I recently signed up for the New St Thomas Institute NSTI) after listening to a good webinar from the founder on the Book of Revelation from the Catholic perspective. The founder is Dr. Taylor Marshall, who started out Anglican and converted to Catholicism. He's a very traditional Roman Catholic and seems to be an expert on the Summa Theologiae. The curriculum includes Catholic Philosophy & Thomistic Studies, Catholic Theology, Apologetics, Patristics, Church History: Church Fathers, Medieval Theology, and Reformation & Modern. I believe the curriculum will also include Biblical studies eventually.
https://newsaintthomas.com/home/Some of the best lectures covered St Thomas Aquinas's 5 ways of showing that God exists. Good information when getting into discussions with atheists (I've encountered so many on Facebook!). He also covered all the early heresies, both Trinitarian and Christological. Again, good information for discussions with non-Catholics. Of course, coming from a Roman Catholic perspective there's also discussion of purgatory, indulgences, etc. I just finished the module on Mariology, and I'm not sure that all of it is in line with what the Eastern Churches would consider orthodox.
NSTI is not perfect. It doesn't actually provide certificates, but it's definitely affordable. I was able to register for $1 for the first month, with automatic payments of $47.99 each succeeding month until I cancel. Most lectures are 10 to 20 minutes in length, and some written notes are provided. One need not buy any books; some sources, including the Summa, are available online at no cost. There is a place for participant comments at the end of each lecture, and some questions/comments received a response from Dr. Taylor. However, I did not get any response to my questions/comments, so I don't know if he's actually monitoring them anymore. From an Eastern standpoint, the lectures could use a little help. For instance, he mentioned that the Orthodox don't use the filioque in the Creed, but didn't seem aware that the Byzantine Church dropped it more than a decade ago.
I attended parochial school for grades 1-8, but that was the end of my formal Catholic education. I left the RCC when I was 18 and didn't return for 30 years, and when I returned to the Catholic Church it was to the BCC. For a while during that hiatus I became a Mormon. Mormon theology is definitely weird, but what they do well is education, virtually from cradle to grave. Kids up to 18 attend Sunday school in their local church. High school students attend "seminary" during the week, and college students attend "institute." Manuals for these courses are provided. All adults not teaching the kids during Sunday school, are attending the adult Sunday school. Their scripture courses rotate on a 4-year basis - 1 years OT, 1 year NT, 2 years Mormon scriptures, and they provide a new teaching manual for these courses every year. Their missionaries undergo several weeks of full-day intensive study before being sent out into the field. They can quote scripture by chapter and verse, and are prepared to counter virtually everything a prospective "investigator" can throw at them.
Most Protestant churches offer Bible study. I once attended a Baptist Bible study session that lasted about 45 minutes and covered just one chapter of Genesis, but it was definitely in depth!
How are Catholics supposed to evangelize with the limited education provided in our parishes?
