What sects. of christianity teach that you should not read the bible?

Question

i hear some christian sects discurage people from reading the bible and questioning the bible i was wondering which ones do that. and i have also heard that some sects state that education is of the devil.

Answer 1

Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses strongly encourage the reading and study of the Bible, whatever translation it may be. Any comments to contrary reveal an ignorance of the facts. Anyone who has been across the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC going into Brooklyn can read the sign on the side of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society’s world headquarters which plainly states: “Read God’s Word the Holy Bible Every Day.”


Suzanne said:

The Jehovah's Witnesses discourage true Bible study. Instead, they emphasize studying a series of books called "Studies in the Scriptures," which contains their own interpretation of what the Bible means.

REPLY: We haven’t used Studies in the Scriptures for years!

Suzanne said:

JWs also stress studying the Watchtower magazine on a weekly basis. They repeat the information contained in the articles and answer the questions at the end of each.

REPLY: We use the Watchtower magazine and other Watchtower publications to assist us in our study of the Bible, but EVERYTHING is based on the Bible; each article is full of Scriptural references upon which our teachings are based, but the Bible itself is our main text.

Desperado said:

They have re-translated the King James into the New World Translation which is a perverted text.

REPLY: We did NOT re translate the KJV. The NWT is a modern English translation based upon the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, & Greek. It is large literal and quite accurate, but has one other major advantage. The translators of the KJV removed God’s personal name, which in Hebrew is YHWH, and is translated into English as Jehovah, from the Bible almost 7,000 times! However, they did let it remain 4 times, in Exodus 6:3; Psalm 83:18; Isaiah 12:2; 26:4. It is a real perversion to remove the Name of God from the Book he inspired to be written.

Desperado said

They do not accept Jesus as Lord-so they are definitely not Christian.

REPLY: That is definitely a false statement.

Desperado said:

Any sect that forbids the reading of the Bible would be a cult. The Mormons and JW's are cults for several reasons, but forbidding to read the Bible is definitely a signal that the group is a cult.

REPLY: In my mind calling people names tells me more about the one doing the name calling than it does about the who is being called names. We do not forbid the reading of the Bible; rather, as stated above, we encourage the reading of it, regardless of the translation the reader prefers to use.

Note this FROM:
"TRUTH IN TRANSLATION: ACCURACY AND BIAS IN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT"

Author: Jason David BeDuhn (associate professor of religious studies at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He holds a B.A. in Religious Studies form the University of Illinois, Urbana, an M.T.S. in New Testament and Christian Origins form Harvard Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Study of Religions form Indiana University, Bloomington.)

NOTE: Professor BeDuhn is NOT one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The Eight English Translations Compared in BeDuhn's book are:
- The King James Version (KJV)
- The Amplified Bible (AB)
- The Living Bible (LB)
- The New American Bible (NAB)
- The New American Standard Bible (NASB)
- The New International Version (NIV)
- The New World Translation (NW)
- The (New) Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
- Today's English Version (TEV)

Excerpts from his book:

Chapter Four: Examples of translation of the Greek word prokuneo, used 58 times in the New Testament. The word is translated various ways as worship, do obeisance, fall down on one's knees, bow before. Scriptures discussed include Matt. 18:26, Rev. 3:9; Mark 15:18,19; Matt 2:1, 2, 8,11; Matt 14:33; Matt 28:9, "... in our exploration of this issue, we can see how theological bias has been the determining context for the choices made by all of the translations except the NAB and NW... translators seem to feel the need to add to the New Testament support for the idea that Jesus was recognized to be God." Regarding Matt. 28:16, 17, where all versions except the NW use "worship" where the NW uses "did obeisance": "Here all translations except the NW have recourse to "worship" -- a rendering which makes no sense in this context... This contradiction seems to be missed by all the translators except those who prepared the NW."

Chapter Five: A discussion of Philippians 2:5-11 "The NW translators... have understood harpagmos accurately as grasping at something one does not have, that is, a "seizure." The literary context supports the NW translation (and refutes the KJV's "thought it not robbery to be equal)..."

Chapter Seven: A discussion on Col. 1: 15-20 "It is a tricky passage where every translation must add words." "The LB translator is guilty of all the doctrinal importation discussed above with reference to the NIV, NRSV, and TEV, and even surpasses them in this respect. So it is the NIV, NRSV, TEV and LB -- the four Bibles that make no attempt to mark added words - that actually add the most significant tendentious material. Yet in many public forums on Bible translation, the practice of these four translations is rarely if ever pointed to or criticized, while the NW is attacked for adding the innocuous "other" in a way that clearly indicates its character as an addition of the translators... But the NW is correct. .."Other" is implied in "all", and the NW simply makes what is implicit explicit. ... It is ironic that the translation of Col. 1:15-20 that has received the most criticism is the one where the "added words" are fully justified by what is implied in the Greek."

Chapter Eight: A discussion on Titus 2:13; 2 Thess. 1:12; 2 Peter 1:1, 2; "... the position of those who insist "God" and "Savior" must refer to the same being... is decidedly weakened."

Chapter Nine: A discussion of Hebrews 8:1 "so we must conclude that the more probable translation is "God is your throne..., " the translation found in the NW... It seems likely that it is only because most translations were made by people who already believe that Jesus is God that the less probable way of translating this verse has been preferred."

Chapter Ten: A discussion on John 8:58 "Both the LB and the NW offer translations that coordinate the two verbs in John 8:58 according to proper English syntax, and that accurately reflect the meaning of the Greek idiom. The other translations fail to do this." "There is absolutely nothing in the original Greek of John 8:58 to suggest that Jesus is quoting the Old Testament here, contrary to what the TEV tries to suggest by putting quotations marks around "I am.""

"The majority of translations recognize these idiomatic uses of "I am", and property integrate the words into the context of the passages where they appear. Yet when it comes to 8:58, they suddenly forget how to translate."
"All the translations except the LB and NW also ignore the true relation between the verbs of the sentence and produce a sentence that makes no sense in English. These changes in the meaning of the Greek and in the normal procedure for translation point to a bias that has interfered with the work of the translators." "No one listening to Jesus, and on one reading John in his own time would have picked up on a divine self-identification in the mere expression "I am," which, if you think about, is just about the most common pronoun-verb combination in any language." "The NW... understands the relation between the two verbs correctly... The average Bible reader might never guess that there was something wrong with the other translations, and might even assume that the error was to be found in the... NW."

Chapter Eleven: A discussion of John 1:1 "Surprisingly, only one, the NW, adheres to the literal meaning of the Greek, and translates "a god."
"Translators of the KJV, NRSV, NIV, NAB, NASB, AB, TEV and LB all approached the text at John 1:1 already believing certain things about the Word... and made sure that the translations came out in accordance with their beliefs.
... Ironically, some of these same scholars are quick to charge the NW translation with "doctrinal bias" for translating the verse literally, free of KJV influence, following the sense of the Greek. It may very well be that the NW translators came to the task of translating John 1:1 with as much bias as the other translators did. It just so happens that their bias corresponds in this case to a more accurate translation of the Greek" "Some early Christians maintained their monotheism by believing that the one God simply took on a human form and came to earth -- in effect, God the Father was born and crucified as Jesus. They are entitled to their belief, but it cannot be derived legitimately from the Gospel according to John."

"John himself has not formulated a Trinity concept in his Gospel." "All that we can ask is that a translation be an accurate starting point for exposition and interpretation. Only the NW achieves that, as provocative as it sounds to the modern reader. The other translations cut off the exploration of the verse's meaning before it has even begun."

Chapter Twelve: A discussion of holy spirit. "In Chapter Twelve, no translation emerged with a perfectly consistent and accurate handling of the many uses and nuances of "spirit" and "holy spirit." The NW scored highest in using correct impersonal forms of the relative and demonstrative pronouns consistently with the neuter noun "holy spirit," and in adhering to the indefinite expression "holy spirit" in those few instances when it was used by the Biblical authors."

Summary: "... it can be said that the NW emerges as the most accurate of the translations compared. ...the translators managed to produce works
relatively more accurate and less biased than the translations produced by multi-denominational teams, as well as those produced by single individuals." "Jehovah's Witnesses... really sought to re-invent Christianity from scratch... building their system of belief and practice from the raw material of the Bible without predetermining what was to be found there. Some critics, of course, would say that the results of this practice can be naive. But for Bible translation, at least, it has meant a fresh approach to the text, with far less presumption than that found in may of the Protestant translations."

"...Most of the differences are due to the greater accuracy of the NW as a literal, conservative translation of the original expressions of the New Testament."

Answer 2

That may be tough to answer:-

Catholics were discouraged from reading the Bible until around 1960. And even now they use some strange interpretation techniques, lots of allegory. Catholics are a "sect' of Christianity, although many believe they are not Christian at all. They are probably the most perverted form of Christianity.
Jehovah's Witness are thought to be Christian but they are not. They have re-translated the King James into the New World Translation which is a perverted text. The do not accept Jesus as Lord-so they are definitely not Christian.
Mormons (LDS, ROLDS), do not use the Bible, but use the book of Mormon which is a fabrication by Joseph Smith. It has been re-written 3 times.
Some sects like "Independent Baptist, and some Pentecostals allow only the King James version-but they do not forbid Bible reading-they encourage it.
Any sect that forbids the reading of the Bible would be a cult. The Mormons and JW's are cults for several reasons, but forbidding to read the Bible is definitely a signal that the group is a cult.

Answer 3

Hello, Gazriel:

All Christian religions profess to teach and support the Bible; however, most people tend to trust the education and charm of their preacher/priest, or Church authority, and do not study the Word themselves.

How sad! Thoughout history those who attempted to translate Bibles into the common language were often hunted and killed and manuscripts burned. The Bible can be easily understood because the Holy Spirit gives you wisdom. I have often said it takes a theology degree to make the Bible say what it really doesn't.

Interestingly, Gazriel, Satanists may wear crosses, quote Scripture and sing Christian hymns in a belittling manner. A fascinating biography tells of one persons miraculous escape alive from a highest-level satanist cult. You will find it most informative to read at: www.revelado.org/satanism.htm.

Blessings and AGAPE love, One-Way

Answer 4

I am not sure of any sects of Christianity that teach that you should not read the Bible. In defense of Latter-day Saints, we do read the Bible. I have four of them in my house. Every Sunday, someone from my Ward is sure to read from the Holy Bible. I bring my KJV 1611 to Church with me every Sunday, and our Gospel Class is Heavily oriented around the KJV 1611 Bible, the very same one that most Christians use.

Answer 5

The Jehovah's Witnesses discourage true Bible study. Instead, they emphasize studying a series of books called "Studies in the Scriptures," which contains their own interpretation of what the Bible means. In fact, JW founder Charles T. Russell once said that if a person simply reads the Bible and doesn't instead study the JW's own interpretation, they would be "lost" within 2 years. I take this to mean they'd realize JW theology was incorrect and flee for their lives!

JWs also stress studying the Watchtower magazine on a weekly basis. They repeat the information contained in the articles and answer the questions at the end of each.

Answer 6

WOW. I know of no "Christians" who currently teach this. Centuries ago there were some churches who taught that the scriptures were for Clerics only.

I love the last answer, cause I am a Witness and to be a Witness IS to know the Bible in detail.

Answer 7

I don't know of any Christian groups that teach this. The Bible is central in the lives of Catholics, Orthodox, and all Protestants that I know of.
.

Answer 8

No Christian sect would teach that....not a true Christian sect. God encourages us to stay in His Word.

Answer 9

Interesting questions.. hmmmm?
Many groups call themselves Christians, but are not.
The definition of a Christian is someone who loves Jesus Christ , knows He is God, accepts Him into their hearts, and obeys Him, turns from sin, repents, and lives a holy, righteous life with Jesus. That is a Christina. You must know what the Bible says to know how to obey Gods words. so any group that says not to read the Bible is not a Chrsitian group, even if they give themselves that label. Even God says we know them, by their fruits, ACTIONS. IF they are following God, yes. IF not, No, they are no Christians. that simple. They may have believes, may be into a religion, but its not Christian religion. To be a believer in Jesus means you follow His teachings, in the Bible. So, if any groups says not to read the Bible, flee, they are NOT Christians.
I have heard some say that education, SCIENCE is of the devil. and they are wrong. God loves knowledge, and its states that we will have knowleding coming till Jesus comes, Is He here yet to take us home? NO, then we are still learning. But, God tells us to beware of false knowledge, SCIENCE, that is contrary to His word. If its not concerning the teachings of Jesus Christ , He says it is part of anti Christ and we are to flee it. YOu know, run to the nearest exist... lts not about what I think , or you or anyone else. To be Christian, its about Jesus Christ, and what He says is all that matters. YOu can believe in something else. Thats choice even God gives. BUt dont use the Christian label. See the word CHRIST in Christian. Thats like saying you are a mormon but you dont believe in the book of mormon. ludicrous. yet, they have a right to be mormom. God gives the precious gift of choice, but we are all held accountible for the choices we make. Some ppl say tongues ended and knowledge ended at the cross. BUt, scripture says, it ends when Jesus comes to take us home. We arent in heaven, we are still here, therefore these things still exist. amen

Answer 10

Anyone who discourgages people from reading the bible, is a SAINT! (like me)

hell/the devil is a creation of christianity - so shall they go there!

Here's the Solution:

Create a private, personal, direct, divine Relationship with Our Creator and save your Soul from religion.

Only with Our Creator's Love and Peace will we be Truly Free!

Without God, there is No Love; Without religion, there are No Wars!

"religion is Spiritual fraud"; "religion is the Worse invention of humanity" - Jesus Christ

Answer 11

What Desperado said above is incorrect. Mormons do read the Bible and believe it to be the word of God. They also, that is also not in place of, believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God also. Both contain the word of God and are testaments of Christ.
Thanks, just wanted to get that off my chest.. :)