The church of "just me and my bible"

[Adamski]

Recently I have meant 2 different Protestants that don’t go to any church because all they need is the bible and they can interprate it completely on thier own. Is this common?

After talking to both of them on different occasions I found thier theology other than recognizing the trinity didn’t fit anywhere

One went on to say Paul preaches a different salvation than the gospels and there 2 two types of salvation

 

[Nicea325]

Recently I have meant 2 different Protestants that don’t go to any church because all they need is the bible and they can interprate it completely on thier own. Is this common?

After talking to both of them on different occasions I found thier theology other than recognizing the trinity didn’t fit anywhere

One went on to say Paul preaches a different salvation than the gospels and there 2 two types of salvation

Once again a living testament that the notion of “me and my Bible” is false and has no scriptural support anywhere. No where is it taught by God or any of his prophets.

Two types of salvation? What? One was orthodox and the other from Paul from his own denomination commonly known as “me and my Bible” because Paul claims his Bible says it? :ehh:

 

[Used2beSherryG]

Sounds very fammiliar to me. I believe it is getting more and more common as all the protestant denoms split over disagreements, forming a new and smaller church until all that is left is a church of one. One good line is where we are told wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. Wonder how that little passage is twisted to fit their situation?

 

[SteveLy]

It is common and unfortunate. But please don’t think it is limited to Protestants. The “Sister’s on the bus” weren’t really standing fast to church teaching while claiming to be in the fold…

 

[cheezey]

I belong to the “just me and my Bible because I cannot get into RCIA for a very long time and am baffled by that and feeling like I am on the outside looking in, not wanting my Church to be the just me and my Bible” Church.
But I attend the RCC

 

[tabycat]

Sounds very fammiliar to me. I believe it is getting more and more common as all the protestant denoms split over disagreements, forming a new and smaller church until all that is left is a church of one. One good line is where we are told wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. Wonder how that little passage is twisted to fit their situation?

Some will say that their Bible is the second person. The ‘me and my Bible’ is an offshott of the ‘just me and Jesus’ denom.

 

[Regina_Love]

What about the part where the Bible tells them; “Do not foresake the gathering together of the bretheren?”

Or John 6:53 when Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” Are they saved if they do not have life within?

Also the Bible is the “Written Tradition” of the Catholic Church. God has revealed much more. They are missing the “Oral Tradition”, and “Sacred Traditions.” 2nd Thessalonians 2:15 “Therefore brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” also 1st Corinthians 11:2

Additionally their Bibles also teach in 2nd Peter 1:20, “Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation.” and also “…there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction.” So where do they go to learn authentic interpretations? The Catholic Church, which lived the new testament, wrote it under the direction of the Holy Spirit, compiled it into the Bible, and gave it to the world! The Bible is Catholic teaching.

1st Timothy 3:15 …"you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth." What is the very foundation, and support of the truth? The Catholic Church, not their personal opinion.

Do they not know that when the Bible says “Church” it is referring to the Catholic Church? Or do they think the Bible fell from the sky? Some people have never thought about this. I hope this helps.

 

[Nicea325]

It is common and unfortunate. But please don’t think it is limited to Protestants. The “Sister’s on the bus” weren’t really standing fast to church teaching while claiming to be in the fold…

And what church teaching were they not holding?

 

[ltwin]

Recently I have meant 2 different Protestants that don’t go to any church because all they need is the bible and they can interprate it completely on thier own. Is this common?

It’s probably common among people who don’t like church. The reasons for this are myriad.

Some people don’t like church because they don’t like feeling conviction. If they are not living right and wont repent, then going to a place where people worship Jesus and proclaim His word is going to make them uncomfortable because they know they aren’t living the way they should and rather than get right with the Lord they want to avoid his Spirit and presence.

Others don’t like going to church because they have a rebellious spirit and think they know better than the preacher and the board and everyone else. They can’t get a long with anyone, so they’d rather not even bother. They can’t submit to authority.

There probably are other reasons.

After talking to both of them on different occasions I found thier theology other than recognizing the trinity didn’t fit anywhere

One went on to say Paul preaches a different salvation than the gospels and there 2 two types of salvation

Well, it’s kind of hard to “fit” somewhere when its just “me and my bible.”

I highly doubt that people who claim this really read their Bibles that much. If they did, they’d have read Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

People will find any excuse to do anything, no matter how stupid it is. I know people who don’t go to church and claim that they have church in their living room watching TV preaching. OK whatever. All you can do is just pray for them, and direct them to Hebrews 10:25.

 

[CopticChristian]

It’s probably common among people who don’t like church. The reasons for this are myriad.

Some people don’t like church because they don’t like feeling conviction. If they are not living right and wont repent, then going to a place where people worship Jesus and proclaim His word is going to make them uncomfortable because they know they aren’t living the way they should and rather than get right with the Lord they want to avoid his Spirit and presence.

Others don’t like going to church because they have a rebellious spirit and think they know better than the preacher and the board and everyone else. They can’t get a long with anyone, so they’d rather not even bother. They can’t submit to authority.

There probably are other reasons.

Well, it’s kind of hard to “fit” somewhere when its just “me and my bible.”

I highly doubt that people who claim this really read their Bibles that much. If they did, they’d have read Hebrews 10:25, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

People will find any excuse to do anything, no matter how stupid it is. I know people who don’t go to church and claim that they have church in their living room watching TV preaching. OK whatever. All you can do is just pray for them, and direct them to Hebrews 10:25.

Itwin,

So these would be the unchurched…correct?

 

[Isaiah45_9]

Recently I have meant 2 different Protestants that don’t go to any church because all they need is the bible and they can interprate it completely on thier own. Is this common?

After talking to both of them on different occasions I found thier theology other than recognizing the trinity didn’t fit anywhere

One went on to say Paul preaches a different salvation than the gospels and there 2 two types of salvation

This is sad.

Most of these persons have been hurt and/or lost in the madness of denominations while at the same time misinformed and lied to about the Catholic Church.

At least they still search and cling to one form of God’s manifestation.
At least they still have hope.

The problem is when arrogance sneaks in and they start thinking they are their own authority.

Still, they seek…

I pray, I know that God will work with them in a manner they can understand. What I am hopeful is that they respond to God’s guidance and direction.

 

[cheezey]

This is sad.

Most of these persons have been hurt and/or lost in the madness of denominations while at the same time misinformed and lied to about the Catholic Church.

At least they still search and cling to one form of God’s manifestation.
At least they still have hope.

The problem is when arrogance sneaks in and they start thinking they are their own authority.

**Still, they seek…

I pray, I know that God will work with them in a manner they can understand. What I am hopeful is that they respond to God’s guidance and direction**.

 

[MartinJordan]

Or do they think the Bible fell from the sky? Some people have never thought about this.

Would you believe I once thought that it did fall from the sky?

Because I never read Church history. Just followed my parents to church never really appreciating all the suffering experienced by the early Church.

MJ

 

[jimcav]

What about the part where the Bible tells them; “Do not foresake the gathering together of the bretheren?”

Or John 6:53 when Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you do not have life within you.” Are they saved if they do not have life within?

Also the Bible is the “Written Tradition” of the Catholic Church. God has revealed much more. They are missing the “Oral Tradition”, and “Sacred Traditions.” 2nd Thessalonians 2:15 “Therefore brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.” also 1st Corinthians 11:2

Additionally their Bibles also teach in 2nd Peter 1:20, “Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation.” and also “…there are some things hard to understand that the ignorant and unstable distort to their own destruction.” So where do they go to learn authentic interpretations? The Catholic Church, which lived the new testament, wrote it under the direction of the Holy Spirit, compiled it into the Bible, and gave it to the world! The Bible is Catholic teaching.

1st Timothy 3:15 …"you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth." What is the very foundation, and support of the truth? The Catholic Church, not their personal opinion.

Do they not know that when the Bible says “Church” it is referring to the Catholic Church? Or do they think the Bible fell from the sky? Some people have never thought about this. I hope this helps.

Excellent post!

It will help me with two non-denominational christians at work who don’t believe in religion or church. They interpret the Bible on their own, but somehow never deal with the scriptures that are very Catholic as you point out.

I actually view this new movement, the non-denominational movement, as a good thing. Having found emptiness and disagreement in the mainline protestant churches, which are coming apart rather quickly, they have moved away on their own. But this movement cannot stand for long, as it has no scriptual basis, just personal hope. And then I have to believe that they will eventually come to the Catholic Church and the truth she teaches.

When this occur’s, Christianity will be an unstoppable force for good in our world…

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

It was reading Ignatius of Antioch that forced me to confront the reality of an actual church, a church not like a protestant church where one can establish a community willy nilly, but one with a genuine apostolic continuity. Seeing the bible in light of those who followed the apostle can help in this regaurd.

The problem with them having a bible in the first place is that they neccessarily received that 66 canon bible from somwhere. Was it from the final or only authority the bible? No, it was through the protestants, who undoubtably inherited their New testament and alot of their theology from Roman Catholics which developed for centuries within the church both east and west. Of course recognising this means abandoning that notion of Just me and my bible.

 

[CopticChristian]

It was reading Ignatius of Antioch that forced me to confront the reality of an actual church, a church not like a protestant church where one can establish a community willy nilly, but one with a genuine apostolic continuity. Seeing the bible in light of those who followed the apostle can help in this regaurd.

The problem with them having a bible in the first place is that they neccessarily received that 66 canon bible from somwhere. Was it from the final or only authority the bible? No, it was through the protestants, who undoubtably inherited their New testament and alot of their theology from Roman Catholics which developed for centuries within the church both east and west. Of course recognising this means abandoning that notion of Just me and my bible.

Philo,

In another thread this was posted…

"We are obliged to yield many things to the Papists (Catholics)–that they possess the Word of God which we received from them, otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it.” –Commentary on St. John, ch. 16

and I answered…

Luther was a person. He could speak. He could write. He wrote…you posted he said…actually he wrote…Ok…

Catholics possess the Word of God…no argument there

we received from them…now here is where things go south

otherwise we should have known nothing at all about it. Ok…

So to know something, to have something and to admit that someone else has it I am Ok with. To have received it…it is a book, not something intangible, something tangible…to say someone else possesses something and then say you received it…

How, by whom, if it was received then that implies someone gave it and we are back to it was stolen…

then

I don’t think Luther would say it was received by him at all but received by the church. He noted that the German churches received their physical copies over the years from the catholic church.

On a theological level, I think we would say it’s has been fundamentally received by the Holy Sprit.

I answered…

How is it they received the physical copies. Was it a Christmas present, was it UPS, was it hand delivered…and if so by whom…show me where the Catholic Church that you say, Luther acknowledges had the Word of God…gave it to the Lutherans…

Received by the Holy Spirit…can’t buy that…won’t buy that…I can say the Holy Spirit was shocked when it was stolen…now what?

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

I think the contention is how does the holy spirit work? Implied in the protestant argument you gave is that God just handed it out to certain people over the centuries, suddenly they were “inspired” as it were to know the canon. Why cannot the Holy spirit work through the church through tradition? Why could this not be the means by which the scripture was given? Probably because they see such tradition as neccessarily lesser in nature, therefore that cannot be the case.

 

[benjohnson]

How is it they received the physical copies. Was it a Christmas present, was it UPS, was it hand delivered…and if so by whom…show me where the Catholic Church that you say, Luther acknowledges had the Word of God…gave it to the Lutherans…

Received by the Holy Spirit…can’t buy that…won’t buy that…I can say the Holy Spirit was shocked when it was stolen…now what?

Coptic, I can perhaps see from a Catholic viewpoint how you could think that Luther stole the Bible from the Catholic Church. To be fair to Luther, after his crime, he did share.

From a Lutheran standpoint, this argument seems as incorrect - man holds no dominion over Word of God. If anything, from a Lutheran standpoint, the Word of God holds dominion over man.

 

[ephesians4]

Recently I have meant 2 different Protestants that don’t go to any church because all they need is the bible and they can interprate it completely on thier own. Is this common?

After talking to both of them on different occasions I found thier theology other than recognizing the trinity didn’t fit anywhere

One went on to say Paul preaches a different salvation than the gospels and there 2 two types of salvation

In one sense, I would hope all true Christians go through at least one prolonged stage like this, as this implies reading and reflection at length of, and on, the Bible.

Not that I think this is healthy forever, just that one benefits from digestion of the scripture in faith and reflection. Of course, it is easy to come to conclusions which may benefit from the studies and examinations of others, from being questioned and searched by many minds. This is true of much study done in isolation.

Even coming to those conclusions will likely provoke further study in all likelihood - it is better to have some reason to understand the teachings of others than to rely on those teachings in intellectual/spiritual laziness, in my opinion. I am not sure this phenomenon is peculiar to any particular denomination. At least I hope it is not.

 

[ltwin]

Itwin,

So these would be the unchurched…correct?

I don’t know what these people are. To claim to be a Christian but refuse to join with other believers on principle is bizarre.

The Bible says we are one body. One part of the body can’t say I have no need of you. They don’t make any sense.