Dad gave me a Protestantish gift for bday

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Hello. This may seem like a silly question, but I am a faithful Catholic, so I would like some advice from fellow Catholics. For my birthday, my Dad gave me an Our Daily Bread prayer journal as one of my gifts. I know Our Daily Bread is made by RBC Ministries and they are strictly Evangelical Protestants. Now mind you, I’ve never encountered anything blatantly anti-Catholic in their literature other than their beliefs obviously in Protestant doctrines. And in this prayer journal, its mainly blank lined pages for recording your prayer life, with the occasional page with a picture of nature and a Bible verse from a protestant version of the Bible. My question is, can I use this gift without contradicting my Catholic faith or causing scandal? It is a nice journal and I probably could put it to good use and I also don’t want to offend my Dad. My Dad is Presbyterian and he knows that my family and I are Catholic, so it annoys me that he would get me something that is Protestantish, but I know he means well. What are your thoughts on this?

God bless!
 
I would make sure I thanked him and I would use it. It is the thought that counts. Obviously, you know the differences and won’t be “swayed” by anything.
 
strings385 said:
but I know he means well.
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As a dad who is always getting my daughters the wrong gifts… he probably wasn’t thinking about differences in denominations and simply saw something that he thought you would like. Your question seems to state that you want to use it (or get permission here) so he was probably correct.
 
Are we not worshiping the same God as Christians? If there is nothing blatantly offensive in the gift, why not use it?
 
Strings385: I often read “protestantish” stuff, not because I’m not strong in my faith, but because I like to read what others have to say about topics. For example, I’m a great fan of William Barclay (the presbyterian theologian) and Dr John Polkinghorne, who is an Anglican. You’ll always find a few things that are inconsistent with Catholic teaching in these texts, but a few of the books written by some of our eminent theologians are inconsistent (I’ll probably ruffle a few feathers in saying that, but there you go) with sound traditional Catholic teaching. We’re all (Catholics and Protestants) trying to get to grips with theology and changing times, and some of these inconsistencies are just products of that search for relevancy in modern times and trying to meet the challenge of evangelisation.
 
It sounds like your father knows your faith is important to you and was trying to honor and recognize that with his gift. What is wrong with blank lined pages and pictures of nature? As far as verses from “a Protestant version of the Bible,” the main problem is that Protestants are missing seven books. Of the books we share, Catholics and Protestants often use the same translations.

Use his thoughtful gift and reflect on the meaning of love.
 
Are you certain that this is not the Catholic prayer guide of the same title?

Either way, it’s a very nice gift.

ICXC NIKA.
 
Our Daily Bread is about as innocuous as you can get. It is a lovely book of personal stories and meditations from people of all denominations, including Catholics. Rarely is there anything that a Catholic would dispute. Actually, the local Catholic bookstore keeps a stack at their counter and no one has complained about it, and they sell out rather quickly.

People need to remember that not all Protestant denominations interpret things the same way, so they can be concerned about improper interpretation in their minds too. Catholics are not the only ones with that concern. But Our Daily Bread usually avoids that sort of thing.

I think a prayer journal is a lovely gift. You are the one writing in it, not anyone else.
 
Hi strings,

I would go ahead and use it. He was probably thinking about you with love, when he gave it to you. 🙂

I come from a Protestant family background, too. Both of my parents were converts, and they raised my sister and I as Catholics.

When I was confirmed, my Lutheran Gramma gave me a Confirmation gift. It was my Grandfather’s Bible. It was a Protestant Bible. I still have it and use it, and it is very beautiful, and it is quite old now. My Grandfather had died just a few years before I was born. She gave it to me because she treasured it, and she thought that I would, too.
 
There is no particular reason why you must read it. So this is no real problem. I think it is good to presume good will on the part of someone when you really don’t know their intention.
Some years in the past, I gave magazine subscriptions to family members. One of my children had a cat, for example, so I gave a cat magazine for Christmas. Whether they thought a magazine I gave was something to read or not, was up to them.
Sometimes it is good not to read a publication about religion by a non-Catholic. Whether this would be the case here would be for you to say.
 
Oh Dear ,it pains me that you feel you have to ask at all . Your Dad sound like a lovely man ,and you could learn a great deal from him about charity .
 
I read “Our Daily Bread” every morning and find it to be inspirational & not anti-Catholic!
St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas & other Catholic scholars are often quoted. So, I wouldn’t be afraid to use this gift from your Dad.
 
I’m sort of wondering about why the question was asked - are there other canon laws that I’m going to find out about? I have read Our Daily Bread in years, but I can’t imagine a single thing in it that would be objectionable in it for a Catholic. I used to read it constantly.
 
What your dad gave you is much better than what my sister unwittingly gave me - the entire Left Behind set of books! I’m one of the few Catholics in the family & all she knew about the books is that they were Christian & she knows I like to read. She meant well! 😃
 
I wouldn’t read it, but I would thank my dad for that gift as I would for any other.
 
Colorad007 said:
I wouldn’t read it, but I would thank my dad for that gift as I would for any other.
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What is there to read? The OP described it as a prayer journal:
And in this prayer journal, its mainly blank lined pages for recording your prayer life, with the occasional page with a picture of nature and a Bible verse from a protestant version of the Bible.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
What is there to read? The OP described it as a prayer journal:
And in this prayer journal, its mainly blank lined pages for recording your prayer life, with the occasional page with a picture of nature and a Bible verse from a protestant version of the Bible.
Click to expand...
I didn’t know what this booklet was …but as I said “Our Daily Bread” is inspirational & even if it was something to read, it couldn’t hurt a Catholic.
 
I’ve never been much interested in those types of collections, so my suggestions are that you could use the journal part of it to write litanies and other devotional prayers, or to list the deceased you’re praying for?
 
I think a prayer journal was a thoughtful gift from your father.
If there are only pictures of nature and scripture verses there should be nothing to be concerned about. Thank your Dad and maybe next year you might suggest something from your favorite online Catholic retail website - like a book, a bracelet or a rosary.
 
What a thoughtful gift! I don’t know very many dads who get things like that for their kids because they might like it. If you like the journal, use it. If you come upon a page that has something anti-Catholic, you can always draw a pretty flower over the writing, or even rip out the page. OR you could even use that page to practice your apologetics - look up and quote Bible verses that support the contrasting Catholic theology. If you get the feeling he is going to buy this for you every year (like if he does the same thing 2 years in a row), and you don’t want to use it every year, find a Catholic prayer journal. Then let him know how much you like the one he gave you, and explain that enjoying that journal gave you the idea to see if there was a specifically Catholic one - and show him the one that would be even better suited to you next time.
 
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