thessalonian Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 This is an interesting article. Particularly this: [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02544a.htm"]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02544a.htm[/url] After being duly impressed by these figures and those of the still more prolific British Society, the Catholic reader naturally questions whether the amount of good done is, after all, to be measured by the number of volumes distributed. A considerable number of Protestant missionaries have already answered the question negatively, and if we may judge from many letters from ministers in the mission field, there is a growing feeling among thinking Protestants that the promiscuous distribution of the Bible "without note or comment" is a doubtful means of propagating Christian doctrine. Even as a means of proselytism, the scattering of Bibles seems not to produce the expected results. A missionary on the Malay peninsula, among others, complains that although thousands of Bibles were distributed, it was, so far as he could learn, "with scarcely any perceptible benefit". He "did not hear of a single Malay convert on the whole peninsula". The natives of the missionary countries are, according to reports, eager to obtain books from the societies, but agents and missionaries and bishops have reported that in many cases the volumes were used for vulgar and profane purposes. Indeed, the reckless distribution of the Scriptures in too many cases becomes an occasion for the profanation of the written Word, rather than for the growth of religion. Instances of abuse of the Bible could be collected freely from the letters of missionaries, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. Guess Christ was pretty smart about putting a Church on this earth to propogate the truth. You would think he would have just given everybody a book by protestant standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paphnutius Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 [quote]Guess Christ was pretty smart about putting a Church on this earth to propogate the truth. You would think he would have just given everybody a book by protestant standards. [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 The Protestant notion that all one needs to do to spread the Good News in foreign lands -- or right in your own backyard -- is distribute copies of the Bible is severely lacking, obviously. The lack of positive results is far from surprising. In my atheist days in high school, I always used to argue with a missionary-minded Protestant friend that once missionaries fed and left their "saved" people, they had Bible bonfires (and worse). Despite my conversion, my views on this matter stays the same. The more I read about men like St. Francis Xavier and St. Jean de Brebeuf, the more I see that these modern-day Bible missionaries do not deserve the title of "missionary" at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Maybe it's because Protestant missionary groups hand BIbles out to lots of people that don't know how to read. Illiteracy is still a big problem in the world, and instead of teaching people HOW to read the Bible, they just get handed out. I like to leave Bibles and holy cards in random places, myself. Who knows whose hands it might end up in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessalonian Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 Part of the issue is that the bible needs the context of the Church. That happens to be what sacred oral tradition is about. Handing out Bibles to the barely literate people is one thing but they have no clue of the history and tradition that went in to the bible. No clue of Jewish culture and language as well as greek. The Protestants talk about proper Hermenutics more than we do. Why can't they understand that this is the key to the 30,000 denomination problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jswranch Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 1. Act 8:30-31 30 And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “[u]Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” [/u]And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 2. GK Chesterton "...the Bible does not say anything. You cannot put a book in the witness-box and ask it what it really means." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 [quote name='thessalonian' date='Mar 1 2006, 07:34 AM']Part of the issue is that the bible needs the context of the Church. That happens to be what sacred oral tradition is about.... Why can't they understand that this is the key to the 30,000 denomination problem? [right][snapback]900639[/snapback][/right][/quote] Precisely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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