October 2, 2003

The Last Giant Article, I Promise, Really
Pip

Okay, Pip has a few points and promises not to do this again. (I hope)
First of all, Jarrickon: Please do not pat Pip on the head and call him slightly "Tookish." Pip finds that repulsive and condescending. Even the smallest person may have the biggest intellect. Aside from what you assume, I do know something about religion. Some of my closest friends are Catholics, Fundamentalists, Baptists, Lutherans, and Hindus. I also know the middle-ages probably more than most people, and I know that the reason bibles were kept out of the public's hands was because many people were prone to misinterpreting the readings. It was never because the Catholic Church did not want people to be knowledgeable about the bible.
And about me being wrong about you not having a bible if it weren't for the Catholics, I'm sorry, but I am right. The first Christian Church EVER was the Catholic Church and they were the ones who translated the bible and decided what books were to be included. (this part is for Foxy too) There were two versions of the Old Testament: The Palestinian Canon used by the Hebrews, and The Alexandrian Canon used by the Greek speaking Jews. In 285-246 BC the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek by 70 or 72 Jewish scholars- six from each of the twelve tribes according to tradition. Septuagint is Latin for 70, and that is what you call the 70 scholars. The Septuagint Translated Bible was the one used by Jesus and the New Testament writers. The Palestinian Canon is the one used by Protestants. The Catholics use the one that Jesus used. That's the way it is. Period. Seven books were rejected in the Hebrew Canon, and Luther went with this version because he said that none of the original Hebrew versions could be found. Well, we've found the originals. Research into the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran found ancient Hebrew copies of the disputed books. That's why there are different books in the Catholic and Protestant bibles. If I were you Foxy, I'd think about that verse differently. Luther actually added the word "alone" to Sacred Scripture in his German translation of Romans 3:28.
As for praying to Mary, I could go on forever, but to put it simply, this is how Catholics view praying to her: Do you have friends? Well, when you need help, don't you ask your friends to pray for you? And if you are a Christian, wouldn't you consider Mary your friend? Just put two and two together and I think you will catch my drift.
Lastly, Catholics do not give their prayers to a priest. They confess their sins to priests because when Jesus created the church he said to the first priests (the apostles) in Mt 18:18, "Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." and in Jn 20:22, "And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." I would take him at his word here; God only breathes on man a grand total of 2 times in the entire bible. I think he was kinda serious. (PS the other time he breathed on man was when he breathed life into Adam FYI)
Well, I'm in trouble now. If this gets posted it will be a miracle, but I promise never to do this again. I just hope I informed you and answered some of your questions.

Sorry for being so novelish...

;)

DC

PS I saw the new trailer!! YAY!!! I can't wait for ROTK!! Is that really going to be the only theatrical trailer??