Catholics that don't know the bible

[RedBert]

NOTE: the first four sources are Catholic FRIENDLY sites!!

catholicity.com/commentary/carlin/05386.html
“from our good friends at InsideCatholic.com, the leading online journal of Catholic faith, culture, and politics.”

“According to the poll, 25 percent of Evangelical Protestants read the Bible daily, as do 20 percent of other Protestants, while daily Bible-reading is done by only 7 percent of Catholics”

Far more disturbing was the poll result that showed that 44 percent of Catholics “rarely or never” read the Bible, while this is true of only 7 percent of Evangelicals and 13 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants.

Of course, there is an old tradition among lay Catholics of not reading the Bible. "

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=8944

The most diligent Bible readers are Pentecostals, with 72 percent saying they read the holy book daily or a few times a week, followed by Baptists (62 percent), Anglicans (46 percent), Lutherans (41 percent) and Uniting (43 percent).** Dragging down the other denominations are Catholics, of whom 59 percent confess they rarely consult their Bibles**.

catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0402fea3.asp

The Bible-reading habits of Catholics lag far behind those of Evangelical Protestants.
My guess is that many Catholics simply don’t want to do the work. They are content to let Mother Church spoon-feed them. (They want to remain “babes in Christ” who drink “milk,” as Paul says.)
But the “solution” of many Catholics—to not read the Bible at all so as to not be “confused” or “led astray”

catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=30547&page=1

"Q: Is one of the goals of this program to promote “biblical literacy” among Catholics, who have often been characterized as **being “illiterate” when it comes to Scripture?

Healy: Absolutely! Unfortunately, that description is not far off the mark"**

au.christiantoday.com/article/luther-rome-and-the-bible/5255.htm

Only one in four Italians had read a passage from the Bible in the past year the survey revealed, compared to three out of four in the USA. Few even knew whether or not the Gospels were part of the Bible. Philosophy graduates confused Paul with Moses and thought that Jesus wrote Genesis, according to the survey.,

etc etc etc

 

[RedBert]

catholicity.com/commentary/carlin/05386.html

Of course, there is an old tradition among lay Catholics of not reading the Bible. Prior to the Protestant Reformation, this non-reading was a natural byproduct of the fact that the vast majority of lay Catholics were illiterate. Besides, such Bibles as were available were written in Latin, not the vernacular languages. And then, once the Reformation took place, Bible-reading took on the color of being a distinctively Protestant thing, therefore something faithful Catholics should avoid. Protestants, after all, appealed to the authority of the Bible to challenge the authority of the pope and the bishops, and when they read the Bible they came to certain theological conclusions that conflicted with Catholic doctrine. Reading the Bible was dangerous for Catholics.

In the long period from the Council of Trent to Vatican II, a period of approximately four centuries, the Catholic Church adopted a highly defensive mode of being. There were two great intellectual dangers to the Faith – first the Protestant danger and then the secularist danger that stemmed from the Enlightenment. The Index of Prohibited Books was created to defend Catholics against these dangers.** Of course, it was impossible to put the Bible on the Index, since the Bible, according to Catholic teaching, was the inspired Word of God. But if the Bible couldn’t be banned, at least Catholics could be effectively discouraged from reading it.** There were several ways of doing this:

◦A strong emphasis on Natural Religion had the effect of depreciating the value of Revelation generally.
◦A strong emphasis on Tradition as a second source of Divine Revelation had the effect of depreciating the value of the Bible.
◦Secondhand narrations of biblical stories, instead of moving Catholics to consult the original sources (the Bible itself), more often gave them the impression that it was not necessary to examine the Bible.
◦Catholics were told that they must not read Protestant translations of the Bible (e.g., the Authorized Version); if they insisted on reading the Bible, they must read properly annotated Catholic translations.
◦Some gentle ridicule directed at the Biblicism of our “separated brethren” taught Catholics to shy away from the Bible.
◦In general, Catholics were seldom seriously encouraged by their priests and nuns to search the Scriptures.

 

[Fidelis]

“*It is better to light one candle, than to curse the darkness.” *–motto of The Christophers

Whatever deficiencies can be found in the past of the Church not encouraging the laity to read the Scriptures, that was then and this is now. With the abundance of solid Catholic Bible study materials available in our time, there is NO REASON for any Catholic to be biblically illiterate. Even if there is no Bible study offered at your parish, there’s no reason you or any other Catholic can’t turn off the TV and study the Bible for themselves using the great resources that are available–many of which are free on the internet.

It’s always better to be part of the solution. Don’t expect anyone to force-feed you; don’t resort to non-Catholic Bible studies. Roll up your sleeves and become a Catholic student of the Bible yourself. As St. Jerome said, “Read God’s Book continually; never let the sacred volume be out of your hand. Learn, so that you may teach.” Perhaps you can be a catalyst in getting a Catholic Bible study started in your area, either at your parish or in your home.

There’s several ways a Catholic can get started on this. I recommend you visit my humble website (linked below) for some tips on doing just that.

 

[NotWorthy]

Whatever deficiencies can be found in the past of the Church not encouraging the laity to read the Scriptures, that was then and this is now. With the abundance of solid Catholic Bible study materials available in our time, there is NO REASON for any Catholic to be biblically illiterate. Even if there is no Bible study offered at your parish, there’s no reason you or any other Catholic can’t turn off the TV and study the Bible for themselves using the great resources that are available–many of which are free on the internet.

It’s always better to be part of the solution. Don’t expect anyone to force-feed you; don’t resort to non-Catholic Bible studies. Roll up your sleeves and become a Catholic student of the Bible yourself. As St. Jerome said, “Read God’s Book continually; never let the sacred volume be out of your hand. Learn, so that you may teach.” Perhaps you can be a catalyst in getting a Catholic Bible study started in your area, either at your parish or in your home.

There’s several ways a Catholic can get started on this. I recommend you visit my humble website (linked below) for some tips on doing just that.

Exactly.

Just as a program helps someone understand a play or a ballgame, understanding the Bible helps one to more fully appreciate the Mass!

And as Bookcat noted: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!”

 

[andyandely1997]

Whatever deficiencies can be found in the past of the Church not encouraging the laity to read the Scriptures, that was then and this is now. With the abundance of solid Catholic Bible study materials available in our time, there is NO REASON for any Catholic to be biblically illiterate. Even if there is no Bible study offered at your parish, there’s no reason you or any other Catholic can’t turn off the TV and study the Bible for themselves using the great resources that are available–many of which are free on the internet.

It’s always better to be part of the solution. Don’t expect anyone to force-feed you; don’t resort to non-Catholic Bible studies. Roll up your sleeves and become a Catholic student of the Bible yourself. As St. Jerome said, “Read God’s Book continually; never let the sacred volume be out of your hand. Learn, so that you may teach.” Perhaps you can be a catalyst in getting a Catholic Bible study started in your area, either at your parish or in your home.

There’s several ways a Catholic can get started on this. I recommend you visit my humble website (linked below) for some tips on doing just that.

I fully agree.

 

[kepha1]

NOTE: the first four sources are Catholic FRIENDLY sites!!

catholicity.com/commentary/carlin/05386.html
“from our good friends at InsideCatholic.com, the leading online journal of Catholic faith, culture, and politics.”

“According to the poll, 25 percent of Evangelical Protestants read the Bible daily, as do 20 percent of other Protestants, while daily Bible-reading is done by only 7 percent of Catholics”

Far more disturbing was the poll result that showed that 44 percent of Catholics “rarely or never” read the Bible, while this is true of only 7 percent of Evangelicals and 13 percent of non-Evangelical Protestants.

Of course, there is an old tradition among lay Catholics of not reading the Bible. "

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=8944

The most diligent Bible readers are Pentecostals, with 72 percent saying they read the holy book daily or a few times a week, followed by Baptists (62 percent), Anglicans (46 percent), Lutherans (41 percent) and Uniting (43 percent).** Dragging down the other denominations are Catholics, of whom 59 percent confess they rarely consult their Bibles**.

catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0402fea3.asp

The Bible-reading habits of Catholics lag far behind those of Evangelical Protestants.
My guess is that many Catholics simply don’t want to do the work. They are content to let Mother Church spoon-feed them. (They want to remain “babes in Christ” who drink “milk,” as Paul says.)
But the “solution” of many Catholics—to not read the Bible at all so as to not be “confused” or “led astray”

catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=30547&page=1

"Q: Is one of the goals of this program to promote “biblical literacy” among Catholics, who have often been characterized as **being “illiterate” when it comes to Scripture? **

Healy: Absolutely! Unfortunately, that description is not far off the mark"

au.christiantoday.com/article/luther-rome-and-the-bible/5255.htm

Only one in four Italians had read a passage from the Bible in the past year the survey revealed, compared to three out of four in the USA. Few even knew whether or not the Gospels were part of the Bible. Philosophy graduates confused Paul with Moses and thought that Jesus wrote Genesis, according to the survey.,

etc etc etc

Here’s a another interesting statistic:

100% of Catholics, while attending Mass, hear more Scripture than read at any Protestant service.

“So then faith comes by hearing, (not reading) and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.”

• Romans 10:17–18 (quoting Psalm 19:14
​

Non-practicing Catholics should never be included in any survey or poll, unless it shows they are not practicing Catholics. Of course, this is never the case.

 

[RedBert]

Here’s a another interesting statistic:

100% of Catholics, while attending Mass, hear more Scripture than read at any Protestant service.

an outrageously untrue statement:

even if it is hyperbole …shame on you .

PS… did you notice they were Catholic friendly websites?

honesty builds credibility

Non-practicing Catholics should never be included in any survey or poll

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=8944

*"Churchgoers are losing touch with the Bible and **Catholics are doing worse than most, statistics show. **

Figures from the 2006 National Church Life Survey showing that of those Australians** who go to church**, 21 percent read their Bible daily, 14 percent open it a few times a week and 6 percent once a week, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

But 24 percent said they read their Bibles only occasionally, 18 percent hardly ever and 17 percent said they never read the Bible on their own as a private devotional activity, according to the research, which is based on a survey of 500,000 churchgoers from 22 denominations.
*
The most diligent Bible readers are Pentecostals, with 72 percent saying they read the holy book daily or a few times a week, followed by Baptists (62 percent), Anglicans (46 percent), Lutherans (41 percent) and Uniting (43 percent). Dragging down the other denominations are Catholics, of whom 59 percent confess they rarely consult their Bibles."**

 

[NotWorthy]

an outrageously untrue statement:

even if it is hyperbole …shame on you .

I’m not sure that this is untrue. There are many prayers in the Mass that are taken from Scripture. The Mass has more Scripture than many people (even Catholics… sigh) realize.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I was living in Poland for a few years of my teenage years. During my life there my family would go to a Polish Catholic Church in our town. During mass at most Polish Churches, the bible was rarely, if ever read or explained for the congregation. I was also told by my dad that a lot of Polish people, besides ourselves don’t have a bible in their home or have never read anything from it. I know that the Catholic Mass basically revolves around the Eucharist, but to me some knowledge of the bible is also very important since most don’t attend bible studies and only go to Church once a week. As well as to not loose sight of what and why we actually do what we do. I would like to hear some opinions about this because it seems as though there are probably a lot of Catholic Churches or Catholic people out there in the world that have maybe lost sight of why they do things and at no fault of the individual person, but because of the CC that doesn’t properly educate some.

For a start, until the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was probably quite difficult to obtain a Bible.

Secondly if someone was able to hold onto their Christian, Catholic heritage through the harassment of the Soviet years, then it would be rather remiss if they were unable to retain it through the years that followed, with or without a Bible.

However I still feel they should have access to a Bible, and should be conversant with it.

After all Catholic theology and teachings are to a very large extent drawn from the Bible. Pretty well everything we know about Christ comes to us through the Bible. And God does speak to us through it.

 

[Bookcat]

Make sure you read posts 10…11…12…etc

 

[RedBert]

100% of Catholics, while attending Mass, hear more Scripture than read at any Protestant service.

I’m not sure that this is untrue. There are many prayers in the Mass that are taken from Scripture. The Mass has more Scripture than many people (even Catholics… sigh) realize.

Really?

you are not sure if it is true that 100% of Catholics, while attending Mass, hear more Scripture than read at** any **Protestant service?

I’ll make real easy for you , from the comfort of your home check out the video archives of Charles Stanley: and notice how often he references the Bible in his hand.
intouch.org/site And that just his message.

BTW; Protestants have Bible based prayers and Bible based hymns also.

The OP was about Catholics reading their Bible, not a priest reading it to them during mass…

I have provided four Catholic friendly 's sites (including THIS site ) showing surveys or commentaries about Catholics*“being “illiterate” when it comes to Scripture”*. (their words , not mine)

Of course some will separate what the Church teaches from what Catholics actually do.
Ok , thats fine.

But to dismiss the facts, to look the other way , to be in denial…makes me ask , have you noticed the news about the Catholic Church in Europe last week?

try this instead
“'I admit my fellow Catholics have an opportunity for improvement when it comes to reading the Bible, and I will make a commitment to read the Bible myself and join or start a Catholic Bible Study group, and I will encourage others to follow my example , because that is what the Church wants.”

 

[NotWorthy]

Really?

you are not sure if it is true that 100% of Catholics, while attending Mass, hear more Scripture than read at** any** Protestant service?

No, not ANY Protestant service, of course. But from the surveys I’ve seen, the typical Catholic Mass is more Scriptural than each and every one of the other typical major Protestant Faiths services.

I’ll make real easy for you , from the comfort of your home check out the video archives of Charles Stanley: and notice how often he references the Bible in his hand.
intouch.org/site And that just his message.

BTW; Protestants have Bible based prayers and Bible based hymns also.

The OP was about Catholics reading their Bible, not a priest reading it to them during mass…

I have provided four Catholic friendly 's sites (including THIS site ) showing surveys or commentaries about Catholics*“being “illiterate” when it comes to Scripture”*. (their words , not mine)

Brother, I think you misunderstand me.

I realize that Catholics are illiterate in the Scriptures. And I realize that this illiteracy makes them not appreciate God’s Word and they actually tend to get less out of the Mass than if they were more familiar with Scriptures. The more I read and study the Bible, the deeper the Mass becomes.

Of course some will separate what the Church teaches from what Catholics actually do.
Ok , thats fine.

But to dismiss the facts, to look the other way , to be in denial…makes me ask , have you noticed the news about the Catholic Church in Europe last week?

Yes, I have, sadly. The Catholic Church, along with all of Christianity is in the dark ages in Europe. And this is a result of what happens when people turn to themselves instead of God.

But hope springs eternal!

try this instead
“'I admit my fellow Catholics have an opportunity for improvement when it comes to reading the Bible, and I will make a commitment to read the Bible myself and join or start a Catholic Bible Study group, and I will encourage others to follow my example , because that is what the Church wants.”

Brother, you don’t know me, so I won’t say anything other than agree wholeheartedly with this statement.

Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ! Those words have never run truer than today, even though they were uttered 1600 years ago!

 

[Nicea325]

**QUOTE=Fidelis;6412123]Whatever deficiencies can be found in the past of the Church not encouraging the laity to read the Scriptures, that was then and this is now. With the abundance of solid Catholic Bible study materials available in our time, there is NO REASON for any Catholic to be biblically illiterate. Even if there is no Bible study offered at your parish, there’s no reason you or any other Catholic can’t turn off the TV and study the Bible for themselves using the great resources that are available–many of which are free on the internet.

It’s always better to be part of the solution. Don’t expect anyone to force-feed you; don’t resort to non-Catholic Bible studies. Roll up your sleeves and become a Catholic student of the Bible yourself. As St. Jerome said, “Read God’s Book continually; never let the sacred volume be out of your hand. Learn, so that you may teach.” Perhaps you can be a catalyst in getting a Catholic Bible study started in your area, either at your parish or in your home.

There’s several ways a Catholic can get started on this. I recommend you visit my humble website (linked below) for some tips on doing just that.**

AMEN! Exactly! I am the Director of Catechetical Minisitry at my parish and even with my busy schedule,I am planning to start a Bible study group at the parish for adults ages 25-45 years old.

 

[Nicea325]

No, not ANY Protestant service, of course. But from the surveys I’ve seen, the typical Catholic Mass is more Scriptural than each and every one of the other typical major Protestant Faiths services.
Brother, I think you misunderstand me.

I do believe that is a fact. The Mass is derived from the Book of Revelation.If I am correct Scott Hahn stated about 80% of the Mass is all scriptural,more than Protestant services.How many Protestant services does one ever see on tv giving Communion? Most of the time it is only the Liturgy of the Word and no Liturgy of the Eucharist.

 

[Fidelis]

AMEN! Exactly! I am the Director of Catechetical Minisitry at my parish and even with my busy schedule,I am planning to start a Bible study group at the parish for adults ages 25-45 years old.

Good for you!! If only a *fraction *of the Catholics on these boards took similar initiative, there would so many Catholic Bible studies out there, nobody could ever complain about this again!

 

[Nicea325]

Good for you!! If only a *fraction *of the Catholics on these boards took similar initiative, there would so many Catholic Bible studies out there, nobody could ever complain about this again!

I agree 200%. BTW I like your website and I saved as a reference for my Bible Study class. Problem with so many people today is they always assume the ‘other’ person will take the initiative and at the end nothing gets accomplished.

I’ll be honest I did not start to read Scripture until about 5 years ago when I joined my former parish Bible study class. However, now at 39 I am really hooked on scripture and really believe God reveals a lot to us through scripture.

 

[NotWorthy]

I agree 200%. BTW I like your website and I saved as a reference for my Bible Study class. Problem with so many people today is they always assume the ‘other’ person will take the initiative and at the end nothing gets accomplished.

I’ll be honest I did not start to read Scripture until about 5 years ago when I joined my former parish Bible study class. However, now at 39 I am really hooked on scripture and really believe God reveals a lot to us through scripture.

And the choir sings, “Amen”!

 

[Nicea325]

And the choir sings, “Amen”!

Amen Brother! What Bible version do you read? I like the RSV CE 2nd edition.

 

[Church_Militant]

I think there’s a misconception here. I have found that the average devout Catholic that practices their faith generally knows the Bible at least as well as the same level of n-C Christian, though the Catholics often don’t realize it because we Catholics are not into the “chapter and verse” system that they do. The best thing for Catholics to do is use one of the online Bible texts that have search engines to locate passages under discussion and that will give then the chapter and verse they probably need.

The Church has always encouraged us to read the Bible, as has been shown above. The Church doesn’t indulgence reading it so we can ignore it, (duh).

Some of you might find this old thread of mine of interest.
Poll: Catholics: When did you last read the Bible?

 

[NotWorthy]

I think there’s a misconception here. I have found that the average devout Catholic that practices their faith generally knows the Bible at least as well as the same level of n-C Christian, though the Catholics often don’t realize it because we Catholics are not into the “chapter and verse” system that they do. The best thing for Catholics to do is use one of the online Bible texts that have search engines to locate passages under discussion and that will give then the chapter and verse they probably need.

The Church has always encouraged us to read the Bible, as has been shown above. The Church doesn’t indulgence reading it so we can ignore it, (duh).

Some of you might find this old thread of mine of interest.
Poll: Catholics: When did you last read the Bible?

But Church Militant, you know very well that the more one understands the Bible, the more one understands the Mass.

What you miss, if your only exposure to the Bible is the Mass, is the context of all the Bible stories you hear in the Mass.