BLINKERED VIEW OF BIBLE'S TEACHINGS

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Blinkered view of Bible's teachings

Firstly, I must thank Mark W. Jacques in his letter ("Birth Rate Views", Mailbox, April 11) for confirming, as I suspected, that the Catholic direction on contraception is, in fact, not a Bible teaching, but an instruction coming from church leaders.

Also, to simply dismiss my comments about the truthfulness of Bible teachings as a protestant view is really taking a blinkered view of the real value of the Bible's teachings, which are just as relevant today as they were when God had His faithful servants pen His words all those years ago.

I understand the Catholic Church believes that through the Pope and Cardinals it has the right to make its own rules, but there is a great danger in this, if they are presenting them as God's will. The nation of Israel, God's chosen people, started to put the 'oral tradition' of men above the Mosaic Law and look what happened to them. They made true worship a burden on the faithful.

Its leaders, the High Priest, Scribes and Pharisees, sought prominence and it all resulted in them killing the Messiah, their promised saviour, because they didn't recognise him as the Son of God, the one that they were expecting. Why didn't they recognise who he was? It was because he didn't come in the way they wanted, a mighty military leader who would free them from the Roman yoke.No, he came exactly as the Old Testament showed in numerous prophesies, but because they thought that they knew better, they missed out and lost their favoured position with God.

As Romans 15:4 states " all things written aforetime, were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and the comfort from the scriptures, we might have hope". It would seem that history is again repeating itself.

Once again, man thinks he knows better than God. Making up their own rules that override Bible teachings, usually with bad results.

For example, the Catholic Church forbids the priesthood to marry and yet at 1 Timothy Chapter 3, clear instructions are given regarding the appointment of priests and bishops. Chapter 4 goes on to point out where the teaching that forbids marriage comes from.

I am not knocking the Catholic faith. I simply want the truthfulness of the Bible to be acknowledged and taught by those that claim to be its representatives on Earth because within its pages lie the hope for mankind.

Keith Coleman, Ashby de la Zouch