Survey indicates Bible hard to understand

[Miss Molly]

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Bible: Most people in Europe and North America have one and some of them actually read it, but more than half of them say it is difficult to understand.

A survey commissioned by the Catholic Biblical Federation found that even those who reported reading the Bible said it was not easy to understand.

Luca Diotallevi, the Rome-based sociology professor who coordinated the survey's working group, said, "This is very important: People described the Bible as difficult whether or not they said they read it."

"The people of God are asking for help reading the Bible," he said in an April 30 interview.

The Catholic Biblical Federation commissioned the survey as part of its preparation for the October world Synod of Bishops, which will focus on the Bible.

Rest of article here:http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/frames/catholicnews.html

[Chris]

Oh please. While it is true that there are a few things that can be difficult to understand, as a whole the Bible can be easily understood. The RCC wants to promote that the Bible can't be understood, so that people will not read the Bible and instead fall into the arms of the RCC's traditions, catcheism, etc. The RCC does not encourage their folks to read the Bible so the scriptures are alien to the average Catholic. All they know is what "mama" church tells them. :ohno Nothing but silliness here from Rome. :rolleyes :ohno

[Hootmon]

The Bible: Most people in Europe and North America have one and some of them actually read it, but more than half of them say it is difficult to understand.Which which half? The ones that 'have one' or the ones who 'actually read it'...


A survey commissioned by the Catholic Biblical Federation found that even those who reported reading the Bible said it was not easy to understand. So this applies to Catholics specifically, it seems...

The Bible itself divides its expectation of understanding into 'Milk' and 'Meat'. Presuming any given reader to understand it uniformly for the purposes of a survey isnt even reasonable in the first place. No wonder they got the response they did. Make me wonder if the pollsters actually 'get it'...

[Nikilyn]

I used to think the bible was hard to understand, but after listening to a lot of perry stone material, i realized that it was because
1. i didn't spend as much time on the old testament as the new testament.
2. i didn't know a lot about jewish history, customs and traditions, such as their feasts and temple rituals
3. learning words from the original languages unified many verses and passages, that in english might not seem related.

there are probably more, but I think those are three important reasons. This is not to say that everyone needs to know all this to understand the bible. The message is plain and simple. I think that anyone who truly is a christian will understand as God speaks to their heart and through their spirit. If they still don't get it, even by asking others, well, i think they might have to question, whether they really believe in the bible at all, or want to.

[Cookie]

I used to think the bible was hard to understand, but after listening to a lot of perry stone material, i realized that it was because
1. i didn't spend as much time on the old testament as the new testament.
2. i didn't know a lot about jewish history, customs and traditions, such as their feasts and temple rituals
3. learning words from the original languages unified many verses and passages, that in english might not seem related.

there are probably more, but I think those are three important reasons. This is not to say that everyone needs to know all this to understand the bible. The message is plain and simple. I think that anyone who truly is a christian will understand as God speaks to their heart and through their spirit. If they still don't get it, even by asking others, well, i think they might have to question, whether they really believe in the bible at all, or want to.


Amen! God speaks to our hearts.

As a former RCC member who had a hard time understanding the Bible when I first read one I can attest that we are led by the Holy Spirit and that is when HIs Word becomes plain and simple:yeah

[Miss Molly]

So this applies to Catholics specifically, it seems

Oh, yes! This came from a Catholic news source and so is written from the
Catholic viewpoint. Chris is correct; this church teaches that the Bible is too hard for the average man to understand. (Enter the Catholic Church to interpret scripture).

What I thought was interesting here was the fact they were planning to discuss the Bible at their meeting in October. This - on the surface - is a whole new attitude for the Catholics and unlikely that they would EVER encourage their followers to really read the Bible. If you read a little further (my apologies here; I sent the wrong link. The artcle is re-linked below) you'll see they intend to discuss the "lexio divinia" method of study. :ohno

Personally, I found the Bible easy to understand when you read it literally and from a God-centered instead of a man-centered perspective. Taking time to learn as much as I could about Jewish culture and history was an enormous eye-opener!

Catholics are very focused on religion and they filter their understanding of all things through fleshly eyes.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0802435.htm

[His Bride]

I had this conversation with a friend years ago. Hogwash. If a person is a true born again believer he is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the person who teaches us things of God, gives us insight and wisdom... We are never expected to understand all of the bible all at once. When we have been shown something that we understand and act upon it in faith and obedience God then shows us more and more until, before you know it, years have gone by and you understand so much more than you did at the beginning. The problem I see is that one must be a true believer, who spends time in the Word, who loves the Lord with his whole heart and soul, who chooses to obey God even though there are times that he slips up, who is growing in his faith, and who trusts that the work that the Lord began in him will be completed by Him. Those who say such nonsense are either not saved to begin with, or taking the cowards way out. If God gave us His Word don't you think He wants us to read and understand it?

[DavidNR]

Like anything requiring study, the more you read the Bible, the more you understand. It's not a one-time read.

[FaithContender]

The Bible is hard to understand if the HS is not helping you to understand it (ie, if you're an unbeliever).

[sandylion]

1Cr 2:14 (http://cf.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=1Cr&c=2&v=14&t=KJV#14) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.I can guarantee that any book that was written 2000-4000 years ago would be hard to understand for any person who is not educated. Shakespeare and Homer have to be taught in high school and university in order to understand them.

But the Word of God is spiritually discerned and can only be understood by those who are being led of the Spirit of God, and are trained to understand it. And that by years of diligent study. Besides, the RCC has long been known to hide the Word of God from the people in order to keep control over the masses (no pun intended!)