriptures and have struggled

to preserve and disseminate them amid great

opposition. Some, as we have seen, have even died

to get the Bible into the hands of the common

person. Their sacrifices should inspire us to a

greater study and application of the Bible’s

teachings. Yet many today take owning a Bible

for granted. Nevertheless, surveys reveal that

fewer than half of Americans can even name the

first four books of the New Testament.

The words of the Bible are of no value as mere

letters on paper. They must live in the minds

of people through the Spirit of God.

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.

Realizing that God inspired many dedicated

Christians to great personal sacrifices should

motivate us to value the precious heritage of

the Bible. The once-forbidden book now lies open

— to you!