Should Catholic attend Protestant Bible Studies?

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aidanbradypop

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I am Roman Catholic and really enjoy the study of Sacred Scripture. It does not matter to me whether or not I am in a Catholic or Protestant small group. It is wonderful when I have to chance to be a part of a Catholic study group, but getting my parish to start one is almost like getting the Dems and Repubs to work together. Virtually impossible! 🙂 So I attend a small group that is mostly Lutheran and a couple of Evangelical Baptist. They know my faith and where I stand on issues. They try to convert me here and there, but my love and faith in the teachings of Christ’s Church never waivers.

One of the priest at my parish stated that I should not attend a small group that is not Catholic. I was sort of taken back by that. I have tried for three years to get his help starting a small bible study with no luck. His reason behind his statement was that if a Catholic attends a Protestant study, the Protestants will try to confuse the Catholic and/or try to convert them. So he more-or-less stated that we (Catholics) should stick together even if it means not studying the Sacred Scriptures.

My views on the matter…Having a small group study with other Christian faiths will allow the Catholic to share the teachings of the Church. It allows the Catholic to engage in apologetics and clear up many misunderstandings Protestants have of the Roman Catholic Church. You would be surprised at what Protestants falsely believe about the Catholic Church. I find it as a very rewarding time to witness for Christ and his Church!

Your thoughts???
 
Your love for Sacred Scripture is laudable, but you should not be doing n-C Bible studies for a number of good reasons, including the one your pastor gave you.

Have you considered that he may be a little uncomfortable with you leading a parish Bible study exactly because you have already demonstrated a willingness to attend n-C studies?

You will be better off reading and studying it by yourself than with them. Having come home from over 30 years among them I can tell you that there are many subtle difference that one will not notice unless you know them that can influence you to incline to n-C errors.

You might also consider these links from the Ask an Apologist forum.
 
Church_Militant said:
Your love for Sacred Scripture is laudable, but you should not be doing n-C Bible studies for a number of good reasons, including the one your pastor gave you.

Have you considered that he may be a little uncomfortable with you leading a parish Bible study exactly because you have already demonstrated a willingness to attend n-C studies?

You will be better off reading and studying it by yourself than with them. Having come home from over 30 years among them I can tell you that there are many subtle difference that one will not notice unless you know them that can influence you to incline to n-C errors.

You might also consider these links from the Ask an Apologist forum.
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Thank you for replying. I do not believe every Catholic should attend a Protestat bible study. I believe that if a Catholic is not firm in their faith and has a knowledge of Church teachings, they should reframe from such studies. They can be very trying at certain times. Trying to teach a Protestant about Purgatory is like teaching a 6 month old the ABC’s. But I still believe I should do so in hopes that it will eventually sink in and they shall learn something.

However, I do advice caution when attending them. Protestants are very smart when it comes to knowing their bible. They study it so much. I wish we Catholics would be that passionate about ready the Sacred Scriptures of God.

I see it as a chance to show the teachings of the Church.
 
I would caution you about attending non-Catholic studies as well. There are certain mindsets that can be communicated without realizing it. Just for example, would these Protestants be willing to use a Catholic authored Bible study course? I am betting not. Could you just get a few fellow Catholics together as friends to use a Catholic study course, or even just use one yourself. For instance there are these from Amazon:
ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51eyhsk4AuL.SL75_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-st,TopRight,8,-14_OU01.jpg The Year of Faith: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics
Buy new: ** $8.35 **
1 Used & new from $8.35
4.4 out of 5 stars (44)
ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51V8LxTbsUL.SL75_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-st,TopRight,8,-14_OU01.jpg The Eucharist: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics
Buy new: ** $9.95 **
1 Used & new from $9.95
ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BJK6wfRvL.SL75_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-st,TopRight,8,-14_OU01.jpg St. Paul: A Bible Study Guide for Catholics
 
We have comleted a couple of catholic studies. They are somewhat open minded. They would much rather do a Francis Chan study but they bend here and there. If a Catholic attends a Protestant study and converts then I question their faithfulness to the Church from the start. Are we not called to share the Gospel with others? Thanks for the material. Jeff Cavins’ material is wonderful as well!
 
This is a very interesting and enlightening discussion, I especially appreciate the links to the apologist responses. As a cradle Catholic, age 61+, completely educated in Catholic schools through college, there was a point in time when I was interested in more Bible knowledge than I felt I had. A friend invited me to join a Discipleship Bible study program at her Methodist church and I decided to join, at the time I was @ 40 years old. It met a 6 a.m. 1 day per week for almost 2 years. It was the first time in my life that I actually sat down and read the Bible from cover to cover and it was very difficult and interesting. I am glad I did this but I have to admit that some of the concerns addressed here are legitimate. If you attend and find that you begin to hear things that cause you to question your beliefs, it would probably be best to stop going. If you find yourself thinking the Catholic beliefs are wrong, because it is inevitable to hear some things that we don’t agree to in non-Catholic sessions, you will be sorry you attended. I was probably at a place in my life where I already knew the things that were different and my main focus was reading the entire Bible so it was not a problem for me. When things came up that were contrary to my beliefs it didn’t rock my faith, but I think that there were times earlier in my life where it could have been an issue. So, I understand your pastors’ concerns as well as the others who have replied here, but my personal experience was actually quite good.
 
mountee said:
This is a very interesting and enlightening discussion, I especially appreciate the links to the apologist responses. As a cradle Catholic, age 61+, completely educated in Catholic schools through college, there was a point in time when I was interested in more Bible knowledge than I felt I had. A friend invited me to join a Discipleship Bible study program at her Methodist church and I decided to join, at the time I was @ 40 years old. It met a 6 a.m. 1 day per week for almost 2 years. It was the first time in my life that I actually sat down and read the Bible from cover to cover and it was very difficult and interesting. I am glad I did this but I have to admit that some of the concerns addressed here are legitimate. If you attend and find that you begin to hear things that cause you to question your beliefs, it would probably be best to stop going. If you find yourself thinking the Catholic beliefs are wrong, because it is inevitable to hear some things that we don’t agree to in non-Catholic sessions, you will be sorry you attended. I was probably at a place in my life where I already knew the things that were different and my main focus was reading the entire Bible so it was not a problem for me. When things came up that were contrary to my beliefs it didn’t rock my faith, but I think that there were times earlier in my life where it could have been an issue. So, I understand your pastors’ concerns as well as the others who have replied here, but my personal experience was actually quite good.
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Thanks for you comment! Like I mentioned before, I caution those who are not strong in their Catholic faith from attending such studies. I guess it also depends on the people you are meeting with. I have been meeting with this small group for about 2 years now. They know where I stand in my faith and they respect that. Some groups may not be so understanding and respectful. If they say scripture means this or that and I have another belief, then I respectfully point out my belief and the Church’s doctrine. I always bring my CCC book with me and my Catholic approved translation. It actually makes my faith stronger when I attend because it gives me a chance to speak about the Gospel of Christ and the teachings of the Church to people who may never hear them from anyone else. If we as Catholics avoid such Protestant studies, we risk the chance of bringing the Church to those who do not know about it. Six people from a former Protestant bible study I attended in my home state later became Catholic.

But I still stress that if one is not strong in the Catholic Church teachings, they might shoudl reframe from attending.
 
Another problem is the translation of the Bible used. Most Protestant Bibles are translated to reflect *their *theology; for example, in a Catholic Bible, a certain word is translated as “do penance;” I checked it out in several Protestant versions where it is translated as “repent.”

So you see that just that one little change makes a huge difference in what we think!

If I were you, I would listen to your priest, who is your spiritual shepherd. He may have a reason for discouraging you that he does not want to share with you.

And I don’t know where you are from, but where I live, priests are extremely busy and might not have time to supervise a bible study the way they would like to. Maybe you could talk with him about this in a way which shows you respect his point of view. I understand your position–it was not until I moved away from our last parish that I discovered that oir pastor was driving about 250 miles a week to celebrate Mass at other locations on different days :o
 
St_Francis said:
Another problem is the translation of the Bible used. Most Protestant Bibles are translated to reflect *their *theology; for example, in a Catholic Bible, a certain word is translated as “do penance;” I checked it out in several Protestant versions where it is translated as “repent.”

So you see that just that one little change makes a huge difference in what we think!

If I were you, I would listen to your priest, who is your spiritual shepherd. He may have a reason for discouraging you that he does not want to share with you.

And I don’t know where you are from, but where I live, priests are extremely busy and might not have time to supervise a bible study the way they would like to. Maybe you could talk with him about this in a way which shows you respect his point of view. I understand your position–it was not until I moved away from our last parish that I discovered that oir pastor was driving about 250 miles a week to celebrate Mass at other locations on different days :o
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Thank you for your post! I am sure he is very busy. I take nothing away from his duties to God and Church. Protestant translations differ from denominations. It is even very interesting as to how they view certain books. I always point out Church teachings to them when I can and they either take it or leave it. This priest is one of many that I consult. I am in my discernment period to becoming a Deacon so I have many spiritual advisors. Some priest I know have told me to attend and speak my faith and some priest tell me that attending would be bad for my faith. Like I mentioned before, I do caution those who are not strong in their knowledge of Church teachings to attend a Protestant Bible Study. I put forth this question to you. How are we to share the Gospel of Christ and His Church’s teachings if we stay away from those who need it most?
 
@aidanbradypop: My:twocents: I was an Evangelical which it sounds like this group is and we would invite people to Bible Studies for the purpose of converting them. That was our goal. We didn’t invite people because we wanted to hear their perspective or because we thought they were lonely.

It sounds like you are firmly grounded in your faith. But when I was going through RCIA I didn’t tell any of my former Evangelical “friends” that I was converting and I would never attend a Protestant something or other now. I feel that it would send a message that I had doubts or regrets. Trying not to be too long winded I will explain that as soon as I announced that I was looking for another church I discovered that I had no friends in my church-no one would speak with me–until several months later. I also had issues with people trying to be a mini-pope for me and interpreting the Bible for me.

It is nice that someone will try to correct the misconceptions that Protestants have about Catholics but I still think you should not attend but if you do you need to be very careful. Also always use your Catholic Bible. Although you may be informed that it is a bad translation.
 
MSSheBear said:
@aidanbradypop: My:twocents: I was an Evangelical which it sounds like this group is and we would invite people to Bible Studies for the purpose of converting them. That was our goal. We didn’t invite people because we wanted to hear their perspective or because we thought they were lonely.

It sounds like you are firmly grounded in your faith. But when I was going through RCIA I didn’t tell any of my former Evangelical “friends” that I was converting and I would never attend a Protestant something or other now. I feel that it would send a message that I had doubts or regrets. Trying not to be too long winded I will explain that as soon as I announced that I was looking for another church I discovered that I had no friends in my church-no one would speak with me–until several months later. I also had issues with people trying to be a mini-pope for me and interpreting the Bible for me.

It is nice that someone will try to correct the misconceptions that Protestants have about Catholics but I still think you should not attend but if you do you need to be very careful. Also always use your Catholic Bible. Although you may be informed that it is a bad translation.
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Thank you for your :twocents: lol! I was raised Baptist/Anglican in Tennessee. The south has a strong Protestant view of theology and kind of “if you are not with me then you are against me” mentallity. So I know 100% about people disowning you when converting. I know when they are trying to convert me. It is actually a challenge to me. They give me a false assumption they have on the Catholic Church and then I get to tell them the wonderful truth. It gives us a wonderful chance to share the Church with people who are against it for false reason. If I have to sit there a suffer a “soap box” speech from a Protestant on how I am going to hell for “my worship of idols” then that is my suffering with Christ. I believe that this is not a task for everyone. That is why I presented the question. Thanks again for your post!
 
aidanbradypop said:
Thank you for your post! I am sure he is very busy. I take nothing away from his duties to God and Church. Protestant translations differ from denominations. It is even very interesting as to how they view certain books. I always point out Church teachings to them when I can and they either take it or leave it. This priest is one of many that I consult. I am in my discernment period to becoming a Deacon so I have many spiritual advisors. Some priest I know have told me to attend and speak my faith and some priest tell me that attending would be bad for my faith. Like I mentioned before, I do caution those who are not strong in their knowledge of Church teachings to attend a Protestant Bible Study. I put forth this question to you. How are we to share the Gospel of Christ and His Church’s teachings if we stay away from those who need it most?
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I think we all appreciate your empahisizing that Catholics who are not knowlegeable and strong in their faith should not do this.

Your original question was that you were told by a priest of your parish that you should not attend a non-Catholic Bible study and asked for our thoughts. Since then, you have posted more info about yourself, but as I respond, you have fewer than 20 posts here, so the thing is, we don’t know you. We didn’t know anything about your priest, your parish, your own situation. So you must forgive us if we err on the side of caution esp in a case where a priest recommended you not attend.

Since then, you have only defended your apparent decision to continue to attend. This sounds an alarm for me. I would suggest you take this thread to your spiritual director and let him see and comment on it. I am very unclear about your reason for posting this question here, and he may be able to sort through that with you.

I also wonder how many of those with whom you have attended this Bible study for 2years have shown any interest in learning more about the Catholic Faith? Not a question for you to answer here to me, but one to ponder.
 
aidanbradypop said:
I am Roman Catholic and really enjoy the study of Sacred Scripture. It does not matter to me whether or not I am in a Catholic or Protestant small group. It is wonderful when I have to chance to be a part of a Catholic study group, but getting my parish to start one is almost like getting the Dems and Repubs to work together. Virtually impossible! 🙂 So I attend a small group that is mostly Lutheran and a couple of Evangelical Baptist. They know my faith and where I stand on issues. They try to convert me here and there, but my love and faith in the teachings of Christ’s Church never waivers.

One of the priest at my parish stated that I should not attend a small group that is not Catholic. I was sort of taken back by that. I have tried for three years to get his help starting a small bible study with no luck. His reason behind his statement was that if a Catholic attends a Protestant study, the Protestants will try to confuse the Catholic and/or try to convert them. So he more-or-less stated that we (Catholics) should stick together even if it means not studying the Sacred Scriptures.

My views on the matter…Having a small group study with other Christian faiths will allow the Catholic to share the teachings of the Church. It allows the Catholic to engage in apologetics and clear up many misunderstandings Protestants have of the Roman Catholic Church. You would be surprised at what Protestants falsely believe about the Catholic Church. I find it as a very rewarding time to witness for Christ and his Church!

Your thoughts???
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Hi aidanbradypop,

I applaud your zeal and passion to share your Catholicism to our separated brothers. I too have been in bible studies with non-Catholics which I thought would be a good way to evangelize and I still do think it is depending on the strength and knowledge of you faith as has been well pointed out here. In my experience, unless you take on a Protestant mentality (all doctrinal issues that separate us are not on the table to study) I start to see a watered down version of a Gospel that was not meant to be.

Curious - what do you do when you get to the sensitive issues like baptism in Acts 16:31 or 1Cor 1:16? Or how does one study John chapter 6 with an evangelical?

I have been in these situations before and it is not what I would consider a bible study but more of an apologetics study. I hope and pray for you…

Peace!!!
 
adf417 said:
Curious - what do you do when you get to the sensitive issues like baptism in Acts 16:31 or 1Cor 1:16? Or how does one study John chapter 6 with an evangelical?

I have been in these situations before and it is not what I would consider a bible study but more of an apologetics study. I hope and pray for you…
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Thank you adf417 for your reply! There are nine people who attend including myself. Six are Lutherans and two are Baptist. The Lutherans agree with infant Baptism so that issue is not really an issue thankfully. The Baptist (a man and his wife) believe in “believer’s baptism” and were both baptized again when they joined this new Baptist church. I often find, as I am sure you have, that the main issue when doing these studies are The Blessed Mother, Confession to a Priest and Baptism. The Eucharist is not much of an issue as Lutherans (or at least this branch) believe kind of like we do. They had the infant Baptism debate well before I ever walked through the door.

When I first started going, they were doing a Chip Ingram study. He is a wonderful man. Some of his views are extreme fundamentalist in nature, but a remarkable man nonetheless. They then started a Francis Chan study and I took no part in that. There’s only so much I can put up with lol. So I respectfully declined to attend until they were finished. I actually talked them into doing a Jeff Cavin study. I do not know if you know of him but he is a wonderful Catholic. Check him out!

They were actually excited and amazed at the same time, because they were learning things about the Church that before the study they had a misunderstanding of. It allowed me a wonderful chance to do some apologetics.

As you mentioned, they often do turn into an apologetic forum for both sides. They give their view, I counter with mine and we agree or agree to disagree. This group is actually open to hearing about the Church. I have been in small groups that were totally closed and simply wanted to “convert me to the truth.” lol! Those are the ones you simply have to walk away from and pray for!

I am glad to see that others are spreading the true Gospel with our Protestant brethen! It is a tough and long journey that takes very thick skin and I do not recommend it for everyone, but for those who do take on the task, may God bless you with wisdom and zeal!
 
I feel like it should be avoided. Protestants often feel like they should evangelize Catholics to convert them to Protestantism. I am not speaking of all Protestants. Many Protestants are very respectful of Catholics and our beliefs which are the beliefs of the Catholic Church of course. However, some evangelical and fundamentalist Protestants feel as though we are not Christian and so they feel the need to evangelize us and convert us to their belief system so that we can be “saved” according to their doctrinal beliefs. Therefore I think it should be avoided unless you know for sure you aren’t going to encounter unorthodox beliefs such as a denial of the Communion of the Saints.
 
Christ might desire u to be an ecumenical missionary of the scriptures to them …
 
Thanks brb3 for replying! I believe it takes much prayer and guidance for a spiritual advisor before one should take on this task. Wouldn’t you agree?
 
aidanbradypop said:
Thanks brb3 for replying! I believe it takes much prayer and guidance for a spiritual advisor before one should take on this task. Wouldn’t you agree?
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Yes, but for those of us who were once Protestant, strong on scriptures, and know the Protestant understandings … who better could point out the Fuller Catholic understandings ?

Paul was a Roman …picked of God to witness to the Gentiles !!!

I’m currently teaching the Catholic truths to my Protestant kinship …yes, its a slow process, but over time they are slowly starting to see that the Catholic ideas are better than what they first received. I send them Catholic books to read, that really helps …especially Scott Hahns books … which they can relate to.
 
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