Why you should avoid " Non Denominational " Bible Studies

[RomanRite]

Every day, Catholics are invited by coworkers, neighbors, and even family members to "ecumenical" Bible studies. Should they go? Read more at..

Should Catholics Go to Non-Denominational Bible Studies? | Catholic Answers


As a former Baptist as Steve Ray who written the article above, I find it to be very important to avoid these bible studies. What Non Denominational Bible Studies are Bible Studies given by Protestant Churches such as the Baptist Church, Presbyterian, Methodist and so forth who claim there Bible Studies are Non Denominational, yet if you as a Catholic went to them and threw Catholic Theology in, they would not let you speak and ask you to leave, or even try converting you. At these so called Non Denominational Bible Studies, the way I look at it is this, Just like if you were to put a frog in a Jar of water on a stove and slowly increase the heat, at first he dosent realize and then when the heat is too hot, it's boiled to death. Well it's the same with these " Non Denominationl bible Studies" If you as a Catholic go to these, then before you know it your slowly becoming a Baptist, Presbyterian or any other Protestant. Avoid these!

God Bless!

 

[Angeldove97]

Catholics should focus on CATHOLIC Bible studies- to go elsewhere is to learn- in some cases- wrong theology. I think it's okay to attend these Bible studies, as long as you truly understand the Catholic faith and theology, but otherwise don't bother (it won't bring any good).

This site offers free Catholic studies (it's a great resource)- Catholic Home Study Service

 

[QuantaCura]

In the South (USA), non-denom generally means Baptist, in the North it generally means liberal congregationalist wishy-washyness. Neither are generally amenable to Catholic Biblical interpretation.

 

[RomanRite]

So I guess Big Mega Churches like Lakewood are Baptist?

 

[JimR-OCDS]

When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, afterwards my wife and myself attended a non-denominational Bible study.

As the article says, they were very open to sharing with us, but they also demanded that we reject what they reject, and of course that is the Catholic Church and the teachings.

I would not rule out all Bible studies, but a Catholic who decides to attend one, should be aware if their Catholic beliefs are allowed to be shared. If not, don't attend.



Jim

 

[QuantaCura]

So I guess Big Mega Churches like Lakewood are Baptist?

Pretty much; it was founded by Joel Osteen's father, a Southern Baptist pastor who left that juridical organization to start his own church. Their doctrines have remained pretty much the same, albeit a bit liberalized and with some toned-down prosperity gospel and modern motivational phislosphies thrown in--they've got altar calls, symbolic baptisms, monthly symbolic lord's supper, iconoclasm, a strong focus on the Bible alone, etc.

 

[WarriorAngel]

I only attend the Bible study by the Deacon on Sundays while my kids attend CCD.
Its best to go Catholic only studies. Less confusion, less Bible crunching without history.

 

[Martinius]

If something is promoted as "non-denominational" I assume (always correctly) that it has a Protestant orientation, since what they mean is that they are not promoting any particular Protestant point of view. The same applies to "non-denominational service", "non-denominational chapel", etc. (except in the rare instance where a hospital or other chapel actually has material and facilities for Catholic, Protestant and non-Christian religions). Basically, I translate "non-denominational" as meaning "most Christians except Catholics, and perhaps Orthodox and Mormons too".

 

[Rhamiel]

I read the article
the article you posted made some very good points about the differances between the Catholic understanding of the Bible and the Protestant understanding of the Bible
when I was in high school I would go to a Bible study for young adults at the Methodist church my mom attends.
they knew I was Catholic and they were allways very open to hear whatever I had to say about a topic, the pastor at that time was one of the best Christians I have ever had the pleasure of knowing personaly and many of the other teenages were my good friends and classmates. I did not go with the mindset of converting people and they treated me with the same respect.
I was well grounded in my Catholic faith and could recognize the differances
I think if you can recognize the differances a good bible study, no matter who does it, can be very uplifting

 

[Michie]

If you attend a non denom Bible study you better be grounded in your faith. The thing with them is that they usually have a particular subject in mind duruing the study. Rapture, Salvation, OSAS, etc. And go from there. The problem is they parse Scripture out of context to support their views...whatever it is & call it a day. I don't think they realize what they are doing but Scripture in context is not a strong suit with most.

 

[christseeker45]

If you attend a non denom Bible study you better be grounded in your faith. The thing with them is that they usually have a particular subject in mind duruing the study. Rapture, Salvation, OSAS, etc. And go from there. The problem is they parse Scripture out of context to support their views...whatever it is & call it a day. I don't think they realize what they are doing but Scripture in context is not a strong suit with most.

When I was younger the Rapture thing was big in non denominational Bible studies. One should find a Bible Study within their own Church if possible. Margus Grodi and Scott Hanh have good Catholic Bible Studies

 

[Athanasias]

I use to go to one of these non denominational bible studies for 2 years. Most of the people on their were really Baptist or had baptist theology although there were some Presbyterians and one Lutheran. It can be very dangerous for a Catholic who does not know their faith to seriously go to these for a few reasons. In fact when I got there I found out that there was one other Catholic beside me but they already confused him about his faith and he was now going weekly to a baptist Church.

The two reasons I would stay away are 1). It is never truly non-denominational its always protestant slanted and to my experience if you wanted to do a study on anything doctrinal they frowned on it unless you agreed with them(Faith alone was one example I found out when I wanted to lead one of the studies)

2). Because they are composed of many other protestant sects you will not learn alot about the bible and your own faith or how the bible teaches solid doctrine becasue they do not go their. Usually the studies revolve around uber general things like love, or fatherhood etc.

I got so frustrated I did a debate with one of them at the study on sola scriptura and this caused a riff in the study(although it did win my friend back to the Catholic Church and he stopped going to a baptist Church abnd became a strong Catholic afterwards) the people there some of them looked at me like I was the anti-Christ. I had two of them tell me they will pray for my salvation because I am Catholic. So I would not recommend going to one of these if you truly want to grow in your Catholic faith or if you do not have a good biblical graps of your Catholic faith.

 

[MoreCoffee]

I would not go to a non-Catholic bible study as a general rule. I choose not to go because it seems rude to me to go when you know you will be in disagreement on some matters of faith that our separated brethren think are very important to their self-identity. In exceptional circumstances, for example when invited by a close friend to share my faith with his or her friends in an evening which they normally use for bible study, I might go.

Should you choose go to a non-Catholic bible study it would be wise to:

• Be well informed about your own Catholic faith.
• Know your own Catholic bible well and be confident to use it when your faith is challeneged.
• Make sure you have a bible with historical notes and exegetical explanations of difficult passages and make sure that the notes are Catholic.

If you do the above things then you should be able to accept an invitation, but, please, do not go to correct Protestant errors, that is a job that 500 years of history has not yet completed, so be patient, let the Holy Spirit work among your Protestant friends, and most of all, pray for them.

God does want all of his people to come to the unity of the faith in the bond of peace, so when you study and when you pray always remember to pray for Christian unity.

 

[Michie]

When I was younger the Rapture thing was big in non denominational Bible studies. One should find a Bible Study within their own Church if possible. Margus Grodi and Scott Hanh have good Catholic Bible Studies

This I did not know! Thank you!

 

[RomanRite]

When I was younger the Rapture thing was big in non denominational Bible studies. One should find a Bible Study within their own Church if possible. Margus Grodi and Scott Hanh have good Catholic Bible Studies

I agree to what does the episcopalian church teach on the rapture

 

[RomanRite]

This I did not know! Thank you!

those are good people from EWTN, you should also check out the great adventure which is a catholic bible study

 

[John the Roman]

I agree to what does the episcopalian church teach on the rapture

I know you didn't ask me, but Episcopalians would be Amillennialist. The rapture is a new idea in theology, and the Anglicans preceded it by a few centuries.

 

[Memento Mori]

I would love to be invited to a Protestant Bible study, not because I'd be interested in the actual study, but because I really wish I could make some Christian friends. That was the only reason I attended the Bible study at my old college.

I'm praying I will make new friends this year at my new school (a Catholic college). It's hard for me. Please say a brief prayer for my intention if you would. Thanks.

I would only attend a non-Catholic Bible study if you regularly read your Bible and Catholic commentaries on it. Unfortunately, that disqualifies many Catholics - probably most on this board (but maybe not? I don't know).

 

[christseeker45]

I agree to what does the episcopalian church teach on the rapture

I do not know myself. I am not with the ECUSA but with the CEC (Charismatic Episcopal Church) but I did just did some searching and they hold to historic Amill position

 

[christseeker45]

This I did not know! Thank you!

Your welcome Here is the link for Marcus Grodi http://chnetwork.org/media/deep-in-scripture/ and Scott Hahn's http://www.salvationhistory.com/ and http://www.scotthahn.com/tools-for-bible-study.html