Every protestant church I have attended since I was a child had, and still has them in the pews. My ex-Catholic wife gave me her perspective after seeing and sticking with the Protestant Church, and when we got married, there was no way she would not be Catholic, ever. Until she got very ill, and a friend called the priest to come see her in the hospital. Now she was a Sunday school teacher, and the priest couldn’t even remember her name. (the same guy who asked us if either one of us was gay when we requested to be married- really happened) and then complained that we should go to a hospital closer to him, as it was an extra 10 minutes away! Anyway, she saw that the masses were constantly the same old ritual,, same stuff being said every week, basically people in a big rush to get in and out as fast as they can, and seemed to be all about the money. Contribute what you could, and the priest snubs you and the secretary calls you at home if they don’t get the envelope for a month.
Just wanted to see what others thought, not meant to offend.
I’m just sayin...
Well, then you and I have had two completely different experiences....and since our experiences are really nothing but anecdotal tales, they are not reliable at all, regarding this as a whole...perhaps some other non-Catholics should weigh in here, and let us know if their non-Catholic Christian church provides Bibles in the pews...the only way we will ever know for sure, is if there would be some sort of large survey...I would still be surprised to find out that the majority of non-Catholic Christian churches actually provided Bibles for those who attended their church...sorry, I am not buying it, in spite of your own anecdotal experiences...in fact, I may just conduct my own little survey into this...in my area, there are at least 20 churches of varying denominations, within a 1/2 hour drive of my house...I could very easily call each one of them up, and see if they provide Bibles in the pews for the use of their members...this would be quite interesting...let’s see, right near me, there are Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, 7th Day adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Episcopalian, Catholic, Church of God, a few what are called ‘community churches’, and a few others...I would be curious what they would say, if I asked them if they provide Bible in each of their pews...I am betting that their answer is going to be no..tho, of course, I might be completely wrong...I am curious now, about this, so I think over the next few weeks, I will conduct my own little survey in the churches in my area...it would be very interesting, to see how it comes out...
But regardless of that, anyone, anywhere, can go to any bookstore, and buy their choice of Bibles...whether it is the Catholic Bible, or the King James Bible, or whatever Bible, most bookstores, carry a large supply and variety of Bibles, and any person, wanting a Bible can buy their own..in fact, I have found, that most people, whether Catholic or non-Catholic, want to have their own Bible, often several Bibles at home, for home study...
Sounds like your personal experience with the Catholic church, and individual priests was not an experience you cared for...however, I, not a Catholic, have met my fair share of ministers of non-Catholic Christian churches, who to my mind, were just shoddy ministers, not any good at their calling...and I have met priests who were wonderful...and vice versa...
One cannot generalize that the whole Catholic Church is bad, because your experience with a priest here or there, or a congregation here and there, was not what you were looking for, or because you feel you were treated badly...
Everyone has their own anecdotal tales to tell, good or bad, but to take those anecdotal tales and apply them, to this religion, or that religion, as a whole, is not logical...
Anyway, you have now piqued my interest about which churches do or do not put Bibles in their pews for the use of those attending the services...
I happen to know that there are between 20-25 churches of varying denominations in my area, within a 1/2 hours drive, simply because one day, I took the time to find out...this was when some other Freeper, long ago, tried to make the claim, that churches were virtually non-existent in the area where I live...so I made the drive one Sunday morning, counted the churches, and took note of their parking lots(which were full up)....
So, I will be curious to see what my next venture will show...I will be sure to get back to you, and let you, whether or not, any of these various Christian churches, provide Bibles in the pews, for the use of those at the service...I still believe my survey will confirm, what I believe to be the truth..
Anyway, I am sorry that you had those bad experiences, but I think that we may all have had some bad experiences with different representatives of different religions...
Anyway, I will get back to you and this thread, after I conduct my little survey...It will be interesting...
I have only been to one non-Catholic church that had bibles in the pews. That was an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Church. That was to ensure that you had the approved version. None of the others which included Baptist, Southern Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopal had anything but a hymnal.