 | Father Richard James Cleary was born and reared in Wichita. After graduation from Cathedral High School in 1947, he attended the seminary operated by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey in Northwestern Missouri. There he came to appreciate the life of the monks and, having obtained the permission of Bishop Mark Carroll of Wichita, he became a monk of that monastery. After being ordained a priest in 1955, his superiors sent him to get his master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, Canada, then to study in Athens, Greece, and then in Rome, Italy, where he obtained his doctor’s degree in Theology. Finally, he spent a year of study at Harvard University. Later, Fr. Cleary was assigned to teach for many years in Rome. In 1998, he returned to Wichita, where he served in parish ministry at St. Mary’s Cathedral and at Blessed Sacrament parishes. In 2001, his abbot (superior) transferred him to Arkansas, where he served as chaplain of the Benedictine Sisters of Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro, and helped in the parishes of northeast Arkansas. In March 2010, he was re-assigned to his monastery, Conception Abbey, Conception, in Missouri 64433. He can be contacted there at, 660-944-2877, or by email: rjcleary@juno.com. |
Religion
2013-05-29 10:14:58
How to read the Bible
A-Jews and Christians consider the (so-called) Old Testament to be the written Word of God. This means that God Himself, through his Holy Spirit, inspired the human authors of the various books of the Bible (e.g., Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets, etc.) . The Christians likewise consider the Old Testament, along with the New Testament, as having been inspired by God with the ideas, which the human authors (e.g. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, Jude, etc.) wrote down in their respective books. Accordingly, for Jews and Christians, God is considered the principal author of the whole Bible in all it’s parts. The human author, in his turn, expressed in writing the ideas God put into his mind, but wrote them according to his own understanding and culture and background and manner-of-expression; so that he too is author of the work(s) he wrote.
In Islam, the Bible is held to reflect the true unfolding revelation from God, but revelation by human hands. The Koran clearly recognizes the Old Testament prophets as divinely inspired and their words as the very words of God. The Muslims in general believe that the Bible contains original revelation from God, but is supposedly corrupted to one degree or another. Therefore they believe that neither the Bible nor the Koran is the inspired and preserved word of God. Nestorian Christians (early heretics) did provide some source material for the Koran. Gradually however Moslem scholars alleged that succeeding generations changed various words from their original context. There is no evidence of any such changes in the thousands of ancient manuscripts available for all to study. They respect the Bible, as sources for many teachings and stories related by their Prophet Mohamed and preserved in the Koran.
The Bible is not only a large book; rather, it is a library of books: of a variety of types of literature, such as one finds in a large library. Some books of the Bible are history, while others treat of philosophy (the first eleven chapters of Genesis and all the books of Wisdom). Here by “philosophy” I mean: the authors endeavor to respond to basic questions of humanity, e.g. is there just one God or many gods, how did the world originate, why did God create us, who were the first humans and our ancestors, what is cause of evil in this world created by God, what about the ancient tradition of a universal flood, what is the destiny of man and woman? God inspired Moses to write about these topics in a manner easy for unlearned people to remember. Of course, he consulted the collective memories of the Hebrew people. Thus he composed the first chapters of the book of Genesis. Other books are collections of sermons preached by zealous prophets and apostles. Some books are political propaganda (e.g. Chronicles, which was written to glorify the reign of King David). Still others are collections of official records (e.g. Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), genealogies, laws, pastoral letters of busy bishops (the epistles of St. Paul and of James and John and Jude) and apocalyptic writings, the ancient form of “Star Wars” with terrifying cosmic struggles (e.g. Ezekiel, Daniel, Revelation). The four gospels were intended originally as catechisms to instruct Christian converts about the life and teachings of Jesus, rather than as strict history or biography, although indeed they contain also some of the history and biography of Jesus. The Song of Songs is a script written for theater performance of courtly love. Nevertheless each of these books is inspired by God’s Holy Spirit and is the Word of God. The Psalms contains prayers and songs and reflections for liturgical usage.
Being a library of many books, it is not wise to read the Bible straight through, as if it were a single book. Rather, it ought to be read selectively, at least until the reader is thoroughly familiar with the whole Bible. I suggest the reader begin by reading the gospel of Mark, then go back and read the first two books of the Old Testament (Genesis and Exodus), then read some of the psalms (for prayer as well as reflections on the history just read). Then read a couple of St. Paul’s epistles and follow them with the Book of Proverbs (an ancient form of Dear Abby’s practical advice). Then read the gospel of Luke and follow that immediately with Acts of the Apostles (the history of the primitive Christian community), which St. Luke wrote as companion books. Then go back and read one of the prophets, and the beautiful Wisdom of Solomon. Then read the gospel of St. John, understand that Wisdom is the Word of God, which became incarnate in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Other books of both the Old and New Testaments can then be read, according to the reader’s taste and time, with clearer understanding of what one is reading. The final book of the Bible (Revelation) ought to be read in conjunction with it’s Old Testament precedents (Ezekiel and Daniel), and then the two Books of Maccabees.
The Old Testament remains very relevant, containing God’s instructions and laws for his people, as well as for the history and culture, which contributed to the developments of Christianity and Islam, as well as of Western Civilization. Of course, the Old Testament is the foundation book of Judaism. But it also influenced greatly the framers of the American Constitution, as well as the legal codes of other countries. More than any other book, the Bible has helped shape the history of the world, and continues to witness to the presence and power of God in this his world. It continues to influence our culture and every worthy human endeavor.
Sometimes certain texts of the Bible have been exploited by false teachers, crooked politicians and ambitious religious leaders: for their own purposes. But such abuse does not put God’s approval on their movements, even though they might quote God’s words in attempting to support their agenda. The apostles, Peter and Paul warned about such false teachers, and told us to avoid them. One reason Jesus established his Church was to provide an authentic interpreter for understanding and living: the Word of God in the Bible.
