2021/09/11

Censorship of the Bible - Wikipedia

Censorship of the Bible - Wikipedia

Censorship of the Bible

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Censorship of the Bible includes restrictions and prohibition of possessing, reading, or using the Bible in general or any particular translation of it. Violators of so-called "Bible bans" have been punished by killing, imprisonment, forced labor, and banishment, as well as by burning or confiscating the Bible or Bibles used or distributed. Censorship of the Bible occurred in historical times and is still going on today.

In the 20th century, Christian resistance to the Soviet Union's policy of state atheism occurred through Bible-smuggling.[1] The People's Republic of China, officially an atheist state, engages in Bible burning as a part of antireligious campaigns there.[2][3]

The Index Librorum Prohibitorum[a] of the Catholic Church included various translations of the Bible. In most cases, the bans on pious lay people possessing or using Bibles were related to vernacular Bible editions. Clerics were never forbidden to possess the Vulgate Bible translation in the Latin language. Within Christianity, from the point of view of Protestantism, the topic mostly refers to historical provisions of the Catholic Church against reading or possessing Bibles not of the Latin Vulgate translation, or in the case of the laity, possessing any Bibles at all, including the Vulgate. From a Catholic point of view, the censorship of the Bible was justified both by restricting Bibles from those lacking instruction and by censoring translations thought to encourage deviations from official doctrines.[4]

Background[edit source]

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Koine, a form of ancient Greek. The books were translated into several other languages, including Latin. From about AD 300 onward, Latin began to assert itself as the language of worship in Western Christianity. This was aided by the fact many European languages, called the Romance languages, are all descended from Latin. In contrast the earliest written Western Germanic languages date only from the 6th century. From AD 382-420, a new translation was made into the Latin vernacular, the Vulgate, which became the dominant translation for Western Christianity in the 7th-9th centuries. From about the 9th century it was regarded as the only valid Bible translation.[b] In Eastern Christianity, on the other hand, Greek remained dominant.

Diocletianic Persecution[edit source]

During the Diocletianic Persecution, Bibles were targeted as part of a larger program intended to wipe out Christianity. On February 24, 303, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published.[5][c] Among other persecutions against Christians, Diocletian ordered the destruction of their scriptures and liturgical books across the entire Roman empire.[9][d]

During the Middle Ages[edit source]

There were some controversies whether the translation in Old Church Slavonic was permissible. According to St. Methodius, he was officially allowed to use it by John VIII in 880. Yet Christians were forbidden to use the Old Church Slavonic translation by John X in 920 and by the Lateran Synod of 1059, with the synod being confirmed by Nicholas II and Alexander II. In a letter to Vratislav II of Bohemia dated 2 January 1080, Pope Gregory VII revoked his predecessors' permission to use the Slavonic language. The reason he gave was that "Not without reason has it pleased Almighty God that Holy Scripture should be a secret in certain places, lost, if it were plainly apparent to all men, perchance it would be little esteemed and be subject to disrespect; or it might be falsely understood by those of mediocre learning, and lead to error."[11][12][e] However, the rite was under the protection of the Croatian kings and was so firmly rooted there that Pope Innocent IV in 1248 allowed the South Slavs the Latinized Slavonic Rite again.

Between 1170–80, Peter Waldo commissioned a cleric from Lyon to translate the New Testament into the vernacular "Romance" (Franco-Provençal).[13] He is credited with providing Western Europe the first translation of the Bible in a 'modern tongue' outside of Latin.[14] In the struggle against the Bible-centered mass movements of the Cathars and the Waldensians, who had made their own translations on the basis of the Vulgate, the church moved to an increased control of Bible reception.

In 1199, Innocent III, writing in a letter to the bishop of Metz, banned the reading the Bible in private meetings (which he labeled as occultis conventiculis, or "hidden assemblies"). However, he noted that the desire to read and study the divine scriptures, was not to blame, but rather it was a recommended disposition. Since, however, the individual by himself apart from private meetings could hardly procure Bible texts, this ban was practically equivalent to a Bible ban for lay people.[15][f] The following year, the Pope sent some abbots to Metz to order the burning of French Bible translations. In 1202, the papal envoy, Bishop Guido of Präneste, issued a visitation to Leuven to enforce several provisions. In one of them, it was said that all books in the Latin and German languages concerning the Holy Scripture were to be delivered to the bishop. The bishop then decided which books to return. After the 1210 council held in Paris,[g] Peter of Corbeil, Archbishop of Sens, issued a decree according to which all theological writings in Romance languages with the exception of saints' legends were to be delivered to the diocesan bishops. Since several cities or parishes had residents with differing languages and customs, it was decided at the Fourth Council of the Lateran under Innocent III that suitable people were to be sought who performed the priestly ministry according to their respective customs.

After the end of the Albigensian Crusade, the Council of Toulouse tightened the provisions against the heretics in this ecclesiastical province. The Inquisition was the first to work nationwide, and the University of Toulouse was founded, to which the Catholic Institute of Toulouse is also called. At the synod a general Bible ban was pronounced for lay people of this ecclesiastical province, only Psalterium and Brevier in Latin were allowed.[16][17][18][19] The Council pronounced:

We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old and New Testaments; unless anyone from the motives of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books."[20][21]

This quote was not repeated in 1233 at the Council held in Bréziers. Although sections of the Council Toulouse were used, this statement was omitted. In the course of a confirmation of the writings in 1215 at Fourth Council of the Lateran's condemnation of the writings of David of Dinant ordered Gregory IX. in 1231, to hand over all the theological books written in Latin to the diocesan bishops. At the Second Council of Tarragona (Conventus Tarraconensis) in 1234, the Spanish bishops, according to a decree of King James I of Aragon, declared that it was forbidden to anyone, to own a translation of the Bible. They had to be burned within eight days, otherwise, they were considered heretics.[22][23][24][25]

Nobody may be in possession of the Old or New Testament books in their mother tongue. If someone has such books, they must hand them over to the local bishop within eight days of the announcement of this ordinance so that they can be burned.

A renewed council in Tarragona, Spain in 1317 forbade Franciscan Third order members to have theological books in the vernacular.

At the diocesan synod of Trier (Synodus Dioecesana Trevirensis) convened by Archbishop Theodoric II in 1231, alleged heretics called Euchites were described as having translated the scriptures into German:[26][27]

There was an unnatural heresy everywhere. In the year of 1231 in the same city and territory, heretics were perceived at three schools. And several of them belonged to that sect, and many of them were taught from the scriptures, which they had translated into German.

At the synod of Béziers (Concilium Biterrense) in 1246[h] it was also decided that the laity should have no Latin and vernacular and the clergy no vernacular theological books.[28][29]

Chapter 36. The theological books cannot be held by laymen, even in Latin, neither they nor the common officials [...] for us this is fully decided and known to be a just ordinance.

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor issued an edict against German interpretations of Scripture at the request of Pope Urban V 1369 in Lucca, This was in order that such interpreters would not seduce laymen and malevolent spirits to heresy or error.[30] Nevertheless, his son started the handwritten Wenceslas Bible in 1385.

In 1376, Pope Gregory XI ordered that all literature on the Bible should be placed under ecclesiastical direction. As a result, only the Vulgate and a few poor quality translations in national languages were tolerated.[31]

John Wycliffe (1330–1384), a theologian with pre-Reformation views, finished the first authoritative translation of the Bible from Latin into English in 1383. His teachings were rejected in 1381 by Oxford University and in 1382 by the church. For fear of a popular uprising Wycliffe was not charged. The translation of the Bible caused great unrest among the clergy, and for their sake, several defensive provincial synods were convened, such as the 3rd Council of Oxford (ended in 1408). Under the chairmanship of Archbishop Thomas Arundel, official positions against Wycliffe were written in the Oxford Constitution and Arundel Constitution. The latter reads as follows:[32]

[…] that no one in the future will translate any text of Scripture into English or into any other text than book, scripture or tract, or that such a book, scripture or tract be read, whether new in the time of said John Wycliffe written or written in the future, whether in part or as a whole, public or hidden. This is under the punishment of the greater excommunication until the bishop of the place or, if necessary, a provincial council approves the said translation. But those who act against it should be punished like a heretic and false teacher.

Unlike before, translations of liturgical readings and preaching texts (psalms, pericopes from the Gospels and Epistles) were now bound to an examination by church authorities. Individuals like William Butler wanted to go even further and also limit Bible translations to the Latin language alone. In 1401, Parliament passed the De heretico comburendo law in order to suppress Wycliffe's followers and censor their books, including the Bible translation. At the Council of Constance in 1415, Wycliffe was finally proclaimed a heretic and condemned as "that pestilent wretch of damnable memory, yea, the forerunner and disciple of anti-christ who, as the complement of his wickedness, invented a new translation of the Scriptures into his mother-tongue."[33] His helpers Nicholas Hereford and John Purvey were forced to recant their teachings, and his bones, as determined by the council were finally burned in 1428. However, his translation of the Bible along with 200 manuscripts were secretly preserved and read by followers, and have survived to the present day. However, Wycliffe's Bible was not printed until 1731, when Wycliffe was historically conceived as the forefather of the English Reformation.[34] The next English Bible translation was that of William Tyndale, whose Tyndale Bible had to be printed from 1525 outside England in areas of Germany sympathetic to Protestantism. Tyndale himself was sentenced to death at the stake because of his translation work. He was strangled in 1536 near Brussels and then burned.

From the printing press until the Reformation[edit source]

Around 1440–1450 Johannes Gutenberg invented a printing press with movable type, with which he produced the Gutenberg Bible. His invention quickly spread throughout Europe. In 1466 the Mentelin Bible was the first vernacular language Bible to be printed. It was a word-for-word translation from the Latin Vulgate.[35]

Pope Paul II (pontificate 1464–1471) confirmed the decree of James I of Aragon on the prohibition of Bibles in vernacular languages.[36] Under Isabella I of Castile and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon, the printing of vernacular Bibles was prohibited in Spanish state law. The Spanish Inquisition which they instituted ordered the destruction of all Hebrew books and all vernacular Bibles in 1497. This was five years after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. In 1498, the Inquisition stated that it was impossible to translate the Bible into a modern language without making mistakes that would plunge unskilled and especially new converts into doubts about faith.[37]

The complete translation of the Bible into a Romance language,[i] a transfer of the Vulgate into Valencian, was made by the Carthusian order general Bonifaci Ferrer (1355-1417) and was printed in 1478. A successor appeared again in 1790.

By letter of March 17, 1479, Sixtus IV authorized the rector and dean of the University of Cologne to intervene with ecclesiastical censors against printers, buyers and readers of heretical books. This authorization was approved by Pope Alexander VI. In several theological and non-theological books from this period a printing patent is included in the publications. From this time also printing patents of the Patriarch of Venice can be found. With the censorship of January 4, 1486 and an executive order of January 10, the Elector-Archbishop Berthold von Henneberg of Mainz can be considered a pioneer in censorship regulation in the German-speaking countries for Mainz, Erfurt, and Frankfurt. His censorship decisions did not concern secular topics, but instead targeted specific religious texts, especially translations from Latin and Greek into the German. Berthold was of the opinion that the German language was too poor to reproduce the precise and well-formulated Latin and Greek texts. Up to this time, no heretical writings had appeared printed in German, but since 1466 about ten relatively identical German Bible translations were completed. He commented:[38]

Divine printing makes the use of books accessible to the world for instruction and edification. But many, as we have seen, misuse this art out of lust for glory and greed for money, so that they destroy humanity instead of enlightening it. Thus, in the hands of the people, which are translated from Latin into German, libri de divinis officiis et apicibus religionis nostrae can be found for the reduction of religion and its peaks. The sacred laws and canons, however, are composed by wise and eloquent men with such great care and skill, and their understanding is so difficult that the duration of human life, even for the most discerning, is scarcely sufficient to cope with them. Nevertheless, some cheeky and ignorant people have dared to translate those writings into such poor ordinary German that even scholars are seduced by their work into great misunderstandings.

For every book translated into German, a license from certain university professors had to be obtained before distribution. Otherwise, one would be excommunicated, the books would be confiscated and one would have to pay a fine of 100 gold florins to the Elector-Archbishop. Due to a bull of Innocent VIII from the year 1486 there was also a censorship authority set up involving the university in Cologne and operated by an official of the archbishop. Alexander VI declared a preventive censorship with his bull of 1 June 1501. This extended to all the writings of the three religious electors Cologne, Mainz and Trier and the Archdiocese of Magdeburg, in which so many heretical books and treatises were printed. Pope Leo X determined during the Fifth Council of the Lateran on May 3, 1515, in the bull Inter Sollicitudines, that in all dioceses all books or writings to be printed had to be carefully examined and approved by the inquisitor, bishop, or a bishop commissioned by the bishop. In case of contravention, punishment would be the loss of the books by public burning, a fine of a hundred ducats payable to the protonotary apostolic in Rome, threatened with no hope of estate, deprivation of permission to write for a year, ex-communication, and potentially the confiscation of one's estate upon death. Recidivism ("if he is persistent") could be dealt with by the offender's bishop by all legal means as deterrence to others.

In 1490 a number of Hebrew Bibles and other Jewish books were burned in Andalucía at the behest of the Spanish Inquisition.[39]

16th century[edit source]

From 1516 to 1535, Erasmus of Rotterdam published several editions of his Novum Instrumentum omne. It was a double edition with both a new Latin version as well as the first print of the Greek text, which was reconstructed in a few places by back-translating Latin into Greek. In 1517 Luther published his Ninety-five Theses. In 1521 he was excommunicated with the bull Decet Romanum Pontificem, declared a heretic, and issued the Edict of Worms. In 1522, the first translation of Luther's New Testament was published. It was translated on the basis of the Greek text of Erasmus. In 1534 the entire Holy Scripture was printed, completing the Luther Bible.

At the Council of Trent, both Luther's and Erasmus's writings were put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Later printed copies of the index explicitly banned their Bibles as well as any prior editions and in general all similar Bible editions.[40][41]

Biblia cum recognitione Martini Luteri. […] Cum universis similibus Bibliis ubicunque excusis. […] Novum Testamentum cum duplici interpretatione D.[esiderius] Erasmi & veteris interpretis. Harmonia item Evangelica, & copioso Indice […] Cum omnibus similibus libris Novi Testamenti.

[…] along with all similar Bibles, wherever they may be printed. [...] [...] along with all similar New Testaments, wherever they may be printed.

The use of Erasmus's translation resulted in the abandonment of the Vulgate as a source for most future translations. Later, Erasmus was classified in a milder index class, and as a result later Catholic Bible translations were able to be based on Erasmus's Greek New Testament.

The Edict of Worms against Luther was not enforced throughout the empire. In 1523, at the Reichstag in Nuremberg the papal nuncio Francesco Chieregati asked for the Holy Roman Empire to enforce the clause of the Lateran Council against printing any book without the permission of the local bishop or his representative. He also wanted the Edict of Worms to be enforced. Instead, on March 6, 1523, it was decreed that until the demanded church council could be held, local rulers themselves should ensure that no new writings were printed or sold in their territories unless they had been approved by reasonable men. Other writings, especially those of an insulting nature, were to be banned under severe punishment.

Likewise, the Nuremberg Diet of 1524 determined that the imperial estates should "obey as much as possible" the Edict of Worms, and otherwise repeated the order of 1523. Pope Clement VII complained to the emperor and to the kings of England and France concerning the decision of 1523. In a letter dated July 15, 1524, Charles V insisted that the Edict of Worms was to be enforced. But he dropped this demand at the 1526 Diet of Speyer. Instead, it was decided on August 27 that, until the planned council, every imperial state in relation to the edict of Worms should "live, govern and behave for itself, such as it hopes and trusts before God and the Emperor."

The 1529 Diet of Speyer limited its decrees essentially to repeating the resolutions of 1523 Diet of Augsburg. On May 13, 1530, the papal nuncio gave the Emperor a memorandum which recommended that the Edict of Worms and the bull of Leo X was to be implemented by imperial decree and on pain of punishment. Following the Protestation at Speyer at the conclusion of the Reichstag on November 19, 1530, it was decided that nothing should be printed without specifying the printer and the printing location. The nuncio's request had failed.

As part of the 1541 Diet of Regensburg which set the terms of the Regensburg Interim, the rule against publishing insults was repeated.

England[edit source]

Henry VIII of England changed his opinion about Bible translations multiple times. In a proclamation of 1530, he said that the prelates, etc., believed there was no need to translate the Bible into English and put it into the hands of the ordinary people. The reading of Bible translations must be made dependent on the permission of the superiors. All printed English books concerning the Bible were banned and were to be delivered to the bishop within 14 days. New English books concerning Holy Scripture should not be printed without the permission of the bishop and the author. Yet after the danger of spreading heretical writings passes, the Bible ought to be translated. In the meantime, however, all English, French and Low German (including Dutch Low Saxon) versions must be delivered to the bishop, with the exception of any books corrected by the king and the bishops.

The Tyndale translation, the only one so far printed, continued to be banned on the basis of translation errors, annotations, and extensive prologue. In 1534, the Canterbury Convocation requested that the king commission a new translation of the Bible by suitable persons and authorize the reading of the new translation. Although the king did not designate translators, new translations appeared from 1535 and afterwards. In 1536 and 1538 Thomas Cromwell prescribed that Coverdale's translation of the Bible was to be placed in every church. These Bibles were to be printed in a large size and chained to prevent theft. This translation came to be called the "Great Bible" or "Chained Bible." In contrast, Henry VIII complained in 1539 that people were abusing their permission to read the Bible.

Regulations of 1538 and 1539 provided that no one should sell English books without the King's permission and that no one should print or import English Bibles with comments and prefaces unless they have been verified by authorized agencies. In 1540, Thomas Cromwell was executed for heresy and treason. In 1542 the Convocation negotiated about the shortcomings of existing Bible translations and started a new translation. In 1543, the king again forbade the Tyndale Bible and ordered all annotations removed from all the Bibles and New Testaments. It was also determined that without the King's permission, the lower classes would no longer be allowed to read the even non-forbidden translations. The basis for this was that if allowed to read the Bible, they would end up abusing their privilege. In 1546, the last year of Henry VIII's reign, it was again decreed that no foreign-language English books concerning Christianity should be printed without express permission.

During reign of Mary I[edit source]

In England, the provisions of the bull Inter Solicitudines[j] (1515) under the reign of the Roman Catholic Queen Mary I in the "Reformation Decrees" of the papal legate Cardinal Reginald Pole in 1556 were published. As various books of heresy, rebellion, and treachery were brought in from abroad and secretly printed in the land, in 1558 Mary I determined that owners of such books should be regarded as rebels and punished under the martial law.

Council of Trent[edit source]

At the Council of Trent, the Vulgate was declared authentic and alone applicable.[42] It was also decided that in the future, books dealing with religious subjects could not be printed, sold, or even kept without the name of the author and the approval of a bishop. The imprimatur notice must be printed at the beginning of the book. Bishops may not charge fees for providing the services of examining and approving books. During the negotiations in March and April of 1546 it was also discussed whether it was not appropriate to ban Bible translations into the vernacular. Pierre Van Der Worst, bishop of Acqui thought that if the untrained were to read the Bible, it could easily give rise to misunderstandings and errors. He thought it would be enough for the women and ordinary people to become acquainted with the doctrines of Scripture through sermons at church. Cardinal Pedro Pacheco de Villena believed that all Spanish and French and most Italian bishops were against vernacular Bible translations. He referred to Spain's longstanding ban on translations, to the ban in France and to the fact that the University of Paris, which had 150 doctors, had not only spoken out against Bible translations, but also explained that the authors of such translations are like heretics because translations are a source of many heresies. In Germany, a part of the population had been brought to apostasy through vernacular translations. On the other hand, Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo of Trent replied that it was not the German translations of the Bible but the professors of the Greek and Hebrew languages who were to blame for the confusion. A ban would make the worst impression in Germany. In the end, no decision was reached on March 17th. Pacheco requested on April 1 to reject all ancient translations except the Vulgate, including the Septuagint and all Bible translations by heretics. Pietro Bertani, Bishop of Fano replied that the Church has always tolerated various translations and that even the heretical translations are not necessarily to be rejected, just as the early church did not reject the translations of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion. Bartolomé Carranza reported that many bishops and theologians spoke out in favor of allowing Bible translations. His argument in favor of vernacular translations came from the common practice in Spain and other countries to publicly read and preach from Gospels and epistles in the vernacular during patronal festivals. As this had occurred without danger, why not also translate additional parts of the Bible? Yet still, it would be best not to translate the whole Bible. The majority of the members of the Council agreed with him. Similarly, the Paris Faculty of Theology expressed a similar opinion in 1526. As a result, Pacheco's claim was judged to be incorrect.

Index Librorum Prohibitorum[edit source]

Around this time, the papal Index Librorum Prohibitorum began to be developed. At the 1548 Diet of Augsburg, which pronounced the terms of the Augsburg Interim, the ordinance against insults was repeated and the previous provisions were extended to include the name of the author or poet. In addition, books were to be checked before printing by the "ordinary authority of every place." There was a sentiment against that which was "rebellious and ignominious or unruly or obnoxious to the Catholic Doctrine of the Holy Christian Church." The already printed books of Luther were to be suppressed. The Holy Roman Imperial Fiscal official was to intervene against the offending authorities. After the 1555 Peace of Augsburg ended the Augsburg Interim and increased religious freedom by declaring cuius regio, eius religio, the papal Index Librorum Prohibitorum was only observed as law in Catholic territories.

The Netherlands[edit source]

In the Netherlands up until 1550, Charles V issued a series of decrees intent on enforcing the 1521 Edict of Worms. He issued them by virtue of his sovereign power and did not refer to the decrees of the councils and popes. In contrast to his strictly secular method censorship, the Inquisition derived its ability to censor from papal authority. In addition to bans against individual authors and specific works, there was a language-related book ban against the translation of German, Flemish, and French heresies into Dutch issued in 1526. Some general works of heretics were allowed to appear if the name was not mentioned. Additionally, individuals were allowed to possess Luther's writings in order to refute them.

During the reign of Philip II of Spain (son of Charles V), the laws were not significantly expanded, although they were confirmed and honed. During his time the possession or reading of forbidden books was sufficient evidence that one was a heretic. Such heretics were usually allowed to save themselves by abjuration if it was a first offense. Punishments could include consequences to "body or goods, according to circumstances" (1524), exile (1526), and the death penalty (1529, 1531). The prescribed method of execution differed by sex. Men had their heads placed on stakes following their beheading, while women were to be buried alive. Burning was only for recidivists.

The list of banned books grew over time. Relatively short untitled lists were produced in 1526, 1529 and 1540. There are also historical references to a condemnation catalog issued by the University of Leuven faculty in 1546 and 1550. Parts of these earlier lists of banned books were later incorporated into Spanish banned book catalogs and in the Roman index. It was suggested that in dangerous times, the heretical books in the lists were better not to be read and should not be given to the common people and young people. One consideration was the risk of these lists inadvertently advertising which books were subversive. A list in the Netherlands omitted books not found in the Netherlands so as not to draw attention to them. In addition, there was also a directory of books that could be used at schools. As for the Bibles, it was noted in the catalog of 1546 that in some, especially in French and German translations, the meaning was corrupted by misinterpretation or by additions or omissions.

Some theological writings from this period were faulted for only pretending to follow the Vulgate while actually adding things in from the Greek. With respect to other writings, it was asserted that although the translation was good, the printers had added bad prefaces, notes, and so on. At times, summaries of the individual chapters and marginal notes were asserted to have errors in them.

The prohibited books catalog of 1546 contains 25 Latin Bibles and three Latin New Testaments, of German Bibles mostly the Antwerp editions, and two French Bibles as well as four French New Testaments from Antwerp. After a decree of April 29, 1550, lay people were forbidden to argue over the Scriptures. To preach concerning the Holy Scripture was only be granted to those authorized by the University or by the bishops. On September 25, an additional ordinance followed, saying that this prohibition would not apply to those who simply talked about Scripture according to the understanding of the church.

Spain[edit source]

In Spain, the inquisitors were forbidden in 1549 to grant permission to own or read forbidden books. The inquisitors themselves were not to read the forbidden books in their possession. Pope Julius III issued a bull in 1550 which abolished all previously granted authorizations to read banned books. This bull was also published in Spain. The Spanish catalog of 1551, which was inspired by the Leuven catalog ordered by Charles V, included among other things a general prohibition on all Bibles translated into the Spanish or other vernacular languages.

France[edit source]

In France, bans on certain books were published by the king or parliaments at the request of bishops or state-appointed inquisitors. Appraisals took over especially the Sorbonne. On March 18, 1521, at the request of the University of Paris, Francis I decreed that Parisian booksellers should not print new Latin or French books on the Christian faith before they had been examined by a theological faculty or deputies. On May 2, 1542, Parliament amended this regulation by stating that nothing should be printed without the approval of the Rector and the Dean, and that the Rector should appoint two members from each faculty to examine the writings concerned. In 1569, Bibles and religious books were subject to approval by four doctors. Containers of imported books were only to be opened under official supervision. Beginning in 1551 with the Edict of Châteaubriant, the import of religious books from Geneva or other places notoriously for heresy was forbidden. On August 26, 1525, the Sorbonne, at Parliament's request, declared that a Bible translation used for the Horae Beatae Virginis Mariae of Mere sotte would not receive a printing permit. In accordance with earlier decisions of the faculty, it was decided on February 5, 1526 that it would be dangerous at all to publish translations of the Bible or biblical books and those already published should be better suppressed than tolerated.

A rare exception was the Sorbonne's permission for a Pauline-related gospel work in 1530, which was translated from Latin into French. From 1543 to 1556 there was a catalog of banned books at the Sorbonne. Later on, every bookstore was required to have a copy of this catalog available. There was also a general remark in the catalog: How dangerous it was to allow Bible translations in the vernacular to be read even by uneducated people and those who did not read them with a pious and humble spirit, as there were many now Waldenses, Albigensians, etc. Therefore, considering the malice of the people in the present, the translation of the Bible into the vernacular should be regarded as dangerous and perishable.

The later Roman index was never used in France and an intended French index dating from 1562 was ultimately not published due to theEdict of Beaulieu of Henry III. In 1577 the provisions were changed in favor of the Protestants: "No books may be sold without permission of our local officials or, as far as the so-called Reformed religion books are concerned, without the approval of the Chambers which we hold in the parliaments for the affairs of the form so-called Reformed. Forbidden is the printing and distribution of defamatory libels."

From the 16th through 18th centuries, a Bible smuggler's path led from Passau to the Slovenian border and Arnoldstein in Austria. Cattle drivers and dealers, merchants, and carters brought Bibles and hymnals into Austria, where they were used by Crypto-Protestants.

General Rules in the Roman Index[edit source]

Pius IV (pontificate 1559–1565) also added general rules to the Index Romanus. In the first printed and published version of 1559, there are 30 Latin editions of Scripture, 10 New Testament editions, and two short general rules for Bibles in foreign languages.

Biblia omnia vulgari idiomate, scilicet Germanico, Gallico, Hispanico, Italico, Anglico sive Flandrico, &c. conscripta, nullatenus vel imprimi, vel legi, vel teneri possint absque licentia sacri officii S. Romanse inquisitionis. […]
Novi Testamenti libri vulgari idiomate conscripti sine licentia in scriptis habita ab officio S. Romanae et universalis inquisitionis nullatenus vel imprimi vel teneri possint.

All Bibles in the vernacular, in German, French, Italian, English or Flemish language and more. may not be printed, read or kept without (written) permission of the Holy Office of the Roman and General Inquisition. [...]
All New Testaments in the vernacular, in German, French, Italian, English or Flandrian language and more. may not be printed, read or kept without (written) permission of the Holy Office of the Roman and General Inquisition.

At the 18th meeting of the Council of Trent on 26 February 1562, it was decided to work out general indexing rules. On December 3rd or 4th, 1563, the Council decided to submit its proposal, the Decretum de indice librorum, to the Pope for final adaptation. With the bull Dominici gregis custodiae the Index tridentinus was published on March 24, 1564 by the Pope. In it all the writings of all heresiarchs (all Reformers) were included on the index, regardless of whether they contained theology, religious words, or descriptions of nature. Especially on Bibles, Rules 3 and 4 came into play:

Rule 3.
The translations of older ecclesiastical writers (for example, Church Fathers) published by authors of the first class are allowed if they do not oppose the sound doctrine. Translations [in Latin] by scholars and pious men of Old Testament books originating from first-class authors may be authorized by bishops, but only as explanations of the Vulgate for understanding the Scriptures and not as Bible texts. On the other hand, translations [in Latin] of the New Testament are not to be permitted by first-class authors, because reading them does not bring much benefit to the readers. Instead, such translations pose much danger. Commentaries by First Class authors, on the condition they are associated with such Old Testament or Vulgate translations, may be allowed for use by pious and learned men after theologically suspect men have been dealt with by theological faculties or the Roman Inquisition. This is especially true of the so-called Bible of the Vatablus. Forewords and Prolegomena are to be removed from the Bibles of Isidore Clarius; But let no one take the text of the text of the Vulgate.[43]

Rule 4.

Since experience teaches that if the reading of the Bible in the vernacular is permitted to all without distinction more harm than good results because of the audacity of men, the judgment of the bishop and inquisitor should be decisive with respect to vernacular translations.

The reading of the Bible in vernacular translations by Catholic writers may be permitted at the judgement of the applicable counselor or confessor. The counselor or confessor may permit the reading of such translations when they realize that reading such translations can bring no harm, but instead will augment faith and piety.

This permission should be given in writing. He who reads or has read a Bible in the vernacular without such permission should not be able to receive absolution from his sins until he has delivered the Bible translation to the bishop. Booksellers who sell or otherwise procure Bibles in the vernacular to those who lack permission shall be required to pay for books for the bishop to use for religious purposes. Other punishments may be given according to the nature of the offense, with penalties that expire at a set time. Members of Religious orders may not read and buy such Bibles without the permission of their superiors.[43]

The rules were reprinted in each version until the reform in 1758. Believers were forbidden to make, read, own, buy, sell or give away these books on the basis of excommunication.[44]

At the Diet of Speyer in 1570, it was decreed that every printer should be sworn in on the Reichstag regulations. A similar provision can be found in the Reich Police Order (Reichspolizei-Ordnung)[k] of 1577, however, "nothing unruly and obscenely should be printed," according to the Christian general doctrine and the religious peace called for at Augsburg. Sixtus V (pontificate 1585–1590) replaced the general rules of the Index Romanus. In its seventh rule it stated:

Bibles or parts of Bibles translated into vernacular, even by Catholics, are nowhere permitted without the special permission of the Apostolic See. Paraphrases in the vernacular are strictly prohibited.[citation needed]

Clement VIII confirmed in a bull of October 17, 1595, in principle, the old general rules, but made the fourth rule more restrictive by adding to it. This restored the provision of Paul IV that dispensation could only be granted on behalf of the Pope or the Roman Inquisition:

this rule does not renew authority to bishops, inquisitors, or superiors, permission to buy, read or possess Bibles or parts of the Old or New Testament, or summaries and historical compendia of the Bible or biblical books in the vernacular, having been deprived of this mandate by the mandate and custom of the Roman Inquisition.[citation needed]

With this addition, the rule remained valid until 1758. How it was dealt with in each country was different. In a Catholic country like Bavaria, it was state law. In particular, booksellers had their licenses revoked for violating it. In contrast, in Württemberg, a refuge of Protestantism, the index functioned more like a blacklist. But it also found application in elite Catholic schools in secularized France until the 20th century. In general, secularized France almost never used the Roman Index.[43][45]

17th–18th centuries[edit source]

The period during and following the Thirty Years War, which was fought largely between opposing Catholic and Protestant sides, saw continued censorship against the Bible. In a bull dated December 30, 1622, Pope Gregory XV forbade the laity to read vernacular Bible translations. Alexander VII (pontificate 1655-1667) insisted on the fourth rule in his 1664 index and added all Bible translations - in whatever language - to the index. However, according to another interpretation, he only confirmed the fourth rule.[citation needed]

Unigenitus[edit source]

In 1713 Clement XI issued the bull Unigenitus dei filius in order to fight against Jansenism. The bull condemned 101 excerpts from the work Réflexions morales by Pasquier Quesnel, including the following propositions:[46]

It is useful and necessary at all times, in all places and for everyone, to explore and get to know the spirit, the piety and the secrets of the Scriptures.[47][l]

Reading the scriptures is for everyone.[47][m]

The obscurity of the Holy Word of God is not a reason why laymen should excuse themselves from reading it.[48][n]

The Lord’s day ought to be hallowed by Christians by readings of piety, and, above all, of the Holy Scripture.[48][o]

It is injurious to wish that a Christian draw back from that reading.[48][p]

To snatch the New Testament from the hands of Christians, or to keep it closed to them by taking away from them this manner of understanding it, is to close to them the mouth of Christ.[48][q]

To forbid to Christians the reading of the Holy Scriptures, especially the Four Gospels, is to forbid the use of light to the sons of light, and to cause them to suffer a certain kind of excommunication.[48][r]

This bull was controversial among the French clergy for various reasons. Among the reasons it was controversial was that it condemned various sentences from the Bible and the Fathers of the Church. But the 1719 bull Pastoralis officii threatened excommunication on all who did not submit to Unigenitus dei filius.[49] At the Lateran Council confirmed Benedict XIII. in 1725 the bull Unigenitus dei filius.[50]

Developments in the Index[edit source]

Later all paraphrases, summaries, and "biblical stories" were banned in the vernacular languages. In the 18th century, attempts were made to move away from individual dispensations; now, any Bible translation approved by a competent ecclesiastical authority should generally be considered as lawful for all laymen. This broad interpretation of the fourth index rule was followed in 1757 by Benedict XIV. (This lasted until 1836.)

A later regulation of the Roman book censorship of 1757 permitted only translations with explanatory notes taken from the Fathers of the Church and with papal approval.

Punishments against violators[edit source]

As part of a program of persecution against the Salzburg Protestants, in 1731, Leopold Anton von Firmian – Archbishop of Salzburg as well as its temporal ruler as Count, ordered the wholesale seizure and burning of all Protestant books and Bibles.[51]

On May 27, 1747 Jakob Schmidlin ("Sulzijoggi") was hanged as the leading head of a Bible movement in the canton of Lucerne in Galgenwäldli on the Emme. His corpse was burned along with a Luther Bible. He is considered the last Protestant martyr of Switzerland. Where his farm stood, a pillar was erected. Of over 100 co-defendants of this movement (from Ruswil, Wolhusen, Werthenstein, Menznau, Malters, Kriens, and Udligenswil), 82 of them were also punished, mostly with perpetual banishment. Since the Bible was at the center of this movement and violations of censorship rules against the use and possession of Bibles was one of the offenses committed by the convicted, after the trial the authorities issued a decree that included a general prohibition on laymen having Bibles:[52]

We also want to prohibit all and each of our subjects, who are not taught, not only from selling the uncatholic and forbidden books, but also good Bibles and their distribution in any way. We will see to it that any Bibles or other forbidden or other seductive books to date should be delivered to their pastors or pastors within a fortnight from the announcement of this call, or wherever sooner or later such things would be found behind them, we will be against those with all proceed with appropriate sharpness ...

Only after 1833 were Bibles were regularly and openly sold in Lucerne.

Italian and Spanish translations[edit source]

Pope Clement XIII allowed for the use of Italian translations of the Bible during his pontificate, which spanned 1758-1769.

The second Spanish Bible translation appeared in 1790.

19th–20th centuries[edit source]

Pius VII forbade in two breves to the Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of all Poland (June 29, 1816) and to the Archbishop of Mohilev (September 3) the use of the Polish Bible, which had been published in 1599 in Krakow with the permission of Clement VIII.[citation needed] It says:

We have long abhorred this shameful enterprise that undermines the true foundation of religion. By consulting all the cardinals in obedience to the rules of our Church, with the utmost care and attention paid to the rules formulated at Meuse to discover and exterminate this plague in every way, we have shown that the Bible printed by heretics is among those forbidden under the regulations of the Index, (Section 50, Rule 4). In fact, experience has proved that the sacred writing, when used in the vernacular, has caused more harm than good due to the recklessness of men. (Rule 4) It is therefore necessary to renew the salutary resolution of June, 13th, 1757, which prohibits all translations of the Holy Scriptures into the national languages, except those approved by the Apostolic See and published with notes from the Works of the Holy Fathers.[citation needed]

The Epistola encyclica of May 3, 1824 by Leo XII also did not exhibit any liberal attitudes.[citation needed]

In 1836, Gregory XVI eliminated the relief made back in 1757. His encyclical letter Inter praecipuas of 1844 spoke out against vernacular Bibles of the Bible societies.[53] Since the dawn of Christianity, the trick of heretics has been to falsify the wording of Scripture and distort it by interpretation. "Therefore, there is a deep wisdom in the previous Catholic practice to forbid the independent reading of the Bible in the vernacular to laymen, or only to allow it with considerable caution, because they ultimately threaten to undermine the teaching authority of the Church."[54]

Pius IX spoke in 1846 his entry-level encyclical Qui pluribus. He warned against "the most impudent Bible societies, which renewed the ancient artifice of the heretics and translated the books of the Divine Scriptures, contrary to the most sacrosanct rules of the Church, into all national languages and often provided twisted explanations."[55]

During the short period of the Roman Republic in 1849, over 3,600 copies of the New Testament translated into in Italian were printed in Rome. After the revival of the Papal States, the government sealed the New Testaments, which were in the possession of the American ambassador. The police checked daily to see if the seals were still intact. After some time, the government purchased the Bibles in order to burn them gradually. During this time, persons entering the Papal States could have their individual personal Bibles seized at the border. Most notably, editions of Giovanni Diodati were targeted for enforcement. Violators could go to jail for a short time. The papal legate and the Minister of Finance expressed regret over the events. There were also house searches.[citation needed]

In 1851 at Nice, then part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, several boxes of French Bible boxes were impounded in the Customs House. The Minister of the Interior had no objections to releasing the Bibles, but the Bishop of Nice disagreed.[citation needed]

The situation in Nice was very different from the situation in the Duchy of Tuscany. The duchy had a reputation for being liberal during the rule of Leopold II, even prior to 1849. There were three Protestant churches within the duchy: one English, one Scottish and one French. The French Protestant church held fairs in the Italian language. After the brief period during the republic the subsequent counter-revolution, the liberal climate changed to conservative. On May 18, 1849, 3,000 copies of a Catholic Italian translation of the Bible were confiscated and burned under the orders of Antonio Martini, the Archbishop of Florence, even though they had been printed with permission. Persecution of Protestants increased. In 1851, services in Italian were outlawed. The possession of a Protestant Italian Bible alone was considered sufficient evidence for conviction. The most prominent prisoner was Count Piero Guicciardini, who was arrested with six others. They had met on May 7, 1851, the day before his voluntary departure for religious exile, and read the Scriptures together. He was therefore sentenced to six months imprisonment for blasphemy, which was then converted into exile.[56][57][58]

In the Austrian Empire, the Patent of Toleration was published on October 13, 1781. In addition, on June 22, 1782, and October 12, 1782, Joseph II issued court decrees explicitly authorizing the import and printing of Protestant books and stipulating that previously confiscated publications should be returned as long as they were not abusive towards the Catholic Church.[59] These decrees were usually followed, but the reforms were not always followed everywhere throughout the empire. In 1854 in Buda the police seized 121 Bibles found in a Protestant congregation and reduced 120 of them to pulp in a paper mill. In return the congregation was given 21 kreuzers due to the value of the books as pulp as well as the one remaining Bible, "which is enough for the pastor."[60] Meanwhile, in Germany there was a relatively relaxed situation with respect to vernacular Bibles and Protestant writings during this period.

On December 7, 1859, in front of the Archbishop's Palace in Santa Fe de Bogotá in the then Granadine Confederation a great bible burning took place.[61][62]

On January 25, 1896 Leo XIII issued new rules for the Roman Index with the Apostolic constitution Officiorum ac Munerum'.[63] It was published on January 25, 1897. It generally contained some relief and no longer automatically included all the books of the Protestants.[64][65]

CHAPTER I. Of the Prohibited Books of Apostates, Heretics, Schismatics, and Other Writers

1. All books condemned before the year 1600 by the Sovereign Pontiffs, or by Ecumenical Councils, and which are not recorded in the new Index, must be considered as condemned in the same manner that have formerly been, with the exception of such as are presently permitted by General Decrees. 2. The books of apostates, heretics, schismatics, and all writers whatsoever, defending heresy or schism, or in any way attacking the foundations of Religion, are altogether prohibited. 3. Moreover, the books of non-Catholics, ex professo treating of Religion, are prohibited, unless they clearly contain nothing contrary to Catholic Faith. 4. The books of the above-mentioned writers, not treating ex professo of Religion, but only touching incidentally upon the Truths of Faith, are not to be considered as prohibited by Ecclesiastical Law unless proscribed by special Decree.

CHAPTER II. Of Editions of the Original Text of Holy Scripture and of Versions not in the Vernacular

5. Editions of the Original Text and of the ancient Catholic versions of Holy Scripture, as well as those of the Eastern Church, if published by non-Catholics, even though apparently edited in a faithful and complete manner, are allowed only to those engaged in Theological and Biblical Studies, provided also that the Dogma of Catholic Faith are not impugned in the Prolegomena or Annotations. 6. In the same manner and under the same conditions, other versions of the Holy Bible published by non-Catholics, whether in Latin or in any other dead language, are permitted.

The biblical imprints of Leander van Ess[s] broke the requirement of Chapter II, even though the text contained an old approbation, due to the fact the translation was printed without notes. The first issue with annotations from 1820 was added to the Index of Prohibited Books.

Another example of an author who violated Officiorum ac Munerum is Franz Stephan Griese,[t] who in 1919 printed without permission The Letters of St. Paul (which contained his translation of the letters) in Paderborn, Germany. Although he was banned from publishing following this transgression, in 1923 without his knowledge, his Pauline letters were published by someone else, complete with ecclesiastical permission of the Archdiocese of Cologne!

Brittany[edit source]

The first New Testament translation into Breton was published in 1827 by Protestants after the Catholic Church refused its publication. The translation was placed on the Index. However, the Old Testament was completed by the Catholic diocesan publisher and printed in 1866.

United States[edit source]

In 1842, a Jesuit priest named Telman was responsible for the burning of a number of "Protestant" Bibles in Champlain, New York.[66]

Nazi Germany[edit source]

In late August 1933, authorities used 25 trucks to transport about 70 tonnes of Watch Tower literature and Bibles to the city's outskirts and publicly burned them[67] as part of a larger program of Persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany. Later on, in July 1935, state governments were instructed in July 1935 to confiscate all Watch Tower Society publications, including Bibles.[68]

On November 9 and 10, 1938, thousands of Hebrew Bibles were burned in multiple communities in Germany as part of a program of persecution against Jews.[69]

Canada[edit source]

In 1955, police seized Bibles and other literature when raiding a house while Jehovah's Witnesses were worshiping there. The Jehovah's Witnesses successfully sued in response.

China[edit source]

Further information: Book censorship in China § Mainland China

When the economic reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping created greater openness to the West, Christians of various affiliations began smuggling Bibles and Christian literature into China.[u] The CCP viewed the recipients of those Bibles as engaging in illegal activity in violation of the principle of not accepting aid from Western sources.[72]

The 1973 Ko-Tân Colloquial Taiwanese Version New Testament, confiscated in 1975. It is open to Acts 2:14–17

Taiwan[edit source]

For two years in the 1950s, churches were banned from using Chinese Bibles written with Latin letters instead of Chinese characters. The ban was lifted with an encouragement to use Chinese characters. A 1973 Taiwanese translation of the New Testament was the product of cooperation between Protestants and Catholics. It was confiscated in 1975, also for using Latin letters.[73]

Imperial Russia[edit source]

In Russia, the activities of the Bible Society in Russia were greatly limited after Czar Nicholas I placed the society under the control of Orthodox church authorities. Following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, no Bibles were published until 1956, and even then the circulation was limited until the 1990s.[74]

Soviet Union[edit source]

Further information: Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union

Aldis Purs,[v] wrote that in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic as well as the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic, some evangelical Christian clergy attempted to resist the Soviet policy of state atheism by engaging in anti-regime activities such as Bible smuggling.[1]

The Marxist-Leninist atheistic and antireligious legislation of the Soviet Union "discouraged religious activity to the point that it was essentially forced out of public life."[75] A team led by Ken Howard engaged in Bible smuggling into the USSR and later, published copies of the Bible through screen-printing methods "using fabric smuggled in as curtain material or worn as petticoats, [which] allowed pages to be printed without being noticed."[75] Seventy-five operations were established throughout the USSR, with more than one million pages being printed.[75] In 2021, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. erected an exhibit on this Bible smuggling and screen-printing activity of Ken Howard and his team.[75]

21st century[edit source]

Islamic states[edit source]

In some, mostly Muslim states, censorship of the Bible exists today, such as in Saudi Arabia where the distribution of non-Muslim religious materials such as Bibles is illegal,[76] although non-Muslims are permitted to own their own Bibles. For example, Sadeq Mallallah was accused of smuggling a Bible by a judge prior to his beheading.

Malaysia[edit source]

The Prime Minister clarified in April 2005 that there was no ban on Bibles translated into Malay, although they are required to be stamped with a disclaimer "Not for Muslims"[77] The word translated in English as "God" is translated as "Allah" in some Malay Bibles, which is illegal as non-Muslims are prohibited from using the term "Allah."[78] In March 2010, the Malaysian Home Ministry seized 30,000 Malay language bibles from a port in Kuching, Sarawak.[79]

A lawsuit was filed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur against the Government of Malaysia at the High Court of Malaya to seek a declaratory relief that the word "Allah" should not exclusive to Islam. However, in 2014 the Federal Court of Malaysia ruled that non-Muslims could not use the term "Allah," and 321 Bibles were subsequently seized.[80][81]

The Iban Bible named Bup Kudus was also banned for using the term "Allah Taala" for God. Eventually, it was explained to the government that there was no other comparable term in Iban. As such, the ban was not enforced further, although neither was it officially repealed. However, following the 2014 court ruling 16 Iban language Bibles were seized on the basis they illegally contained the term "Allah Taala."

Uzbekistan[edit source]

The government of Uzbekistan may confiscate and in some cases destroy illegally imported religious literature. In July 2006 the Customs Service detained a shipment of 500 Russian-language Bibles and other literature that had been shipped to the Jehovah's Witnesses congregation in Chirchik, and charged them for storing it.

Following a raid on an unregistered Baptist church in Karshi on August 27, 2006, a court ordered the burning of seized Christian literature, including a Bible, hymnbooks, and multiple copies of the Old Testament Book of Proverbs in Uzbek.

U.S. military[edit source]

Main article: Bagram Bible program

In 2009 the U.S. military burned Bibles in the Pashto and Dari languages, which were seemingly intended for distribution among the locals, which is in breach of regulations which forbid "proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice".[82]

U.S. schools[edit source]

Likewise, when the use of the Bible by staff in U.S. public schools was restricted (along with teacher-led prayers), this prohibition was also commonly referred to as a "Bible ban".[83]

Bible smugglers[edit source]

Main article: Christian mission § Print and new media in mission

Censorship of the Bible has met with resistance from groups such as Open Doors, Voice of the Martyrs, and World Help, which supply Bibles for smuggling or directly smuggle the Bibles themselves into lands where the Bibles or their distribution are prohibited.

Individual Bible smugglers include Andrew van der Bijl, David Hathaway, and John White.

Canon 825 of the Catholic Church[edit source]

Today Canon 825 governs Catholic Bible translations:[84]

Books of the sacred scriptures cannot be published unless the Apostolic See or the conference of bishops has approved them. For the publication of their translations into the vernacular, it is also required that they be approved by the same authority and provided with necessary and sufficient annotations. With the permission of the Conference of Bishops, Catholic members of the Christian faithful in collaboration with separated brothers and sisters can prepare and publish translations of the sacred scriptures provided with appropriate annotations.

Russia[edit source]

In 2015, Russia banned importation of the Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.[85][86] On May 5, 2015, customs authorities in Russia seized a shipment of religious literature containing Ossetian-language Bibles published by Jehovah's Witnesses. Russian customs officials in the city of Vyborg held up a shipment of 2,013 Russian-language copies of Bibles on July 13, 2015. Customs authorities confiscated three of the Bibles, sent them to an "expert" to study the Bibles to determine whether they contained "extremist" language, and impounded the rest of the shipment.[87]

China[edit source]

Further information: Antireligious campaigns in China

The state-owned Amity Press is the only publisher allowed to print Bibles in China that are not for export. The quantity printed is restricted, and the sale or distribution of Bibles is limited to officially sanctioned churches, with online sales having been recently cracked down upon.[88][89][90][91]

The Associated Press reported in September 2018 that the current suppression program in China includes the burning of Bibles.[2]

Singapore[edit source]

Further information: Chan Hiang Leng Colin v Public Prosecutor § Unreasonableness and disproportionality

Singapore has banned Bibles and other literature published by the publishing arms of the Jehovah's Witnesses. A person in possession of banned literature can be fined up to S$2,000 (US$1,333) and jailed up to 12 months for a first conviction.[92] In February 1995, Singapore police seized Bibles during a raid and arrested 69 Jehovah's Witnesses, many of whom went to jail.[93][94] In March 1995, 74-year-old Yu Nguk Ding was arrested for carrying two "undesirable publications"—one of them a Bible printed by the Watch Tower Society.[95]


Notes[edit source]

  1. ^ also called Index Romanus or "Roman Index"
  2. ^ See Bible translations in the Middle Ages
  3. ^ The edict might not actually have been an "edict" in the technical sense; Eusebius does not refer to it as such, and the passage in the Passio Felicis which includes the word edictum ("exiit edictum imperatorum et Caesarum super omnem faciem terrae") may simply have been written to echo Luke 2:1 ("exiit edictum a Caesare Augusto ut profiteretur universus orbis terrae").[6] Elsewhere in the passion, the text is called a programma.[7] The text of the edict itself does not actually survive.[8]
  4. ^ This apparently included any house in which scriptures were found.[10]
  5. ^ See Tyniec § Cyrillo-Methodian Monastery for more on this
  6. ^ See Bible translations in the Middle Ages§ Innocent III, "heretical" movements and "translation controversies" for more on this
  7. ^ See Amalrician for more on this council
  8. ^ See Abraham of Aragon and Yellow badge § Medieval Catholic Europe for more on this council.
  9. ^ sometimes credited as a "first," though it follows the Waldensian New Testament
  10. ^ The Italian Wikipedia has an article on Inter Solicitudines
  11. ^ For more on the Reichspolizei, see the German language article: Polizeibegriff in Deutschland § Der Polizeibegriff im geschichtlichen Wandel
  12. ^ Utile et necessarum est omni tempore, omni loco, et omni personarum generi, studere el cognoscere spiritum, pietatem et mysteria sacræ Scripturæ.
  13. ^ Lectio sacræ Scripturæ est pro omnibus.
  14. ^ Obscuritas sancti verbi Dei non est laicis ratio dispensandi se ipsos ab ejus lectione.
  15. ^ Dies Dominicus a Christianis debet sanctificari lectionibus pietatis et super omnia sanctarum Scripturarum.
  16. ^ Damnosum est, velle Christianum ad hac lectione retrahere.
  17. ^ Abripere e Christianorum manibus novum Testamentum seu eis illud clausum tenere auferendo eis modum istud intelligendi, est illis Christi os obturare.
  18. ^ Interdicere Christianis lectionem sacræ Scripturæ, præsertim Evangelii, est interdicere usum luminis filiis lucis et facere, ut patiantur speciem quamdam excommunicationis.
  19. ^ that is, for his printing of the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate
  20. ^ See Franz Stephan Griese (article in German)
  21. ^ In 1981 the Bible smuggling operation Open Doors launched an operation called Project Pearl to deliver 1,000,000 Bibles in a single night to a beach in the village of Gezhou[70][71]
  22. ^ Aldis Purs faculty page at the University of Washington Department of Scandinavian Studies

References[edit source]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Purs, Aldis (15 February 2013). Baltic Facades: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania since 1945. Reaktion Books. p. 79. ISBN 9781861899323. The Soviet union was an avowed atheist state that placed great restrictions on religious practice. Resistance to state-sponsored atheism came from established (although heavily restricted and monitored) religious clergy and from believers roughly following an evangelical Christianity. In Estonia and Latvia Bible-smuggling from the West was one of the more common methods of anti-regime activity.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b Bodeen, Christopher (10 September 2018). "Group: Officials destroying crosses, burning bibles in China". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September2019.
  3. ^ "Santa Claus won't be coming to this town, as Chinese officials ban Christmas". South China Morning Post. 18 December 2018. Christmas is not a recognised holiday in mainland China—where the ruling party is officially atheist—and for many years authorities have taken a tough stance on anyone who celebrates it in public. ... The statement by Langfang officials said that anyone caught selling Christmas trees, wreaths, stockings or Santa Claus figures in the city would be punished. ... While the ban on the sale of Christmas goods might appear to be directed at retailers, it also comes amid a crackdown on Christians practising their religion across the country. On Saturday morning, more than 60 police officers and officials stormed a children's Bible class in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong province. The incident came after authorities shut down the 1,500-member Zion Church in Beijing in September and Chengdu's 500-member Early Rain Covenant Church last week. In the case of the latter, about 100 worshippers were snatched from their homes or from the streets in coordinated raids.
  4. ^ Ludwig Friedrich Otto Baumgarten-Crusius: Lehrbuch der christlichen Dogmengeschichte. Zweite Abtheilung. Verlage der Crökerschen Buchhandlung, Jena 1832; Zweiter Theil: Spezielle Dogmengeschichte. 21: Angelegenheit des Schriftgebrauchs. pp. 901–911 (Online-Version)
  5. ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 22; Clarke, 650; Potter, 337; de Ste Croix, "Aspects", 75; Williams, 176.
  6. ^ The Old Latin pre-Vulgate version is given here, from Corcoran, Empire, 179–80.
  7. ^ Corcoran, Empire, 180.
  8. ^ Corcoran, Empire, 179.
  9. ^ Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 8.2.4; De Martyribus Palestinae praef. 1; and Optatus, Appendix 2; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 22; Clarke, 650; Liebeschuetz, 249–50; Potter, 337; de Ste Croix, "Aspects", 75.
  10. ^ de Ste Croix, "Aspects", 75.
  11. ^ English Bible Translations Through 1611 A. D. by Ferrell Jenkins
  12. ^ Adolf Adam (German article): Deutsch oder Latein? In: Adolf Adam: Erneuerte Liturgie – Eine Orientierung über den Gottesdienst heute.Herder-Verlag, 1972; abgedruckt in: KIBA – Kirchenmusik im Bistum Aachen, August 2007, p. 16
  13. ^ Lelong, Jacques (1723). Bibliotheca sacra in binos syllabos distincta, quorum prior qui jam tertio acutior prodit, omnes sive textus sacri sive versionum ejusdem quâvis linguâ expressarum editiones; nec non præstatiores mss. codices, cum notis historicis & criticis exhibet (in Latin). I. Paris: François Montalant. pp. 313–314.
  14. ^ Jones, W. (1819). The History of the Christian Church from the Birth of Christ to the Eighteenth Century. vol. II. London: W. Myers. , p=18-19
  15. ^ Horst Robert Balz, Gerhard Krause, Gerhard Müller, Siegfried M. Schwertner, Claus-Jürgen Thornton, Matthias Glockner: Theologische Realenzyklopädie. Walter de Gruyter, 1977, ISBN 3-11-008115-6, p. 66
  16. ^ Correspondence on the formation, objects, and plan of the Roman Catholic Bible Society, 1813
  17. ^ Edward Peters, Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe, Edited with an introduction by Edward Peters, (Scolar Press, London, 1980) ISBN 0-85967-621-8, p.194–195.
  18. ^ Pierre Allix, Ecclesiastical History of Ancient Churches of the Albigenses (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1821.)
  19. ^ Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche, 2, p. 703
  20. ^ Edward Peters. Heresy and Authority in Medieval Europe (Council of Toulouse, 1229, Canon 14), p. 195.
  21. ^ The Bible Forbidden to the Laity at just for catholics.org
  22. ^ The Church Council of Tarragona (1234 AD), 2nd Cannon.
  23. ^ D. Lortsch, Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14.
  24. ^ Carl Mirbt (Ed.): Quellen zur Geschichte des Papsttums und des römischen Katholizismus, 3. Auflage, J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1911, p. 155–156 (Online bei Archive.org);
    298. 3., Synode zu Tarragona (1234): Bibelverbot; Mansi XXIII 329. – Heferle V 1037.
    301. Konzil von Béziers (August 19, 1246): Verbot von Übersetzungen theologischer Bücher; Mansi XXIII 724. – Heferle V p. 1145 ff.
  25. ^ D. Lotsch: Histoire de la Bible en France, 1910, p. 14
  26. ^ Statuta synodalia, ordinationes et mandata Archidioecesis
  27. ^ August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben: Geschichte der deutschen Kirchenliedes bis auf Luthers Zeit. 3. Ausgabe, Carl Rümpler, Hannover 1861, p. 52 ff. (Online-Version)
  28. ^ Text-book of Ecclesiastical History - Volume 2 by By Johann Karl Ludwig Gieseler, 1871
  29. ^ August Hahn: Lehrbuch des christlichen Glaubens. First part. 2nd Ed., Friedrich Christian Wilhelm Vogel, Leipzig 1857, p. 202- (Online-Version) (berichtet fälschlicherweise von einer Wiederholung des hier 1229 zitierten Canons auf der Synode von Béziers 1233, ebenso wie Hegelmaier; andere Teile von Toulouse kamen sehr wohl 1233 vor nur nicht dieser.)
  30. ^ Martin Leutzsch (article in German): Bibelübersetzung als Skandal und Verbrechen. In: Rainer Dillmann: Bibel-Impulse: Film − Kunst − Literatur − Musik − Theater − Theologie. Lit Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-8258-9287-5, pp. 42–57, here pp. 46–48.
  31. ^ Das Neue Testament deutsch, Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon
  32. ^ A collection of the laws and canons of the Church of England: from its first foundation to the conquest, and from the conquest to the reign of King Henry VIII By John Johnson, 1851
  33. ^ Schaff's account of Wyclif and the Lollards, quote from Arundel
  34. ^ Eberhard Zwink: Verwirrspiel um eine Bibel, Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, 1999
  35. ^ Friedrich Kapp: Geschichte des Deutschen Buchhandels Volume 1(Geschichte des Deutschen Buchhandels bis in das siebzehnte Jahrhundert), Published by Börsenvereins der Deutschen Buchhändler, Leipzig 1886; Kapitel 9: Die Büchercensur und die Preßverfolgungen, pp. 527–535
  36. ^ Herbert Marsh; Johann Christoph Schreiter (Übers.): Vergleichende Darstellung der protestantisch-englischen und römisch-katholischen Kirche, oder, Prüfung des Protestantismus und Katholicismus: nach dem gegenseitigen Gewicht der Grundsätze und Lehren dieser beyden Systeme, J.E. Seidel, Sulzbach im Regenkreis Baierns 1821, p. 319 (Google-OCR: p. 519) (Online-Version)
  37. ^ Gebrüder Reichenbach (Ed.): Allgemeines deutsches Conversations-Lexicon für die Gebildeten eines jeden Standes. Volume 2. Begl-Eiv. 2. Ausgabe, Gebrüder Reichenbach, Leipzig 1840, p. 124 „Bibelverbot“ (Online-Version)
  38. ^ Fremde Räume, Religionen und Rituale in Mandevilles ›Reisen‹: Wahrnehmung by Christina Henss, page 32
  39. ^ The Spanish Inquisition, Henry Kelsea, London, White Lion, 1965, p. 98
  40. ^ "Biblia+cum+recognitione+Martini+Luteri"&s Index auctorum, et librorum, qui ab officio sanctae Rom. et vniuersalis by the Congregazione dell'Inquisizione, 1559
  41. ^ Testaments Index Librorum Prohibitorum – NOV. TEST., 1559
  42. ^ (Fourth session on April 8, 1546)
  43. ^ Jump up to:a b c Franz Heinrich Reusch: Der Index der verbotenen Bücher. Ein Beitrag zur Kirchen und Literaturgeschichte. Volume 1., Max Cohen & Sohn, Bonn 1883, (Online-Version)
    p. 17, 43, 44, Von Beginn der Buchdruckerkunst bis zur Beginn der Reformation: 53-65, Deutsches Reich: 80-87, England: 87-98, Niederlande: 98-128, Spanien: 131-140, Frankreich 1521–1551: 140-153, Trient 1546: 195-200, Regeln des Index 1564: 330-341, Translated from Alexander VI. 1501: p. 54
  44. ^ Hubert Wolf: Index: der Vatikan und die verbotenen Bücher, C.H.Beck, 2007, ISBN 3-406-54778-8, p. 27–34, 218 pages
  45. ^ Hubert Wolf: Archäologie im Vatikan – Die katholische Buchzensur (1) (RTF; 39 kB), Sendung: Sonntag, February 10th, 2008, 8.30 Uhr, SWR 2; SWR2 AULA – Manuskriptdienst
  46. ^ Philip Schaff: Creeds of Christendom, with a History and Critical notes. Volume I. The History of Creeds., 1919; § 27. The Papal Bulls against the Jansenists, 1653 and 1713.
  47. ^ Jump up to:a b Wilhelm Joos: Die Bulle „Unam sanctam“ und das vatikanische Autoritätsprinzip, 2nd ed., Carl Schoch, 1897, p. 709
  48. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e B. H. Carroll: B. H. Carroll on Matthew 16:18-19, An Interpretation of the English Bible, 1913
  49. ^ Ott, Michael. "Unigenitus." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 3 June 2017
  50. ^ Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz. "Censorship of the Bible". Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL) (in German).
  51. ^ Catholics Cleanse Salzburg of Protestants
  52. ^ "Die Geschichte der Stadtmission Luzern – Die Anfänge der Stadtmission verknüpft mit dem letzten Märtyrer der Schweiz und einem Bibelverbot". Archived from the original on January 15, 2013.
  53. ^ Gregorius XVI (1844). Inter praecipuas. Rome.
  54. ^ Hans-Josef Klauck: Religion und Gesellschaft im frühen Christentum. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 152, Mohr Siebeck, 2003, ISBN 3-16-147899-1, p. 361
  55. ^ William Herman Theodore Dau: Luther Examined and Reexamined: A Review of Catholic Criticism and a Plea for Revaluation, St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House: 1917, page 68
  56. ^ Samuel Waldegrave: Italien (Aus einer Rede des Herrn Sam. Waldegrave, zu Bedford 9. Juni 1851 gehalten), in: Monatliche Auszüge aus dem Briefwechsel und den Berichten der britischen und ausländischen Bibelgesellschaft, Nr. August 8, 1851, S. 58 d. Jg. 1851 (Online-Version)
  57. ^ Verfolgungen in Toskana in: Marriott (Ed.): Der wahre Protestant. Volume 5., Bahnmaier’s Buchhandlung (C. Detloff), Basel 1856, p. 442 ff. (Online-Version)
  58. ^ Vom Beginn der Brüdergemeinden in Italien (PDF; 73 kB), Erstveröffentlichung in: Die Botschaft 130 (1989), Book 3, p. 20; Book 4, p. 19f.; Book 5, p. 10.
  59. ^ Karl Kuzmány (Ed.): Urkundenbuch zum österreichisch-evangelischen Kirchenrecht in Praktische Theologie der evangelischen Kirche augsb. und helvet. Confession. Volume 1: Lehrbuch des Kirchenrechtes. Zweite Abtheilung: Urkundenbuch, Wilhelm Braumüller, Wien 1856, p. 96–98 (Online-Version)
  60. ^ August Nathanael Böhner (Mitglied der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft): Naturforschung und Kulturleben. In ihren neuesten Ergebnissen zur Beleuchtung der grossen Frage der Gegenwart über Christenthum und Materialismus, Geist und Stoff. Carl Rümpler, Hannover 1859, p. 144 (Online-Version)
  61. ^ Wie die Päpste von der Bibel denken, erstveröffentlicht in: Gartenlaube, Dezember 1873
  62. ^ Hermann Rafetseder: Bücherverbrennungen: die öffentliche Hinrichtung von Schriften im historischen Wandel, Böhlau, 1988, ISBN 3-205-08858-1, p. 264
  63. ^ Officiorum ac Munerum, full text in Latin
  64. ^ Officiorum ac Munerum – The Prohibition and Censorship of Books, by Pope Leo XIII, 25 January 1897, English translation
  65. ^ Albert Sleumer: Index Romanus: Verzeichnis sämtlicher auf dem römischen Index stehenden deutschen Bücher desgleichen aller fremdsprachlichen Bücher seit dem Jahre 1870, 2. Ed., G. Pillmeyer’s Buchhandlung, Osnabrück 1906, Imprimatur: August 26, 1906, Hubertus (Online-Version) p. 24–34
  66. ^ "Bibles burnt in NY - 19 Jul 1843 - NOLA newspaper". The Times-Picayune. 1843-07-19. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  67. ^ Garbe, Detlef (2008). Between Resistance and Martyrdom: Jehovah's Witnesses in the Third Reich. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 92–99. ISBN 978-0-299-20794-6.
  68. ^ Garbe 2008, pp. 117–135.
  69. ^ Why Did the Nazis Burn the Hebrew Bible? Nazi Germany, Representations of the Past, and the Holocaust by Alon Confino, The Journal of Modern History 84(2), issue titled, The Jew in the Modern European Imaginary, June 2012, pp. 369–400
  70. ^ Hoyle, Russ (October 19, 1981), "Risky Rendezvous at Swatow", Time, p. 109.
  71. ^ Dunch, Ryan (1991), Protestants and the State in Post-Mao China (MA thesis), University of British Columbia, 35.
  72. ^ Spiegel, Mickey (2004), "Control and Containment in the Reform Era", in Kindopp, Jason; Hamrin, Carol Lee, God and Caesar in China: Policy Implications of Church-State Tensions, Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 51–52.
  73. ^ The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and the Advocacy of Local Autonomy, page 6 of the document, page 22 of the pdf
  74. ^ History of The Bible Society in Russia, in Russian
  75. ^ Jump up to:a b c d "'Serving the Soviets': New exhibit at Museum of the Bible tells story of Ken Howard, who covertly printed Bibles in USSR for decades". Museum of the Bible. Retrieved 5 May 2021. ...practices of the state discouraged religious activity to the point that it was essentially forced out of public life. Initially, Howard and his team struggled to smuggle Bibles into the officially atheist country. However, Howard’s discovery of screen printing changed their strategy; instead of smuggling Bibles in, they would print them within the borders. Rudimentary screen-printing methods, using fabric smuggled in as curtain material or worn as petticoats, allowed pages to be printed without being noticed. Eventually, there were 75 printing operations throughout the USSR, and more than one million pages were printed.
  76. ^ "Saudi Arabia's New Law Imposes Death Sentence for Bible Smugglers?". Christian Post. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  77. ^ Bahasa Malaysia bibles not for Muslims|Spero News Archived 2 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  78. ^ AsiaNews.it. "MALAYSIA No Bible in local languages". www.asianews.it.
  79. ^ Christians say fed up with Najib administration Archived 12 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  80. ^ Malaysia's Islamic authorities seize Bibles as Allah row deepens by Niluksi Koswanage, Reuters, January 2, 2014
  81. ^ Malaysia's highest court backs a ban on Allah in Christian bibles, Agence France-Presse in Kuala Lumpur, June 23, 2014
  82. ^ "US burns Bibles in Afghanistan row". Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
  83. ^ "Bible ban backed by Jersey Board". The New York Times. 12 September 1963.
  84. ^ Code of Canon Law, canon 825 Archived February 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  85. ^ Customs Officials Block Bibles From Entering Russia Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses, retrieved 30 March 2016.
  86. ^ Balmforth, Tom. "Russia Bans Jehovah's Witnesses' Translation Of Bible". Radio Free Europe. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  87. ^ "Russian Censorship: Ossetian & Russian Bibles, Bible Literature". JW.ORG. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  88. ^ Robertson, Laura (4 April 2007). "China Puts Bibles in Hotel Rooms for the Olympics". CBN News. Archived from the original on 27 April 2007.
  89. ^ "China Bans Online Bible Sales as It Tightens Religious Controls – The Boston Globe". www.bostonglobe.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  90. ^ Johnson, Ian (5 April 2018). "China Bans Online Bible Sales as It Tightens Religious Controls". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  91. ^ "China bans online Bible sales amid crackdown on religious freedom". Newsweek. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  92. ^ "Singapore". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the originalon 30 November 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  93. ^ "Singapore: Fighting faith of stoic witnesses to repression". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  94. ^ "Singapore Police Swoop On Jehovah's Witnesses". Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  95. ^ "Fighting faith of stoic witnesses to repression". Retrieved 8 August2015.
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