Salient points are made about changing doctrine due to the new light of understanding (via new historical discoveries, better understanding of languages used, etc and so on). The church has done a fine job in many areas, but I am still left with an empty feeling about them.
The main reason being is that they have gutted the bible in a way which takes it from being the word of God and making the word of nobody really knows who (Examples of this abound, from the book of Revelation which they waffle on Authorship on, to saying that some of the psalms were originally used by others to praise baal and were borrowed word for word by the hebrews).
Now I am one who likes to examine and understand (hence my collection of old historical books which I use to get a better understanding of scripture from another perspective). And I can see doing parallel studies, analyzing language and comparing things. But it seems that there is no real bible in the catholic hierarchy that actually means anything - at least anything concrete. They talk on one hand about the gospels and how they are possible written by a group of people here, or maybe this was borrowed from there, etc and so on whittling away any credibility which the bible holds. And then they want you to believe the bible as they interpret it.
I am not opposed to critical analysis and I do a lot of it myself in trying to better understand the word. But I have taken the view that it is Holy and that the way we have been given it today is how God wanted us to have it - and he used his influence through the ages to bring it to us this way. To think otherwise is to say that the very words inspired by God have been commandered by man alone and shaped to fit his own needs.
I do not see how any catholic can quote the bible as one can readily look up those quotes in catholic dictionaries and other works and show that those same verses really mean nothing according to the church (in other words, God had nothing to do with the bible so quoting it is of little use).
Forgive this if it seems an 'attack' on catholics. We all get doctrine from somewhere, but it appears in my own personal studies over many years that the bible is not the word of God at all to catholics, and without that foundation what is there? There is a difference in trying to learn more about the bible, who wrote it, and how it all fits into history and trying to simply say the bible is just another book which happens to mention how some people recorded their experiences relating to events.
Perhaps I will rant some more later. I am not siding with fellow 'fundies', nor am I saying group A is 'better' then group 'B'. I am merely wondering honestly about the core of the various sects of christian faiths (of which I see being the bible) and asking 'What do catholics think of the bible?'.
I look forward to intelligent discussions on this matter, and hope flamers save their fireballs for the liberals ;)