-  Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe  - 

                                                 By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J. 

                                                             SEARCH  FOR  MEANING 

Since the dawn of consciousness, human beings have been plagued with two questions: (1) Why is there suffering; and related to this is why is there evil? (2) Why am I here? Or what is the meaning of Creation? It was really to these basic questions of life that human beings developed religions, perhaps in the beginning intuitively and later in a more rational way.

                                                             Why Creation?

Some so-called scientists say that it was fear that made Man concoct the notion of God: fear of thunder, lightning, floods, earthquakes, etc... Fear may be one of the factors that stirred in Man a questioning of his own fragile existence. And why not? Everything in the Universe, in fact, prods Man to ask questions. I believe human awareness is much richer than just fear. As man/woman sat and watched the splendour of sunset, for example, he/she was filled with an awe which in turn posed to him/her a question of his/her own smallness. Watchers of monkeys, especially of a higher species, tell us that some monkeys sit for hours watching the sunset, as if mystified by its glory. How much more are human beings endowed with consciousness? It was not only fear but everything in Life itself that set Man's mind into operation. Life still moves us to wonder. Who am I? What is this thing call life - the trees, birds, animals, sky, water, stars, etc. And I am only one among so many of my own kind. In the midst of all creation, I am only a drop which disappears practically into nothingness. It is natural when one comes to grips with the reality of one's smallest to think of "Something greater", the Cause of this changing finite existence. Some call this infinitely greater "Something" God; other the Absolute, etc. Call "It" whatever it might be, the Reality is there. Aristotle, through his reasoning on the principle of course and effect came to his belief in the "Absolute-Uncaused-Cause." The process to this Ultimate Reality between Aristotle and the primitive Man is the same. The difference lies in the degree of intellection: the former through a very sophisticated logical reasoning, the latter through a more intuitive grasp. But why must this "Absolute-Infinite Reality" create a finite Universe? I am not asking the question: why am I created. Rather, why is there creation at all?

                                                             Christian perspective

It seems to me that only Christianity answers the question satisfactorily. All other religions seem to accept creation as a fact. Perhaps I do not know other religions well enough. Up to the present, as far as my knowledge goes, there are creation stories in all religions. However, creation stories answer the question of how, not why. Only Christianity answers to my satisfaction the "why". And it is not found in the creation story in Genesis. It is found in the Life and teaching of Christ. Saint Paul sums up beautifully Jesus Christ's life in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verses 6-8.

              "though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be

               grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness 

               of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto 

               death, even death on a cross."

This captures neatly Christ's life of love. Love is the ability to get out of my own world ( just as Christ got out of his divine world ) to enter into the world of the other ( just as Christ entered our human world ) and to come to serve the real - (Real need: I use the word "real" because we often think "what I think is good for the other is really good for him," which in fact may not be the real good for other.) need of the other (just as Christ came to save us from sin), to the extent of laying down my life for the other. - John 15:13 - 

When someone is in love, he/she wants to share first what he/she possesses with his/her beloved. Hence he/she gives to his/her beloved a gift or gifts - a sharing of what he/she has. If the love goes deeper, then he desires to share himself with her. And so, they get married and lived together, sharing what they have and what they are. God who is Love - John 4:8, 16 - cannot but share what He is. This sharing of Himself is creation. It is Love that creates.

                                                             Why Suffering?  

A Christian response

If the Source of creation is Love, whence comes evil and suffering in creation? before I tackle evil in the world, I would like to make a distinction between: suffering as the effect of evil and suffering that is not the effect of evil. For me, evil means, "the harm brought upon Man through malicious intent" which always entails suffering. All evils bring suffering but not all sufferings are the consequences of evil.

Three categories of suffering

It is here that we must be clear on the different types of suffering. There are three main categories of suffering. The first, I have already mentioned: suffering as an effect of an evil deed. If I maliciously and falsely accuse you of being corrupt to destroy your reputation, you suffer because of my evil words. In anger, I hit you over the head with a chair. You suffer because of my evil deed. Wars are waged because of man's evil intentions - greed, envy, desire for power and glory, etc. In wars, many innocent lives are taken but it is a consequence of man's evil deeds. Often we conveniently blame God saying, "Why can't God stop the wars since He is all powerful?" If God were to stop all the evils that we human beings do, we would be robots, not human beings with free wills. As mentioned, free will is an essential part of being human.

The second is suffering that comes from the nature of creation itself; that is, earthquakes, floods, diseases, etc. The third, is a mixture of the first and the second. I lead an immoral life, say I womanize, and contract a sexual disease. This can affect the child that I will produce. My child, born defective or with any hereditary disease, is suffering because of my sins (evil) and because of the laws of nature in procreation the child inherits the parent's genes. It is easy to understand suffering as coming from Man's evil deeds directly or indirectly. It is difficult to understand innocent people suffering because of natural disasters. The question that one is forced to ask ultimately if one pursues this problem tenaciously is: Why must there be natural disasters which bring about suffering in human beings? Nature has its laws. If it rains very heavily and continuously for a long period, and if the water cannot be channelled fast enough into the sea, low lying areas will be flooded (the law of gravity). If a virus attacks my body and I am not healthy enough to resist that type of virus, I will fall sick. In spite of the fact that the laws of Nature keep the universe in order or in harmony, they do sometimes cause suffering to human beings independent of Man's will. This is what we call finiteness or limitedness or imperfection in Nature itself.

Why cannot God create a perfect Universe where there is no natural disaster, you might ask? What is perfect in the absolute sense is infinite, without limitation and only God is perfect. What is without limit or infinite cannot reproduce itself. Two infinites would be a contradiction. "Without limit" cannot have "something" outside itself because, if it were so, it would be limited; it would not be "without limit". A fortiori "Without limit" or Perfection cannot reproduce itself. God cannot create Himself or create Perfection because he is Perfection. Hence, God's creation, by its very nature, must be limited or imperfect. This is as far as our imperfect intellect can go. However, I must admit that ultimately I do not know why God created the universe as He did. How can I, a small drop that disappears practically into nothingness in the immensity of the universe, understand the Creator of this universe? How can the finite mind grasp totally the Infinite. The distance between the finite and the infinite is infinite! By this argument, I am not trying to escape grappling with the problem. All I am saying is that I must admit this reality; but at the same time, I must also try with my very limited intellect to understand it.

The right question to pose in the reality of the infiniteness of nature is: What is the meaning of my existence in the suffering caused by natural phenomenon? It seems to me that suffering in itself is neither good or bad. It is how I react to it that causes good or bad. If there is a flood and many are made homeless, our response or non-response to this causes good or bad. When, moved by the disaster, I go to help the poor people, my action is good. A suffering situation has elicited good out of me and I become a better and a greater person. However, if I turn my back on the suffering of these poor people, my action is bad because it has degraded me and nothing constructive has been done to help the situation. In the same way, if I am one of the victims of the flood, I can react in either a positive or a negative way. I can curse and swear, and do nothing about my situation. Then I would have allowed the natural catastrophe to crush me as a human person. This is bad. Or I can be challenged by it to help others and myself. Let us say, I use my sampan/boat to go and pick up stranded people, forgetful of my own safety. My heroic action will make me a greater person. This, ultimately, what is important , isn't it? It is no use crying over a disaster. It would not improve the situation. But it is important that I take up the challenge to my humanity to help others and the situation of suffering.

There is another dimension to the meaning of being in a finite world. God has given us an intellect. We can make use of this intellect to do a scientific research into the laws of nature so as to find solutions to prevent disasters. The building of dams and dikes is a great human achievement. Scientist in observatories who can predict earthquakes and typhoons, can help to eliminate or at least, diminish human sufferings. God have given us an intellect and a will and placed us in a limited world of nature, tame it and channel it for the building up of a true human society where there is concern and care for one another; in short, where there is love. This, as I have said as above, is the purpose of God's creation: Love.

Again, this principle of love can even be applied to suffering brought about by evil intentions of human beings. If, I maliciously and falsely accuse you of being corrupt to destroy your reputation, you can react to this in different ways. You feel the hurt (suffering) and you nurse the hurt till bitterness and hatred take root in you. Who does it destroy, if not you? You have no peace of mind because of this bitterness. Often this bitterness expresses itself in retaliation: You speak badly about me, and I am hurt. And this could go on till we tear at each other. Evil has brought on more evil and therefore, more suffering. This is the principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" which our Lord Jesus condemns. It will only bring destruction and more suffering.

Happily, there is another way that you can react to the situation: the way of Love. Although feeling hurt, you can say to yourself, "I am not corrupt, so does it really matter? I am what I am. People will find out the truth. Well, he does this to me because he is jealous of my success. Jealousy is a spirited sickness. One should not hurt a sick person. Understanding this, I should not feel hurt. Rather, I should feel sympathy for him." This sympathy will overcome the hurt in me. It is forgiveness that the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible speaks of. You will, then, not retaliate. And because you can see concerned for me. You care that I grow out of it and learn to accept myself. You will praise my good performance and good points. This affirmation of me will produce good results in me - a sense of my own worth. If it does not take away all my sense of insecurity, it will at least diminish it. The general reaction in me and in all human beings when we are praised, is that I react positively. So, I begin to like you and speak good about you. So evil is overcome by good. This is what Saint Paul says, "overcome evil with good. It is a concrete application of Jesus' command - "Love your enemies". If we analyse the above case, we will see that it is true love because you are able to get out of your own "hurt feelings", enter into my world to understand my insecurity and come to my aid.

From the above examples, it can be seen that true love not only overcomes situations of suffering caused by natural disaster but it also heals wounds brought about by evil intentions in human beings. In summary, for Christians, suffering is neither good nor evil. It is Man's/Human beings reaction to suffering that is good or evil. 

                                           -  Why is there evil?  A Christian response  - 

God created us through Love and for Love. To love, then, is the nature of being human. But love is free.......                                            

 - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 - 

- THE CITY OF GOD -  THE  OMNIPOTENCE  OF  THE  CREATOR -  BY SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO - 

                             - Of hell, and the nature of eternal punishment -  Page  Two  -

So then what God by His prophet has said of the everlasting punishment of the damned shall come to pass - shall without fail come to pass - "their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched." - Romans 8:13 - In order to impress this upon us most forcibly, the Lord Jesus Himself, when ordering us to cut off our members of his body, says, "It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm die not and their fire is not quenched." Similarly of the foot: "It is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched; where their worm die not, and the fire is not quenched." So, too, of the eye: "it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire; where their worm die not, and the fire is not quenched." - Mark 9:43-48 - He did not shrink from using the same words three times over in one passage. And who is not terrified by this repetition and by the threat of that punishment uttered so vehemently by the lips of the Lord Himself?

Now they who would refer both the fire and the worm to the spirit, and not to the body, affirm that the wicked, who are separated from the kingdom of God, shall be burned, as it were, by the anguish of a spirit repenting too late and fruitlessly; and they contend that fire is therefore not inappropriately used to express this burning torment, as when the apostle exclaims, "Who is offended and I burn not?" - 2 Corinthians 11:9 - The worm, too, they think, is to be similarly understood. For it is written, they say, "As the moth consumes the garment and the worm and wood, so does grief consume the heart of a man." - Isaiah 2:8 - 

But they who make no doubt that in the future punishment both the body and soul shall suffer, affirm that the body shall be burned with fire, while the soul shall be, as it were, gnawed by a worm of anguish. Though this view is more reasonable - for it is absurd to suppose that either body or soul will escape pain in the future punishment - yet, for my own part, I find it easier to understand both as referring to the body than to suppose that neither does; and I think that Sacred Scripture is silent regarding the spiritual pain of the damned because, though not expressed, it is necessarily understood that in a body thus tormented the soul also is tortured with a fruitless repentance. For we read in the ancient Scriptures: "The vengeance of the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms." - Ecclesiastes 7:17-19 - It might have been more briefly said, "The vengeance of the ungodly." Why, then, was it said, "The flesh of the ungodly," unless because both the fire and the worm are to be the punishment of the flesh? Or if the object of the writer in saying, "The vengeance of the flesh" was to indicate that this shall be the punishment of those who live after the flesh (for this leads to the second death, as the apostle intimated when he said: "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die") - Romans 8:13 - let each one make his/her own choice, either assigning the fire to the body and the worm to the soul - the one figuratively, the other really - or assigning both really to the body. For I have already sufficiently made out that animals can live in the fire, in burning without being consumed, in pain without dying, by a miracle of the most omnipotent Creator, to whom no one can deny that this is possible, if he/she be not ignorant by whom has been made all that is wonderful in all nature. For it is God Himself who has wrought all these miracles, great and small, in this world which I have mentioned and incomparably more which I have omitted, and who has enclosed these marvels in this world, itself the greatest miracle of all. Let each man/woman, then choose which he/she will, whether he/she thinks that the worms is real and pertains to the body, or that spiritual things are meant by bodily representations and that it belongs to the soul. But which of these is true will be more readily discovered by the facts themselves, when there shall be in the saints such knowledge as shall not require that their experience teach them the nature of these punishments, but as shall, by its own fullness and perfection, suffice to instruct them in this matter. For "now we know in part, until that which is perfect is come" - 1 Corinthians 13:9-10 - this we believe about those future bodies that they shall be such as shall certainly be painted by the fire. 

- Whether the fire of hell, if it be material fire, can burn the wicked spirits, that is to say, devils, who are immortal - 

Here arises the question: If the fire is not to be immaterial, analogous to the pain of the soul, by material, burning by contact, so that bodies may be tormented in it, how can evil spirits be punished in it? For it is undoubtedly the same fire which is to serve for the punishment of men and of devils, according to the words of Christ Jesus: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." - Matthew 25:41-46 - unless, perhaps, as learned men/women have thought, the devils have a kind of body made of that dense and humid air which we feel strikes us when the wind is blowing. And if this kind of substance could not be affected by fire, it could not burn when heated in the baths. For in order to burn, it is first burned and affects other things as itself is affected. But if any one maintains that the devils have no bodies, this is not a matter either to be laboriously investigated or to be debated with keenness. For why we're not assert that even immaterial spirits may, in some extraordinary way, yet really be pained by the punishment of material fire, if the spirits of men which also are certainly immaterial are both now contained in material members of the body and in the world to come shall be indissolubly united to their own bodies? Therefore, though the devils have no bodies, yet their spirits, that is, the devils themselves shall be brought into thorough contact with the material fires, to be tormented by them; not that the fires themselves with which they are brought into contact shall be animated by their connection with these spirit and become animals composed of body and spirit but as I said, this junction will be effected in a wonderful and ineffable way, so that they shall receive pain from the fires, but give no life to them. In truth, this other mode of union, by which bodies and spirits are bound together and become animals, is thoroughly marvellous and beyond the comprehension of man/human being, though this is which is man.

I would indeed say that these spirits will burn without anybody of their own, as that rich man was burning in hell when he exclaimed, "I am tormented in the flame" - Luke 16:24 - were I not aware that it is aptly said in reply, that the flame was of the same nature as the eyes raised and fixed on Lazarus, as the tongue on which he entreated that a little cooling water might be dropped or as the finger of Lazarus, with which he asked this might be done - all of which took place where souls exist without bodies. Thus, both that flame in which he burned and that drop he begged were immaterial and resembled the visions of sleepers or persons in an ecstasy, to whom immaterial objects appear in a bodily form. For the man, himself who is in such a state, though it be in spirit only, not in body, yet sees himself so like to his own body that he cannot discern any difference whatever. But that hell, which also is called a lake of fire and brimstone, - Revelation 20:10 - will be material fire and will torment the bodies of the damned, whether men or devils - the solid bodies of the one, aerial bodies of the others; or if only men/human beings have bodies as well as souls, yet the evil spirits, though without bodies, shall be so connected with the bodily fires as to receive pain without imparting life. One fire certainly shall be the lot of both, for thus the truth has declared.

- Whether it is just that the punishments of sins last longer than the sins themselves lasted -  Page  Three  -

Some, however, of those against whom we are defending the city of God think it unjust that any man/woman be doomed to an eternal punishment for sins which no matter how great they were, were perpetrated in a brief space of time; as if any law ever regulated the duration.......  

   - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 - 

- THE CITY OF GOD -  THE  OMNIPOTENCE  OF  THE  CREATOR -  BY SAINT AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO - 

        That the ultimate reason for believing miracles is the omnipotence of the Creator

Why, then, cannot God effect both that the bodies of the dead shall rise, and that the bodies of the damned shall be tormented in everlasting fire - God, who made the world full of countless miracles in sky, earth, air and waters, while itself is a miracle unquestionably greater and more admirable than all the marvels it is filled with? But those with whom or against whom we are arguing, who believe both that there is a God who made the world and that there are gods created by Him who administer the world's laws as His vicegerents - our adversaries, I say, who, so far from denying emphatically, assert that there are powers in the world which effect marvellous results (whether of their own accord, or because they are invoked by some rite or prayer, or in some magical way) when we lay before them the wonderful properties of other things which are neither rational animals nor rational spirits, but such material objects as those we have just cited, are in the habit of replying. This is their natural property, their nature; these are the powers naturally belonging to them. Thus the whole reason why Agrigentine salt dissolves in fire and crackles in water is that this is its nature. Yet this seems rather contrary to nature, which has given not to fire but to water the power of melting salt, and the power of scorching it not to water but to fire. But this, they say, is the natural property of this salt, to shows effects contrary to these. The same reason, therefore, is assigned to account for that Garamantian fountain, of which one and the same runlet is chill by day and boiling by night, so that in either extreme it cannot be touched. So also of that other fountain which though it is cold to the touch, and though it, like other fountains, extinguishes a lighted torch, yet, unlike other fountains and in a surprising manner, kindles an extinguished torch. So of the asbestos stone, which though it has no heat of its own, yet when kindled by fire applied to it, cannot be extinguished. And so of the rest, which I am weary of reciting and in which, though there seems to be an extraordinary property contrary to nature - a brief reason is given for them than this, that this is their nature - a brief reason truly and I own a satisfactory reply. But since God is the author of all natures, how is it that our adversaries, when they refuse to believe what we affirm, on the ground that it is impossible, are unwilling to accept from us a better explanation than their own, viz. that this is the will of Almighty God - for certainly He is called Almighty only because He is mighty to do all He will - He who was able to create so many marvels, not only unknown, but very well ascertained, as I have been showing, and which, were they not under our own observation, or reported by recent and credible witnesses, would certainly be pronounced impossible? For as for those marvels which have no other testimony that the writers in whose books we read them and who wrote without being divinely instructed and are therefore liable to human error, we cannot justly blame anyone who declines to believe them.

For my own part, I do not wish all the marvels I have cited to be rashly accepted, for I do not myself believe them implicitly, save those which have either come under my own observation or which anyone can readily - such as the lime which is heated by water and cooled by oil; the magnet which by its mysterious and insensible suction attracts the iron, but has no effect on a straw; the peacock's flesh which triumphs over the corruption from which not the flesh of Plato is exempt; the chaff so chilling that it prevents snow from melting, so heating that it forces apple to ripen; the glowing fire, which in accordance with its glowing appearance, whitens the stones it bakes, while, contrary to its glowing appearance, it begrimes most things it burns (just as dirty stains are made by oil, however pure it be, and as the lines drawn by white silver are black); the charcoal too, which by the action of fire is so completely changed from its original, that a finely market piece of wood becomes hideous, the tough becomes brittle, the decaying incorruptible. Some of these things I know in common with many other persons, some of them in common with all men; and there are many others which I have no room to insert in this book. But of those which I have cited, though I have not myself seen, but only read about them, I have been unable to find trustworthy witnesses from whom I could ascertain whether they are facts, except in the case of that fountain in which burning torches are extinguished and extinguished torches lit and of the apples of Sodom which are ripe to appearance, but are filled with dust. And indeed I have not met with any who said they had seen that fountain in Epirus, but with some who knew there was a similar fountain in Gaul not far from Grenoble. The fruit of the trees of Sodom, however, is not only spoken of in books worthy of credit, but so many persons say that they have seen it that I cannot doubt the fact. But the rest of prodigies I receive without definitely affirming or denying them; and I have cited them because I read them in the authors of our adversaries and that I might prove how many things among themselves believe, because there are written in the works of their own literary men, though no rational explanation of them is given, and yet they scorn to believe us when we assert that Almighty God will do what is beyond their experience and observation; and this they do even though we assign a reason for His work. For what better and stronger reason for such things can be given than to say that the Almighty is able to bring them to pass, and will bring them to pass, having predicted them in those books in which many other marvels which have already come to pass were predicted? Those things which are regarded as impossible will be accomplished according to the word, and by the power of that God who predicted and effected that the incredulous nations should believe incredible wonders.       

- That it is not contrary to nature that in an object whose nature is known, there should be discovered an alteration of the properties which have been known as its natural properties - 

But if they reply that their reason for not believing us when we say that human bodies will always burn and never die, is that the nature of human bodies is known to be quite otherwise constituted; if they said that this miracle we cannot give the reason which was valid in the case of those natural miracles, viz. that this is the natural property, the nature of the thing - for we know that this is not the nature of human flesh - we find our answer in the sacred writings, that even this human flesh was constituted in one fashion before there was sin - was constituted, in fact, so that it could not die - and in another fashion after sin, being made such as we see it in this miserable state of mortality, unable to retain enduring life. And so in the resurrection of the dead shall it be constituted differently from its present well-known condition. But as they do not believe these writings of ours, in which we read what nature man/woman had in paradise, and how remote he was from the necessity of death - and indeed, if they did believe them, we should of course have little trouble in debating with them the future punishment of the damned - we must produce from the writings of their own most learned authorities some instances to show that it is possible for a thing to become different from what it was formerly known characteristically to be. From the book of Marcus Varro, entitled, Of the Race of the Roman People, I cite word for word the following instance: "There occurred a remarkable celestial portent; for Castor records that is, in the brilliant star Venus, called Vesperugo by Plautus and the lovely Hesperus by Homer, there occurred so strange a prodigy, that it changed its colour, size, form, course, which never happened before nor since. Adrastus of Cyzicus and Dion of Naples, famous mathematicians, said that this occurred in the reign of Ogyges." So great an author as Varro would certainly not have called this a portent had it not seemed to be contrary to nature. For we say that all portents are contrary to nature; but they are not so. For how is that contrary to nature which happens by the will of God, since the will of so mighty a Creator is certainly the nature of each created thing? A portent, therefore, happens not contrary to nature, but contrary to what we know as nature. But who can number the multitude of portents recorded in profane histories? Let us then at present fix our attention on this one only which concerns the matter in hand. What is there so arranged by the Author of the nature of heaven and earth as the exactly ordered course of the stars? What is there established by laws so sure and inflexible? And yet, when it pleased Him who with sovereignty and supreme power regulates all He has created, a star conspicuous among the rest by its size and splendour changed its colour, size, form and most wonderful of all, the order and law of its course! Certainly that phenomenon disturbed the canons of the astronomers, if there were any then, by which they tabulate, as by unerring computation, the past and future movements of the stars, so as to take upon them to affirm that this which happened to the morning star (Venus) never happened before nor since. But we read in the divine books that even the sun itself stood still when a holy man, Joshua the son of Nun, had begged this from God until victory should finish the battle he had begun; and that it even went back, that the promise of fifteen years added to the life of king Hezekiah might be sealed by this additional prodigy. But these miracles, which were vouchsafed to the merits of holy men, even when our adversaries believe them, they attribute to magical arts; so Virgil, in the lines I quoted above, ascribes to magic the power to "Turn rivers backward to their source, And make the stars forget their course." 

For in our sacred books we read that this also happened, that a river "turned backward," was stayed above while the lower part flowed on, when the people passed over under the above-mentioned leader, Joshua the son of Nun; and also when Elias the prophet crossed; and afterwards, when his disciple Elisha passed through it: and we have just mentioned how, in the case of king Hezekiah, the greatest of the "stars forgot its course." But what happened to Venus, according to Varro, was not said by him to have happened in answer to any man's prayer.

Let not the sceptics then benight themselves in this knowledge of the nature of things, as if divine power cannot bring to pass in an object anything else than what their own experience has shown them to be in its nature. Even the very things which are most commonly known as natural would not be less wonderful nor less effectual to excite surprise in all who beheld them, if men were not accustomed to admire nothing but what is rare. For who that, thoughtfully observes the countless multitude of men, and their similarity of nature, can fail to remark with surprise and admiration the individuality of each man's appearance, suggesting to us, as it does, unless men were like one another, they would not be distinguished from the rest of the animals; while unless, on the other hand, they were unlike, they could not be distinguished from one another, so that those whom we declare to be like, we also find to be unlike? And the unlikeness is the more wonderful consideration of the two; for a common nature seems rather to require similarity. And yet, because the very rarity of things is that which makes them wonderful, we are filled with much greater wonder when we are introduced to two men so like, that we either always or frequently mistake in endeavouring to distinguish between them.

But possibly, though Varro is a heathen historian, and a very learned one, they may disbelieve that what I have cited from him truly occurred; or they may say the example is invalid, because the star did not for any length of time continue to follow its new course, but returned to its ordinary orbit. There is, then, another phenomenon at present open to their observation, and which, in my opinion, ought to be sufficient to convince them that, though they have observed and ascertained some natural law, they ought not on that account to prescribe to God, as if He could not change and turn it into something very different from what they have observed. The land of Sodom was not always as it now is: but once it had the appearance of the other lands, and enjoyed equal if not richer fertility; for, in the divine narrative, it was compared to the paradise of God. But after it was touched [by fire] from heaven, as even pagan history testifies, and as it now witnessed by those who visit the spot, it became unnaturally and horribly sooty in appearance; and its apples, under a deceitful appearance of ripeness, contain ashes within. here is a thing which was of one kind, and is of another. You see how it nature was converted by the wonderful transmutation wrought by the Creator of all natures into so very disgusting a diversity - an alteration which after so long a time took place, and after so long a time still continues. 

As therefore, it was not impossible to God to create such natures as He pleased, so it is not impossible to Him to change these natures of His own creation into whatever He pleases, and thus spread abroad multitude of those marvels which are called monsters, portents, prodigies, phenomena, - See the same collocation of words in Cic. Nat. deor. ii. 3 - and which if I were minded to cite and record, what end would there be to this work? They say that they are called "monsters," because they demonstrate or signify something; "portents," because they portend something; and so forth. - The etymologies given here by Augustine are, "monstra," a monstrando; "ostenta," ab ostendendo; "portenta," a portendendo, i.e. preostendendo; "proligia," quod porro dicant, i.e. futura predicant. - But let their diviners see how they are either deceived, or even when they do predict true things, it is because they are inspired by spirits, who are intent upon entangling the minds of men (worthy, indeed, of such a fate) in the meshes of a hurtful curiosity, or how they light now and then upon some truth, because they make so many predictions. yet, for our part, these things which happen contrary to nature, and are said to be contrary to nature (as the apostle, speaking after the manner of men, says, that to graff the wild olive into the good olive, and to partake of its fatness, is contrary to nature), and are called monsters, phenomena, portents, prodigies, ought to demonstrate, portend, predict that God will bring to pass what He has foretold regarding the bodies of men, no difficulty preventing Him, no law of nature prescribing to Him His limit. How He has foretold what He is to do, I think I have sufficiently shown in the preceding book, culling from the sacred Scriptures, both of the New and Old Testaments, not, indeed, all the passages that relate to this, but as many as I judged to suffice for this work.    -  Page  One  -

                         - Of hell, and the nature of eternal punishment - Page  Two -

 - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -                   

                       -  Temptations to Goodness  -    By Venerable Fulton J. Sheen   -

Tactically all the nourishment the earth gives to man/woman comes from the top four inches of soil. But in the depths of the earth are hidden gold, diamonds and other precious things. So it is with persons; we judge through our commerce with them on the surface; the way they seem to act, the manner of speech and the ephemeral judgements based on the common hearing of the judgements based on the common hearing of the hourly newscast. As a result, most humans are thought to be very superficial, when the truth is that those who seem to have no depth at all to careless eyes really contain treasures of surpassing worth. What is often interpreted as shallowness in others is really a hiding of tragic forces, which only in great storms are brought to the surface.

A young divorced woman who seemed to be lost in the whirl of fashion took into her home on weekends a young victim of leprosy whom society disdained. I said to her: "I know why I have him in my home; it is because he stands for Christ Who bore in His Body all the sins and leprosy of the world. But why do you have him in your home:" She answered: "For the same reason." One would never suspected such deep fountains of sympathy and compassion.

What is true of the depths in others is also true of ourselves. It has been said that every atheist is afraid in the dark. Herod, who did not believe in a future life, nevertheless believed that Our Lord was John the Baptist risen from the dead. Communists, who deny religion, talk much about it. There is a buried life in every soul awaiting resurrection. As J. Hunter put it: 

Yet still, from time to time, vague and forlorn,

From the soul's subterranean depth upborne

As from an infinitely distant land,

Come airs, and floating echoes and convey

A melancholy into all our day.

A bolt is shot back somewhere in our breast

And a lost pulse of feeling stirs again.

The eye sinks inward and the heart lies plain.

In the subconscious depths of the soul come inspirations which are too noble to be of our making; the mud and slime which sink down to our subconscious mind cannot suddenly shoot forth flowers and blossoms. There is some other force from the outside which completely changes the direction of our lives. Travelling in the pathways of triviality, it takes some alien Power from the outside to divert us into the Highway of the King. The old theologians used to call these motivations to goodness, "Actual Graces". A better wording would be temptations to goodness.

Why is it that we practically always use the word "temptation" to imply an inclination to evil? Actually, every soul has more temptations to be good than it does to be evil. And we turn down more temptations to virtue than we do to vice. It is, therefore, quite wrong to think of our subconscious mind as a snake pit of rottenness and corruption. There may be some snakes of our hatching, but there are many more visitations of the angels or holy inspirations prompting us to realize the potentialities of our being.

The famous Psalm which begins with the words: "Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord" is a poetic expression of this truth. There are two kinds of despair: the hellish despair which comes from a man relying solely on his own resources, and the creative despair which makes one cry to God, from Whom saving experiences come. The surface of life seems to say one thing to us, and it often is hopelessness and despair; but the depths cry out to something else that is not of our own making.

Selfishness always rides on the thin ice of the soul, but true peace of mind comes from the fountains of the deep in which there is a cry to connect oneself with the invisible and eternal source of truth and love. If a man/woman could ever escape from himself/herself he/she could escape from God, but even when he/she lands on the moon he/she brings himself/herself with him/her. The pendulum has no sense apart from the clock, nor the carbon without the original, nor the shadow without the light. All escapes are vain, as Francis Thompson found when he wrote: "I fled Him down the nights and down the days... but ever and anon came on the Voice: Lo, naught contents thee who contents not Me."

 - WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY -Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function, so the body grows until it has built itself up, in love. - Ephesians 4:15-16 -

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -                   

                                 -  Straight to Catholics - Why I believe in What I believe  - 

                                           By His Grace Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, S.J.    

                                 - Jesus Christ the Mediator and other mediations -  P A G E   2  -

However, all this does not take away from Christ Jesus . His unique role as the sole Mediator between God and Man. It is through Him that all go to the Father: "No one goes to the Father except through me", says Christ. (John 14:6) There is also the famous text of Saint Paul "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as random for all". The Catholic Church has always taught that there is only One Mediator: Christ. Vatican Council II says: "We have but one Mediator..." (LG. "Constitution on the Church", No. 60). The meaning of "Mediator" as applied to Christ in the New Testament is more than a "Go-between" or a "representative of" two parties. Christ himself is the "meeting point" between the divine and the human. He is, therefore, at the same time the "High Priest" and the "Victim" of the sacrifice (Letter to the Hebrews). He is the Only High Priest and the Only Mediator.

Objection - If Christ is the only Mediator, why do Catholics call the Virgin Mary, "Mediatrix."?

Response: Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, is mediatrix not in the sense that she replaces Christ as the sole Mediator. Her mediation takes its meaning and activity from Christ's unique Mediatorship.

The Church or "people of God continues the salvific work of Christ in the world. Hence, all we Christians, by virtue of our baptism share in the priesthood of Christ (Vatican Council II, L.G. No.10). The Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) says: "To Him (Christ) who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom and priests to Our God..." (Revelation 5:10). - See section on "Sacrifice of the Mass." Because we share in his priesthood, we also share in his mediatorship as instrument to carry out Christ saving activity in the world. For this reason, Saint Paul can logically speak of two other kinds of mediation which spring from the unique and irreplaceable Mediatorship of Christ: (a) mediation through intercessory prayer to which all are obliged and (b) mediation through the special ministry of the Apostles.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all men, may lead a quite and peaceable life and respectful in every way,... For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the prayer time. For this, I was appointed a preacher and apostle..." (1 Timothy 2:1-7).

Paul go even further and speaks of filling up in one's own flesh what was wanting in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24). Is not Saint Paul sharing in Christ's suffering (Christ's sacrifice) a participation in the mediatorship of Christ? Christ's suffering is the consequence of His priesthood which is Mediatorship between God and Man. Since all of us in this sense share, as instruments, Christ's Mediatorship, surely the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, the most perfect of created creatures must share in a special way Christ's saving activity in the world. It was through her that God the Son came into the world. It was through her that God the Son came into the world. She was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Angel Gabriel the Holy Spirit. Angel Gabriel said, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35f). This was the result of her great faith in God. She is for us Catholics a model of faith. She is also a model of true discipleship (as presented by Saint Luke and Saint John). - _, Mary in the New Testament, ed. by Raymond E. Brown, K.P. Donfried, J.A. Fitzmyer, J. Reumann; Theological Theological Publications in India, Bangalore, 1981.- She followed her son from the beginning of His public Life, (John 2:1-12) the feast at Cana. It was here that Jesus performed His first miracle through her intercession. She was at the foot of the cross, at the end of her Son's public ministry, when Jesus gave her to be the mother of His "beloved disciple", symbol of all of us who are Jesus' disciples.

After Jesus' ascension, she was with the Apostles, the first Christian community who "devoted themselves to constant prayer" (Acts 1:14). From all these, the early Church fathers naturally gave her a special place of honour. Therefore, in a specific way, she shares the Mediatorship of Christ, the source of all graces. It is in this sense, that the Eastern Church applied this term mediatrix to the Blessed Virgin. It is difficult to give the exact date when the term was applied. The first writer in whose work the usage of this term can be proved with certainty is Saint Andrew of Crete (740). In the Latin Church, the term was popularized by Saint Bernard (12th century). 

As can be seen, this practice goes right back to a very early Tradition which is based on sound theology which comes from the sacred Scriptures. Further more the whole understanding of Mary's mediation, the saints' mediation and our mediation is rooted in the creed "we believe in the communion of saints" which I have already briefly explained before. It seems to me that those who accuse Catholics of calling Mary the "mediatrix", are caught up more with the superficial appearance of the word rather than with the true meaning of the word. I personally do not mind if we do not apply the word "mediatrix" to the Virgin Mary if that would make our accusers happy. But I do mind if they were to ask me to reject the idea of Mary and Christians sharing in Christ's Mediatorship. I would not for anything discard the truth and reality of my faith.

Objection - Why do Catholics call Mary the "Mother of God"? She is the mother of the humanity of Jesus, not of His divinity. Therefore, she should be called the mother of Jesus. 

Response: The title "Mother of God" can only be understood in the historical context of the controversy over Jesus' divinity and humanity. Right from the beginning of the Church, there were discussions and controversies over who Jesus was. Was He really God equal to God the Father? If so, was He really man like us: human beings? How can divinity and humanity exist in the one person? In the process of debate, a number of heresies emerged and they were condemned (see the section on triune God).

The Greek word for "Mother of God" is theotokos (God bearer or Mother of God). The earliest written record of this term that we now have (it could have been used earlier, though we have no record of this) is from Alexander of Alexandria (II) m 325 A.D.. but in subtuum papyrus, in the John Rylands library, it is put back to 270 A.D. If this is correct, then it is the earliest record of the term. By the time of Saint Athanasius (293-373 A.D.),. the usage of the term was common. Saint Gregory Nazianzen (324-389 A.D.) said, "If anyone does not accept the holy Mary as theotokos, he/she is without the Godhead.' In the West or Latin world, Saint Ambrose (340-397 A.D.) was the first to use "mother of God." But it was Saint John Damascene (680-690 A.D.) who developed a theology of the divine motherhood.

Of course, the root of this is found in the Gospel where Mary was the mother of the Son of God (Galatians 4:4; Luke 1:32,35); when Elizabeth calls Mary "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). The word :Lord" equals to God as can be seen from the same passage in Luke. Elizabeth said, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." And Mary replied, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour." (Luke 1:45-46).

The early Church had to fight against: (1) Docetism that believed that Christ's body was a mere phantom - that is, Christ Jesus was not truly Man. (2) Valentinus who taught that Christ's real body was a celestial body that merely passed through Mary, that is, a denial of Mary's real motherhood of Christ, the divine, and therefore of Christ's humanity. (3) Marcion who taught that Christ appeared from nowhere as a full-grown man, that is, again a denial of Christ's humanity and hence Mary's motherhood. (4) Fautius of Mileve, a champion of Manichaeism, who taught that the Holy Spirit overshadowed the earth (the Virgin) and not Mary (the person) and that Jesus became divine only when he was baptized in the Jordan. (5) Arius who denied Christ's divinity and hence Mary's divine motherhood, that is, Mary was only the Mother of Christ, the man. (6) Nestorius who taught that Mary was only the "mother of Christ" not the "mother of God' because this world confuse the divine and human aspects of Jesus, that is, there are practically two persons in Christ.

It was in this heated argument about Christ's divinity and humanity that Mary's motherhood was brought in to affirm either Christ's divinity or Christ's humanity, or both. The Church's answer to the confusion was that to deny Mary's divine motherhood was to deny Christ's divinity. This is a logical argument.

                                                 Jesus is God. 

                                                 Mary is the mother of Jesus. 

                                                 Therefore Mary is the mother of God. 

Hence, to deny that "Mary is the mother of God, is to deny the premise "Jesus is God." This was what the bishops at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. declared, "If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the holy virgin is the mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him/her be anathema (condemned)." - Quoted by Alan Schreck in Catholic and Christian. op. cit., page 176. -  When Catholics use the term "mother of God", it is, in fact, a defense of the divinity and humanity in the one person of Christ.

"But why cannot we simply say that Mary is the mother of Jesus?" you may retort. Surely, we can say that Mary is the mother of Jesus. But why cannot we say also that she is the mother of God as explained above? If the refusal to say "Mother of God" comes from wanting to confine Mary to the humanity of Christ without denying His divinity, my answer is that we cannot split Christ into two separate persons. He is One who is both divine and human. There were no two Jesus in the Gospel. there was only One.  

Objection - Why do we say that Mary is sinless? The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible says that only Christ is sinless. By making Mary sinless, are you not making her a God?

Response: Every statement about Mary is always related to the person of Christ. The dogma on Mary's immaculate conception like the term "Mother of God" is a defense of Christ's divinity.

Early Christians were divided on this issue. Origin, for example, did not believe in this. Even Saint Thomas Aquinas did not. But Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine did. The basic reason for the controversy resided in the fear that if Mary was sinless, then she did not need Christ's saving grace. This would be a denial of the Gospel. However, Duns Scotus' reasoning that God applied to Mary Christ's saving grace before the birth of Christ helped the Church in her reflections. This means that Mary was also saved by Christ. As theological reflections continued, the belief in the "Immaculate Conception" became almost universal in the Catholic Church. Then, in 1854 His Holiness Pope Pius IX proclaimed it to be an infallible belief of the Catholic Church.

If Christ is God, then, He is also timeless and spaceless, eternal. This means that every act of His although in space and time (His death and resurrection) is eternal (without time nor space). This is how Mary could be saved and preserved from sin by God before the salvific act of Christ in space and time. Her sinlessness did not come from herself, as Christ is sinless by nature of being what He is. God saved her through Christ's grace and preserved her from sin for a special purpose: to bear forth His Son who is sinless and never sinned. He cannot become part of sin, otherwise He would not be God, without being sinless. Hence, God prepared a special person to bear His Son who is God - Mary. As can be seen, this statement of Mary's immaculate conception is another defence of Christ's divinity. - Alan Schreck, op. cit., pp. 276-279 - 

Objection - Why do Catholics believe that Mary was taken to heaven "body and soul"?

Response: This is again related to Christ. The dogma of the Assumption of Mary pronounced by His Holiness Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950, was in fact at the petition of "113 Cardinals, 150 Bishops, 32,00 Priests and Religious Brothers, 50,000 Religious Sisters and 8 million lay people". - op. cit., p.180 - The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible tells us that death is the consequence of sin. Since Mary was preserved from sin by God, she did not have to undergo death. The Assumption, therefore, means that because Mary shares the fullness of Christ's redemption - preserved from sin, she also shared immediately the resurrection of Christ: immediate union of her whole being (body and soul) with God at the end of her earthly life. She, as a creature of God, becomes for us than a sign of hope that all who are saved by Christ will also sure in Christ's resurrection on the last day. It is indeed an affirmation that Christ is truly resurrected and shares His resurrection with all who want Him.

Objection - But all these are not found in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible? Where in the Bible can one find Mary as "mediatrix", Mary as "Immaculate Conception", or Mary as "assumed into heaven"?

Response: True, these terms or even the present understanding of these term are not found explicitly in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. But to say that they are not found even implicitly in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is false. Is the term "Christ is God" found explicitly in the Holy Bible? No. Why? Because the term of our clearer understanding of the identity of Christ is already in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. The early Christians reflected upon Christ and His teachings and came up with many clearer statements of two Christ is and of what He teaches us. This is what I have been trying to show throughout this book.

Everything in this world either grows or dies. Only dead things do not grow. Man is no exception. Not only does he/she grow physically but also emotionally, psychologically, intellectually and spiritually. History proves that humanity as a whole has progressed not only materially but in knowledge. Spiritually, this should also be true. Hence our growth in understanding our faith is not only a must for it to be living but a reality. Christ our Lord knows what He has created. So, before He left us He sent His Holy Spirit to teach us more of His truth: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth;" (John 16:13).

Consequently, clinging to death. Our God is the God of the living, not of the dead, says the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

Objection - Why must we go through the Virgin Mary or the saints? Did not the Gospel tell us that Jesus Christ is the only mediator? Why cannot we go directly to Christ?

Response: This objection is more or less answered by what I have explained above. First and foremost, no one said that we must go through Our Lady or the saints to Christ Jesus. We can go straight to Him. However, human beings, being what we are, spirit in matter, social, etc., need a certain amount of "mediation" - through things, through events and through people. Is not going to temples or mosques or churches a human expression of the need of material and social mediation to God? A temple, mosque or Church is material, located in a certain place. The gathering of believers in a place is social. Some people are brought back to God through a disaster or a beautiful happening in their lives - mediation through events. No orthodox Catholic will deny that Christ is the only Mediator. As I have tried to prove this uniqueness of Christ's mediation in no way cuts off all secondary mediations because the latter arises from the former. All Christians living and dead but alive in Christ share in Christ's Mediatorship and it is through us that Christ carries on His salvific activity in the world. Is not the commission of Christ to us all go out and preach His Good News a gift to share in His salvific work, Mediatorship? The whole Body of Christ - living and dead but alive in Christ - shares in the work of the Head: Jesus Christ.

To insist always to go directly to God shows a lack of understanding of: 

- What is meant to be a human being - spirit in matter, a social being, an emotional and intellectual being. - 

- God's way. If He has made us as we are - spirit in matter, social, emotional, etc. - it would be illogical of God to insist or wish that we be otherwise. It would be an absurdity.

-  The Body of Christ or "communion of saints". 

Perhaps, latent with this desire to go directly to God and not through anyone or anything is pride. If God, who created not through anyone or anything is pride. If God, who created all things, works through all - human being, things, events, nature - to draw Man to Him, who are we to spurn them all and say: "We must only go to God directly?" Who are we to limit God's power? This was what Saint Peter meant when he defended himself before the Jewish Christians for baptizing Gentiles, saying: "If then God gave the gift to them (Cornelius and his family) as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?" (Acts 11:17). Is not there a subtle pride in wanting to limit God's power by demanding that we always go directly to God when God himself ordains otherwise? Could it not become a subtle form of wanting to be equal to God?

It is perhaps precisely for this - to keep us humble - that God often works through people and things to draw us to Him. If this is God's way, surely we too can go through things and people (living and dead but alive in Christ) to God. It is also to remind us that we Christians (living and dead but alive in Christ) are united so intimately as to form one Body of Christ. This bring us to the next objection.

Objection - Why do you have images? Did not the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible forbids us to make images: "Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth"?

Response : This text is taken from Exodus 20:4 (cf. Deuteronomy 5:8). Taken out of its context, it appears that God forbids making of images. But can a verse be taken out of context without distortion of its real meaning? We do not need a scholar to tell us that. Any ordinary person, man/woman in the street can tell you that it is very unfair to quote another man's words out of context in which he uttered them.

What is the context of this verse 4 of Exodus 20? It is God's claim that no one should worship anything besides Him: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me." (vv. 2-3) and hence the punch line, verse 5, "You shall not bow down to them or serve them." In other words, nothing should replace God as the centre of our life. We do not have to have images to worship idols. If a man/woman makes "mammon" money as the centre of his/her life he/she is already an idolater. He/She has replaced God as the centre of his/her life with mammon" (money) as the centre of his/her life with mammon. It is not the outward act but the inward intention that makes a man/woman an idolater.

If it were true that God would be contradicting Himself for, five chapters later, Exodus 25:18-22, He commands the Israelites to make two cherubim of gold to be put on the two ends of the "mercy seat". Where "I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel" (Exodus 25:22). The "mercy seat" was in the "holy of holies" of the temple where no one could go in except the high priest once a year because God, the "Holy of holies", was there present in a special way. Furthermore, this God, in the Book of Numbers 21:8-9, commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and get the people to look on this serpent to be saved. Are not the cherubim of gold and the bronze serpent images? The conclusion is clear, either God is a fool because He contradicts Himself or we are fools because we have misinterpreted the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. I prefer to think that it is we who are fools. It is not that God forbids images as such but that He forbids any attempt on our part to replace Him, the centre of our life, with something or some persons.

Why do we have statues and images in Church? Man/Woman is not pure spirit. He is both spirit and matter, as I have said. He express himself through matter. The body is matter. and more often than not it is through matter - sight, hearing, touch, etc. - that he moves to a deeper meaning (spiritual) of things. Therefore the common phenomenon of representation. The hero of a country is represented by a statue or a picture to remind the people of the greatness of this national hero. No one thinks that we worship the hero. We place on our tables the pictures of our loved ones - be it our mother or father or wife or husband or lover. As Man/Woman is also a matter, he/she needs these material things to remind him/her of certain persons whom he/she respects and loves. His/Her memory also is weak. Material objects or pictures help his/her memory. Some people even kiss the picture or bow before the picture. Does this make them idolaters because they do this most human act? Certainly not. Our statues and images in the Church are to remind us of the persons represented - either Jesus or Mary or Saint John, etc.. We do not believe that these persons are really present in them. They are like photographs of people we love which we place on our table. Neither do we worship them. We worship only the One true God.

The washing before entering a mosque, the bowing of the head and joining of hands and other postures taken when praying, etc. - these are all material meditations. Do not tell me that the washing or bowing of the head is not a material expression of something spiritual? Extend this a little more and you will find that the using of images belong to this category of the need of Man/Woman for material expression of something spiritual. To condone one and deny the other is illogical and inconsistent.

Objection - But why then do you people kneel before them? 

Response: A human gesture can signify many different attitudes of the mind. A hand shake does not always mean friendship. It could mean just that; but it could also mean something else. A common experience is a handshake with someone to whom we have just been introduced. It signifies an acknowledgement of the person, not friendship. Even when we dislike a particular person, we will still shake his/her hand in public because of social norms, making this gesture meaningless in terms of friendship. In traditional China, on a person's birthday, the children were obliged to kneel before the parent knocking their heads three times on the floor. This was certainly not worship. It was a sign of filial piety. Books of sign language or body language show that people of different cultures have different gestures to signify the same thing. An example is the vulgar sign of a G.I. It is American and not Chinese or Spanish. The original sign in Spain for the same thing is quite different. (It is true, however, that this G.I. vulgar sign has become almost universal because of the American influence.) Desmond Morris, an acclaimed scientist on human behaviour said, "Just as one gesture can have many different meanings, so can many different gestures have the same meaning." - Desmond Morris, Manwatching, triad, Granada, 1982, p.41 -

The meaning of gesture depends on the attitude of the mind and the intention of the person and not on the gesture itself. We must learn to go deeper into the meaning of things and not remain on the superficial level. This is the case with kneeling before a statue or an image. It all depends on the attitude of the mind and the intention of the person. For us, Catholics kneeling before the statue of Jesus Christ is an act of worship, not the statue which reminds us of Jesus Christ, but of Jesus Christ who is God. Kneeling before the statue of Our Lady, the Virgin Mary, or the saints is not worship of them but an attitude of reverence for these great people of God. We ask these saints to pray for us. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that those who attack us on this issue have failed to understand the following points: 

- Man - both spirit and matter - expresses himself through matter and through matter moves upward to spiritual reality.

- Therefore, representation by images is a common phenomenon at all levels.

- Every human gesture carries with it a variety of attitudes of the mind or intentions. It is the intention which determines the meaning of the gesture and not vice versa. 

Conclusion - Devotions as practiced by Catholics are not only human but are also based on solid theology found in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. Nevertheless, like all good things they can be distorted and become superstitious, sentimental and self-gratifying. Let us, then, be on our guard against abuse or exaggeration. Let us keep in mind that all devotions should and must lead us closer to God.

 -   WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE / WORD OF GOD / HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY  -   

Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -