gummy jones wrote:#64 I was raised Catholic, studied the catechism, considered becoming a deacon, etc but realized I had never actually read the Bible. It struck me that I considered myself a Christian but had never read the Word. I set out to do just that and things finally made sense. It has to be grace alone through faith alone otherwise the need for a savior is diminished. If we can get to God through works, or being a "good" person, etc then why the heck did God send His son to die?
(I'm not suggesting that you haven't read the Bible just that literally zero of the most devout Catholics I know haven't)
Gummy, I was also raised Catholic in a very non-religious household. I went to Catholic school for four years. I was an alter boy for 3 years. I'm not really very religious in my life now.........I do try to be a good person and follow the-"Do Unto Others as You would Have Others Do Unto You" creed.
I have read the Bible pretty much cover to cover 3 times in my life to try to get a better understanding of my faith....despite the non religious lifestyle, I do "Believe".
My biggest problem with the Bible is the fact that I went to Catholic School............I had religion class for 5th period, and then for 6th period I had science class.........In Religion class they would teach us that God created the earth in 7 days and all the miracles that took place until He rested on the seventh day. Then 45 minutes later I would be in science class and they would be teaching me that the galaxy was created in a great explosion and all the scientific ways the earth and a galaxy were created. All this contradiction confused my Jr. High School brain.
The other thing that caused major confusion was all the "alternate facts" in the Bible. The nuns in Religion class would teach us some of the hidden codes in the Bible to make it easier for us to understand. One of the things we were taught was that in the Bible , if it says someone "knew" another person, it meant they had had sex. So I was taught that Mary was a Virgin, but then in another section, the Bible states "that Mary Knew Joseph"......it also states in another section that "Joseph knew other men".........I'm not trying to be contrary, this is what I was taught in Catholic School.
Despite all this, I do still believe in my faith and God.......I believe there is a "Higher Power" and for me that is important.
The fact I'm trying to make is that reading the Bible is important as a Catholic, but "understanding" the Bible is more important. There are books available that help interpret the Bible into "Modern day speech" to help better understand the Good Book........when you read the Bible with an interpreter(Bible Dictionary), you may find some of the stories are a little different than what you thought.
No Sarcasm Intended