Heritage - Saxon Bible

[Mongol Servant]

In ‘How We Got Our Bible’ by J. Patterson Smyth, he quoted a Roman catholic priest named ‘Faber’. This has to be a blessing to Bible-believers, in seeing what he thinks of us:

Quote:
"Who will say that the uncommon beauty and marvellous English is not one of the strongholds of heresy [in his, a Catholic priest, eyes] in this country? It lives on the ear like a music that can never be forgotten, like the sounds of church bells, which the convert scarcely knows how he can forego. Its felicities seem often to be almost things rather than words. It is part of the nation, and the anchor of national seriousness. Nay it is worshipped in positive idolatry, in extenuation of whose fanaticism pleads availingly with the scholar. The memory of the dead passes into it. The potent traditions of childhood are stereotyped in its verses. It is the representative of man’s best moments; all that there has been about him of soft, and gentle, and pure, and penitent, and good speaks to him forever out of the English Bible. It is his sacred thing, which doubt never dimmed and controversy never solid, and in the length and breadth of the land there is not one Protestant with one spark of religiousness about him whose spiritual biography is not in his Saxon Bible."

Guys, this ought to bless your hearts!

[Upholder]

That RC priest had more respect for the Bible in English than a lot of people today.

[George]

Upholder Wrote:That RC priest had more respect for the Bible in English than a lot of people today.

That's for sure! I have respect for my Bible which goes beyond the respect and reverence of the content. I do my very best to care for my Bible in a physical sense as the sacred book it is. I will not lay it on the ground. I take painstaking care to try not to let the pages get folded and if they do I straighten them out as soon as I find the damage. My Bible collection even has special places in my home. Some of the oldest, including the 1688 copy are in a plexiglass showcase I made. Others are behind glass doors in a bookcase. I sincerely believe that we ought to show respect and reverence for God's Holy Word in every area we can.

I am but a steward of these wonderful books. When I pass on to Heaven I shall donate the entire collection to my Church for them to take over stewardship of them.

In Christ,
George

[Mongol Servant]

Upholder,

It wasn't that RC priest that had any respect for The Bible; he was detailing what his impression was, of how the English Bible had transformed the lives of the people in England, how much they heard it, meditated on it, and how it focused, controlled, and managed their lives. Remember his opening line of what "heresy" the English Bible had fostered!

Amen!

[Upholder]

Mongol Servant Wrote:Upholder,

It wasn't that RC priest that had any respect for The Bible; he was detailing what his impression was, of how the English Bible had transformed the lives of the people in England, how much they heard it, meditated on it, and how it focused, controlled, and managed their lives. Remember his opening line of what "heresy" the English Bible had fostered!

Amen!

Amen; that is true. What I was thinking of, was this: The RC priest would not have been a believer in the true and living God of the Bible, but he could not deny that something powerful was happening in Great Britain. He knew that the English Bible was blessing the people of Britain, and freeing multitudes from the bondage of Romanism. And, not surprisingly, he didn't like it. A Bible in English was a threat to Rome's dominance. But he had to admit that the English Bible was a powerful thing.
That's what I was trying to mean by his "respect" for the Bible - I know I should have picked a better word!

It's a bit like the magicians of Pharaoh. Like the RC priest, they did not know God. But they knew that the power of God was at work when they couldn't bring forth lice (Gen. 8:18,19), and they had to confess: "This is the finger of God". These men were workers of magic and worshippers of idols, but they realized that the God of Israel was working mightily in Egypt.

[Mongol Servant]

Amen, Brother! What a shame today, for Christians to relegate our Holy Bible to 2nd, 3rd or 4th place in their lives! They have more respect for, and give more credence to Oprah or TV Guide!

[George]

Mongol Servant Wrote:Amen, Brother! What a shame today, for Christians to relegate our Holy Bible to 2nd, 3rd or 4th place in their lives! They have more respect for, and give more credence to Oprah or TV Guide!

In that vein let me share something with you that came across my desktop a couple of days ago.


I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell Phones?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it as we traveled?

What if we used it in case of an emergency?

This is something to make you go…hmmm…where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t ever have to worry about our bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill!

And...it has global coverage.

You don't have to turn it off or on, it's always on.

The battery never dies.

I really like this. It is so appropriate for today.

In Christ,
George

[Mongol Servant]

Amen, Bro George! I saw that in the Lancaster Baptist magazine, and it's so true!

[Upholder]

George Wrote:

Upholder Wrote:That RC priest had more respect for the Bible in English than a lot of people today.

That's for sure! I have respect for my Bible which goes beyond the respect and reverence of the content. I do my very best to care for my Bible in a physical sense as the sacred book it is. I will not lay it on the ground. I take painstaking care to try not to let the pages get folded and if they do I straighten them out as soon as I find the damage. My Bible collection even has special places in my home. Some of the oldest, including the 1688 copy are in a plexiglass showcase I made. Others are behind glass doors in a bookcase. I sincerely believe that we ought to show respect and reverence for God's Holy Word in every area we can.

I am but a steward of these wonderful books. When I pass on to Heaven I shall donate the entire collection to my Church for them to take over stewardship of them.

In Christ,
George

I was talking with a pastor once about the subject of what should be done with a Bible when it starts to fall apart and you need a new one. He was of the opinion that a Bible should never be thrown in the bin, and definitely never burnt, but should be buried ("interned", as he put it) respectfully in the ground somewhere. I thought it was an interesting idea with some merit. I have kept all the Bibles I have owned over the years, and I hope to show them to my children one day. I write the date on the inside cover every time I start using a new one.

[Ebenezer]

I don't think Faber was writing about the Saxon (Anglo-Saxon) Bible. Luke 2 reads:

Quote:2:1 Soþlice on þam dagum wæs geworden gebod fram þam casere augusto. þæt eall ymbehwyrft wære tomearcod;
2:2 þeos tomearcodnes wæs æryst geworden fram þam deman syrige cirino.
2:3 and ealle hig eodon. and syndrie ferdon on hyra ceastre;

Anglo Saxon Bible

Faber has written some hymns popular with Protestants, which have been "doctored" to remove the Catholic sentiments.

Quote:Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Refrain

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Refrain

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

Refrain

NOTE: Re­flect­ing Fa­ber’s Ca­tho­lic roots, the orig­in­al third stan­za was:

Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free.

Faber - Cyber Hymnal

Obviously Mary's prayers have been ineffective to date - but don't hold your breath.

[IM4given]

King James who comissioned the Authorized King James Bible was the King of Scotland - was he not? Not the King of England...So there is not supposed to be any of that Anglo-Saxon/Roman Catholic Paganism stuff in his book...if anything it would have to have Celtic influences. Speaking as a racially Celtic-American sister here, and not as a Learned Bible Scholar. The Anglo Saxon Romans have always favored their Latin Version bible and something called the Doey Remes bible - they were still using it when I was a child, and it was to completely dupe their congregations into swallowing whatever lie or religious fairy tale they chose to pass off on to them as the word of god (notice I did not capitalize word of god nor bible because the RCC do not have the actual Word of God or the Holy KJV Bible in use at this time).

[Davo]

King James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was cousin to Elizabeth 1.

England has mostly had foreign sovereigns.

From 1066 it was the Normans, Some ruled from Normandy and did not often come to England.

The Normans were Norsmen from Scandinavia who had settled in France.
William IV was Dutch.
George I was German and didn't speak English, and was not interested in England.
His ancestors have occupied the throne since. The family name was Saxe-Coburg Gotha which was changed to Windsor in 1917 by George V due to anti German feelings in the time of war. I knew other people whose ancestors changed their name, one from Mann to Lyster and another from a German name to Clatworthy.

If I remember my history correctly, James I (James VI of Scotland) fought against protestants while he was king of Scotland.

[Upholder]

Davo Wrote:The family name was Saxe-Coburg Gotha which was changed to Windsor in 1917 by George V due to anti German feelings in the time of war. I knew other people whose ancestors changed their name, one from Mann to Lyster and another from a German name to Clatworthy.

There are many places here in South Australia that were first settled by migrants from Prussia in the 1830s, and they had German names. Many of these names were changed or "anglicised" during WW1, and some were re-named after famous battles in France, such as Verdun, Cambrai, and Sedan. Several places had their names changed back to the original German names in later years.

A full list can be found here: http://www.ach.familyhistorysa.info/germ...names.html

Even some items of food had their names changed. The Berliner bun became the Kitchener bun (after Lord Kitchener), and sauerkraut was given a new name - I can't remember what it was, though. The Americans called it "liberty cabbage" or something.

Ebenezer Wrote:NOTE: Re­flect­ing Fa­ber’s Ca­tho­lic roots, the orig­in­al third stan­za was:

Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free.

I knew that "Faith of our Fathers" was originally a RC hymn, but I have never heard about that original third stanza before. Wow! That completely spoils the hymn for me - even with it's present wording.

Davo Wrote:King James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was cousin to Elizabeth 1.

England has mostly had foreign sovereigns.

From 1066 it was the Normans, Some ruled from Normandy and did not often come to England.

The Normans were Norsmen from Scandinavia who had settled in France.
William IV was Dutch.
George I was German and didn't speak English, and was not interested in England.
His ancestors have occupied the throne since.

When you think about it, the great diversity of origins of the kings and queens who ruled England makes something of a mockery of the "British Israel" theory (the idea that the British monarchy is a continuation of the throne of Israel).

[George]

Quote:King James who comissioned the Authorized King James Bible

Just for the sake of clarity, King James was not a king when he commissioned the translation of the English Bible. He was a prince. The older copies of the Bible have their dedication to Prince James.

In Christ,
George

[Mongol Servant]

Ebenezer Wrote:I don't think Faber was writing about the Saxon (Anglo-Saxon) Bible. Luke 2 reads:

Quote:2:1 Soþlice on þam dagum wæs geworden gebod fram þam casere augusto. þæt eall ymbehwyrft wære tomearcod;
2:2 þeos tomearcodnes wæs æryst geworden fram þam deman syrige cirino.
2:3 and ealle hig eodon. and syndrie ferdon on hyra ceastre;

Anglo Saxon Bible

Faber has written some hymns popular with Protestants, which have been "doctored" to remove the Catholic sentiments.

Quote:Faith of our fathers, living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire and sword;
O how our hearts beat high with joy
Whenever we hear that glorious Word!

Refrain

Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.

Faith of our fathers, we will strive
To win all nations unto Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
We all shall then be truly free.

Refrain

Faith of our fathers, we will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife;
And preach Thee, too, as love knows how
By kindly words and virtuous life.

Refrain

NOTE: Re­flect­ing Fa­ber’s Ca­tho­lic roots, the orig­in­al third stan­za was:

Faith of our fathers, Mary’s prayers
Shall win our country back to Thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
England shall then indeed be free.

Faber - Cyber Hymnal

Obviously Mary's prayers have been ineffective to date - but don't hold your breath.

I believe Smyth's quote, though, is meant to imply that the English Bible had such a profound effect on the country (Faber called it "heresy"!), that it was impossible to go anywhere without encountering some result of its influence.