Is it generally acceptable to attend a bible study as a non Christian?
score:21
The best bet is probably to talk with the leader of the group you are considering going to. Many Bible studies welcome non-Christians. You don't have to be Christian to study the Bible and people are unlikely to get offended in most cases.
Some Bible studies may be more uncomfortable for you than others depending on how they are run and what kind of spiritual things you are comfortable with though. They may include prayer, worship music and confessing sins among other things in addition to time studying the Bible.
Bible Studies do tend to form tight knit communities studying together and often result in really interesting religious and philosophical discussions. If you want a safe context where you can get questions answered about the Bible, it is probably worth trying one out.
As for your scientific background, as long as you don't treat people like they are stupid, you are unlikely to run in to any serious issues. There are, in fact, many Christians who are very scientifically minded (myself included among them). It may make some people a bit uneasy at first, but if you are polite and honestly try to understand where people are coming from and express yourself clearly and respectfully, the vast majority of people will be fine with you.
I've been to many Bible studies where there were non-Christians, young Christians and long term Christians alike. Each have something different they can add and the best groups have generally been those that have a mix of all three.
Upvote:3
I would add that the Alpha series of Bible studies is very open, and non-christian friendly. It lays out the basics of the Christian belief quite well.
These courses are offered by varying denominations (its not denomination specific on purpose) in most cities.
You can see if there is one here:
P.S. I have nothing to do with Alpha. I used to help out with one locally and I was impressed with it.
Upvote:11
While A J Henderson's answer is excellent and I agree with it, I would like to add something. Many churches specifically run Bible Studies aimed at 'seekers' (which means those who are not Christians ... yet). Some of them are little more than a leader telling you what to think, while asking you trivial questions that can be answered by reading the passage for five second. But the good ones will be everything you are looking for. In general if you can find an Alpha course they tend to be the better ones.
However if you have a connection with a church or other group, or have found people that you like and trust, then I would recommend studying with them over going for something tailered to the outsider but by people you know nothing about.
More post
- 📝 Who calls the conclave?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis of the idea that men can be given authority to forgive sins?
- 📝 Should Christians marry non-Christians?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, to what extent is the spiritual growth of a Christian impaired by his/her lack of devotion to Mary and the Saints?
- 📝 What is the "original" word of God?
- 📝 How do priests judge who they can distribute Communion to?
- 📝 What is an overview of arguments for and against the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus?
- 📝 Was there a special significance in God's choice of ravens for supply of provisions to prophet Elijah?
- 📝 Why did Ananias die?
- 📝 How do the Eastern Orthodox view using the term 'catholic', particularly in regard to Roman Catholicism?
- 📝 Why doesn't God stop suffering?
- 📝 At what point did the Roman See start self-identifying as the Catholic Church?
- 📝 How can one offer Christ's sacrifice to God?
- 📝 Is Jesus the fullness of the Logos?
- 📝 What is the sin of St.Peter that made St.Paul opposed him in Galatians2:11?
- 📝 In two online Catholic Bibles, what accounts for the difference in the numbering of the verses in Sirach Chapter 7?
- 📝 What are all the different species of intelligent beings that God has created?
- 📝 Mental Illness vs. Demon Possession
- 📝 What order were the Pauline epistles written, according to evangelical critical scholarship?
- 📝 What kinds of supernatural beings are in the Bible?
- 📝 How do non-soul sleep adherents interpret 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18?
- 📝 What scriptural arguments are there, if any, that there is hell but it is not eternal?
- 📝 What does the Chalcedonian Creed mean by person?
- 📝 What are origins and when did the tradition of the Yule Candles come into existence as a Christian tradition?
- 📝 Is the authorship of the New Testament Sacred Tradition in the Catholic and Orthodox churches?
- 📝 Calvinism: Does God force people to be saved?
- 📝 Thomism, Natural Law and our Fallen Nature
- 📝 Is Christian mysticism an oxymoron or is it a legitimate path for a Christian?
- 📝 Did God REALLY want to destroy the people of Israel?
- 📝 What is an overview of Protestant explanations of the difference between dead faith and perfect faith in James 2?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Is it generally acceptable to attend a bible study as a non Christian?
- 📝 Did the Christian practice of having a prayer before Bible study evolve during Martin Luther's time?
- 📝 Does being a Christian mean being a Bible literalist?
- 📝 Are today's Catholics encouraged to study the Bible at home?
- 📝 What is the Bible and Christian view on Astrology?
- 📝 Christian Science Monitor: a socially acceptable source among conservative Christians?
- 📝 Does the Bible make a distinction between Christian and secular love?
- 📝 Which non LDS Christian denominations believe in baptism after death?
- 📝 According to the Bible, is cremation an acceptable Christian practice?
- 📝 What sources are used for the Christian Bible translations?
- 📝 Should a Bible believing Christian be pleased at the death of Osama bin Laden?
- 📝 Does the Bible prescribe any rules for who may attend and "join" a Catholic church?
- 📝 Does the Bible refer to Christian gentiles or the Church as "New Israelites", "New Israel" or "Spiritual Israel"?
- 📝 Must a Christian accept the Bible to be infallible and/or inerrant?
- 📝 What general theological framework(s) are represented in the Life Application Study Bible commentary?
- 📝 Does an understanding of how the Bible was written, play a strong role in any Christian sect?
- 📝 Has Protestant-led public bible study ever been viewed by Roman Catholics as violation of the Magisterium?
- 📝 Does the Bible suggest that there would be a literal apostasy of the early Christian church?
- 📝 Besides JWs, are there other Christian denominations where meetings regularly consist of congregation-wide study sessions?
- 📝 Is the concept of theurgy used in bible or any Christian scripture?
- 📝 Why do high-church people call their personalized Bible study exercises "devotionals"?
- 📝 How many books of the bible agreed on any Christian denomination?
- 📝 How would the Bible advise a Christian to cope with fear?
- 📝 Did the Christian bible corrupt Isaiah verse 8:23
- 📝 When the Bible talks about wine does it mean alcoholic wine?
- 📝 What major translations of the Bible are in the Public Domain?
- 📝 The Bible seems to allow polygamy. Why doesn't the church?
- 📝 Atheism is the default position. Isn't the burden of proof on the Christian to assert that God exists?
- 📝 How is the Christian Jesus different from the Muslim Jesus?
- 📝 If the Ten Commandments say “thou shalt not kill” how can a Christian fight in a war?