Last week the 2nd St. Paul National Bible Quiz was launched and opened to both Catholics and Protestants. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, speaking at the launching, said: “The Bible does not only teach the truth about religion, about life, but it is a way of cleansing ourselves of biases, prejudices, sometimes even anger. It can defuse these things.”
The Bible is often referred to as the Holy Scriptures, and being holy, it is often thought to be beyond the reach and understanding of the ordinary man. Indeed, there was a time when Catholics had to obtain permission to read the Bible.
But now it is presumed that a copy of the Bible is in every Christian home and that it is often read and consulted for valuable advice. But is it? It would seem that it is not so widely read even in a supposedly Christian country like the Philippines. For instance, at the recent Christmas program of a newspaper, at the “give me” segment of the program, no one could immediately present a copy of the Bible. An employee was able to present one after several minutes, but he was late because he had recently rearranged the bookcase in his office.
The Bible is a living, pulsating book that needs to be “humanized.” It should be considered a friend, an adviser, a teacher, a guide whose advice is needed for daily living. It is perhaps one of the best and greatest books, or more precisely, collection of books, ever written. The Bible is theology, a set of moral and ethical rules, history and literature.
As theology it contains the sacred writings of the Jewish and Christian religions. John Howard Yoder, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, likens the Bible to the ground floor of a building. He said that “it is the ground floor that one has to go through to get to the stairs that would lead to the other floors.” Rosales said the central point of the Bible is Jesus, and indeed from the Christian point of view, the Bible is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is a guide for moral and ethical behavior. The most important rules are contained in the Ten Commandments which are supposed to be followed by every good Christian. Carolyn Oehler, a religious writer, said that the Bible “presents human beings as moral agents who have a responsibility for themselves and their world.” But in a supposedly Christian country like the Philippines, the Ten Commandments are more honored in the breach than the observance. “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery” are just two of the commandments that are often violated by both those in high and low places in society and government.
The Bible stands on less solid grounds as history. Writer Gustav Niebuhr notes, for instance, that archaeology has turned up no physical remains to support the Bible’s story of the Exodus: “There is no evidence for the wanderings of the Israelites in the Sinai desert.” A group of scholars argues that biblical accounts of early Israel, including the stories of David and Solomon, have little, if any basis, in history. But archaeology is also adding to the biblical narrative. For instance, in 1993, a stele referring to the “House of David,” the first real evidence that refers to the biblical king, was unearthed.
But it is as literature that the Bible (particularly the King James version) has had the greatest impact and influence on writers, poets, artists and intellectuals in general. Who can forget such lines as “Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples,” “for dust thou art and unto dust shalt return,” “a land flowing with milk and honey,” “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” and “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
The Bible covers more than a hundred literary genres, including chronicle, proverb, maxims, psalms, oracle, apocalypse, parable, song, epistle, hero story, gospel, epic, tragedy, comedy, parable, lyric, nature poem, drama, oratory, dramatic monologue, doom song and love poem.
It is good that the St. Paul National Bible Quiz is being conducted and is open to both Catholics and Protestants. It should help promote the widespread reading of the Bible. It should help humanize and popularize the Bible. The Bible is a book not only for all times, but also for our times, when public morals, ethics and conduct have fallen to a new low and when people are often at a loss at where or to whom to turn for guidance.
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Source: Philippine Daily INquirer
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