Who knows the contents of the Bible better, Catholics or non-Catholics?

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Christian_Unity said:
Really? Please join us on the predestination and forensic justification threads to continue that thought. The common responds to a biblical understanding of a forensic justification is “Catholics don’t believe in a substitutional or penal view of justification”. That is not dealing with the Scriptures, but rather it is a non-biblical response to Scripture revelation.
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Hi CU. I told you already, I have not heard about forensic justification before you brought that up. Maybe I am not up to it to discuss at that level but I do understand the Bible generally. :):o
 
waanju said:
Well, Catholics read it all the way through (at a minimum) every three years. With explanations in the homilies. That’s not even COUNTING private study (which I admit, seems to be more common among protestants, but is also important for catholics!)

Besides, even if most protestants DID claim greater knowledge of 66 out of the 73 books of the Bible (which can’t be proved one way or the other, and is probably really close), Catholics would have waaaaaaaaay better knowledge of the Deuterocanon.
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I think the cannon of Scriptures is not limited to 66 or 73. There is a wide range of cannons out there.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon
 
Christian_Unity said:
It’s just a question:

Who knows the contents of the Bible better, the average Catholic or average non-Catholic? 🍿
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Depends on what you mean by know. non-Catholic (I am assuming you mean Protestant) have generally placed more emphasis on personal Bible reading and memorization so they come across as “knowing” their Bible better than the “average” Catholic because they can quote it better or at least know where to find things in it.
 
Reuben_J said:
Depending from which tradition you are and which canon you use. For example, the canon that the Catholics used is the one that they canonized.
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That’s a good point. Is the Bible the Word of God because the Catholic Church canonized it? Or is the Bible the Word of God because it is simply God-breathed revelation from above in which Christians already knew it to be as coming from above? For example, OT Scripture was used by Jesus and the Apostles as Scripture way before the Catholic Church declared to it to be canonized.
 
Christian_Unity said:
That’s a good point. Is the Bible the Word of God because the Catholic Church canonized it? Or is the Bible the Word of God because it is simply God-breathed revelation from above in which Christians already knew it to be as coming from above? For example, OT Scripture was used by Jesus and the Apostles as Scripture way before the Catholic Church declared to it to be canonized.
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There was no OT Scripture in Jesus time. He simply quoted the Jewish scriptures like the Torah.

We wouldn’t know which were which the word of God if the Catholic Church did not compile the books that they deemed were inspired. Most Christians did not know that they were coming from above, like which one comes from above and which one does not? Those books of the Bibles were selected from hundreds of books available which perhaps made the same claim to be the word of God.

The books of the Bible were selected and compiled and deemed inspired because they explained or true to the Traditions and doctrines that were already in practice.

Later on perhaps we have different canons of the Bible by different Christian denominations. I am sure the books/translations in their Bible are selected that are in line with their doctrines and belief.
 
Perhaps one should ask “who follows the content” better? Who exemplifies the fruit of the Spirit better…who lives 1 Cor 13 better? Who embraces the principles of the Sermon on the Mount better?

Now…let’s have a contest of doing, instead of pointing.🙂
 
Publisher said:
Perhaps one should ask “who follows the content” better? Who exemplifies the fruit of the Spirit better…who lives 1 Cor 13 better? Who embraces the principles of the Sermon on the Mount better?

Now…let’s have a contest of doing, instead of pointing.🙂
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That is good for another thread.
 
Clearly the average Catholic does.

Non-Catholics include many who aren’t even Christian. So clearly even a poorly catechised **average **Catholic knows the Bible better than the rest of the human race that includes Hindoos, Muslims, Shintoists, Buddhists, and non-religious persons.

In other words, this is not a well thought out question.
Christian_Unity said:
It’s just a question:

Who knows the contents of the Bible better, the average Catholic or average non-Catholic? 🍿
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Reuben_J said:
That is good for another thread.
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I figured it really doesn’t matter who knows the Bible better, if the qualities and principles aren’t adhered to…I mean with the “parrot” comment and “only one verse” Protestants know…I thought it was quite appropriate for this discussion…knowing isn’t doing or living.🤷

“though I speak with the tongue of men and angels and understand all mysteries…and have not love…”

Love is something we do, not what we feel. “Love is never rude…love is never puffed up…love always hopes…is always kind…always patient.”
 
Christian_Unity said:
That’s a good point. Is the Bible the Word of God because the Catholic Church canonized it? Or is the Bible the Word of God because it is simply God-breathed revelation from above in which Christians already knew it to be as coming from above? For example, OT Scripture was used by Jesus and the Apostles as Scripture way before the Catholic Church declared to it to be canonized.
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This is not an either or question…the Bible is the word of God because it is “God Breathed” AND because the Church canonized it…

The Sola Scriptura Evangelical 66 book Bible Christian will point to the passage “All Scripture is God breathed” as justification for his SS view…but then I open my bible (with 73 books) and by golly there is the same verse…
The SS person will point to the end of revelation about not changing a word and accuse the Catholic Church of “adding” to God’s word…yet the 66 book canon did not exist before 1500…

When Paul made that statement about ALL Scripture being God breathed…the most widely used Scripture outside of Palestine was the Septuagint.
In addition to this there was a growing number of letters being written, the Gospels were yet to be set down in writing, and still more works would be written over then next 200 years. Some of these were very good works and highly inspired, and some of these were not very good works…
The Church, once it became legal in the empire, set about reviewing things and putting together a common list (canon) of books to be universally recognized for liturgical use.
The Church did so under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and using the authority grated to it by Christ Himself to “bind and loose” - “whatever”.

So - We know the Bible is God breathed because the Holy Spirit, through the Church, has told us so…

Peace
James
 
Publisher said:
Perhaps one should ask “who follows the content” better? Who exemplifies the fruit of the Spirit better…who lives 1 Cor 13 better? Who embraces the principles of the Sermon on the Mount better?

Now…let’s have a contest of doing, instead of pointing.🙂
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👍👍
 
Publisher said:
I figured it really doesn’t matter who knows the Bible better, if the qualities and principles aren’t adhered to…I mean with the “parrot” comment and “only one verse” Protestants know…I thought it was quite appropriate for this discussion…knowing isn’t doing or living.🤷

“though I speak with the tongue of men and angels and understand all mysteries…and have not love…”

Love is something we do, not what we feel. “Love is never rude…love is never puffed up…love always hopes…is always kind…always patient.”
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You are of course right but it is not the topic of the thread. Do you think thread like this is mischievous?
 
I’m catholic, not confirmed or baptised (yet) but I know the Bible very well. The most important part is just knowing what it’s for! The Bible is to used as a reference to what Jesus and the earliest Apostles did (do). Too many people started using the Bible to start wars and such, and now there’s 40,000 different denominations claiming to have The Truth. I think we can all agree that the God never meant for us to use it to divide ourselves into 40,000 different churches.
 
The central message of the Scriptures:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” - Jesus

John 5:39
 
The central message of the Scriptures (for me):

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

1 Cor 13:1-2
 
Publisher said:
Perhaps one should ask “who follows the content” better? Who exemplifies the fruit of the Spirit better…who lives 1 Cor 13 better? Who embraces the principles of the Sermon on the Mount better?

Now…let’s have a contest of doing, instead of pointing.🙂
Click to expand...
👍👍👍
 
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