Stacy Salvadori”s letter noting that the Bible is controversial and is treated much like a banned book was true and well written. However, the greatest effort to keep the Bible out of the hands of the common man was made by the Christians themselves. William Tyndale was put to death for his work translating the Bible into English. Tyndale”s Bible is credited with being the first English translation to work directly from Hebrew and Greek texts. Perhaps the Catholic Church wished to keep the scriptures in Latin to keep the masses ignorant of what the Bible actually says to preserve their power and authority.
They shouldn”t have been so concerned. The Bible can now be read by anyone in this country and many others, yet the Catholic Church still wields considerable power. Also the Protestant churches are still soldering on quite well. To me this speaks to me more of the amazing power of unreasoning belief than the validity of the Bible.
I have read the entire Bible, and still break it out now and then. I find it a source of amusement and amazement that the Bible maintains its status in spite of its contents. Perhaps if more people would read the Bible in its entirety with an open mind they would realize that what they have been told about the Bible being the divinely inspired, infallible word of God isn”t necessarily true.
Tim Snider
Lakeport
