Reading About William Tyndale's Life Further Convinces Me That Rome Didn't Give Me the Bible
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| Imagine the only "crime" he did was to translate the Bible so everyone can read it for themselves! |
I remembered reading the life of William Tyndale from the "Foxe's Book of Martyrs". Just reading that book made me cringe thinking about the bloody persecution of the martyrs and the horrors of the Inquisition. I decided to read Tyndale's biography which revealed the reason why he was burned in the stake was for translating the Bible into the English language. If the Roman Catholic institution compiled and gave us the Bible then why in the world did they forbid the public from reading it?
Some (not all) Roman Catholic apologists would give the answer that it's because the Bible can't be read by just anyone. Some even dare to say that Tyndale was a false prophet and a heretic so he must be burned all the while while they condemn John Calvin for supposedly taking part in Michael Servetus' burning alive. Speaking of the Calvin/Servetus affair it's stupid to smear Calvin never mind that many were burned alive for simply not agreeing with Roman Catholicism! Some of them have even gone as far as to say that the Inquisition was just a made up bogus story by born again Christians to demean Roman Catholicism and "persecute" them. The idea of Tyndale being a criminal for simply translating the Bible for all to read is BALONEY!
Here's what Roman Catholicism has to say and any fanatical Roman Catholic would agree with these statements taken from Roman Catholic sources:
"Since it is clear from experience that if the Sacred Books are permitted everywhere and without discrimination in the vernacular (in the common language of the people, D.R.) there will by reasons of the boldness of men arise therefrom more harm than good..." (Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, p. 274).
"As it has been clearly shown by experience that, if the holy Bible in the vernacular is generally permitted without any distinction, more harm than utility is thereby caused..." (Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII, pp. 412-413).
"In early times the Bible was read freely by the lay people...New dangers came in during the Middle Ages...To meet those evils, the Council of Toulouse (1229) and Terragona (1234) forbade the laity to read the vernacular translations of the Bible. Pius IV required bishops to refuse lay persons leave to read even Catholic versions of Scripture unless their confessors or parish priests judged that such reading was likely to prove beneficial." (Catholic Dictionary, p. 82).
Yes I agree that it's more harm than good.. that is it's more harm than good for Roman Catholicism. If people read it for themselves then there's going to be an outrage when the realize that they've been deceived. They would find out that they were tricked by men who claimed to be the apostles' successors but are just a group of con artists. No wonder they would also consider translating the Bible from Latin to English or any other language to be a form of treason against the Pope. It's because if people understood the Bible for themselves and knew how to interpret the Bible with the Bible then people would know the truth. Isn't it what Isaiah 29:11-13 warns:
"And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the LORD said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:"
Now who's rejecting the Word of God to keep their own tradition?
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