Trump is shocked his supporters are low life/low class

easybee you clearly have little experience of the main religions. Yes, they have the rules but they do not force people who are members to obey them.

You will find that most religious people will have a broad alliegance to their faith, but will use their cconscience in making decisions on lots of issues. As a catholic, I have yet to meet any catholic who totally accepts anything and everything any passing cleric may say and as far as I can see that applies to most followers of the main religions.

It is cults that force and control their members. I can cease to be a catholic at a moment's notice and nobody will do anything to force me to return.

The FBI say they are concerned about armed insurrection around Biden's inauguration. They report there are plans in major cities. It sounds like military planning by home grown terrorists.

Biden is a lifelong church going Catholic but Trump's rabid cult supporters are saying that he will prohibit the reading of the bible!

There’s bound to be some trouble, but am wondering if it will be so very bad ( as people think).The security will be so high in Washington, and all other cities will have to prepare ( am sure they will!) just in case.Have to hope this will be the case anyway, as it would be dreadful if Inauguration Day was marred by deaths.I think we will all give a sight of relief once Biden takes over that day.

Exactly varian, it's totally bonkers isn't it. Such a dangerous situation in the USA. Trump was very clear in the build up to the election 4 years ago, that he'd operate as President as he had in business. He's lived up to that promise, lying, cheating, accusing anyone who disagrees with him of being a crook, of peddling fake news.
Terrifying that he won that election and has caused so much chaos with assaults on democracy in the US.

Varian it is a widely held and long standing belief that catholics do not read the bible. Needless to say it is not true. We get great chunks in every service, but as we have found out recently fake news is always preferred over the truth.

Lindsey Graham on the plane with Trump going down to the bit of wall he has built. Last Wednesday Graham said on the floor that he was “done” with Trump.

The Republicans seem to be all over the place.

There is an old saying that "a lie can travel world before the truth gets its trousers on"

Capitol riots: Trump says his speech was totally appropriate

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55638017

How can someone who has said many times that Trump is a pathological liar still support him?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-55629665

Well, lots of people support Boris Johnson and he too is a pathological liar.

Maybe being a liar is a prerequisite for office these days? Honest politicians seem to be as scarce as hen's teeth.

M0nica

Varian it is a widely held and long standing belief that catholics do not read the bible. Needless to say it is not true. We get great chunks in every service, but as we have found out recently fake news is always preferred over the truth.

Is it? Do people really believe that?
Why?
Sorry to derail, but I'm fascinated by this!

FannyC, I think it's a folk myth dating from the time when the bible was in latin (so that'll be, hmm, the 1500s?). Compounded by the fact that the Mass was celebrated in latin until comparatively recently (1960s, 70s? MOnica will know), so it was assumed that the bible was still in latin, too.

Being in latin few people would be able to read it.

I have no idea how the belief grew up. Does anyone know the origins of many urban myths?

I can remember when I had a prolonged stay in hospital when I was 13. The CoE chaplain, making a pastoral visit to the children's ward, saw me, as a catholic, as a challenge and quizzed my bible knowledge and was completely disconcerted when he found how much I knew and that, at my convent school we read and studied the gospels etc in RE classes. This suggests that the belief was pretty main stream. I certainly heard it elsewhere as a child.

The Latin Mass was phased out gradually from the mid 1960s, but before then, all prayer books would have the Mass in Latin one side of the page and English on the other, so most people knew exactly what was being said and all the readings, Gospel, Epistle etc - and the sermon would be read in English and, as far as I know, had been back into the 19th century. I knew people who had more or less taught themselves Latin by just comparing the texts in Latin and English.

As a child going to Mass every Sunday could be pretty boring, so sitting there reading through ones prayer book or missal, ( or teaching oneself latin) was one way of passing the time - and a good way of becoming very familiar with most of the bible stories, new or old testament.

Thank you MaizieD and M0nika that's very interesting.

Trump saying yesterday that the impeachment is a hoax. He really has lost the plot completely.

Ivanka and Donald Junior are now back in New York, Ivanka trying to rebuild her reputation because of her ‘future political career’. Both of them have government security officers, hopefully this will stop if their father is impeached and stripped of his privileges.

News of the arrest of some of last week’s offenders is heartening, they have an image of the man who threw the fire extinguisher at the police officer who later died, hopefully he will be identified and arrested soon. The Shaman QAnon man is now in prison and refusing to eat as they won’t give him organic food. The retired Lt Colonel who was carrying the zip ties was identified by his ex wife. The man who was dressed in animal skins is the son of a high court judge and is now living with his brother in Brooklyn, he was released on bail of $100,000. I hope they give all the offenders very lengthy jail sentences and strip offenders of military pensions where appropriate. There were a lot of ex military and off duty police and emergency service workers involved apparently.

Just found this thread ... very interesting .
May I join you ?

Trump has obviously lost the plot, the democrats are also doing nothing to calm the issue, impeaching Trump is only going to increase tensions.
They should listen to Biden who did not call for Trumps removal, he’s will be gone in a few days anyway, the risk of further loss of life is very high.

Flora5

Just found this thread ... very interesting .
May I join you ?

Of course you can. Welcome

These idea do go back such a long way and, as such disinformation often does, they have a speck of truth in them.

Decree of the Council of Toulouse (1229 C.E.): “We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books.”

Ruling of the Council of Tarragona of 1234 C.E.: “No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned...”

Proclamations at the Ecumenical Council of Constance in 1415 C.E.: Oxford professor, and theologian John Wycliffe, was the first (1380 C.E.) to translate the New Testament into English to “...helpeth Christian men to study the Gospel in that tongue in which they know best Christ’s sentence.” For this “heresy” Wycliffe was posthumously condemned by Arundel, the archbishop of Canterbury. By the Council’s decree “Wycliffe’s bones were exhumed and publicly burned and the ashes were thrown into the Swift River.”

Fate of William Tyndale in 1536 C.E.: William Tyndale was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. According to Tyndale, the Church forbid owning or reading the Bible to control and restrict the teachings and to enhance their own power and importance.

The translation of the bible was heretical in these times and few would have been able to read Latin. The Catholic Church, the main Christian Church in Europe until recent times, was authoritarian (very) but that was as much to do with the structure of society in these times as with the church. Large numbers of early America immigrants were fleeing the power of the more dominant views of Christianity in Europe so it is not surprising that some have a strange view of Catholicism.

In some beliefs systems some have tried to hang on to that authority even to today - as conservative minded people do in all walks of life. Again, the changes in society are what has made this more difficult and, you would hope, made it more difficult for any established society or organisation to behave as they once did.

Personally, I feel that is why we should do all we can to maintain our more liberal view of society and of course, many in today's Catholic church are liberal in their views.

Sorry. I take a long time typing and you have all move on. The above are my thoughts on the "Catholics are not allowed to read the bible" myth.

moved!

I just can't wait for him to be gone!
Considering that Melania is supposedly an intelligent woman, wouldn't be surprised if he's heading for divorce number whatever either. She must be the least seen First Lady ever!

jaylucy

I just can't wait for him to be gone!
Considering that Melania is supposedly an intelligent woman, wouldn't be surprised if he's heading for divorce number whatever either. She must be the least seen First Lady ever!

Certainly the quietest.