DRE Says No Bible Memorization

[GoodTony]

The DRE at a church in my area states:
“We do not encourage anyone to memorize bible verses because the person may misinterpret the bible verses.”
What do the forum members think about that comment?

 

[Della]

The DRE is being overly zealous, IMHO. There’s no evidence for believing that memorizing Bible verses automatically turns someone into a private interpreter of Scripture. Many people memorize verses that comfort them or challenge them or give them hope–there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. As long as a person understands Church authority in matters of faith and morals, which includes scriptural interpretation, I say they can go ahead and memorize the whole thing if they want to.

 

[dandingo]

Didn’t Jesus, as well as most of the Pharisees and Sadducees, have pretty much the entire Torah memorized? If Jesus had them memorized, why not us?

 

[Trishie]

It’s a bit difficult to un-remember those many verses that you simply do remember without effort.
I remember, but usually look them up for chapter and verse, those which I don’t recall, though I do know chapter and verse of some texts…

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

However, yes, scripture can be misused, misquoted, misinterpreted, and taken out of context.
As with all things good, of course, we need to be honest and judicious.

 

[Della]

It’s a bit difficult to un-remember those many verses that you simply do remember without effort.
I remember, but usually look them up for chapter and verse, those which I don’t recall, though I do know chapter and verse of some texts…

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.” 2 Timothy 4:1-2

Not to shoot you down, Trishie, but the verse you chose could be used by the DRE to prove her/his point because it is not addressed to all the faithful but to the presbyters of the Church. I know you wouldn’t argue against the ordained clergy using this verse, but many Protestants do use it for that since they definitely do deny Christ established the hierarchy we have in the Church. There are good verses for what you are saying, but they elude me at the moment, sorry.

 

[BigDave31]

My friends, as a converrt from an evangelical church we were always encouraged to remember Bible verses in Sunday School and even beyond. It is those very verses that helped me so much as I converted to the catholic church since the teaching that I recieved in RCIA made those verses really stand proving the catholic understanding of those verses. They are also appreciated noe as I am a member of the RCIA team and they are so helpful to me as I bring converts from other churches to the catholic teaching. I am grateful for my Sunday School teachers for drilling the Bible verses into my little heaf!!

Read the Bible, it is a catholic Book.
Dave

 

[purplesunshine]

When it comes to the Bible…and actually any learning for young children…im anti-rote memorization. Children are far better off understanding why Jesus gave a parable than to blurt it out word for word. And if you only have 45min a week with kids its better to go for the concept and reinforce that at home.

Memorization has its place, but im with the DRE for different reasons.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Have we really not gotten over the printing press at this point? I find it absolutely disturbing that we as Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible. Are we Christians or not??? Maybe they should just give us copies of the Catechism so they can tell us what they decided that the Bible means, that way we won’t hurt our tiny little peasant brains.

 

[KarenElissa]

When it comes to the Bible…and actually any learning for young children…im anti-rote memorization. Children are far better off understanding why Jesus gave a parable than to blurt it out word for word. And if you only have 45min a week with kids its better to go for the concept and reinforce that at home.

Memorization has its place, but im with the DRE for different reasons.

I’m with you. I think Bible memorization can be a good thing, but considering the amount of time catechists have and all they stuff to cover, it certainly isn’t something I would focus on in class.

 

[puzzleannie]

The DRE at a church in my area states:
“We do not encourage anyone to memorize bible verses because the person may misinterpret the bible verses.”
What do the forum members think about that comment?

I would have to hear exactly what she said, and in what context. She may have been speaking of the practice common in non-Catholic Sunday schools, for instance, of stressing memorization of bible verses as the primary purpose of the lesson. That is not a valid way to teach a religious education class, any more than reliance solely on memorizing catechism questions and answers.

And along with that, the tendency some lay evangelists and apologists have of memorizing a select set of verses and repeating them by rote when any issue comes up, as if the verse, on its own, outside the context of the entire body of scripture, supports their position.

examples : “Call no man father.” Jesus said, used to argue against the CAtholic practice of addressing priests that way. Or a saying of Paul’s on faith against works to argue against Catholic stress on works of mercy.

So, I ask OP, in what context did the DRE make her comment. Did she imply it is somehow forbidden for Catholics to memorize bible verses? Or was she responding perhaps to a parent who asked why the children are not required to do so.

I find it absolutely disturbing that we as Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible.

If I tell my catechists and parents that simply requiring children to memorize random verses, without any formation on the context of the verse, the faith lesson it teaches, its application to the Christian life, and its place in teaching Christian doctrine, how does that equate to “CAtholics don’t read the bible?” OP did not quote the DRE as saying “CAtholics are not allowed to read the bible,” so why even bring that up?

 

[White_Peony]

The DRE at a church in my area states:
“We do not encourage anyone to memorize bible verses because the person may misinterpret the bible verses.”
What do the forum members think about that comment?

They have good intentions, but what does Scripture itself say? Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, so I may not sin against You.” What if you were in a situation where you were in need of a Bible and didn’t have access to one? What would you then? Memorizing Scripture is vital to a Catholics (and to christians in general) or how are we to find solace when we don’t have a bible or "to give a reason for the hope that is in us?’ (1 Peter 3:15)

 

[White_Peony]

I find it absolutely disturbing that we as Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible. Are we Christians or not???

Yes! Yes! I absolutely agree! You couldn’t imagine how many times I have heard Protestants tell me that Catholics don’t read the Bible. But, of course, they haven’t been to Mass

 

[White_Peony]

Read the Bible, it is a catholic Book.

Just don’t tell protestents that, they get mad

 

[puzzleannie]

Yes! Yes! I absolutely agree! You couldn’t imagine how many times I have heard Protestants tell me that Catholics don’t read the Bible. But, of course, they haven’t been to Mass

the DRE did not say anything like that, so why bring it up?

 

[RobbyS]

The DRE is being overly zealous, IMHO. There’s no evidence for believing that memorizing Bible verses automatically turns someone into a private interpreter of Scripture. Many people memorize verses that comfort them or challenge them or give them hope–there’s certainly nothing wrong with that. As long as a person understands Church authority in matters of faith and morals, which includes scriptural interpretation, I say they can go ahead and memorize the whole thing if they want to.

THe DRE is an idiot.

 

[GoodTony]

The DRE was talking about adults not memorizing the bible, not children.

Yes! Yes! I absolutely agree! You couldn’t imagine how many times I have heard Protestants tell me that Catholics don’t read the Bible. But, of course, they haven’t been to Mass

 

[GoodTony]

The DRE was talking about adults not memorizing the bible, not children.

When it comes to the Bible…and actually any learning for young children…im anti-rote memorization. Children are far better off understanding why Jesus gave a parable than to blurt it out word for word. And if you only have 45min a week with kids its better to go for the concept and reinforce that at home.

Memorization has its place, but im with the DRE for different reasons.

 

[Della]

Rote memorization has its place. I’m 63 but I still remember certain lines of poetry I memorized in grade school, as well as what the poems meant. Memorization is a tool, not an end in itself. Puts me in mind of Tom Sawyer collecting tickets from the other kids who had earned them by memorizing Bible verses. Anyway, memorization gets harder as we get older, so really the DRE is barking up the wrong tree there.

Most adults aren’t going to want to memorize Bible verses as they go through RCIA or continuing education–not in a Catholic parish. Catholics don’t believe they have to have certain knowledge of certain verses in order to be a good witness to their faith or be constantly reassured they’re in the “right” church. The Bible is a part of Sacred Tradition in the Church, not the whole of it, which is probably what the DRE was trying to emphasize–that memorizing verses isn’t necessary and can be confusing out of context.

And in that, s/he is perfectly correct. Sometimes when we hear someone say something a certain word or phrase stands out, so we don’t really get the whole of what was said. I think the best thing to do is to ask the DRE for clarification, so s/he has the opportunity to explain what s/he meant.

 

[fisherman_carl]

The DRE at a church in my area states:
“We do not encourage anyone to memorize bible verses because the person may misinterpret the bible verses.”

It does’t make sense. They might as well discourage reading the bible altogether because they might misinterpret that also. Heck, why not discourage them from reading the catechism too. They might misinterpret that also. They should also discourage reading scripture at the Mass too because people might misinterpret it.

In my opinion, If you don’t want people to misinterpret the bible, then you teach them how to properly interpet it. You don’t deny them access to it. Because they will resent you and read it any way on their own. Instead, you educate them on scripture. Answer their questions the best you can.

The bible is God’s Word and a great reverence for it should be instilled. Memorizing scripture should be encouraged. In fact, that is what Jesus would have done in his day. Everyone didnt have their own books like us. They had to memorize it if they wanted to recall it later. Memorization helps you to remember it and thus learn it better.

 

[Trishie]

Have we really not gotten over the printing press at this point? I find it absolutely disturbing that we as Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible. Are we Christians or not??? Maybe they should just give us copies of the Catechism so they can tell us what they decided that the Bible means, that way we won’t hurt our tiny little peasant brains.

The fact that one person discouraged familiarity with the bible, means nothing. We are in fact encouraged to read the bible, to meditate on the bible, and to share the bible…

This article is published with Ecclesiastical Permission, Dublin, Ireland. It is also available in printed form (details at bottom of page), and is being distributed to every Catholic parish in Ireland. This is to fulfil the Second Vatican Council injunction:
“This sacred Synod earnestly and specifically urges all the Christian faithful….to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the excelling knowledge of Jesus Christ… For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.…”
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Section 25

Pope John Paul has dedicated the next three years to the Trinity, with 1997 being specifically dedicated to Jesus, the Word.

1. Because it is God’s inspired word
   Vatican Council states that “All Scripture (both Old and New Testament) is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproving, for correcting, for instruction in justice that the man of God may be perfect, equipped for every good work.”
   Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Section 11
   (Also 2 Tim. 3: 16 & 17)

In encouraging us not to neglect reading the Old Testament as well as the New, Vatican Council states that “God, the inspirer and author of both testaments, wisely arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old, and the Old be made manifest (clear) in the New…The books of the Old Testament …show their full meaning in the New Testament … and shed light on it and explain it.”

soon.org.uk/catholic.htm
**
Decree on Divine Revelation, Section 16
2. Because the Bible is true and essential for today as always
That’s why Vatican Council states that, “The books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching firmly, faithfully, and without error, that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation.”
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Section 11
3. Because Jesus said: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
4. Because it shows the way you can have a personal relationship with God

Vatican Council specifically asks all Christians to read the Bible frequently in order to know Jesus. "This sacred Synod earnestly and specifically urges all the Christian faithful… to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the excelling knowledge of Jesus Christ. For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ…And let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of sacred Scripture, so that God and man may talk together."
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Section 25…

Jesus said to His disciples:
Go into all the World and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptised will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:15 & 16…
Decree on the Ministry of Priests, Section 4
Let us encourage our priests and ministers and pray that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit as they fulfil their primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel.
This command of Jesus is not just to be obeyed by priests and ministers, but by all Christian lay people as we allow the Holy Spirit to empower us for this task.

Vatican Council affirmed this when it stated that all Christian lay people should “look for opportunities to announce Christ by words addressed either to non-believers with a view to leading them to faith, or to believers (both Catholic and Protestant) with a view to instruction and strengthening them and motivating them toward a more fervent life”.
Decree on Laity, Section 6**