THE BIBLE IS NOT PERFECT -- LA BIBLIA NO EST PERFECTA

The other day I heard someone tell me with a straight face that the Bible is perfect.  I told him that the Bible is not perfect.  I also told him, Bible Christian that he is, that he would be a long time searching for the Bible verse which said that the Bible is perfect.

Since this was in an adult faith formation session, we let the discussion end there and he left saying that he would research my position and be ready with an answer for the next session, fourteen days henceforward.

I suppose that there are many cute, chapter and verse ways that I could employ to prove that the Bible is not perfect. But since I abhor proof texting I will dive right into the philosophical explanation of why the Bible is not perfect.

First, I am stipulating that the only perfect being is God Himself.

Second, since that is true, then no other being can be perfect.

Third, since the Bible is a being separate from God, then the Bible cannot be perfect.

Fourth, if the Bible cannot be perfect since it is not God, the Bible is therefore not perfect.

Some may say, “The Bible is the Word of God.  Since it is the Word of God and God is perfect then the Word of God is perfect.”

The Word of God, even if not captured in the Bible script, is not God.

The Word of God is from God, but is not God Himself.

Since the Word of God is separate from God, it cannot be perfect.

So, the Word of God is not perfect.

Therefore the Bible is not perfect.

  

El otro día escuché que alguien me diga con toda seriedad que la Biblia es perfecta.  Le dije que la Biblia no es perfecta.  También le dije, cristiano Biblico que es él, que iba a ser una larga estancia buscando el versículo de la Biblia que dice que la Biblia es perfecta.

Como se trataba de una sesión de formación en la fe de adultos, dejamos la discusión terminarse ahí y él se fue diciendo que iba a investigar mi posición y estar listo con una respuesta para la próxima sesión, catorce días a partir de ahora.

Supongo que hay muchas maneras, buscando capítulos y versículos que podía emplear para probar que la Biblia no es perfecta. Pero como yo aborrezco "proof texting" como una prueba fiable, voy a bucear inmediatamente en la explicación filosófica del porqué la Biblia no es perfecta.

En primer lugar, tengo que establecer que el único ser perfecto es Dios mismo.

En segundo lugar, ya que eso es cierto, entonces ningún otro ser puede ser perfecto.

En tercer lugar, puesto que la Biblia es un ser separado de Dios, entonces la Biblia no puede ser perfecta.

En cuarto lugar, si la Biblia no puede ser perfecta ya que no es Dios, la Biblia, por lo tanto no es perfecta.

Algunos pueden decir: "La Biblia es la Palabra de Dios.  Dado que es la Palabra de Dios y Dios es perfecto, entonces la Palabra de Dios es perfecta”.

La Palabra de Dios, aunque no sea capturada en el guion de la Biblia, no es Dios.

La Palabra de Dios es de Dios, pero no es Dios mismo.

Dado que la Palabra de Dios está separado de Dios, no puede ser perfecta.

Así, la Palabra de Dios no es perfecta.

Entonces, la Biblia NO es perfecta

DEFEND MY FAITH? I DON'T HAVE TO

I have arrived at a point in my life that has me thinking that people who are looking for ways to defend their faith don’t know what that attitude means.  I certainly have no need to defend my faith.  In the first place, there is no one in the world who can make a serious enough attack against my faith to make me need to defend it.  The only attack against my faith is an attack on my very life. 

My faith is not something that I have that can be taken from me.  It is not something that is separate from my being.  It is so deeply woven into me that it is not a possession, a process, a relationship or a blood type.  It is life itself.

For as long as I can remember, and, I am convinced, even before some of my memories, I have lived faith together with God the Trinity and with the Holy Mother of Jesus, begotten Son of God and birthed Son of Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.  I was baptized nine days after birth.  Never a day of my existence did I survive outside of the presence of God thanks to the shared faith of my mother, father and the rest of the family.  I have never known another life than that of a credulous son of God.  I have nothing to defend.

I can talk about God all day and all night.  Never once will I get defensive.  Aggressive, yes.  Defensive? Never.  My life of faith is a life in community.  My life is within the Communion of Saints.  My life is within the communion of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.  It has always been thus.  I feel no need to defend this.  It cannot be taken from me except through physical death.  Nothing can threaten my faith.  Nobody can threaten my faith.  I know that because I have experienced threats to my life along the way.  Faith and I never wavered.  I have listened to overtures from several distinct types of “missionaries” who were aiming their non-Catholic wiles at me.  I didn’t need to defend my faith.  It was, and still is, my faith that sent them packing with their tails between their legs and their Bibles, still closed, under their arms.

I don’t need a Bible to talk about God and my life with and in God.  I don’t spend my time looking for the right chapter and verse for the right answer.  I proclaim my faith from the heart and soul of my being.  I live with my Bible in the comfort of our home shrine or in a corner pew in the chapel, alone with my Eucharistic God.  God is on my mind a lot and He is my life all the time. What is there to defend?  My Bible?  Not mine.  You can have it if you want.  All the pages are still nice and white.  No highlighter colors, underlines nor marginal notes.  All those things are not necessary.  I don’t have to memorize the page number, the chapter, the verse or any other material thing.  All I need is to enrich my life in and with God.  I don’t live my life in chapters and verses.  I live my life with the Person who comes to life from the pages and fills my soul with a deeper understanding of who He is.  It is He who created me, who saved me and who is sanctifying me.  I don’t have to defend my faith, it is my faith that defends me.  So I leave my Bible at home and speak from the heart and soul about my life in God.  So what’s to defend?

Where do I spend my life in God?  In the Communion of Saints as defined by the Catholic Church.  That includes getting familiar with God and with His friends the angels, the saints in heaven and suffering souls of purgatory and the militant priests, prophets and kings living in time on earth.  I get to know a lot about Him every day.  Every day we talk is enriching for me.  Every day we spend together even without talking much is still a good and enriching day.  Do I have to defend that?

On a good day I get to spend some time with Him at His special abode.  I get to celebrate the Sacrifice of our Salvation in His memory.  I don’t get to enjoy that grace every day because of my work schedule.  However, some two or three days a week I can find time to offer the Divine Sacrifice side by side with the Lamb of God and in the presence of His Chosen People gathered around the altar of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.  It is a profound experience at every instance.  It is a dynamic, grace-filled moment being together with God among his living saints; with God through His Sacred Word and with God in the Divine presence of the Eucharist.  The shared faith of the gathering of the righteous around the altar doesn’t need any defending because it is the protection of the faithful not the weakness. 

I don’t have to defend my faith.  I certainly don’t have to use a disfigured Bible to help me defend it.  My faith is my life.  You have permission to attack my faith to your heart’s content.  Have at it.  I don’t need to defend my faith, God does it for me. 

That’s why there will be no need for you to cry at my funeral.

LAST JUDGMENT QUESTION -- WHY DID I NOT KNOW?

Can you just give me some insight as to the significance of being a sheep?

So far I understand this:

Jesus is a sacrificial lamb (therefore making him a sign of humility, meekness, and kindness)

Sheep always need to be led

Sheep are somewhat ignorant, but in a way that makes them humble/obedient

Sheep have a strong presence in scripture due to the cultural significance

Why a goat? Other parts of the bible use a wolf, but this passage uses a goat, is there significance to that?

Here in this passage, the sheep on the right of Jesus have obviously been saved because of their life 
actions (what seem very similar to the corporal works of mercy). However they deny knowing that they 
acted in this way, “Lord when did we see you hungry and feed you…”

The same goes for the ones on the left (the goats). The goats are being condemned (for their inactions) 
but they also are asking “Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty…”

It seems that the sheep are ignorant of their good actions, and the same can be said for the goats 
(ignorant of their inaction), so why are the sheep good and the goats bad?

It is obvious that the sheep are good because of their behavior (practicing the corporal works of mercy, 
loving one another), but yet they do not know that they are doing good deeds.

We practice these behaviors today because Jesus has revealed them through his ongoing revelation, 
but we do these actions in his name, there is no denying that. I think I would find myself saying “yes, 
Lord, I clothed the naked because I Love You and I love my neighbor.” I would definitely not say “well 
when did I feed you, when did I clothe you?”

It just seems confusing to me because both the righteous and the evil are being judged for something 
they are ignorant of.

How can someone not know if they are doing something good?

I hope I am explaining myself…

Thank you for your question.  In reading your explanation a couple things
come to mind.

1. The question from the audience is a post resurrection universal gathering
of all the souls who ever existed.

2. They ask the question "When did we ever  see YOU...?  Jesus answers,
"Remember the street corner panhandler to whom you gave a bottle of water?"

3. Jesus knows that much of the good that we do, we do not go beyond the
wretch for whom we do it, but the Shepherd receives every good that we share whether we are conscious of His presence or not.

4. Jesus knows the good that the jungle dweller does and He receives it with
pleasure even though the jungle dweller has no idea.  But the jungle dweller
will be there at the fateful hour and he will discover that his desire and activity
for the benefit of the world around him was received by the creator in love.

5. There's a teaching in this chapter that is little known because the homilists
don't have time to bring it home.  It is not their fault.  The entire chapter is
not read at one crack during any liturgy.

Your question touches on precisely that lesson.  The story of the ten maidens
and the story of talents talk about people who should know better.  In the
first case, simple human nature, common sense precautions.  In the case of 
the talents, knowledge of the BOSS and his attitude towards the help is ignored 
at the servant's peril.  
In the final wrap-up, everyone is there and so the language indicates.

6. When we do Acts of Mercy we never see Christ except in faith - Post
resurrection faith which is the grace that clarifies the Bible story for us +
2,000 years of grace-filled growth of understanding.

Despite that, I can tell you that we do corporal acts of mercy at moments
that we don't know about.  Now that you are in the public eye, I can assure
you that you do not know 100% of the good that you do in your daily life.

It happened to me last night, again.  A man that I don't know approached me as though I am a saint.  I don't know him from a bar of soap!  But He knows
Jesus Christ through me!  He told me so.  We talked for about 15 solid minutes
about some heavy duty stuff because He sees Christ in me.

T..., get ready for it.  When we work directly in the Church, we have to
 be ready to accept the fact that God's people see Him through us.  

In your meditations to those preparing for Confirmation, please tell them that
they have to live in such a way that others will see Christ through them.
Their life is going to be the sermon that they preach to the world.  Yes, all
of them just as all of us, will do good without seeing Christ in the recipient
of their actions, but Christ will accept it anyway.

Confirmation is a great blessing for us.  We, the teachers, get to talk to them,
the disciples, directly, not to their parents.  We somehow have to reach them
in the depths of their beings and hope that they will accept the fire of the
Pentecost and carry it forward to the coming of the JUDGE.

Bottom line, Stay ready, live clean or fry.

PLEASE GOD? WHO? ME?

The Scripture readings of today called forth many of the same hackneyed homilies that we have heard for years.  Be ready or else be punished.  The same old stuff about the master goes away and the servant who is left in charge carouses and when the master comes home unexpected, the servant gets punished.  I sat there in church this morning and from the first syllable I knew what the next twelve minutes were going to be like.

I sat there asking myself when someone would think of talking about the trust of the master that has to be fulfilled by the servant in order to please the master?  When is someone going to give a meditation on what it means to please the master?  There is nothing in these readings that indicates an employer/employee relationship, is there?  There is nothing here that speaks of pay is there?  

There is not one place in the gospel that shows God remunerating anyone according to a strict adherence to productivity or time.  God doesn't ever pay anyone.  God rewards those who please Him.  He punishes those who displease Him.  God is not bound by any legal requirement to pay anyone for collaborating with Him.  God and we are bound together in a love covenant, not by an employment contract.  

Yes, we are bound to collaborate with God in the work that has to be done in the world.  From the very first pages of the Bible God enlists us as His collaborators.  Not employees.  Collaborators.  We find out the depth of the relationship when we are taught to pray by Jesus.  He tells us that we pray and develop a relationship with "Our Father."

I don't know about you, but I know that in my house my father had expectations of me and of my siblings concerning the chores that needed to be done.  You know what?  We did them, or else.  I remember one time I asked my father why he didn't give me an allowance like some of my friends got at their homes.  My father just looked at me and said, "I feed you, don't I?"  I was ashamed that I had even asked.  It also came to me that he not only fed me, but bought my school books, my clothes and even gave me a sip of wine at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

All of that to say that <Yes, God expects us to collaborate with Him in the "chores" that need doing.>  If we do not meet expectations, He is not pleased.  If we meet expectations, He is pleased.  If we exceed expectations He is well pleased.  The more pleased He is the deeper our relationship with Him gets because the more His Grace flows our way.  

The more we displease Him, the worse things get.  You don't believe me?  There's a book on your shelf that has that teaching ennumerable times written into the more than 2,000 pages that are sitting there.  You will find the expression about God being pleased many times.

Stay ready?  Why tell me to stay ready when you could be telling me to keep my Father's loving satisfaction and pleasure in mind?  Staying ready is easy when you are doing what it takes to please the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  When you tell me to live in constant and persevering readiness through loving collaboration with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then you won't have to keep harping on "staying ready."  Was it so hard for the five wise virgins to stay ready?

Remember, God doesn't pay wages, He shares His love and His spiritual treasure out of love to those who please Him by living in His presence by constant and collaborative faith, love and hope.

Think about it.  Do something about it in your life.  If you do, you'll be glad I reminded you about it and you won't have to cry at my funeral.