(June 13, 2014 at 5:29 am)Vox Wrote: Catholics are often taught not to read the bible, less they draw their own conclusion which the church forbids them to do.
Very odd for a bible church to do this though, cant have been that good at his job.
I'm not sure where you got this from, but you are simply wrong. Practicing Catholics are constantly in the Bible. I take it you've never been to mass where there are typically three readings. Typically there is one each from the OT, the epistles, and the gospel. I actually prefer this to the Bible hopscotch spewed by evangelicals. There are all sorts of parish sponsored Bible studies just like any other church. Another facet of Catholicism that lays waste to your assertion is catechism. Try your "Catholics don't read the Bible" theory on a kid going to CCD every week. Prepare to duck as you will likely get clubbed by a hefty paperback with 'The New American Bible' stamped on the front.
Even though the official Vatican position is that the Bible is the inerrant and inspired word of God, there is no doctrine that mandates the stories must be taken literally. Take the story of Jonah. Catholics believe that the story is the inspired word of God, but don't have to believe that a fish actually swallowed Jonah; they can if they like. It's a story meant to convey a lesson and does not mean the events actually happened as described.
