Replies

First, I don't think that "private interpretation" has the force in Protestantism that you think it does. Secondly, "my own personal" reading of Scripture is influenced by what? My family upbringing, my church experiences, my teachers, mentors, pastors, etc. So I think you are oversimplifying the issue. Our reading is not done in a vacuum. Thus our theology has not been formed in our own personal voids either.

Thank you for being reasonable. It's refreshing. Yes, we have discussed before the actualy rarity of people exercising their "private interpretation" rights. And we agreed that most people never give it a second thought. It is, however, the founding principle of Protestantism -- throw off the chains of the Church and decide for yourself!

And certainly I would be the first to point out that none of us live in a vacuum and that we are all products of our surroundings. I have no problem with recognizing that two people from two backgrounds can read the same thing in different ways. It is the more rabid supporters of the Protestant banner who equate their reading with a direct command from God.

I don't have a problem saying "this is how I interpret things" or "this is the traditional way my people have viewd this." I don't run around waiting to throw folks into the fire because they are "attacking" God and "blaspheming" His Word.

Will you affirm for me that the Catholic Church did not translate the Bible into Latin as a dead language, but raher as the common tongue of those who could read in the Western Empire?

Will you affirm for me that the Catholic Church did not translate the Bible into Latin as a dead language, but raher as the common tongue of those who could read in the Western Empire?

Reasonable enough. Of course it gets troubling later on when they don't want any new translations despite the fact that Latin was no longer the "common tongue."