Non-Catholic Bible Studies

[Christy4Christ]

What do you all think of attending a bible study group that is not Catholic? I have been attending a church called Calvary Chapel and I love their Wednesday night bible study but would that be considered wrong by The Church?

 

[ej]

It depends how open the group are for frank discussion, and how secure the Catholic is, in their faith and their knowledge.

 

[thereselittleflower]

I think if one is well grounded in the Catholic faith, knows what they believe and why well, I think it could be very beneficial, especially for those in the bible study group . .

But what can happen is if you are not well grounded, suggestions and opposing ideas can start to cause those who do not have answers to question their Catholic faith . . not because what Catholicism teaches is not solid, but because it is not well understood by that Catholic . . this is a danger zone for spiritually young Catholics . . and I don't recommend it at all . .


So, the question is, how well do you understand your Catholic faith, because I assure you, you will be challanged in it, in your bible interpretations of basic doctrines such as salvation, baptism, faith, works, grace . .all the fundamentals of our faith . .

Calvary Chapel is more fundamentalist, and you better be ready to hold you own in defending your faith from the scriptures, because they will be ready to defend theirs and attack what they preceive as error . .

If you are not ready, then I recommend you attend a Catholic bible study for a while first until you feel ready . .




Peace in Him!

 

[Christy4Christ]

This is what I thought Therese, I am not strong at all in my Catholic faith. I mean my faith in Jesus is as strong as ever but I think I need to learn from a Catholic perspective first. I have been away from the Catholic church for a long time.

 

[Veritas]

What do you all think of attending a bible study group that is not Catholic? I have been attending a church called Calvary Chapel and I love their Wednesday night bible study but would that be considered wrong by The Church?

My sister left the Catholic Church and has attended a Calvary Chapel for many years. Her church is very anti-Catholic. We can't even have a conversation about our faiths without her using terms like romanism, unbiblical, pagan, false gospel, etc. She became indoctrinated by her church and I have downloaded sermon's and bible studies by her pastor that support their anti-Catholic views. If you would like links to the pastors's sermon's, etc which clearly demonstrate this, let me know.

Since your profile indicates that you are Catholic, I wonder why you would want to attend Calvary in the first place. Shouldn't you be attending Mass? For one thing, you can't get the Eucharist there and to partake of their "Lord's Supper", would be a sin. The basis of Calvary theology is what is called dispensational, meaning this is how they view salvation history and the end-times, which are a constant focus of their church. Her church also enjoys a close relationship with Dave Hunt who wrote The harlot of Babylon, and is one of the most anti-Catholic writers in existence today.

Now, what does all of this have to do with your attending their church and bible studies? Well, their entire theological framework is heretical according to Catholic teaching. So the studies you are going to are their incorrect interpretation of the bible. In other words, you're not learning the truth. I understand that there is a lot of fellowship, fun and hip-hop music and the church, but that's not what worship really is and no matter how fun or good you feel, the truth is paramount to your spiritual development. I believe, that in time, you could be drawn away from the Catholic Church after being thoroughly indoctrinated by a Calvary church. You should also know, that nearly none of Calvary's pastors have any seminary or theological training. The only requirement to be a pastor at a Calvary church is to have completed the entire bible study by Chuck Smith.

If you would like additional information about Calvary and their anti-Catholic bias, I have several links I'd be happy to provide you.

So Christy, I would have to advise you to stop attending this church and find yourself a good Catholic parish. I would also recommend evangelizing your friends, if your feel called to do so! Let me know if you need help and ideas.

God Bless!

 

[thereselittleflower]

This is what I thought Therese, I am not strong at all in my Catholic faith. I mean my faith in Jesus is as strong as ever but I think I need to learn from a Catholic perspective first. I have been away from the Catholic church for a long time.

hi Christy4Christ

I think you were very wise to ask here, and very wise to learn from the Catholic perspective first . . if you later want to go to a Calvary, or other strong fundamentalist bible study, then be ready by getting really good at apologetics, as you will need it . . but be aware that there will be very little you will have in common doctrinally with them, and there will be very little you would spiritually benefit from going . . but, if you were ready, and were called to do so, you might be an effective tool to help lessen the amount of misunderstanding there is out there . .

But first things first . . .

At Proud2bcatholic's parish, they have a weekly bible study where 1000 people attend, from all different denominations . . pretty powerful if you ask me!


Peace in Him!

 

[Christy4Christ]

I did not know all of that about Calvary. The Pastor at the one I attend is so nice and so funny and I had never heard him speak against Catholics himself. I have however heard teachings I would question.


I left The Church a long time ago when I was a teenager and it wasn't until a year ago that I decided I wanted a relationship with God. I didn't go right back to the Catholic church, instead I ended up church hopping and Calvary was where I ended up. Lately I feel something calling me back to the Catholic church and I have been really exploring this. I have been so stuck in a sea of anti-catholic teachings that I don't know which way is up. I still have alot of questions but for the most part I can tell by the behavior of the people here on this board as opposed to that of the members on "the other board" I have been posting on that there is a much calmer and kinder spirit here. I think I will take Jesus' advice and start watching for the fruit. If it is true that I can tell by the fruit then I can honestly say I am much better off with the catholic crew! Anyway thanks for all of your advice. I am going to Mass tomorrow and then I will register to be confirmed. I am officially coming back to the church. I think I am making the right decision.

 

[Veritas]

I did not know all of that about Calvary. The Pastor at the one I attend is so nice and so funny and I had never heard him speak against Catholics himself. I have however heard teachings I would question.


I left The Church a long time ago when I was a teenager and it wasn't until a year ago that I decided I wanted a relationship with God. I didn't go right back to the Catholic church, instead I ended up church hopping and Calvary was where I ended up. Lately I feel something calling me back to the Catholic church and I have been really exploring this. I have been so stuck in a sea of anti-catholic teachings that I don't know which way is up. I still have alot of questions but for the most part I can tell by the behavior of the people here on this board as opposed to that of the members on "the other board" I have been posting on that there is a much calmer and kinder spirit here. I think I will take Jesus' advice and start watching for the fruit. If it is true that I can tell by the fruit then I can honestly say I am much better off with the catholic crew! Anyway thanks for all of your advice. I am going to Mass tomorrow and then I will register to be confirmed. I am officially coming back to the church. I think I am making the right decision.

Praise God, Christy. I know that doctrines,, beliefs and practices can be confusing. I want you to know that we are here for you. Please stick around and ask us a lot of questions. Find a good parish that has authentic Catholic instruction and bible studies. Do a lot of studying on your own. There are some excellent Catholic books and bible studies available now that didn't exist just 10 years ago, thank God! There is truly a move of the Holy Spirit in the Church and a springtime of Evangelization as the pope has talked about. Although I'm a revert of sorts (as it sounds like you are) most of the posters here are converts and they are on fire for the faith! (Me too) Give it time and prayer. That pull you feel is the Holy Spirit talking to your heart. It sounds like He might be calling you back home.

See you around.....

 

[Axion]

God Bless You, Christy4Christ!

I got involved with a fundamentalist group once. And they can be very friendly and attractive at first. The problem with attending their Bible studies unless you are VERY well grounded in the Catholic faith is that such groups run bible studies with the intention of teaching doctrines often very much opposed to what the Church teaches.

You will not find a neutral bible-study. You will find certain passages of scripture concentrated on, which contain "proof passages" for the doctrines they want to teach, and much of the rest of scripture that disagrees with their views will be ignored. Their interpretation of scripture will be pushed as the only interpretation. The people you are with will be so used to this format that they will just go along with it, and parrot out the official responses as required.

I would equate such bible-studies as sitting in a room full of a hundred great paintings, but all the lights are off except a couple of spotlights focussing on two or three of the paintings. You look at these three paintings, but miss all the rest.

 

[ProCommunioneFacior]

Hello Christy,

Yes, avail yourself of all that your parish has to offer. See what kind of adult education classes they have, and see if there are any other parishes that have adult education classes. Ask the parish if they know of any of the parishioners are doing their own Bible studies, and maybe you can call them up and ask if you can join.

Here is a site with Bible studies that you can go through independently. They have a Bible study for beginners, intermediates, and advanced. I am currently doing all three.

http://www.salvationhistory.com

I would also recommend to buy a Catechism of the Catholic Church if you do not yet have one.

I will pray for you and your journey.

 

[Greeter]

Allow me to reveal a personal bias.

Is this really appropriate for here at CF? I have already reported this, but am surprised to see no action taken. Please don't go bashing my church as I am sure you would not like it if others were to bash yours.

My sister left the Catholic Church and has attended a Calvary Chapel for many years. It is one of the most anti-Catholic systems I'm aware of.

We merely have different interpretations. That hardly makes us anti-Catholic. I have listened to over 200 sermons by our pastor and many more by others speaking at my church. I only recall the Catholic Church being mentioned twice during all that time. The first time was to show different ways of praying and the second was to offer prayer for the Catholic congregations in the area having to deal with reports of sexual abuse.

We can't even have a conversation about our faiths without her using terms like romanism, unbiblical, pagan, false gospel, etc.

There are a couple of possibilities here. She could have the message wrong. She could simply be wrong herself. Her pastor or someone else gave her bad information. Anti-Catholicism is not taught at Calvary Chapel. We may be taught where Catholicism is incorrect on things, just as Catholicism teaches were Protestantism is incorrect on things. It is not a focus of Calvary Chapel.

She became indoctrinated by Calvary. I have downloaded sermon's and bible studies not only by her pastor but also the founder of Calvary, Chuck Smith.

And what did they say? Are you trying to tell us that every sermon is anti-Catholic?

The Calvary system also enjoys a close relationship with Dave Hunt who wrote The harlot of Babylon, and is one of the most anti-Catholic writers in existence today.

How did you come to the conclusion that Calvary Chapel has a "close relationship" with Dave Hunt?

Most Calvary's have bookstores in their churches that sell Hunt's and other anti-Catholic books.

I worked in our bookstore for a couple of years and never once saw or heard of anything that was anti-Catholic there. It is possible that we had such books, but there was no focus on them.

So the studies you are going to are their incorrect interpretation of the bible. In other words, you're not learning the truth.

There has got to be a more generous way for you to put that.

I understand that there is a lot of fellowship, fun and hip-hop music and the church, but that's not what worship really is and no matter how fun or good you feel, the truth is paramount to your spiritual development.

There is so much more to our Bible Studies then that.

I believe, that in time, you will be drawn away from the Catholic Church after being thoroughly indoctrinated by the Calvary system.

Why do you believe that?

You should also know, that nearly none of Calvary's pastors have any seminary or theological training.

Many of our pastors have attended Bible Colleges.

Finally, there are many groups that consider the Calvary system to be at least a borderline cult. Here is a link for you to check out:

And now we are a cult?

http://www.rickross.com/groups/calvary.html

In addition, see this site for information about Chuck Smith and some of his errors:

http://www.christianmediadaily.com/story011.htm

I thought the posting of such links would violate the rules of CF. I know anti-Catholic links are against the rules so why aren't anti-Protestant ones?

 

[Christy4Christ]

I am reading these posts and I feel like crying right now because I am so confused. I LOVE Pastor Bob at Calvary Chapel and the people there are so great! I mean really great people with lots of ministries for kids and it's just really nice! I also love you guys and your opnion matters to me too. If I think poorly of Calvary I think of the faces of all the people there and of Pastor Bob and I feel like I am doing God a diservice my questioning their faith. What do I do? I cannot divide myself! I want to learn the truth and that is where my quest is. Is it not possible that maybe the pastor at the one Calvary was just a bad egg? I just don't want to believe anything bad about them! I know for sure that you were trying to help me by telling me those things but when I saw the post by the last guy who goes to Calvary I felt so sorry for him. I feel so stupid and alone and I have no idea what church I am suppose to go to!!!!

 

[KennySe]

I don't know Calavary Church. I don't know Pastor Bob.

What I do know is what you have said, Christy.

...I am not strong at all in my Catholic faith. I mean my faith in Jesus is as strong as ever but I think I need to learn from a Catholic perspective first. I have been away from the Catholic church for a long time.

I recommend you ask at your Catholic church is there is a Bible Study Group.
Ask your priest his opinion of you, at this "young age", attending a non-Catholic Bible Study.

Peace be with you, Christy.