I just got told by RC person that Bible study is "Protestant"

[Geo17]

Gorgias,

No, I wasn’t aware of those meeting of men. But I question how men can change a rule that is one of the 10 commandments. That’s just one example of where men go too far. If the 10 Commandments aren’t sacred and Holy then what is. But it’s not just that men make statues. Most of these represent a saint, and each one has a day dedicated to them. Often there’s a parade where the statue is carried outside the church. I’ve heard people refer to the statue as him or her. I think if it didn’t go beyond painting on walls, that would be ok.
After I read the Bible I wanted to live a life of obedience to it, because I consider it the word of God. I went in search of other like minded people. I found several churches that claimed to be living according to the Bible. That was 30 years ago. I really didn’t find any churches where the people were really doing it. And I’m not talking about venial sins, because we’re all guilty of them. The churches I joined had many members living in mortal sins. But maybe it’s not their fault, because they get taught all their sins are forgiven once they accept Jesus. That spurred me to study the words of Jesus. Doing that proved to me how we live our lives will matter. This made me a protestant outcast. Since Catholics also believe how we live matters, I’ve been trying to come back. But I still see too many deviations from the Bible.
Since the new younger generations are now reading the Bible in large numbers, I think the church is going to need better answers for practices that go against the Bible than a bunch of men decided to change it. If the Bible itself isn’t going to be sacred, Holy, and unchangeable, then I hate to see what’s going to happen. Since I’m pretty old I’ll probably die before the worst happens. But while I’m alive I’m going to call the Bible sacred and Holy. I’ll also seek out people interested in God, and not the traditions of men.

 

[Mystophilus]

It depends what you mean by “Bible study.” If you mean sitting around in a circle and asking each person, “What does this verse mean for you?” then yes, that is very Protestant, because Protestantism is founded on the idea that anyone can understand the Bible, without the aid of the Church.

Do I really think my own personal idea of what something means is more relevant than what the Church has solemnly taught, or even than what her eminent Fathers, Doctors, and theologians have written? Sure it takes more effort to find out; but isn’t it worth the effort?

This, I think, may be precisely the problem, on two counts. The first is that finding someone with the necessary linguistic, historical, or textual background to study the Bible as read in the Tradition of the Church is relatively difficult to do, meaning that such activities cannot be arranged as easily or as frequently as a group of Christians meeting together in someone’s home and just reading the text. The second is that validating people’s individual readings of the text makes the people themselves feel validated, encouraging them to continue the practice.

 

[DebChris]

Gorgias,

No, I wasn’t aware of those meeting of men. But I question how men can change a rule that is one of the 10 commandments. That’s just one example of where men go too far. If the 10 Commandments aren’t sacred and Holy then what is. But it’s not just that men make statues. Most of these represent a saint, and each one has a day dedicated to them. Often there’s a parade where the statue is carried outside the church. I’ve heard people refer to the statue as him or her. I think if it didn’t go beyond painting on walls, that would be ok.
After I read the Bible I wanted to live a life of obedience to it, because I consider it the word of God. I went in search of other like minded people. I found several churches that claimed to be living according to the Bible. That was 30 years ago. I really didn’t find any churches where the people were really doing it. And I’m not talking about venial sins, because we’re all guilty of them. The churches I joined had many members living in mortal sins. But maybe it’s not their fault, because they get taught all their sins are forgiven once they accept Jesus. That spurred me to study the words of Jesus. Doing that proved to me how we live our lives will matter. This made me a protestant outcast. Since Catholics also believe how we live matters, I’ve been trying to come back. But I still see too many deviations from the Bible.
Since the new younger generations are now reading the Bible in large numbers, I think the church is going to need better answers for practices that go against the Bible than a bunch of men decided to change it. If the Bible itself isn’t going to be sacred, Holy, and unchangeable, then I hate to see what’s going to happen. Since I’m pretty old I’ll probably die before the worst happens. But while I’m alive I’m going to call the Bible sacred and Holy. I’ll also seek out people interested in God, and not the traditions of men.

Remember that the written Word developed out of oral tradition.
The Word did not come to the earth bound in a black book. It came incarnate, in the flesh.
John 1 tells us “In the beginning was the Word and was with God and the Word was God…and the Word dwelt among us.”
The Catholic Church is an Apostolic Church meaning it traces its roots back to the Apostles learning directly from Jesus Christ. That is what is meant by Tradition. Tradition is not customs, but rather those teachings which the Apostles received directly from Jesus and handed intact to us. Under the protection of the Holy Spirit, they have been entrusted to the magisterium. Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter.
The Catholic Church has not changed what Christ taught. Our understanding over time has developed. That is why there have been councils, beginning in Jerusalem (Acts of the Apostles) to address the different issues faced by the Church.
Again, I recommend The Catholic Answer Bible. To go any further will only take this thread off topic. I have been confronted by the same accusations from Baptists and others who are unfamiliar with what the Catholic actual teaches.
The Saints serve as examples of men and women who, despite their difficulties in life, have followed Christ.

 

[Dorothy]

My parish arranges their own Bible studies, meaning the participants decide on the curriculum. Of course, with Father’s approval–we select the material, he yeas or nays it. He looks for adherence to Church teaching, references to the CCC, other Church documents( the Holy Fathers’ encyclicals, etc). and must be solidly Catholic.

So far we’ve done (a sampling, too many to list):
The Great Bible Timeline
I & II Corinthians
Romans
Ruth
John
Matthew
Revelations
Praying with the Psalms
Father Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory
Consoling the Heart of Jesus
The Fulfillment of All Desire, Dr. Ralph Martin
Angels and Demons
For Lent: The Seven Last Words, Archbishop Fulton Sheen

This Fall and Spring, 2015, we’re doing:
Father Gaitley’s The One Thing is Three
Luke
A Walk with Mary
Epic: First 500 year history of the Catholic Church

Our resources have been:
Catholic Scripture Study International
Ascension Press

Whoever told you, Bible Study is a Protestant thing, needs to reevaluate.

Wow! What a blessing.

 

[Dorothy]

This, I think, may be precisely the problem, on two counts. The first is that finding someone with the necessary linguistic, historical, or textual background to study the Bible as read in the Tradition of the Church is relatively difficult to do, meaning that such activities cannot be arranged as easily or as frequently as a group of Christians meeting together in someone’s home and just reading the text. The second is that validating people’s individual readings of the text makes the people themselves feel validated, encouraging them to continue the practice.

The Bible Timeline with Jeff Cavins, and all the other studies he put together, provides what you mention above!

 

[phil19034]

About 40 to 50 years ago the CC frowned on people reading the Bible. But I did it anyway, and I became protestant. But now today protestantism is a mess. For over a year I’m trying to come back to the CC but I keep finding Catholic practices that don’t go along with the Bible. As an old man who has been both, I think the CC has to do away with certain things, such as statues. However, protestant churches need to realize other Catholic practices are right on. But neither of these things are happening. We all need to kill our pride. Human pride is against God.
Our world is in dire straits. I see God as the only hope we have. I think anyone who considers Jesus Christ as God, Lord and savior, needs to make peace with anyone else who does also.

The Church never frowned upon reading the Bible. The Church frowns upon personal interpretation of the Bible.

There are elderly Priests today who have been personally accused of telling people not to read the Bible. The priests say that the Laity, who had that view, mis-understood the priest based on biases that goes back to the time of Catholic persecution by Protestants in Protestant nations, such as the US.

One priest says that he told people “you cannot read the Bible without the Magisterium of the Church.” He didn’t mean you could not read it yourself, he didn’t mean you need a priest over your shoulder. He meant that interpretation of the Bible must be based upon the understanding and teachings of the Church, handed down to us via Tradition. A professional Catholic Bible Scholar will have access many Catholic documents from antiquity to help understand the Catholic interpretation throughout the past 2000 years.

Today, it’s a lot easier for a layman to have access to most, if not all, of these documents via the web and Catholic study Bibles.

As far as statues are concerned, they are no different that photographs used today. Statue making is an art form used by the Romans (pre and post Christ) to capture the likeness of a person. In ancient times, paintings were used to express abstract or spiritual qualities, while statues were used to express physical appearance. It was not until much later in history that life like portrait painting became common place, and they were not often lifelike until around the 1600s/1700s.

As far as feast days and parades: this is no different than celebrating Washington, Lincoln’s or Martin Luther King’s birthday. No different that parades celebrating Memorial Day of Independence Day. After all, many parades are a tribute or memorial to a person, place or event in the past.

Finally, do some Catholics have some personal or family traditions that push the limits … Yes. But most and surely all properly Catechized Catholic know the boundaries between praying to a statue vs praying to the Saint in Heaven the statue represents.

Catholics don’t make statues that have the head of a bull and the body of a man and call it a “god.” No Catholic statue looks like the statutes or paintings of the Ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Saxon, Celtic or Mayan “gods.” Nor do they look like the Hindu gods.

Our statues are of people who want to remember, not of mythical “gods” and/or actual demons mistaken for “gods.”

 

[Bev17243]

thanks for all replies everyone
I know the difference about Protestant “study” and real study of Theology
That’s what I would have liked. I have attended both Baptist and then EO church-in EO church, there has most of the time has been Bible study taught by its priest. Same in Baptist church(although they were studying it from Calvinist perspective)

I find that even though that local RC churches are full of people during Mass, when it comes to actual studying of the scripture, no one seems to be interested.

My problem is that of courses, I can watch EWTN for biblical shows and such but I wish I could find a local group of like minded people

 

[Gorgias]

No, I wasn’t aware of those meeting of men. But I question how men can change a rule that is one of the 10 commandments. That’s just one example of where men go too far.

How can men make a rule for the Church, you ask? Easy! By Jesus’ authority and by His direct command: “whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16:19). If, then, the Church ‘loosed’ the restriction on images, then Jesus has loosed it in heaven. (We could talk, of course, about whether a statue is a ‘graven image’ in the way that the Ten Commandments prohibited – that is, whether statues of the saints are intended for use as idols, or if they are rather simply reminders of people who have gone before us. I would assert that it’s precisely this latter understanding to which the Church adheres, and that’s why it’s not a violation of the Commandment.)

it’s not just that men make statues. Most of these represent a saint, and each one has a day dedicated to them.

Each saint has a day – not each statue, right? How is it a violation of God’s law to pray for the saints in heaven?

Often there’s a parade where the statue is carried outside the church. I’ve heard people refer to the statue as him or her. I think if it didn’t go beyond painting on walls, that would be ok.

And when there’s a parade, or when people refer to the saint… do you think they’re saying that the statue is really the saint? C’mon, now…

I found several churches that claimed to be living according to the Bible.

Catholic Churches or non-Catholic Christian churches?

The churches I joined had many members living in mortal sins.

So did the early Church.

Remember Paul, talking to the Christians at Corinth? There was a man there committing incest! So, Paul had to take the Church to task for allowing this sin in their midst! The Church is a “hospital for sinners”; there are sinners in every church, for sure…

 

[phil19034]

thanks for all replies everyone
I know the difference about Protestant “study” and real study of Theology
That’s what I would have liked. I have attended both Baptist and then EO church-in EO church, there has most of the time has been Bible study taught by its priest. Same in Baptist church(although they were studying it from Calvinist perspective)

I find that even though that local RC churches are full of people during Mass, when it comes to actual studying of the scripture, no one seems to be interested.

My problem is that of courses, I can watch EWTN for biblical shows and such but I wish I could find a local group of like minded people

There are people interested. I think the issue sometimes is that Priest lead Bible Studies have often been scheduled very early in the morning (i.e. 6:30 am) or during the day while most people are at work, leaving the Bible Study just the retired folks.

My Parish has Bible Study on Sunday nights at 7:30PM, except during July and Aug. The Pastor leads it and it’s very good, though we took forever to complete Acts. With Acts, we would get though 1 to 1.5 Chapters each session, most of the time discussing the history, facts, language, lessons, etc. We would also compare some passages to later history or the present.

I highly enjoy what our Pastor does with it.

Perhaps you could ask your priest about Sunday nights…?

 

[estesbob]

I used to attend Bible study in Baptist church and really enjoyed it. Its was not about “feeling” but really studying theology.
Would have loved to find something like that in RCC but so far no local churches hold Bible studies and today I was told by one of them that Bible study is a “Protestant” thing.

You know we could do one here if enough people were interested.

 

[styrgwillidar]

thanks for all replies everyone
I know the difference about Protestant “study” and real study of Theology
That’s what I would have liked. I have attended both Baptist and then EO church-in EO church, there has most of the time has been Bible study taught by its priest. Same in Baptist church(although they were studying it from Calvinist perspective)

I find that even though that local RC churches are full of people during Mass, when it comes to actual studying of the scripture, no one seems to be interested.

My problem is that of courses, I can watch EWTN for biblical shows and such but I wish I could find a local group of like minded people

Well, perhaps you could start one in your local parish. Our religious education director has a bible study course that he runs for parents while their kids are in CCD (of course, anyone is welcome and he has found it great for recruiting teachers).You might want to contact the director of religious education for your parish and see what they think about setting up an adult bible study.

 

[DebChris]

The Church never frowned upon reading the Bible. The Church frowns upon personal interpretation of the Bible.

There are elderly Priests today who have been personally accused of telling people not to read the Bible. The priests say that the Laity, who had that view, mis-understood the priest based on biases that goes back to the time of Catholic persecution by Protestants in Protestant nations, such as the US.

One priest says that he told people “you cannot read the Bible without the Magisterium of the Church.” He didn’t mean you could not read it yourself, he didn’t mean you need a priest over your shoulder. He meant that interpretation of the Bible must be based upon the understanding and teachings of the Church, handed down to us via Tradition. A professional Catholic Bible Scholar will have access many Catholic documents from antiquity to help understand the Catholic interpretation throughout the past 2000 years.

Today, it’s a lot easier for a layman to have access to most, if not all, of these documents via the web and Catholic study Bibles.

As far as statues are concerned, they are no different that photographs used today. Statue making is an art form used by the Romans (pre and post Christ) to capture the likeness of a person. In ancient times, paintings were used to express abstract or spiritual qualities, while statues were used to express physical appearance. It was not until much later in history that life like portrait painting became common place, and they were not often lifelike until around the 1600s/1700s.

As far as feast days and parades: this is no different than celebrating Washington, Lincoln’s or Martin Luther King’s birthday. No different that parades celebrating Memorial Day of Independence Day. After all, many parades are a tribute or memorial to a person, place or event in the past.

Finally, do some Catholics have some personal or family traditions that push the limits … Yes. But most and surely all properly Catechized Catholic know the boundaries between praying to a statue vs praying to the Saint in Heaven the statue represents.

Catholics don’t make statues that have the head of a bull and the body of a man and call it a “god.” No Catholic statue looks like the statutes or paintings of the Ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Saxon, Celtic or Mayan “gods.” Nor do they look like the Hindu gods.

Our statues are of people who want to remember, not of mythical “gods” and/or actual demons mistaken for “gods.”

Thank you for taking this further in your explanation than I did. You actually used many of the words my mother used. I often spoke of the Saints as the heroes of the Church, so of course we have statues to commemorate heroes just as there are statues of the great war heroes in town centers. My mother on the other hand, would ask visitors if they had photos of their children around their homes. She would describe the Saints as the children of the Church. I had a friend, a member of the Assembly of God who saw the Communion of Saints standing on the sidelines cheering us as we run toward the finish line. This is very much in line with St. Paul’s description of us running a race for a crown that does not wither. But I digress, slightly. I wanted to point to how the icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church are painted in a stylized manner. We as Catholics have learned some of this symbolism that helps us focus on God. The idea is to “see through” the picture. We are not praying to an idol. God took on flesh, became incarnate, in the form of Jesus Christ. There are times in scripture in which God Himself commanded the carving of cherubims to decorate the Ark, a serpent to heal those who were bitten in the desert, etc.
I very well remember the fourth grade catechism being a brown book of Bible stories with questions. Sometimes I will read some anti-Catholic tract making some wild claim about how some churches had only “one Bible.” They leave out the historical fact that before the printing press books were expensive, so it is very likely that yes, the parish only “had one Bible” during an era of high illiteracy. How were the laity to learn the stories of the Bible except through stained glass windows? Or as St. John of the Cross states it, “The priest reads the Gospel, and the laity reads the priest [as the priest proclaims the Word].”

It is clear, therefore, that sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God\s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls[Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation].

 

[MacQ]

I used to attend Bible study in Baptist church and really enjoyed it. Its was not about “feeling” but really studying theology.
Would have loved to find something like that in RCC but so far no local churches hold Bible studies and today I was told by one of them that Bible study is a “Protestant” thing.

That’s odd. Very odd.

There are at least 4 large formal Bible studies ongoing in my parish, and a number of small bible study groups. Plus alot of ongoing adult education programs with theology themes.

The Bible Timeline is a wonderful program (catholic) done by Jeff Cavins. Might want to check it out. Maybe you should start bible studies in your parish!

 

[TimothyH]

My problem is that of courses, I can watch EWTN for biblical shows and such but I wish I could find a local group of like minded people

Search here… ascensionpress.com/map. There may be a study near you.

-Tim-

 

[SanctusMarcus]

I used to attend Bible study in Baptist church and really enjoyed it. Its was not about “feeling” but really studying theology.
Would have loved to find something like that in RCC but so far no local churches hold Bible studies and today I was told by one of them that Bible study is a “Protestant” thing.

Wow! That is so far from Church Teaching. I think the person(s) who said that need a Bible study themselves…from the beginning! Pope Leo XIII and Pius XII both encouraged Biblical Studies. You can read their Letters online. In fact, an indulgence is attached to the practice of daily reading of the Scriptures for at least 15 mins. God bless

 

[Dave_Noonan]

As I’ve pointed out on some other threads, I’ve had Catholic students show up to my classes as recently as last semester telling me that personal Bible reading (which they interpret as reading the Bible apart from hearing the readings at Mass) is prohibited by the Catholic Church. I don’t feel it’s really my place to tell them that they’re misinformed, but they must be hearing this somewhere–I’m assuming from their parents?

This happens a LOT. When these students take a university class on the Bible, some of them feel like they’re doing something subversive

 

[TimothyH]

As I’ve pointed out on some other threads, I’ve had Catholic students show up to my classes as recently as last semester telling me that personal Bible reading (which they interpret as reading the Bible apart from hearing the readings at Mass) is prohibited by the Catholic Church. I don’t feel it’s really my place to tell them that they’re misinformed, but they must be hearing this somewhere–I’m assuming from their parents?

This happens a LOT. When these students take a university class on the Bible, some of them feel like they’re doing something subversive

Tell them that Benedictine and Trappist monks sit in their cells and read the bible two hours each day.

Introduce them to Lectio Divina and explain to them that it is the original, 2000 year old Catholic way to read the Bible.

Sacred Reading: The Ancient Art of Lectio Divina by Michael Casey OCSO.


http://bks3.books.google.com/books?id=MTMpPAAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&imgtk=AFLRE73p7pyYgL4Gx_gSGANcTZBJ-CNSHXTLmdijr71Dxk81q1Jr1F71WBpyMRN5OpBmrKBD-oqa-KhDlqv6suIbCcn2rYfAnvNr3mNs5-0Z9Qa-2U-fCYDh-b7HfyiEh1Vzj55t5S1K

-Tim-

 

[Dorothy]

As I’ve pointed out on some other threads, I’ve had Catholic students show up to my classes as recently as last semester telling me that personal Bible reading (which they interpret as reading the Bible apart from hearing the readings at Mass) is prohibited by the Catholic Church. I don’t feel it’s really my place to tell them that they’re misinformed, but they must be hearing this somewhere–I’m assuming from their parents?

This happens a LOT. When these students take a university class on the Bible, some of them feel like they’re doing something subversive

It must be something they are getting from their parents, because it certainly is NOT true.

It must have started when immigrants came to the United States and most of them were illiterate. They (grandparents) may have instilled this in them?

 

[MacQ]

As I’ve pointed out on some other threads, I’ve had Catholic students show up to my classes as recently as last semester telling me that personal Bible reading (which they interpret as reading the Bible apart from hearing the readings at Mass) is prohibited by the Catholic Church. I don’t feel it’s really my place to tell them that they’re misinformed, but they must be hearing this somewhere–I’m assuming from their parents?

This happens a LOT. When these students take a university class on the Bible, some of them feel like they’re doing something subversive

The Church encourages bible study and reading the Bibe, but discourages people from undertaking scripture interpretation on their own or in a vacuum (which is what many other Christians do these days)…
The Church position is a wise one.
You have only to read one of the posters on this thread who did that…and decided that Catholicism was “unbiblical”.

This is because scripture requires an understanding of the language and cultural context in which it was written, not to mention translation issues. The catechism also notes that it must be read with attentiveness to its unity (as opposed to plucking out little passages…which is what you’ll see that some of our more rabid fundamentalists do to justify a particular position…including the position that Catholicism is unbiblical (!) I’ve notice they are fond of picking a line or two from St. Paul’s letters.
That’s where the assistance of a guide…someone well versed in theology or a bible scholar is helpful and recommended.

I believe one or more of the documents of Vatican II addresses this as well…Dei Verbum for one.

 

[Amandil]

I am starting to think that Churches in my area either don’t have anyone who wants to do it or they just don’t care. I called 3 so far and not one was offering anything

Are they not offering anything period, or are they not offering anything currently?

I facilitate a Bible study at my parish from September to March or April but we usually take a break for the summer months.

Given that you’re still in RCIA perhaps you might want to stick with your current commitment to your Catholic formation? You should be doing “Breaking of the Word” every week after the Liturgy of the Word at Mass? Is that being done?