In a message dated 12/25/00 2:49:15 AM Eastern Standard Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
> you are aware that we have church canons forbidding the study of the bible
> by laity.
Br. Alexis, could you expand on this? I've read the canon from the council of
Trent (68?), where Catholics are not to develop interpretations of their own
that differ from those of the Church. I actually found it confusing, because
I can go to, say, the Jerome Bible Commentary and find that the Church
doesn't necessarily have an official opinion on every single verse in the
Bible. If there are further restrictions, I'd be interested in knowing their
scope, and how they were implemented. Do you mean Catholics were forbidden to
_read_ the Bible? If they were only forbidden to "study"it, where was the
line drawn between reading and studying? When were these canons developed,
and for how long were they in force?
Why weren't there objections to Gutenberg printing all those Bibles and
Psalters? Or why wasn't he ordered to limit sales to the clergy? Also, what
disposition was to be made in the case of artists, who'd be expected to
portray Biblical scenes and might be at a distinct disadvantage if they
weren't allowed to read ("study") the stories they were illustrating? If
Dante was forbidden to study the Bible, why is the Commedia filled with so
many references to often obscure Biblical verses? And what does Dante mean
by identifying the Bible as a reliable guide? It seems an odd thing to say if
people were actually forbidden to study it.
pat
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