Dr. John S. Bergsma - Stunned by Scripture: How the Bible Made Me Catholic

The Bible brought John Bergsma to the Catholic Faith, and he tells that story well. But the greatest beauty of this book is in the love John found in the Catholic Church. This is an experience I share. Gods love overflows here in Jesus and Mary, in the saints and sacraments, in the devotional customs and rich traditions. Its so much more than we knew before. Its so much more than we could have imagined. My hope is that many non-Catholics will read this and come home and many Catholics will read it and come to a deeper appreciation of all they have.

Scott Hahn, Chair of Biblical Theology and the New Evangelization at Franciscan University of Steubenville, author, speaker

Dr. Bergsma doesnt simply tell us the story of his journey from Calvinism to Catholicism. He allows us to learn along with his former self how Scripture can lead an intellectually honest Christian to the fullness of the Catholic Faith, especially when studied alongside the early Church Fathers. This book is both fascinating and enlightening, not to mention a joy to read! I encourage anyone but especially our non-Catholic brothers and sisters to delve into this book with an open mind and heart. You might just find yourself stunned, as well!

Anna Mitchell, host/producer of the Son Rise Morning Show

Ive been waiting for a book like this honest yet loving, challenging yet sincere, truthful yet unitive one that I could hand to my own Evangelical friends who are longing for more in their churches and faith journeys. Bergsma is a great Biblical teacher because he is, first and foremost, a true, Biblical disciple. This is a work that both Evangelicals and Catholics need to read and to share, often. This little gem is the kind of book that can foster the unity that Saint Paul wrote about and our Lord desires for His children.

Mark Hart, Executive Vice President, Life Teen International, author, speaker, SiriusXM radio host

Stunned By Scripture

How the Bible Made Me Catholic

Dr. John S. Bergsma, Ph.D.

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The Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1965 and 1966 by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.

All rights reserved.

English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

Quotations from papal and other Vatican-generated documents available on vatican.va are copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

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Copyright 2018 by Dr. John S. Bergsma, Ph.D. Published 2018.

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ISBN: 978-1-61278-393-2 (Inventory No. T1760)

eISBN: 978-1-61278-397-0

LCCN: 2017960771

Cover design: Amanda Falk
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P RINTED IN THE U NITED S TATES OF A MERICA

About the Author

Dr. John Bergsma is Professor of Theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He served as a Protestant pastor for four years before entering the Catholic Church in 2001 while pursuing a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame specializing in the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Since 2004, his primary work has been teaching Scripture to the theology and catechetics majors of Franciscan University of Steubenville. A frequent guest on Relevant Radios Drew Mariani Show and Sacred Heart Radios Son Rise Morning Show, Dr. Bergsma has appeared on EWTNs The Journey Home and Life on the Rock, and he speaks regularly at conferences and parishes nationwide. Dr. Bergsma has numerous academic and popular publications, including the books Bible Basics for Catholics and New Testament Basics for Catholics from Ave Maria Press. He and his wife, Dawn, reside with their eight children in Steubenville, Ohio.

Contents

Introduction
A Book I Never Would Have Written

Chapter One
John, I Am Your Father!: The Bible and the Papacy

Chapter Two
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary: The Bible and the Blessed Mother

Chapter Three
I Have a Confession to Make: The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Chapter Four
Mass Conversion: The Eucharist, the Bible, and Me

Chapter Five
Fathers Know Best: Priesthood in the Bible

Chapter Six
The Bible Alone Leaves Me Lonely

Chapter Seven
Losing Faith in Faith Alone

Introduction

A Book I Never Would Have Written

This is a book I never thought Id write. In fact, twenty years ago I would have been horrified if youd told me I would write it one day.

Its a book about my journey into the Catholic Church and how Scripture played a major role in that process.

Twenty years ago, I was convinced that the Catholic Church was largely a false church that ignored and was ignorant of Scripture. I considered Catholics as targets for evangelization: they thought they could earn their way to heaven, and I had a responsibility to share with them the true Gospel that salvation is a pure gift from God, received by faith alone.

But Im getting ahead of myself. It might be best to return, calmly, to the beginning and sketch out a bit of my lifes spiritual journey.

I was born in 1971, the last of five siblings by a gap of about six years. My father was a U.S. Navy chaplain. In the U.S. military, chaplains have to be sponsored by a denomination. My father was sponsored by a Dutch Calvinist denomination to which our family had belonged for at least three generations. Dutch Calvinists usually call their churches Reformed.

Not many people have heard of Dutch Calvinism, but most people have heard of Presbyterians. Presbyterians are also Calvinists, but they originated in Scotland and England. Dutch Calvinists, then, are like Presbyterians, only they came from Holland. So, imagine Presbyterians with wooden shoes and windmill cookies, and you have a pretty good picture of the faith-culture of my extended family.

During my childhood, my father was transferred many times, as is typical of the Navy. I grew up in Hawaii, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, California, and then back to Hawaii for high school. In high school, I was powerfully influenced by the youth pastor of the little Baptist church we attended near the Marine base where my father served. He took me aside, along with two other high school boys, and began to work with us in a relationship of personal discipleship. That fundamentally changed my understanding of the Christian faith and what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. I have ever afterward remained convinced that personal discipleship is the only way to lasting growth and flourishing for individual Christians and the Church as a whole.