I am a Catholic looking for a book to help me understand the Bible easier.?

Question

The writings in the Bible are very deep and I have trouble interpreting easily. Does anyone have a Catholic-based guide to understanding it better?

Answer 1

Holy Bible is not easy to understand. Everyone tried to explain different meanings. I my self born by Hindu from India. I just bought Holy Bible in my language thats it. And the key to understand the Bible is read between the lines.

Between the lines means not exactly what it wrote, it can be different and indirect meanings. I am understanding the bible more and more by reading again and again and came to know that it gives everytime new meaning.

We dont need anyone else to understand Bible. Just read by your self, keep passion, read again and again. These are only the keys to understand it.

Other books needs dictionary to understand it. Bible doesnt need any dictionary or other supporting books or person to understand. It will give wisdom and true meaning to each and every person by itself.

Thanks.

Answer 2

Hey Suzanne, I'm Catholic and we have Bible Study every Tuesday night, if you're in my area. www.washucsc.org

You are right, there is so much in the Bible. What are you looking for specifically? I have an NAB Catholic Study Bible that helps out with insets of ideas and history.

You can also try reading commentary by the Church Fathers (Origen, Iraneaus, James the Lesser, etc.)

There's also a wonderful series of books on apologetics - the explanation for Scriptural basis for practices and applied beliefs, specifically why, say, Catholics see the Eucharist as the Real Presence while Presbyterians see it as a mere symbol, etc. Pat Madrid, David Curie, Paul Thigpen are only some of the authors.

Contact me through my nameplate and I'll dig up some sources for you.

So good to see a fellow Catholic reading more of the Lord's Word.

Answer 3

I suggest:
Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt
Reading the New Testament: An Introduction by Pheme Perkins

Lawrence Boadt is a leading Catholic Bible scholar.

You might try a Catholic book publisher like Paulist Press: http://www.paulistpress.com/ They have a whole section on Scripture.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

Ageeably, reading the Catholic edition of the Holy Bible is somewhat difficult to read... I've tried. And the closest to it would be the Douay version. I suggest that you also explore other verions for comparison to Catholic-based editions.

I would recommend that you pick up an Authorized King James Version. Usually a Gideon's Bible [KJV] is placed in every hotel or motel room --as they were originally placed there for travelers to have access to-- since it is quite an accurate English translation that is fairly easy to absorb once you get past the names in the genealogies...

And if you think that you may be missing out on the Apocryphal books in the KJV, then by all means read those books in the Douay or Catholic-edition versions.

Think of it as reading about sixty books, one book at a time... you'll get the hang of it.

Happy reading!

Answer 5

Check out "A CATHOLIC GUIDE TO THE BIBLE", by Father Oscar Lukefahr, C.M.

If you go to this site:
http://www.amm.org/chss.htm
you can sign up online for a home study course using that book as the primary text. I'm working my way through that very same course right now. It's one of those things that makes my wonder how I got along without it before. You know what I mean? Oh, and by the way, the course and the book are free of charge.

Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I have something even better. The book of Proverbs.
Its written by a Jew, not a Catholic, sorry about that. But it will help one understand the Bible as a whole much more than any Catholic book ever written.

Answer 7

I guess I do not understand why it has to be Catholic based.

The further an interpretation gets from the original (bible) the more chances for error.

Honestly, keep reading the bible, its GODS living word, and each time you read it, you will gain new understandings from it.

A concordence is a good reference tool for specific verses that you may find confusing. There are many out there, and some very good ones to me are out of print, hard to get, so I will not name them. A good starting point for a reference concordence would be good old e bay.
Try not to get stuck on Catholic, Baptist etc. GOD is eternal, and never calls himself or us by a specific church name. Stay true to bible doctrine, and keep church identification for your choosen way to worship our LORD, study the bible without reference to worship choices.

Answer 8

Catholic eh? ehhh...try the bible. Catholics do not look to much from outside sources. The bible is purposely confusing because man translated it. What better way to control the masses than to be the one and only conduit to translate the book from which everyone is supposed to live their lives?

Answer 9

There is an excellent book called WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY TEACH? It covers basic principles abd more, also important doctrines. It is a systematic study of the bible and the Bible's theme - must be used with your own bible for proof and reference. It is an adult book but written very sensibly and logically - no supercilious stuff - or unnecessary & distracting babble.
Hope you enjoy it.

Answer 10

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

Catholics understand that the Bible and tradition are needed for daily living. The Bible is sufficent.

Just ask God.