Tennessee names first English-language Bible translation in U.S. as official state book
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&view=post&articleid=275254&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry CampaignWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompte...
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the signing of the ELVIS Act to Protect Voice & Likeness in Age of AI event at Robert's Western World on March 21, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. / Credit: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Human Artistry Campaign
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 18, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).
The first English-language translation of the Bible in the United States will become an "official state book" in Tennessee on July 1.
Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, signed a bill on Tuesday that names the Aitken Bible and nine other texts as official state books in the Tennessee Blue Book (an official manual on the state government). This is the first time Tennessee has formally recognized any official state books.
The Bible translation was published by Philadelphia printer Robert Aitken in 1782 and received an official endorsement from Congress. The American Revolution, which began in 1776, halted trade with Great Britain and cut off the supply of Bibles, which prompted Aitken to publish an English-language Bible in the country, according to the legislation.
Aitken's translation received its official endorsement from the Congress of the Confederation in 1782, which was the American legislative body that preceded the establishment of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The 18th-century resolution states that the lawmakers "highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion, as well as the interest of the progress of arts in this country." It further states that the lawmakers "recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States."
The translation, which is a version of the Protestant King James Version of the Bible, is not approved by the Vatican for Catholics. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lists approved translations of the Bible on its website.
Tennessee's legislation that names the Aitken Bible as an official state book notes that the state is home to "the largest publisher of authentic reproductions of the Aitken Bible," which is the Aitken Bible Historical Foundation. It adds that Tennessee is home to "three of the five privately owned original first American Bibles remaining in the world today."
The legislation received strong support from Republicans in the Tennessee House and Senate, who hold strong supermajorities in both chambers. The bill faced opposition from most Democrats but received one Democratic vote in the House.
Some of the other historic books designated as official state books in this legislation included President George Washington's "Farewell Address" and "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville. The bill also recognized the 1977 book "Roots" by Alex Haley, which discusses slavery in the United States, and the 2016 book "Coat of Many Colors" by the Tennessee-born country singer Dolly Parton.
Tennessee lawmakers also passed a bill that would recognize November as "Christian Heritage Month." The legislation was sent to Lee, but the governor has not yet taken any action on it.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275913&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis converses with Metropolitan Agathangelos, director general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Greek Orthodox Church, at the Vatican on May 16, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:18 pm (CNA).Pope Francis has placed in young people his hope that Catholics and Orthodox may be "united in diversity" and "break the chains" of antagonism, misunderstanding, and prejudice that have kept them prisoners for centuries.In a Thursday audience, the Holy Father received the director-general of the Apostolikí Diakonía of the Orthodox Church of Greece, Metropolitan Agathangelos, and a delegation from the Theological College of Athens.The Apostolikí Diakonía is the official publishing house and missionary arm of the Orthodox Christian Church of Greece. Since 1936 it has published hundreds of books on Christian theology and tradition, Orthodox spirituality, and biblical studies.At the beginning of his talk given at the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, the ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275912&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In an interview with 60 Minutes' Norah O'Donnell, airing this Sunday, Pope Francis took aim at his "conservative critics" in the United States. / Credit: CBS News/Adam VerdugoCNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 16:58 pm (CNA).In an interview with "60 Minutes" airing this Sunday, Pope Francis takes aim at his "conservative critics" in the United States, reportedly saying a conservative is someone who "clings to something and does not want to see beyond that.""It is a suicidal attitude," the pope said as reported by "60 Minutes," which released a brief clip of the upcoming interview conducted by CBS' Nora O'Donnell. "Because one thing is to take tradition into account, to consider situations from the past, but quite another is to be closed up inside a dogmatic box."The Pope addresses his conservative critics in the church."Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that. It is a suicidal attitude," says Pope Francis. This Sunday on ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/News?blogid=Catholic-News&url=10&view=post&articleid=275911&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Jessica Tapia displays a sign outside the Garden Grove Unified School District board meeting on behalf of the Teachers Don't Lie program. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Advocates for Faith and Freedom and Jessica TapiaCNA Staff, May 16, 2024 / 18:04 pm (CNA).A Christian teacher settled in court for $360,000 earlier this week after suing a California school district board for firing her after she refused to comply with gender ideology rules that went against her religious beliefs.After refusing to comply with a preferred pronoun rule, Jessica Tapia was fired by the Jurupa Unified School District from her job as a physical education teacher."It ultimately really does come down to my faith and how I believe that it's always worth it to stand for righteousness and fight for truth," Tapia told CNA in a phone call. "And ultimately, I believe the word of God is that truth and is the instructions we've been given to live our life upon. There's really nothing else or no one else that I lea...