What in the name of god is bible study?

[Asher]

Re: What in the name of god is bible study?

Originally posted by onodera

Weekly Bible study? What's that? How do you do that? I've thought it had been studied and pulled apart to death already.

Christians study it weekly to re-interpret it so it can better fit their prejudices and agenda. It's always changing.

[Ben Kenobi]

Well, appalling might be a wrong word, but I'd prefer my kids to be counselled by a less religious person. Someone who spends time every week to study the bible or the quran or the talmud is not someone I want to teach or guide my children.

Every week? My gosh. Bible study is in addition to attending church every Sunday. You don't even know the depths of their depravity.

I know lots of folks who read some every day and make it a habit. Once a week is nothing, and anyone who goes to church every week will get their dose.

[Ben Kenobi]

Protestants study it weekly to re-interpret it so it can better fit their prejudices and agenda. It's always changing

I've yet to go to a Catholic bible study. They prefer rosaries...

[Flubber]

Originally posted by onodera

Well, appalling might be a wrong word, but I'd prefer my kids to be counselled by a less religious person. Someone who spends time every week to study the bible or the quran or the talmud is not someone I want to teach or guide my children.

I can think of many many many other qualities that I would care about more than if a guidance counsellor subscribed to a particular religion in their OWN time.

If a group of Christiand objected to an athiest guidance counsellor I would bet you would find their discrimination objectionable.

[Ben Kenobi]

The first Rome fell to "heresy," the second to the Turks, and the third to atheism.

To heresy? The First Rome fell to the Goths. The second to the Turks and the Third to communism.

[onodera]

Originally posted by The Emperor Fabulous


Your kid probably wouldn't be able to go to school in the US then.

Technically, Church can be Bible study. Would you prefer that teachers not go to church? Seems kinda close-minded.

YMMV, but I think a tolerable level of religiousness is going to church a couple times a year, like, to bless your cake and eggs before Easter and one more time when you're passing by, to light a candle. Just because it is some sort of a custom or a ritual.
People who go to church every week are considered dangerously religious in my book.

[snoopy369]

Originally posted by Cartimandua
People who judge others based on their religious beliefs

QFT.

[Asher]

Originally posted by snoopy369

QFT.

Religious people who judge other people all the ****ing time.
Religious people who enact secular law to enforce their bigoted beliefs.

[Lancer]

I actually gave a couple of bible studies in my youth. This gives me a certain insight into what it is.

Here goes...

A 'bible study' is when a group of people get together for the express purpose of... studying the bible.


onodera, you amaze me sometimes.

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by onodera
YMMV, but I think a tolerable level of religiousness is going to church a couple times a year, like, to bless your cake and eggs before Easter and one more time when you're passing by, to light a candle. Just because it is some sort of a custom or a ritual.
People who go to church every week are considered dangerously religious in my book.

Unfortunately, what's in "your book" doesn't count for much. In the theocratic United States, religionists - jews, christians, mulisms - have almost all of the jobs.

[onodera]

I still can't understand how you can study something that has existed for almost 2K years. It must've been picked apart and scrutinized by thousands of theologists (I guess you're supposed to study the spiritual content, not the discrepancies between the translations or logical fallacies and contradictions), surely there must be many derivative works like "The Bible and work ethic", "The Bible and sex", etc, how are you supposed to learn anything new and/or useful if thousands of people more prepared to do that have studied it already?

[Asher]

Originally posted by onodera
I still can't understand how you can study something that has existed for almost 2K years.

They study it for their personal understanding only.

[Riesstiu IV]

You have to understand that in the US, there isn't a unifying national church that many Eastern European nations have.

The concept of "Bible Study" is popular with protestant churches who seek to define their identity with their own interpretation of the bible. Also, there are countless protestant sects that have emerged every since Europeans first arrived in North America. Religion is pretty fluid in the US. People are always leaving one domination in order to join another.

[Traianvs]

Originally posted by onodera
I still can't understand how you can study something that has existed for almost 2K years. It must've been picked apart and scrutinized by thousands of theologists (I guess you're supposed to study the spiritual content, not the discrepancies between the translations or logical fallacies and contradictions), surely there must be many derivative works like "The Bible and work ethic", "The Bible and sex", etc, how are you supposed to learn anything new and/or useful if thousands of people more prepared to do that have studied it already?

A strange habit indeed. Especially since many of these religious people don't interpret the bible correctly. Like Asher said:

Originally posted by Asher


Christians study it weekly to re-interpret it so it can better fit their prejudices and agenda. It's always changing.

The same thing happens in islamic madrasas in which students are required to learn the Qur'an by heart, and then recite verses that are superficially applicable to a given situation (for example women's rights etc). Problem is the texts are never interpreted or understood in the way they were written hundreds of years ago.

At my university we were required to take a course on religion (it was a catholic university after all ) and they had a very enlightening view on the bible. Only after applying textual criticism its value can be understood.

A good bunch of religious people do this, but alas many do not, like the born again christians, creationists and so on... Either because they're lazy, or they have an agenda, or they are blind religious nutters, who knows!

[Fake Boris]

Originally posted by onodera
I still can't understand how you can study something that has existed for almost 2K years. It must've been picked apart and scrutinized by thousands of theologists (I guess you're supposed to study the spiritual content, not the discrepancies between the translations or logical fallacies and contradictions), surely there must be many derivative works like "The Bible and work ethic", "The Bible and sex", etc, how are you supposed to learn anything new and/or useful if thousands of people more prepared to do that have studied it already?

Huh... you still need to read the Bible if you are to understand these commentaries. And nothing I guess excludes discussing them with others.