March 19, 2024

Dr. Micah Kiel to speak about how Catholics should read the Bible at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

Dr. Micah Kiel, assistant professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, will be giving a lecture, “Is the Bible Really True? How Should Catholics Read the Bible?” at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Tuesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m.

“I will be talking about aspects of the Old Testament and New Testament,” Kiel said. “I am going to talk about how the Catholic Church looks at it. A lot of Christians have the idea that everything in the Bible is accurate. If you read the text closely, it is not a logical conclusion.”

Of the Old Testament, he will talk about Noah’s Ark. He knows that people have been looking for the infamous ark, but he is not sure of its evidence. For him, the passage meanings are more important than historical information.

Another story he will discuss is Joshua and the walls of Jericho. In the Bible, it describes the Israelites being led by Joshua where they discovered the city of Jericho. God informed him that marching around the city for seven days would result with the wall clasping. From a scientific standpoint, this is almost impossible.

From the New Testament, he will focus on the different passages describing Jesus’ walking on water. According to the Bible, he did this twice, but each passage has its own meaning. In the book of Matthew, it focuses on the spiritual gain while the book of Mark focuses on spiritual hardships.

“Both have their own agenda on their interpretation of Jesus,” Kiel said.

Kiel will share his experience and knowledge as a Biblical scholar. He encourages people to read and pray with the Scripture.

“In conjunction with the Year of Faith proclaimed by the pope, we have invited Dr. Micah Kiel to speak about the importance of the Scripture to the Catholic faith,” Pastoral Minister Tammy Norcross said.

Kiel teaches a variety of scripture classes at St. Ambrose, including the Synoptic Gospels, Theology of St. Paul, and Old and New Testament writings. He is a member of the Catholic Biblical Association and the Society of Biblical Literature and has studied in Athens, Istanbul and Rome. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN and his master’s and doctorate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary.

For more information, call the parish office at 641-792-2050.