The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that. Harper Lee

Many of you will see the first two words of the heading and pass on.  If not, then relax.  I do not plan on quoting Bible passages to point out your failings or sound like the caricature that society has made of Christians in their (non) war on the Christian faith.  I do not plan on it but in fairness; it is only the first paragraph.

As with most Americans, faith and religion have always been a very personal affair with me.  As a kid I would occasionally set up an altar in the bedroom I shared with my three brothers and I would serve Mass or as close as a 7 or 8-year-old could perform the ritual.  Of course I would only become a “priest” when I was alone.  I am not aware that any of my siblings or parents were ever privy to my “closet” priesthood.  My older brothers who served as Altar boys at Saint Leo’s were envied by their quiet pain in the ass brother.  I was looking forward to becoming one myself a few years hence but it was not to be.  I like to say I discovered girls and my interests were distracted away which is true but only partially.  It was life itself.  The world and all its promises and problems came crashing into my life.

It is called ‘growing up’ and growing up in the Sixties provided a lot of distractions to a kid.  To quote Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and it was but that judgement that can only come from future reflection and is true of everyone no matter what age.  The world overwhelms you with distractions and it is easy to lose your way, lose the purpose you once knew and before you know it mortality hits you square in the back of the head and you see things as they are and why they are that way and you know that no matter what you did it all led you back to where you were meant to be.

God intrigued me as a child.  I enjoyed reading Bible stories, partially because they were history and I was and still am a history buff.  I never read the Bible though and I am not sure if I would have understood it then anyway.  The stories were sufficient to teach and entertain me and they also provided a thread that unknowingly kept me connected to where I am this present day.  I do know that I would not have been a good Catholic Priest.  I believe God knew that and gave me a small enough of an anarchical streak to lead me away from the Catholic Church.  I am not going to bash the RC Church as many former members do on a regular basis.  I recognize that the Catholic Church does much good and there are many good people within that organization.  The hospitals and charities it provides are irreplaceable to our society; the schools that are left, outperform most government schools and the Roman Catholic Church is still the strongest voice against the greatest evil our Nation has engaged in and that is the killing of innocent babies.  But at its core it is not Scriptural.  It is a creation with its roots tied to and influenced by none other than Jesus Christ but has over the years been corrupted by man and has left its true purpose behind many, many years ago. Not unlike a kid growing up in this world.

Religion and The Bible

It is not my purpose to put down or sound smugly superior. Far from it, I relate to the following as I spent many years of my life in the quicksand known as the world. I have broken all ten commandments (I have not physically murdered anyone but in my heart there have been a few bodies strewn about) so who am I to feel superior? We all sin, as that is man’s nature. What I am writing about is the evolution of one man.  While reading the Bible one day it struck me that in addition to being God’s Word it is also a historical account of man’s evolution.  Not the evolution that atheists cling to with man starting as an ape or coming from a sea creature (though there was a reluctant prophet that was delivered by a whale).  The evolution that the Bible exhibits is the evolution of man’s heart and soul.  The opposite of what the Prince of the World teaches; which is mankind evolving from apes, fish or microbes.  It is all in the physical realm.  The Bible is concerned with teaching how to be more like our Creator.

If I have learned anything in my 65 years is that I really don’t know much and it is especially true when it comes to the Bible.  I would occasionally pick it up and read a Psalm or two, maybe venture into the Proverbs and some various books but I would always fit whatever I read into my narrative at the time.  I would search out passages that would make me feel good or back up whatever my thoughts were on whatever I was thinking of at that moment.  It is no surprise then, that for a time I was into the “new age” movement and read many different authors or “gurus” that incorporated parts of the Bible to fit their purposes.  The deeper I got though, the more I recognized how shallow it was and then I noticed how it trended more to the “eastern mysticism” philosophies.  The mask of the New Age philosophy slowly began to be lifted off and I recognized it for what it was; a movement that made narcissism the focal point.   It wasn’t until some friends that I never met discovered me and I started looking at the Bible more completely.

My “saving” has not been a sudden awakening, like a light bulb being switched on, as so many have experienced.  I liken it more to a dimmer switch being slowly turned toward full brightness.  I started “studying” the Bible for intellectual purposes; keeping in mind that a 25 watt bulb at full power is better than a 100 watt bulb using only a quarter of it’s ability. I am not a great intellectual I hoped to increase my knowledge and understanding of the Book.  The historical accuracy of the Bible has been the first thing that critics decry but as time passes and the growth of archeological studies, the Bible has been proven to be a very safe source for historical truth.  David and Goliath was not a fairy story.  There were giants like Goliath in existence.  The flood of Noah’s time did happen and there is continuing growing evidence of the destruction of Sodom.   The events in the New Testament has been independently verified through the Roman/Judeo historian Josephus who chronicled that part of the Roman Empire.  While some of his writing concerning Jesus has controversy as to being completely authentic he did write of the presence of Jesus.  It bewilders me that many people deny even the presence of Jesus walking the earth but I am reminded that there are just as many (usually the same people) that also deny that the German holocaust occurred.

People are caught up in terms.  Religion has become a word that our society has been conditioned to shun; particularly if it is Christianity.  There is some justification but instead of recognizing the charlatans for what they are, the average person in America and Western Civilization blankets religion with the sins of a few; all the while professing to be Christian.  But they smugly add that while they are not religious they are “spiritual”. The use of the term “spiritual” in that situation equates to the swabbing of the mouth or nose to test for the flu.  It shows that the user has been infected with the “new age” flu but instead of the body it is the soul that is infected. I think when people are saying they do not believe in or belong to an “organized religion” they should be saying “church”.  Being spiritual and being religious are not mutually exclusive. To be one without the other is incomplete.  Spirituality without religion is shallow, self-centered and has no anchor so the moral and ethical code changes with whatever society is feeling at the moment. To be religious without spirituality is to not have faith in God.  Your faith is based on ceremony and law.  It is what Jesus confronted on a daily basis with the Jewish religious leaders .  When viewed closely, both are human centric and not heavenly oriented.  You need both to be complete. It is the bastardization of our language that has so many good people lost. And you are sorely mistaken if you don’t believe it is intentional. Let me repeat that everything I have said above is said from a personal point of reference; these observations are my experiences also.

What are some of the sins of religion that “turn people off”?  The most common criticism is the “self-righteous” and “judgmental” attitudes of the Ministers and congregants.  Nobody likes to feel that they are being judged for how they are dressed or how their hair looks; if their children are behaving or how much they give in the collection basket.  All that occurs it is true but it also happens at every supermarket every day.  People look to see what you have in your basket and then look at you to match it up.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see a basket with ice cream, boxes of TastyKakes, potato chips and various other non-healthy items; then you look at the person and they are overweight? What is the other shopper thinking when they notice the look on your face?  But yet we still shop there and we are just as judgmental, self – righteous and self – conscious.  Any social outing incurs this behavior but we still endure the looks of scrutiny.  But we judge religion differently.  Why do we not even consider the multitude of times we participate in that behavior while using it as a reason not to be “religious” and become “spiritual” instead?  Could it be that we hold religion to a different standard and if so, why?

We hold Church officials to a higher standard, as we should, because they are viewed (and paint themselves) as representatives of Jesus.  And when one is in that exalted position how can we not expect more?  We forget or disregard the fact that they too are human; open to the same temptations and sins the world offers as are the rest of us.  The trouble started when they were placed on pedestals by self-acclimation or popular demand.  That is a recurring theme and the Bible has plenty of examples of that very thing.  It is much easier to attack and dismiss an entire religion through the actions of some.  Many people I know find it easier to live their lives and justify their disbelief and dismissing the teachings of Jesus because of a philandering Minister or a pedophile Priest.  They forego God’s blessing in order to live more comfortably in this life, in this world and justify it with a blanket condemnation of religion.  Intellectual laziness leads to being overtaken by the world.  The world leads to, in the words of Pink Floyd, becoming “comfortably numb” or as many are: “comfortably dumb”.

The Devil Made Me Do It

Ending with “comfortably dumb” leads me to speak of the devil. Since I started studying the Bible there are two quotes that I always keep in the back of my mind.  The first is from 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may desire.”  And the other from the movie “The Usual Suspects”, though non biblical, it is as accurate a statement ever made; “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” 

Hollywood and society in general has humanized Satan and evil to the point his actions are invisible. Most people now believe that the devil is a quaint little red guy who does not exist except in movies and books. Mankind’s enemy is portrayed as a truly evil maniacal killer; humorously inept or even a “good” guy such as in the recent television series “Lucifer”. Entertaining to be sure and Satan could be all three, even the “good” guy, because he is always a liar.

The devils primary goal is to separate us from God’s grace. That he has been so successful with this writer is not a feather in his cap; for I have been an easy mark for him. I know I am not the only one but the misery loves company adage does not apply to me. I am not miserable about my failings. For the longest time I would allow the knowledge of my failures or “imperfections” create anger, self-hatred and a sense of resignation which all led to being miserable. But as I studied the Bible I began to understand its purpose.

For many people the Gospel of Jesus Christ is enough to turn on the light. But for myself that was just the icing. While the icing is good it is not complete and I needed the cake. Is it possible to comprehend the Bible in its entirety? It is difficult when you approach it as a collection of stories handed down by a group of people. However, there is a golden thread that runs through the entire Bible that when you discover it you understand that the Bible is not a collection of individual stories. It is one story, our story, from Genesis through Revelations; from creation to victory over evil. Only God could have been the architect and when that dawns on you, the fear and resignation is diminished within you. Does the fear and self-hatred disappear? For me they haven’t but I recognize it for what they are – Satan’s attempt to keep me within his realm. There is a small book written by Sarah Young titled “Jesus Today”. I have had it for a while and I do not recall how it came into my possession (I think my wife purchased it for me during one of my bad periods). One day when I was feeling extreme in my thoughts I opened it to a page to read and I was guided to a paragraph that I read at least once every couple of weeks. She explained that the evil one uses the three D’s to control us; Distraction, Deception and Discouragement. That was a lifeline to me, a thread that kept me connected to the Book until I came to understand.

Evil is real. Man has a dual nature.  Being created by God, man’s nature is at the core good.  However, as a creature of this world, man’s nature is corrupted by the prince of this world.  Man is a reflection of the cosmic battle that is raging all around us. With our creation, God blessed us with what we call “free will” which frankly has given us a devil of a time. He has also graced us with an instruction book on how to deal with Lucifer and his minions. The devil, Lucifer, Satan; whatever name you use is an entity that is real and is behind every act of wrong known to man. To deny his existence is to further his evil. Many well-meaning souls will preach that all we need is love. Fill our hearts with love and Satan is beaten, he will have nowhere to live; he will be suffocated. That line of thought is like fertilizer to him and he uses that like a cover of darkness to move amongst us. The demon’s seed was planted in that philosophy from the very start as it is taught that we cannot love another unless we love ourselves first. That is a fallacy that is taken as a holy writ by many; little do they know the author of that writ. Self-love leads to a whole host of self-delusions that lead to the separation of you to our Creator. It was self-love that made Lucifer what he became.

Mankind cannot beat the devil. We can only reject Satan and what he stands for and that is difficult but not impossible. It only requires faith in God and constant awareness of the devices of the devil.  Being human, we slip and find ourselves following a path that leads us away from God.  It is so easily done; a little “white” lie to cover an indiscretion or to boost your value to someone.  Witnessing a wrong and being silent because of group acceptance of the wrong perpetrated.  While we pray; Satan preys and he knows our every weakness.  There is no sin too small that he will not tempt you with and no sin too large that God will not forgive through your faith in and acceptance of Jesus.  However, forgiveness does not mean there aren’t consequences to your actions.  But better to face consequences here than when you meet your Creator.  

I was recently reminded just how susceptible I am. I am prone to get angry at things out of my control especially when it affects me. The past several years my life has not been mine to live as I would like due to health reasons I suppose. And I for the most part just go with the flow in order to please my better half. But like a volcano there is pressure that builds within and it has to have an outlet. A combination of watching a society go nuts over a flu virus and then dealing with a hospital that uses this “pandemic” to cover their own laziness and ineptness created enough pressure for me to “blow my top”. In a situation like that it is easy for the dark one to “lead” you on a downhill path. I am not happy that I lost my temper and cussed like a drunken sailor but upon reflection it was a needed outlet. I was told that I allowed my emotions get the better of me. Perhaps I did. But I also realize that without emotion there is no passion. And frankly a passionless life is dull. But there comes a point when you must recognize your passion is leading you into sin and Satan is always ready to lead you to that graveyard.The devil never makes you do it. He only presents the opportunity and leaves it up to you.

I am not smart enough to just pick up a Bible, read it and then understand it all. I have been fortunate to have friends who know and understand more than I do but I also read (or listen to audible books) that give insight. One of my favorite authors is C.S. Lewis; a man who grew from atheism to become one of the greatest modern day Christian authors/philosophers. The other writer I came across is Rev. Timothy Keller. A Minister located in New York City he writes with clarity and understanding. There are many writers out there and with that there are many who would lead you down the wrong path. If an author is affirming and makes you feel good, then beware. It is my experience that the truth should make you somewhat uncomfortable; at least if you are human. The Bible is both uncomfortable and joyful. Uncomfortable to read and joyful as you gain understanding. It is evolution at its best.

Omnia in gloriam Dei facite