Do you think it's wrong for Catholic converts to watch protestant bible studies?

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puppson said:
James 2 does not teach salvation by works. That is a misconception some Protestants have. I believe there can be essential agreement there.
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By that statement do you mean he teaches salvation by works and faith? That is what the whole NT teaches as well as the Catholic Church. I think it’s easier to separate justification and salvation. Justification is what is done at baptism by God’s grace. Salvation is our eternal reward
that we merit by faith and works throughout our lives. Faith and works are also only possible by God’s grace. Our free will allows us to accept and be open to the grace or to reject and be closed to it.
 
I agree. I’m not a Calvinist. Though I do agree with Total Depravity. Too much obvious evidence, including in myself. Perseverance of the saints? In general, yes. The Catholic Church does teach that there are elect, vs. reprobates. Revelation is clear that some will reject Christ to the bitter end. Christ died for all, but not all will accept him. The elect, those whom Christ has called, will persevere in their faith, no matter how many times they fall away. They are His sheep, yes? Those who are not His sheep will not hear His call.
 
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Without works, faith is dead, yes. Works are the evidence of real faith. Evidence before God, not man. That is not only a Catholic understanding, either.
 
Now that I’m Catholic, I find it very difficult to to anything protestant - services seem empty and studies are lacking. Given the choice, I would stay clear.
 
What about Luther? He was opposed to the book of James and he edited a verse in Romans by adding “alone” to faith. The Pentecostals I used to listen to on tv would always be preaching that we are saved by faith alone and quoting scripture out of context to support this.
 
Short answer? Real justification will always start producing fruit (“works”). This is inevitable. And it will generate a deep desire to grow in faith and holiness–sanctification.The more one is sanctified, the more fruit he will produce. It’s a lifelong process. I don’t believe that just showing up on Sunday and receiving Communion is enough. That is not fruition!
 
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I also believe in prevenient grace, as the Catholic and some Protestant (e.g. Arminian) churches do. I do not subscribe to irresistible grace though if God wants you, He’s gonna get you. That’s a tricky one.
 
puppson said:
Real justification will always start producing fruit (“works”). This is inevitable
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The Catholic church teaches, though, that our works are not just fruits but are actually needed for salvation.
 
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Real faith makes works inevitable. Works without faith are just as dead as faith without works is. Why are we debating this? Time to desist.
 
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As a reasonably well catechized Catholic, I cannot stand nearly all such shows. Their theology is painful to listen to and often seems decided upon by its opposition to Catholicism.

Life’s too short. The “pastors” often look like circus sideshow barkers with at least one greatly resembling a used car salesman. But all are wearing $10,000 Hugo Boss suits.
 
Not worried about her in the least. As a former Lutheran, one of the things that drew her to the faith was the great respect we show Our Lady. - she prays the rosary regularly. I am a truck driver and attend services at truck stops when I cannot get to a Catholic Church (usually led by a Baptist chaplain). Like her, I weigh everything they say against the gold standard of our faith. We believe in the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Holy Eucharist which those other Christian faith traditions reject and that fact will always keep us right where we are.
 
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To be fair, I’ve attended a few Catholic Bible studies, & they are no different in that regard towards Protestants. I was thinking of inviting my husband to them since he’d expressed an interest & is a non-Catholic Christian, but I’m actually glad he hasn’t. Some Catholics are no better than some Protestants in their views towards outsiders to their sphere of faith.
 
puppson said:
The Catholic Church does teach that there are elect, vs. reprobates.
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Calvinists I have met online seem very confident that they know they are of the elect. That is an obvious difference from Catholic teaching. In some languages, the second Eucharistic Prayer includes the response, “Grant us the fellowship of the elect.” For a Calvinist, that is something he wouldn’t need to ask for. He knows (or thinks he knows) he already has it.
 
I think it is wrong to waste one’s times on falsehoods and heresy.
 
MagdalenaRita said:
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Odilon:
Only if one is not secure in the teachings of the Catholic Church. My wife attends a non-denominational bible study on occasion and she is keenly aware of what they are teaching. Everything they say she weighs against the gold standard of the Catholic faith. She goes mainly for the Christian fellowship, not the particular dogma’s that they preach.
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I have known people who were very secure in their faith be led away. It isn’t taking much today to pull people out of the Church.People who are normally very strong Catholics.

If your wife is going just for fellowship and very strong in her faith, perhaps she will be okay. I am sure she is being very cautious, praying for spiritual protection before she goes and doing what she can to be a witness of the truths of the Catholic Church but I would never advise anyone to attend a protestant Bible study. You never know how strong or weak one might be in their faith.
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Many of my old friends are Protestant. Just the way it happened in my selecting friends. As a cradle Catholic, I had great solid faith formation. My friends asked me to one of their bible study groups. I said sure. This was probably at least 40 yrs ago. I knew deep down, I was a target. But I went anyway. 😎

The study was riddled with the usual anti Catholic hit pieces… Fortunately I went prepared knowing up front, this was going to happen. Not that they were planning to ambush me, they wanted to save me.

So

I had to pretend I was surprised by Their information, so I could show them their errors in a calm, constructive way, that would not destroy my friendships. End result? They are still my friends, they remained Protestant, but I never got another invite again 😆 But I know deep down, my answers to their questions, caused them trouble.
 
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Well, unless you’re an apologist convert, like Jimmy Akin or Tim Staples, I suggest limiting the Protestant Bible studies. Not all of their content is erratic, but if one were to watch these at all, at least have a supply of good Catholic resources on hand or bookmarked online in case you see anything that could be problematic with the Catholic faith.

I’m personally not a convert, but I just wanted to give my ten cents, so to speak.
 
It is certainly not a wise thing to do in many cases, but you cannot judge another person as you dont know God’s will for them. One must do what God leads you to do so if it is his will for one strong in faith to challenge others then one must follow his will and he will sustain the person with grace. We must of course realise that no one is ever strong enough in faith to do this, without God, so if it is not God’s will to do this kind of work, then the person will fail and lose his/her faith. This kind of work can only ever be done as part of God’s will for the person, ie. under the aspect of God, not for instance for curiosity that is under our own aspect.
 
Here is the deal, if you are not well steeped in Catholic doctrine, it may not be a good idea to just run free with Protestant Bible study. It is the interpretation or commentary part that can be uncomfortable or misleading. If you are new to the faith or newly catechized, stick to Catholic waters only, for now.

If however, you have a good Catholic background and you feel you are strongly Catechized, by all means proceed with caution. I would recommend ONLINE sources ONLY though, otherwise you might find yourself as a captive audience, and that is no fun for anyone.

I have run across a few online Bible studies that I had to leave because the interpretation wandered into error, and I have run across others that were just fine. It is worth looking into as the Bible is all the Protestants have to go on, [over simplification] so there is a lot more out there than Catholic Bible studies. If you FIND some good Catholic alternatives, please feel free to share them anytime one of these threads come up. I think that would be helpful to everyone.
 
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