Studying the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition) firstly?

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Dear friends on Catholic Answer Forums:

I am a Taiwanese living in Taiwan and currently attending RCIA(-like) programs in Catholic Churches in my living city.

I was not born in a Christian family. I lived without the Gospel before early adulthood. It was after the 3rd year of college studies did I acknowledge the need to explore Christianity and especially to learn Catholicism, and I had kept doing it.

But in fact until now I only partially understand the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) and partially understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition).

So currently here comes a situation that I need your advises: Do you recommend a serious prospective adult convert to Catholicism studying the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition) firstly?

(This question is also asked on Reddit’s r/Catholicism)
 
I am also in RCIA. I would say that you can probably spend your whole life studying the Bible and the Catechism and still have plenty to learn. 🙂 So it probably doesn’t matter which you begin with. Go to your RCIA classes, attend Mass and other meetings at the parish and keep reading your Bible and Catechism and I think you’ll be doing quite well.
 
Reading them side by side would be the best option! But if you had to do one first, I, personally, would suggest the Catechism. Not because tradition is more important, but because you’lol get a better sense of what Catholicism is and that way, when you get to scripture, you’ll get a sense of how we approach it.

If you could only read one or the other in your entire life, I would suggest scripture instead, but I doubt you’re in that position.

Granted, if you had a very thorough Catholic study Bible, like the Navarre study Bible or the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, you could probably go straight to scripture and get a good Catholic understanding. Doing just the New Testament this way would be affordable. I feel like many other study bibles might not give enough support. Well, the Didache Bible may work for the whole Bible and be affordable.

Well, that was a very muddled answer. I don’t think there’s only one right choice here. Some people will find different approaches more helpful. I hope my thoughts on this help you, though!
 
Thanks for Jennifer132’s and Wesrock’s reply! 🙂

What I am currently considering is like this: Take Roman Catholic Mariology as an example. If I understand correctly, it belongs to sacred tradition and was not explicitly formulated in sacred scripture. So does this fact suggests me study sacred tradition firstly? But if I study sacred tradition firstly, is it also kind of learning to comprehend and assimilate the Word of God in sacred scripture?
 
The Catechism is an overview of what the Church teaches based on both scripture and tradition. It will tell you what is essential to our belief, such as what we believe about God, his relation to man, about Jesus Christ, his mother, the saints, the sacraments, the Church, morality, and more. But it’s an overview, not a proof document. So, for example, you may learn about what Catholics believe regarding Mary’s role within the Church, but it’s not a collection of ancient supporting sources, for example. (And this is a bit of an aside, it Catholics do believe there is scriptural support for Mary’s role within the Church, but it’s easy to miss if you’re reading the Bible without a guide, and yes, outside of Tradition).

So it’s not just a book on tradition only, but a synopsis of what the Church teaches.
 
longnprosper said:
Dear friends on Catholic Answer Forums:

I am a Taiwanese living in Taiwan and currently attending RCIA(-like) programs in Catholic Churches in my living city.

I was not born in a Christian family. I lived without the Gospel before early adulthood. It was after the 3rd year of college studies did I acknowledge the need to explore Christianity and especially to learn Catholicism, and I had kept doing it.

But in fact until now I only partially understand the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) and partially understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition).

So currently here comes a situation that I need your advises: Do you recommend a serious prospective adult convert to Catholicism studying the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition) firstly?

(This question is also asked on Reddit’s r/Catholicism)
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Both/and. God’s Word comes to us through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the teaching Authority of the Catholic Church. Any decent Bible study will have references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church like this one…

agapebiblestudy.com/
 
My short, smart Alec comment is “Bible, Catechism, both, and neither.”

As an explanation to that answer, you must first understand how my parish handles RCIA. My pastor teaches it and allows no other person to teach. He strongly discourages (almost to the point of prohibition) reading the Bible or Catechism. He also prohibits reading anything about the faith or even history of the Church while you are in RCIA. He cannot control what you do outside his class, but any mention of what you may learn from any of those sources is at best ignored. He claims RCIA is sufficient in and of itself for most Catholics and that study of the Bible, Catechism, etc should be reserved for those who have already learned what RCIA has to offer and been accepted into the Church. He claims that without the knowledge found in RCIA, the documents in question are too easily misunderstood. If that describes how you approach the faith, with a tendency to misunderstand, you may want to go with neither scripture or tradition and simply learn from your RCIA teacher.

However, that is not the way I approach learning. My husband and I study the Bible (I STRONGLY recommend the Navarre Bible, but you’ll need a whole shelf for it), the Catechism, and books about teachings we want to learn more about. For instance, “Behold Your Mother” by Tim Staples teaches much about Mary, how our beliefs about her are scriptural, and what happens if she is not what the Catholic Church teaches. Therefore, rather than approaching this as an either/or, I suggest a both/and plus more if you are a nerd like me who wants to spend hours reading about everything.

Finally, if you prefer to pick one and go with it, it doesn’t really matter which, as long as you are willing and able to ask questions from knowledgeable people when you see things that are apparent contradictions. They are almost never contradictions, but may seem like it because of the sheer amount of study that takes to understand this faith in its fullness. I’m not sure God is giving me enough years of life to comprehend it all with my extremely finite intellect and wisdom.

There really is no wrong answer, so good luck.
 
The thing is, you can’t really study the Catechism without the Bible. There are so many footnotes that point you right back to Scripture. The two absolutely have to be read together. There is one Bible that I know of that has many references to the CCC but it is aimed at youth.

So, I would say start with a Catechism, even a shorter version such as the USCCA (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults) and keep that Bible handy. 🙂
 
longnprosper said:
Dear friends on Catholic Answer Forums:

I am a Taiwanese living in Taiwan and currently attending RCIA(-like) programs in Catholic Churches in my living city.

I was not born in a Christian family. I lived without the Gospel before early adulthood. It was after the 3rd year of college studies did I acknowledge the need to explore Christianity and especially to learn Catholicism, and I had kept doing it.

But in fact until now I only partially understand the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) and partially understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition).

So currently here comes a situation that I need your advises: Do you recommend a serious prospective adult convert to Catholicism studying the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition) firstly?

(This question is also asked on Reddit’s r/Catholicism)
Click to expand...
Either would be difficult for a new convert. Start with the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - especially Luke. Trying to read the Bible straight through would be very confusing. Also, There is an excellent study guide of the Bible: “Unlocking the Mystery of the Bible” by Jeff Cavins and Sarah Christmyer.

As a convert to Catholicism myself, I have learned that there is never an end to the mysteries and discoveries of this wonderful Church. Whenever I think I have learned enough I walk through a door and find myself in another room full of riches and wonders to study and learn about. Enjoy the journey. Don’t worry about learning all there is to learn because that is like taking on the universe.
 
longnprosper said:
Dear friends on Catholic Answer Forums:

I am a Taiwanese living in Taiwan and currently attending RCIA(-like) programs in Catholic Churches in my living city.

I was not born in a Christian family. I lived without the Gospel before early adulthood. It was after the 3rd year of college studies did I acknowledge the need to explore Christianity and especially to learn Catholicism, and I had kept doing it.

But in fact until now I only partially understand the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) and partially understand the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition).

So currently here comes a situation that I need your advises: Do you recommend a serious prospective adult convert to Catholicism studying the whole words in the Catholic Bible (sacred scripture) or the Catechism of the Catholic Church (sacred tradition) firstly?

(This question is also asked on Reddit’s r/Catholicism)
Click to expand...
Actually neither AND both:)

Catholicism is too profound, too eloperate to uncover, to discover by one’s self IMO. I co taught RCIA for 3 years, and have more than 20 years odf Catholic Faith teaching experience.

IF however you are led by the HS to do so; then I suggest may I suggest the following:
  1. Use a good Catholic Bible
    Here is a site you can add to your desktop
drbo.org/

And HERE is a good Catholic Bible commentary to aid your understanding

haydock1859.tripod.com/

BOTH are free:thumbsup:

Here is a site for the CCC {also searchable}

scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

BUT this is written for priest and catechist; the NCCB {National Conference of Catholic Bishops} issued a NEW ONE; MUCH more user friendly that can be had through their web site www.NCCB.com

Also here is a site for the Catholic Encyclopedia, also free and searchable

newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm

And finally here is a GREAT searchable Catholic Dictionary

therealpresence.org/dictionary/adict.htm

NOW having shared all of this I strongly recommend a GUIDED path by qualified Catechist.🙂 There is much profound and complex teaching and beliefs and practices, that RCIA simply does not normally have the time to share.:o

Look for a Mentor who s qualified to direct, assit and lead you:thumbsup:

God Bless you

Patrick {PJM}
 
If you consider reading the Bible and catechism together, I would suggest using the Didache Bible from Ignatius Press. It cross references the Catechism.

Personally if I was in a position of knowing neither the Bible or the Traditions I’d start with the Baltimore Catechism and either a children’s Bible or an abridged Bible. The reason I say that is the full Catechism can be daunting if you don’t have a basic understanding of Catholic teaching. Likewise, if you are not prepared in how scripture is structured, reading scripture (especially the Old Testament) can quickly become confusing.

That is not to say you are not capable of tackling the Catechism or Scripture, but rather that i think both are easier if you have some grounding in the stories of the Bible and basic understanding of tradition. The Baltimore catechism is a question answer format so it doesn’t start with theological explanations so much as a what and why type explanation of the faith. Similarly, a children’s Bible can give you the rough outlines of salvation history without going into genealogies or ancient cultures that can distracted you from the central message. One of the challenges in reading the old testament is that books that are related chronologically are not in the same part of the Bible. For example, the history/narrative books preceed the books of prophets that wrote at the same time. If you try to read it like a novel you’ll likely get confussed when you’ve gone through the exile and then read prophets who spoke to the northern kingdom 300 years prior.

Both Scripture and Tradition are very deep so I recommend understanding the highlevel first and then go back and keep digging deeper. It is better to take sips than drown trying to drink the whole ocean at once.
 
Most of the books of the New Testament are explicitly addressed to Christians, to people already catechized in the Christian faith. It makes sense to me that anyone who wants to read to Bible, especially the New Testament, in its proper context, ought to first be catechized in the Christian faith. So, I recommend such a prospective convert read a Catholic catechism designed for a general audience, such as YouCat (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (天主教 青年 教 理)), before reading the Bible.
 
I go back and forth.

You can get saturated by focusing exclusively one one of those books.

But if you go back and forth, you can study one until you get saturated and then jump to the other for a while for a change of pace.
 
Usige said:
If you consider reading the Bible and catechism together, I would suggest using the Didache Bible from Ignatius Press. It cross references the Catechism.

Personally if I was in a position of knowing neither the Bible or the Traditions I’d start with the Baltimore Catechism and either a children’s Bible or an abridged Bible. The reason I say that is the full Catechism can be daunting if you don’t have a basic understanding of Catholic teaching. Likewise, if you are not prepared in how scripture is structured, reading scripture (especially the Old Testament) can quickly become confusing.

That is not to say you are not capable of tackling the Catechism or Scripture, but rather that i think both are easier if you have some grounding in the stories of the Bible and basic understanding of tradition. The Baltimore catechism is a question answer format so it doesn’t start with theological explanations so much as a what and why type explanation of the faith. Similarly, a children’s Bible can give you the rough outlines of salvation history without going into genealogies or ancient cultures that can distracted you from the central message. One of the challenges in reading the old testament is that books that are related chronologically are not in the same part of the Bible. For example, the history/narrative books preceed the books of prophets that wrote at the same time. If you try to read it like a novel you’ll likely get confussed when you’ve gone through the exile and then read prophets who spoke to the northern kingdom 300 years prior.

Both Scripture and Tradition are very deep so I recommend understanding the highlevel first and then go back and keep digging deeper. It is better to take sips than drown trying to drink the whole ocean at once.
Click to expand...
The Baltimore Catechism is excellent and you can buy it from Amazon.
 
Having been through RCIA and then assisting with RCIA every year since I would say, slow down, take a breath, and understand there is no test at the end of RCIA.

My guidance in this is to certainly read both the Catechism and the Bible but not to finish either one before the Easter Vigil. Your focus over the next few months should be learning the basics, who Catholics are, what we believe, and what the sacraments are & there value to the Catholic Church. I would take notes in class and read the scripture of what that class was about.

The beauty of Catholicism is learning never stops. There are many books, DVD’s radio shows, EWTN to learn more about the faith. One book I strongly recommend is a Catholic dictionary. I have a large one and a smaller one. Even though I had been raised a Protestant there were many times words were used that, while I knew the word, it seemed to misplaced in the sentence. The dictionary helped a lot with that issue.

In any case, welcome.
 
If you can get your hands on the Didache bible you can do both, it includes commentary based on the catechism of the Catholic church.
 
Watch out for the DRBO site. The Douay is my go-to bible, but the website referenced promotes a false apparition.
 
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