Writing Study Notes In One's Bible

[Brother Vinny]

Has anyone heard that writing notes in one's Bible is a mortal sin? I never had until last week. Some fellow cursillistas (I began living my Cursillo three weeks ago!) get together to have a combination group meeting/Bible study, and we're tackling Jeff Cavins' 24-part "Bible Timeline" series. When Jeff came to the part where he said we should get "a bible you can live in," one that we'd be comfortable taking notes in, one of my fellows there said, "You can go straight to hell for that!"

I was dumbfounded and, as I tend toward scrupulosity anyway, a sense of condemnation swept over me. I asked my friend who is teaching the class about this, and he said he's never read anything official that corroborates this as a mortal sin, but that he'd been told by some nuns when he was growing up that it was.

I've looked for this online, but haven't found anything. The Catechism appears to be silent on the issue, unless I'm using the wrong search parameters . If this is true, that writing in the Bible endangers one's eternal soul, then why isn't it a more publicized fact? If this is not true, then why do people want to go out of their way to make an already-narrow path even narrower?

[CatherineM]

If writing in your bible is a mortal sin, I guess I'm headed to Hell. I'll have good company though. My dad's NAB, and my grandmother's KJV are both well written in.

[Maggyie]

Absolutely NOT a sin

[RezaMikhaeil]

I don't think it's clear cut...thou I'd learn towards a translation being less sinful, while if it were a greek version/hebrew as more serious.

It's difficult because we do kiss the bible, we do believe that it's wrong to put it on the ground, put your feet on it, a pen writing in it, could be taken similarly.

Reza

[MithLuin]

The word of God is holy, and desecrating it would be bad. But I do not see how highlighting/underlining/writing notes in the margin can be seen as desecrating a Bible. Did scribes refrain from adding marginalia during the Middle Ages? Did anyone condemn it then? I think not. Having a family bible in which one records births and weddings is a common practice. How is writing about the actual content any worse?

Not that I'd recommend pressing 4-leaf clovers in it, mind you.

[cmotherofpirl]

[quote name='Brother Vinny' post='1870529' date='May 18 2009, 09:26 PM']Has anyone heard that writing notes in one's Bible is a mortal sin? I never had until last week. Some fellow cursillistas (I began living my Cursillo three weeks ago!) get together to have a combination group meeting/Bible study, and we're tackling Jeff Cavins' 24-part "Bible Timeline" series. When Jeff came to the part where he said we should get "a bible you can live in," one that we'd be comfortable taking notes in, one of my fellows there said, "You can go straight to hell for that!"

I was dumbfounded and, as I tend toward scrupulosity anyway, a sense of condemnation swept over me. I asked my friend who is teaching the class about this, and he said he's never read anything official that corroborates this as a mortal sin, but that he'd been told by some nuns when he was growing up that it was.

I've looked for this online, but haven't found anything. The Catechism appears to be silent on the issue, unless I'm using the wrong search parameters . If this is true, that writing in the Bible endangers one's eternal soul, then why isn't it a more publicized fact? If this is not true, then why do people want to go out of their way to make an already-narrow path even narrower?[/quote]
Seems to me if having notes in a bible is wrong then all the people who wrote the footnotes are hellbound as well.
I have always added little bits of info as I learn them, translations, locations of archelogocal digs etc.

[homeschoolmom]

I would think it would depend on your intentions. If it were merely to highlight something or note an explanation of a word or whatnot, no biggie.

If it's to cross out parts you don't like or modify the meaning deliberately, that's problematic.

[Resurrexi]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1870543' date='May 18 2009, 08:57 PM']I would think it would depend on your intentions. If it were merely to highlight something or note an explanation of a word or whatnot, no biggie.

If it's to cross out parts you don't like or modify the meaning deliberately, that's problematic.[/quote]

[Brother Vinny]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' post='1870543' date='May 18 2009, 08:57 PM']If it's to cross out parts you don't like or modify the meaning deliberately, that's problematic.[/quote]

Hey! It's not like I'm Martin Luther, here.

[Hilde]

I have been doing that for ages. Framing passages. I don't think it's a sin, and I've been encouraged to do so by a priest.

Writing over passages because you don't like them is another story. It's all about intent.

[CatherineM]

I often will note an old testament passage next to one in the new testament that relates back to the OT.

[Resurrexi]

A lot of Bibles already do that in footnotes don't they?

[CatherineM]

[quote name='Resurrexi' post='1870598' date='May 18 2009, 09:17 PM']A lot of Bibles already do that in footnotes don't they?[/quote]

My RSV doesn't have footnotes.

[Nihil Obstat]

Does this come out of the whole 'adding or removing from the Bible' thing? I don't think study notes qualify.

[Resurrexi]

The Church actually used to mandate that all vernacular translations of the Bible had to have explanatory notes in them so that people wouldn't be led astray by Protestant errors.