I work at a Catholic bookstore and religious supply shop for a major Catholic shrine, and I absolutely love it. It’s like retail and ministry all in one, and I get to meet the most amazing people from around the world. However, as spiritual and edifying as my job is, it is still essentially retail with a religious flavor so I still have those customers who make me want to laugh and cry at the same time, and the occasional Big Ones who send me running out to the chapel to make a preemptive act of contrition.
“Where do yall keep the King James Bibles?“
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I have had to explain to so many indignant customers that no,we do not carry the King James Bible, because it is not a Catholic Bible. Most people are fine with that explanation, but I have watched the world come crashing down behind some people’s eyes at the revelation that the KJV is in fact hardly ever used in the Catholic Church because it is literally missing books.
“Is any of this stuff already blessed?”
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People can get very snippy when we tell them they have to get their own stuff blessed after they pay for it. Because if we sell blessed objects, we are in violation of canon law and technically committing simony. And we all know how well that went over back in the day.
“Let me tell you about my prophecy/apparition/sign from God”
We all like to hear a good healing or miracle story—I mean, that’s why people come to a shrine, right? I love learning people’s stories and what brought them to the faith. But if we get that dead-eyed look accompanied by the words “prophecy” or “Jesus appeared to me and told me to write this book, here’s 200 free copies for your customers” we generally start screaming internally and looking for an excuse to run to the stock room.
“Do you sell anything that can get this demon out of my house?”
People have asked me this question as nonchalantly as they’d ask a Home Depot employee for the best type of ant-killer. Generally I urge them to seek the services of a priest or the local bishop. But the few people who have asked me this were insistent, so I sent them home with a St. Michael candle and a big bottle of holy water. Can’t hurt, right?
“I’m looking for a gift for a friend, and they’re not religious. Don’t you sell anything that doesn’t have Jesus or Mary or a cross on it?”
I’m sorry, did you get lost on the way to Barnes and Noble?
“Oh, -insert saint name here-! What does she do?”
Like, I really don’t know how to answer this question. I know the question behind it (“what’s she the patron saint of?”), but some people seem to think of saints and supplications to them as magical spells, neatly compartmentalized into different spheres of influence. What does this saint do? She makes unceasing intercession for people on earth before the throne of the Living God. The saints are so much more than their patronage, and we shouldn’t only involve them in our lives when we need them for finding lost items or selling houses.
“What do you think about women priests/gay marriage/Vatican II/insert controversial topic here”
Stop. Stop yourself for a second. Would you ask these questions to any other retail employee at any other place? No? Then don’t ask them at all. Off the clock, I’d love to share a tall frosty beer with you and talk about these issues. Its one of my favorite things in the world to do. But while I’m on the clock, as an employee of my diocese, with a line of customers waiting to pay for their Our Lady of Grace statues and handfuls of scapulars? Also knowing that my bishop could waltz in at any moment? All about that nope.
“You shouldn’t sell -insert book title here-. It’s heretical.”
We have about as much control over what gets put on the shelf as a normal retail employee does. It’s not like we order from HereticalPress.com.
-mutters offhand comments about how “weird” everything is, or how “it’s weird to see pictures of Mary everywhere”-
Non-Catholics come into our store all the time. I get that. Especially since our store is attached to a very popular historical attraction. Most are polite, and know how to react when presented with a religion that they aren’t familiar with. But we get those select few who come with a bone to pick. Who for some reason seem to think Catholicism is the side-show of Christianity, and that makes it totally okay to call our devotional objects and images “weird” and “funny.” Right in front of our faces. Just loud enough for us to hear. Which then puts us in awkward situation, because we have to be smiling and polite and in full retail-employee mode while our religion and our entire place of work, basically, is insulted right in front of us. I’ve got enough Scriptural and Patristic arguments in my head to bury anyone who wants to start a fight but all I’m allowed to say is, “Thank you for coming have a nice day!”
“Do you sell any crosses here that don’t have Jesus on them?”
-points the way to the nearest Hobby Lobby-
Bonus from the comments: “It’s cheaper on Amazon”
Yes, no doubt some of our products are cheaper on Amazon. But if you want the services of a Catholic bookstore, please support us! Chances are that if you have to pay a few extra bucks for that St. Anthony statue, it’s going toward making your diocese a little bit better.
Enjoyed this story. So glad that there are some more traditional Catholic book stores out there. Went to a nearby Catholic church book store and some of your customers would have been right at home there. No scapulars, crosses without a corpus, lots of angels. At least there were no King James Bibles that I saw but no Douay-Rheims bibles either.
It’s hard to walk the line between “retail” and “traditional.” We do it pretty well, but I can definitely see how stores could fall into the temptation to appeal to the masses. There are some things we have in our store that make me roll my eyes, but not a lot. Most of the people who work there are Catholic, and so is the person who does the product ordering. That goes a long way.
It also goes two ways though. We have trouble getting in Latin prayer books and the like, so we have almost nothing in Latin (except for a few dictionaries and Latin 101 reference books). One time this lady came in and asked me if we had anything in Latin. I told her no, sorry, and she looked at me like I was the devil incarnate and nearly ran out of the store. 0_o
To the best of my knowledge, Catholics wear crosses and crucifixes. Both are acceptable, as are Franciscan Tau’s and San Damiano crosses, for example. And Catholics also like angels. Lots of angels. The best thing about being Catholic is the diversity of devotions or types of spirituality & charism within the Tradition.
No one should think that a Dominican is more Catholic than a Franciscan, or a Carmelite than a Jesuit, for example. As Catholics, we can have preferences, but we cannot accuse others of being ‘less Catholic’ because of their preferences being different from ours.
One may find a better connection to God by reading Thomas Merton or St Athanasius. It makes no difference. The point is finding something that helps a particular person at a particular point in time or situation in life to connect to God easier. Otherwise, the store is useless.
I have had times when reading St Augustine was precisely what I needed, but other times, I needed to read Max Lucado (who is one of the few non-Catholics that I always enjoy reading). Personally, I am not interested in personal apparitions, except for a few, but I know people who seem to only care about those books & videos.
I think having a lot of variety is very important. If it all seems similar, it will only appeal to about 20% of the customers. As long as it doesn’t contradict the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it’s allowed.
My fav non-Catholic author is CS Lewis. Marvelous books from a knowledgeable Christian.
C.S. Lewis is one of the few non-Catholic authors we carry, and one of my favorites.
My own favorite non-Catholic writer is C.S. Lewis’s good friend Charles Williams – especially his poetry. (He also wrote novels, drama, literary criticism, and theological works.)
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“What do you think about women priests/gay marriage/Vatican II/insert controversial topic here” I actually got a question like that by email from the school newspaper when I was the faculty rep. for the Newman Club. I thought it was meant to be a trap, but it appears the reporter honestly did not know. I gave a careful answer that was about a paragraph long, but it was cut down to less than a sentence. I was actually glad when the reporter, who had initiated the contact, somehow completely garbled my name.
Most reporters covering “religion” are barely qualified to cover fires and traffic accidents. It is very risky to give a quote even to the religion “specialists”, as most have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Secular media do not hire qualified religion reporters because the economics don’t support it. People expect excellence and will detect incompetence in the sports section, and to a lesser extent in politics. Not in religion — so editors fake it, throwing in reporters who are ignorant and/or biased.
This was for a student newspaper. Still, a little more basic awareness of the world one lives in would be nice. The fact that the reporter had known my name when contacting me by email, and my name was in fact written out in the signature at the bottom, still leaves me wondering how the paper could have gotten THAT wrong.
By the way, it’s not just religion in which the reporting is bad. I’m a scientist, and the reporting on science is atrocious. In fact, whenever I have a means of independently evaluating what is being reported, it almost always turns out to be either wrong or at least misleading. About the only things we can hope they get right are the most brutal of facts — who won the Super Bowl, for example. Even when the individual stories are all truthful, “editorial decisions” to include some and exclude others can paint a very misleading overall picture.
As a retired traffic engineer, please believe me when I say that most reporters are also equally unqualified to cover traffic accidents!
LOL. Funny. I just heard the King James question last week when I was in a Catholic store.
I worked at a catholic bookstore in London. There was a corner only for bibles, top to bottom covered in all the different versions. Of course, not KJB allowed. I had my share of disappointed customers about KJ. But my most remarkable customer was a lady asking for the bible “that Jesus wrote”.
Very tactfully I tried to find out what she meant by that, if she was talking about a traditional translation, anything. No luck here. Then I started to explain to her the different versions we had to see if it could send her in the right direction. She was most offended: I don’t want any translations or versions, I want the real one that was written by Christ himself.
– Ok, Madam. Christ himself didn’t write anything. The Old Testament was already done when he was born, and the New Testament was written by his disciples. Maybe you mean you want the bible in the original language, or maybe in Latin? Or a traditional English translation?
– No! I don’t want any translation. I want Jesus Bible!
– Do you want the Bible we use for mass readings?
– NO! Jesus Bible, can’t you understand?
No, I couldn’t. Thankfully one of the nuns came to the floor. I grabbed her and explained the situation. She spent another half an hour with the lady. Who still stormed out of the shop, furious that we didn’t know the Bible that Jesus wrote in English, not a translation.
Wowwww. That tops pretty much everything I’ve had people say to me.
He, he. Priceless. Everybody knows that Jesus wrote the Bible in Aramaic, not in English. 😉
Come on. Everyone knows that Jesus spoke in 15th-16th century English.
Give her the Septuagint and tell her this is the version Jesus read from at Capernaum
hahaha you are so funny
This is hilarious!
ROTFL! I needed a laugh this morning. And loved your Khal Drogo moment :-).
Glad to help. =p I have those moments at least ten times a day. People be like “Catholics worship Mary” and in my head I’m like “YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE TO THE BISHOP BRO?”
number 11- “It’s cheaper on Amazon.” If you want to have the service of a Catholic bookstore, buy there. I no longer work in a store, now I provide merch as a rosary maker. The store helps support my family and several other artisans who sell there, too.
OH MY GOSH YES.
People actually try to haggle with me, trying to get as many discounts as they possibly can (and being really nasty about it), or they’ll complain that somewhere else has it cheaper and I’m like “…you realize your money goes to supporting YOUR diocese right? And that our shrine provides spiritual services to infertile couples, right?”
Ugggh.
Debbie makes a valid addition. Maybe add it to the list: “BONUS From the Comments” ?
I dig.
I don’t want my money going to my heretical archdiocese.
“But it’s Catholic! Shouldn’t it be free? I thought you were a religious store.” ……. really?
Very funny, but I believe I’ve seen crosses without Christ at my local Catholic store. I’ve also seen them in catholic item catalogues. St. Benedict and Celtic Crosses don’t have Christ on them. There are others too.
My St Benedict Cross has Christ on it. St Benedict parish San Benito Texas.
Yes, but there are some that don’t. My only point is that there are Catholic crosses without a Christ on it. As Maria points out just above, Catholics can wear either.
To the best of my knowledge, Catholics wear crosses and crucifixes. Both are acceptable. I have no idea why Evangelicals do not like crucifixes, but to each his/her own. I personally wear either a cross or a Franciscan Tau. I also like crucifixes, but simply don’t happen to own one. I think it’s petty to argue against ANY type of cross.
I myself wear a Celtic cross without the corpus, but I have a Celtic rosary on my rearview mirror that has the corpus on it. It’s just for some reason, people get /exasperated/ when we’re running low on non-crucifix crosses. Like “GIVE ME ANYTHING BUT A CRUCIFIX PLEASE.” It’s an oddly pervasive attitude. Then again, evangelical squeamishness with Catholicism makes me giggle.
I always felt very uncomfortable with this kind of request. Sometimes people would ask “don’t you have anything that doesn’t mention Christ or Mary, or sin, that has Christian teachings?”. I’m not that wise, I simply couldn’t deal with that. I would always call a nun to answer to those things. But then, I was the only non-religious dealing with the public in the store.
Protties don’t like crucifixes because they don’t believe in the redemptive power of suffering. For them. Jesus has risen so we don’t need to go through Good Friday anymore. This all ties in with the once saved always saved heresy, it’s just cheap grace. Catholics should only wear crucifixes. And God please not the ressurectifix aka the flying Jesus.
Growing up Baptist, I was taught that we didn’t wear Crucifixes because Jesus is no longer the cross, He is risen! Nitpicking really, but a lot of denominations were started by people nitpicking one thing or another.
I personally like the crucifix because it differentiates the cross from the Mystic Tau (a cross identical to the “little ‘t'” that formally symbolized Tammuz, a Caananite deity).
Yes, and Carmels (Carmelite convents) have crosses without the corpus on the walls in their cells. If memory serves, the penitential point is that one is supposed to be on the cross as well.
I was in the religious section of Barnes and Noble last summer and overheard the response of a clerk telling a customer (asking for a Catholic Bible) that the KJV is the gold standard of Bibles and the best version for Catholics. I had to go over there and interrupt and correct him (and I did so in a firm, but pastoral manner). I then explained the difference and helped the customer myself (who was grateful for the assistance and ended up purchasing the NAB. The clerk was quite angry and called his manager over. The latter was angry because I should not have shown the clerk’s ignorance and that he too (the manager) was not aware of such differences and therefore, they should leave customer assistance to the “experts.” Further, I was interfering with a customer sale. I showed him my ID, had a follow up with his district manager later in the week and received a letter of apology from both the district manager and the store manager — I haven’t seen the clerk since, but the manager certainly knows me when I go into the store (I always smile at him).
The NAB has problems of its own. No translation is perfect, but the one I hear most often recommended is the (Catholic) RSV.
During our discussion, it became apparent that the person to whom I was speaking at B&N wanted the translation consistent with the Lectionary Readings. The first NAB translations had serious problems, but for the most part it is good, and the introduction and notes are very helpful My personal favorite for prayer and meditation is the RSV-CE. The NRSV-CE is also good, although the language seems to be forced-inclusive at times. I have a comparative New Testament with 8 translations, (NAB, RSV, NSRV, Dhoury Rheims, Jerusalem and New Jerusalem Bibles, Good News Bible, etc.) which can be helpful in homiletic preparation.
The one deficiency with the RSV is the lack of footnotes, but Ignatius Press just released a version branded the Didache Bible, which is the RSV with extensive notes. I haven’t seen it yet, so can’t comment upon it, but it is a great idea if it is done well.
I’ll be on the lookout for the “Didache Bible”. Thanks for the tip. Forced-inclusive language annoys me too. I have gained a lot from interlineal editions of the Septuagint and New Testament, with English equivalents alongside the Greek. The most important thing is to read Scripture with the mind of the Church.
Annoying language see the Good News translation with its Covenant Box of the Lord (Ark of the Covenant) and most holy place ( the holy of holies)
The “Good News” is more of a paraphrase than a translation.
A bigger deficiency of the NAB is that it does have footnotes … and what they say. But its problems start on THE SECOND VERSE of whole Bible, when the editors of the NAB chose to use “a mighty wind” where the Vulgate has “spiritus Dei” and every decent English translation has “Spirit of God”. The Septuagint has, “καὶ
πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος” — I may not really know Greek, but I recognize πνεῦμα (pneuma) as “spirit” and θεοῦ as having something to do with God. In other words, the editors of the NAB chose to go with what they THINK the phrase may have meant in Hebrew to Moses, disregarding what it actually says, disregarding the Jewish translation into Greek, and disregarding the entire Christian Tradition (big “T”) as it relates to that phrase.
If you just want a good Catholic translation the RSVCE is fine in fact it is the one Scott Hahn uses but the American Church uses the NAB for the lectionary and Universalis uses the Jerusalem bible for the Liturgy of the hours.
The best Catholic bible, by far, is the Douay Rheims. Why, because it is a literal translation faithful to the Vulgate texts. St. Jerome’s Vulgate was the Bible used in the Church for 1500 years, and declared by her to be free from doctrinal error. All modern Catholic versions, while they use original Hebrew and Aramaic source materials; they are problematic in that they employ the linguistic equivalency method -sense for sense, but not word for word. Sometimes the sense or meaning can be poorly restated by the translator, or manipulated by prejudicial higher criticism theories, that tend to naturalize the spiritual, which can harm the integrity of the text. For, example, in the NAB, translates Isaiah 7:14 prophetic reference of the Holy Virgin, as “young woman”. And, in one of the Gospel’s during the crucifixion Jesus hangs between two “revolutionaries” rather than as the Vulgate translates as “thieves”. Lastly, the Duay Rheims is more elegant, and poetic which gives it a sublime sensus Catholicus. I’m not saying don’t read other Catholic versions, just that the DR is superior to all others.
The Douay Rheims is no longer approved by the Catholic Church because it is not translated from the Nestle Aland Bible. Even the Vulgate has been retranslated from the Nestle Aland and is no longer a translation from St. Jerome. Much has happened to Bible translations over the past century. The NAB-RE is the primary English Bible of the Catholic Church. It is up to date and very good.
The Nestle Aland Bible is a modern Greek version, not the ancient Greek manuscripts that St. Jerome worked from. The NAB-RE is riddled with inclusive language, that coincides with the modernist and progressive elements in the Catholic Church. The approved missal for all TLM’s still uses the Douay Rheims, thus, it is still accepted by the Church. It has an exalted language presents to the reader the grandeur and transcendence of God that is lacking in the prosaic, mundane style of the NAB.
There are some problems with the KJV. The bookstore I worked for was near a Theology College and by the bishops’s house. Our customers were as varied as the languages spoken in the streets of London, but mainly intellectuals. We carried not only catholic versions, protestants too. But not KJV. One of my nuns told me there were some offensive remarks about Our Lady on notes or introduction, and that’s why we didn’t carried them. It is their ministry to educate whoever enter their bookstore looking for some help or information so, if I didn’t feel qualified to offer the best guidance, I would call them.
I like the RSV-CE “Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition”.
Large print for ease of reading.
RSV was used in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition”.
A good study Bible is the Navarre Bible.
I also have a problem with a Catholic bookstore selling heretical books. If you’re going to put the name Catholic on the store front, you may as well live up to it.
Most of the complaints about “heretical” material I have gotten are from people who complain about either A) books about Vatican II or B) books in our “meditations” section that aren’t necessarily Catholic-specific, but are Christian themed in general.
Most Catholic bookstores I know of, ours included, order the bulk of their products from known Catholic publishers, but it’s still almost impossible to tell if any are “heretical” or not. We can’t proofread and research every book that enters the store. It’s not like we have John Piper and Rob Bell sitting there next to Scott Hahn and Peter Kreeft.
Your point is well taken. I myself have had it with the phony apparitions of Bayside and others and the close relatives of the “sedecavantists.” BUt there was a bookstore in Houston that continued to carry “Christ Among Us” long after it had gone sour. Be that as it may, I agree that the employee is not responsible for the inventory.
As a Catholic novelist, I’m glad to see your list did not include, “Do you have any books with the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval?” https://www.catholicwritersguild.org/index.php/awards-contents/soa-recipients
What do you consider ‘heretical’? The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was abolished on June 14, 1966 by Pope Paul VI.
Heresy is any belief contrary to Church teaching. That was easy.
I meant in terms of what a bookstore might sell.
The quick and easy response is to look for the imprimatur.
Next time I go to a Catholic book store, I am gonna pull this stuff!! jejejeje
LOL! I used to manage such a store – it is exactly like that. Another big request was for extra discounts because individuals wanted to buy things to give out in their street ministry and they were using their own money. They requested discounts above and beyond the already est. bulk rate and religious discounts, because they were not part of a specific group, etc.. They didn’t understand that our mark up was not the same as ordinary retail – we kept prices low to competitive.
We’ve legit had people lie about being priests to get discounts. Crazy stuff.
It makes sense that a Catholic book shop not stock the King James Version, since it’s not a Catholic translation. But as originally published it did include the Deuterocanonical books. And although most editions of the KJV sold today exclude them, it is still available with them.
I just started a a Catholic bookstore less than 3 months ago, and my boss shared this with me!
I’ve already experienced about half of these XD
I recommend all Catholic bookstores get a reputable Catholic seminary professor as a consultant who should know what material is in keeping with Church teaching and what is not. There is a lot that is being sold in some Catholic stores that is leading nominal, and even Sunday-Mass-going, Catholics astray. This is no joke. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve had to toss once I found out the authors were not faithful to the Magisterium. It takes a lot of catechesis and many excellent homilies to undo error. Folks believe that, because they bought it at a Catholic bookstore, it is approved by the Church… would that it were so!
God bless you…thanks for the grins!
Except that every ‘reputable Catholic seminary professor’ will have a different opinion on what is appropriate material. And, frankly their opinion is nothing more than that — an opinion. The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was abolished on June 14, 1966 by Pope Paul VI.
Well, it’s true that all will have a different opinion. But, at least, they have to have some standards to teach at the seminary. They must sign a mandatum which requires them to teach and uphold the magisterium. Their engagement as a consultant could be worded likewise. Good shepherds, not hirelings, are the intent.
What makes you think seminary profs are orthodox? Seminaries have been the breeding grounds of heresy for decades. I’d trust an FSSP priest though.
OK. Let’s not stereotype. There are a lot of excellent, holy priests out there that have been thrown under the bus by all the bad publicity. Yes, there are those who have done much harm to the Church in this regard. But, many have not and are yet bearing the brunt of this humiliation. It’s a huge cross. Let’s be charitable this Lent.
“Excellent, holy priests” agree with me. Playing nice is not charity.
We carry books in my store that make my heart die a little. I have mentioned them many times to our store owners as being written by extremely disreputable and troubled authors. Or overwhelmingly Protestant. We do have a priest who basically acts as our chaplain, so every time something comes into dispute, if the owner does not agree to remove the problematic material from the shelf, I’ll call our priest and he will settle the matter. Having an outside authority to consult has been invaluable.
So glad to hear that Leigh. It’s like a breath of fresh air, like opening up a window for the grace of the Holy Spirit to come in and sanctify! God bless you and your priest-chaplain!
Let’s see if we can compose short and charitable responses (sorry if I sound snarky…I do have an Irish sense of humor). Imagine these being said as sweetly as possible…with a smile:
1. King James bibles – “The KJV excluded many books of the Bible and was a deeply flawed translation…so we don’t carry it. But if you want a real Bible, we have several to choose from.”
2. Already blessed – “Selling blessings would be disrespectful…and tacky. The Church doesn’t allow that. You’re going to have to get your blessing the old fashioned way…pray for it.”
3. Let me tell you – “I’m sorry. I only have time for Church-approved apparitions.”
4. Sell…demon out – “I don’t think you can accessorize your way out of demonic possession. I hear prayer and fasting are very effective.”
5. Non-religious gift – “You’re in a religious goods store. Would you walk into a phone store and ask to see their non-phone items?”
6. What does this saint do? – “Saints don’t ‘do’ anything. They worship God. 24/7”
7. What do you think about controversy? – “The Church has spoken clearly about that. Next!”
8. Book is heretical – “Condemning someone as a heretic is basically telling them to go to hell. I prefer giving people the benefit of the doubt. I’m not Athanasius or Nicholas, I just ring up your purchases.”
9. Catholicism is weird – “If you think the Church is ‘weird’, then why do you base all your beliefs on our book?” OR “If you think Mary is weird, try explaining that to her Son.”
10. Crosses without Jesus – “A cross without Jesus is like a Nativity scene without Jesus. Pointless.”
OR “If you want a cross without Jesus, Joel Osteen is in Houston.”
OR “There’s someone else who wishes Jesus was never on the cross. He runs a big conglomerate down somewhere warm.”
OR “I think Jesus said something about people who were embarrassed about Him.”
OR “If the thought of Christ’s atoning death makes you uncomfortable, then you might want to rethink the whole Christianity thing.”
OR “You do realize that Christ on the Cross is the whole point of Christianity, right?”
OR “We sell religious goods here, not decorative knick-knacks.”
OR “I *love* Jesus.”
1. King James bibles – “The KJV excluded many books of the Bible and was a deeply flawed translation…so we don’t carry it. But if you want a real Bible, we have several to choose from.”
The KJV is a real bible. The most popular English bible of all time, with over 1 billion copies. It didn’t exclude MANY books, but rather 7 from the old testament. And that wasn’t until the 18th century. The new testament is identical. 80% of the KJV was taken from William Tyndale, a Catholic priest, who translated it from a Greek bible composed by Erasmus, a catholic monk. 50 linguist scholars worked 7 years in refining the language of the KJV to create an English masterpiece which has endured for 400 years. True, it is not the best bible for bible study, but if you want to hear pure eloquence it can’t be beaten.
You missed the part about this being humor.
The KJV is real-ish. I wouldn’t rely on it. It has more holes than swiss cheese.
The KJV did print the 7 deuterocanonical books (aka apocrypha), but put them in a separate section to show they were not considered inspired scripture. It did this in the 16th and 17th centuries…not the 18th. Later British law forbade their inclusion (lifted in the 20th century).
No idea what your points about Tyndale and Erasmus were about.
You can call it a “masterpiece”…most people just think it must be sublime because it uses archaic English. The simple fact is it’s a mediocre translation of not the best available manuscripts, contained many errors (fixed nowadays), and was a piece of anti-Catholic, pro-Anglican, pro-British monarchy propoganda through and through.
It hasn’t endured for 400 years. It has been corrected and updated repeatedly.
Pure eloquence? I prefer a reliable translation over archaic “prettiness”.
I was referring to the fact that it is a masterpiece of English prose. Around 50 linguistic scholars spent 7 years translating the KJV so that it rolled off the tongue and rang in the year. The KJV was meant to be read aloud. It had a tremendous impact on the English language. It influenced many writers such as Herman Melville and Walt Whitman. True, it’s biggest fault is that it relied on inaccurate manuscripts, but that does not diminish the literary value.
I wonder. Is it a masterpiece…or are we just conditioned to regard 17th century English as rarified and ‘eloquent’?
At this point it really doesn’t matter…it’s English is so archaic that it’s unreadable in the original.
English in the 16th century reached it’s zenith, so it is perhaps the reason so much of it is held in high regard. It is the time of Shakespeare, Marlowe, and Dunne. It is still considered modern English. I’ve read the entire book. It is really not as difficult as most people think. What is so hard about “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
You’re reading an updated version, not the original language and spellings from the original translation of KJV.
English might have hit its zenith, but England hit its nadir. Henry VIII’s pogrom against the Church and 60,000 killed in systematic oppression…in many ways, the first modern dictator.
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YES. I work in a Catholic store. So. Many. Stories. Thank you for this list!! People tend to forget that
1. They should think before they speak
2. It’s retail. I’m not allowed to actually answer you honestly when you say how much you love liturgical dance or other abuses that make me die a little inside.
3. I am also not a priest (I’m a woman!) or psychologist, so I don’t know what to say when you start telling me all your problems in detail. I will, however, pray for you.
4. Don’t ask me for books or merchandise that we carry at my store when you see me outside of work. Like Mass. After Communion, when I’m trying to pray.
You’re no fun.
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Do you have any plain “Christian” books?
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Sorry but I have a problem with this article. First, customers don’t “need” to do anything. Including being customers. Second, they are coming into the store for a reason, and may be entirely unaware of Catholicism or church teachings and already way out of their comfort zone. Why not use the opportunity as a teaching moment? For example, the question about crucifixes could be answered by quoting both St. Paul (we preach Christ crucified…) and Archbishop Fulton Sheen (we focus on the crucifix, because the cross without Christ is a burden without a redeemer and Christ without the cross is a man without a mission). I can tell you that Deseret Book, an LDS-run chain of bookstores and art shops, gets far more interesting questions about Mormon beliefs and their staffs are both trained and tolerant, patiently addressing their church’s teachings and religious culture with whatever questions customers have. This sounds more like record store clerk attitude than anything that should be present in a religious bookstore of any denomination. It’s always better to act as if you actually like your customers.
The original KJV of 1611 had all 73 books in it, intermingled as the Catholic Bibles do today. It wasn’t until the early 1800s that Prot publishers began removing the “Deuterocanonical” books. I’m producing a documentary about this, filming an fist edition KJV to prove it. Anyone want to help.
I am a Catholic and I find it disheartening that most Catholics have disdain for the KJV. It really isn’t inimical to Catholicism. It is a masterpiece of English prose. Although it has errors, the beauty of the language is unmatched by any other English bible. And, 80% was of the KJV was taken from William Tyndale, who was a Catholic priest. King James himself, although a protestant, was the son of Mary Queen of Scotts, a catholic, who was executed by Elizabeth I, a protestant. There have been over 1 billion copies of the KJV since 1611, and is still to this day one of the most popular selling bibles. It has endured for a reason. Please, don’t trash it. Read it for it’s beauty.