Evidence that the Catholic Church Never Edited the Bible

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

The following passages appear to be critical of Catholic theology. If Rome had ever edited the Bible, surely these passeges would no longer be in it.

"But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ." (Matthew 23:8-10)
This apppears to be critical of the preisthood.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 3:8-9)
Obviously, this passage seems to go against the Catholic doctrine of salvation by works.

The authority of the Catholic Church is based on this passage:
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)
The way it is written leaves it somewhat open to interpretation. Here is the footnote in my Protestant Bible:
"The name Peter (Gk. Petros) means 'rock' or 'rock-man.' In the next phrase christ used petra (upon this rock), a feminine form for 'rock,' not a name. Christ used a play on words. He did not say 'upon you, Peter' or 'upon your successors,' but 'upon this rock' -upon the divine revalation and profession of faith in Christ.... Heaven, not the apostles, initiates all the binding and loosing, whereas the apostles announce these things."
Surely after a Papal revision it would say something more explicit, such as "I will build my Church upon you, and you and your successors will watch the flock in my stead. Your decrees will be as the decrees of God."

Also, I'm sure that any scissors-happy Pope would have added verses in support of Catholic doctrines which are not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, such as the Assumption of Mary, Purgatory, and the Cannonization of Saints.

Not to mention, modern translations of the Bible are to a large extent taken from manuscripts that are older han the councils where people claim the Bible was edited.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

Where are you getting "follw me" from? I beleive most modern translations of the Bible are based on the earliest manuscripts available. "Follow me" might have been an error that came about from doing translations of translations.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

Then why have so many independent groups, of different denominations, all come up with a variant of the same translation? (Mine says "Go, Satan! For it is written 'you shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'")

[Theja]

Good insights, FNB.

Jesus declared that the truth shall set us free (John 8:32). In the past thousands of believers died at the hands of Catholics for believing the points you enumerated. Today many in the free world have the privilege to check the scriptures unmolested to find out and test the teachings that are unbiblical and outdated.

By outdated I don't mean the main doctrines of scripture, but the ones that are still promoted out of loyalty to tradition and culture.

Jesus brought us truth and grace (John 1:17). In Him we need to purge both in our lives and beliefs the things that are not of God (John 15:1-8).

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

Tom: I don't know whether or not anyone made little changes while transcribing the Bible. My point was that the Catholic Church never consciously edited the Bible in order to distort it.

Theja: Catholics are beleivers. I didn't say that those passages discounted Catholic theology, only that they presented problems. There are passages that are troubling to Protestant theologians as well.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

I said I didn't think it was originally "follow me." (I've never heard that before)

I don't think it's possible to choose a middle ground between Protestantism and Catholicism, unless you want to be a religious lone wolf, which I don't.

[Fear_nam_Beanntan]

"Where 2 or 3 are gathered in My name, I am with them."