Bible Topics

My study of the psalms as a unit and individually has surely opened my eyes. Most are songs that were written to take up the problems of the people as a whole or individuals. The people are constantly griping because they are suffering setbacks and facing failures.

Immediately they turn to Yahweh and complain that he does not keep his promises to help them. The point of the song is to stress that Yahweh has not changed his plan. He made his favors dependent on their fidelity to the Law. They have failed to keep the Law and Yahweh is punishing them.

This was the basic message of Jeremiah and Ezechiel. The whole notion of personal responsibility was defined and stressed in that 6th century BC. This will be developed more and more clearly down to the Book of Wisdom about 50 BC. This is the point at which John Baptist and Jesus Christ pick up the teaching. Both zero in on personal responsibility in detail.

The Psalms were popular songs written and sung during these years. They stressed the message in almost every one. This shows why St. Jerome was so anxious to make a new translation into Latin from the Hebrew. His translations were ideal but they were destroyed in the Vulgate by church authorities.

Proverbs were collected in bits and pieces over the centuries and finally edited into the present form about 400 BC. They are the wisdom of the ages.

I started through my series of articles on the Eucharist. I followed the chronological order of the writings — Paul (least developed), to Mark (Peter's teaching), Luke, Matthew and John. The original statement in the gospels is very clear. Christ and the apostles had just finished the Passover meal of the Old Law. Then Christ said, "That's it! From now on, eat this meal in honor of me and my death." That meant the meal would be eaten once a year on the day of Passover. Then he sealed it with a friendship cup of wine and a small piece of bread dipped in the cup and eaten. Paul made the first changes. His groups had a basket or pot-luck supper each Sabbath. The problem in his groups was gluttony of food and drink by a lot of people who saw it as a free meal.

Gradually, after 325 AD, the present form developed. The only relevant action today is the parish pot-luck on various occasions.

I was going through my writings on "Who is Jesus Christ?" The part that really holds my attention is the statement that Jesus Christ was able to achieve so much because he was perfectly obedient to the Father. This would presuppose that he is totally human. When he was presented as "a divine nature," this made obedience ridiculous. He is able to obey because he is truly and only human.

Martin Luther talked about this in the 16th century. He was shouted down by the Council of Trent and the "mystery" of two natures in one person came to the fore. Perhaps, we'll get to the true message of the gospels soon.

The four major prophets are four completely different characters. The original Isaiah was a well-educated man. He is proficient in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and uses all three. He is a master of imagery. Then Isaiah II, chapters 40–55, was attached to the original. The Northern Kingdom had been destroyed for two centuries and the southern kingdom has crumbled. His work is more a work of consolation, urging to turn back to Yahweh, and a look to the future when a Redeemer would come. Chapters 56–66 were attached to the scroll later and represent three or four different men.

Jeremiah has, perhaps, the toughest task in the OT. He is a tenderhearted kind person and an excellent preacher. He begins his work about 597 BC, ten years before Jerusalem is erased. He urges the people to repent and obey before it is too late. They make fun of him, beat him up, and imprison him. The Lamentations are some of the most beautiful poetry of the OT.

The greatest mistakes of the past are: First, they developed the notion of a Trinity — not three gods but three persons in one God. Then they put two natures in one person and called him the Messiah. The Holy Spirit was made into a divine person instead of the spirit of sharing and community to be found in the people who lived the ideas and ideals. Then, to top this all off, they took a simple meal of a group of people and developed transubstantiation. Finally, in 1870, the Pope declared himself infallible because he was infallible and therefore he could make no mistakes.

Then I go back to the leaders of the Jews in the time of Christ. I read Christ's scathing condemnation of the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. If Jesus were to appear in person today, he would blast out with the same list of "Woes" against the leaders of the Church.

Christian life and ideals are so simple. Everything is concerned with how we respect, help and share with those around us.

Prior to 313 AD and the Edict of Milan, the Eucharist was just a family meal with the special Cup of Friendship at the end. Then the church came out in the open after the persecutions. Within a century, the present hierarchical structure was in place. Laws and rubrics were developed for everything. Finally, in 1918, all the laws and rules were codified in the Code of Canon Law with 2,414 laws.

Then the commentaries on the Code of Canon Law came into being to account for all the exceptions and loopholes. We studied Canon Law for 2.5 years out of 6 years in Oconomowoc. Beste wrote the commentary. It was a huge volume of over 850 pages. I found the course the most boring class in all my years of study.

The Jews in Rome are upset with the Vatican again. A cardinal had mouthed off against the Jews. Some Christian churches are up in arms because the Pope has said that the Roman Catholic Church is the only Christian Church.

Such a statement could raise the hackles of the Orthodox Church, both those in Union and those who are separate. Such a statement was the occasion of the complete break between East and West in 1054 AD. Then, in 1154 AD, one group came back to Rome and they are called the "Uniates." This present Pope, John Paul II, is going to succeed in getting everyone riled up again.

It really bothers me when I see how simple the idea of a Church is in the gospel. The people were to be a part of the society in which they lived but recognized by the way in which they shared with others and helped others in their need. The leaders in the Church were to be the "Foundation" on which people built, not a "Roof" which held them down.

Today, I'll start with John's work and then go to Paul. That's backwards, of course. Paul's are the earliest ideas and John's are the latest.

Yesterday, I read through the Creation Story, the Noah Story, the Patriarch Story, the Joseph Story, the Moses Story and the David Story. It flows nicely and does just what it says. It presents the "story" picture of the world as the people of Israel saw and developed it.

It is true "Semitic history." The writers and editors were interested foremost in "why" all things happened. They present, combine and develop facts for the answer to this question. They write and think and talk the same way today. This creates part of the problem for interchange between the Semite and the West. We don't think the same way.

I read through the rest of my commentary on the Prophets and Wisdom literature. It is complete and easily understood. It is the Jewish-Christian picture of the world and people in the Bible.

Women are given their full and true worth in all the writings except Paul. He clearly looks on women as second-class people. The Roman Church clearly followed the lead of Paul in this matter. The very fact that all orders of nuns must have a cardinal-protector to speak and act for them is just one example.

I started to re-read the book on archeological discoveries in the Middle and Far East. The real starting point for modern times is the young shepherd who walked along tossing stones at holes in the side of the hills. He crawled into one hole, found the old scrolls, took them to his dad who took them to the Dominican monastery. The Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran were found.

I was in my second year at Catholic University when the book of photocopies was published. Pat Skehan bought us each a copy and we spent several weeks comparing the text of Isaiah with our critical text.

This set off a flurry of "digs" and has uncovered many other finds related to the lives and people of ancient times.

When we figure that the oldest writing of the OT is the 10th century BC, in the time of Solomon, it is easy to see how the ancient data were interpreted as Semitic history.

We were discussing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. There were seven of each, though I recall only six for the Spiritual.

Spiritual: Teach the ignorant. Advise those who worry (Counsel the doubtful). Console the miserable. Comfort those who are upset. Forgive those who offend you. Bear wrongs patiently. (Admonish the sinner; Pray for the living and the dead.)

Corporal: Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Shelter the homeless. Clothe the naked. Visit the sick. Visit those in prison. Bury the dead.