My Roman Revelations

Sunday Gospel Readings

2009-02-11T21:15:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I would just like to tell everyone that I will be making it a habit to post a meditation on the Sunday readings every week. There is already one done on Mark 1:40-45 and Mark 2:1-12 which should cover this upcoming Sunday and also next Sunday.

Thank you,
Elijah www.myspace.com/twinrecords

THE Question for Protestants

2009-01-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

After having multiple theological debates with various Protestants, particularly with some that adhere to or are in support of various Cavalry Chapel doctrines/positions (I mention CC because I have an really big axe to grind with them, see the very first blog post on this site), I have come up with the question that no half-way sentient and thoughtful Protestant can ignore. Here it goes....

"As a Protestant, it is generally understood that you disavow any affiliations with the Pope and reject all human traditions. Having said that, how do you explain the fact that you use a book, the Bible, that is a Catholic Tradition, assembled by Catholics and officiated by a Catholic council that was headed by a Pope?"

Strip away the Bible (be it a Protestant or Catholic one) and there is nothing left but confusion. Expect to hear some off-the-wall answer as to how one has been brainwashed by the Catholic Church into accepting that viewpoint.

Silly Protestants, the Bible is for Catholics!

I look forward to seeing some opinions on this matter...

-N8

Bible Study 12-01-08- Mass cont'd

2008-12-03T20:01:00.000-08:00

So this is the second installment of notes on the Spirit of the Mass. Please bear with the way my notes seem to be a little disorganized, for I hope that everything will come together in the end.

Here we go.

1) Layout of the Liturgy of the Word

a) Introductory Rites

i) Entrance procession and song

(1) Based on Genesis, from least to most important, the first to last, the last being the emphasis of God’s will.

ii) Sign of the Cross and greeting

iii) Penitential Rite

iv) Glory to God

v) Opening Prayer

b) Liturgy of the Word

i) 1^st reading

ii) Responsorial Hymn

iii) 2^nd reading

iv) Alleluia/Gospel Acclamation

v) Gospel

vi) Holily

vii) Profession of Faith

viii) General intercessions

2) Background history to the introductory rites.

a) Tabernacle- “tent”

i) Basically a tent to house the Ark

ii) God was really present in Ark, as He is present in the Eucharist

iii) Once David’s son, Solomon, builds the temple, a permanent tabernacle is built

(1) This is why we hold the Eucharist in a tabernacle.

b) Design of the temple

i) 2 truths shown by the temple

(1) Sin divides us from God

(2) God is willing to come down and meet with us on His good graces.

ii) Layout of the temple

(1) See Crappy graphic below

(2) Analysis of layout

(a) Gentiles

(i) Non-Jewish.

(ii) Romans enforced the temple limits to Gentiles with the death penalty for transgressions beyond 1^st courtyard.

(b) Women

(i) Jewish women and boys under 11 and under

(i) Men 12 and older

(ii) Age 12 signifies the coming of manhood

1. Jesus found at 12

2. Samuel is 12 when he hears God.

(d) Holy Place

(i) Men brought and killed own animal at top of stairs.

(ii) Levites (equivalent of deacons) helped in slaughter by bringing animal over stairs to priests to be burned, etc.

(e) Holy of Holies

(i) Only high priest on Yom Kippur (once yearly) was to see the Ark to sprinkle blood on it and then leave.

3) Introductory rites

a) Penitential rite

i) Public admission of sin

ii) This is for all of God’s people, even clerics.

(1) Hearkens back to Peter “Depart from me, Lord, For I am a sinner”

iii) Three things about the Penitential rite

(1) This cannot and will not replace reconciliation

(a) Serious sin has been confessed, this is an admission, not a cleansing.

(2) Reminds us of attraction to sin

(a) Even with God’s grace, we can fall into sin

(b) James 5:16 is a reflection of this.

(3) Sins of Omission=as deadly as Sins of Commission

(a) James 4:17

(b) “…for what I have done and what I have failed to do…”

iv) Three ways to do Penitential rite

(1) Confetior

(2) Kyrie (pretty much dead)

(3) Tropht Kyrie (rarely done)

b) After Penitential, then it is the Gloria

i) From penance to glorifying God.

ii) “Glory to God… people on earth”- from the Shepherds.

(1) Goes from Father, to Son, to Holy Spirit

4) Meaning of “AMEN”

a) Saying “Amen” means that you have said publicly, to God, that you believe in what you just said.

b) Why “Amen” is so serious

i) 1 Cor 11:23

(1) The very act of the Eucharist is a proclamation of faith

ii) 1 Cor 11:27

(1) Those that eat and drink unworthily will answer for it in body and blood

iii) How can one be guilty of profaning the Lord is the Eucharist is just a symbol?

iv) The previous set of verses explains why we can’t have communion in other churches.

(1) “Discern the body”= Body of Christ=Body of Church

(2) We cannot accept Communion in any other church except our own, since the splintered Christian sects are not in communion with us.

v) When Paul calls Christians that are alive as “dead”, it is because those Christians have abused the Eucharist.

vi) You cannot be antagonistic towards God (state of sin) and accept the Eucharist

5) Cycles of the Mass

a) The Mass as an event and all the Masses in a cycle reflect Creation and God’s plan.

i) See graphic below for emphasis on this.

ii) Microtrends

(1) Day- Every 3hrs, someone, somewhere is praying on the hour

(2) Week- Sunday

(3) Month-*lost this part*

6) How we got the cycle of readings

a) Back in the day, the Temple was only for sacrificing.

b) The Synagogue, however, was a place for the more devout people that couldn’t sacrifice at the temple. They came to worship, praise, etc.

c) Their readings at the synagogue went like this

i) Prophet/Writing

ii) Psalms

iii) Torah

d) Our cycle of readings largely reflect all of this.

7) Acts 2:42-47 describes the early church

a) 4 things mentioned and how they are today

i) Apostles Teaching---Doctrine/Creed

ii) Communal Life---Morality/Creed

iii) Breaking of Bread---Sacraments

iv) Prayers---Prayers

b) i through iv constitute the 4 parts of the Catechism

c) “Every day they meet…”= continued into Daily Mass.

d) At this time in history, the Jewish and Christian religions still melted together

i) Still went to temple and sacrificed but also practice in the Christian faith.

e) “Give us this day, our daily bread”

i) Hearkens back to Exodus 16, the story of manna.

(1) We must have absolute trust in God.

ii) Eucharist was the foundation of all days and especially Sundays.

Bible Study 11-24-08

2008-11-24T23:48:00.001-08:00

Today starts a 4 week session on the Spirit of the Mass for our Bible study focus and it is flipping awesome, to say the least. The only way it could get better is if I were not the youngest person there, but whatever.

With that, here we go.

1) Basic preliminary definitions

a) Mass

i) From Latin, missa.

(1) From Latin phrase Ite missa est- “Go, it is sent”

(2) “it” refers to the Eucharist (in the people)

(a) God being sent forth into the world by the people partaking in the mass.

(b) Reflects back on the closing line of mass, “The mass has ended, let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord”

ii) All above points can be referred to as the “mission”.

(1) Mission comes from the same root as mass, which is missa.

b) Eucharist

i) “Thanksgiving”

ii) Comes from accounts of last supper

iii) Has a deeper meaning

(1) In OT, there are 5 sacrifices given by priests

(2) One is the todâ

(a) Normally referred to as the “goodwill offering”

(b) More correctly translated as “thanksgiving”

(3) Was different than other sacrifices

(a) Was a meal

(b) Sacrifice given for a good thing.

(4) Process of todâ

(a) Father and eldest son went to temple, killed animal and given to priest

(b) Some given back to father, some to other priests, etc.

(5) Meals were symbolic in that time

(a) Sharing of a meal was only done on the most intimate of occasions

(b) Sharing a meal was a symbol of family.

2) Mass is in 2 main elements with 2 parts to each element

a) Liturgy of the Word

i) Introductory Rite

ii) Liturgy of the Word

b) Liturgy of the Eucharist

i) Liturgy of the Eucharist

ii) Concluding Rite

c) Notice that the Mass begins and ends with a rite.

3) 4 things that need to be made clear about the Eucharist (from Pope JPII)

a) Eucharist is the “source and summit of entire Christian life”

i) Everything we do comes from the Eucharist.

ii) It is Christ Himself, there is nothing greater than Him

iii) While it is the source, it is also our destination, the summit being that we strive to be more like Him

iv) Represents the “beginning and end, alpha and omega, source and summit”

b) In Mass, we experience the most unique moment of intensity in encountering Jesus Christ

i) While all sacraments and other activities encounter the power of Jesus, the Mass is the most intense encounter with Jesus.

ii) The Mass is the sacrifice.

c) In the Eucharist, human beings discover the full manifestation of God’s love for humanity.

i) Represents everything He did and what He is about.

d) You will never fully understand the Eucharist

i) Where our head fails us, our spirit helps us.

ii) We can encounter Him without fully understanding Him.

4) How do we receive Jesus? How does his promise mean anything now?

a) Because we are brought back to it. As a Christian, we are literally a part of Christ.

b) Analysis of the line “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)

i) Remembrance is actually anamnesis

(1) There is no English equivalent for this word

(2) Literally means “to take something from the past and make it present now”

5) Explanation of anamnesis

a) Starts with first 5 books of the Bible

i) Genesis- Explains beginning

ii) Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy explain Moses taking Jews to the Promised Land.

b) Scriptural analysis

i) Exodus 20

(1) Arrived at Mt. Sinai and got Tablet.

(2) Punishment for golden calf is wandering for 40 years in the desert

ii) Deuteronomy

(1) Wandering is done

(2) Deut 5:1-3.

(a) Only Moses, Joshua and those descendents of those that were at Mt. Sinai were at this meeting.

(i) Those that committed idolatry were all dead at the end of the 40 years.

(b) “The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. Deut 5:2-3

iii) Exodus 2:23-25

(1) This is 40 years after God made a deal with Abraham, saying people will get own land, own kingdom and universal blessing for humanity.

(2) Explanation of the word “remember” in this passage

(a) When God “remembers”, it means something has come into being

(b) Does not mean that He forgot.

6) What the celebration of the Mass does

a) Every celebration of the Mass brings us back to the last supper and the 3 major events of Passion, Death and Resurrection

b) We are brought back to the “hour” that the world was saved

i) “my hour has not yet come”

c) Past, present and future come together

i) “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”

7) New Testament shows us constant progression.

a) Creation

i) Sacrifice

(1) Abel offers best of sheep

ii) Invocation of divine name

(1) God reveals himself in a personal way

(2) Reveals self in a name, YAWEH

(a) “I am”

(3) No graspable meaning yet still personal

(4) First revealed to Enosh

iii) “Walking with God”

(1) “To be upright and single-hearted”

b) Abraham

i) Total obedience to the Word

(1) Was a city dweller and then called by God to wander.

(2) Considered the ultimate example of faith, along with Mary as the NT version.

ii) Test of faith

(1) Everything hinges on Abraham getting to have a child with a menopausal wife.

iii) Concern for world

(1) Told life will be destroyed and Abraham barters with God

(2) Compare to Noah, as Noah did not show concern for others, though still a good man

(3) Because of this, the Covenant goes to Abraham.

iv) Conformity to God

(1) Abraham willingly offers son for sacrifice

(a) Happened near where Jesus was eventually crucified

(b) 2 spectators (like at Crucifixion, with 2 criminals), the son Isaac carries his own wood,etc

v) Descendants will undergo struggle/perseverance.

c) Moses

i) Saving revelation

(1) Introduced Himself for the first time since Enosh as YAHWEH

(2) Reveals himself to show love

ii) Struggle to want what God wants

(1) Moses wants God, but has hard time figuring out what he is supposed to do

(2) Struggle to conform

iii) Contemplation

(1) 1^st person since Adam to see God face-to-face.

(a) Moses’ face glows so much after meeting with God that he has to hide his face from the people.

(2) 1^st example of desire to know and feel God.

iv) Intercession

(1) Willing to give up life to save people not worthy of God’s love

(2) Used own personal relationship with God to barter and save the people.

v) Covenant ratified in blood

(1) Exodus 24: Shows covenant and contemplation at the same time

(a) 24:3- he tells people 10 commandments

(b) 24:6- blood put into bowls (chalices)

(d) 24:11- the people listed here drink and eat in God’s presence.

(i) Notice the familial ties?

vi) More notes on Moses

(1) Moses had 3 lifetimes of40 years each in his 120 years on earth.

(a) First 40: a Prince

(b) Second 40: he is met by God, returns to lead people to Israel

(i) 80 has a special significance in Biblical numerology

vii) David

(1) Model of faith

(a) Big-time sinner, but is a model of hope for he truly repents of his sin.

(2) Loving/joyful trust in God.

(a) “David was a man after God’s own heart”

(3) Glorify God above self.

8) Looking at the Mass

a) It is no accident that the Mass is composed of two main parts, the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist.

i) Luke 24:13-35

(1) Scripture was reflected upon and after understanding who Jesus is, then bread is broken and Jesus is revealed.

(2) This is the BARE OUTLINE of the Mass.

b) Revelations 4 and 5 outline the Mass as well.

(1) Outlines the structure of church

(2) There are 4 things that every church must have.

(a) Crucifix

(i) “Lamb of God, living but slain”

(b) Altar

(i) Under altar are martyrs that have gone before us

(ii) Alters are often shaped like tombs for that reason

(i) There is something in church about this, but I can’t seem to find the word for it… help!

(d) Throne chair

(i) Priest’s chair

9) The Sign of the Cross

a) Ezekiel 9:4

i) The “X” mentioned is actually the symbol tav, or the Jewish “T”

ii) Literally, “making the sign of the cross”

Thanks and apologies

2008-11-22T01:06:00.000-08:00

Dear Blog Readers,

I would like to thank my friend Ehab, aka Elijah for his inspiring spiritual look at the various stories in the Bible. They are eloquently written and he has a talent for the elegant that I do not possess as of yet and for his participation in this blog I am ecstatic about. Thanks Ehab!

I would also like to apologize for the lack of updated content. I missed 3/6 weeks of the St. Paul class due to unforeseen circumstances and whatnot and since Bible studies are given by the same guy that taught the St. Paul class and he postponed Bible study until next week, so you will have to wait until next week to see anything really cool.

In other news, the posts should get better once I acquire my Livescribe Pulse Smartpen. Yes folks, this is a totally sweet piece of technology and the content will knock your socks off. I haven't set a defintive date yet but it will be sometime soon (maybe a Black Friday sale snag? Who knows!)

Anyways, I must sally forth to bed, for I have a shooting trip to attend in the morning with some old and new friends.

Pax Tecum,

Nathan.

Walking On Water

2008-11-18T01:16:00.000-08:00

Walking on Water

The scripture story we will be meditating on today is Jesus walking on water. If we want to grow spiritually, we have to meditate on the Bible. We have to read the Gospels and ask ourselves "what does this mean to me today and how does this relate to me?" Let's see what we can benefit from the story of Jesus walking on water.

Here is the story in its fullness (Matthew 14:22-33):

22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Let us now break the story apart and meditate on it.

22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

Jesus told His disciples to get into a boat to go to the other side of the waters. His disciples got into the boat and went on the other side with no questions asked. Do we do the same? How many times do we question what God wants us to do? Even when we are so clear on what He wants us to do, we doubt it. We don't doubt it because we aren't sure whether it's from God or not, but we doubt it because it is too hard for us to do. God allows us to have crosses to carry. When we have these crosses, instead of rejoicing in the suffering that Christ allows us to share with Him, we make excuses not to do them. Let us be obedient and "get in our boat" as it is fitting to the Lord.

Jesus went up the mountain by himself to pray by Himself. This is a beautiful example for us. Do we find time to give to God? How often do you pray? How often do you think you should pray? Praying is the number one thing to do if you want to grow spiritually. It is life changing. We need to pray every night to our Father. Let us not only pray memorized prayers, but we are called to speak to the Father as a child speaks to a parent.

24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them.

"For the wind was against them." Ahh, yes. Do you feel troubled at the moment? Is there something in life right now that is worrying you? Anything that is keeping you up at night? Indeed we all suffer! Suffering is a part of life whether we like it or not. It helps us grow and become stronger.

Notice how the verse says "But the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land." What is so significant about this? Who was the one who is on the land? It is Jesus. Do you feel like you are really far from God? As if God does not care about you or your problems? "Why is God making me suffer like this?!" We ask questions like this when we are suffering. We all feel anxiety at times. We all feel like God is far away from us at times. We all feel like we are being "beaten by the waves".

25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

What a beautiful verse. He came to them! Jesus was on top of the mountain praying the whole time. He could see the boat that the disciples were in. He saw that they were suffering, but He did not come to the rescue right away. He waited. He does the same to us. We all have our own boats. We go through ups and downs in life. When we suffer, God does not always come to the rescue the way we want Him to. He allows the suffering to happen. Does he like punishing His children? By no means! He allows it to happen because a greater good comes out of it. There are other reasons why He allows it to happen but man cannot know this for sure. Who can know the mind of God? Nevertheless, let us put our trust in God, for He alone will deliver us. Whether in this life or the next. Are you suffering at this point? Is your boat being beaten by the waves? Be patient. Let this story be an example for you. Put your trust in the Lord and you will be saved from your anxieties. Offer your sufferings up to the Lord and share in His suffering that He suffered for you. If anyone thinks their suffering is too impossible to overcome, let them look at the Cross of Christ! Let us humble ourselves, for humility leads to exaltation.

Jesus came to His disciples walking on the water. In the story that we are meditating on, what is causing the Disciples to suffer? Surely it is the waters. What does Christ do? He comes and walks on the water which means the water is under His feet. What a powerful and beautiful image. Jesus walks on top of the very thing that is causing His disciples to suffer. Christ defeats their sufferings for nothing is impossible for God. So too for us. He will come to us and walk all over our anxieties. It is a matter of putting our trust in Him.

26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear.

How many times does Christ come to us for rescue and we simply do not recognize Him? He comes to us and extends His arm out to us and we simply do not recognize Him. He teaches us the true way and we simple ignore it. We think that God will never put this much burden on us and expect us to follow His ways. We ask questions like "you mean I have to be nice to her? She hates me!" Do you think Jesus prayed to the Father in vein when He prayed for those who were crucifying Him saying "Father forgive them for they not know what they do"? Let us forgive all those who have wronged us. Let us live in love. Love transforms cultures. I am guilty of falling short of this, most of us are. Let us not make God what we want Him to be, but let us allow God to make us who He wants us to be! Let us recognize Him when he stretches out His arms and tries to help us. The biggest thing that gets in our way of recognizing Him is pride. Let us be humble and follow His ways rather than ours and we will recognize Him as Lord instead of a stranger. The way you get to know a friend is by spending time with him. Do you spend time with the Lord by reading His word and talking to Him?

27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear."

The words "it is I", in Greek are "ego emi" which means "I AM" which is the name of God in the Old Testament (Yahweh). Christ walking on water and saying "I AM" is a way of telling His Disciples that He is God. When God comes to the rescue, we should indeed have no fear.

28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus;

Peter still had doubts that it is Jesus. We can look at Peter and think that He is stupid for still doubting after Jesus is walking on the water in front of Him. But don't we also do the same thing? After all the times that God has helped us through a problem (whether we know it or not), we still doubt when we fall into another problem. Will we ever learn? Let us not judge Peter's actions, but let us look at our own. For we are the same today as His disciples were back then. Always looking for more evidence.

What does the Lord tell Peter? "Come". Beautiful. Christ also tells us to come to Him. We need to hear His voice by being still. It is written in the Psalms "Be still and know that I am God." It is also written "If today you hear His Word, harden not your hearts." Let us open our ears to the Lord and harden not our hearts. Let us come to Christ when we are called to come. It is never too late to come to Him. No matter what you have done, God will forgive you and erase your past and give you a brand new start.

Peter does come. He comes and walks on water. I can relate to Peter. Ever since I came to the Lord, I too feel like I've been walking on water. It is a joyful feeling to have. Peter walked on the very same waters that he was afraid of.

30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me."

Peter was fine when he had his eyes set on the Lord. He was walking on the water with no problems, walking towards Christ. When did he begin to sink? When he saw the win, and was afraid. In other words, when he took his eyes off of Jesus. As long as we keep our eyes on Jesus, we will do great things. When we take our eyes off Jesus, we too will fall. Let me put this in an example. Let us say that someone has an addiction to alcohol. This person can try and overcome this addiction by keeping his eyes on Jesus. If he prays and reads the Word of God and meditates on it, he will grow spiritually, rather than trying to satisfy his flesh. But let's say that the storm is the alcohol. Right when this person takes his eyes off of Jesus and thinks about alcohol, he will be tempted. Temptation is the first step to sin. He will surely fall if he doesn't focus his eyes (better yet his life) on God.

But we all fall! Does that mean it's too late? By no means. Look at Peter's words, "Lord, save me." Let us do the same when we fall and call on the Lord to save us. A saint is not someone who is perfect, but a saint is someone who gets right back up every time he falls.

31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

Jesus will do the same for us when we call out "Lord, save me!" He will reach out His hand and catch us. If Christ will help Peter who had such little faith, how much more will He help those with strong faith? Let us not doubt, but trust in Him.

The wind ceased. The storm is over now. For with God, all things are possible. We need to worship God too. Not only when He does great things for us, but always. God will always do great things for us; it is up to us to recognize Him when He comes.

Grace and peace be with you!

www.myspace.com/twinrecords

Anthropology of St. Paul

2008-10-23T01:43:00.001-07:00

This is the 2nd installment of notes on the 3rd week of the class I am attending on St. Paul. Enjoy!

1) The Anthropology of St. Paul

a) Word vs. Thought

i) Terminology is very GREEK

(1) Uses Greek terms

ii) Understanding of humanity is very HEBREW

iii) The term GREEK in reference to philosophy is such a misnomer because it means anything from Plato to Aristotle to anything in between

b) Examples

i) Idea that human beings are born a mixture of good and bad

(1) E.g. Good angel, bad angel

(2) Good things come from the heart

(a) Jesus referenced this idea.

2) Jesus’ and Paul’s understanding of humanity

a) Goes back to Genesis 1 and 2

i) Genesis 1

(1) God created by use of word

(2) Story is designed to portray a royal procession

(a) Most important last

(b) “In image and likeness of God”

(i) Crowning point of creation

ii) Genesis 2

(1) Less transcendent than Gen 1

(2) Soul and Body embodied

(3) Much more simple than Gen 1

(4) Adam names animals

(a) Naming controls destiny

(b) Shows authority.

3) The Words of St. Paul

a) Image=Selem (or Greek Ikon)

i) In ancient world, statues would be used as authority reminders

ii) Therefore, we externally represent God.

b) Dominion-not dominion but radah, which means “to cherish”

i) We are to run the earth like God would run it, to cherish it.

c) Likeness=demut

i) We share in God’s glory

ii) He made us interior like himself.

d) What this all means

i) We participate in God’s glory.

ii) We exercise dominion.

4) St. Pauls understanding of Image and Likeness.

a) Lost in the fall

i) In fall, we only have a faint flicker, if anything at all, of God’s glory.

ii) Humanity, by its own choice, turned over dominion to satan as “god of the earth”

(1) Notice the lowercase g.

iii) These two characteristics are very general.

5) Divisions

a) Flesh is not equal to Body

b) Spirit is not equal to Soul

c) 1 Corinthians

i) 2 heresies of equal yet opposite intensity here.

(1) One went to total license

(a) Anything goes, the body is of no consequence.

(b) The body walks the soul around.

(2) One went to extreme asceticism

(a) We go beyond the body to the point of irreversible harm

6) More Anthropology of Paul

a) Kardia=heart

i) Has a very specific meaning

ii) This is the one where a person chooses to accept or reject God

b) Synedesis=conscience

i) Religious understanding

ii) Ability to discern religious truth because of knowledge of Christ

c) Nous=mind

i) The ability to understand

ii) Loosely connected to synedesis

d) The difference of synedesis and nous

i) Mind knows doctrinal stuff (nous)

ii) Conscience places doctrine into practical use (synedesis)

7) Utilizing control in our lives

a) The only way to hold these things in check (kardia, nous, synedesis, etc) is by some sort of external control on the unity.

b) 2 types of control

i) Everyone is controlled by something

ii) Everyone is a slave to something.

iii) See crappy graphic below for explanation

iv) If by self…

(1) Paul says you are in “disintegration”

(a) Mind, emotion, etc. is supposed to work as one

(b) Ends up being that mind says one thing, body another

v) If by evil…

(1) It is self+evil

(2) Deeper struggle

(3) Try to do good, but reality falls short

(a) Romans 7

8) Final 2 terms of Anthropology of Paul

a) Sarx=Flesh.

i) Literally, of death things, a corpse.

b) Pneuma=Spirit

c) Putting it all together

i) Body/Soul describe person in how they operate

ii) Flesh/Spirit describes the moral/spiritual

(1) Flesh:Moral, Spirit:Spiritual

iii) Flesh does not mean body, spirit is not ethereal

(1) Describes relationship with God.

(2) Flesh=anything one does in living in dominion of sin

(3) Signifies human person in weakness and sin

(a) Dies and falls away

iv) To rely on oneself means one does not have the Spirit.

9) Bible verses

a) 1 Thes 5:23

i) Person has 3 aspects and only if Christians

(1) Soma

(2) Psyche

(3) Numa

(4) Non-believers get the sarx

(a) Will pass away into eternal death

b) Heb 4:25

i) Word of God like a sword

(1) Bone from flesh

(2) Soul from Spirit

ii) Shows dichotomy

10) Why Paul says what he says

a) Paul had to move out of Judaism to save people and as such had to explain things in a different manner

b) He had to explain why people needed a savior.

11) Ideas of God

a) Infinitely personal

i) God’s “wrath” is a personal term

(1) God is personally offended at sinners

b) “Good news”

i) Paul made this term

ii) Mark took term and made literature genre out of it.

iii) God sent son to show mercy, etc.

(1) Our personhood is just a shadow of God’s mercy.

12) How Paul describes sin.

a) Three tier process

i) Act

(1) Spoken of the least

ii) State/Condition

(1) Getting into original sin with this concept

iii) Power

(1) Why sin exerts the influence it does is because of the power it has over us.

b) The acts we commit are manifestations of the enslaved condition we are in to those over us.

c) One is either for God or for Satan, there is no neutrality before God.

d) Three Temptations

i) Of the Devil

(1) Pleasure

(2) Power

(3) Possessions

ii) John’s view

(1) Flesh

(2) Pleasing to eyes

(3) Pretentiousness of the world

iii) Examples of the 3 temptations

(1) Eve

(2) Golden calf

(3) Desert temptation of Christ.

e) Sin is a choice and an imposition upon us that exists

f) Sin is a personal choice, inherent nature and external power

g) Paul sums up all sin as being essentially IDOLATRY

i) Goes back to Mt. Sinai

(1) You shall love God ENTIRELY

13) Romans analysis

a) Paul, james and John say that if we love this world, one’s life will disintegrate

b) Anything can be an idol if we don’t understand them properly.

c) Bible verses

i) Rom 1:16-17

(1) One cannot live by the law and have no faith

ii) Rom 1:18-25

(1) Outlining adultery.

(2) The Gentile world in a nutshell

iii) Romans 1:31

(1) Senseless

(a) Plain stupid

(2) Faithless

(a) Lose faith in God

(b) Claim what you do is OK with God.

(3) Heartless

(a) From no faith to uncaring

(b) Careless of what others think of you or what you are doing

(4) Ruthless

(a) Passive hate to active hate.

iv) Rom 1 was about Gentiles

v) Rom 2 was about Jews and Greeks being in the same boat

(1) Not having the law doesn’t excuse those transgressions against morality.

(2) But, transgressions under the law are worse.

14) Paul’s view of God.

a) Paul had always viewed God in terms of Employee/Employer relationship

i) By serving and obeying, he would get something

ii) Unfortunately, obedience=perfection

(1) Can’t be done

(2) No one is perfect

15) Insights of Paul into purpose of the Law

a) Enumerates sin

b) Show it can’t be done (perfection)

c) Press to ask God for mercy.

16) Law eventually changed to the Beatitudes

a) Active charity required.

b) One who does charitable acts is good

c) If one does nothing, one just doesn’t break the law

i) No charitable acts committed

d) Commandments can’t save because they are mandatory

i) They are the core of being a human being.

2008-10-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings and peace to you all, readers of this blog! As of late, my Bible studies have been temporarily suspended and have now gone into 6 week analysis of St. Paul and his Epistles. Needless to say, it is a totally cool class and I am learning a TON from it. Unfortunately, I accidentally missed the first class so here are my notes on the second class now.

1) Paul is a unique character

a) Born a Roman citizen

b) Practicing Jew

c) Educated

i) Trained in the best Rabbinical school

ii) Studied Greek logic and rhetoric

iii) Spoke 2-3 languages

(1) Greek, Aramaic, possibly Latin

d) Basically, he was a go-between the Jews and the Romans.

i) Could bridge both cultures.

e) Centers everything that he does around his meeting with Christ at Damascus.

i) Looks at Isiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and Ezekiel to understand his own vocation.

2) Paul’s Journeys

a) Journey one (45-49AD)

i) Shortly after conversion, begins to preach in Syria and Tarsus.

ii) Received many death threats from Damascus people

(1) Didn’t believe his conversion

iii) Goes to Arabia instead of Jerusalem, probably alone

(1) Reflected for 3 years on his life.

(2) Phillipians 3:7-11 reflects on those three years

(a) “rubbish” is literally “shit” in Greek

(3) Comes to conclusion that nothing on this earth is important, only God is.

iv) If Jewish faith was not all that it once was, he has to rework his ideas of salvation.

(1) Paul never believed in “once saved, always saved”

(a) “That I somehow attain it”

(b) Must suffer to conform to Christ

(2) Goes back to Jerusalem

(a) Apostles refuse to see him

(i) Didn’t trust him

(b) Barnabas had to introduce him to Apostles.

(i) Serves as Barnabas’ 2^nd in command.

1. ¼ of Paul’s life was spent not in charge

2. Shows methodology of religious teaching

(ii) Always traveled with 1+ people.

(3) Antioch

(a) Third largest community of Jews in the world.

(i) Strong Petrine influence

(ii) Gospel of Matthew written here

(iii) First place for baptized Gentiles

1. Only at Antioch was a group formed separate of the Jews

(iv) “Here called Christians”

1. Roman name, Christians didn’t call themselves that.

b) Journey Two

i) Fell asleep for this one… crap

c) Journey 3

i) Timothy and Luke with Paul (Cyril leaves)

ii) 2700 mile trip

iii) More relaxed, settles more often, takes time.

(1) Doesn’t just set up a church and leave

iv) Blamed for riot at Ephesus.

(1) Whole Artemis statue debacle

(2) Brought before another proconsul

(a) Arrested, spent time for a while

(b) Wrote to Galatians, Philemon, etc

v) Goes back to Corinth, plans for trip to Spain

(1) While here, wrote letter to Rome.

3) Book differences

a) Galatians deals with same stuff as Romans

b) Romans

i) Peter is still in charge

ii) Paul is very harsh on Peter

iii) Paul organizing collection in Rome to deposit in Jerusalem

(1) Paul is warned not to go to Jerusalem, however

(2) Arrested in Temple area (Jerusalem)

(3) Imprisoned for 2 years awaiting trial

(a) Since Roman, he gets a trial by Emperor

iv) Gets trial by Emperor in Rome

(1) Sent to Rome, waits another 3 years in prison

(a) Writes Ephesians and Pastorals (1&2 Tim, etc)

(2) Nero becomes Emperor around time of trial

(a) Executes Paul

(b) Peter killed 1 yr before Pail

(i) Roman citizen couldn’t be tortured.

4) Pauls 1^st view of God.

a) Religion practiced in OT is way different than Judaism

b) Judaism is much different now than then

i) Main function at time of Christ was to sacrifice at the Temple

ii) Modern Judaism actually newer than Christianity since temple was destroyed in 70AD

c) How God is portrayed in the OT

i) This is the summary of a brainstorming session

(1) Jealous

(2) Smiting (my pick, hehe)

(3) Fire

(4) “I am”à YHWH

(5) Creator

(6) Merciful

(7) Rock

(8) Judge

(9) Wrath

(10) Law-Giver

(11) Shield

(12) Holy (the attribute)

d) A note on Hebrew linguistics

i) There are no superlatives in Hebrew

ii) Example is “good, better, best)

(1) Good=good

(2) Better=good good

(3) Best=good good good

iii) This explains why we say “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord” in mass.

e) Paul is thoroughly Jewish

i) Faithful in revelation of God in OT

f) Heart of Jewish understanding of God=EXODUS

i) God reveals self in a personal yet strange way

(1) Bestows a name for Himself on His people (YHWH)

(2) But, he keeps his nature a mystery.

(3) Third commandment taken to mean that you cannot say the name YHWH in public services

(a) Catholic stance as well, at least as of late

(4) The all capital LORD signifies YHWH in translations

ii) Israel distances self from God and this starts the priesthood in Exodus

(1) All relates to God wanting to meet His people but people were afraid

(2) Sent Moses instead

(3) Levitical line begun

g) Differences in names of God

i) Elohim=God

(1) Used in self-dialogue

ii) YHWH= personal name

h) Bible verse analysis

i) Deuteronomy 6:4-9

(1) If Jews had a creed, this would be it

ii) Deuteronomy 5:6

(1) Extension of 6:4-9

(a) No idolatry

(b) Monotheism is very ADAMANT

(i) This is VERY important later on in these notes

i) God is the creator, the only One

i) Linguistics checkup

(1) Bara= creator, only used for God

(2) Mahal=maker, ONLY human usage

(3) Points 1 and 2 and are descriptions of God’s GLORY

ii) He must be acknowledged

iii) No idolatry

j) Though he had Chosen People, Jews realized that he was the God of all humanity.

i) Shown as light and fire

ii) These are physical manifestations of God’s GLORY

iii) Paul: I have seen the GLORY of the Lord

(1) Paul gives evidence of a physical manifestation

(2) Remember, everything centers around his meeting with Christ.

k) Paul doesn’t change God.

i) Absolutely accepts God as YHWH, the Covenant, etc.

ii) God is faithful and fulfills promises

iii) Christianity is the fulfillment of God’s promise.

iv) God is righteous.

(1) No longer an ethnic distinction

(2) Even in Prophets, we see God is universal.

v) Deeply affirms Monotheism

(1) Doesn’t attempt to lay down the Trinity for people.

(2) “God is One”

vi) God creates all things and is able to direct creation absolutely.

(1) God cant be surprised

l) Scripture stuff

i) Romans 3:1-9

(1) Even sinners glorify God in the eternity of Hell.

ii) Romans 9: 6-25

(1) Explains why Jews rejected savior

(2) Shows universality if Christianity

(3) Paul doesn’t try to explain this.

iii) Paul and Job both reject what they heard before.

iv) Paul never sets out to prove God’s existence

(1) Sees it as self-evident

(2) Romans 1

v) Ephesians 1: 3-14

(1) Most extensive description of God and His plan

(2) He already knew of us before we were conceived

vi) Ephesians 1:15-16

(1) The Jews and Gentiles are One under God

vii) Galatians 4: 4-7

(1) Sets out Trinitarian doctrine

(2) Sets into motion a familial and Trinitarian dichotomy.

(3) See crappy graphic below for explanation

viii) Slight change in nomenclature

(1) “Almighty Creator” is now also “Merciful Father” (Abba)

(a) Jews used Father in a TRANSCENDENT way (distant)

(b) This is because the Jews do not believe they have the Spirit.

m) Roles of God

i) God=Father of Jesus

ii) God=Father of us (saving way)

iii) God= father of all (as in creator)

(1) Not salvific title, so the lowercase is used.

iv) God is no longer transcendent--> is now intimate

(1) Jesus--> God is with us

v) How everything changed

(1) Almighty--> Merciful Abba

(2) Transcendental--> intimate (Jesus)(Son)

(3) Unapproachable-->biding presence (Spirit)

(a) Promise of Pentecost

(i) No longer a few people getting the Spirit

(ii) Every Christian, through Baptism, begins to have the Spirit flow through them.

(4) TRINITY HERE AGAIN

vi) Jesus is the perfect representation of God (Paul)

vii) Use of Abba

(1) Term that one cries out.

(2) Only one time written out fully in the Bible and that is during the Agony.

n) God is one but in some way contains Jesus and Spirit

i) Colossians 1:1-16

(1) Explains Trinity as well.

(2) Jesus becomes Creator in same way as God is Creator.

(3) No explanation given, it just is.

o) Ascension the most important part of Trinity

i) Returns the full glory to the Father but eternally remains human

ii) God humiliated self forever by becoming human.

(1) 1/3 of the trinity is fully human and fully diving

(a) Jesus is a divine person with a human nature.

Legal Precedents for Homosexuality

2008-10-14T11:23:00.000-07:00

Facts About Homosexuality

2008-10-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

Meditations: Mark 2:1-12 (Healing of the Paralytic)

2008-10-05T00:09:00.000-07:00

Meditations: Mark 2:1-12

(Healing of the Paralytic)

Mar 2:1 And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. Mar 2:2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. Mar 2:3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Mar 2:4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. Mar 2:5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." Mar 2:6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Mar 2:7 "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Mar 2:8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Mar 2:9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'? Mar 2:10 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralytic-- Mar 2:11 "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." Mar 2:12 And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

And when he returned to Caper'na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home.

It says that Jesus was at home. Can you imagine if Jesus' house was near yours? What would you do? How fast would you run to get to Him? Well, I got news for you; Jesus' house is near you. You can visit Jesus at His house in church. The Eucharist is the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. Going to Mass every Sunday is visiting God in His house.

And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them.

Christ was preaching the Word to them? What Word was he preaching? The Eternal Word of God. Where can we go to hear this Word today? We mentioned above that we can go to God's house when we go to church. We not only take in God into our bodies, but we also listen to His Word being preached to us. Where else can we go to hear the Word of God? You don't have to go anywhere. You can just sit at your own home, pick up the Bible and meditate on God's Word.

And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men

The whole story we are focusing on is the healing of the paralytic. This man was paralyzed and could not walk and that is why he needed the help of four other men to get him to Jesus. How can this relate to you? We are also in need of healing. We are spiritually paralyzed and need the help of Christ to heal us. Sometimes, we can't do everything on our own because we can't make up our own rules along the way. We need the help of our neighbor, the ones who can walk and are able to do what we are not able to do yet. They have knowledge and wisdom that they can tell us and we should have our ears open to what they tell us. The Church is the one who has wisdom and that wisdom comes from God. We need to run to Jesus, but first we need to make sure we are running to the true God. There are many churches that claim they lead you to Christ, but some of these churches walk on one leg. They may not be paralyzed, but they are not the same as the One True Church that carries us and points us to Christ.

And when they could not get near him because of the crowd,

Sometimes we have obstacles that we face on our journey to God. What is stopping you from getting to God? Surely, it should be nothing. Are you afraid that your friends will make fun of you or leave you because you are seeking God? Are you concerns on what other people think of you? Let us turn our eyes to Christ! Sometimes, we have friends who are so into the physical world, that when they see you trying to run to Jesus, they simply do not understand it. They cannot fathom why anyone would want to follow and live a religious lifestyle. I am not talking about priests, monks, nuns, etc. You yourself can become a religious person, a holy person, a saint. What is stopping you? For those around you that do not understand your desires and love for God, pray for them. They are children of God and are loved by God the same we He loves all His creatures.

they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay

So they found another way to get to Jesus. They would not allow anything to stop them from getting to Him. Likewise for us! Let nothing or no one get in your way when you are seeking Truth. Notice what they didn't do. They did not try and force the paralytic through the crowd. They avoided the obstacle that prevented them from getting to Jesus. So too for us, we must avoid anything that prevents us from going to Jesus. Sin is a great obstacle. Do not let sin be an obstacle for your journey to God. Take your sin with you on your journey to God and God will heal you from it.

Can you imagine the things they were doing? Just picture it in your head. They go on top of the roof and make an opening to try and get the paralytic to Jesus. I can only imagine what Jesus is thinking at this point. He knows what they are doing. He sees everything.

And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."

What did Jesus see? He saw their faith. Do people see your faith? Do people see your faith or do you hide it instead? Are you ashamed of your beliefs and what people think of you? There was a great crowd there with Jesus and these men did not care about what anyone thought. They knew that this paralytic needs healing and they went out of their way to get him healed. This is the true way of faith. St. Francis of Assisi once said "Preach the Gospel always, and use words when necessary." We can preach the Gospel 24 hours a day, 7 days a week without ever talking about it. Lead by example.

Jesus tells the paralytic "My son, your sins are forgiven." What was the purpose of this man's approach to Jesus? To be forgiven of his sins or do to be healed of his paralysis? How can we relate this to our spiritual life? You know, sometimes people go to God when they are in trouble. In trouble with life, finances, illnesses, marriages, depression, addiction, etc. We go to God and want Him to heal us from these physical problems. What does God do? He sees our faith and He tells us the same thing He told the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven." We can be forgiven of our sins if we ask God to forgive us. He will free us from our afflictions, whether it is physical or spiritual. He cares about every problem we face. We need to cast our anxieties on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Some of you have gone through something similar to this. People start looking down on us and start questioning everything we do and say. They just want an opportunity to bring us down. They do not understand what it is that we are seeking. If the scribes were humble, if they denied their selves and their pride, they would not have asked this question. They would have seen that Jesus is the One True God. He has the power to forgive sins. So too for us, if we deny our selves, get rid of our pride, and be more humble, we will see that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He wants us to come to Him so that He can forgive us of our sins.

And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your pallet and walk'?

Jesus asks them “which is easier to say, yours sins are forgiven or pick up your pallet and walk?” In other words, which is easier to do, tell someone their sins are forgiven or to heal someone (ask them)? The answer is that the easier thing to do is to tell someone their sins are forgiven. So the harder thing to do is heal. So if Jesus can heal the paralytic, then forgiving the man’s sins is no problem for him. This is how Jesus proves to the crowd that he really did forgive the paralytic’s sins.

Are you seeking proof that your sins are forgiven? Approach the confessional and confess your sins and you will encounter face to face with the proof. Before you go in the confessional to confess your sins, you will have a big load on your shoulder. Everything feels heavy. Some of the sins you have are wearing you down and you are regretting your sins. Can you imagine the feeling that you feel once God forgives you of your sins? The remarkable feeling is a miracle itself.

But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins"

Do we know that the Son of man, the Christ, has authority to forgive us our sins? If we know, then why don't we confess our sins to Him more often? What is holding us back?

he said to the paralytic-- "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home."

We are spiritually paralyzed and we also need to get up, pick up our sins, and walk to the confessional and will be set healed from our paralysis.

And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

The miracle that was done was not only done for the paralysis, but for the people to witness it. How beautiful is our Lord! He loves all of His children. When God heals us of our spiritual illnesses, there are people who look at what God did for us and we become witnesses to God's power and glory. I quoted this once above but it is worth quoting again. Saint Francis of Assisi once said "Preach the gospel always, when necessary, use words." So too for us, we must walk as if we were healed so that the unrepentant can see our ways and be drawn to that lifestyle. They will want what you have. If you have what God wills for you to have then they will want what God wills for them to have. So let us give glory to God and pray Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and forever shall be, world without end. Amen!

A secular look at the impact of homosexuality

2008-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

This handout, written by the leader of my Bible study, outlines in a secular way the impact that homosexuality has on the face of marriage and society. This was created as a way for people to better argue the point for traditional marriage and strict heterosexuality.

Prop 8 Articles.

2008-09-24T09:25:00.001-07:00

The following post was made by the leader of my Bible study and contains the Biblical analysis of and Early Church Fathers' testimonies about homosexual acts. The notes I posted prior are in relation to this article as well so read both when you have the chance.

Prop 8 class 9-23-08

2008-09-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

So my Bible study went into the analysis of Proposition 8 (voting on amending the state constitution to include the definition of marriage) and I took some notes on it. I will be posting the handout up here tomorrow morning or so.

1) Reasons against gay marriage

a) Genesis 1 and 2

i) Sets foundation for all Christian teaching on marriage, family and sexuality.

(1) Sex act is good by God.

(a) Has purpose

(b) Not bad at all

(2) Dual purpose to sex

(a) Procreative

(b) Unitive

b) Marriage in both Genesis (first book) and Revelation (last book)

c) Meanings in Genesis

i) Woman made from side of man.

(1) Symbolic as “side-by-side”

(2) Not made from head or foot

ii) When presented to man, brought to Adam as his wife.

(1) Unitive aspect shown

d) Man+Female=image of God.

i) We share in God’s own love

ii) We are unique persons with own intellect

iii) By virtue of being human, we are in two worlds at once… heaven and earth.

(1) Being of God’s image yet still mortal and having a soul.

e) Gender compliments

i) Each gender draws out of the opposing gender the qualities that God wants revealed.

ii) Gays can’t have complementary relationships

(1) Ultimately frustrating

(2) There is a dysfunction at the sexual level and even more dysfunction at the social level

(a) Can’t procreate so kids are adopted, etc.

(3) Always an attempt to mimic the heterosexual relationship

(4) Cannot (purposefully) fulfill any of the marriage aspects to fruition.

f) Types of marriage

i) Celibates

(1) One of two instances

(a) Has not found partner yet

(b) Chosen the greater good (priesthood, etc) in place of marriage.

ii) Childless

(1) Sometimes, couples cant have kids

(2) Even without kids, the unitive aspect is stull fulfilled.

(3) Even without sexual relations, the complementary levels still exist.

iii) Marriage union reflects what God is like.

g) Characteristics of Homosexual relationships

i) Largely selfish

(1) Simple attraction and pleasure

(2) Complementary traits, social well-being and responsibility lacking.

h) Sinful nature

i) Only 1 of 5 sins in Bible listed as abominable

i) Biblical examples

i) Sodom

(1) Foundation story for Scripture.

(2) Shows how grave a sin that homosexuality encompasses

(3) Lot’s wife analysis

(a) Referenced in NT

(b) Example of how quickly God’s judgment comes.

(4) Analysis of physical blindness experienced by attackers trying to sodomize Lot.

(a) Physical blindness=manifestation of moral blindness

(b) The act of the attackers to trying and find the door of the house shows the compulsory nature of sin.

ii) Deuteronomy 23:18-19

(1) Canaanite religious reference

(a) Ritualistic sex practices

(2) “dog” refers to “Dogs of Ishtar’

(a) Castrated males dressed as women and made priest(esses?) in Canaanite temples.

(3) “Dog” is no neutral term, it is specific term for a specific sin.

(a) “Doggie style,” anyone?

(4) Lasting effect of the name

(a) By 100AD, Canaanites no longer existed and therefore the use of the term in Matthew 7 had no religious connotation.

iii) Judges 19:15-26

(1) Only time in Bible where all the tribes in Israel got together and beat up another tribe of Israel

(2) Nearly wiped out entire tribe of Benjamin.

(3) All done over the fact that the Benjamites wanted to have relations with men and instead viciously attacked a man’s wife.

(4) This story is like Lot’s story but it is entirely in the context of the Israelites.

Some Multimedia Sources

2008-09-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

I found this a while back to show others in a more dynamic way the truths of Catholicism but have since forgotten to post them... until now. There is a man of the username cathaustralia on YouTube that has made two segmented videos on the Refuting Sola Fide and The Supremacy of the Papacy. Though these videos are a little bit monotonous in tone, they make up for it in information.

I have made playlists for these videos and they shall be listed here. Don't forget to give this guy some commentary love!

An Apology

2008-09-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

I would like to apologize to all the people out there that I am sorry about some of the things I have said in regards to Protestants, particularly in the previous post. Practicing ecumenicism is one of my primary goals and the previous post could have been a little nicer. For that I apologize.

Off to work on learning to make a kilt.

-N8

Things I hate to hear

2008-09-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

So I do not mean to be vindictive but I feel seriously wronged at this stage in my life because my ex-girlfriend's parents blindly refuse to recognize Catholicism as the original and full version of Christianity and as such do not want me dating their daughter, a beautiful woman that is now dating some guy that she isn't happy with because it makes her family "happy". As such, I am going to vent a little bit and list some things that I hate hearing Protestants say...

1) Catholics aren't Christian

Oh, this one warms the cockles of my heart with a torch cutter! Unfortunately for most Evangelical/Fundamentalist/Protestant cults/sects, the weight of history rests on our side, as does Tradition. As stated in previous blogs, without Tradition there would be no Bible with which our delineated brothers and sisters in Christ could bash the Catholics with.

2) If you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior then you will be saved.

Really? So while I am out at 3am, hacksawing the body of a hated person so I can fit their dismembered corpse into a trash can and I call upon the name of the big JC then I will be saved and not have my soul thrown into a state or mortal sin? What RUBBISH! Besides, one has to be baptized, Trinitatian and with holy water, to be seen in God's eyes, which means that NO, baptism is not a meaningless external symbol and NO, one is not saved by a simple profession of faith!

3) Catholics added unoriginal stuff to Christianity.

Actually, Protestants took away stuff from Christianity. Protestants have twisted Scripture, bastardized the Body of Christ into tens of thousands of neurotically schismatic sects and stripped away the foundations and pillars of faith that had been the mainstay and support of Christianity for over 1500 years before the advent of Luther and Calvin. Unfortunately for many of the Protestants today, the face of your respective sect looks NOTHING like what Christianity once did.

Catholicism started out at the original Christianity like a brand new sportscar. Protestantism decided that the water pump, the radiator, the manual transmission and the rims were not needed for it to function properly.

Point the blame appropriately.

4) People need to read the Bible every day, it is God's word and it is our spiritual nourishment.

Look, I am a big fan of reading. In fact, I just bought a Kindle and I have it loaded with a bunch of books and it will number in the thousands of books in a short amount of time, but do not feed me this line that an UNCHANGING BOOK, regardless of how holy it is, is the sole source of "spiritial nourishment" and that reading and rereading it somehow fulfills you. The only reason it is called the Living Word is because the words of JC transcend time and space, they do not make one alive in faith.

Besides, the original spiritual nourishment is the Eucharist, SURPRISE! Unfortunately, only Catholics have the true Eucharist and everything else is a skeletonized knockoff. Much like Clinton, Protestants cant seem to figure out what the meaning of "is" is.

5) The Bible is infallible.

REALLY?!???! When did it make a decision for you? When did it TELL YOU what to do? I believe the proper term is inerrant and even then it is subject to limitations, one limitation being that the Bible does not claim to be nor can it be used as a scientific treatise (an example of this being the next case in point.) However, the Bible does have given to us what we need for salvation but only in conjunction with the Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium, forming the "Three-Legged Stool"

This is all I have for now. I don't mean to be angry but I now have to go through the grieving process again and I am kind of an emotional wreck at the moment. Fortunately, the rant I have just posted does have some theological merit going for it.

Time to go try to be normal.

-N8

ETA: Read the comments section on this particular blog to read the wise words of dean.

Some book reviews

2008-09-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

So I just got done reading two pretty good Catholic apologetics books that Ehab sent to me recently and I thought I would share my thoughts on them with all the blog readers out there.

The first book is called Protestantism by Dave Armstrong and is a collection of reflections on a variety of topics concerning Protestants, such as Private Judgment, Predestination, Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide and other such topics. The one topic that transcends all the other topics though is the Tradition that we Catholics hold so dear and how it is a cohesive force for our doctrine. All in all, this book is a very well-thought out collection of reflections from his online arguments and on his thoughts in converting to Catholicism.

The second book is another Dave Armstrong book called More Biblical Evidence and it essentially outlines the core beliefs of Catholicism in reference to the Bible. Including but not limited to the topics covered are Tradition, the Eucharist, Marian devotions and the centrality of the Bible to the Catholic faith in contrast to the exclusivity of the Bible in the Protestant faith(s). It is an excellent read and highly recommended for the conscientous apologist.

There are more reviews to come so check back again OR subscribe to this blog via RSS feed!

-N8

Meditations on Mark 1:40-45

2008-09-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

Grace and peace be with you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It is an honor that Nate has allowed me to be a second blogger in his blog. Thanks Nate! I will try my best to give Spiritual reflections on a Gospel story or verse or what not. My real name is Ehab but I am a Catholic rapper and my rap name is Elijah (www.myspace.com/twinrecords << click there to check out the music).

Before we begin, please know that this story has a beautiful ending to it that most of us have not seen. After the ending is revealed, your eyes will be open and it will be like seeing a magic trick. Please be patient and read this in its entirety from beginning to end because there is something beautiful to see at the end. I hope you enjoy this. Let's begin the meditation by first reading it:

Mar 1:40	And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, "If you will, you can make me clean."
Mar 1:41	Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean."
Mar 1:42	And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
Mar 1:43	And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once,
Mar 1:44	and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people."
Mar 1:45	But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

We will take this verse by verse but first we have to begin with the background in those days about people who have leprosy. Most people know that people who had leprosy in those days were outcast and lived outside of the city. They were not allowed in because people were afraid to catch the disease. They were not allowed to worship in the Temple. This is very important to keep in mind for the sake of the meditation.

In verse 40, we read that the Leper approaches Jesus. This is very important to understand. First we have to ask ourselves, where was Jesus? If He was in the city, then how did the leper approach him if they are not allowed in the city? Well if we go back just 1 verse to Mk 1:39, it reads "And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons." So we can see that Jesus was in a public place where there are many people around him. He was preaching in the synagogue before the leper approached him. How is that possible? Well, Mark doesn't tell us how the Leper got there, but we know that he somehow got there. Perhaps he covered his skin and sneaked into town? To me, that seems to be the most reasonable explanation. What great faith! He basically took the chance of getting caught by the people. He took a greater chance when he approached Jesus and showed himself to be a leper in front of all the people and said "If you will, you can make me clean." Notice how Mark tells us that the leper kneeled in front of Jesus. This is a sign of humility. If there is an issue in your life that needs healing (whether it be forgiveness of sins, salvation, an addiction from porn/alcohol/sex, anger problems, etc...) you must approach Christ with humility and complete trust. We have to learn from the leper. He trusted in Jesus to heal him and that is why he went out of his ways and took a huge risk just to come to Jesus. What a powerful scene! We cannot approach Jesus with pride. We have to come to Jesus with a mindstate of trust.

There is something important to notice on what the leper said to Jesus. First of all, he didn't say "if you can. you can make me clean" but rather he said "if you will" or "if you want to" because he had great faith that Jesus could heal him and make him clean. Do the words "if you can" remind you of anything else that you've read? Perhaps from Mark 9:22-24:

Mar 9:22	And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us."
Mar 9:23	And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes."
Mar 9:24	Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

It's interesting to compare the two. One says "if you want to" and the other says "if you can". But both instances, Jesus works a miracle.

Let's look at what the leper says. He tells Jesus "you can make me clean." Let's focus on that for a minute. What does he mean by clean? Well, lepers were considered to be unclean and unclean people were not allowed to worship in the Temple. They were looked down upon by the Jewish people. They were not allowed to eat with "clean" people. Being unclean doesn't necessarily mean that you had some kind of disease. The Jewish people looked at the Samaritans as unclean people.

Now if a clean person touches an unclean person, then the clean person becomes unclean and the unclean stays unclean. Let's look at what happens in verse 41.

Mar 1:41

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I will; be clean."

Notice how Mark tells us that Jesus touched the leper. Now if you were a Jew in those days and you were watching this happen in front of you, you would consider Jesus to be unclean. For Jesus to touch an unclean person, that would make him unclean as well and would not allow him to worship in the Temple and whatnot. Notice also how Jesus was moved with pity. He had compassion on the leper. So too for us, we can approach the God of love who is Love Himself with faith and trust and he will look at us with compassion like we are children looking for a Father. God loves all of his children no matter what they have done. We have to approach Him with faith and he will have mercy on us.

Moving on to v.42, it states:

Mar 1:42

And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

We see that the leprosy left the man and he was made clean. Now as we stated above, if a clean person touches an unclean person, then the clean person becomes unclean and the unclean stays unclean. But we see a reversal happen here. The unclean person (the leper) is touched by the clean person (Jesus) and instead of Jesus being unclean, it is the leper who becomes clean. Keep this reversal in mind because it will serve a great purpose at the end of the story.

Now let's look at verses 43 and 44 together.

Mar 1:43	And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once,
Mar 1:44	and said to him, "See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people."

Jesus tells the Leper not to tell anyone about the miracle. He tells "go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for you cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." In order to understand what Jesus is talking about, you have to look to the Old Testament. Jesus is referring here to Leviticus 14. It talks about what the leper must do when he is healed from his leprosy.

Let's not forget, Jesus tells the man not to tell anyone about the miracle. Let's look at the very last verse of our meditation and bring everything together. Bare with me, all this is going to make sense.

Mar 1:45

But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

So the man did not obey what Jesus told him. He went out and began to talk freely about the miracle. Now I don't know about you but if I had something like that happen to me, I'd be telling everyone! We can't look at the man as being disobedient (even though he did disobey). But I'm sure most of us would do the same.

Let's bring it all home. What does Mark tell us next? Well, after the leper goes and tells people about what happened, something happens to Jesus. Mark tells us "Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter." Now let me ask you this. In the beginning of the story, who was it that couldn't openly enter a town? Who was it that was an outcast? It was the leper. Now, here, at the end of the story, who is it that cannot openly enter a town? Who is an outcast now? It is Jesus. What a powerful scene! Christ took the leper's wounds and put them on his back and bore them and set the man free. Free to worship God in the temple and free to live a normal life. He set him free. This is a small foreshadow of the cross. Christ took on our sins and put them on His back and set us free when we were the ones who deserved to be on that cross. He heals those who come to Him with humility, faith, and complete trust. If we want to obtain salvation, we have to go to Jesus that way.

We see two reversals happen in the story. First, the unclean becomes clean when touching the clean instead of the clean becoming unclean when touching the unclean (it makes sense I promise!). Also, we have the leper being outcast and not allowed to openly enter a town and Jesus being free to enter a town and not be outcast to the leper being free to enter a town and living the city while Jesus was the one who was outcast at the end.

Let us approach Christ with the same humility that the leper approached Him with. We all have something dirty that we need healing from. Sin. Leprosy is something very disgusting and horrible to have. Sin is infinitely even more disgusting and horrible to have. We have to cleanse ourselves from sin and the only way we can do that is going to God. Let us fix our eyes to Jesus and He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us and give us everlasting life!

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

www.myspace.com/twinrecords
-Ehab (AKA Elijah)

New Author

2008-09-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

Well blog readers (few as you may be as of yet), I have just send out an invite to my friend and fellow Catholic apologetic Ehab to become an author for this blog in addition to myself. He has some great stuff to write about and it will bring a more balanced and less (personally) aggressive facet to the blog.

Enjoy!

-N8

My Questions to Protestants 9-5-08

2008-09-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

So I haven't gone to a real Bible study in two weeks since I couldn't find the new location the first time and I was at a wedding the second, so I am a little dry on material and newfound theological knowledge. I attended one at another local parish and I must say, it was like attending an AA meeting (never been to one, just have an idea of it.) The whole meeting was about expressing feelings or whatever and since I didn't have the workbook, I couldn't participate so I was glossed over. Next Wednesday I am planning to attend a Calvary Chapel Bible study, just so I can see what heresies they are spreading now... gotta love it.

So, onto the Questions for Protestants. This one is on the Definition of Scripture. While not entirely inclusive in intent and scope, this (really short) battery of questions should provide some food for thought.

1) When the Bible (as we know it today) refers to Scripture, what is it that the Bible is referring to? Surely it cannot be referring to itself!

2) Since the Bible cannot be referring to itself as the Canon of Scripture was not thought of until 397 at the 3rd Council of Carthage, what is the Bible referring to when it speaks of Scripture?

3) How does one know that the Bible one reads is authentic Scripture unless one has been told by someone higher than oneself that it is true and correct?

4) Who sets the Biblical standard for the Protestant denominations?

Well, that's all I got folks. Feel free to respond or provide supplementary answers and whatnot :)

-N8

My Questions to Protestants 9-2-08

2008-09-02T00:46:00.000-07:00

This is the next installment of my theological musings posed as questions to my Protestant brethren. Today's topic is the oh-so-caustic topic of saints and the prayers in reference to them. While many Protestants (wrongly) think of prayers to the saints as an act of necromancy, the position held by Tradition and all those that have come before us beg to differ on the matter.

The following battery of questions should provide an impetus for thought.

1) When we die here on earth, are we dead forever?

2) When we die, are we closer to or farther from God?

3) Isn't is a common practice for people to ask for another's prayers or to pray for another person asking for such prayers?

4) taking into consideration question 1 in regards to question 3, why is it such a bad thing to ask out eternal brothers and sisters, far closer to God than ourselves, to pray for us and ask for their intercession with God?

5) Why is it that if we are nt to be enamored with the ways of the world but instead to prepare for the next life in a pious way, what reason do you have for disavowing and denying the intercession of those that have passed on before us?

While we are on the topic, let us review the Apostle's Creed, which is (as far as I know) the oldest Catholic (OK, I guess we can say Christian as well...) creed.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen.

Notice that line there "the communion of saints." That is a direct reference to all of the appropriately justified and mortally expired kinsfolk interceding on our behalf.

Need Biblical proof? This article does a bang-up job explaining all of it.

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0312frs.asp

Good explanation of the fallacies of the Protestant argument.

http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1990/9011fea2.asp

As far as my private (and fallible) searches have concluded thus far, I believe that 2 Timothy 1:3 is referencing prayers for saints, Hebrews 12:1 shows us that many witness us, Revelation 6:9-10 tells us that saints deliver prayers in the form of incense and Romans 8:26-27 is pretty clear that we really don't know how to pray and that saints often intercede for us. In addition, James 5:16 is also nice because who can be more righteous than someone that has attained heaven?

So there you have it, we can see that the communion of saints is in reference to one big spiritual community. As usual, any feedback and/or arguments would be nice.

Also, the read count is a little low so if you are up to it, send the blog link along for all to see.

Off to bed for me.

-N8

My Questions to Protestants 8-29-08

2008-08-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

This is the next installment of Questions for Protestants. As usual, these were written while bored at work (usually have good epiphanies there)

Today, fellow readers, I would like to discuss the idea of Marian devotions, a concept that many Protestants find hard to wrap their heads around, despite what the 10 Commandments tell us, what the early Church Fathers have handed down and Scripture alludes to regarding this matter. Therefore, I shall ask several pointed questions that follow a logical and linear progression.

1) Is Mary not the Mother of God?

2) Therefore, is Mary not the Mother of Christianity?

3) By proxy, is Mary not the Mother to us all as brothers and sisters in Christ?

4) Referring to the 10 Commandments, should we not give honor to our parents, in this instance our Mother?

5) Is Christ not the King?

6) Referring to the Book of Kings, we can see that mothers are listed with their sons, the kings. Does not the Bible refer to Mary in much the same way?

7) Can any Protestant, regardless of denomination, show me the place in any form of Catholic dogma or document that says Mary is to be worshiped?

8)If the Church came before the Bible and the earliest Protestants acknowledged the perpetual virginity of Mary and other such Marian doctrines/devotions, why do most scions of these original Protestant movements disagree with their early leaders and adamantly disavow the Catholic position?

So how about it, my Protestant brethren, does anyone have an answer for me?

Well, I have to go to work now. The next installment will be on prayers to/with/by the saints.

Until next time...

-N8

Private Reading Notes 8-25-08

2008-08-25T10:56:00.001-07:00

Well, I have nearly finished reading the New Testament (well, most of it)! It truly has been an interesting experience and well worth going into work about 2-3 hours early to read and take notes upon it.

As usual, I have some phrases of questionable meaning and there is a need for further analysis so I will not post them until I can go back and look at them again a little deeper.

Here we go.

1) Colossians

a) 2,8: avoid purely human traditions

2) 1 Thessalonians

a) 2,13: People received God’s message as the word of God, not of men.

i) Where is this word/message? Surely not in the Bible, because the Bible didn’t exist!

b) 4,1: They learned the ways from Paul, Silvanius and Timothy, but these guys had no Bible!

c) 5,8: Faith, hope and love as armor to protect the vital parts of the Body of Christ.

d) 5,21: Test everything, retain what is good.

i) One of my favorite Bible verses, right up there with Luke 11,21.

3) 2 Thessalonians

a) 2,15: hold firm to the traditions passed on

b) 3,6: Avoid the ones who do not follow the traditions passed on.

4) 1 Timothy

a) Ch. 3: Lists qualifications for the ministers (bishops, deacons, laypeople)

i) It is interesting to see that according to the Bible, bishops and other such people CAN be married.

ii) To clarify for those still in the theologically murky waters, the Catholic church has made celibacy a matter of discipline and not doctrine.

iii) If the Church were to randomly take out the requirement of celibacy tomorrow, there would be no change in how the Church functioned nor would it change dogma, as it is not a dogmatic constitution and therefore not infallible.

iv) See 1 Corinthians 7,32 and look at 7-28-08 Bible Study to see the definitions of the 3 papal documents.

b) 6,3-10: Stand wary against quarrelsome teachers of doctrines, as they are not to be followed.

i) Watch for schisms in the Body.

c) 6,20: Hold fast to your traditions.

5) 2 Timothy

a) 1,3: Parallels saintly intercession

b) 1,13: Follow what you have HEARD

i) Oral tradition

c) 2,2: Much care is taken in this statement to tell Timothy that it is important that trustworthy men be entrusted with Christ’s message.

d) 2,23-26: Take no part in senseless quarrels and gently correct those that contradict Christ’s teachings so that they might repent and come to know the truth.

e) 3,16: Aaaaah yes, the famous go-to Protestant Bible verse that is one of a very few used and twisted as a way to support sola scriptura

f) 4,8: Just noticed the emphasis on “not just for me but for all”.

i) The Bible continually speaks about others outside of self, etc.

ii) This, to me, speaks of a Body of Christ, being in union with one another and not being off in ones own little dream world.

6) Titus

a) 1,9: Reflects 2 Timothy 4,3?

b) 1,10-16: Looks at false teachings, particularly Judeo-Christians that are tearing the community apart.

c) 3,10: Dealing with heretics.

7) Philemon

a) Nothing struck me as unusual or cool here…

8) Hebrews

a) 2,1: We must remember what we have HEARD

b) 5,1-10: Appointment of priests, etc.

c) 5,11-14: More milk and solid food reference in terms of spiritual progression in faith. See 1 Cor 2,6.

d) 6,1-3: Sets up a progression in faith from the Jewish to the Christian theology.

e) 6,5: “When they have tasted the Word of God”

i) Is this in reference to the word coming in the flesh and ultimately the Eucharist?

ii) See John 1,14

f) 7,11: If the priests were perfect already, what need would there be to appoint a different one in place of the current ones? See Psalm 110,4

g) 7,12: Change of priests is a change of law.

h) 7,14: Jesus from a tribe that never officiated at the altar.

i) 7,15-17: Through his immortal existence and not through the line of familial priesthood is how Jesus reigns.

i) See Moving to 1 John 4...7-21-08 to look at the OT vs. NT succession of the priesthood.

j) 7,19: The old law did nothing and a new hope has brought us closer to God.

i) No way to the Father except through the Son? Perhaps a reference to John 14,6?

k) 7,20-25: God is everlasting and therefore has an eternal and unchangeable priesthood.

l) 7,26-28: Jesus was (is?) the answer to the question for all.

m) 8,13: Old Jewish law destroyed.

n) 9,11: Jesus became the sacrificial lamb.

i) Being eternal, he only needed to sacrifice self once and for all.

o) 9,15-28: This has something to do with the Eucharistic offering, I just know it.

p) 10,19-20: reflects on John 14,6

q) 11:1- Definition of faith

r) 11,40: Without us, God’s plan cannot be made perfect.

i) By the same token, it is only by God’s grace that we are saved.

ii) Kind of a theological catch 22, eh?

s) 12,1-13: We are like sons to God and should follow him in a manner not unline how we follow our earthly fathers.

t) 12,14-17: Against apostasy

u) 13,1-5: Some good rules for life

i) Let mutual love continue

ii) Neglect not hospitality

iii) Be mindful of prisoners

iv) Let marriage be honored and the bed undefiled

v) Be not a lover of money and be content with what you have

v) 13,8: Nothing about Christ has changed

i) What is known is known.

ii) Ecclesiastes 1:9 reference, perhaps?

w) 13,10: Jews cannot come to the Catholic altar.

x) 13,11-14: Just as Jesus died separated from his own people, so must the Christian community remain apart from the Jewish doctrines.

9) James

a) 1,5-8: Ask for wisdom, but do not doubt in your asking.

b) 1,19: Listen well and be slow to speak and be in anger

c) 1,22: ACT on the word, for if all you do is listen then it is worthless.

d) 1,23-24: He who listens but doesn’t act is worthless.

e) 1,26: Must control tongue

f) 2,14-17: Faith w/o practice and works is lifeless

g) 2,20: without works, faith is idle.

h) 3,2: Controlling the tongue is important

i) 3,5: Though small, the tongue makes great pretensions

j) 3,9-12: one cannot praise God and curse men at the same time

k) 4,1: Divisions in the Church sparked by worldly desires.

i) Divisions in the Church=Divisions in the Body of Christ

l) 4,8: So this is where everyone gets the term ‘BACKSLIDER”

i) Geez, I hate that term

m) 4,11-12: What is this judging? Does this reference Matthew 7 in any way?

n) 4,13-17: So how are we to plan our lives?

o) 5,12: Do not swear oaths. Let your yes and no mean just that.

p) 5,14: This is where Catholics get the sacrament of Anointing the Sick

q) 5,15-16: Anointing heals sins. Confession of sins to one another heals as well.

r) 5,20: Bringing a sinner back into the fold will cancel a great many sins.

10) 1 Peter

a) 1,2: “…according to the foreknowledge of God”

i) Possible reference to Romans 8:29-30?

b) 2,12: “By your good works…”

c) 2,16: Even freedom has its limits.

d) 3,7: Rules for treating women

e) 3,9: Do not engage in retribution. Rather, give a blessing.

f) 3,10-12: Proverb on being charitable.

g) 3,13-17: What to do in confronting a person of libel against you.

h) 3,18: See John 14:6 and all associated passages.

i) 3,21-22: purpose of baptism.

i) BAPTISM NOT A MEANINGLESS EXTERNAL SYMBOL!

j) 4,8: Love covers a great many sins.

k) 5,9: “…throughout the world.”

i) Reference to a UNIVERSAL faith with all in communion with one another?

11) 2 Peter

a) 1,1: Notice the “faith like ours” part.

b) 3,8: Time to God is almost meaningless.

c) 3,17 “…lose your security.” Our salvation is not guaranteed and we must work it out in “fear and trembling”

i) See Philippians 2:12

12) 1 John

a) 6-23-08 Bible Study

b) More on 1 John 3... 6-30-08

c) Bible Study 7-14-08

d) Moving to 1 John 4...7-21-08

e) 7-28-08 Bible Study

f) 8-4-08- The Morality of Discernment

g) 8-11-08 Bible study

13) 2 John

a) Bible Study 8-18-08

14) 3 John

a) Bible Study 8-18-08

15) Jude

a) 1,20-21: Trinitarian doctrine established. Faith, Hope and Charity re-iterated

b) 1,25: Looks like some of the prayers in mass

c) Jude is going to need a small re-read J

16) Revelation

a) Revelation will be looked at deeper at a later time. It is quite a complex book and filled with a bunch of figurative language that I am having trouble with. Once I read up on it a little bit I can attack it with a little more gusto.

So there you have it folks! Time to move on to the Old Testament!

-N8

My newest idea...

2008-08-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

So while brooding over... well, nothing of any measurable external consequence, I came up with the idea of having a Catholic "cheat sheet" of select Bible quotations for the various doctrines of the Church, with a heavier emphasis on the doctrines/disciplines attacked the most (confession, Marian devotion, etc).

While this is a more passive way for me to stick it to the various vocally abrasive Protestants in my life, it is kind of good for me to do for other Catholics out there that are faced with the same or similar situation as I have been in or might find myself in. In case you readers were wondering, the answer is Yes... I am fairly vindictive, even more inquisitive and equally analytical.

Stay tuned for more! I am currently on 1 Peter so I have a bit more reading to do before I finish the New Testament.

Gotta blow this taco stand, my haystack is murmuring sweet blissful nothings into my ear.

-N8

Bible Study 8-18-08

2008-08-19T09:47:00.001-07:00

Well, this Bible session was all about 2 John and 3 John (very short books!) and the continuation of discernment in the more active nature of judgment. This was a difficult one to take notes on because it is so multi-faceted and so in-depth but I hope I can convey the message to you, the reader, in a cohesive manner.

1) 2 John

a) Written while he was suffering or after he had suffered for a while in exile

b) Refers to the churches in Asia Minor that were evangelized by Paul.

c) John comes around in 70AD and sees that other teachers had risen in his absence.

i) Doctrines taught that couldn’t be Christian

(1) Rejection of the Incarnate

d) People began to reject Christ while trying to maintain relationships with other Christians

i) People trying to drag Christians down with them

ii) Scandal… more on that later.

e) Ephesus=greatest church in Asia Minor

f) Gnostics

i) Appeared at least externally to be religious due to extreme asceticism.

ii) Two differing viewpoints shown

(1) Believed matter was evil

(a) Many starved to death over it?

(2) Some reversed and said since the flesh is evil that one can do as they please with the body since the soul is separate.

(a) Sound familiar?

iii) The two differing factions created confusion, hence this letter from John.

2) Analysis of 2 John

a) 2 John and 3 John are probably the last of John’s letters.

b) John is appealing to Tradition, not Scripture

i) Oral and otherwise.

ii) Responding to the Gnostics destroying the structures laid down by the Apostles.

c) John is the last surviving Apostle.

d) Written to a “lady”

i) The Church

3) Analysis of 3 John

a) This was written to a leader of the Church.

b) Asks for Gaius to return the favor of John’s visit b supporting the Pagans.

i) John came and visited Gaius on an evangelist tour

ii) Payback time?

c) 3 John is, all in all, basically a notice for the head honchos to prepare for him coming to solve some issues

i) Diotrephes was excommunicating people that were taking in missionaries from John.

ii) 3 John 11, he sets up Gaius to replace Diotrophes.

(1) Denounces the fact that Diotrophes has seen God.

4) Tying it all into JUDGMENT

a) Judgment is healthy and necessary to maintaining purity in religious circles, but only if done in the correct manner.

b) 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

i) Refers to excommunication

ii) A “brother” is a fellow Christian.

iii) One MUST judge those within the Church

(1) Paul not concerned with the non-Christians

iv) Paul is FURIOUS with the Church’s complacency on allowing public, unrepentant sinners to partake in the Eucharist

v) See image below to see the OT and NT corollaries in action within this passage

c) Gospel is the standard for judgment

i) Two types of external acts

(1) Body

(2) Mind

ii) The mind is as much a state of sin as is the body

(1) “You have heard that it is a sin to murder, but I say it is a sin to hate someone”- Sermon on the Mount

iii) One can only go so far in judging

(1) Can only judge externals, but even that only goes so far

(2) Internals are for God alone.

d) How Paul and John judge

i) Not talking about judging everyone for every little thing

ii) Definitely do no make final judgment on the sinners or salvation.

iii) Speak of public, unrepentant sinners

(1) Truly repentant submit to Christ’s judgment.

iv) “Admonish the sinner”

(1) One must inform others of the harm they are causing to others and their external life.

(2) If you do not inform someone that their actions are sinful, then you are not practicing charity.

v) Judgment is not for expelling everyone

(1) Shun them to show them the seriousness of their sin

(2) Still not considered an enemy, rather a brother.

e) Matthew 7:1-6

i) These are rules for individual Christians

ii) Judgment based on truth

(1) Truth is God’s manifestation of God’s will… It is what it is!

(2) We are to be careful about judging because our lives do not always reflect the holiness we perceive.

(3) But, you will judge when the plank (pride, self-righteousness, etc) has been removed.

(a) Must cleanse ourselves first (continuous process). Then you can see another’s problems.

(4) Purpose of all this is to help heal the other.

(5) “If we are not to judge, how can we tell who a swine or a dog is?”- Thomas Aquinas

f) Matthew 7:21-23

i) Determining a true disciple

g) Matthew 7:24-27

i) Preface to Matthew 16:18

(1) Church on rock, etc.

ii) The right to forgive and retain sin is a matter of judgment.

iii) Reflected in 2 Corinthians 5:18 as well.

5) Difference between Matthew 7 and Matthew 18

a) Ch. 7 dealt with individual Christianity

b) Ch. 18 deals with apostolic stuff.

i) 18:15-18=fraternal correction.

(1) Starts out private but becomes public.

(2) Two people chosen are actually to be impartial

(a) In Church, called “mediation”

(3) Power to impose punishment granted here as well.

ii) Matthew 18:20 refers to two or more apostolic people gathering together, not individual Christians

(1) Hearkens back to discernment, etc.

iii) Basically, we judge individually and then again as a whole.

6) The Body of Christ

a) Only in the Church can evil be turned into good

i) Baptism

ii) Reconciliation

iii) Etc.

b) If you reject the Church for the “evil” afoot (scandals, etc) then you must reject yourself as a Christian.

c) The Church will never be perfect in the human aspect.

i) Parables refer to this

(1) Wheat and weeds

(2) Goats and sheep

(3) Etc.

7) Matthew 7:1

a) People use this verse to excuse themselves from sin and THAT is a sin in itself.

8) Major example of judgment in 1 Cor 8:7-13

a) This speaks against creating SCANDAL

i) Spoken of earlier in these notes

ii) Scandal = “rock you trip over”

(1) Biblical term

(2) Defined more fully in Catechism.

b) Background to this passage

i) Jewish priests vs. pagan priests

(1) Jewish priests

(a) Priests trained as butchers

(b) Outlined mode of sacrifices in Leviticus.

(2) Pagan priests

(a) Animals were sacrificed to a particular deity, part of flesh burned and the rest sold in the market later.

ii) The meat in the pagan rituals was offered up to a god at functions like trade unions and consumed in a potluck style.

(1) E.g. silversmiths offer up sacrifice to the silver god, etc.

c) Why can you not eat of idol meat?

i) It gives a bad example to your fellow brother in Christ and causes them to question their faith

(1) Loosens the standards, so to speak

ii) If your actions cause another Christian to lose their faith, you are a murderer.

d) The passage of 1 Cor 8:7-13 tells us we cannot do certain things as it sets the wrong example.

i) By corollary, attending a homosexual wedding, etc.

e) Paul said it is one thing to eat the meat of an idol, it is another to attend an idol service

i) Same with gay marriage, etc.

ii) You cannot sin to save yourself embarrassment, etc.

iii) You cannot be a participant in a non-Christian ceremony

(1) E.g. Hindu/Buddhist/Jewish ceremony, etc.

(2) It does not say you cant be an ATTENDEE of a religious ceremony

(a) Active roles are denounced.

f) By corollary, Protestants cannot have Communion with the Catholics.

i) Believing in Transubstantiation is not good enough

ii) Must believe in the One Body, the Church

iii) Must accept Church teachings, the whole kit and caboodle.

9) Salvific nature of God.

a) OT: You sin and are one of the chosen people, you are gone, done, kaput.

b) NT: Jesus has come so the timeline for repentance has been extended and the Last Judgment has been delayed.

10) The symbolic nature of Jesus, mirrored in OT and NT.

a) Jesus is 1^st born son

b) Book of Sirach, called “goelle”

i) Spelling?

c) 1^st son had two tasks, good and bad

i) To buy back relatives that were in slavery.

(1) Jesus mission now

(2) Buys us back symbolically by his redemptive death

ii) Required to stand up for family’s father and honor and execute judgement on those people that dishonored the family.

(1) E.g. David’s last testament to Solomon

(2) The father passes to the son the role of judgment

(3) When moment of judgment comes, Christ will judge everyone.

11) The eternal nature of hell.

a) Hell is eternal because it is God’s way of showing you that you were not in control of your life.

b) Hell is one of absolute proofs that God is God.

i) What is the point of God’s redemptive nature if there is no hell?

c) Whether our eternity is spent with God or in the tainted flames of the fallen seraphim is up to us.

d) God will not be mocked!

e) Hell is the result of our lifetime of ignoring God’s will.

Private reading notes 8-18-08

2008-08-18T17:12:00.001-07:00

OK, here is another installment of the notes I have taken on the Bible, this time beginning with where I left off, at Romans.

Mind you, dear reader, these are not ALL of the notes, as I do have some questions about certain verses and I will need some more time in discerning their meaning.

Also, please take into consideration the fact that these notes are based on MY understanding and I may have missed the context of the passage in certain instances or not seen corollary passages as support, although I think I do a pretty fair job of conveying the general message.

Here we go.

1) Romans

a) 1,20: Gods eternal power expressed through material means.

b) 5,12: Doctrine of original sin

c) 6,12: Sin requires action, personal effort.

d) 6,14: We are under grace, not the law.

e) 6,23: Wages of sin is death

i) Death because of Adam

f) 7,7: We couldn’t know what sin is unless we saw the law.

i) Sin cannot be overcome by mere proclamation

g) 8,20: Creation is futile but hope is through God.

h) 8,22: Creation is still happening.

i) See I heard an awesome sermon today...

i) 8,26: We don’t know how to pray, the Holy Spirit helps us

j) 8,27: Spirit intercedes for the saints.

i) Needs some further analysis to show intent.

ii) Why the use of saints?

k) 8,36-39: God’s love helps us conquer all spiritual obstacles.

l) 9,32: Justice comes from faith, not works.

i) In reference to the strict Jewish observance of the law

m) 10,14: There is a need for someone to preach the word.

i) Need to believe to call upon Him.

n) 10,15: How can men preach unless they’ve been sent?

i) Possible reference to God sending apostles?

o) 11,15-29: Chris (Bible study instructor) spoke of this in class about Gentiles coming back into the fold.

p) 12,1-2: Hold not fast to the ideas of the world.

i) Reflected in 1 John 4

q) 12,3: Be humble

r) 14,22-23: Interesting use of food to examine spiritual life.

2) 1 Corinthians

a) 1,10: Let there be no disunion

i) Body of Christ as one

ii) Discernment

iii) Catholicism

b) 1,12-13: Christ is not divided.

c) 1,16: Household baptized

i) Possibly infants as well?

d) 1,25: The least of God’s power and wisdom is still greater than man’s.

e) 2,13-16: To the worldly man, Scripture makes no sense.

f) 3,2: Spiritual life is a progression in faith

g) 3, 3-4: Against divisions in the Body of Christ

h) 3,11: No one can lay a foundation on anyone else other than Jesus Christ.

i) 3,12-13: I someone builds on this foundation with anything except Jesus Christ, the work of each will be made clear by Day

j) 3,16-17: You are a temple of God.

k) 3,18-19: Worldly ways are an absurdity to God.

l) 4,15- 10,000 guardians in Christ?

i) Saints? Angels? Body of Christ

m) 4,19-20: “… find out not what they say, but what they can do.” “The kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in action.

n) 4,16: We should imitate Paul.

o) 4,17: Leaving behind a guy to remind people of Christ’s ways, just as taught in ALL churches.

p) 5,12: Judge not outsiders, for God will handle them

q) 6,13: Just because the body is not foever does not mean that it is OK to defile it in an immoral fashion.

i) God will do away with the bod in the end.

r) 6,16: Sex makes two people become one flesh

i) Reflected in OT as well.

s) 7,11: No divorce.

t) 7, 12-16: Unbeliever/believer union is OK as long as it is peaceable.

i) If unbeliever wants to leave, believer is not bound to the code.

u) 7,29: It is good to be single

v) 7,32: Support for priestly celibacy.

w) 10,32: God sends us all tests, but none of them are beyond our capacity.

x) 10,16: Eucharist and blessing.

i) Refutation of Consubstantiation?

y) 11,2: What are these traditions?

z) 11,23: Received from God, handed on to you.

i) Oral tradition

aa) 11, 23-25: Lines of the Consecration.

i) The Eucharist is a proclamation of the death of Jesus in atonement for sin.

bb) 12,9: Through the Spirit, one is given faith

cc) 12,12-26: There is no single person of Christ, we are all in one Body. No one can dissent!

dd) 13,2: Refutes Luther’s claim of “sola fide” and not needing love at all.

ee) 13,4: “Love” here is actually agape love. See definition in Bible Study 7-14-08

ff) 13,8: Love never fails.

gg) 13,13: Love endures all and outlasts hope and faith.

i) When we die, faith and hope are no longer needed.

hh) 15,5: This phrase shows the primacy of Peter.

i) Notice how he is named by himself and then “the Twelve” is later.

ii) 15,22: Through Adam all die, but in Christ all live.

jj) 15,49: Could this phrase refer to the fact that when we die, we will all be the age of Jesus at the Crucifixion? (33yrs old)

kk) 15,50: Flesh and blood cannot inherit heaven.

3) 2 Corinthians

a) 4,11: We are dying as we are living so we can be delivered to heaven.

b) 6,14: Oh, the famous “unequally yoked” Bible quote!

i) Gotta love when Fundamentalist/Evangelical folk throw this one on the Catholics and say you’re not Christian.

c) 11, 1-5: Speaks of men preaching another theological sin other than that was handed down and leading people astray

i) Can we say “Protestantism?”

4) Galatians

a) 1,11: Gospel is said not to be a human invention

b) 2,9: Cephas, James and John the “pillars” of the church.

c) 2, 11-14: Used by Protestants in a highly incorrect way to dispute papal infallibility.

d) 2,16: Following the Mosaic law does not make one justified.

e) 3,27: Baptism not just a meaningless external sign

f) 3,23-29: Purpose of Mosaic law was to keep one in check until the purpose of faith (the Crucifixion/Resurrection) could be revealed.

i) Since Jesus Christ redeemed us in faith, then the law no longer has hold.

g) 4,16: Great quote, I love it!

h) 5,4: Following the Mosaic law makes one fall out of favor with God.

i) 5,13: Just because faith justifies does not men that one can be irresponsible with the flesh, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

j) 5,17: Spirit and flesh are at odds with one another. This is wh one does in flesh what one knows is not good in Spirit.

k) 6, 6-10: Seed parable again.

5) Ephesians

a) 1,10: Bring the world into ONE under Christ’s headship.

b) 2,20: “You form a building which rises on the foundation of the Apostles and the Prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone”

c) 2,22: The people as a Body are brought together to become “a dwelling place for God in the Spirit”

d) 4,3: Plead to preserve church unity?

e) 4,4: There is One body, One bpirit, just as there is but one hope given all of you by your call

f) 4,11-13: teaching authority established.

i) Why the use of “pastor” instead of “priest”?

g) 4,14: Proof against Protestantism.

h) 5,22-32: Basis for sacrament of marriage?

i) 6,18: Use prayer of all sorts.

i) No real limitations set…

6) Phillippians

a) 1,15: Some preach from envy and rivalry?

b) 2, 1-4: unanimity is important. Being One with one another it critical.

c) 3,6: Shows his (Paul’s) zealousness in the law and how he thought he was justified.