📖 Readings
Passages from the Old Testament, the letters and the Gospels are read aloud. The Gospel reading is often given special respect. In many churches people stand to hear it, because it tells of the words and actions of Jesus.
Christianity: Origins and Their Impact on the Community » Using the Bible: Worship, Guidance and Conscience
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 2 Christianity (4RS1/2B), 1.2
- How Christians use the Bible in worship, at home and in church
- Why it is a source of teaching, comfort and guidance
- How Protestants and Catholics use the Bible and conscience to make decisions
- What a Christian might do when the two seem to pull apart
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Unlock This CourseThe Bible in daily life
For many Christians the Bible is not a book that sits on a shelf. They use it every day, on their own, with their family and with other Christians. Last lesson you met its structure and authority. This lesson is about what Christians actually do with it.
Key terms:
- Formal worship: a church service that follows a set pattern, led by a minister or priest.
- Informal worship: worship with a looser pattern, often in small groups, such as Bible study.
- Sermon: a talk in a service that explains a Bible passage and applies it to life today.
- Psalm: a song or poem from the Old Testament book of Psalms, often used in worship.
- Home group: a small group of Christians who meet in a home to read the Bible, pray and talk.
- Church tradition: the teaching and practice handed down in the Church over the centuries.
In formal worship
The Bible is at the heart of a church service. In many churches the readings are set in advance, so that over a year the congregation hears much of the Bible.
🎤 The sermon
The preacher explains a passage and shows how to live by it. In many Protestant churches the sermon is the main part of the service.
🎵 Psalms and hymns
Psalms are sung or said in many churches. Many hymns and songs are drawn from the Bible or are based on its stories and teachings.
🙏 Prayers
Many prayers use Bible words, such as the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus taught his followers.
In informal worship, at home and in church
- Bible study and home groups: Christians meet to read a passage, ask what it means and pray. Everyone can join in, not only the minister.
- At home: many Christians read a short passage each day, often with notes that explain it, or on a phone app. Families may read a Bible story together or say prayers that use Bible words.
- In the church: as well as services, churches run Bible classes and groups for children and adults. Many churches keep a Bible in a prominent place, such as a lectern, as a sign of its importance.
Teaching, comfort and guidance
Christians turn to the Bible for three main things.
- Teaching: it teaches what God is like and how to follow Jesus. Christians may study the Ten Commandments or the teaching of Jesus to learn how to live.
- Comfort: when life is hard, many read Psalm 23, which begins "The Lord is my shepherd". It pictures God caring for people even in dark times. It is often read at funerals.
- Guidance: Psalm 119:105 says God's word is "a lamp to my feet and a light to my path". Christians use the Bible to help them choose how to live, for example how to treat neighbours or what to do with money.
Making decisions: the Bible and conscience
Everyone makes choices. Christians use two main sources to decide what is right: the Bible and their conscience. You met conscience as the inner sense of right and wrong. Christians usually believe it is a gift from God. In Romans 2:15 Paul writes that people can show God's law written on their hearts, with their conscience bearing witness.
📘 Many Protestants
Many Protestants believe the Bible is the final authority. A Christian should test every decision against it. This idea is sometimes called "scripture alone". They believe the Holy Spirit helps each person to understand it.
⛪ Catholics
Catholics hold that the Bible and Church tradition belong together. The teaching of the Church, led by the Pope and bishops, helps explain what the Bible means for modern questions.
Orthodox Christians also value the Bible together with the tradition of the Church. Liberal Christians stress reading the Bible with reason and thinking about the situation today.
Conscience needs informing
Christians do not usually say "just follow your feelings". Conscience can be wrong if it has been shaped by selfishness, fear or poor information. So Christians try to inform their conscience by reading the Bible, praying, listening to the teaching of their church and talking to wise people. Catholics teach that people must follow a properly informed conscience.
What if the two seem to pull apart? For example, a person's conscience urges one thing and a Bible verse seems to say another. A Christian might:
- look again at the passage and ask what it meant when it was written;
- pray and ask for guidance;
- ask a minister, a priest or the home group;
- check the teaching of their church;
- remember that the Bible is the main authority for many Protestants, so if the conscience clashes with it, they may decide the conscience needs retraining.
Others, including many liberal Christians, would give more weight to a carefully informed conscience and the Bible's message of love.
Common mistakes
- Saying all Christians use the Bible in the same way. Practice differs between churches.
- Saying conscience always overrules the Bible. Many Christians say the conscience must be informed by it.
- Treating "Christians" as one group when the question asks about different views. Name Protestants, Catholics or liberals.
- Listing where the Bible is used without saying why it matters to the believer.
Exam-style question
(a) Outline two ways in which Christians use the Bible in worship. [4 marks]
(b) Explain why the Bible is a source of comfort and guidance for Christians. [6 marks]
(c) "A Christian's conscience is a better guide than the Bible." Discuss this statement, considering the arguments for and against. In your answer you should include: reference to teachings; other (divergent) points of view, either within the religion or from other religions; your opinion or point of view using reasoned arguments. [10 marks]
Model answer
(a) One way is hearing set readings in a service (1), including the Gospel reading, so the congregation hears the words and actions of Jesus (1). Another way is the sermon (1), where the preacher explains a Bible passage and shows how to live by it (1).
(b) Christians believe the Bible is God's word, so it carries weight when they are in need. For comfort, many read Psalm 23, which pictures God as a shepherd who stays with people in dark times. This is often read at funerals, so grieving Christians feel God cares for them. For guidance, Psalm 119:105 describes God's word as a lamp to the feet, so Christians use it to see the way ahead when choosing how to act. Reading it daily at home, in notes or an app, helps them to bring its teaching into ordinary choices. Because they believe it shows what God wants, many Christians trust it to shape their own ideas. This is why it is a regular source of both comfort and guidance. (6)
(c) Plan. For: many Christians point to Romans 2:15 to show conscience is God-given, so it speaks to the situation in front of a person; the Bible is old and can be read in different ways; liberal Christians stress reason and love of neighbour. Against: many Protestants say the Bible is the final authority and conscience can be wrong; Catholics say conscience must be informed by the Bible and Church teaching; an uninformed conscience may follow selfishness. Possible conclusion: a conscience that has been informed by the Bible is the better guide, because it gets the personal insight of conscience and the shared wisdom of scripture, so the two work best together.
Exam tip
In a 10-mark "Discuss" question, name a group (for example Protestants or Catholics) when you give a different view, and finish with your own reasoned opinion.