Pope Benedict has started off the reading of the whole of the Bible on Italian state television. The readings which will take a week and will involve 1,200 people will move to a satellite station. The Pope has said that he wants to encourage Roman Catholics to read the Bible.
Here in Northern Ireland Dr. Paisley has welcomed the reading of the Bible but clearly disagrees with the Pope saying:
“Any reading of the Scripture is something that I approve of but unfortunately the Roman Catholic Church draws a line upon the Scriptures in that they are the only interpreter of the Scriptures.” and ӅThe interpretation that the Pope gives of certain Scriptures is in my opinion contrary to the Scriptures themselves.”
Rev. David McIlveen also welcomed the readings with some reservations:
“When people hear that the Church of Rome is reading the Bible, we have to make it clear that from the Protestant perspective, there are major differences between the version of the Bible they read – the (English translation) Douay Version – and the Authorised Version, but the central message is still that ‘the just shall live by faith’, which was what the Reformation centred around.”
“However, the reading of the Scriptures on television would be a very good thing – it would be a change from a lot of the corruption and pollution that are so often transmitted through television screens today.”
There are of course differences between the bibles. For those who are interested here are two positions: one from a Protestant position and one Roman Catholic.
This author has not written a biography and will not be writing one.
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