The "Chained Bible"

A non-catholic was once telling my why he did not want to be Catholic. He said that the Catholic Church "hated the Bible" and did not want anyone to read it because if anyone did read the Bible he would "see that the Church is hiding the truth". I asked him why he believed that. He told me about the "chained Bible"; which, if you have not heard of it, was a Bible chained to the pulpit in an English Church many years ago. His explanation was that the Church did it so that no one could have their own Bible or read it.

Let me point out the complete historical inaccuracy in his position. It was not a Catholic Church where this happened, it was in the Church of England, authorized by King Henry VIII, soon after he separated from the Catholic Church. Secondly, it was not for the purpose of keeping the Bible from the people, but (to their credit) to make sure that it was not stolen and thereby make it possible that anyone could go see it and be encouraged to have one of their own. The exact opposite of what the man told me.

Sometimes we get a bad argument in our mind and we allow it influence us in major decisions in life. We all make decisions based on certain arguments and ideas that we have, but when those are based on historical errors or outright lies, then we will stray from our Lord and end up in all kinds of error. Do you have any ideas that are errors? Obviously, if you knew that you did you would (probably) reject them and seek to correct your thinking. The problem lies in the fact that most people hold to errors but never allow themselves to be challenged.

Be careful about your positions that you hold. Only the Church has the promise of doctrinal perfection, and in those areas outside of what the Church has declared dogmatically, we must be humble and wise. God will lead you into truth if you really do want to find it. Make sure that you do not presume that you are always correct. Trust our Lord and He will show you what is right.