Who Knows the Bible Better? Protestants or Catholics

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I would like to think that it’s at least an even split, however, I always get the impression there are more ignorant Catholics than ignorant Protestants as far as the Scriptures are concerned.

While I firmly believe Catholics are the original and only true Bible Christians, it seems today in this age most are plain ignorant. This really gets under my skin.

Anyone agree/disagree? Is this dilemma found everywhere or more in the USA?
 
Hi;
I would have to say that Baptist know the Bible better than other protestant and catholics. We spend more time in church and have more Bible studies more resources for Bible studies than other demon’s .

forever Baptist now and in heaven
allischalmers
 
Hello:
I am not sure exactly how you mean “knows the Bible better.” Assuming we are talking about a protestant and a catholic who both practice their faith, I would say the catholic lives the Bible better; by reason of participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; although he may not be able to quote Scripture as well as the Bible-based protestant. Also, the catholic learns a lot a Scripture by praying the rosary; attending the stations of the cross, looking at stain glass windows, etc. There are a lot more ways to learn Scripture besides reading. But, yes, we Catholics should read the Word everyday.
 
Me! 😃
In my own experience both in apologetics discussions and in just bull sessions with n-Cs, I have found that I know more than most of them combined. I once found a basic Bible quiz in a Catholic magazine and took it around to a bunch of people that I knew and even giving them credit up front for about 4 questions (out of 50) that were Catholic specific, they scored way lower than myself and the other Catholic guy. And it wasn’t hard or obscure stuff! To be honest I was kinda surprised because the way these guys “witnessed” to us, you’d’ve thought they would smoke us, but the opposite was true. In fact, I think I got all but one. :cool:

I think that many Catholics allow n-Cs to project that impression onto us, when I have discovered that any practicing faithful Catholic knows the Word of God better than his n-C counterpart. the only difference is that we don’t memorize chapter and verse like they do, (except us apologetics nuts…) and even then they memorize selective topical references, usually The Way of Salvation or some variant thereof, but little else.

A good discussion of this can be heard on Apologetics For the Scripturally Challenged by John Martignoni, and in fact ALL his stuff is worth way more than the $1.00 a piece s&h to have and share.
Pax Domini sit semper vobsicum,
 
I think Protestants make a more visible use of the Scriptures than many Catholics.

As for knowing it “better”…

If only one Catholic were able to present what is in Scripture in light of what the Church (which the Holy Spirit guided in giving the world the canon) teaches

that one Catholic would “know” the Bible better than anyone who tries to know it without the other two witnesses to the Truth - the Tradition of the Apostles, and the Magisterium Teaching Authorith of the Catholic Church.

Catholics are slowing re-awakening to Scripture. More and more Bible studies are forming to reclaim our book. All Christians should recognize that the Bible is the book of the Catholic Church…

Being a church of the book is a good thing… but the obvious fruits of that choice are why we need CA… to help bring all Christians and non-Christians alike back to the onlyl Church founded by Christ Himself.

.,
 
Well, Catholics definitely hear more of the bible at church than anyone else. Every mass has readings from the OT, Psalms, Epistles, and Gospel. Every prot. church I’ve ever been to (and I was prot for most of my life) has only read a few verses from one place during each service. And with the Liturgical Cycle, we hear the entire bible every 3 years at mass, not just the same old ‘favorite’ verses over and over.
 
As a Catholic who loves and diligently studies the Bible everyday and is involved in leading other Catholics to read and love the Scriptures, this is how I would break it down, based on my personal experience with both Catholics and Protestants:
  1. Protestants (in general) are more comfortable with the Bible, as it is their primary catechetical and devotional tool. Catholics, even those that are more Bible literate, have more means to this end at their disposal, as we do not ascribe to Sola Scriptura.
  2. Protestants (especially fundamentalists and evangelicals) have memorized more Scripture verses than most Catholics. This is a good thing, but doesn’t always equate to a good grasp of the Scriptures. It is simply an element of their catechtical and devotional life, based on the Scriptures.
  3. Many Protestants (again primarily fundamentalists and evangelicals) attend churches where the same biblical themes are taught and preached over and over again. Depending on the personal preference of the pastor, one might hear a lot of in depth lessons on salvation and grace, the End Times, etc, but little else. They might employ only a few select verses or passages, which the congregation becomes very familiar with. When I listen to John MacArthur or Charles Stanley on the radio, I know where they are going to go in the Scriptures before they even say it. And I’m sure their congregations do too.
Catholics, by contrast, hear a much broader selection of the Scriptures, especially if they attend daily Mass – almost every important passage of the Bible in the course of three years. However, often the teaching is weak from the pulpit when it comes to examining these texts, so there is a lot of exposure with explaining.
  1. As for Baptists – I teach RCIA and Bible study for those who are coming into the Catholic Church. I can always tell when I have an ex-Baptist in my class, because they are the ones who are taking notes, looking up the cross-references I suggest, and asking the good questions! 😃 I have to say they are a joy to have in class, and I sorely wish that ALL Catholics would have this same kind of enthusiasm for God’s Word.
 
Guardian said:
I would like to think that it’s at least an even split, however, I always get the impression there are more ignorant Catholics than ignorant Protestants as far as the Scriptures are concerned.

While I firmly believe Catholics are the original and only true Bible Christians, it seems today in this age most are plain ignorant. This really gets under my skin.

Anyone agree/disagree? Is this dilemma found everywhere or more in the USA?
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My opinion here:

Protestants know the literal words of the Bible better, “chapter and verse”.

However Catholics know what it says and teaches much more clearly because the authorized interpreter of Scripture is the Catholic Church.
 
I agree with Fidelis in many ways.

But first, I would like to ask what you mean by “know the Bible better.” It is obvious that Protestants do not understand the Scriptures in light of their doctines of sola Fide and sola Scriptura, which are both not only non-Scriptural, but also not found in the Tradition of the Apostles or of the Fathers.

I can sing “La Marseillaise” but I do not know what the words mean.
 
Guardian said:
I would like to think that it’s at least an even split, however, I always get the impression there are more ignorant Catholics than ignorant Protestants as far as the Scriptures are concerned.

While I firmly believe Catholics are the original and only true Bible Christians, it seems today in this age most are plain ignorant. This really gets under my skin.

Anyone agree/disagree? Is this dilemma found everywhere or more in the USA?
Click to expand...
Protestants may “know” it better. Catholics, OTH, “understand” it a whole lot better!
 
Protestants seem to have more Bible verses memorized.

But most don’t know what any of them mean.

Memorizing Bible verses in the way most protestants do is like memorizing math problems from a text book, but never learning how to actually work the problems.
 
allischalmers said:
Hi;
I would have to say that Baptist know the Bible better than other protestant and catholics. We spend more time in church and have more Bible studies more resources for Bible studies than other demon’s .

forever Baptist now and in heaven
allischalmers
Click to expand...
Hi allischamers,
When I was an Evangelical Christian I would’ve given the same response… For years I had attended countless Bible studies and had memorized scripture. I was never without my Bible - just like most of the Christians at my church.

But then something began to nag at me… what good was all that knowlege? Sure… I was a strong Christian - but really - what difference was I making in this world? Was I REALLY feeding the poor? Was I helping widows & orphans? Was I visiting those in prison? Was I really helping ANYONE less fortunate than me (other than pointing out that they weren’t saved?) Nope. Not really. At my church we talked about those things… but that’s about it. There was no empahsis on social justice or the poor. It was mostly about Bible studies and how we were saved and practically everyone else was lost. We talked about THAT alot.

So I’m not picking on you - maybe you help out at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter…maybe you are very concerned with the poor in your area and the injustice that’s a part of their lives… and if so, that’s great. I’m just saying that there is so much more that God would have us to do be the light of Christ in this very dark world than memorizing scripture.
 
CatHicks said:
Protestants seem to have more Bible verses memorized.

But most don’t know what any of them mean.

Memorizing Bible verses in the way most protestants do is like memorizing math problems from a text book, but never learning how to actually work the problems.
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More than that, as a former Protestant I can surely say that there is a danger in memorizing mis-interpreted and “taken out of context” scriptures, and that ***style of memorization found in most Protestant denominations is more closely related to mind control ***than growing in faith…so as a Catholic who is being saved, I always stress the meaning of the scriptures in light of 2000 years of learning that can only be found through the Holy Roman Church. I love memorizing sacred scripture, and I love seeing others memorize it as well.

How cool it is to always have the Word with you!

Mick
 
I think that some Protestant denominations know more memorized Scripture better. The Catholics I’ve met don’t necessarily have the verses memorized, but they do understand the teachings very well. I’ll be honest, it’s embarrassing how little of the Bible I actually know!!!
 
Fidelis said:
  1. Many Protestants (again primarily fundamentalists and evangelicals) attend churches where the same biblical themes are taught and preached over and over again. Depending on the personal preference of the pastor, one might hear a lot of in depth lessons on salvation and grace, the End Times, etc, but little else. They might employ only a few select verses or passages, which the congregation becomes very familiar with. When I listen to John MacArthur or Charles Stanley on the radio, I know where they are going to go in the Scriptures before they even say it. And I’m sure their congregations do too.
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I second this. I remember when my husband first started talking to me about the Catholic Church… I could have sworn he was making up verses because I’d never heard them before. (Whose sins you forgive are forgiven? Where did that come from?) My experience in my former evangelical church was that we heard Matthew and Paul and very little else. And even then my pastor tended to use the same verses over and over. I love how at Mass we hear something new every sunday.

Protestants are very good at memorization. When I participated in a Teen mission organization we learned 40 bible passages and had to recite them all in Biblical order before the summer was over. But memorization doesn’t help you understand what the verses mean.

I know that I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the Bible when I was protestant. But in becoming Catholic I gained more reall Biblical instruction than I’d ever had before.
 
I tend to think that a lot of protestants SEEM to know the bible better because a lot of them are filled up with a lot of proof texts that are repeated at them in sermon after sermon and study after study. So in a discussion with someone who has not had this experience, they can seem very knowledgeable and intimidating , quoting Romans X, and 2 Corinthians Y off pat.

Many are often taught verses that, taken in isolation seem to teach protestant distinctives like “faith alone” etc.

However on discussing with a lot of such people, they are often very ignorant of other parts of the scriptures that do not support their viewpoints, and which are passed over by the Evangelical Preachers and scripture-reading aids. Even some very experienced figures, talking about “Pagan” statues of Mary crowned with stars and standing on the moon are shocked when told to look at Revelation 12 for example! Or a person going on about how works play no part in salvation can be startled by Matthew 25.

Catholics are not very often told so specifically about scripture passages that support Catholic teaching, and most modern Catholic bibles (NAB, JB) are very poor at this, tending to push Liberal theories instead.
 
It varies by denomination. However, having been an evangelical for 10 years, there is no comparison. The typical evangelical is much more bible literate than the typical Catholic. So what. The average Catholic is exposed to a wider range of Bible readings in the mass than the average evangelical (who would tend to concentrate on only a few books). As previously mentioned, what is important is knowing the truth of the Bible, not just spouting off verses out of context (I know, I used to do it!).
 
dljl said:
It varies by denomination. However, having been an evangelical for 10 years, there is no comparison. The typical evangelical is much more bible literate than the typical Catholic. So what. The average Catholic is exposed to a wider range of Bible readings in the mass than the average evangelical (who would tend to concentrate on only a few books). As previously mentioned, what is important is knowing the truth of the Bible, not just spouting off verses out of context (I know, I used to do it!).
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Hi,

As an evangelical I agree with you. Who really cares how many verses you can spit out. It matters how you live your life for Jesus. I for one have no Scripture memorized(Im not proud of that because I know it is good)Im just not good at it. I dont pretend to know my bible better then anyone else. Does that make me less of a christian. NO. I will be studying the bible till the day I go home to be with the Lord. It is important that we all be teachable whereever God has us worshipping.😃 There is way too much in the bible for anyone to know all that is in it --at least at a spiritual level. I did 2 bible studies on Fruit of the Spirit and learned something different both times.

Honestly, threads like this is just another way to pit catholics against protestants:( Im not saying the OP meant for that to happen, but it just does. I already see posts that show me much pride in the writing. We all know how bad pride is because we are all prideful.😦

Please be careful when posting that it doesnt sound arrogant and that I am better then you mentality.😃

Ok my rant is over:thumbsup:
 
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