Friday, August 26, 2005

Dead and Judged
Judged Part 1


Friends,
The Bible contains many truths. One is very important. Specifically, after death, comes judgement. The Bible is quite clear about that fact: Everyone faces judgement.
Actually, almost every religion agrees there is a ‘judgement’. Muslims believe Allah will judge. Buddhists and Hindus believe that if they have not found ‘enlightenment’ they will continue the cycle (someone or something has to decide if they have found ‘enlightenment’ - that is a form of judgement). Christians and Jews believe that God will judge them. About the only people in the world that believe there will not be a judgement of some kind are atheists and agnostics. [Regardless of what the media tells us, true atheists and agnostics are a serious minority.]

The Bible tells us everyone faces judgement.
“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…” 2 Corinthians 5:10

“All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” Matthew 25:32

“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Romans 14:10

[Matthew 25:31-32, Matthew 12:36, Matt. 16:27, Acts 10:42, Romans 2:16, Galatians 6:5, 2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Peter 4:5]

Each of us will stand before Christ and be judged.
There are only two possible outcomes of this judgement: 1. Salvation - eternal communion WITH God. 2. Condemnation - that is eternal separation FROM God.

No matter what religion one believes, there are two possible outcomes from judgement - one ‘good’ and one ‘bad’. Christians, Jews, and Muslims are very specific - Heaven or Hell. It is going to be one or the other.

The question then is, “Which place am I going to?”

We want to believe that we (our loved ones and ourselves) are going to the ‘GOOD’ place. That is what we tell ourselves we are trying to ‘achieve’. The question is can we KNOW which way we are going?


No matter how fast we live our lives, Eternity is a Long, Long time - It would be nice to know where we will spend it!

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Escape Condemnation
Judged Part 2




In “Dead and Judged”, we concluded that everyone faces judgement. There is a judgement and with a judgement, comes a verdict. There are no ‘hung juries’, God alone will judge. That means there are two alternatives - ‘not guilty’ and ‘guilty’.

“God is a God of Love - He would not sentence me to damnation!” It is an Absolute Truth - God is Love! That statement is definitive, but incomplete. God IS Love, He is also righteous, and perfect. God will judge everyone by the same standard - His. The ‘evidence’ God will use in judgement is the life one has lived. He will not sentence one to damnation, unless they have damned themselves. “For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”” (Romans 14:11) God’s judgement of each individual is purely dependent on what that individual has done.

“I’ve lived a pretty good life and tried to do the right thing, so I’m okay!” Unfortunately, living a good life is not ‘good enough’. Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” That means, no matter how ‘good’ a life one has led, one has fallen short somewhere. The tiniest infraction, no matter how small, is enough to damn one. Go ahead, look in the mirror - look yourself square in the eye. Can you honestly say that you have NEVER done ANYTHING wrong - never told a ‘white lie’, never disobeyed an authority figure or law, never been unkind to someone? Do not ‘rationalize’ it; just remember everything you have ever done. Can you honestly say, “I have NEVER done ANYTHING wrong?”

He explains very clearly that the ONLY way into His House is through righteousness. No one that has ever done anything wrong is righteous. God will most certainly condemn anyone that is not righteous to eternal separation from Him - He will only allow righteousness in His House.

“But He’s the God of Love - how can He sentence me to condemnation?”
Again, God is Love, and He proves it:
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Romans 5:7 puts it in a little better perspective, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.”
That is a good definition of love - sacrificing one’s self for one’s friends or sacrifice for a ‘good man’.

God shows us how much greater His love for us is by this definition.
Many have heard and quoted John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
That gets a better handle on God’s love for us…He gave His own Son to die for ‘the world’.

Get an even better understanding.
Let us take a closer look at that sacrifice:
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” Romans 5:6

Wait a minute, not for a friend, or a righteous man, “for the ungodly”.

Make it even clearer:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.
Again, He did not die for a ‘good man’, a ‘friend’, or a righteous man, but for “sinners”. We know from Romans 3:23 that includes everyone.

“But He is love, He will not really condemn me!”
GOD DOES NOT WANT TO CONDEMN ANYONE!
John 3:17 tells us that, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
God does love you. God does not want to condemn. He provided a way to be ‘righteous’ so the curse of Romans 3:23 “all have sinned” can be lifted.

However, understand this, there is only ONE way to lift that curse - the blood of Jesus Christ!
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” Acts 16:30-31


Fall on to your knees, and face the facts:
You will be judged.
There are only two possible outcomes - Communion with God or Separation from God.
God loves you and does not want to condemn you!
He has to condemn you if you have ever done anything wrong.
He has provided the means to escape that condemnation - Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

All it takes to be judged righteous is belief, acknowledgement, repentance (confession), trust, and acceptance!
We believe that God’s promises are true, that we need His redemption.
We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
We confess our past life of sin -- living for ourselves and not obeying God.
We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.

A simple prayer (talk to God) for salvation*:
“Dear God, Thank you for hearing my call. I believe your Word is true and I need redemption. I acknowledge Jesus Christ, your Son died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. I know I have sinned, that in your eyes I am unworthy. I ask you now, to forgive my sins, because you promise that your Son’s sacrifice is able to do that. Jesus Christ, I ask you save me, I cannot save myself. I accept your sacrifice in my place, and having cleansed me from sin, enter my life, make me new, help me to abide in You, serve You, and worship You. Be Lord of my life. Thank you for your wonderful gift.”

Even simpler*:
“Dear Lord Jesus I am a sinner. I believe that you died for my sins. Forgive my sins. Right now I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I receive you as my personal Lord and Savior. Through the help of the Holy Spirit I will serve you all the days of my life.”


*There is no ‘magic formula’ prayer that guarantees ‘Salvation’ -a verdict of ‘not guilty’. The words of the prayer themselves are not important, it is their meaning… It is in your heart: You acknowledge you are guilty. You believe God promises to relieve that guilt. You believe that Jesus Christ already paid the price to make you righteous. You ask Him to forgive you for your sins. You ask Him to make you righteous. You ask Him to accept you as you accept Him. You trust His word is true.

Do a ‘Google’ search “Prayer of Salvation” - there are hundreds of ‘prayers’ listed - most acknowledge the same thing: - Believe in the sacrifice of Christ because without it there is only condemnation.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Back Door to Heaven
Judged Part 3

In “Dead and Judged”, we concluded that everyone faces judgement. Because there is a judgement, with a judgement, comes a verdict. There are no ‘hung juries’, God alone will judge.
In “Escape Condemnation”, we learned that God loves us so much, He gave us an escape - Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can provide us with a ‘not guilty verdict’.

The question then becomes, is there another way? Is there something else we can do to get ‘into heaven’? Is there a Back Door?

The answer is NO!

Listen to what He said:
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."" John 14:6

“No one comes to the Father except through ME!” Jesus Christ said it Himself. This verse is so important because it DEFINES the simple truth - Christ ALONE is the way to escape condemnation.

What about the Back Door?
We live in a world that wants to believe there is a way to ‘escape’ judgement. Or, better yet, something other than the simple truth, “I am the way”, is good enough to get us into heaven. We are taught ‘trying to live a good life’ is enough. We are taught following some ‘path’ of living is enough. We are taught some ‘magic formula’ is enough. Some believe that wearing a ‘necklace’ is enough…



It is hard to read the inscription - it says, “Whosover dies wearing this Scapular shall be saved”… Wearing a ‘magic necklace’ is NOT going to save anyone… Sadly - there are actually people that believe this.

We are taught, in some cases, that just believing the simple truth is NOT enough - in addition to believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, we have ‘follow’ some pre-defined formula.

Again, what did He say, "Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.""

IT sounds like we are beating a dead horse. Think about this:
Crucifixion is probably one of the Most Painful ways to die that there is. First, the pre-crucifixion rituals physically exhaust one (the beatings, the chains, the carrying of the crossbar through a city and up a hill). Then there comes the pain of literally nailing one to the wood. If one has ever stepped on nail or hit one’s thumb with a hammer - think about how much more painful it would be to actually drive a spike through the hands and feet. Then one is ‘gently’ (as if anyone is going to be gentle with a condemned criminal) hoisted onto a pillar. In that position, tremendous pressure on the chest makes breathing difficult, and often dislocates the shoulders. In order to breathe, one has pull up with arms, wrenching at the nails through the hands, and push downward with legs, wrenching those nails… Every breath is searing agony. That continues, until one suffocates. It gives new meaning to the phrase “cruel and unusual punishment”.


Jesus was fully God and fully man. He KNEW what was about to happen to Him. He knew that He was going to be beaten. He knew people were going to curse, ridicule, insult, and humiliate Him. He knew He was going to be crucified¹…

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, knowing His own future. Here is what happened, “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”” Matthew 26:39, and a second time in verse 42, “Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”” It says, He prayed a third time in verse 44, “So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.”²

Pay Attention: Three times Jesus Christ asked God if there was ANY OTHER WAY!
Mark 14:36 records Him as saying, “…Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Three times Jesus begged not to have to bear the burden of the world’s sins. Can one honestly believe that God would not have provided Him a ‘Back Door’ into Salvation if one existed? If there was anything humanity could do to ‘merit’ salvation - a ‘not guilty’ verdict, why would God require His Son to go through that agony and torture? Is it possible to honestly believe that if wearing a ‘magic necklace’ or following some ‘magic formula’ would get one into heaven, that God would have required such a sacrifice?

The bottom line is this:
"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."" John 14:6

If there were a ‘Back Door’, Jesus would never have had to suffer and die on the Cross³. It is that obvious. If there were another way - God would have provided it for His own Son!

There is No Back Door! The ONLY door is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!




¹ [This point bears consideration - Jesus Christ was who He claimed to be - The Christ, The Son of God - OR He was the stupidest man that ever lived. Crucifixion was the ‘Roman’ form of execution. Jesus was not the first person be crucified. He probably witnessed it many times and knew its horror. At any point during His trials He could have simply said, “No, I am not the Christ.” Had He done so, the worst thing that could happen is a quick death by stoning or at best, freedom.]

² Full text is Matthew 26:36-46 cross referenced to Mark 14:32-42 & Luke 22:39-46.

³ See ‘The Sufferings and the Glory’ for a full account of the ‘Passion of Christ’ (His betrayal, sufferings, trials, death, and resurrection).

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

An Apology - and a Retraction

There is an article on this blog, “Separation of Church and State” ≠ “There is No God”.

It outlines what is happening in the United States to erode the Constitution and purge ‘God’ from our Nation.

The article “Separation of Church and State” ≠ “There is No God” calls on Christians to become a ‘Political Action Committee’ to defeat this trend. This solution is wrong.

The identification of the ‘Humanist’ agenda is true. The solution is wrong. Our call from Jesus Christ is not to ‘fight’ political battles. It is our ‘duty’ to obey our Government, (Romans 13:1, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.”) This includes participation in the process (by informed voting, etc.). It is not ‘our call’ to use the ‘church’ to do it.

Our ‘call’ is paraphrased in three scriptures:
John 2:5, (Mary the mother of Jesus is speaking) “His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.””

1 Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Lastly, Matthew 28:18-19, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

The only way to stop the moral decay in our society, the only way to keep the ‘purging’ of God from our land from happening, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The only way we can truly change an immoral society to a moral society is not by legislation. It is by the change that comes from the saving grace of God.

'Turn your eyes to Jesus'. Christians are losing sight of the ‘goal’. 'Political activism' is replacing evangelism. We do need to continue to 'do what is right in the eyes of the Lord' concerning civic duty...But

We need to stop using the pulpit to further political agendas. Do not use the pulpit to further a political agenda, use the pulpit to preach the Word!

There are only two 'medicines' that will 'cure' the moral and spiritual decline in this Country (and the world).
1. Churches - need to start feeding 'solid food', not milk from the pulpit.
"For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Hebrews 5:13-14

2. True Evangelical revival - Reach the unsaved. The only way to 'Change' immoral behavior is by the individual being 'transformed from within' (Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Yes, there are issues that are 'hot-button' issues politically, that do have a place in the pulpit - it is how they are presented. Condemn the sin love the sinner...
Jesus taught us that in John 8:1-11, finishing with the phrase; "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

‘Revival’ is the ‘political agenda’ that will change the Country and the World.

Changed hearts are going to have more impact on recovering from the moral and spiritual decline than all the 'political rallies' in the world.

Monday, August 15, 2005

What is the difference?

The Catholic Bible compared to the ‘Protestant’ Bible

This information is presented so that Catholics and Protestants can acquire a basic understanding of the differences between the two versions.
NOTE: This article recognizes (without endorsing) that the Catholic Church considers itself ‘Authoritative, and Infallible’.
The Catholic Church has decreed from its Authority and Infallibility the Catholic Canon of Scriptures. While this is ‘recognized’ as the state of the Catholic Church, this article is not presented to ‘argue’ the validity of that position.

* This article appears as a ‘Public Service Announcement’. It is NOT, and WILL not be, a venue to debate ‘controversy’. Comments promoting controversy, arguing the validity of either Canon, arguing the authority or infallibility of the Catholic Church or deemed not germane to the explanation of these different versions will be deleted at the sole discretion of the blog administrator.

Introduction:
This is an information article. It is not an argument or apologetic. It is one man’s attempt to put in one place the basics about different versions of The Bible. The author is ‘attempting’ to use the K.I.S.S. principle [Keep It Simple, I’m Stupid]. He is by no means an expert in historiography. A ‘basic glossary’ is included in the introduction to familiarize the reader with terms in use [here]. This article is not an ‘authoritative’ text, but rather a ‘familiarization’ text.

Basic Glossary:
Apocrypha¹: Title given to the group of books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament Canon - Bible or books of the Bible

apocryphal: of questionable authenticity and/or lacking ‘Divine Inspiration’

Canon - Bible or books of a Bible

Catholic Canon²: Approved (by the Catholic Church) Bible consisting of 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament

disputed books: Those books (and parts of books) appearing in the Catholic Canon, not present in the ‘Protestant’ Canon

Jewish Canon: the ‘TaNaKh’39 Books (Commonly called the ‘Protestant’ Old Testament in a different order. Penned in Hebrew.

‘Protestant’ Canon: Commonly accepted (by Protestants) Bible consisting of 39 books of the Jewish Canon as the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament

Septuagint¹: a Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures written in the 3d and 2d centuries B.C. by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. This version includes ‘books’ not included in the Hebrew [Jewish Canon]

Vulgate³: First Latin translation of the Bible commissioned and completed by the Catholic Church under the supervision of St. Jerome circa 400 A.D. The ‘original’ Vulgate contained 77 books plus one addition to ‘Esther’, one addition to Baruch, and three additions to Daniel.

Version: Different Canon - is different from ‘translation’. Translation refers to various translations of the Bible - contemporary translations like New American Bible (NAB), New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) (both Authorized by the Catholic Church), King James (KJV), New American Standard (NAS) etc. Which ‘Protestant’ Bible is best question will not be addressed here.

---------------------------------------------------------
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1


Chapter 1: ‘Identification of Disputed books’

First, there was the Jewish Canon (in Hebrew). Sometime during the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the Septuagint is redacted in Greek. The Septuagint includes 15¹ books not included in the Jewish Canon.

Around 400 A.D. St. Jerome, under the direction of the Catholic Church, translated the ‘Canon’ into Latin. He completed the Vulgate. St. Jerome included all 15 books from the Septuagint in the Vulgate. St. Jerome, a meticulous scholar, paid special attention in notating books (the Septuagint additions - or Apocrypha) that were not included in the Jewish Canon.

As stated, there were 15 ‘books’ in the Septuagint. The ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73 books, seven more than the Protestant Canon (and four less than the Vulgate).

Here is a list of the 15 ‘books’ of the Apocrypha: And a breakdown:
The first seven are ‘canonized’ (made equal with the other books of) the Catholic Cannon (Council of Trent, 1546).
1. Tobit
2. Judith
3. The Wisdom of Solomon
4. Sirach - Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach
5. Baruch
6. 1 Maccabees
7. 2 Maccabees

5 ‘books’ were ‘canonized’ into other books:
Additions to the Book of Esther
The Letter of Jeremiah (addition to Baruch -chapter 6)
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews (addition to the book of Daniel)
Susanna (addition to the book of Daniel)
Bel and the Dragon (addition to the book of Daniel)

Three books not ‘canonized’ - and deemed apocryphal.
1 Esdras‡
2 Esdras‡
The Prayer of Manasseh

According to the Catholic Catechism², the seven books listed (Tobit - 2 Maccabees) are included in the Catholic Canon, as well as the additions to Esther and Daniel.
When comparing the Catholic Versions of Esther and Daniel to the Protestant Versions of Esther and Daniel, there is a difference. Esther contains 107 additional verses in the Catholic Canon (in the New American Bible (NAB) divided into chapters A - F). The Book of Daniel is different between the Catholic and Protestant Canons. Chapter 3 has 100 verses in the Catholic, compared to 30 in the Protestant (this is the ‘The Prayer of Azariah’). 14 Catholic Chapters compared to 12 in the Protestant; the additional chapters are ‘Susanna’, and ‘Bel and the Dragon’ (the NAB notates the additional chapters, but does not notate the addition verses in chapter 3.).

The ‘disputed books’ between Catholics and Protestants are the seven additional books in the Catholic Canon and the additions to Esther and Daniel (the addition to ‘Baruch’ is secondary because the book of Baruch is itself in dispute).

Chapter 2: ‘Protestant Disagreements with Disputed Books’

Protestant Bible Scholars Give the following reasons for excluding these works from the Protestant Canon. [These are quotes from various sources - it is not a matter to ‘encourage’ controversy - they are here to ‘inform’ the reader as to ‘why’ the Protestant Canon excludes these books - PERIOD.]

1. “Despite the diversities of literary form, most of which are parallel to, or developments from, similar genres in the Old Testament, the attentive reader of the Apocrypha will be struck by the absence of the prophetic element. From first to last, these books bear testimony to the assertion of the Jewish historian Josephus (Against Apion, i. 8), that "the exact succession of the prophets" had been broken after the close of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament.”[Note - the ‘Old Testament’ in all of the Canons is not in ‘strict’ chronological order.]

2. “The introductory phrase, "Thus says the LORD," which occurs so frequently in the Old Testament, is conspicuous by its absence from the (disputed) books.” [This author for clarity adds the word ‘disputed’. This is a direct reference to the ‘absence of prophetic element’ so could be construed as the same ‘argument’ as 1.]

3. “They were never quoted by Jesus, and it is doubtful if they were alluded to by the apostles” [There is strong disagreement from Catholics regarding ‘alluded to by the apostles’. Additionally, Jesus or the apostles do not quote every other book in the Jewish Canon.*]

4. “Most of the early Fathers regarded them as uninspired.” [Catholics would also debate this.*]

5. “The literary quality of most of the writings, as compared with the canonical books, stamps them as unworthy of a place in the Sacred Scriptures.” [*]

6. “They did not appear in the ancient Hebrew Canon of Jerusalem.” [These books still do not appear in the Jewish Canon. They do not appear in the Masoretic Text (an early A.D. - after the Septuagint - Hebrew Jewish Canon): the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem rejected them as non-canonical *]

*This author reiterates the information is for education NOT controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it in this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.

Chapter Three: ‘Refute & Refute’

While these comments are the author’s, and may raise ire, they are a recitation of facts. They are a fusion of sorts compiled from many sources. To quote each source would require too much space.

Catholic pundits would be erroneous to claim, “The Catholic Church established the Canon of the Bible 1500 years ago”. This does not match facts. There was dissention in the Catholic Church as to the canonical books from the time St. Jerome redacted the Vulgate until the 1546 decree by the Council of Trent. St. Jerome’s own notes in the original Vulgate show he saw a definite distinction between the ‘disputed books’ and the Canon (St. Jerome wrote additional letters after redacting the Vulgate expressing his concerns). While many of the early Church Fathers quoted most of these books as authoritative Scripture, numerous ‘Church’ ‘Fathers’ addressed concern about them (Sextus Julius Africanus, Melito of Sardis, Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus, Amphilochius, Epiphanius, Gregory the Great, Walafrid Strabo, Hugh of St. Victor, Hugh of St. Cher, and Nicholas of Lyra).
Prima facie
evidence of divergent opinion in the Catholic Church is present in the Decree of the Council of Trent (It was not 'just' reformers that had questions about these books).
1. The decree itself ‘canonized’ these books - ending debate on the matter.
2. The books of 1 & 2 Esdras and The Prayer of Manasseh were EXCLUDED after being in the Vulgate, and taught as ‘authoritative Scripture’ for a 1000 years. Additionally see ‘Letter of Paul to Laodicea’ below

Protestant pundits would be erroneous to claim ‘I told you so’. The authority and inspiration of the ‘disputed books’ has been a matter of as much if not more controversy within the ‘Protestant’ church. Records of debates on the matter extend well into the 19th Century. Debates include such notables as Martin Luther, John Wycliff, Andreas Bodenstein (known as Carlstadt), Jacob van Liesveldt, George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury), and Œcolampadius.


Chapter 4 ‘The Other Books’
---
There are a number of other books that 'have a claim’ to canonical status. More aptly, persons claim on their behalf, that they should be included in ‘The Canon’ (Catholic and Protestant). Most are ‘New Testament’ books.
Subject to comment here, are the two books:
~The Letter of Paul to Laodicea: This ‘letter’ is included in the ‘original’ Vulgate [check the numbers above: The Vulgate contains 77 books, the ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73. The Council of Trent excluded three books (77-3=74). The Letter of Paul to Laodicea has been described as a ‘compilation’ of Paul's other letters, however; this author cannot find a specific date when it was ‘excised’ or ‘excluded’ from the Vulgate, only that it is not addressed at the Council of Trent and not included in the Books of the New Testament listed in Canon 120 of the Catechism.

~The Protoevangelion of James [aka. The ‘pre’-Gospel of James or Book of James - (Protestants not familiar with this work - it is not the Letter/Epistle of James found between Hebrews and 1 Peter.)] The Catholic Church does not consider this work part of the Canon. 16 of 24 chapters deal almost exclusively with Mary (the mother of Jesus). It is from these chapters that the Catholic Church derives the foundation for many of the Doctrines concerning Mary. [Her immaculate conception, Her ‘sinless state’, Her marriage to a widower (Joseph) who already had children etc.]

There are MANY other books that ‘could’ be considered, however; the very content of these books marks them as less than apocryphal and more closely heretical (of, relating to, or characterized by an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma) by both Catholics and Protestants.

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Jesus Christ commits multiple acts of murder.
The Gospel of Thomas {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Divinity of Christ declaimed.
The Gospel of Philip {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Resurrection of Christ never happened.

Etcetera ad nauseum.

This author has neither the time nor inclination to ‘find’ and address all of these works.

Notes:
*This author reiterates this information is educational NOT to provoke controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it IN this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.

¹There is some ‘literary’ dispute regarding the number of books ‘added’ to the Jewish Canon in the Septuagint - the 15 presented here are the ‘consensus’ books - various apologists agree on these 15 books. A list (including text) of the ‘Apocrypha’ is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/chapter.htm

²The complete list of the books of the Old Testament and New Testament according to the Catholic Church is in The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canon 120: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM

³A list of the Books of the Vulgate (including text of each book in multiple languages including Latin) is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/vul/ [this site does not list the additions to Esther, Baruch and Daniel separately; however, the additions are in the text of the books.]

‡ If one reads the J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848) translation of “The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent” [http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct04.html] one may notice two apparent discrepancies. In the Waterworth translation, the Fourth Session Decree “CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES” lists 45 five books not 46 in the Old Testament, and “the first book of Esdras, and the second which is entitled Nehemias” which appears would include 1 & 2 Esdras. These are not discrepancies. In some copies of the Vulgate, the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations are included as one book - this is also stated in the Catechism (see [²] above). The books of Esdras listed in the ‘Decree’ refer to Ezra and Nehemiah, not 1 & 2 Esdras. Comparing the text of 1 & 2 Esdras (see [¹] above) these books are not the books of Ezra and Nehemiah - some translations even refer to these books as 3rd and 4th Esdras to clarify the difference.

It is the author's hope that this information has been educational.
If individuals wish to 'debate' any of the 'points' referenced above - they may leave an address to where such a debate may be engaged. However - links are links - one does not need to inflame to invite. If the invitation to 'debate' is overly inflammatory - it will be deleted.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Catholic Church Accused!

Catholic Church Accused?

An amateur ‘criminologist’ investigates!

The allegation is that the ‘Early Church’ (the Catholic Church) has edited, materially altered, or corrupted the ‘Scriptures’ (The Bible). This allegation has roots dating back centuries. In recent times, most notably since the publication of the book, ‘The Da Vinci Code’, this allegation has regained popularity, and is a continuing topic on ‘blogs’.
The charge is a very serious one. The merits of which will be explored here to some extent.

Considering the Catholic Church has vehemently denied such a ‘crime’ occurred it would be ‘unreasonable’ to expect an unbiased investigation by the Catholic Church of the Catholic Church. One would expect the same result if an accused murderer were to investigate the murder one was charged with. No one would expect an unbiased investigation, nor accept its results unless it proved its own guilt.

Who is this author to investigate such an allegation? What makes such an individual even close to impartial? Previous articles here assess the ‘characteristics’ of some anti-Catholic Church leanings.
Specifically, it is the stated position of the Catholic Church that this author is execrated by the Catholic Church, as a heretic and schismatic, and as such under a sentence of latae sententiae excommunication. According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, this author is not capable of attaining ‘salvation’. [In all honesty, it has been alluded to recently those charges may be either incomplete or erroneous.]

Any evidence condemning the Catholic Church, by extension would denigrate the Catholic Church’s assessment of the condition pronounced by the Catholic Church.

One could assume that by exonerating the Catholic Church, this author might have such sentences lifted. No such precedence exists in the history of the Catholic Church that a branded, excommunicated heretic has ‘won’ clemency based on such an action.

In other words, the author gains nothing from the Catholic Church by either condemning or exonerating the Catholic Church.

Let us get to the significant part: An investigation of a crime requires four elements.
1. That a crime occurred or there is an allegation that a crime occurred.
+ Opportunity, Means, and Motive.
2. It requires that the accused had the opportunity (time) to have committed the crime.
3. It requires the accused had the means (ability) to have committed the crime.
4. It requires the accused had a motive (reason) to have committed the crime.°

Let us look at these four elements in the context of this case:
1. The Crime: It is alleged that the Catholic Church edited, changed, omitted, or otherwise materially altered the ‘Bible’ in such a manner that it is NOT the True, Inspired, Authoritative Word of God.

2. Opportunity: Did the Catholic Church have the time required commit the crime? There is no doubt that the Catholic Church had the requisite time to alter the Bible in some way. The first Latin version of the Bible was the Vulgate. It was ‘published¹’ somewhere around 400 A.D. It was authorized, financed, and overseen by the Catholic Church. Jerome of Jerusalem (St. Jerome) is credited with oversight, compilation (of ancient texts and manuscripts) and translation. The Vulgate WAS the standard Bible in the Catholic Church. Additionally, for most of that period, Latin literacy was confined to Catholic clergy and the highest levels of European Nobility. The opportunity existed for about 1000 years for the Catholic Church to alter the Bible.

--conclusion: The Catholic Church had Opportunity.


3. Means: Did the Catholic Church have the ability to alter the Bible? The Vulgate was not only the Bible of the Catholic Church; it was not available to the general populace. Some of Martin Luther’s ‘95 Theses’ (the beginning of the Protestant Reformation) dealt with that fact specifically. Martin Luther argued that the Bible should be made available to the public at large. Literacy and control of the Vulgate was the domain of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church made all copies of the Vulgate, by hand, in monasteries under very strict supervision. Since the Catholic Church made the copies, any alterations would have been directly under their control, without any ‘outside’ knowledge² or interference.

--conclusion: The Catholic Church had the Means.

4. Motive: Why would the Catholic Church materially alter the text of the Bible? The simple (Achem’s Razor) answer is that IF at any time as the Catholic Church grew in size and influence, any of the Catholic Church’s doctrines were NOT Biblical, then the Bible must be altered to conform to the Doctrine of the Catholic Church. The entire Protestant Reformation is predicated on the premise that there are in fact discrepancies between the Bible and the doctrines of the Catholic Church. The existing schism between ‘Protestant Christianity’ and the Catholic Church stands on the premise that there still exist discrepancies between the Bible and doctrines within the Catholic Church.

--conclusion: The Catholic Church had Motive.

---
REVIEWING:
The Catholic Church had Opportunity.
The Catholic Church had Means.
The Catholic Church had Motive.

--BUT--

Is there evidence that the alleged crime actually took place?

The prima facie evidence is that the alleged crime did not take place. Simply, if the Catholic Church altered the Bible, there would not have been a Protestant Reformation.

However, is prima facie evidence enough to vindicate the Catholic Church? Let us not make that assumption. So we have to ‘look’ at evidence in a light that either dismisses the prima facie evidence and convicts the Catholic Church OR supports the prima facie evidence, and vindicates the Church.

Let us ‘look’ at one single piece of evidence: This single piece of evidence is SO COMPELLING as to make additional evidence, merely corroboration.

This evidence is The cornerstone of the Catholic Church…The entire doctrine of the Catholic Church is ‘built’ on one sentence in the Bible. Without this sentence All of the ‘authority’ of the Catholic Church crumbles. This sentence is arguably the most ‘contested’ verse in the entire Bible, and has been for the last 500 years.

It is present here in ‘Parallel Versions’. There is the ‘New American Bible’ (the NAB is a Catholic Church Authorized Version in English) and the ‘King James Version of the Bible’ (KJV).

Matthew 16:18







This is NAB

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

This is KJV

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.



So What?


Notice that these verses are almost identical in both versions. The biggest difference is between ‘netherworld’ and ‘hell’. This is not the ‘contested’ part of the verse.


The part of the verse at the heart of the controversy is:
”upon this rock I will build my church”


The Catholic Church’s 'claim' is that ‘this rock’ refers to Peter, also called ‘the rock’.

Protestants ‘claim’ that ‘this rock’ refers to Peter’s previous declaration in verse 16, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Two friends, one Catholic and one Protestant, are debating this. They have gone to the original Greek and Aramaic languages for exegesis - and continue the debate…

What is SO important about this one line?

The Catholic Church bases its OWN authority on the ‘authority’ Christ gave Peter in this verse. “The Pope has Authority in the Church because, as the successor of Peter, he has the authority that Christ gave to Peter.”

IF the Catholic Church is wrong, the Pope is just an ‘elected’ official. All doctrines of the Catholic Church then become subject to errancy. The edicts of the Catholic Church are no longer infallible. The Catechism of the Catholic Church changes from the definitive interpretation of, and application of the Bible, to a book of ‘good’ rules & traditions.

That is a HUGE risk…If the Catholic Church intentionally materially altered the Bible - this verse would have been THE FIRST thing altered. It would read something like, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon YOU this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

The Bible does not say that, it says, “this rock”. Think it through logically…The foundational pillars of the Catholic Church are in this verse. By adding ONE word to the Bible, the Protestant Reformation would never have happened or if it had, would not have been sustained. The Absolute Authority of the Catholic Church over all Christendom would be established, permanently.

Yet, the Bible still says, “this rock”.

Opportunity, Yes.
Means, Yes.
Motive, Yes.

Was the crime committed?
The prima facie evidence says NO!
This single, but supremely important, piece of evidence Compels a verdict of NOT GUILTY!

One could go on for pages, citing every ‘argument’ Protestants bring to the Catholic Church’s authority and doctrine…the only thing it would prove is that in 1000 years of controlled access to the Bible - the Catholic Church did NOT change anything…Or there would be little to no controversy in the ‘Unity’ of Christians.

Allegations that the Catholic Church materially altered, edited, or corrupted the scriptures, based on the evidence, is proven False!

As such, with regards to these allegations we accept that the Bible IS the True, Inspired, Authoritative Word of God.



----------------------------------


° There is an amount of subjectivity in ‘Motive’. Motive is the ‘Why’ of a crime. Why did the ‘accused’ commit the alleged crime? In this instance, we will apply ‘Achem’s Razor’: the simplest answer is probably the correct answer.

¹ Use of the word ‘published’ is semi-erroneous. Gutenberg did not invent the printing press until somewhere around 1450. Prior to that time, all books including the Vulgate were copied by hand.

² Note that while there was no ‘outside knowledge’ of the Bible, that statement regards primarily the New Testament. The Old Testament of the Bible is the same as the ‘TaNaKh’ or the Jewish Bible. The Jews had and made their own copies of ‘their’ Bible. It is widely accepted that the ‘TaNaKh’ and the Old Testament are the same (with the exception of the Apocryphal [deuterocanonical] books (included in the Catholic Canon at the Council of Trent 1546)).

That there was some sort of ‘conspiracy’ between the Catholic and the Jews to ‘materially alter’ the Old Testament has to meet with serious skepticism.
This stated in light of:
Catholicism and Judaism view the ‘Messiah’ completely differently. Catholicism views Jesus Christ as the ‘Messiah’ prophesied in the Old Testament. Judaism is still waiting for the prophesied Messiah.
Additional skeptics must take into account the Historical rivalry of these religions:
The Roman persecution of the Jews (around 70 A.D.), and the Spanish Inquisition instituted by the Catholic Church, persecuting the Jews (1478 - 1834).

Monday, August 01, 2005

From the 'Damned' - You Don’t Have To Be!


It should be with some apprehension that I consider my fate according to many of the world’s religions. According to them, I have been consigned to a place where even demons fear to tread.† But I’m not. I have something more important on my mind.

I do not consign or condemn any to the ‘damned’.

Sadly, we must accept that all of us have ‘sinned’.
  • For the Catholic, sin and ‘Confession’ are ‘doctrine’.
  • For the Muslim, even the most devout, must admit to not perfectly following the law of ‘Prophet’
  • For the Jew, if there were no sin, there would be no need for the Messiah or the ‘Sin Offering’ or the offering of the ‘Great Day of Atonement’.
  • For the Buddhist and the Hindu, some error on the path to enlightenment keeps one bound to this mortal coil, instead of in Nirvana or the “unimaginable abyss of Brahman”
  • For the Humanist, while ‘all things are permitted’, even the Humanist must admit to breaking some law, like the speed limit.

God says:
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23

GOD STILL LOVES YOU!
Your religion, whether it is Catholicism, Islam, Judaism, or whatever, whether you adopted it because you believe it, or because it was thrust upon you, it is immaterial to God. If you are a humanist, it doesn’t matter. No matter what, God loves you and offers Hope.

God’s servants record His Word in the Bible, and it says:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes," Romans 1:16

"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy 1:15

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;” Romans 3:21-22


GOD, THE FATHER, OFFERS TO ALL THE HOPE OF SALVATION - Unity with the Divine - to Rest in the eternal presence of God.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

"And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” Acts 16:30-31

"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:11-13

Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." John 5:24

"Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."" John 14:6

"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:9-10


FRIEND: Notice it was not because we loved and sought God that this Salvation is offered.
It is because GOD LOVES US!
This is a great opportunity. God knows we have sinned, but He still loves us. He loves us so much that He sacrificed His Son so that we can reunite with Him. 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Not only will God give us salvation if we believe, He will ‘cleanse us from all unrighteousness’.







†Consider the story of ‘Legion’, as recorded in the New Testament [Luke 8:30-33, Mark 5:9-13]. Legion was a ‘swarm’ of demons possessing a man. When Jesus, The Christ, confronted them, the demons, “begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.” These demons begged the Christ to ALLOW them to enter swine, swine that drowned themselves, rather than cast into the ‘Abyss’. One would think, that demons would call Hell home, but here, a multitude of demons would rather be in pigs than go back to Hell…It must be a terrible place if demons don’t want to go there.