The bible is not a math book

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my husband and i have been married for 6 months now. recently we’ve strongly been dealing with the subject of our faith as a role in our marriage. i was raised as a structured and educated catholic and he was raised in the christian faith but without the backbone of an affiliation with a church going community. he does not feel that he should go to church because he thinks it is “man made and corrupt”, and his family heavily promotes the idea of using the bible as a math book to preditct the apocolypse and they have him on board with this guy by the name of Kent Hoven:mad: (who really gets me worked up!)
i understand that faith is really a personal journey, and that it should be made on one’s own terms. however i really want to impress on my husband the importance of having a more structured education in the christian faith.

any ideas or support welcome!
hannah
 
First, let’s address your husband’s dependency on scripture alone. This, as you may know, is a problem between Catholics and other denominations. You may want to address the fact that the Bible’s canon or list of books wasn’t agreed on until about 300+ years after Jesus. Tradition handed down along with these stories, letters, Gospels, etc. finally came together and became the scripture we use today.
Second, appreciating the nature and inspiration of scripture, we still must hold to Jesus’s words that there would be signs of the end of the time, but we were not suppose to worry about it. We should always be ready for the coming of Jesus. We should also be comforted in the fact that no creature would know the time or the place (even the Son)! This is why using the Bible as a map, or code, “math book”, or secret message decoder is pointless. What we should strive for is the message: Love God with your whole being and love one another. Forgive and accept forgiveness. This will keep us ready.
I wonder if these questions didn’t surface before the wedding as you prepared with the priest. Maybe you could ask your pastor for some spiritual advice. I guess my best advice is keeping faith at the center of your marriage, sharing it with each other. A marriage grounded in faith will weather any storm and is truly a blessing. I hope he feels welcome in the Catholic church, if not, maybe there could be some groups he could join that would help him fit in. “Why Catholic” would be an excellent experience for both of you to share.
Blessings to you both. I hope this was some help:thumbsup:
 
Was your husband of this faith when you met, dated, etc.? Did you discuss the vast differences in your beliefs before you were married, maybe in Pre-Cana? Will he allow you to practice your faith and raise your children with faith?

Many prayers, this will be a long road.
 
thanks for your help!
i do agree that the bible does point out that yes, jesus will be coming for us again; i definitely agree that no being can predict how, when, or where (that’s where i usually get worked up with my husband).
in response to the latter part of your message, my husband and i did agree before we were married about eachother’s beliefs and that our children would be raised in the catholic faith. however, even six months ago (we were married in march), i wasn’t fully at terms with my faith. with that being said we didn’t participate in pre marriage guidance.
i love my husband very much, but now i’m feeling very inspired to help him with his faith and to encourage him to get responsible guidance.
by the way does any one know how i can tackle this issue with kent hoven?
 
What is your husbands “thing” - is he a history guy, a science guy, a feelings guy? That helps with how to approach apologetics…
 
i’ve actually had some of the same encounters as those same people. kent hovend bashes catholicism and makes claims that are horribly false and inaccurate.
however, i just can’t get my husband to see how ludicrous (sp?) his methods and words really are! i really want him to see that people like kent hovend aren’t on god’s agenda, they’re on their own agenda. that’s what’s really tugging at me, right now.
 
Is your husband baptized? If he does, then, he has the gift of Faith. That is a huge plus!

Does he believe in the basics of Christianity (Virgin Birth, death, burial and resurrection, trinity, resurrection of the dead, etc.)

If so, and if he is a history guy, start with the Early Church Fathers. Steve Ray’s “Footprints of God” videos might be a start - he has one on the Apostolic Fathers.
 
sadly no, my husband is not baptized. he does believe in the basics of christianity. however, i don’t feel he really understands them. again, i feel that this is a repercussion of him never being introduced to and educated in a formal church setting.
also, what more specifically is the book about? just the founding fathers of our church as in the apostles?
 
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