Have I been sinning all these years?” or a Mormon says, “This passage indicates that we can be baptized for the dead. What if, during a discussion of that day’s lesson, one of the Catholic members says, “This verse seems to say that praying to Mary would be wrong. There is no way to teach the Bible without teaching doctrine. This is a problem because there are many churches and denominations which call themselves Christian but whose doctrine is not in compliance with Scripture (for example, Catholics, Oneness Pentecostals, Mormons, and New Apostolic Reformation).īSF could be very helpful in this regard if it would require its leaders to hold to sound doctrine (our doctrine colors the way we teach Scripture) and would allow its leaders and members to discuss correct biblical doctrine, but the way it has been explained to me, “BSF doesn’t teach doctrine, it just teaches the Bible.” That statement, if an accurate representation of BSF’s stance, demonstrates a fundamental flaw in their view of Scripture and its regulation of the church. It is my understanding that BSF is open to, and led by, people from all denominations (and non-denominations) that call themselves Christian. We need all of the Bible for all of life.Ĭoncerns have also been raised by BSF participants and leaders that BSF may be headed in an Emergent and/or contemplative direction considering BSF’s recommendations of materials by authors who subscribe to these false teachings and BSF’s increasing use of The Message (a very shoddy paraphrase of Scripture) rather than a reliable translation.įinally, my major concern with BSF is that it is ecumenical. I understand why BSF may have to do this from a logistics standpoint, but if BSF is a woman’s only form of personal or group Bible study, that’s leaving out a lot of the Bible. Next, BSF is limited to studies of only ten books/topics. For these reasons alone, I would probably not recommend BSF for a new believer. They may even give up on organized Bible study all together, assuming that all classes require the same investment of time as BSF. They may sometimes neglect their husbands, children, homes, churches, friends, etc., in favor of completing the assignments. They may come to view studying the Bible as a chore. For the women who do not, this can become discouraging. Some women have the hours required for these things and embrace it, but many do not. Let me start off by saying that every BSF group is different, so I’m sure these may or may not be issues with every group depending on the leaders and participants.įirst, the amount of time required for BSF homework and other responsibilities may not be a fit for every participant. While I totally support the idea of delving deeply into the Scriptures with other women, there are a few of aspects of BSF that concern me. I have never participated in BSF myself, but I am somewhat familiar with it through a couple of friends who have been very involved. That is why BSF offers free, in-depth Bible studies in community for people of all ages around the world.” BSF Bible study groups are held in various local churches and are open to anyone. What are your thoughts on BSF (Bible Study Fellowship)? Is it doctrinally sound? Is it a good way of studying the Bible?Īccording to the BSF web site, “We believe people discover their true purpose and identity by knowing God through His Word. Amy and I will be interviewing the writer of the letter on A Word Fitly Spoken in the near future. I urge you to read it, especially if you are considering signing up for the fall 2023 session of BSF: Leaving BSF 2023: Testimony from a former teacher. With her permission, Amy has published her letter to us at Berean Research. I’m re-running it today because my podcast partner, Amy Spreeman, and I recently heard from a listener who has resigned her leadership position in BSF due to some of these same concerns. As you can see from the “Additional Resources” section that follows this article, a number of concerns have been raised since (and even before) I published it in 2016.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |