Bible reading reminder to consider the source

I continue to be disturbed by the distortion and skewing by some of the Gospel and the Epistles. Annoyed would be another word to describe how I feel about it, very annoyed. Not because it is an innocent misunderstanding but because this skewing I refer to is a rerun of humans succumbing to the same old temptations and sin time after time after time.

I'm going to provide a real simple guide for you who have difficulty in this area. When reading the Bible, especially areas that are divine teaching and prophesy, slow down enough to notice who is actually providing the information, whether it is God himself, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or one of the angels. While all knowledge comes from God the topics and their treatment vary by who is the source because they all serve different priorities from God.

Now I love St. Paul more than anyone (the real St. Paul, not the imaginary one). He, like Peter, John, Andrew, the two James, Jude and so forth, was an incredible and remarkable man. I wish that people could know the real St. Paul. Having said that I have to point out to all of you Christians who are totally obsessed with his writings that you must remember that his source was resurrected Jesus. Resurrected Jesus had a set of priorities that serve God but are not representative of every one of God's infinite priorities. Remember that Jesus ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to guide the apostles and disciples in understanding God's priorities for them. Saul, as he was at the time, was not there, as he was persecuting Christians. So Jesus could not send the Holy Spirit to him, Jesus had to appear himself. Jesus also continued to inspire and instruct him in a "catch up" mode. So remember that while Peter and the others were instructed by the living Jesus Christ, Paul was guided by the resurrected Christ. So the topics that Paul wrote and the perspectives he had would be a combination of his already existing formidable piety as a Jew and his knowledge of the Torah, overlaid by where he was instructed and inspired by the resurrected Christ.

Contrast this to St. John the Baptist who was not so much instructed by Jesus but the one who came before him to prepare the way, who knew him as family and for a while as colleagues on parallel roads. But St. John also had another remarkable experience. He heard the voice of God himself, and observed the Holy Spirit, during the Baptism of Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptist actually heard God himself speak. Neither St. Paul nor any of companions of Jesus, the Apostles and disciples, actually saw or heard God the way that St. John the Baptist did. If it had been God's will that St. John the Baptist ever wrote a gospel or epistle it would have had a different tone and emphasis, while still being divinely inspired and accurate, because he heard God himself while in the physical presence of Jesus, so God spoke separately from Jesus, AND John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit in a visible form. You can imagine that if it had been God's will that John the Baptist wrote a gospel or epistle he would have spent much priority on pondering the three. So I mention this hypothetical so that you can bear in mind that while everything in the Bible is divinely inspired and its integrity protected, you have to ponder who is instructing and speaking when you read what the holy humans are writing.

So the point I want to make is that St. Paul received spirit and instruction from the resurrected Christ. The Apostles and disciples received spirit and instruction from the living Jesus, the resurrected Jesus during the time he was still on earth, and then the Holy Spirit. None of them were instructed directly by God.

So how can you focus on what St. Paul writes with an emphasis over those who heard directly from God, namely the Fathers and the Prophets? Let me give you three examples: Abraham, Moses and King David. Abraham conversed with God in the form of his dreams and also was host to the Angel of God face to face. Abraham knew God himself so well that he knew his very voice. Moses not only was instructed and led by God but he heard him, saw his cloud, and was permitted to see the back of God passing by. Moses met in God's physical presence and was actually transformed in his body as it glowed with heavenly white light reflected from God being with God himself in his presence. Both of these men would have had topics of learning and communion with God that reflected God's own "in person" priorities. So when you read what Abraham, Moses and others who directly communed with God himself, you must make note that they are hearing first hand what God's priorities are for them and for the faithful. These are not "time stamped" memos that are no longer "in force" or "valid!" Just because Jesus brought the New Covenant does not mean that God's direct instructions and points of priorities no longer exist! For example, God's wrath is real and should not be ignored except at one's gravest peril. Just because Jesus did not spend a lot of his time discussing God's wrath does not mean that God's wrath no longer exists! Rather than being "out of date" Jesus quoted extensively from what we now call the Old Testament and Jesus assumes that an intelligent, pious and God fearing attitude already exists in those around him. Jesus would not need to waste his precious time on earth reminding people of God's righteous wrath (though he did make sure to mention it enough that people understood the causes of God's wrath better and clearly). But just because St. Paul focuses on the priorities as inspired in him by the resurrected Christ does not mean that St. Paul's "memos" supersede the body and meaning of dialogue and communion with God that already exists. St. Paul would be horrified to no end if he realized that some people latch onto what he wrote as the "be all and end all" of divine instruction. St. Paul would be even more horrified if he realized that people memorized every word he wrote but ignored actual speech by Jesus Christ himself.

This brings me to King David. David was loved by God like no other, yet they did not directly speak the way that Abraham and Moses spoke to God. Yet because David was totally God's David was able to hear God's very words through those around him who oracled on his behalf with God, but also David heard God in his heart. Other prophets heard God in their minds, in their dreams, or his actual speech or that of his angels. David actually "heard" God through a language unique to their relationship, which was in his heart. This is why David was such a formidable prophet, seeing through the ages to the coming of Jesus Christ, and the author of many of the Psalms. Not only that but David was the only one who could negotiate his own punishment face to face to God when he sinned. When David sinned by doing an inventory of his wealth and holdings without permission from God, David did atonement like nobody's business and actually negotiated with God when allowed to select his punishment. So when you read about David and David's writings if you want to really understand God and the legacy of David, you must remember this relationship as I explained it. Do any of the writings of St. Paul merit being categorized as "more important" than the legacy of David? Of course not.

You must be awake when you read the Bible! You must not be fishing and cherry picking for only what you want to hear and for positions you want to defend. You must recognize that you are privileged to "overhear" the communion between God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit and those they speak with or guide and pay attention to the priorities of the divine source. God's not going to be filling Moses' head full of End of Times information when he is trying to create the Kingdom of the Israelites out of a bunch of wandering sinning ex-slaves! Likewise Jesus is not going to spend time talking about hell and the wrath of God when the people around him were filled with false teachings and End of Times hysteria. Jesus assumes that, with his reminders, that people are smart and pious enough to understand the justice of God, the wrath of God and the reality of heaven and hell for individuals upon their death. (And he emphasized that several times when speaking of being good to children, and in the episode of Lazarus in heaven and the rich man in hell). Likewise the other prophets did not have to hear about the Beatitudes hundreds of years in advance while they were being crushed by Babylon! When the Israelites were being crushed in large part because of their stiff necked sins, did God not have to send prophets that emphasize why they are in that boat and how to rebuild rather than bring an early introduction of the teachings that Jesus would bring to humanity? But does that mean that what God taught during those times is no longer of importance because after all, now some people have the "selected sayings of Jesus Christ and St. Paul?"

I hope this helps. If you really are listening to me this should enrich your Bible reading and understanding many fold.