brey, friend... i'm not pushing away the responsibility but
rather... what i've learnt, i've learnt from Father Simon Pereira.
he was my Sunday Church teacher and whatever i've said to you comes
from him. he is my source of knowledge and my mentor.
i've studied the bible many times and somehow, it coincide
with my faith and knowledge. yes, there were many questions and
unclear message the Lord had written in the bible but if i were to
question every ounce of it, what good will it be?
you asked me to study and discern the truth... friend, maybe you
have lot of free time at your disposal but i do not have... and
again, do i have the resources to seek the "dark secrets"? are you
willing to sponsor my trip to Israel and Egypt or even Italy? you
may say i am blinded by facades and lies that does not coincide
with the Holy Bible, but again are you so sure of it yourself that
your interpretation of "death = eternal sleep" is 100% accurate and
true base on the bible.
i have only one conclusion of why the Catholic Church teaches us
that when we die, we enter in Heaven or Purgatory to be cleanse...
cos' they have found out from the bible, they have interprete from
the bible, based on their deductions and beliefs plus the
endorsement of the Pope and the Bishops and whatever authority God
has given them and maybe even hints from Mother Mary when she
appeared in Fatimah to the 3 children that it is true. you can
debate this, you can contest this, i'm not saying you aren't liable
to... you have the very right to do so but you asking me to
question the teachings of the Catholic Church is akin to in my
opinion treachery. call it blind faith, call it self-delusional but
frankly, even if Da Vinci Code is true and Jesus married Mary of
Magdalene, have a lineage of spawns, i do not care for i have
experienced the love of God and the Virgin Mother... i have pleaded
for the protection of St. Michael and it was bestowed to me.
what more do you wish from me then? when to me, facts do not
always equal to faith. Science has opened a question for all; why
wasn't the dinosaurs indicated in the Holy Bible as Adam and Eve
were the first? there was no collection of wild giant beasts but a
serpent when dinosaurs came first? when queried, i just shrugged it
off because there is no way i can out-talk a scientist and we have
factual proof of dinosaurs fossils. in the end, you are using facts
on this issue which in my opinion, you are very wise and very
academic but then; faith is not based on facts and written history
based on a thousand year old text. faith is believing what is
unseen and unproven.
the most debated query of all which is non religious; do ghost
exist? can science prove it? i have personally encountered spirits
before. my mother was possessed by a spirit before. my sister could
see spirits before when she was younger. she told me one lady
spirit was walking around the house without the lower part of her
body. but can science prove the existence of the supernatural? how
many of us wishes to explore and prove the existence in the first
place; unless you are paid to do so...
so end of the day, i do understand your stand that the Bible
indicated "this and that", why do the Church teach otherwise. as
i've said, they may have interpreted the bible differently from you
and i chose to believe them. simple as that.
dear nove..while this is pretty much your discussion with
brey..may i just add..though its best to study the original
scriptures in the original tongue it was written in..its impossible
not just tight budget..but even the hebrew used then is different
from now..
the mordern english version is still reliable..you said you had
no time..are you the wheat that grows with the weed??there is a
time to work in secular..there is a time for God..which is
more important??do you trust God enough to throw your daily
anxieties to him??do you not trust that he can make better
arrangements for you even if you quit your current job or maybe
study less??
lastly..same bible given to everyone ends with pretty different
interpretation..a bible given to someone with no knowledge prior
ends with no such thing as trinity doctrine from the church..
read the bible..compare it with church teachings..see if its
consistant not just once or twice..but everytime..does teachings of
the church you attend reveals the personality of God the way the
bible reveals him..his love, his justice..his love of
righteousness...the bible is more accurate than the teachings of
men..