Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Website Reviews: Bible Study Group Resources

Published with kind permission of the Editor of Intercom.

Many parishes are setting up Bible study groups for interested parishioners. There are plenty of general resources for Bible study on the Internet but here are some that are specific to Catholic group work.
The Scripture School site has been developed to help make resources better known, both to individual Catholics and to diocesan and parish staff involved in adult faith formation. The site contains descriptions and evaluations of Bible study resources of various types and levels (from the complete beginner to those who wish to consult more advanced material. Advice on when to use each resource, depending on where you are in your knowledge of the Bible and ideas for parish (or other) study groups for each level of Bible study that is discussed. There are also links and information about Catholic publishers with a range of books for all levels of study.

The website of the Catholic Biblical Association of Canada offers a wealth of resources for setting up a bible study group and for beginning personal study. The link from the home page to resources includes plenty of resources to begin explorations of the sacred texts. There are links to online bibles (Word on Web), information on biblical archeology and video resources. The sections on “Jewish roots” and “Greek language” offer fantastic insights on biblical themes from the area of their original contexts and language. Lots of the resources are by Fr Murray Watson who recently graduated with his PhD from Trinity College, Dublin.

The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology is a non-profit research and educational institute that promotes life-transforming Scripture study in the Catholic tradition. The Centre serves clergy and laity, students and scholars, with research and study tools, from books and publications to multimedia and on-line programming. The site contains some excellent resources such as podcasts, reflections on the readings from Sunday Mass, audio resources, “homily helps”, and study aids. There are endless PDF files on various biblical topics and will offer information and inspiration to any size and level of group. Registration is needed for Bible Study notes but this is free, secure and well worth doing.

Bibledex is a project by the University of Nottingham’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies in conjunction with video journalist Brady Haran. These video resources (hosted on YouTube) make an excellent starting point for any group discussion as they give a broad and informative guide to each book of the Bible with excellent commentaries from biblical theologians.


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