As a Catholic, I know we’re generally not very comfortable with the Bible. Few of us were encouraged to read Scripture, and some of us were told outright NOT to read the Bible. I have some relatives who remember their parochial school days back in the 1940s and 50s, when the nuns told the students, “Don’t ever read the Bible on your own. That’s what Martin Luther did, and look what happened to him!” (The implication was that the worst thing that could ever happen to a person was to become a Protestant. I have a lot of friends and relatives who are fallen-away Catholics, and I would weep tears of joy if any of them became a Protestant.)
Back in those days, the students were told that the bishops and popes and trained theologians were the Bible experts, and they would let us know if there was anything important we needed to understand from the sacred texts. So, even though the Church has done a 180-degree turn since then, and now says faithful lay people should read the Bible, the vast majority of Catholics still avoid the Scriptures.
Back in those days, the students were told that the bishops and popes and trained theologians were the Bible experts, and they would let us know if there was anything important we needed to understand from the sacred texts. So, even though the Church has done a 180-degree turn since then, and now says faithful lay people should read the Bible, the vast majority of Catholics still avoid the Scriptures.
I personally know many Catholics who would like to read the Bible, but they are intimidated. They don’t know where to begin and they don’t know what to do if they get bogged down. So out of fear they avoid it completely.
Well, I have the simplest Bible study in the world. We don’t worry about the 1,200 pages and the 73 separate books that make up the Bible. All we have to do is focus on the first five words of Scripture: “In the beginning, God created.”
If you’re curious, you can find those words in the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1. If a person understands those five simple words, he or she will know far more about reality than the average person living in our secular world today.
The first five words of the Bible tell us that everything in the Universe, especially life on earth, did not just accidentally appear. Everything was designed and planned and created on purpose. And it was all done by a Being more powerful than anything we can comprehend.
Knowing that each and every person on earth was designed and created by a supernatural Being, rather than the mere product of mindless biological processes, makes all the difference.
Well, I have the simplest Bible study in the world. We don’t worry about the 1,200 pages and the 73 separate books that make up the Bible. All we have to do is focus on the first five words of Scripture: “In the beginning, God created.”
If you’re curious, you can find those words in the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verse 1. If a person understands those five simple words, he or she will know far more about reality than the average person living in our secular world today.
The first five words of the Bible tell us that everything in the Universe, especially life on earth, did not just accidentally appear. Everything was designed and planned and created on purpose. And it was all done by a Being more powerful than anything we can comprehend.
Knowing that each and every person on earth was designed and created by a supernatural Being, rather than the mere product of mindless biological processes, makes all the difference.
Our modern culture has embraced secularism with a passion. Traditional religions are now scorned by the intelligentsia, and children are taught in school at a young age that mankind emerged from the primordial slime. It was all random, accidental, and unplanned. This secular worldview makes it very difficult to assign any transcendent meaning or value to our existence.
Almost a century and a half ago, Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” Our modern culture is now putting this into practice. As a culture, we no longer believe in a divine Creator, which means we scoff at the idea that there is a heavenly purpose for our lives, and we reject the notion that there is a godly moral code we should follow. All values, all definitions of morality, now are based on individual feelings and desires. Not surprisingly, given that human instincts often are self-centered and short-sighted, this new worldview has produced chaos in our culture.
Almost a century and a half ago, Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote, “If there is no God, all things are permissible.” Our modern culture is now putting this into practice. As a culture, we no longer believe in a divine Creator, which means we scoff at the idea that there is a heavenly purpose for our lives, and we reject the notion that there is a godly moral code we should follow. All values, all definitions of morality, now are based on individual feelings and desires. Not surprisingly, given that human instincts often are self-centered and short-sighted, this new worldview has produced chaos in our culture.
Therefore, someone who understands the words, “In the beginning, God created,” is likely to know more truth about our existence here on earth than a whole lot of Ph.Ds at, say, Harvard and Yale.
I encourage my fellow Catholics to read the Bible. But if it’s too intimidating, then at least meditate on the first 5 words. Knowing that God is real, and that He designed and created us, gives our lives true meaning. It fills us with joy and purpose. That knowledge is the most important lesson you'll ever learn.
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