Sunday, January 15, 2017

Does the English language measure up to the task at hand?



A short and focused study of English as a descriptive language in comparison to the latin text as translated by the Catholic Church centuries ago.

God can not be reduced to a mathematical formula. God can not be limited by His own creation. God is, and he describes Himself as "I am, Who Am".

He always was, and He is now, and He always will be.

Perhaps material things, what we see, feel, hear, touch, etc., and all material creation can be reduced to mathematics, that I don't know, but I ask, how can God, who we can not see, feel, touch, or hear with human ears, most of the time anyway, be reduced to any language that deals in mathematics only, or which can be reduced to a mathematical formula. For that matter, how can any language whatsoever, sufficiently describe the creator of all in any way the mind of man can comprehend completely?


The answer is that the Mystery of the Triune God, the ONLY God, and three Divine Persons in one God, The Holy Trinity, will only be dimly comprehensible to us while we are in this exile called life. Only in eternity will we begin to understand who He is and what great things He has done for us. Only in eternity will we begin to understand his Unity, and his Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Only in eternity will we begin to understand the Father as our Creator, the Son as our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit as the love between the Father and Son, and our Sanctifier, yet all three persons as ONE GOD, and sharing all perfection.

In the mean time, we have thought, and language, of which he has said we must believe in order to be saved. Those ideas and thoughts are communicated by language, and mostly by the words God Himself has spoken to us in and by the person of His Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word of God made man; the Word of God made flesh; Eternal Truth personified.
Now English is a living language. It changes almost daily world wide. But latin, on the other hand, is a "dead language". It is not being used by the general public as a conversational language almost anywhere on earth. Maybe a tiny bit within the Catholic Church, but even there I doubt many today have a working conversational command of Latin. That fact makes Latin the perfect anchor for English, or any other of the Romance languages, such as French, Italian, or Spanish.
Then there is the difference between Church Latin, and the Latin used in most of the secular legal systems, which for the most part is derived from Ciceronian Latin. The most solid, and stable in meaning, was and is by far, Church Latin, which for over 20 centuries has not changed in meaning or been subject to slang variations by the public, but was chosen precisely by the Catholic Church because of it's stability of meaning.

Perhaps the most accomplished scholar of language in his day was Saint Jerome. He was commissioned by the Pope to reconcile the translations of scripture from various languages into the latin vulgate. Those languages included Hebrew, Greek, and of course Latin among others. This work took decades. The end result that was called the Latin Vulgate, was promulgated and then was used at Rheims in France and Douay in England to create the English Bible that the Catholic Church has used since that time in English speaking countries, with many footnotes and almost without change for centuries. I have a copy of that Bible that was photographically produced from an 1899 edition by TAN Books and Publishers in recent years.

Without this work by Saint Jerome and many more Catholic scholars, what we know as the Bible today, would most probably not have been available to the world. (Not just my opinion)

What follows is the text of the last Gospel in the Latin Mass of the Roman Catholic Church. First in it's original latin about 2000 years old, and then it's translation into English as given in the traditional Catholic Missal. I challenge anyone at all, to find a more descriptive and communicative paragraph to create in our frail human imagination and mind, something of an understanding of Who God is, and what God is, and who and what Jesus Christ is. We can draw many conclusions from what follows here.

In principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est; in ipso vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum; et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Fuit homo missus a Deo cui nomen erat Joannes. Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Erat lux vera quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est et mundus eum non cognovit. In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri; his qui credunt in nomine eius, qui non ex sanquinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt. (Hic genuflectitur) ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST et habitavit in nobis; et vidimus gloriam eius gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis. Deo Gratias. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was made nothing that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men might believe through him. He was not that Light, but was to give testimony of the Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, He gave power to become the sons of God: to them that believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (genuflect here) AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Thanks be to God.
One more thing. We have a choice to make. It all involves the use of language to communicate that choice to us. The result of our answer to that choice will determine our eternal future. Either we accept what God has for us as His Truth, and worship him the way HE wants us to, rather than the way WE want to, or we reject His teaching and laws, and become His enemy for all eternity as the fallen angels have done. That decision must be made while we are still living and breathing, and that decision can never be revoked. It is an eternal decision, and the most important one we will ever make. Why? Because our souls were made to live forever. For all of eternity we will either be with God as he really is, having eternal life, or we will be without Him, having made a final decision to be His enemy, and will suffer the consequences, for all of eternity.

I don't understand how anyone, knowing these things from even a cursory study of what has been communicated to us by His Holy Church, using language, could ever decide to be His enemy, especially considering His eternal love for us to the point of shedding every last drop of His precious blood to cleanse us from our sins, and give us the power to become a child of God and an heir of heaven.
So again, having tried to understand how language is used to get us there, I leave you with the following article to put this all in perspective from the view of a life long Catholic who uses the English language far better than I ever could.

http://www.calefactory.org/tea-churchorthebible.htm


Introduction 
The following sermon is as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago when it was first preached by Father Arnold Damen, S.J. That Father Damen’s message was and still is a challenge to the many who pride themselves “Bible-and-Bible-alone Christians” is evident from the title, “The Church or the Bible.” 
“One cannot have God for his Father, who will not have the Church for his Mother,” and likewise one cannot have the Word of God for his faith who will not have the Church for his teacher. It is the infallible teaching authority of the Church, as promised by Christ, which alone preserves God’s Word from erroneous interpretation. This is the essence of the zealous priest’s doctrine. It is also the essence of true Christianity, as Father Damen amply proves from Scripture itself and from just plain common sense. 
Every sincere Bible reader deserves to know the true relation God has established between His Church and Holy Scripture. We, therefore, invite all who love the Bible to read Father Damen’s exposition with an open mind, lest while reading the Scriptures “they wrest them to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16)


I. 

Dearly Beloved Christians: --- When our Divine Saviour sent His Apostles and His Disciples throughout the whole universe to preach the Gospel to every creature, He laid down the conditions of salvation thus: “He that believeth and is baptized,” said the Son of the Living God, “shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned” (Luke 16:16). Here, then, Our Blessed Lord laid down the two conditions of salvation: Faith and Baptism. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned --- or is damned. Hence, then, two conditions of salvation: Faith and Baptism. I will speak this evening on the condition of Faith. 
We must have Faith in order to be saved, and we must have Divine Faith, not human faith. Human faith will not save a man, but only Divine Faith. What is Divine Faith? It is to believe, upon the authority of God, the truths that God has revealed; that is Divine Faith. To believe all that God has taught upon the authority of God, and to believe without doubting, without hesitation; for the moment you commence to doubt or hesitate, that moment you commence to mistrust the authority of God, and, therefore, insult God by doubting His word. Divine Faith, therefore, is to believe without doubting, without hesitating. Human faith is when we believe a thing upon the authority of men --- on human authority. That is human faith. But Divine Faith is to believe without doubting, without hesitating, whatsoever God has revealed upon the authority of God, upon the word of God. 
Therefore, my dear people, it is not a matter of indifference what religion a man professes, providing he be a good man. 
You hear it said nowadays in this Nineteenth Century of little faith that it matter not what religion a man professes, providing he be a good man. That is heresy, my dear people, and I will prove it to you to be such. If it be a matter of indifference what a man believes, providing he be a good man, why then it is useless for God to make any revelation whatever. If a man is at liberty to reject what God revealeth, what use for Christ to send out His Apostles and disciples to teach all nations, if those nations are at liberty to believe or reject the teachings of the Apostles or disciples? You see at once that this would be insulting God. 
If God reveals a thing or teaches a thing, He means to be believed. He wants to be believed whenever He teaches or reveals a thing. Man is bound to believe whatsoever God has revealed, for, my dear people, we are bound to worship God, both with our reason and intellect, as well as with our heart and will. God is master of the whole man. He claims his will, his heart, his reason, and his intellect. 
Where is the man in his reason, no matter what denomination, church, or religion he belongs to, that will deny that we are bound to believe what God has taught? I am sure there is not a Christian who will deny that we are bound to believe whatsoever God has revealed. Therefore, it is not a matter of indifference what religion a man professes. He must profess that true religion if he would be saved. 
But what is the true religion? To believe all that God has taught. I am sure that even my Protestant friends will admit this is right; for, if they do not, I would say they are no Christians at all. 
“But what is the true Faith?” 
“The true Faith,” say Protestant friends, “is to believe in the Lord Jesus.” 
Agreed, Catholics believe in that. Tell me what you mean by believing in the Lord Jesus? 
“Why,” says my Protestant friend, “you must believe that He is the Son of the Living God.” 
Agreed again. Thanks be to God, we can agree on something. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, that He is God. To this we all agree, excepting the Unitarians and Socinians, but we will leave them alone tonight. If Christ be God, then we must believe all He teaches. Is this not so, my dearly beloved Protestant brethren and sisters? And that’s the right Faith, isn’t it? 
“Well, yes,” says my Protestant friend, “I guess that is the right Faith. To believe that Jesus is the Son of the Living God we must believe all that Christ has taught.” 
We Catholics say the same, and here we agree again. Christ, then, we must believe, and that is the true Faith. We must believe all that Christ has taught --- that God has revealed --- and, without that Faith there is no salvation; without that Faith there is no hope of Heaven; without that Faith there is eternal damnation! We have the words of Christ for it: “He that believeth not shall be condemned,” says Christ. 


II. 

But if Christ, my dearly beloved people, commands me under pain of eternal damnation to believe all that He has taught, He must give me the means to know what He has taught. 
If, therefore, Christ commands me upon pain of eternal damnation, He is bound to give me the means of knowing what He has taught. And the means Christ gives us of knowing this must have been at all times within the reach of all people. 
Secondly, the means that God gives us to know what He has taught must be a means adapted to the capacities of all intellects --- even the dullest. For even those of the dullest of understandings have a right to salvation, and consequently they have a right to the means whereby they shall learn the truths that God has taught, that they may believe them and be saved. 
The means that God gives us to know what he has taught must be an infallible means. For if it be a means that can lead us astray, it can be no means at all. It must be an infallible means, so that if a man makes use of that means, he will infallibly, without fear of mistake or error, be brought to a knowledge of all the truths that God has taught. 
I don’t think there can be anyone present here --- I care not what he is, a Christian or an unbeliever --- who can object to my premises. And these premises are the groundwork of my discourse and of all my reasoning, and, therefore, I want you to bear them in mind. I will repeat them, for on these premises rests all the strength of my discourse and reasoning. 
If God commands me under pain of eternal damnation to believe all that He has taught, He is bound to give me the means to know what He has taught. And the means that God gives me must have been at all times within the reach of all people --- must be adapted to the capacities of all intellects, must be an infallible means to us, so that if a man makes use of it he will be brought to a knowledge of all the truths that God has taught. 


III. 

Has God given us such means? “Yes,” say my Protestant friends, “He has.” And so says the Catholic: God has given us such means. What is the means God has given us whereby we shall learn the truth that God has revealed? “The Bible,” say my Protestant friends, “the Bible, the whole of the Bible, and nothing but the Bible.” But we Catholics say, “No; not the Bible and its private interpretation, but the Church of the Living God.” 
I will prove the facts, and I defy all my separated brethren --- and all the preachers in the bargain --- to disprove what I will say tonight. I say, then, it is not the private interpretation of the Bible that has been appointed by God to be the teacher of man, but the Church of the Living God. 
For, my dear people, if God has intended that man should learn His religion from a book --- the Bible --- surely God would have given that book to man; Christ would have given that book to man. Did He do it? He did not. Christ sent His Apostles throughout the whole universe and said: “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” 
Christ did not say, “Sit down and write Bibles and scatter them over the earth, and let every man read his Bible and judge for himself.” If Christ had said that, there would never have been a Christianity on the earth at all, but a Babylon and confusion instead, and never one Church, the union of one body. Hence, Christ never said to His Apostles, “Go and write Bibles and distribute them, and let everyone judge for himself.” That injunction was reserved for the Sixteenth Century, and we have seen the result of it. Ever since the Sixteenth Century there have been springing up religion upon religion, and churches upon churches, all fighting and quarreling with one another. And all because of the private interpretation of the Bible. 
Christ sent His Apostles with authority to teach all nations, and never gave them any command of writing the Bible. And the Apostles went forth and preached everywhere, and planted the Church of God throughout the earth, but never thought of writing. 
The first word written was by Saint Matthew, and he wrote for the benefit of a few individuals. He wrote the Gospel about seven years after Christ left this earth, so that the Church of God, established by Christ, existed seven years before a line was written of the New Testament. 
Saint Mark wrote about ten years after Christ left this earth; Saint Luke about twenty-five years, and Saint John about sixty-three years after Christ had established the Church of God. Saint John wrote the last portion of the Bible --- the Book of Revelation --- about sixty-five years after Christ had left this earth and the Church of God had been established. The Catholic religion had existed sixty-five years before the Bible was completed, before it was written. 
Now, I ask you, my dearly beloved separated brethren, were these Christian people, who lived during the period between the establishment of the Church of Jesus and the finishing of the Bible, were they really Christians, good Christians, enlightened Christians? Did they know the religion of Jesus? Where is the man that will dare to say that those who lived from the time that Christ went up to Heaven to the time that the Bible was completed were not Christians? It is admitted on all sides, by all denominations, that they were the very best of Christians, the first fruit of the Blood of Jesus Christ. 
But how did they know what they had to do to save their souls? Was it from the Bible that they learned it? No, because the Bible was not written. And would our Divine Saviour have left His Church for sixty-five years without a teacher, if the Bible is the teacher of man? Most assuredly not. 
Were the Apostles Christians, I ask you, my dear Protestant friends? You say, “Yes, sir; they were the very founders of Christianity.” Now, my dear friends, none of the Apostles ever read the Bible; not one of them except perhaps, Saint John. For all of them had died martyrs for the Faith of Jesus Christ and never saw the cover of a Bible. Every one of them died martyrs and heroes for the Church of Jesus before the Bible was completed. 
How, then, did those Christians that lived in the first sixty-five years after Christ ascended --- how did they know what they had to do to save their souls? They knew it precisely in the same way that you know it, my dear Catholic friends. You know it from the teachings of the Church of God, and so did the primitive Christians know it. 


IV. 

Not only sixty-five years did Christ leave the Church He had established without a Bible, but over three hundred years. The Church of God was established and went on spreading itself over the whole globe without the Bible for more than three hundred years. In all that time the people did not know what constituted the Bible. 
In the days of the Apostles there were many false gospels. There was the Gospel of Simon, the Gospel of Nicodemus, of Mary, of Barnabas, and the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus. All of these gospels were spread among the people, and the people did not know which of these were inspired and which were false and spurious. Even the learned themselves were disputing whether preference should be given to the Gospel of Simon or that of Matthew --- to the Gospel of Nicodemus or the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mary or that of Luke, the Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus or the Gospel of Saint John the Evangelist. 
And so it was in regard to the epistles: Many spurious epistles were written, and the people were at a loss for over three hundred years to know which was false or spurious, or which inspired. And, therefore, they did not know what constituted the books of the Bible. 
It was not until the Fourth Century that the Pope of Rome, the Head of the Church, the successor of Saint Peter, assembled together the Bishops of the world in a council. And there in that council it was decided that the Bible, as we Catholics have it now, is the Word of God, and that the Gospels of Simon, Nicodemus, Mary, the Infancy of Jesus, and Barnabas, and all those other epistles were spurious or, at least, unauthentic; at least, that there was no evidence of their inspiration, and that the Gospels of Saints Luke, Matthew, Mark and John, and the Book of Revelation, were inspired by the Holy Ghost. 
Up to that time the whole world for three hundred years did not know what the Bible was; hence, they could not take the Bible for their guide, for they did not know what constituted the Bible. Would our Divine Saviour, if He intended man to learn his religion from a book, have left the Christian world for three hundred years without that book? Most assuredly not. 


V. 

Not only for three hundred years was the world left without the Bible, but for one thousand four hundred years the Christian world was left without the Sacred Book. 
Before the art of printing was invented, Bibles were rare things; Bibles were costly things. Now, you must all be aware, if you have read history at all, that the art of printing was invented only a little more than four hundred years ago --- about the middle of the Fifteenth Century --- and about one hundred years before there was a Protestant in the world. 
As I have said, before printing was invented books were rare and costly things. Historians tell us that in the Eleventh Century --- eight hundred years ago --- Bibles were so rare and costly that it took a fortune, a considerable fortune, to buy oneself a copy of the Bible! Before the art of printing, everything had to be done with the pen upon parchment or sheepskin. It was, therefore, a tedious and slow operation --- a costly operation. 
Now, in order to arrive at the probable cost of a Bible at that time, let us suppose that a man should work ten years to make a copy of the Bible and earn a dollar a day. Well, then, the cost of that Bible would be $3,650. Now, let us suppose that a man should work at the copying of the Bible for twenty years, as historians say it would have taken him at that time, not having the conveniences and improvements to aid him that we have now. Then, at a dollar a day, for twenty years, the cost of a Bible would be nearly $8,000. 
Suppose I came and said to you, “My dear people, save your soul, for if you lose your soul all is lost.” You would ask, “What are we to do to save our souls?” The Protestant preacher would say to you, “You must get a Bible; you can get one at such-and-such a shop.” You would ask the cost and be told it was $8,000. You would exclaim: “The Lord save us! And can we not go to Heaven without that book?” The answer would be: “No; you must have the Bible and read it.” You murmur at the price, but are asked, “Is not your soul worth $8,000?” Yes, of course it is, but you say you do not have the money, and if you cannot get a Bible, and your salvation depends upon it, evidently you would have to remain outside the Kingdom of Heaven. This would be a hopeless condition, indeed. 
For fourteen hundred years the world was left without a Bible --- not one in ten thousand, not one in twenty thousand, before the art of printing was invented, had the Bible. And would our Divine Lord have left the world without that book if it was necessary to man’s salvation? Most assuredly not. 


VI. 

But let us suppose for a moment that all had Bibles, that Bibles were written from the beginning, and that every man, woman, and child had a copy. What good would that book be to people who did not know how to read it? It is a blind thing to such persons. 
Even now one-half the inhabitants of the earth cannot read. Moreover, as the Bible was written in Greek and Hebrew, it would be necessary to know these languages in order to be able to read it. 
But it is said that we have it translated now in French, English, and other languages of the day. Yes, but are you sure you have a faithful translation? If not, you have not the Word of God. If you have a false translation, it is the work of man. How shall you ascertain that? How shall you find out if you have a faithful translation from the Greek and Hebrew? 
“I do not know Greek or Hebrew,” says my separated friend; “for my translation I must depend upon the opinion of the learned.” 
Well, then, my dear friends, suppose the learned should be divided in their opinions, and some of them should say it is good, and some false? Then your faith is gone; you must commence doubting and hesitating, because you do not know if the translation is good. 
Now with regard to the Protestant translation of the Bible, allow me to tell you that the most learned among Protestants tell you that your translation --- the King James edition --- is a very faulty translation and is full of errors. Your own learned divines, preachers, and bishops have written whole volumes to point out all the errors that are there in the King James translation, and Protestants of various denominations acknowledge it. 
Some years ago, when I lived in St. Louis, there was held in that city a convention of ministers. All denominations were invited, the object being to arrange for a new translation of the Bible, and give it to the world. The proceedings of the convention were published daily in the Missouri Republican. A very learned Presbyterian, I think it was, stood up, and, urging the necessity of giving a new translation of the Bible, said that in the present Protestant translation of the Bible there were no less than thirty thousand errors. 
And you say, my dear Protestant friends, that the Bible is your guide and teacher. What a teacher, with thirty thousand errors! The Lord save us from such a teacher! One error is bad enough, but thirty thousand is a little too much. 
Another preacher stood up in the convention --- I think he was a Baptist --- and, urging the necessity of giving a new translation of the Bible, said for thirty years past the world was without the Word of God, for the Bible we have is not the Word of God at all. 
Here are your own preachers for you. You all read the newspapers, no doubt, my friends, and must know what happened in England a few years ago. A petition was sent to Parliament for an allowance of a few thousand pounds sterling for the purpose of getting up a new translation of the Bible. And that movement was headed and carried on by Protestant bishops and clergymen. 


VII. 

But, my dear people, how can you be sure of your faith? You say the Bible is your guide, but you do not know if you have it. Let us suppose for a moment that all should have a Bible. Should all read it and have a faithful translation, even then it cannot be the guide of man, because the private interpretation of the Bible is not infallible, but, on the contrary, most fallible. It is the source and fountain of all kinds of errors and heresies, and all kinds of blasphemous doctrines. Do not be shocked, my dear friends; just be calm and listen to my arguments. 
There are now throughout the world three hundred and fifty different denominations or churches, and all of them say the Bible is their guide and teacher. And I suppose they are all sincere. Are all of them true churches? This is an impossibility. Truth is one as God is one, and there can be no contradiction. Every man in his senses sees that every one of them cannot be true, for they differ and contradict one another, and cannot, therefore, be all true. The Protestants say the man that reads the Bible right and prayerfully has truth, and they all say that they read it right. 
Let us suppose that here is an Episcopal minister. He is a sincere, an honest, a well-meaning and prayerful man. He reads his Bible in a prayerful spirit, and from the word of the Bible, he says it is clear that there must be bishops. For without bishops there can be no priests, without priests no Sacraments, and without Sacraments no Church. The Presbyterian is a sincere and well-meaning man. He reads the Bible also, and deduces that there should be no bishops, but only presbyters. “Here is the Bible,” says the Episcopalian; and “here is the Bible to give you the lie,” says the Presbyterian. Yet both of them are prayerful and well-meaning men. 
Then the Baptist comes in. He is a well-meaning, honest man, and prayerful also. “Well,” says the Baptist, “have you ever been baptized?” “I was,” says the Episcopalian, “when I was a baby.” 
“And so was I,” says the Presbyterian, “when I was a baby.” “But,” says the Baptist, “you are going to Hell as sure as you live.” 
Next comes the Unitarian, well-meaning, honest, and sincere. “Well,” says the Unitarian, “allow me to tell you that you are a pack of idolaters. You worship a man for a God who is no God at all.” And he gives several texts from the Bible to prove it, while the others are stopping their ears that they may not hear the blasphemies of the Unitarian. And they all contend that they have the true meaning of the Bible. 
Next comes the Methodist, and he says, “My friends, have you got any religion at all?” “Of course we have,” they say. “Did you ever feel religion,” says the Methodist, “the spirit of God moving within you?” “Nonsense,” says the Presbyterian, “we are guided by our reason and judgment.” “Well,” says the Methodist, “if you never felt religion, you never had it, and will go to Hell for eternity.” 
The Universalist next comes in, and hears them threatening one another with eternal hellfire. “Why,” says he, “you are a strange set of people. Do you not understand the Word of God? There is no Hell at all. That idea is good enough to scare old women and children,” and he proves it from the Bible. 
Now comes in the Quaker. He urges them not to quarrel, and advises that they do not baptize at all. He is the sincerest of men, and gives the Bible for his faith. 
Another comes in and says: “Baptize the men and let the women alone. For the Bible says, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” “So,“ says he, “the women are all right, but baptize the men.” 
Next comes in the Shaker, and says he: “You are a presumptuous people. Do you not know that the Bible tells you that you must work out your salvation in fear and trembling, and you do not tremble at all. My brethren, if you want to go to Heaven shake, my brethren, shake!” 


VIII. 

I have here brought together seven or eight denominations, differing one from another, or understanding the Bible in different ways, illustrative of the fruits of private interpretation. What, then, if I brought together the three hundred and fifty different denominations, all taking the Bible for their guide and teaching, and all differing from one another? Are they all right? One says there is a Hell, and another says there is not Hell. Are both right? One says Christ is God; another says He is not. One says they are unessential. One says Baptism is a requisite, and another says it is not. Are both true? This is an impossibility, my friends; all cannot be true. 
Who, then, is true? He that has the true meaning of the Bible, you say. But the Bible does not tell us who that is --- the Bible never settles the quarrel. It is not the teacher. 
The Bible, my dear people, is a good book. We Catholics allow that the Bible is the Word of God, the language of inspiration, and every Catholic is exhorted to read the Bible. But good as it is, the Bible, my dear friends, does not explain itself. It is a good book, the Word of God, the language of inspiration, but your explanation of the Bible is not the language of inspiration. Your understanding of the Bible is not inspired --- for surely you do not pretend to be inspired! 
It is with the Bible as it is with the Constitution of the United States. When Washington and his associates established the Constitution and the Supreme Law of the United States, they did not say to the people of the States: “Let every man read the Constitution and make a government unto himself; let every man make his own explanation of the Constitution.” If Washington had done that, there never would have been a United States. The people would all have been divided among themselves, and the country would have been cut up into a thousand different divisions or governments. 
What did Washington do? He gave the people the Constitution and the Supreme Law, and appointed his Supreme Court and Supreme Judge of the Constitution. And these are to give the true explanation of the Constitution to all the American citizens --- all without exception, from the President to the beggar. All are bound to go by the decisions of the Supreme Court, and it is this and this alone that can keep the people together and preserve the Union of the United States. The moment the people take the interpretation of the Constitution into their own hands, that moment there is an end of union. 
And so it is in every government --- so it is here and everywhere. There is a Constitution, a Supreme Court or Law, a Supreme Judge of that Constitution, and that Supreme Court is to give us the meaning of the Constitution and the Law. 
In every well-ruled country there must be such a thing as this --- a Supreme Law, Supreme Court, Supreme Judge, that all the people abide by. There is in every country a Supreme Law, Supreme Court, Supreme Judge; and all are bound by decisions, and without that no government could stand. Even among the Indian tribes such a condition of affairs exists. How are they kept together? By their chief, who is their dictator. 
So our Divine Savior also has established His Supreme Court --- His Supreme Judge --- to give us the true meaning of the Scriptures, and to give us the true revelation and doctrines of the Word of Jesus. The Son of the Living God has pledged His Word that this Supreme Court is infallible, and therefore, the true Catholic never doubts. 
“I believe,” says the Catholic, “because the Church teaches me so. I believe the Church because God has commanded me to believe her. He said: ’Hear the Church, and he that does not hear the Church let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican.’ ’He that believeth you believeth Me.’ said Christ, ’and he that despiseth you despiseth Me.’ ” Therefore, the Catholic believes because God has spoken, and upon the authority of God. 
But our Protestant friends say, “We believe in the Bible.” Very well; how do you understand the Bible? “Well,” says the Protestant, “to the best of my opinion and judgment this is the meaning of the text.” He is not sure of it, but to the best of his opinion and judgment. This, my friends, is only the testimony of a man --- it is only human faith, not Divine Faith. 
It is Divine Faith alone by which we give honor and glory to God, by which we adore His infinite wisdom and veracity, and that adoration and worship is necessary for salvation. 
I have now proved to you that private interpretation of the Scripture cannot be the guide or teacher of man. In another lecture I shall prove that the Catholic Church is the only true Church of God, and that there is no other.

Here is that other lecture:

http://www.calefactory.org/tea-onetruechurch.htm



21 comments:

  1. MAY GOD, JESUS CHRIST TRULY SHOW YOU HIS SPIRIT AND DELIVER YOU FROM ALL EVEIL! GODS BLESSINGS TIM VENABLES - WATCH;

    Tom Horn Petrus Romanus;
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uB9JSsmrY0

    Jordan Maxwell On The Catholic Church, The Vatican & The Bizarre Death Of Justice Antonin Scalia.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBdmOI2MwgA

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  2. See what I mean about the written word. The native americans (american indians) have stayed truer to Gods word than we have, because they never needed the written word ever, even to this day, to know the word of God. Chief Joseph, in his groundbreaking new book called , "what the old ones say", explain how the indian tribes till this day have preserved Gods word better through oral testament passed down from thousands of generations without ever changing the context of the story or the message. They have successfully kept the TRUTH that way better than our modern civilized (i use that word with distain) world has ever done with words. Thats because the ones choosen to pass the word of God "Orally" are specifically picked from birth and trained by the "old ones" to keep and tell biblical stories "exactly" as Jesus ordered...without ading or subtracting even one word...ever. In that way, without any book at all, they have been able to keep and preserve Gods "Word" better than we ever have, without argueing about the interpretation of words or phrases, causing splintering and creating new religions out of conflict over simple matters of interpretation. What a sad commentary on our "Polically Correct" and supposedly higher intellect of our Corp. Civilized world, with its Corporate(501c3 tax exempt) Buildings called Churches(for profit)which jesus never once endorsed. The real church is the one that exsist within us and amoungst all believers in christ wherever they are on "the land". It doesnt have to be and shouldnt be a building, especially one that has a "contract" with the CORPORATE STATE who have unwittingly already admitted by that very contract who their highest authority is.. The Churches are the main reason we have all been deceived because they have never been able to stand up against the Corp. State for jesus and his people out of "FAITH", knowing full well they answer to a higher authority, and the very act of submitting to the STATES requirement of getting a license have already been deceived. But even worse, they are by example leading their flock to do the same thing. Do the native indians do that....NO. They represent the very idea that God talks to everyone, everywhere, in their own language or understanding. Without a book. And by the way, everyone talks about the "King James" version of the bible as the gosple truth. But King James , as most schlors know, hated all the references to corrupt Kings, so he purposely had them deleted. Thats something that never happens when the "oral tradition" is adhered to religiously, never adding or subtracting from the ancient days of old. Of corse, because they are indians, they are taught a little different than our accepted version of events, but it doesnt change the "truth" of gods message. For example, instead of calling Noah's boat the Ark, they tell the story of a great "Canoe", carrying many animals. But you can see for yourself by going to utube and googling...#6-Chief Joseph-Episoid 6.

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  3. I read most of the sermon above but finally stopped as it was too distorted. The Priest spends all of his time disqualifying the King James Bible telling us it's a private interpretation that is full of error. His critique includes him saying "And you say, my dear Protestant friends, that the Bible is your guide and teacher. What a teacher, with thirty thousand errors! The Lord save us from such a teacher! One error is bad enough, but thirty thousand is a little too much". He goes on to say "I say, then, it is not the private interpretation of the Bible that has been appointed by God to be the teacher of man, but the Church of the Living God". And further he says "The Catholic religion had existed sixty-five years before the Bible was completed, before it was written, and would our Divine Savior have left His Church for sixty-five years without a teacher, if the Bible is the teacher of man?" Pretty heavy blame here I'd say. Of course He wouldn't and He didn't as the Bible itself describes the character the teacher of the Word in 1 Timothy 3:1 and other places. His laws are also written in our heart.

    I find it amusing that the preacher, like an attorney, uses words to confuse. Above he talks of the Catholic religion, not teachings. So I looked up some definitions and found that the term catholic means universal, relating to all men, all-inclusive, which can apply to any body of people united under a single belief. I then looked up the term religion and found that it means a particular system of faith and worship and also found that the term system means an organized scheme or method.

    So when did the system known as the Roman Catholic Church come about? The preacher above said "I have found that the Church of God was established and went on spreading itself over the whole globe without the Bible for more than three hundred years. In all that time the people did not know what constituted the Bible". I agree this is true. During that time the church was truly a catholic (universal) church with Christ as the head but it was NOT an organization or system of religion. During that time Christians were persecuted. In 313 AD Constantine, for selfish reasons, claimed to became a believer which relieved the Christian from persecution, but it wasn't until 538 A.D. that a decree of Emperor Justinian went into effect that assigned absolute preeminence to the Church of Rome aka the Roman Catholic Church, a religion and an institution. It was in this time frame that the Roman Catholic Church also incorporated itself. So, what started out to be a body of true believers who sacrificed all for truth became the incorporated, for profit enterprise it is today, and this enterprise, no matter what it calls itself, is not a true catholic church body.

    Look at some of the things this "religion" has done over the years. People were killed if they even owned a Bible, and their unabashed land grab was renowned for its mercilessness. Just look at what it did with its Bible where it completely removed the Second Commandment so it could sell its icons and statues. If you go to http://www.drbill.net/dead_sea_scrolls/DEU42642.HTM you will find a translation into English of the ten commandments found in the dead sea scrolls, the 2nd commandment saying: You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

    The King James may have error, but at least it doesn't cut out an entire commandment for one thing, and I can find no proof of 30,000 errors, and if your teacher is teaching according to scripture, he will have been taught to point out any errors...mine does.

    M








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    1. You are believing a lot of vicious anti Catholic errors spoon fed to the world by God's enemies.

      Try the search feature on the following website.

      http://www.newadvent.org/

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  4. Judge Anna, so far you have never addressed the most obvious and blatantly deceptive concept that eventually brought Rome down for good...the absolute perversion of what we now comically call "professional sports", which is nothing more than a modern version of "gladiators", without the blood and guts. But thats coming, and in fact already exsist in private venues. What are you affraid of. You think you are going to lose your credibility or admiration of your followers. So what. Your investigative skills on subjects concerning "the truth" about things leaves you no excuse for intentionally avoiding the underlying truth about "Competetive Sports" and the millions of people that "idiolize" them, to the point of ubsertity and an intentional deversion from God and creating nothing but division through competition and controlled by the very system and people controlling the entire planet. And generating hugh amounts of money out of conflict instead of promoting the idea of helping each other out, not competing with them. This is at least the 5th time now i have politely referred to this subject. This time im calling you to the "floor". What is the real history of competitive sports and its lucifarian connection. Im specifically talking about "professional sports", not sports in general which are played for fun and health, and no money involved. I want a reasonable or logical answer why someone who can dunk a ball through a hoop get millions of dollars(frn or whatever), while brain surgens and surgens in general saving lives on a dayly basis, find it difficult to even make one million and with no accolades or fans or million dollar endorsements from advertizers. If you think we are going to change the current state of events or be a social change for the good of humanity, without addressing one of the greatest weapons of mass destruction for the deliberate purpose of "separating" everyone , exactly how congress does it using Repubicans and Democrates, then you still dont understand the subliminal power of the controlling elite who can use something you and millions of people see as no threat at all to accomplish hidden agendas. Surely, your not that stupid. This is not a comment!!! Im challenging you to write an article about it. Ive given you more than enough time to address this immensly disturbing distraction, not to mention the total inequality of financial gain aquired by it. The perverbial "BALL" is in your court now. Lets play...!!!!

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  5. One more thing judge Anna..Sports is a "religion" with millions of followers!!! Enough said....or how to be stupid #19.

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  6. The indians never had the whole truth about God until missionaries like Fr. DeSmet taught it to them. He was the prime missionary that founded the St. Ignatius mission north of Missoula Montana, and who Fr. Damen worked with.
    People like these two men converted many thousands of Indians all around America, and many missionaries gave their lives in the process while walking among these rather savage people.
    If you don't believe that read about St.Isaak Jogues and his missionary work among the indians of the east here:
    http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08420b.htm

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  7. My question to those who say, “I believe in the Bible,” is “What exactly is it that you believe?” The response is usually, “I believe in the New Testament.” The problem with this answer is that one cannot possible comprehend the New Testament without a thorough understanding the Old. Unfortunately, there are things in the OT, which though critically important to understanding the New Testament, are never even mentioned by Catholic priests or Christian pastors. I doubt if they are even aware.

    The reason I am aware is that the Lord gave me an immense blessing. He had me sent to a great Bible school – a Federal prison camp where I was taught to research the Bible using the original Hebrew and Greek via the Word Study Bibles. In the three years I was there I put in over 8,000 hours doing research. Here are some of the things to which I found answers:

    The Bible consists of books related to Law & Prophets (History), Writings, Gospels, Epistles, Acts, and Revelation. Though there are sixty-six books in the Protestant Bible and seventy-three in the Catholic Bible there are threads of truth that bind them into one complete story. Sadly, the threads are never mentioned, so readers have an incomplete comprehension of what they are reading. In truth, the Bible is far more complex than generally recognized and the message much simpler than commonly perceived. So too, once the threads are seen, difficult passages become much easier to comprehend.

    The Bible tells us that Jesus was crucified on Friday and rose on Sunday and that He was in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. Matthew12:40 We are told that He died at 3 P.M. Friday and rose at Sunday morning. Assuming He rose at 5 A.M. that is a total of 38 hours. Where are the other 34 hours? The Holy Spirit gave me the simple answer and no, he did not die on Wednesday as some pastors insist.

    If there is, as we have been told, only one God why does the Bible say “. . . worship him, all ye gods,” (Psalms 97:7) or “Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.” (Psalms 86:8) Many of the works in the Bible attributed to the Lord God were not performed by Him, but rather by other gods. To see this truth requires looking at the Hebrew.

    When asked why He spoke in parables Jesus replied, “Therefore speak I to them in parables, that seeing they may see and not perceive and see not; and hearing they may hear, and they might not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and sins should be forgiven them.” (Matthew 13, Mark.4 and Luke 8) If He came to save the world why would He make such a statement? So too, why did He say, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel?” (Matthew 15:24) How does this line up with the fact that He did come to save all of His children? And yes, He is the father of all races. We are all brothers and sisters. How then can this be reconciled?

    “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.” (Proverbs 25:2)

    If anyone is interested in learning the answers to these questions and many others, send me an email at: james:courtade@mail.com and request my book titled The True Significance of Being a Child of God. I will send a PDF at no charge

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    1. I would just about bet that you didn't have access to a Douay Rheims bible in that prison.

      Try this one:
      http://www.drbo.org/

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  8. Ok Paul, i will read it. But will you at least go to that utube site that is only 15min.long with an open mind. Because as chief joseph tells it, the "old ones" were very spiritual way before the white man or priest even entered the picture and as they prayed for 3 days up on a sacred hill, asking for an answer to the problems they were having at the time, like drought and buffalo dying. And as he describes it, the skies opened up and god showed the old one a picture in the clouds of the answer to his question...it was jesus on the cross. This was hundred of years before the white man arrived. And maybe they didnt have all the truth "in detail", obviously god thought they didnt need it or over complicate it which we always do. Their understanding goes all the way back to genisis. Theres always two sides to a story. So lets agree to have open minds about this paul. I read everything you say or refer us to...always. Appearantly, what the "old ones" did is after receiving the sign that god gave them is macroma the message into a long strand (maybe a couple yards) with symbols so that they would never forget or distort the original understanding. Trust me, they know more than we give them credit for...!!! Cheif Joseph isnt more than his mid 30's. Even the pastor that is interviewing him says how remarkable their story aligns almost perfectly with what we know today.

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    1. They might have been spiritual in a superstitious way but they didn't have the real truth about creation, redemption, and salvation. That only comes from Jesus Christ as he gives it to us through His Church. That is why when they heard the truth from the missionary priests they converted by the thousands and took Christian names.

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  9. I did notice that Martin Luther was safely left out of the teaching- as well as the prior monks that attempted to address the Roman Ca-tholic enterprise as to salvation being by grace but they got burned at the stake as heretics.
    It was German Princes that ushered Luther to safety or the same fate would have befallen him.
    As usual very wordy and rings around the rosary's- as if the Lord God wasn't able by his grace and Spirit inspired believers to reach down thru the ages of darkness and the Dark Ages themselves to us this very day.
    America most definitely emanated directly from Luthers protesting that advanced the very impetus of conviction and enlightenment that led the Pilgrims/Puritans here to glorify Christ and the Scriptures they had- to build a whole new life and system in a New World.
    Now the New World is turning into the New World Order that ccrtainly has Europe by the throat(or other parts).
    It is amazing to me as to the hatred for the American phenomena, esp like a disease right among us- while so blessed to be here.

    However " Stupid is as stupid does." momma always said ~!

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  10. The original Chief Joseph was in my estimation the greatest Native peoples chief in recorded history.
    He was a Christian convert yet with all his forebearance and wisdom still ran afowl the U.S. federal gubmint and pulled off one of if not greatest feat of determination to be free this continent has ever seen by one man a Nez Pierce leader of 70 odd mostly old men, women and children 1,500+ miles across 4 States and the Rocky Mts in fall to try make it to Canada. He almost made it fighting the U.S. army most of the way.
    I still get a lump in my throat thinking of what he said when he had to surrender- " I will fight no more forever".
    This policy change by then president Grant of mandatory placement on reservations was due to the only general ever killed by natives- Edward Canby assassinated at a peace conference by a Modoc chief(a movie was made of that incident a young Charles Bronson as that Modoc chief// as well as a film on Chief Joseph with James Whitmore)

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    1. mtman2. Thank you for telling me about that movie. I found it online on utube. It was made in 1975. I can already tell im going to get a lump in my throat.....thanks.

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  11. This is something a good catholic would peddle as the main error of it is the very foundation of which is used to purport to "prove" that it was the Catholic Church and its fallible human "pope" that heads it that Jesus personally set up. As many versions of Scripture I've had and read, I've never seen "catholic church" mentioned anywhere in it!!! Strange!? Seems the author of this sermon and all of its peddlers seem to have overlooked that fact. Also, they don't have a good grasp or understanding of Scripture or they wouldn't be espousing the same error that they accuse others of, using a version of Scripture full of errors and depending on a human pope as their sole teacher of scripture. Read some of the early papal bulls that make popes greater than Christ, their words not mine, and see the fallacies of this article. The Holy Spirit is the head of the true Church, not a man or any church organization. And no version of the bible is perfect. Sorry folks, you good catholics are going to have to peddle another fallacy better than this. ALL "translations" have errors as the translations are subject to the various biases of the translator. If it is a catholic translator, he/she will translate towards a catholic bias and this carries over to all of the others. Only the original language of the Scriptures has no errors so best to learn Greek and Hebrew if you want an error free version of the bible. I suggest learning the original languages to know for yourself what the Word actually states or use multiple translations at one time to get the gist of the meaning of the Scripture you are studying. I sure wouldn't put too much authority on the subject of this article for all of the above reasons stated and a lot more that I could write.

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    1. If you are saying the your salvation depends on learning Greek and Hebrew, which is appears you are, then almost nobody goes to Heaven when they die.
      Fortunately it doesn't depend on written words.
      http://www.calefactory.org/tea-onetruechurch.htm

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  12. Ones reclamation-simple put is to "Know Thyself" do the self-work of healing required to return to Innocence. We have this great opportunity now with the eternal currents flowing within & around earth.

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  13. Paul, you missed your calling. Why didnt you become a priest. You would have been a good one. Im sure you were called by god for it. Why didnt you listen.

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  14. On the contrary, I was in a Catholic seminary when JFK was shot.
    I spent two years there studying all sorts of subjects including latin, but found that seminary to be a hotbed and a spiritual battleground. I decided that being a priest was not my vocation for many reasons.

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  15. I read the other article as well and I have just 1 point to make. Yes the proposed one true church has been around aprox 1,900 years. BUT we as humans have found and are finding evidence of human existence much older than the speck of 1,900 years of time. Satin plays the long game. Just sayin.
    It's like saying the US corp has been around longer, so it must be the authentic authority. Hows that playing out?
    The vatican seems to think it has dominion over everything that God already gave away to mankind. Vicar of Christ? These are pretty bold claims made by mere mortals. If they want my consent they will have to prove there claim. Otherwise it just another offer.

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