Biblical Questions
There are a variety of Biblical Questions that are important to ask and answser.
The Bible is not a single book rather it is a library of books.
The Bible is not a seamless book like a novel or a history book. Rather it is a series of books containing stories, reflections, poetry and some history. Each different, Middle-East author is writing at different historical time and sharing something of the message of God’s life-giving love and presence for his people.
Thus the reader will find a variety of styles and different emphasis. Nor should the Bible be read literally in its entirety. The Church has always read the Bible in a critical fashion. Thus Irenaeus in the second century, Origen in the third and Augustine in the fourth dealt with the complexity of the Bible through the exercise of a hermeneutic (method of interpretation). For instance one might ask “How does one know the difference between Winnie the Pooh, The Brothers Karamazov, the Divine Comedy, Carl Sandburg's Lincoln and Gore Vidal's Lincoln? The answer is there are disciplined traditions of interpretation. Similar disciplined interpretations are necessary for authentic biblical reading.
Without this kind of approach one well might conclude that the Bible is a mishmash of "bronze-age myths” (Christopher Hitchens) and childish nonsense about talking snakes, a 5,000-year-old universe and a man living three days inside of a fish.
The Bible is not a seamless book like a novel or a history book. Rather it is a series of books containing stories, reflections, poetry and some history. Each different, Middle-East author is writing at different historical time and sharing something of the message of God’s life-giving love and presence for his people.
Thus the reader will find a variety of styles and different emphasis. Nor should the Bible be read literally in its entirety. The Church has always read the Bible in a critical fashion. Thus Irenaeus in the second century, Origen in the third and Augustine in the fourth dealt with the complexity of the Bible through the exercise of a hermeneutic (method of interpretation). For instance one might ask “How does one know the difference between Winnie the Pooh, The Brothers Karamazov, the Divine Comedy, Carl Sandburg's Lincoln and Gore Vidal's Lincoln? The answer is there are disciplined traditions of interpretation. Similar disciplined interpretations are necessary for authentic biblical reading.
Without this kind of approach one well might conclude that the Bible is a mishmash of "bronze-age myths” (Christopher Hitchens) and childish nonsense about talking snakes, a 5,000-year-old universe and a man living three days inside of a fish.
The Bible comes from the community not before the community.
The Bible is the written story or stories of a people who have encountered the life-giving and loving presence of the One who tells them, “I want to be your God and I want you to be my people.” The community (the Church) comes before the Bible not the Bible before the Church. Thus the Church is the one who determines which books of the Bible tell the story best of all of how God interacts with the people. In more technical terms it is the Church that determines the Canon of Scripture.
The Bible is the written story or stories of a people who have encountered the life-giving and loving presence of the One who tells them, “I want to be your God and I want you to be my people.” The community (the Church) comes before the Bible not the Bible before the Church. Thus the Church is the one who determines which books of the Bible tell the story best of all of how God interacts with the people. In more technical terms it is the Church that determines the Canon of Scripture.
The Languages of the Bible
The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) but they are written with a Hebrew-Jewish mindset and not from a Greek philosophical perspective. In part this means that the stories of the Bible are very specific and concrete. Flesh and blood are Hebrew concepts while body and soul would be Greek concepts. From the Greek philosophical concepts we would say that God is a pure spirit who is all-knowing, all-good and all-present. A Hebrew writer would have no problem with saying that God is a jealous God or gets angry with the people who turn away from him.
Because our culture was formed from both the Greco-Roman world and the Jewish-Christian world we need to be somewhat discerning about what we read in the Bible because we, as Americans, tend to think our mindset is the lens through which the Bible must be read.
The original languages of the Bible are Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament) but they are written with a Hebrew-Jewish mindset and not from a Greek philosophical perspective. In part this means that the stories of the Bible are very specific and concrete. Flesh and blood are Hebrew concepts while body and soul would be Greek concepts. From the Greek philosophical concepts we would say that God is a pure spirit who is all-knowing, all-good and all-present. A Hebrew writer would have no problem with saying that God is a jealous God or gets angry with the people who turn away from him.
Because our culture was formed from both the Greco-Roman world and the Jewish-Christian world we need to be somewhat discerning about what we read in the Bible because we, as Americans, tend to think our mindset is the lens through which the Bible must be read.
The Church: Both Holy and in constant need of repentance. reform and renewal:
For more than 2,000 years the Community of Christ’s Disciples, visible as the Catholic Church, has extended Christ’s invitation to all to develop a loving relationship with God and reach out in true love to one’s neighbor. Men and women, young and old, people of every age, time and place have responded with a life of integrity, virtue and holiness and reached out in love to the poorest of the poor, women, children and immigrants. As a result the Church has been a forerunner in the founding of hospitals, schools, and social service agencies. At the same time its members have made significant contributions to the advancement of economics, politics and science in every field.
The fact that, at times, there have been leaders and members of the Church who have failed to live up to the call to holiness and a life of loving and life-giving service to others has been and continues to be a source of deep sorrow, hurt and yes, scandal to many. It is only by the forgiving and healing grace of the Risen Lord that its members can come to repentance, make some effort at restitution and begin once again to follow the WAY of Christ. It is with humility that Church members must carry on the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18), which is to say the power of death will not overcome the life-giving power of the Church {the community of Christ’s disciples}.
Jesus himself said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt 9:12-13)
Because the Church consists of people there have been, are now, and will continue be times of failure in living consistently in accord with Christ’s message of both Love of God and others. This is why the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) stated in their document The Church that “the church, embracing sinners in her bosom, is at the same time holy (because Christ is the head and there are always holy men and women as his disciples) and always in need of being purified and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal”. (Paragraph #8).
With humility the Church Community shares the Good News both in Word and Action as it proclaims the life-giving message of God’s Love that comes to us through Jesus Christ.
The Catholic Church presents the fullness of the Faith as stated in the Nicene Creed, celebrates the seven sacraments as it reaches out to people of every time and place and calls them to live a life of virtue and holiness.
For more than 2,000 years the Community of Christ’s Disciples, visible as the Catholic Church, has extended Christ’s invitation to all to develop a loving relationship with God and reach out in true love to one’s neighbor. Men and women, young and old, people of every age, time and place have responded with a life of integrity, virtue and holiness and reached out in love to the poorest of the poor, women, children and immigrants. As a result the Church has been a forerunner in the founding of hospitals, schools, and social service agencies. At the same time its members have made significant contributions to the advancement of economics, politics and science in every field.
The fact that, at times, there have been leaders and members of the Church who have failed to live up to the call to holiness and a life of loving and life-giving service to others has been and continues to be a source of deep sorrow, hurt and yes, scandal to many. It is only by the forgiving and healing grace of the Risen Lord that its members can come to repentance, make some effort at restitution and begin once again to follow the WAY of Christ. It is with humility that Church members must carry on the mission of proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Jesus promised that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18), which is to say the power of death will not overcome the life-giving power of the Church {the community of Christ’s disciples}.
Jesus himself said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt 9:12-13)
Because the Church consists of people there have been, are now, and will continue be times of failure in living consistently in accord with Christ’s message of both Love of God and others. This is why the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) stated in their document The Church that “the church, embracing sinners in her bosom, is at the same time holy (because Christ is the head and there are always holy men and women as his disciples) and always in need of being purified and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal”. (Paragraph #8).
With humility the Church Community shares the Good News both in Word and Action as it proclaims the life-giving message of God’s Love that comes to us through Jesus Christ.
The Catholic Church presents the fullness of the Faith as stated in the Nicene Creed, celebrates the seven sacraments as it reaches out to people of every time and place and calls them to live a life of virtue and holiness.
Religion and Science:
There is no real conflict between the truth that science and religion arrive at. Yes there have been real conflicts because of what some scientists have said and what religious leaders have taught. Further careful examination of what was thought to have been a fundamental conflict, which has sometimes taken many years to sort out, has often revealed that, in fact, there was no real intrinsic contradiction.
Indeed it is precisely because the Christian religion recognizes that God is above and beyond this world, that men and women have been encouraged to explore every aspect of the world and the cosmos. Thus, , the first person to propose what we now call the "Big Bang" was a Catholic priest and physicist, Fr. George Lemaitre. Fr. Gregor Mendel, a Catholic priest, physicist and horticulturalist is known as the father of genetics.
This does not mean that the church, especially the Catholic Church, will approve and support everything that scientists can do. This is particularly true with regard to those issues that affect life and the common good of people. Indeed the Church will teach and act consistently in these matters precisely in order to conserve and promote the life of the individual person and the life of the human community.
There is no real conflict between the truth that science and religion arrive at. Yes there have been real conflicts because of what some scientists have said and what religious leaders have taught. Further careful examination of what was thought to have been a fundamental conflict, which has sometimes taken many years to sort out, has often revealed that, in fact, there was no real intrinsic contradiction.
Indeed it is precisely because the Christian religion recognizes that God is above and beyond this world, that men and women have been encouraged to explore every aspect of the world and the cosmos. Thus, , the first person to propose what we now call the "Big Bang" was a Catholic priest and physicist, Fr. George Lemaitre. Fr. Gregor Mendel, a Catholic priest, physicist and horticulturalist is known as the father of genetics.
This does not mean that the church, especially the Catholic Church, will approve and support everything that scientists can do. This is particularly true with regard to those issues that affect life and the common good of people. Indeed the Church will teach and act consistently in these matters precisely in order to conserve and promote the life of the individual person and the life of the human community.
Religion and Violence:
Why does the Bible have so many passages about God and violence? Why has the Church supported violence as in the Crusades of the Inquisition? Why do so many "religious people" seem to be involved in acts of violence?
Author, Gil Bailey in his book entitled Violence Unveiled, discusses violence as a plague that has been part of human history from the very beginning of time. He uses the Bible as a “record” of violence beginning with Cain killing his brother Abel until the crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross.
We too are plagued by violence but we, especially as followers of Jesus Christ, know today as we have not known so well in the past that violence is not the answer and should never be used to solve our problems. This does not preclude the use of appropriate force to resist and counteract those who wish to inflict violence on us. Bailey addresses both civil and religious violence. An example of civil violence would be what often happened in the “wild west”. When a horse thief was caught, he was publicly hanged with the town’s people watching. Such public hanging served as a deterrent for a time.
In our own time we have seen the terrible effects of violence done in the name of religion, e.g., 9/11/2001, acts of terrorism, etc.
Violence has been and is still used by both civil and religious leaders because of the illusion that it will solve certain problems or issues. But such violence only works for a short time and is in reality an illusion. That's why the title of the book is Violence Unveiled. Jesus is the victim of both civil and religious violence since both the religious leaders at that time and Pilate, acting in the name of the Roman Emperor, condemned him to death. In dying as the victim of violence and then rising from the dead as he did, Jesus broke the cycle of violence. He did not create other victims. Thus his followers could away from violence, especially the violence that comes from a sense of revenge and retribution.
Indeed as he was being crucified, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” These words of Jesus Christ directed toward those who crucified him and his first words to his disciples after his resurrection. “Peace be with you!” provides a framework for a new way of life, the way of true peace. Peace is not simply the absence of violence but rather the building up of right relationships, relationships that bring goodness, order and life.
The major challenge for each generation and each person is to turn away from the allure of violence and the illusion that it is the answer to whatever issues one may be concerned about. It is not religion, itself, that causes a person to become violent but rather a failure to fully live up to one’s religious teachings.
Saint Pope John Paul II stated very clearly that there can be no future without peace, no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. There can be no peace without justice. Justice means that people are able to share equitably in the goods of the earth and work of human hands. Everyone has a right to be safe, to have some measure of shelter, food, clothing, etc. Justice also demands that wrongs be acknowledged and that there be some reparation for those wrongs. In this world, however, nothing is 100%. This simply means that nothing is either 100% good, or 100% evil or bad.
That’s why the Pope said, there can be no justice without forgiveness. Forgiveness is a personal choice, a decision of the heart, to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil for evil. Thus as followers of Christ we do not believe in “an eye for an eye” which is simply a way of saying, “ I want 100% payback for a wrong done.”
Forgiveness is, in the final analysis, an act of love which opens the door to the rebuilding of relationships. Ultimately the person who has been wronged will never be fully justified in this world. That’s why a person needs to let go or forgive the hurt.
Forgiveness, however, does not mean simply forgetting. One cannot and should not be naïve and continue to place one’s self in harm’s way again whether it be from verbal harm, physical or some other type of harm. Forgiveness lies between remembering enough so that one does not naively place one’s self in harm’s way and forgetting enough to move forward in right relationships.
It is by remembering Jesus' teachings about forgiveness, love and most of all how he himself lived and died, that we can learn to follow his example and find true peace in our heart and in our relationships with others.
When read in this way the Bible is a story of gradually turning away from violence and embracing the way of Christ’s peace.
Why does the Bible have so many passages about God and violence? Why has the Church supported violence as in the Crusades of the Inquisition? Why do so many "religious people" seem to be involved in acts of violence?
Author, Gil Bailey in his book entitled Violence Unveiled, discusses violence as a plague that has been part of human history from the very beginning of time. He uses the Bible as a “record” of violence beginning with Cain killing his brother Abel until the crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross.
We too are plagued by violence but we, especially as followers of Jesus Christ, know today as we have not known so well in the past that violence is not the answer and should never be used to solve our problems. This does not preclude the use of appropriate force to resist and counteract those who wish to inflict violence on us. Bailey addresses both civil and religious violence. An example of civil violence would be what often happened in the “wild west”. When a horse thief was caught, he was publicly hanged with the town’s people watching. Such public hanging served as a deterrent for a time.
In our own time we have seen the terrible effects of violence done in the name of religion, e.g., 9/11/2001, acts of terrorism, etc.
Violence has been and is still used by both civil and religious leaders because of the illusion that it will solve certain problems or issues. But such violence only works for a short time and is in reality an illusion. That's why the title of the book is Violence Unveiled. Jesus is the victim of both civil and religious violence since both the religious leaders at that time and Pilate, acting in the name of the Roman Emperor, condemned him to death. In dying as the victim of violence and then rising from the dead as he did, Jesus broke the cycle of violence. He did not create other victims. Thus his followers could away from violence, especially the violence that comes from a sense of revenge and retribution.
Indeed as he was being crucified, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them they know not what they do.” These words of Jesus Christ directed toward those who crucified him and his first words to his disciples after his resurrection. “Peace be with you!” provides a framework for a new way of life, the way of true peace. Peace is not simply the absence of violence but rather the building up of right relationships, relationships that bring goodness, order and life.
The major challenge for each generation and each person is to turn away from the allure of violence and the illusion that it is the answer to whatever issues one may be concerned about. It is not religion, itself, that causes a person to become violent but rather a failure to fully live up to one’s religious teachings.
Saint Pope John Paul II stated very clearly that there can be no future without peace, no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness. There can be no peace without justice. Justice means that people are able to share equitably in the goods of the earth and work of human hands. Everyone has a right to be safe, to have some measure of shelter, food, clothing, etc. Justice also demands that wrongs be acknowledged and that there be some reparation for those wrongs. In this world, however, nothing is 100%. This simply means that nothing is either 100% good, or 100% evil or bad.
That’s why the Pope said, there can be no justice without forgiveness. Forgiveness is a personal choice, a decision of the heart, to go against the natural instinct to pay back evil for evil. Thus as followers of Christ we do not believe in “an eye for an eye” which is simply a way of saying, “ I want 100% payback for a wrong done.”
Forgiveness is, in the final analysis, an act of love which opens the door to the rebuilding of relationships. Ultimately the person who has been wronged will never be fully justified in this world. That’s why a person needs to let go or forgive the hurt.
Forgiveness, however, does not mean simply forgetting. One cannot and should not be naïve and continue to place one’s self in harm’s way again whether it be from verbal harm, physical or some other type of harm. Forgiveness lies between remembering enough so that one does not naively place one’s self in harm’s way and forgetting enough to move forward in right relationships.
It is by remembering Jesus' teachings about forgiveness, love and most of all how he himself lived and died, that we can learn to follow his example and find true peace in our heart and in our relationships with others.
When read in this way the Bible is a story of gradually turning away from violence and embracing the way of Christ’s peace.