Posted on 01/09/2012 5:10:28 PM PST by blueyon
and did NOT want us to 'hold in our hands'.
that is not true. Neither protestants nor Catholics possessed bibles in any number because #1 they were far too expensive for people to buy (hand written) #2 most people couldn't read. When a relatively inexpensive bible became available, more people could afford one, but most still couldn't read it. The Catholic church NEVER prevented her members from bible ownership, but they did suggest that only the complete bible be purchased, not the edited KJV which eliminates several important biblical books. I don't think that this was a huge problem in the 1400 and 1500's again because the vast majority of people couldn't read and many of those who could read, did so in a language not yet available in print form.
Oh; I didn't get that quite right...
One of Wycliffes followers, John Hus, actively promoted Wycliffes 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 non-Latin Bible with execution. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, with Wycliffes manuscript Bibles used as kindling for the fire. The last words of John Hus were that, in 100 years, God will raise up a man whose calls for reform cannot be suppressed. Almost exactly 100 years later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous 95 Theses of Contention (a list of 95 issues of heretical theology and crimes of the Roman Catholic Church) into the church door at Wittenberg. The prophecy of Hus had come true! Martin Luther went on to be the first person to translate and publish the Bible in the commonly-spoken dialect of the German people; a translation more appealing than previous German Biblical translations. Foxes Book of Martyrs records that in that same year, 1517, seven people were burned at the stake by the Roman Catholic Church for the crime of teaching their children to say the Lords Prayer in English rather than Latin.
LDS believe in the freedom of religion and conscience enshrined in the US constitution. You are not going to find Mormons plotting forced conversions of the people of America — or the world.
Check Utah’s History, Norm.
Better watch out for your GOD; Norm!!
52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, areceive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.
53 For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been afaithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.
54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and acleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be bdestroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.
55 But if she will not abide this commandment, then shall my servant Joseph do all things for her, even as he hath said; and I will bless him and multiply him and give unto him an ahundredfold in this world, of fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, houses and lands, wives and children, and crowns of beternal lives in the eternal worlds.
56 And again, verily I say, let mine handmaid aforgive my servant Joseph his trespasses; and then shall she be forgiven her trespasses, wherein she has trespassed against me; and I, the Lord thy God, will bless her, and multiply her, and make her heart to brejoice.
that would be an understatement at best. The quotes that you wrote concerning Wickliffe, the latin bible and such are probably quite accurate. Remember the context however. The Catholic church had been the sole guardian of something as important as the salvation of immortal souls for over 1,500 years. Along comes a bunch of radical dissidents claiming that they know better than the church what Christ meant. They were trying to draw people away from the true church and thus jeopardize their salvation. Now, if I'm the leader of the church, I'm going to defend her to any extent necessary, for what all the world believes to be an attack on righteousness. Maybe this (probably innacurate analogy could be an example).....the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor and thus attack freedom, individuality, peace, whatever in the world. The United States, the only superpower to protect those thinge retaliates en masse to counteract Japenese imperialism....in so doing we resort to the most destructive weapon known to man, a nuclear bomb.....we killed thousands of innocent people to protect what we determined was a cause worth defending at any cost......In the long run it was worth it as was the church's position in the face of a perceived fatal attack from "heretics". The latin bible was authorized because the Vulgate, or latin version was the only authorized bible available at the time. Those who were active in retranslating the bible did so without the authorization of the church thus presented an arroneous version to the people....something that could not and should not, have been permitted.....it wasn't!!
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