Distribution of Bible prompts complaint

sunherald.com ^

[chance33_98]

Distribution of Bible prompts complaint

Student's mom unhappy with the version

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MOBILE - A public school let an evangelical group distribute Protestant versions of the Bible to students, prompting complaints from a Roman Catholic mother.

Leigha Arnez said she doesn't have a problem with the Bible but she would rather her 10-year-old son be brought up on the Douay-Rheims translation favored by many Catholics, not the King James Version handed out by members of Gideons International.

She also was concerned that parents were not notified before the group gave away Bibles in a hallway at Semmes Elementary School, where her fifth-grader received a copy after classes a few weeks ago.

"With a child being 10 years old, my feeling is it should be the parent's decision," she said.

Principal Sharon Anderson said the Gideons have passed out Bibles at Semmes Elementary for years with the permission of system administrators. They also distributed Bibles at other public schools, she said.

The state Attorney General's Office has told schools that citizens are free to distribute religious literature in public schools as long as people handing out other material unrelated to curriculum are treated the same way.

Based in Nashville, the Gideons are a Christian men's missionary organization best known for placing Bibles in hotel rooms. Gideons say they pass out some 60 million scriptures worldwide annually, almost all of them either New Testaments or complete Bibles.

Buddy Adams, a member of the west Mobile County camp of the Gideons, said the group tries to visit every school in the county each year. Students are not required to take a Bible, but Adams said he has seen fewer than 50 students decline a book while visiting more than two dozen schools this year.

Arnez said she would rather her son Zachary not read the New Testament provided by the Gideons because it was the King James Version, often preferred by conservative Protestants. The Douay-Rheims translation version favored by Arnez is most commonly used by Catholics and was based on early Latin texts rather than the original Greek and Hebrew.

Anderson said she would require students next year to have a signed permission slip allowing them to take copies.

[Texas Eagle]

A public school let an evangelical group distribute Protestant versions of the Bible to students, prompting complaints from a Roman Catholic mother.

I don't blame her. School is for learning how to have sex, not how to become fine, upstanding citizens.

[Bismarck]

What's the big deal? The bibles were for free...

[goldstategop]

If you're a Catholic, you don't read from a Protestant Bible.

[Texas Eagle]

Why not?

[Argus]

The Douay is fine, but this mother is an idiot. The King James is a monument of English literature. Every English speaker should be familiar with it, including Catholics.

[LiteKeeper]

Bah Humbug!

[arly]

She would rather have the young boy learn from one of the catholic priests!

[Bismarck]

Well, but it wouldn't hurt them to read a revised version.

[Desdemona]

Can't say I blame her.

[Desdemona]

I prefer the Douay, too.

[spunkets]

" complaints from a Roman Catholic mother. "

A more accurate description would say, "complaints from a ditz."

[NYer]

If you're a Catholic, you don't read from a Protestant Bible. Why not?

In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformers removed a large section of the Old Testament that was not compatible with their theology. They charged that these writings were not inspired Scripture and branded them with the pejorative title "Apocrypha."

Catholics refer to them as the "deuterocanonical" books (since they were disputed by a few early authors and their canonicity was established later than the rest), while the rest are known as the "protocanonical" books (since their canonicity was established first).

Following the Protestant attack on the integrity of the Bible, the Catholic Church infallibly reaffirmed the divine inspiration of the deuterocanonical books at the Council of Trent in 1546. In doing this, it reaffirmed what had been believed since the time of Christ.

Catholic Ping - let me know if you want on/off this list

[Unam Sanctam]

As a Catholic, all I can say is that the mother should be thankful it wasn't condoms being passed out.

[DannyTN]

By now the public school has taught him about Islam and the mother is worried about him receiving a different translation of the Bible?

Heck they taught my daughter in Kindergarden that during Ramadan, muslims give to the poor, so that Ramadan was good.
I didn't complain, I simply explained to her that the same religion teaches people to hate Jews and Christians and that daily someone from that religion straps explosives to themselves and walks up to innocent women and children in Israel and sets off the bomb killing themselves and all those around them.

After she closed her mouth which hung wide open for a quite a while, I explained how Mohammed didn't pass the test of being a prophet but wanted to be one anyway and wrote his own scripture. And why we reject him as a prophet. Now she understands why.

I really shouldn't have to explain something like that to a kindergardner. But you have to start sometime.

[cripplecreek]

So take it away from the kid, give him a catholic style bible and give the king james version to the salvation army or something.

[NYer]

Pinging you to #13!

[navygal]

I think that it is great that they were handing out bibles, it could of been some other books or others types of reliouse or cult books.

[I still care]

What's wrong with this mother that she simply can't explain to her child that she thinks the Catholic version is superior?

If she is such a fan of the Douay, she must have one at home for the child to use, musn't she?

[thackney]

Sorry about this, but the article made me think of this joke. Of all the thing this Christian Mother can find to complain about...

---

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said.

I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"

He said, "Like what?"

I said, "Well...are you religious or atheist?"

He said, "Religious."

I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?"

He said, "Christian."

I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"

He said, "Protestant."

I said, "Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"

He said, "Baptist!"

I said, "Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"

He said, "Baptist Church of God!"

I said, "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"

He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God!"

I said, "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"

He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"

I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.