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Always4Him
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jun 28th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
| First Name: | Always4Him | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Sun Jun 29th, 2008 01:43 am |
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I was born to two Catholic parents who were more the CEO type Catholics. (Christmas and Easter Only).
My regligious education was left to the nuns from the Franciscan Convent that had it's Mother House on the hill that overlooked on one side, our family home, and on the other side of the hill, the Catholic School I went to.
Questions were answered by the Baltimore Catechism and that was that!
Over the years and entering into my adulthood, my questions and need and thirst for the Lord stayed with me. I changed from being a child with childhood understandings to being a Catholic with a genuine love and admiration for the Lord and all the Saints.
The Holy Mother is especially close to my heart and shows me as how a mere mortal woman.. I can love her Son, our Lord. She is my mentor in so many ways.
I am in my sixties now and can atest that there are some Bible Studies that are perverted and twist the Word into propaganda and all those who want to truly know God and learn to love and grow in their faith for Christ should stay away.
However, there are some of the most loving and encouraging Bible Studies available to us when the offerings of our own church are on haitus or not happening at all.
Bible Study Fellowship that was founded by A. Wetherell Johnson some 50 or so years ago is an excellent study. When I went through the years, there were only five years of study available. Now, there are seven. It was a study that blended the geography, sociology, psychology, politics, and the world that was the life and times of Jesus to my door and into my heart to understand fully. It made me a deeper and more loving.. Catholic.
Now, I have been taking Beth Moore Bible Studies. The Breaking Free Study has transformed my life and allowed me to love and accept my faith in a profoundly personal way. It makes me.. more Catholic.
These studies, that are clearly non-denominational were not meant to carry me away from my faith as a Catholic, but bring me closer. And they have.
If you question your Catholic faith or are not comfortable in openly loving Jesus to the fullest extent of your heart and soul then these may not be for you.
The Catholic Church is where I worship the Lord and the
Eucharist of the Holy Mass is so important to me that words defy my relating it to another person. It is where the Sacred Heart of Jesus comes to me in a way that refreshes my soul, makes me humble yet confident in my pure Love of the Lord.
The Bible Studies I have taken have noursished me and given me a deeper and more faithful love of being Catholic.
Not everyone can participate in non-denominational Bible Studies. They find that they might fall prey to someone from another faith who has a strong personality or is using the Bible Study to recruit for their denomination.
But, that is rare and not the normal path of these Bible Studies. In fact, good leaders will lead the group AWAY from that kind of thing.
If you are strong in our faith and strong in your love of our Lord, then consider it a gift from God to know where and how to learn more about others who love Him and to learn how to love Him in ways you never imagined before.
Take them to be a better Catholic.
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Dave Armstrong
Network Apologist
| Joined: | Fri Nov 2nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Melvindale, Michigan USA |
| Posts: | 2234 |
| First Name: | Dave | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Evangelical (1977): Diverse Protestant Influences / Catholic in 1990 |
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Posted: Mon Jun 30th, 2008 08:59 pm |
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| A warm welcome to the forum! I hope you are edified by the discussions here.
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I'm happy to offer whatever theological & personal assistance I can. My blog, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, contains 2100+ papers & web pages (free) & 17 apologetic books (4 sale: 15 E-Books: $25)
http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/
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Intercessor
Member
| Joined: | Tue Sep 25th, 2007 |
| Location: | Southcentral, Kentucky USA |
| Posts: | 1448 |
| First Name: | Becky | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Southern Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Mon Jun 30th, 2008 09:16 pm |
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Hello, "Always,"
Welcome to the CHNI forum!
I can relate to your love of Bible studies; however, it's wise for most Catholics, especially recent converts, to have the benefit of footnotes and commentary based on Catholic teaching and the Church fathers-- something like Scott Hahn's Ignatius Catholic Study Bible or the Navarre Bible.
Hope you enjoy the forum.
Becky
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Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials. . .the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life. . . NAB James 1:2-4,12
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Always4Him
Member
| Joined: | Sat Jun 28th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 2 |
| First Name: | Always4Him | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Roman Catholic |
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Posted: Sat Jul 26th, 2008 10:40 pm |
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You know, I went to Barnes and Noble and was able to purchase the Catholic Study Bible for only 2.99! I guess Catholic Bibles will soon be a dime a dozen!
A little while ago, I attended a Catholic Study called, "Saving Jesus". We'd have a lecture and watch the associated DVD and then break-off into small discussion groups. We were an incredibly varied group. From those intense types that prove their devotion to God by only speaking in what I call "a spiritually ascended" tone and voice.. a slower dictation, a higher and quieter toned voice, and only a lower tonal quality when they want to force you to listen more closely to their ideas of Godliness to prove their devotion by an outward manner. To me, they are the truly ascended fakes. God didn't ask us to be dramatic actors and actresses, He asks us to put Him into our lives each and every day. But.. I digress..
What I wanted to mention is that in one of my small groups of 11 people, one of the study questions from that unit was asked on our study sheets.. "If someone was going to read the Bible for the very first time, what advice would you give to them?"
I answered, "I would tell them to read it slowly enough to be able to hear the messages of the Lord, and not rush through like an assignment. I would tell them that I would be available to assist them if they needed me, and would gladly refer them to a trained and able person who could answer their questions. And, I would tell them to pray before reading and ask for God's blessings that they would have insight and understanding. I said I would smile and be warm and welcoming to their first time of reading the Word of God.
However, a smug little group at the other end of the table laughed and taunted all of our group's answers.. well of course, not their answers.. they felt their answer were perfect!
What was their answer?
They would make it clear to this person that the Bible is just a bunch of word and it is not the true word of God. They said this person would be better off not reading the Bible but reading the works and words of Augustin or Paul. And, they thought the very best advice was to let them talk to this person first!
I asked them.. "Are you saying that you do not believe the Bible was written with Divine Inspiration?" Oh, how they shamed me and laughed at me. One woman who sat just a few chairs away.. about my age, a little older maybe, said, "I never heard of Divine Inspiration before!" I retorted that Divine Inspiration is in the Bible for one point and for another, the Bible is the basis of our gospels! That Divine Inspiration was known to every kindergartener and first grader in Catholic School or even in CCD!
She gave me a sickeningly smug look and said, "Well, I went to Catholic Schools all my life and I never heard of Divine Inspiration! It was just a bunch of men trying to get power back in that time! You have no idea how dumb you are!"
I looked at her and said.. "I guess it is always in the eye of the beholder".. (as I thought she was a pure moron from my eye's view!)
After our small group, we came together into one large group to discuss the various points brought up in our smaller groups so that we might share. Each group has a designated spokesperson to report. When it was our group's time to report, they actually used my name.. this is not allowed by the way.. and to the whole group taunted my belief of Divine Inspiration.
Guess What? the Priest leading our group study said, "If there is no Divine Inspiration, why do we even read the Bible then? Why do we even have a Gospel? Of course there is Divine Inspiration!"
Finding God through the eyes of the church is wrong. Finding God through your own eyes, for your own heart and soul.. with your Priest and other Catholics sharing with you.. is the glorious truth of being Catholic
Never forget what Catholic means.. it means.. Universal.
Never forget what Amen means.. it means.. I Believe!
So, a Bible Study that is truly non-denominational is the most blessed form of Universal Believing..
Yes.. there are some very driven Bible Studies that take the word of God out of context like a drunk on a Saturday night and will rationalize anything to get you to give them another drink..
But, look at the purpose and the context of the Bible Study you want to take.. Beth Moore Bible Studies are truly awesome and inspiring. You will learn more about God, about yourself, and trust in the worship you share with those of your faith.
And, there will always be personalities that will follow the wind.. they will never take root in anything.. so let them be who they are.. and you should seek to find the Lord in all things that are Bible based and taught to you via a good teacher, Priest, or scholar..
I see God as He is and will always be.. My Priest gives me courage, confidence, and a love of the Lord.. He allows me to let my heart fall into a deep love of God and a complete trust.
Think about your fears of Bible Studying.. maybe there is more to your fear than you might know!
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lapsedConvert
Member
| Joined: | Fri Jul 25th, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 19 |
| First Name: | lapsedConvert | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Fundamentalist, Non-denom |
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Posted: Wed Jul 30th, 2008 12:20 am |
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| Don't feel bad, there is a retreat at the local retreat center advertised in our parish bulletin geared toward how teachings from other world religions can make us better Christians. This is a (Catholic) retreat center whose literature thanks God for all the centuries when people knew he was female and saw her in nature. Even at the very conservative parish across town there is a book on the literature table called "Living Buddha-Living Christ". And if this makes us uncomfortable we are "not secure in our own faith" and "challenged by the beliefs of others". Yes, if you go to Beth Moore, a well-meaning Protestant may try to convert you, but if you are as Bible literate as you claim, or as Catholic, PLEASE attend. Some Protestants ask questions to set you up, and others really want to know. And even they aren't always sure which category they fall into. I remember reading on a website that there are three words in Latin that all translate worship in English, and the worship of Mary and the saints is a different thing altogether than the worship of God. But the website cautioned "Don't try to explain that, just tell the Protestant we don't worship Mary." Well, we can see you carrying a statue of her around St. Peters, and we know that there are three separate words in Greek that translate into "love" in "our" Bible that have totally different meanings. Give us a chance. Someone might not believe you anyway. But someone else is looking for a reason to believe the thing pulling at their heart isn't wrong. The first time I tried to take RCIA the little booklet said that fundmentalists actually think the Bible is true and if they question you just ask them what they believe, because that's all they want, a chance to talk about themselves and their beliefs. It is not! Fundamentalist do believe that there is absolute truth and they think you don't know what it is. Have some questions of your own. If the Bible is literally true, what about John chapter 6? Many Catholics seem to think the church is untennable by scripture. It is not. The Bible and the church both come from God. The best thing you can do is be erudite, pleasant and fulfilled in your faith. Do you know how many Church splits the average evangelical has been through? It's brutal out here! Many look longingly at the "apostate church" with its joyous festivals and big families and gravitas, but can't afford to loose their soul. If only the Catholic Church wasn't what they think. And who else will tell them what it really is? Their pastor? Their bitter ex-Catholic friends? Even if you have an unpleasant exchange, know that that isn't the end of the story. Try looking at this flier as a cry for help. Maybe the person who put it up did, or maybe they don't realize there's a difference, in either case this Bible study needs you!
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