Direct Answer
Athanasius taught that many of Jesus' statements about the Father applied only to His humanity. Anyone who simply believed the plain words could then be called a heretic, so reading the Bible became risky.
Support from the Message
- Jesus said only the Father knows the day and the hour, and even the Son does not. On Athanasius's view, believing that as written would be blasphemy. - David Bercot says the medieval Catholic Church banned translations out of fear that lay people would believe such statements and be lost, and that Athanasius created that situation. - Athanasius's teaching is still taught in most churches. - David sees the same problem today when people take Scripture at its word on obedience, eternal security or baptism and get criticized for it. - He grants that a person can misread a verse and must take the whole Bible into account, yet everyone should be able to pick it up and read it.
Discussion Follow-up
Is there a verse you were taught to explain away? What would it mean to believe it as written?