Hebrews Bible Study

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We are currently in a bible study with Protestant family members and are about to begin the book of Hebrews. I want to make sure to represent the Catholic truth of this scripture fully while remaining both charitable and honest. Any tips, as this is my first real ecumenical effort? Also, your prayers are much appreciated!
I’m sure you will hear from me again!!🙂
God Bless.
 
Cathh(name removed by moderator) said:
I would get either the Navarre Bible for the Book of Hebrews or the Ignatius Study Bible for the book of Hebrews. They both have very good notes on the scriptures and what they mean and historical background along with Catholic interpretation.

Navarre: amazon.com/Navarre-Bible-Hebrews-University/dp/1851829075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289237214&sr=1-1

Ignatius: amazon.com/Ignatius-Catholic-Study-Bible-Hebrews/dp/1586171917/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289237310&sr=1-1
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These are two great recommendations. The Navarre is better for a more spiritual and pastoral approach and getting a good sense of the overall Catholic view of this book. The Ignatius Study Bible is the one you want to have on hand for the study itself, as the notes are short and to the point almost verse by verse and will be helpful in presenting a Catholic interpretation of a given verse.

There are a couple of good Catholic studies on line, including an audio presentations you can download as mp3’s:


Agape Bible Study on Hebrews

St. Irenaeus Ministries

The BEST Catholic Bible study on Hebrews that I know of is a series by Scott Hahn, which is available for purchase from St. Joseph’s Communications, which you can order online.
 
I would also recommend the St. Irenaeus Ministries study of Hebrews mentioned earlier! :-).
 
There’s some good technical advice in the preceding posts, but maybe some diplomatic advice might be in store, as well.

Just having the technical advice is what you need for a good argument.

Some diplomatic advice may help your study go well.

If I only knew what that was… Maybe you have to agree to disagree at times. Giving everybody a chance to speak may be the best way to letting all the points of view be heard.

If something doesn’t sound like a Catholic point of view, maybe you have to beg the other’s indulgence to dig deeper into a question and then come back with it at the next gathering.

If you haven’t already read Hebrews, I suggest that you get ready for the group study. Don’t let the text surprise you.

You can do a reverse look-up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, if you have the printed copy of it. It should have the listing in the back of where verses from Hebrews are used in the Catechism. That may be a starting point to hit the highlights of Catholic teaching which uses Hebrews. And, thus, you may not want to engage in a knock-down, dragged out debate on all the verses of Hebrews, but to choose your “battles.”

If you’re trying to dodge arguments and bad feelings, then just duck the issues and make notes on what your non-Catholic friends or relatives are saying. Let it just be a learning experience for you.

In a “study” Bible, there’s usually an introduction of the writing, with an outline. Maybe the outline will stimulate your thinking about the Book itself.

In your public library, there may be (as in our local library) a large section of books on the Bible. and there may be a Protestant one that gives an overview of Hebrews and some main points that may come up, to see what you can anticipate.

Look for points of agreement and focus on those, rather than focusing on disagreements.
 
Thank you all for your wonderful advice. Most of all I want to be prepared to share the full truth of the Gospel in a charitable manner. I have ordered the Ignatius Study Bible and will pray for humility and charity! God Bless:D
 
Following my own advice in post #6, I pulled out my (Protestant) [Charles] Ryrie study Bible which is based on the American Standard Version.

He mentions that some 29 direct quotations from the Old Testament (all the OT quotations in Hebrews) and some 53 indirect quotations are all from the Greek Septuagint.

Are you familiar with the issue there? Catholic Bibles rely on the Septuagint, which contain those 7 books that Protestant Bibles do not have (plus the additions to a couple books that the Protestant Bibles don’t have).

So, there could be an issue here of who is using the ‘right’ Bible, etc. Catholics or Protestants? It would take a deeper study than I am qualified for, to chase these all down, and see if it is only from the BOOKS that are also in the Protestant Bibles, or whether there are quotations from what the Catholics call the Deuterocanonical books, which the Protestants refer to as Apocrypha (“hidden” books – books which should be hidden from believers).

Ryrie writes in an anti-Catholic point of view, and he doesn’t discuss this issue, although he brings the issue up, front and center.
I’ve been reading Jewish commentaries on the Old Testament (“Hebrew”) scriptures. The rabbis and sages over the years have compared the text in their favorite version (the Masoretic text) with the Greek Septuagint (the translation that was made for the Jews who knew only Greek). And, there are the Samaritan text and the Dead Sea scrolls of the Qumran community. And, they make these comparisons for the obvious reason that they are different. There may be other versions out there, like an Aramaic version, as well.

The modern Jews know that the Masoretic text is not an original text of the Bible. It is simply one of the oldest and most complete Hebrew language version.

this is one of the reasons that archeology is so important in Israel, to keep searching for older and older texts, to ensure what the text really says. There are all kinds of text difficulities, to begin with.

If this subject comes up – about the Septuagint – you may well just sit there and at the end say “yeah, this is really interesting.”

This may be the reason that there are text differences in Protestant Bibles, versus Catholic, to begin with, which may also jump up as an issue in your study group.

God bless your Bible study, and may the Holy Spirit guide you all.
 
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