Parts of the Bible Rejected by Roman Catholic Church in Britain
Generally speaking, the Roman Catholics have taught throughout most of their history that church tradition shares authority with the Scriptures. However, the latest teaching document in Britain virtually denies that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God.
by John Ross Schroeder
"Roman Catholics throughout Britain are being encouraged to reaffirm the Bible as foundational for their faith, and to make its critical appreciation a key part of their discipleship and church identity. This week a major new teaching document from the Catholic Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland is being presented in Rome" ("Catholics Encouraged to Give Emphasis to the Bible," www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_050914bible.shtml, emphasis added throughout article).
While the above statement may be "true" from the bishops' point of view, the actual booklet itself falls far short of the way Jesus Christ and the apostles looked at the Bible. Perhaps the key phrase in understanding the Catholic position is "its critical appreciation." Two senior Catholic cardinals, residing in Scotland and England respectively, wrote the preface. So the document has the official imprimatur of regional church authority.
Although clearly sympathetic to the Catholic point of view, Ruth Gledhill, religion correspondent of The Times (London) summed up the overall effect: "The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church [in Britain] has published a teaching document instructing the faithful that some parts of the Bible are not actually true" (Oct. 5, 2005).
One telling quotation from the document itself, titled The Gift of Scripture, is very revealing. "We should not expect to find in Scripture full scientific accuracy or complete historical precision." Although clearly claiming that Scripture is true when it comes to passages referring to salvation, the document continues: "We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in...secular matters" (The Catholic Truth Society, 2005).
