“During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500),
Rome burned Bibles along with their owners.”
-The Baptist Pillar
CANADA’S ONLY TRUE BAPTIST PAPER
Published by Bible Baptist Church

This was a time, when not only was the Bible banned,
but literacy in general was prohibited and frowned
upon.  Very few people during this time knew how to
read or write.  Again, the Apostate Church was
determined that the less knowledge that people had,
the more easy it would be to rule them.

“Only ten percent of people
in the Roman Empire could read…
and those were generally in the wealthy
upper classes.”
-River of God,
Gregory J. Riley, pp. 66

The Church admits this in her own Laws :

“Canon 14. We prohibit also that the laity should
not be permitted to have the books of the Old or
New Testament; we most strictly forbid their having
any translation of these books.”
– The Church Council of Toulouse 1229 AD
Source: Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe,
Scolar Press, London, England
copyright 1980 by Edward Peters,
ISBN 0-85967-621-8, pp. 194-195

The Council of Tarragona of 1234,
in its second canon, ruled that:

“No one may possess the books of the Old
and New Testaments, and if anyone possesses
them he must turn them over to the local bishop
within eight days, so that they may be burned…”
– The Church Council of Tarragona 1234 AD;
2nd Cannon – Source : D. Lortsch,
Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14.

“Opened on Thursday alongside the Inquisition
archives was the infamous Index of Forbidden Books,
which Roman Catholics were forbidden to read
or possess on pain of excommunication. They showed
that even “the Bible” was once on the blacklist.
Translations of the holy book ended up on the bonfires along with other “heretical” works…The Index
of Forbidden Books and all excommunications relating
to it were officially abolished in 1966. The Inquisition
itself was established by Pope Gregory IX in 1233….”
-Vatican archives reveal Bible was once banned book
By Jude Webber
ROME, Jan 22, 1998 (Reuters)

ITEM #6  THE BIBLE PROHIBITED BY
THE INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM

Pope Pius IV had a list of the forbidden books compiled
and officially prohibited them in the Index of Trent
(Index Librorum Prohibitorum) of 1559.
This is an excerpt :

“Whoever reads or has such a translation in his
possession… cannot be absolved from his sins
until he has turned in these Bibles…Books in the
vernacular dealing with the controversies between
Catholics and the heretics of our time are not to be
generally permitted, but are to be handled in the
same way as Bible translations…”
– Rule IV & Rule VI
Die Indices Librorum Prohibitorum des sechzehnten
Jahrhunderts (Tübingen, 1886), page 246f.
Source: The Reformation, by Hans J. Hillerbrand,
copyright 1964 by SCM Press Ltd and Harper and Row,Inc.,
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-15480,
pages 474, 475.

History’s Most Indestructable Book

Many dictators have attempted to wipe
the Bible from existence. Yet it has
withstood all these attacks, remaining
the most popular book in the world.
More copies of the Bible are sold every year
than any other book, despite its image as
being “out of date.”

Christendom Becomes – An Enemy of the bible
Christendom – as a political power

Unfortunately, this ultimately led to
persecution again as the church quickly
became a powerful political force, used to
control public opinion and political ambitions.

The Bible continued to be attacked, now from
within the church. Bibles in common languages
such as Greek were outlawed. The Latin Vulgate
Bible was produced and carefully controlled,
readable only by specially trained representatives
of the church. Laws were issued making it illegal
for any Christian to possess a Bible. Penalties
included burning at the stake. During the Dark Ages
even priests were unable to read the Scriptures
for themselves. As a result, they were unable to
compare the false doctrines sweeping through the
Roman church against the doctrines of the
Word of God. In Italy, it was still illegal to
own a Bible until 1870!

Political ambitions led to such crimes as the
Crusader Wars, purported to be in the name of
Christ but having no relationship with any 
Christian doctrine. Christianity was primarily
an excuse used to give them credibility. Since
the people had no Bibles to check such things for
themselves, they were at the mercy of the corrupt 
religiious leaders behind these efforts.

“The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally
suppressed, opposed, and forbidden the open use
of the Bible. It was first officially forbidden
to the people and placed on the index of Forbidden
Books List by the Council of Valencia in 1229 A.D.
The Council of Trent (1545-63 A.D.) also prohibited
its use and pronounced a curse upon anyone who would dare oppose this decree. Many popes have issued decrees forbidding Bible reading in the common
language of the people, condemning Bible societies
and banning its possession and translation under
penalty of mortal sin and death. The Roman Catholic
Church has openly burned Bibles and those who
translated it or promoted its study, reading, and use.
(John Hus, 1415 A.D.; William Tyndale, 1536 A.D.)”
-Christian Equippers International,
2941 Lake Tahoe Blvd,
South Lake Tahoe 96150

1525: Six thousand copies of William Tyndale’s
English translation of the New Testament were
printed in Cologne, Germany, and smuggled into
England—and then burned by the English church.

“Tyndale wrote that the Church authorities
banned translation into the mother tongue
“to keep the world still in darkness,
to the intent they might sit through vain
superstition and false doctrine, to satisfy
their filthy lusts, their proud ambition,
and insatiable covetousness, and to exalt their
own honour… above God himself.” “
–William Tyndale’s New Testament.
Worms (Germany), 1526
British Library C.188.a.17
Copyright © The British Library Board
ONLINE GALLERY
LANDMARKS IN PRINTING

“Tyndale’s New Testament was the first to be
printed in English. There are only two complete
copies surviving from the 3,000 or more printed
in 1526 by Peter Schoeffer in the German city
of Worms. Tyndale’s translation was pronounced
heretical in England, so his Bibles were smuggled
into the country in bales of cloth. Those discovered
owning them were punished. At first only the books
were destroyed, but soon heretics (those found with
the Bibles) would be burned too – including Tyndale
himself in 1536.”
-William Tyndale’s New Testament.
Worms (Germany), 1526
British Library C.188.a.17
Copyright © The British Library Board
ONLINE GALLERY
LANDMARKS IN PRINTING

“For 600 years the Roman Catholic Church
attempted to keep translations of the Bible
out of the hands of the people. Bible-believing
people were mercilessly persecuted and their
Scriptures were destroyed. Those who possessed
Bibles without a license were commanded to
deliver them up to the Catholic authorities
under threat of inquisition terrors. Booksellers
were forbidden to sell any Bibles except to
people who possessed a license from the Catholic
church. Huge quantities of Scriptures in English,
Germany, Italian, French, Spanish, and in other
languages, were confiscated and destroyed
throughout the 13th to the 19th centuries.
Bible translators and distributors were imprisoned
and burned. Even after the Catholic inquisition
was outlawed in many lands in the 18th and 19th
centuries, the popes continued to condemn the free
distribution of Scripture.”
-ROME AND THE BIBLE:
TRACING THE HISTORY
OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE
AND OF BIBLE BELIEVERS, by David W. Cloud,
Way of Life Literature, copyright 1996.

“In Roman-dominated lands, the Bible was almost
an unknown book among the common people. The Bible
in Rome is a strange and rare book. Indeed very few
of the common people know what we mean by the Bible.”
-ROME AND THE BIBLE:
TRACING THE HISTORY
OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE
AND OF BIBLE BELIEVERS, by David W. Cloud,
Way of Life Literature, copyright 1996.

“Book burnings which included Bibles
were common after 1521. Sometimes the
translators and publishers themselves
were also burned. Possession of Bibles became
criminal offenses and often resulted in the
execution of the accused. There are cases on
record of people executed by order of church
for the “crime” teaching their children
the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments
in their own native tongue.”
-What Happened this Day in Church History
June 13, 1757 • The Bible in Many Tongues.
Christian History Institute

“In the two decades after Wycliffe’s death,
many Lollards were burned at the stake,
some even with their Bibles hanging from
their necks to be burned with them.”
-Ron Minton,
The Making and Preservation of the Bible
(n.p.; November, 2000) 216.

“By 1408 even reading the Bible in English
was outlawed.”
– F. F. Bruce, PP 20-23
History of the Bible in English, 3rd ed.
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1978)

“One of Wycliffe’s followers, John Hus,
actively promoted Wycliffe’s ideas:
that people should be permitted to read
the Bible in their own language,
and they should oppose the tyranny
of the Roman church that threatened
anyone possessing a Bible with execution.
Hus was burned at the stake in 1415,
with Wycliffe’s manuscript Bibles used
as kindling for the fire. The Catholic
Church excommunicated Hus in 1411 and
burned him at the stake in Constance on
July 6, 1415, having condemned him by
the Council of Constance, in an unfair trial.”
-English Bible History; “John Hus”
GREATSITE.COM; the online showroom of
The Bible Museum, Inc. Since 1987

Burned at the Stake
For Owning A Bible

Burned at the Stake
For Owning A Bible

“During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500),
Rome burned Bibles along with their owners.”
-The Baptist Pillar
CANADA’S ONLY TRUE BAPTIST PAPER
Published by Bible Baptist Church

“In the two decades after Wycliffe’s death,
many Lollards were burned at the stake,
some even with their Bibles hanging from
their necks to be burned with them.”
-Ron Minton,
The Making and Preservation of the Bible
(n.p.; November, 2000) 216.

“October 6, 1998 marks 462 years since another
Christian was burned at the stake for his
translation and distribution of the English Bible.”
-The Bible Gateway;
Topic : “William Tyndale”
Bible.Org.com
Tom White and Steve Cleary,
“The Smuggler,” The Voice of the Martyrs,
October, 1998, pp. 3-4

“Owning a Bible in English,
or even quoting Scripture in English,
meant death for countless men and women of God.”
-1376-Indestructible Book: Story of the Bible
Bestselling Catholic Videos
in English and Spanish Languages
Largest Roman Catholic Marian Resource

“Many people died at the stake
for owning a Bible, or for helping
to translate one, or for distributing
them to others.”
– Sermon of
Rev. Orland Wolfram (1912-1987)
Pillar of Fire Church
Missionary to Guatemala

“The principal accusation against those
who are subject to… (the inquisition)
is heresy…of such who read the Bible
in the common language…
Upon all occasions the inquisitors carry on
their processes with the utmost severity,
and punish those who offend them
with the most unparalleled cruelty.”
-Fox’s Book of Martyrs; Chapter 5
An Account of the Inquisition
Author: John Foxe (1516-1587)

Taking the Bible for Granted

Many people today, ridicule those who search
the scriptures for truth.  And even many of
my readers make fun of me and say that I should
not take the Bible so seriously.  I am told
to lighten up.  But I know that Jesus replied
to almost all of the questions that were
presented to him, by quoting from the Bible’s
Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures).  I know too,
that the apostles and early christians died for
their belief in the Bible’s laws and principals.

How did Jesus View the Bible ?
(click-here)

Through the centuries, courageous men and women
have treasured the Scriptures and have struggled
to preserve and disseminate them amid great
opposition. Some, as we have seen, have even died
to get the Bible into the hands of the common
person. Their sacrifices should inspire us to a
greater study and application of the Bible’s
teachings. Yet many today take owning a Bible
for granted. Nevertheless, surveys reveal that
fewer than half of Americans can even name the
first four books of the New Testament.

The words of the Bible are of no value as mere
letters on paper. They must live in the minds
of people through the Spirit of God.

The Bible is a precious heritage and a priceless
gift. It reveals the true God and his Son,
Jesus Christ, the Savior of all humanity.
Realizing that God inspired many dedicated
Christians to great personal sacrifices should
motivate us to value the precious heritage of
the Bible. The once-forbidden book now lies open
— to you!