Scripture Context Mapping
Read every verse where it lives.
A verse lifted out of its chapter can be made to say almost anything. Context Mapping puts it back where it belongs: the verses around it, the passages it echoes elsewhere in Scripture, and the reading that fits them all. It is how Catholics have always read the Bible, with the whole of Scripture in view.
How Context Mapping works
The same three moves in every lab and every video. Use them in class, in Bible study, or the next time a verse is quoted at you.
- Find the home chapterRead the verse inside its own chapter: who is speaking, to whom, and what question the passage is answering.
- Map the linked passagesBring in the other passages that speak to the same question, so one verse is never played against the rest of Scripture.
- Test the readingChoose the reading that fits every passage on the map, then see how the Church has read it from the beginning.
Video series
Context Mapping Labs
Deacon Gerry walks through a debated passage verse by verse, with the Context Map drawn on screen as it grows.
61 interactive labs · 420 passages
Context Mapping labs
Read the passage, choose the reading that fits the text, then weigh it against the rest of Scripture. Built for classes, Bible studies, and real conversations. Free to use.
Scripture, Tradition & Church Authority 4 labs
Debated Verses: Scripture, Tradition & Church Authority16 passagesInteractive Analogy Apologetics exercise examining sixteen debated Bible passages on Scripture, Tradition, apostolic transmission, and Church authority.Scripture Is Inspired — Is It the Only Authority?6 passages6 debated passages on Scripture, apostolic Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church.The Apostolic Deposit: Heard, Received, Entrusted6 passages6 debated passages on Scripture, apostolic Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church.The Church and Binding Teaching Authority7 passages7 debated passages on Scripture, apostolic Tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church.
The Real Presence 7 labs
John 6: My Flesh Is Food Indeed7 passagesSeven core John 6 passages on Christ’s flesh and blood as life-giving food and drink.This Is My Body: The Institution Narratives7 passagesSeven passages on “This is my body,” covenant blood, remembrance, and the metaphor objection.Paul on Communion in the Body and Blood7 passagesSeven Pauline passages on communion, altar participation, the Lord’s table, proclamation, and discerning the body.Passover, Manna, and Eucharistic Typology7 passagesSeven passages connecting the Eucharist with Passover, manna, the Lamb of God, and Melchizedek.The Mass and the One Sacrifice of Christ7 passagesSeven passages on the Eucharistic sacrifice, Christian altar, memorial, and Christ’s single once-for-all offering.Breaking Bread and Figurative Language7 passagesSeven passages testing the meaning of breaking bread, visible presence, faith without sight, and figurative language.John 6: Faith, Spirit, and the Meaning of EatingSeven central objections and interpretive hinges in John 6, including faith, John 6:63, unbelief, and the Greek eating language.
Peter & the Papacy 7 labs
Peter, the Rock, and the Keys7 passagesSeven central passages on Peter’s confession, the rock, the keys of the kingdom, Isaiah 22, and the authority to bind and loose.Peter’s Unique Commission7 passagesSeven passages on Christ’s personal commission to Peter, his place among the Twelve, and the difference between primacy and personal perfection.Peter in the Wider Apostolic Pattern7 passagesSeven additional Petrine passages on representative confession, Resurrection prominence, Spirit-led witness, missionary leadership, accountability, and differentiated apostolic missions.Peter Leads the Apostolic Church7 passagesSeven passages tracing Peter’s prominent role from the Resurrection through Pentecost, healing, judgment, Samaria, and the opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles.Does Peter Replace Christ?7 passagesSeven passages on Christ as foundation, cornerstone, and head; Peter as a living stone and fellow elder; and the servant character of ecclesial primacy.Acts 15 and the Question of Who Leads7 passagesSeven debated passages on Peter, James, Paul, and the Jerusalem Church, including the central Acts 15 battleground.Peter’s Primacy and the Authority of All the Apostles7 passagesSeven passages showing the real authority of the whole apostolic college and testing whether shared authority excludes Peter’s primacy.
Mary 8 labs
Mary, Mother of God: What Does Scripture Say?7 passagesSeven debated passages on mary, mother of god: what does scripture say?.Immaculate Conception: Full of Grace?7 passagesSeven debated passages on immaculate conception: full of grace?.Perpetual Virginity: Until, Firstborn, and the Brothers of Jesus7 passagesSeven debated passages on perpetual virginity: until, firstborn, and the brothers of jesus.Assumption: The Ark and the Woman in Heaven7 passagesSeven debated passages on assumption: the ark and the woman in heaven.Mary in the Biblical Story: New Eve, Ark, and Mother7 passagesSeven debated passages on mary in the biblical story: new eve, ark, and mother.Queenship, Veneration, and Worship7 passagesSeven debated passages on queenship, veneration, and worship.One Mediator: Can Mary Intercede?7 passagesSeven debated passages on one mediator: can mary intercede?.Additional Marian Battlegrounds: Discipleship, Intercession, and Typology7 passagesSeven debated passages on additional marian battlegrounds: discipleship, intercession, and typology.
Purgatory 6 labs
Purifying Fire and the Holiness of Heaven7 passagesSeven passages on purifying fire, perfected souls, and the requirement that nothing unclean enter heaven.Forgiveness in the Age to Come and the Need for Holiness7 passagesSeven passages on forgiveness, temporary debt imagery, holiness, justification, and purification after death.Prayer for the Dead, Judgment, and the Canon7 passagesSeven central passages on prayer for the dead, judgment after death, the Catholic canon, and immediate communion with Christ.The Intermediate State: With Christ, Yet Awaiting Fulfillment7 passagesSeven passages on the conscious intermediate state between bodily death and the final resurrection.The Cross Is Finished: Does That Exclude Purgatory?Seven major objections arguing that Christ’s finished sacrifice, forgiveness, and cleansing make purgatory unnecessary.Grace, Forgiveness, and Final Purification7 passagesSeven passages on grace and complete forgiveness, testing whether final purification competes with justification.
Salvation & Perseverance 11 labs
Eternal Life in John7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE assurance passages from John on belief, eternal life, resurrection, and Christ’s saving promises.Christ Keeps His Own7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE assurance passages on Christ’s protection, God’s love, present life in Christ, and the security of his sheep.Abiding and Preserved8 passagesEvaluate eight RSV-CE assurance passages on abiding in God, present assurance of eternal life, divine protection, and perseverance.Guarded and Perfected in Christ8 passagesEvaluate eight RSV-CE assurance passages on Christ’s priesthood, the perfection of his sacrifice, new birth, and God’s guarding grace.Sealed, Strengthened, and Faithful7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE assurance passages on the Spirit’s seal, God’s faithfulness, sufficient grace, and confidence in divine preservation.Fruit, Abiding, and Standing7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE warning passages about bearing fruit, abiding in Christ, standing by faith, and the danger of falling.Inheritance, Faith, and Shipwreck7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE warning passages about inheriting the kingdom, continuing in faith, apostasy, and shipwreck of faith.Hebrews and the Need to Persevere7 passagesEvaluate seven major RSV-CE warning passages from Hebrews on falling away, endurance, deliberate sin, holiness, and perseverance.Righteousness and Endurance7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE warning passages about righteousness, judgment, endurance, and the necessity of persevering in grace.Peter and Revelation7 passagesEvaluate seven RSV-CE warning passages from James, Peter, and Revelation on wandering, falling, repentance, and final perseverance.Hold Fast: Seven Direct Perseverance Warnings7 passagesSeven especially direct warning passages on denial, fleshly living, inheritance, drifting, endurance, and holding fast.
Faith & Works 12 labs
Believe and Have Life7 passagesSeven Johannine passages commonly used to argue that faith alone is sufficient for salvation.Saved by Grace Through Faith7 passagesSeven passages on grace, faith, belief, and justification from John, Acts, Romans, Peter, and Peter’s call to holy judgment.Paul on Faith and Justification7 passagesSeven Pauline passages frequently used to defend justification by faith apart from works.Grace Is Not Earned7 passagesSeven passages emphasizing grace, faith, Christ’s righteousness, and the rejection of salvation as a human achievement.Faith, Assurance, and Obedience7 passagesSeven passages that place strong faith and assurance texts beside Jesus’ teaching on visible obedience and accountability.Jesus on Doing the Father’s Will7 passagesSeven Gospel passages in which Jesus joins discipleship, obedience, baptism, deeds, and final judgment.Judgment, Love, and Obedience7 passagesSeven passages connecting love, obedience, works, and judgment without treating works as independent of grace.Faith Working Through Love7 passagesSeven passages showing the Christian life as grace-enabled faith expressed through love, obedience, perseverance, and good works.Zealous for Good Works7 passagesSeven passages in which apostolic teaching treats good works as necessary fruits of grace and meaningful at judgment.Grace, Faith, and the Obedience of the Christian7 passagesSeven passages that sharpen the distinction between unearned justification and the grace-enabled obedience of Christian life.Works at the Final Judgment7 passagesSeven late-New-Testament passages on righteousness, love in deed, completed works, and judgment according to what a person has done.James 2: The Faith and Works Battleground7 passagesSeven central passages for resolving the apparent tension between Paul’s teaching on justification by faith and James’s teaching that faith without works is dead.
Mortal & Venial Sin 6 labs
Mortal and Venial Sin: The Biblical Distinction7 passagesSeven central passages on sin that brings death, sin that does not bring death, and the loss or restoration of spiritual life.Forgiveness, Culpability, and Degrees of Sin7 passagesSeven passages on forgiveness, slavery to sin, differing culpability, serious neglect, and distinctions in judgment.Sins That Exclude from the Kingdom7 passagesSeven passages identifying patterns of grave sin that exclude from God’s kingdom or lead to destruction.Grave Sin, Apostasy, and Spiritual Death7 passagesSeven passages on unforgivable sin, deliberate apostasy, returning to corruption, and warnings of consequences worse than bodily suffering.Does Scripture Flatten Every Sin?5 passagesFive passages often used against distinctions of gravity, examined alongside Scripture’s explicit differences in consequence and culpability.Does One Sin Make Us Guilty of All?7 passagesSeven passages often used to argue that every sin is equally condemning, examined in their biblical context.