Saturday, December 6, 2025

"Catholics don't read the Bible! If Catholics Read the Bible, They Would Stop Being Catholic!"

"If Catholics Read the Bible, They Would Stop Being Catholic”:

A Thesis Refuting a Modern Myth**
By Chris M. Forte

Abstract

For decades, anti-Catholic propaganda—especially from certain Evangelical and fundamentalist circles—has repeated the claim that Catholics neither read nor understand Scripture, or worse, that the Catholic Church actively forbids it. This thesis dismantles those claims from two angles: my personal journey back into the Church through Scripture itself, and the historical and theological realities of how the Church preserved, canonized, interpreted, and proclaimed the Bible for two millennia. I argue that I returned to Catholicism because of Scripture—not in spite of it. Moreover, I found in the Bible precisely what the Catholic Church has always taught: hierarchy, sacraments, apostolic succession, liturgy, and a Church that existed before the written New Testament. This paper argues that the accusation that “Catholics ignore the Bible” is ahistorical, uneducated, and often rooted in sectarian prejudice rather than fact.

Introduction

It’s astonishing to me—and, frankly, infuriating—how often I hear the same tired slogans:

“Catholics don’t read the Bible.”
“Catholics aren’t allowed to read the Bible.”
“If Catholics read the Bible they’d leave the Church.”

These accusations are not simply false—they are historically illiterate and theologically shallow. And I say this not merely as a Catholic, but as someone who left, studied Scripture intensely, and then returned because the Bible itself pointed me home.

The more I read Scripture, the more Catholic I became. The priesthood is in the Bible. The bishops are in the Bible. Apostolic succession is in the Bible. The Eucharist is in the Bible. Confession is in the Bible. The Church—organized, hierarchical, sacramental—appears on every page.

To claim that Catholicism is unbiblical is to confess that one has never actually read the Bible with historical context, early Christian testimony, or intellectual honesty.

1. The Catholic Church Existed Before the Bible—This Matters

Let me speak plainly.
The Church did not come from the Bible; the Bible came from the Church.

When Christ ascended, He did not leave behind a book. He left behind a Church:

“You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” (Matt 16:18)

The apostles preached for decades before a single Gospel existed. Christianity spread through oral authority, apostolic succession, and sacramental life, not personal Bible ownership. It was the Catholic Church—not Protestantism, not fundamentalists—that preserved, copied, canonized, and protected Scripture for 1,500 years before the Reformation even existed.

To accuse Catholics of not reading the Bible is like accusing a chef of not eating food.

2. “Catholics Aren’t Allowed to Read the Bible”—Historically Wrong

Not only is this claim false—it’s embarrassingly uneducated.

The Catholic Church produced more biblical manuscripts than any institution in human history. The monks who spent their lives copying Scripture by hand were not exactly illiterate anti-Bible zealots.

When the Church restricted certain private interpretations during the Middle Ages, it was for the exact same reason the early Church fought heresies:

to protect the faithful from false teachers—the same kind who now claim Catholics “don’t read the Bible.”

The Church has always encouraged Scripture reading. Pope after pope has commanded it. The Catechism says:

“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
—Catechism of the Catholic Church §133

That line is a quote from St. Jerome, a Catholic priest and biblical scholar.

So spare me the myth that Catholics “aren’t allowed” to read the Bible. It’s a lie.

3. “Catholics Don’t Know the Bible”—A Charge Based on Stereotypes

Do some Catholics know less Scripture than some Evangelicals? Sure.
But ignorance exists in every tradition. I’ve met Protestants who can’t name all 10 commandments.

The theological difference isn’t Bible-reading—it’s interpretive authority.

Protestantism teaches that the Bible alone, interpreted individually, is the rule of faith.
Catholicism teaches that Scripture + Sacred Tradition + Magisterium together express the apostolic faith.

The anti-Catholic stereotype assumes that Evangelicals “know Scripture” simply because they quote isolated verses—usually out of context, often ripped from 2,000 years of apostolic interpretation.

Catholics hear more Scripture at Mass in one three-year lectionary cycle than most Evangelicals hear in a decade of sermons.

The charge that Catholics “don’t know the Bible” is a lazy generalization that collapses the moment one examines the actual history.

4. The Bible Led Me Back to the Catholic Church

Now let me speak personally.

When I left the Catholic Church for a time, I did exactly what people claim Catholics never do:
I started reading the Bible intensely.

And what did I find?

I found bishops

“Appoint presbyters in every town… an overseer must be blameless.” (Titus 1:5–9)

I found a hierarchical priesthood

“He shall ordain presbyters through the laying on of hands.” (1 Tim 4:14)

I found the Eucharist as a literal sacrifice

“This is my Body… this is my Blood.” (Matt 26:26–28)
“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man…” (John 6:51–56)

I found confession to a priest

“Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.” (John 20:23)

I found apostolic succession

“What you have heard from me… entrust to faithful men.” (2 Tim 2:2)

I found liturgy

“They devoted themselves to the breaking of the bread.” (Acts 2:42)

I found the communion of saints

“The prayers of the saints rise before God.” (Rev 5:8)

In short:
I found Catholicism.

The more Scripture I consumed, the less Protestantism made sense. The Bible was Catholic long before the Reformation tried to make it otherwise.

5. “If Catholics Read the Bible, They Would Stop Being Catholic”—A Nonsensical Claim

The arrogance of this claim is astounding.
The idea that the Church that wrote the New Testament somehow contradicts it requires mental gymnastics.

The earliest Christians—Ignatius, Clement, Polycarp, Irenaeus—were Catholic in every recognizable way:

They believed in bishops.
They believed in the Eucharist as Christ’s real Body.
They believed in confession.
They believed in apostolic authority.
They believed the Church—not the Bible alone—was the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15).

To say “the Bible disproves Catholicism” is to say all Christians for the first 1,500 years were wrong and modern American Protestants finally figured it out.

That is not theology.
That is chronological snobbery.

6. The Real Reason This Myth Exists: Anti-Catholicism

Let’s be brutally honest.

The claim “Catholics don’t read the Bible” is not about biblical literacy.
It is a weapon, used by modern anti-Catholics to delegitimize the Church Christ founded.

It’s an easy insult for people who have never read early Christian history, never studied the canon process, and never examined the faith of the first centuries.

The myth exists because it serves an agenda—not because it is true.

Conclusion

I did not become Catholic because I ignored Scripture.
I became Catholic because I finally understood Scripture.

I realized the same Church I saw in Acts, in the Pastorals, in Revelation, and in early Christian writings still existed today—and it was not Protestantism.

So when someone says:

“If Catholics actually read the Bible they’d stop being Catholic,”

I answer:

I read the Bible, and that is precisely why I came home.

The Bible is Catholic.
The early Church was Catholic.
Christianity itself was Catholic before a single Protestant existed.

If anything, the question should be asked in reverse:

If Protestants truly read Scripture in historical context,
how long could they remain Protestant?

Footnotes

Catechism of the Catholic Church, §133, Vatican Website, https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.
Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah, Prologue; see English translation at New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001.htm.
“History of the Bible,” Catholic Answers, https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-bible.
J. N. D. Kelly, Early Christian Doctrines (San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009), 36–50.
Bruce Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987).
Vatican II, Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation), §§7–10, https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html.
Pope Leo XIII, Providentissimus Deus (1893), https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_18931118_providentissimus-deus.html.
Acts of the Apostles, 2:42; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), https://bible.usccb.org/bible.
John 6:51–56, USCCB Bible Online, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6.
John 20:21–23, USCCB Bible Online, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20.
1 Timothy 3:15, USCCB Bible Online, https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1timothy/3.
St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans (c. A.D. 110), https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm.
St. Clement of Rome, Letter to the Corinthians (c. A.D. 96), https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm.
St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, III.3–4, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm.
Catholic Lectionary Readings, USCCB, https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading.
“Apostolic Succession,” Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01648a.htm.
“The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist,” USCCB Teaching, https://www.usccb.org/eucharist.
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Jesus of Nazareth (New York: Doubleday, 2007), esp. Ch. 7 on the Eucharist.
Scott Hahn, The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth (New York: Doubleday, 1999).
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Christian Tradition, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971).
St. Augustine, On Christian Doctrine, Book I, trans. J. F. Shaw, at New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/12021.htm.
St. Augustine, Letter 82 to St. Jerome, where Augustine insists on the authority of the Church in interpreting Scripture. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102082.htm.
Origen, Homilies on Luke, Homily 5, on apostolic teaching and the Church’s authority. English translation at New Advent: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1015.htm.
Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles), Book IV, on Scripture and apostolic tradition. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04124.htm.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I, Q.1, Art.8, on Sacred Doctrine and the need for ecclesial authority. https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1001.htm.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on John, Chapter 6 (Real Presence). Latin/English resources at Aquinas.cc: https://aquinas.cc/
Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea, Commentary on the Gospels, esp. Matthew 16 and John 20 on Peter and the forgiveness of sins. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/
Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), Introduction to Christianity (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004).
Joseph Ratzinger, Called to Communion: Understanding the Church Today (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996).
Raymond E. Brown, The Churches the Apostles Left Behind (New York: Paulist Press, 1984).
Raymond E. Brown, The Critical Meaning of the Bible (New York: Paulist Press, 1981).
Scott Hahn, Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith (New York: Doubleday, 2007).
Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker, Politicizing the Bible (New York: Crossroad, 2013).
Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (New York: Doubleday, 2011).
Brant Pitre, Jesus and the Last Supper (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015).
John Bergsma, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of the Church (New York: Image Books, 2019).
John Bergsma & Scott Hahn, A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018).
Gary A. Anderson, Sin: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).
N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003).
André Feuillet, “The Priesthood of Christ,” in The Priesthood and Sacrifice in the Ancient Law and the New Testament (New York: Herder and Herder, 1975).
Henri de Lubac, Catholicism: Christ and the Common Destiny of Man (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1988).
Yves Congar, Tradition and Traditions (San Diego: Catholic Tradition Press, 1964/2016).
Jaroslav Pelikan, The Reformation of the Bible/The Bible of the Reformation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996).
Eamon Duffy, Faith of Our Fathers: Reflections on Catholic Tradition (London: Bloomsbury, 2004).
Eamon Duffy, Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014).
Robert Louis Wilken, The Spirit of Early Christian Thought (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).
Markus Bockmuehl, Ancient Judaism and the New Testament (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1998).
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2014).
F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988).

Bruce L. Shelley, Church History in Plain Language (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013).

Catholic Answers. “History of the Bible.” https://www.catholic.com/tract/the-bible.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. Vatican Website. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.

Clement of Rome, St. Letter to the Corinthians. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm.

Hahn, Scott. The Lamb’s Supper: The Mass as Heaven on Earth. New York: Doubleday, 1999.

Ignatius of Antioch, St. Letter to the Smyrnaeans. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm.

Irenaeus, St. Against Heresies. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103303.htm.

Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2009.

Metzger, Bruce. The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition, Volume 1: The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.

Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger). Jesus of Nazareth. New York: Doubleday, 2007.

Pope Leo XIII. Providentissimus Deus. Vatican Website.
https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_18931118_providentissimus-deus.html.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Holy Bible. https://bible.usccb.org.

Vatican II. Dei Verbum. Vatican Website.
https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html.

Primary Sources

Aquinas, Thomas. Catena Aurea. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/.
———. Summa Theologiae. https://www.newadvent.org/summa/.

Augustine of Hippo. On Christian Doctrine. Translated by J. F. Shaw. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/12021.htm.
———. Letters. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1102.htm.

Origen. De Principiis (On First Principles). New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0412.htm.
———. Homilies on Luke. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1015.htm.

Clement of Rome, St. Letter to the Corinthians. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1010.htm.
Ignatius of Antioch, St. Letter to the Smyrnaeans. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0109.htm.
Irenaeus, St. Against Heresies. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103.htm.

Magisterial Sources

Catechism of the Catholic Church. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM.

Pope Leo XIII. Providentissimus Deus. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_18931118_providentissimus-deus.html.

Second Vatican Council. Dei Verbum. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Holy Bible. https://bible.usccb.org.

Modern Catholic and Historical Scholarship

Anderson, Gary A. Sin: A History. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

Bergsma, John. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Revealing the Jewish Roots of the Church. New York: Image Books, 2019.

Bergsma, John, and Scott Hahn. A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018.

Brown, Raymond E. The Churches the Apostles Left Behind. New York: Paulist Press, 1984.

Brown, Raymond E. The Critical Meaning of the Bible. New York: Paulist Press, 1981.

Congar, Yves. Tradition and Traditions. San Diego: Catholic Tradition Press, 2016.

Duffy, Eamon. Faith of Our Fathers. London: Bloomsbury, 2004.
———. Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.

Feuillet, André. “The Priesthood of Christ.” In The Priesthood and Sacrifice in the Ancient Law and the New Testament. New York: Herder and Herder, 1975.

Hahn, Scott. Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith. New York: Doubleday, 2007.

Hahn, Scott, and Benjamin Wiker. Politicizing the Bible. New York: Crossroad, 2013.

Keener, Craig. IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2014.

Metzger, Bruce. The Canon of the New Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987.

Pitre, Brant. Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist. New York: Doubleday, 2011.
———. Jesus and the Last Supper. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition, Volume 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971.
———. The Reformation of the Bible/The Bible of the Reformation. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.

Ratzinger, Joseph. Called to Communion. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1996.
———. Introduction to Christianity. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2004.

Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013.

Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

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