In Catholicism you will find answers to life's most troubling questions: Why am I here? Who made me? What must I believe? How must I act? All these can be answered logically and to your satisfaction, if only you open yourself to God's grace. Therefore we must turn to the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ established, and follow His plan for you.

Among the Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has existed since the time of Jesus. Every other Christian church is an offshoot of the Catholic Church. The Eastern Orthodox churches broke away from unity with the Pope in 1054. The Protestant churches were established during the Reformation, which began in year 1517. Most of today's Protestant churches are actually offshoots of the original Protestant offshoots. 

Only the Catholic Church existed in the tenth century, in the fifth century, and in the first century, faithfully teaching the doctrines given by Jesus Christ to the apostles, omitting nothing. Moreover, the lineage of popes can be traced back, in unbroken succession, to Peter himself. This is unequaled by any institution in history.

"'But you,' Jesus said who do you say I am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up, 'You are the Christ,' he said 'the Son of the living God'. Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.'" - Matthew 16:15-19 - 

Therefore, live according to the true love, faith and teaching in the Lord Jesus Christ, but never according to the half true or false teaching. 

"You must live your whole life according to the Christ you have received - Jesus the Lord; you must be rooted in Him and built on Him and held firm by the faith that you have been taught, and always full of thanksgiving. Make sure that no one traps you and deprives you of your freedom by some secondhand, empty, rational, philosophy based on the principles of this world instead of on the Lord Jesus Christ. In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you too find your own fulfilment, in the one who is the head of every Sovereignty and Power." - Colossians 2:6-10 -

The Lord Jesus Christ alone is the true head of men/women and angels.

"When the festival was half over, Jesus went to the Temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished and said, 'How did he learn to read? He has not been taught. Jesus answered them: 'My teaching is not from myself: it comes from the one who sent me; and if anyone is prepared to do His will, he/she will know whether my teaching is from God or whether my doctrine is my own. When a man's doctrine is his/her own he/she is hoping to get honour for himself/herself; but when he/she is working for the honour of one who sent him/her, then he/she is sincere and by no means an impostor. Did not Moses give you the Law? And yet not one of you keeps the Law! Why do you want to kill me?' The crowd replied, 'You are mad! Who wants to kill you?' Jesus answered, One work I did, and you are all surprised by it." "Do not keep judging according to appearances; let your judgement be according to what is right." - John 7:14-21,24 - 

The Lord Jesus Christ said that His Church would be "the light of the world." A city set on a hill cannot be hid. "You are light of the world. A city built on a hill-top cannot be hidden." - Matthew 5:14 - 

This mean His Church is a visible organisation. It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from others. Jesus promised: the gates of hell will not prevail it. This means that His Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from Him. In other words: The Lord Jesus Christ Church will survive until His return. Amen.

"Work for your salvation 'in fear and trembling'. It is God for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you. Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood, and you will shine in the world like bright stars because you are offering it the word of life. - Philippians 2:12-16 - 

** The ego has a peculiar way of disguising the real reasons for its love. It can pretend to be interested in people welfare while actually it is seeking its own pleasure.

There are some people who love to boast of their tolerance but actually it is inspired by egotism; they want to be left alone in their own ideas, however wrong they be, so they plead for a tolerance which is very dangerous, for it becomes intolerance as soon as the ego is disturbed or menaced. That is why a civilization which is tolerance about false ideas instead of being charitable to persons is on the eve of a great wave of intolerance and persecution.

The egotist always considers his/her ego in terms of not having or wanting something. His or Her principal action is drawing something to himself/herself like the mouth which absorbs food. There is no outgoing, no service and never a sacrifice because he/she interprets sacrifice as the diminishing of himself/herself.

True love, on the contrary, feels that the need to give is more imperious than the need to receive. At the beginning of love there is a feeling that one can never give enough. Regardless of how precious the gift, it still seems to fall short of what one would offer. Price tags are torn off because we want no proportion established between the gift and the need of giving. The tragedy of love when begins to die, is that then people do not even give what they have. No longer is there a question of not being able to give enough; there is rather no giving at all.

In real love there is pity and need. Pity in the sense that one feels the need of expansion and of giving to the point of exhaustion; need, because of a void that one would see filled. True love receives without ever interpreting what is given. It never seeks another motive than that of love itself. He or She who asks "why" something is given does not trust.

One of the tragedies of our time is that freedom is interpreted in terms of freedom from something instead of in terms of love. The man/woman who loves everybody is a free man/woman; the man/woman who hates is the man/woman who has already enslaved himself/herself. The man/woman who hates is dependent on that which he/she cannot love - and therefore he/she is not free. To hate one's next door neighbour is a restriction of freedom. It demands walking around the block so one will not see him/her or waiting until he/she leaves the house before leaving oneself.

It is our loves and desires that determine our pains. If our supreme love is the pleasure of the body, then our greatest pain is loss of health; if our supreme love is wealth, then our deepest worry is insecurity; if our supreme love is God, then our greatest fear is sin.

The great mystery is not why we love but why we are loved. It is easy to understand why we love because of our incompleteness and our radical dissatisfaction apart from goodness. But why anyone should love us is the mystery, for we know when we look at our real selves how very little there is to love. Why creatures should love us is not too great a mystery, for they are imperfect too. But for God to love us - that we will never understand. The soul that has finally come to love God is worried by the thought that he/she has already lost so much time. As Saint Augustine of Hippo said: "Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new. Late have I loved You". But, on the other hand, this regret is compensated for by the knowledge that it was always in the Divine plan that we eventually come to know God.

We love to see ourselves idealized in the minds of others. That is one of the beautiful joys of love. We become fresh, innocent, brave, strong in the mind of the beloved. Love covers up the corruption of the soul. The winter of discontent is forgotten by being clothed in the bosoms of a new spring. After a while the lover begins to substitute what he/she really is in his/her own mind, with what he/she is in the mind of other. It is this idealization which pleases in love. That is why love gives an incentives to betterment. When the other thinks well of us, we try to be worthy of that opinion. The fact that others assume us to be good is great incentive to goodness. That is why, too, one of the basic principles of life ought to assume goodness in others; thus we make them good.**

** BY VENERABLE / ARCHBISHOP FULTON J. SHEEN (1895-1979)

 

The science and art of scriptural/biblical interpretation - The question of how to interpret the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is not a minor issue. It is, in a sense, one of the battlegrounds for our souls. Accurate Scripture/Bible interpretation should answer the question, "How do I understand what this particular passage or verse means?" Firstly, there are rules which govern its use, it is a science. Secondly, knowing the rules is not enough, it also is an art. Thirdly, practice to learn how to use the rules is also required. Fourthly, the interpretation of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible must be done as a "Whole" and "In Context". Fifthly, do not be thoughtless but recognise what is the will of God. 

Finally, God grace is required, so that, we might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Partial interpretation of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, and using selected passages, and verses referring to a bias purpose is absolutely unacceptable.

- The Old Testament and the New Testament requires thorough reading -                         

If Satan had a list of what he does not want us to do, Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible would be at the top, along with prayer and worshiping God. Through study of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible we learn who Jesus Christ is and are enabled to become like Him. How can we become like Jesus, if we do not know what He is like? Devotional studies are important, but they must result from an impartial and a serious study of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. In fact, the Apostle/Saint Paul have never failed to pray for us, and what he ask God is that through perfect wisdom and spiritual understanding we should reach the fullest knowledge of God's will. So we will be able to lead the kind of life which the Lord Jesus Christ expects of us, a life acceptable to Him in all its aspect; showing the results in all good actions we do and increasing our knowledge of God.

Knowing and understanding the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible as well as obeying it are the twin foundations of a godly life. A godly life produces the further desire to study God's Word. When the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible interpretation done properly, thus, takes the baptized believers, disciples, from study to application in a mounting spiral toward God. Satan's attempt to take away our desire to study Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is nothing less than an attempt to remove the basis of our spiritual growth.

The Basic Principles of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible Study. - Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is a divine or sacred Book, and because of our limitation as humans, prayer is an absolute necessity as we study the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. Saint Paul teaches that non-Christian and the spiritually immature Christian are limited in their ability to know God things or His will. Therefore, we must pray that God will bridge the gap that separates us from understanding spiritual things, by having the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us. Without this illumination or insight from God's Spirit, we cannot learn, and go any further to know His will.

"Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he/she sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his/her understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man/woman, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his/her own value is not judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ." - 1 Corinthians 2:12-16 -                                    

This need for insight was the concept Apostle/Saint Paul referred to when he told Apostle Timothy to reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord Jesus Christ will give you insight into all this.

"Put up with your share of difficulties, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. In the army, no soldier gets himself mixed up in civilian life, because he must be at the disposal of the man who enlisted him; or take an athlete - he/she cannot win any crown unless he/she has kept all the rules of the contest; and again, it is the working farmer who has the first claim on any crop that is harvested. Think over what I have said, and the Lord will show you how to understand it all." - 2 Timothy 2:3-7 -

The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is frequently utilized by humans, thus, it is also considered a human book and, to a degree, must be interpreted like any other book. This brings us to the principle of common sense. For instance, the grammatical-historical method of studying the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible instructs us to look at the passage carefully to see what it says literally, and to understand a scriptural/biblical statement in light of its historical background. We understand a historical statement as a straight forward statement and do not change its literal, grammatical sense. This is "common sense."

Another example of the common sense principle is illustrated when Jesus says Christians can have anything for which they ask. Common sense tells us that there must be some limitation on this statement because we realize that Christians in fact, do not have whatever they would like. Scripture confirms that the limitation is God's will. Using the common sense principle in this way can be dangerous because it could become an excuse for cutting out any portion of Scripture we do not happen to like. But if our common sense is impartial and controlled by God, it is a valid principle of interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible. 

- Hence, The Old Testament and the New Testament requires thorough reading -    

"You are my friends, if you do what I command you. I shall not call you servants anymore, because a servant does not know his master's business; because I have made known to you everything I have learnt from my Father. You did not choose me, no, I chose you; and I commissioned you to go out to bear fruit that will last; and then the Father will give you anything you ask him in my name. What I command you is to love one another." - John 15:14-17 - 

"We are quite confident that if we ask him for anything, and it is in accordance with his will, he will hear us." - 1 John 5:14 -

We interpret the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible properly when we learn to ask the right questions of the text. The problem here is that many people do not know what the right questions are, and they lacks God's love, to learn. Scriptural/Biblical interpretation is a science, and the rules it uses take time, energy, and a serious commitment to learn. But when learned, there is much satisfaction in asking the right questions than in merely guessing and assuming.

The primary rule of scriptural/biblical interpretation is "context." This cannot be emphasized too strongly. If the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible readers would merely let a passage chapter, or book, the majority of all errors in interpretation would be avoided. The main problem is our bias, and our subjectivity. Many times we approach a passage or verse thinking we already understand it. In the process we read our own meaning into the passage or verse. This is called "eisegesis." (Eis is a Greek preposition meaning "into") but interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible correctly demands that we listen to what the text itself is saying, and then draw the meaning out of the passage or verse. This is called "exegesis." (Ex is a Greek preposition meaning "out of") If we let a passage or verse be defined by what it and the surrounding passages or verses say, then we have taken a large step toward interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible properly. By watching the context carefully and by letting the passage or verse speak for itself do we give Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible the respect it deserves.

Of course, it is impossible to dismiss totally our own bias and subjectivity. Our interpretation will always be colored by our culture, tradition, and our opinions about the passage or verse, or perhaps by our theological beliefs, which are partially based on the passage or verse. But this should not discourage our attempt to let the passage or verse speak for itself as freely as possible, without being weighed down with our personal opinions and views.

Observation, Interpretation, Evaluation, and Application are the heart of all approaches to finding out what the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible means. They provide the structure of what questions you ask of the text, and when.

Observation: Do I understand the basic facts of the passages or verse such as the meaning of all the words? Interpretation: What did the author mean in his own historical setting? Evaluation: What does this passage or verse mean in today's culture and tradition? Application: How can I apply what I have learned to how I live my earthly life?

Interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is a two step process. We must first discover what the passage or verse meant in the day and age of the author. Then we must discover its message for us in today's culture. Observation and interpretation apply to the first step: evaluation and application apply to the second. Why are these two steps important? The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible was not actually written directly to us, or was actually written directly to us, and it makes sense to put ourselves in the shoes of the original audience if we are to understand its message properly. Thus, these steps force us to understand the meaning of the passage or verse before we apply it to our lives. Surprisingly, this step is often overlooked. The two steps separate us from the text, thereby helping to prevent eisegesis, since it separates what the text says from how it affects us today.

Using Observation, Interpretation, Evaluation, Application in the proper sequence, we are ready to interpret the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible correctly. 

- Hence The Old Testament and the New Testament requires thorough reading - 

Observation - The question asked: Do I understand all the facts in this passage or verse? Do I know the context before and after this passage or verse? Do I know the meanings of all the words? Do I understand the general flow of the discussion? Do I understand the cultural background? It is necessary to clear up all the factual problems before moving into the theological meaning of the passage or verse. When all these has been done, we may go on to the next stage of interpretation. 

Interpretation - The basic question asked: What did the author mean in his own historical setting? We must put ourselves in the shoes of Scripture's original audience. What does the passage or verse actually say? Many times we forget to look carefully at what a passage or verse says. Does the context help define the meaning of the passage or verse? For instance, what does Scripture mean when it says, "There is no God!" - Psalms 53:1 - Context shows this is a statement made by a fool, the godless man.

The fool says in his heart, 

"There is no God!" 

They are false, corrupt, vile, 

there is not one good man left. - Psalms 53:1 -

What does apostle Paul mean when he says the Lord Jesus Christ will return like a thief in the night. - 1 Thessalonians 5:2 - Context shows it means the Lord Jesus Christ coming is sudden. 

Since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, 'How quiet and peaceful it is' that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as the labors pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it. - 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 -

There are times when even these questions will not help us understand the meaning of a passage or verse. Sometimes we have to read between the lines and make an educated guess as to what the passage or verse means. This is fine when necessary. But we must remember that we are guessing, and we must keep an open mind to other possible interpretations.

Integrity is a necessary elements in all scriptural/biblical interpretation. If we tell someone about what a friend said, we should try to be as accurate as possible. If we are not sure about a certain point, we should say, 'I think this is what he said.' 'Ask him personally if you want to know exactly what he said.' We all do this with our friends. So why then, when we interpret Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, do many of us lose that integrity? Why do we not read the text properly and carefully? Why do we read between lines, make fanciful interpretations that more a product of our imagination than relevant study, and then insist this is what the text actually says?

In interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, we must never forget whose letters we are reading. They have come from the mouth of God Himself, and they demand respect. They demand to speak for themselves. They demand that we be honest and have integrity. We must not and never put our assumption and guesswork on the same level as Words of God.

Evaluation - The question asked: What does the passage or verse mean in today's culture? It is the issue of whether a passage of Scripture applies to us today, or whether it is limited to the culture in which it was originally written. The question raised by the evaluation process is answered one of two ways. Either the passage or verse is applied directly to our culture, or it must be reapplied because of cultural differences. The vast majority of New Testament doctrine can be applied directly to 21st century culture. If we love God, regardless of when or where we live, then we must obey His commandments. This teaching is true in any culture for all times.

If you love me you will keep my commandments. 

I shall ask the Father,

and he will give you another Advocate

to be with you for ever - John 14:15-16 -

But sometimes a scriptural/biblical teaching is directed so specifically to the culture of the ancient world that another culture cannot understand it. A "cultural expression" is a statement that can be understood only within a certain cultural context. An "eternal principle" is a principle that God uses to govern the world regardless of culture. For example, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 is a cultural expression because it is understandable only within those cultures that offer meat to idols. "God is Love" is an eternal principle because it is understandable in all cultures. - 1 John 4:7-9, 16 -

By sinning in this way against your brothers, and injuring their weak consciences, it would be Christ against whom you sinned. That is why, since food can be the occasion of my brother's downfall, I shall never eat meat/food which has been offered to idols again in case I am the cause of a brother's downfall. - 1 Corinthians 8:10-13 -

My dear people,

let us love one another

since loves comes from God

and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Anyone who fails to love can never have known God,

because God is Love.

God's love for us was revealed

when God sent into the world his only Son

so that we could have life through him;

this is the love I mean - I John 4:7-9 -

We should clearly understand that every cultural expression in the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible is the result of some eternal principle. And even though a cultural expression cannot be carried over directly to another culture, the eternal principle behind it can. Just because it is cultural does not mean it can be ignored.

We should also remembered that just as a scriptural/biblical passage or verse can be set in its culture, so the interpreter is likewise controlled to some extent by his own culture. Many people today do not believe that the scriptural/biblical accounts of miracles are true. For instance, some scholars argue that miracles were a part of first century culture and were believed by the people in Jesus' day. But this is 21st century and people do not believe in miracles. But these scholars' views on the impossibility of the supernatural are likewise influenced by the materialistic, narcissism, science oriented culture in which they live. We must be utmost careful about allowing our own culture to influence our view of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible.

Application - The process of interpreting the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible has been academic. But it is absolutely essential to recognize that the purpose and goal of Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible study is a godly life. Every study is not complete until we put into practice what we have learned and studied.

The question to ask at this stage of interpretation is, "How can I apply what I have learned and studied to how I live my earthly life?" The academic and the practical are thus fused into a meaningful approach to the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible message. Some people dismiss the academic as boring and trivial. Others reject the application as unnecessary. Both extremes are equally incorrect. The Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible interpreter must walk the tight rope between these approaches. A three act play is unsatisfying without the final act. The last act, without the first, second, third, does not make sense. Sometimes in scriptural/biblical study, it is necessary to emphasize the academic when the passage or verse is difficult to understand, or to emphasize the application when the passage's or verse's practical relevance is confusing. But one of these approaches should never be used to the exclusion of the other.

-     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 -

Your generous contribution and support is profoundly cherish. I sincerely pray that: God blessing be upon you, always. Amen! Bank transfer: Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah - Public Bank Berhad account no. 4076577113 - Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.