Bible Study

FaithT

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I’ve been looking for a Bible study for a long time and my parish just had the first new class tonight. They’ve had other studies but this one is, by far, the best. We’re studying the book The Gospel of Matthew, A Catholic Commentary. Is anyone here in a Bible study and, if so, what are you studying?
 

fide

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May the Lord give grace into the Study members! His Word is powerful, fruitful, transformative, living. His Truth can take root in the heart and soul of believers, and grow.

The Study I am participating in presently is in the Gospel of John. We walked with John last year, and this year he won again among the members by acclamation.

Bible Studies are not all created equal. A nearby Study I visited a time or two had a different orientation and focus entirely - one that (in my humble opinion) is counterproductive. The teacher stresses how every character in the Biblical Book is (symbolically, literarily, effectively) "you" the reader. He stressed that every character in the story reflects "you" - a disciple, a pharisee, a tax collector, Mary, Jesus, Joseph, Pilate, Judas, a Roman soldier, .... The Bible is "all about 'you'," helping you "find yourself" in Holy Scripture. I could only groan listening to him.

No, the Bible is all about God. We need to listen to God - and listen for God's Truth, the One who can save and transform us in His Life. Our strongest enemy in this world is our own disordered self-love. We must decrease; He must increase; IN Him is the eternal Kingdom and Beatitude.
 
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FaithT

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May the Lord give grace into the Study members! His Word is powerful, fruitful, transformative, living. His Truth can take root in the heart and soul of believers, and grow.

The Study I am participating in presently is in the Gospel of John. We walked with John last year, and this year he won again among the members by acclamation.

Bible Studies are not all created equal. A nearby Study I visited a time or two had a different orientation and focus entirely - one that (in my humble opinion) is counterproductive. The teacher stresses how every character in the Biblical Book is (symbolically, literarily, effectively) "you" the reader. He stressed that every character in the story reflects "you" - a disciple, a pharisee, a tax collector, Mary, Jesus, Joseph, Pilate, Judas, a Roman soldier, .... The Bible is "all about 'you'," helping you "find yourself" in Holy Scripture. I could only groan listening to him.

No, the Bible is all about God. We need to listen to God - and listen for God's Truth, the One who can save and transform us in His Life. Our strongest enemy in this world is our own disordered self-love. We must decrease; He must increase; IN Him is the eternal Kingdom and Beatitude.
I agree, not all Bible studies are created equal. I went to one a long time ago that was really good, run by a very intelligent woman with a degree in theology or something. She really knew her Bible.

I went to another that was run by someone whom I think may not be qualified to teach the Bible. Or so it seemed. And with LOTS of homework. I hated it. The study became a chore.

The one I’m in now is run by another intelligent woman who either studied or got a degree in theology also and seems to know what she’s talking about, too.
 
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Michie

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I’ve been looking for a Bible study for a long time and my parish just had the first new class tonight. They’ve had other studies but this one is, by far, the best. We’re studying the book The Gospel of Matthew, A Catholic Commentary. Is anyone here in a Bible study and, if so, what are you studying?
I’m not in a Bible Study at this time but I have been making a point of listening to a lot of Scripture before bed. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about when I converted was the amount of Bible Study groups offered on the parish throughout the year. :) I had sort of assumed Catholics did not study the Bible as most Protestants are told.
 
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FaithT

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I’m not in a Bible Study at this time but I have been making a point of listening to a lot of Scripture before bed. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about when I converted was the amount of Bible Study groups offered on the parish throughout the year. :) I had sort of assumed Catholics did not study the Bible as most Protestants are told.
Yeah, some Protestants are told all sorts of things that simply aren’t true about Catholicism.
 
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Michie

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Yeah, some Protestants are told all sorts of things that simply aren’t true about Catholicism.
Yeah I found that out rather quickly. A real shame that those falsehoods are spread through the flock like that.
 
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FaithT

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Yeah I found that out rather quickly. A real shame that those falsehoods are spread through the flock like that.
A very Catholic friend of mine was once in a Protestant Bible study, I don’t know why. And some of the others in class used to show their ignorance about Catholicism a lot.
 
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FaithT

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I’m not in a Bible Study at this time but I have been making a point of listening to a lot of Scripture before bed. One thing I was pleasantly surprised about when I converted was the amount of Bible Study groups offered on the parish throughout the year. :) I had sort of assumed Catholics did not study the Bible as most Protestants are told.
I’m not sure, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t Catholics waaay back in the old days dissuaded from reading the Bible because it was too difficult to understand or interpret or something?
 
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Michie

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I’m not sure, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t Catholics waaay back in the old days dissuaded from reading the Bible because it was too difficult to understand or interpret or something?
No it’s twisted. I just ran across this:

That's not what happened. The Church actually discouraged the populace from reading the Bible on their own -- a policy that intensified through the Middle Ages and later, with the addition of a prohibition forbidding translation of the Bible into native languages.

In 1376, Pope Gregory XI ordered that all literature on the Bible should be placed under ecclesiastical direction. As a result, only the Vulgate and a few poor quality translations in national languages were tolerated.

 
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