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How well do you think the people at your congregation are versed in the Bible beyond the traditional stories that are commonly taught to kids?
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CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
General Bible Knowledge Within the Church
- Thread starter Soyeong
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I'd imagine if people are too well versed in the bible, they get driven out by the pastor who dislikes criticism.
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PloverWing
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Positive: Our church follows a lectionary in which, over the course of 3 years, a large portion of the Bible will be read in church. Each Sunday, we read a few paragraphs from the Old Testament, one of the Psalms, a few paragraphs from an epistle, and a few paragraphs from one of the gospels. This means that a person who attends church regularly will hear much more of the Bible than what's typically found in a kids' Bible story book.
Negative: My parish has historically been weak on Christian education after about 6th grade, so Bible knowledge in the congregation isn't as strong as it could be. We do have a couple of adult Bible study groups going, though. We're working on it.
Negative: My parish has historically been weak on Christian education after about 6th grade, so Bible knowledge in the congregation isn't as strong as it could be. We do have a couple of adult Bible study groups going, though. We're working on it.
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timothyu
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What are the odds of being taught of betrayal in a religion that at one point broadsided God and His Gospel of the Kingdom by rejecting Him in favour of aligning itself with the Roman Empire and since then continually with the governments of man. Bet they don't teach that.
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Relative to the overall denomination, they are really quite literate when it comes to the Bible, although I am frequently surprised that my personal knowledge surpasses theirs in many cases, probably because I have read the Bible cover-to-cover fifty times, as well as engaging with a wide range of Christians outside of the usual denominational circles. The current pastor is a relatively young man who has not impressed me with the breadth of his knowledge and understanding of the Bible, but then I remind myself that I was not much different from him when I was his age.
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Fervent
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Within my local congregation, doctrinal purity and memorizing proof texts seems to pass for Biblical knowledge a lot of the time. There seems to be a decent amount of reading the Bible, but little by way of understanding the historical and literary contexts of the texts that are often crucial to understanding the meaning of the text.
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Xeno.of.athens
I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
Is it valuable to have a 'general knowledge of the bible'; some of the most obnoxious people I've met know lots of bible verses.
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RoBo1988
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That is a concern for all of us. We are to "study to show thyself approved ", primarily for our edification and daily walk, to serve Him. not to be arrogant, or to bash another brother or sister in Christ
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The alternative, of course, is to be entirely ignorant of the Bible and be a truly gracious and kind person, as many unbelievers are. I believe that the point of the OP is not to use Bible knowledge as a gauge for holiness or sanctifiction, but simply as a means of aligning the professed belief of many Christians in a comprehensive knowledge of the Bible with their actual knowledge.
I remember encountering a Sunday School class in a church my brother attended. The class was doing a comprehensive overview (forgive the oxymoron) of the Bible and the author of the book they were studying had reduced each book to a single word accompanied by a gesture. For example, Jeremiah was given the word "weeping" accompanied by the right hand brushing off an imaginary tear. Thus, the members of the class went away satisfied that they now knew everything they needed to know about each book of the Bible.
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RoBo1988
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I think I already know the answer, but I hope that was a children's class .
Many churches are doing away with discipleship classes for adults, and some that still have them, are like the one you described -dumbed down.
There needs to be a vision of the church, to train up disciples, rather than an effort to simply put rear ends in the seats.
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Sadly, this was not a children's class, but the class for young married couples. It is unfortunate that a major motivation seems to be getting the butts on the benches, but even more insidious, getting the dollars in the cash register.
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concretecamper
I stand with Candice.
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The world wide literacy rate never peaked above 10 percent for the first 1,000 years of Christianity, and still was 20 percent in 1900. Most people learned the gospel by it being read to them and the from the common stories.
I ask you, what is wrong with that?
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RoBo1988
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John 17:17 "sanctify them by your truth, Your word is truth"
"The Word of God has a sanctifying effect on believers. As they read it, and obey it, they are set apart for the Master's use " - William MacDonald, Believers Bible Commentary
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concretecamper
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