what is holy books

Sacred Texts Of Major World Religions

The mystical pillars of all world faiths are surprisingly within reach in the form of a bundle of texts and ancient records that have been delicately protected for thousands of years. Between major world religions like Christianity , Islam , Hinduism , Buddhism , Judaism , and Taoism , monks from long-forgotten ages worked diligently to ensure the versions we carry today. Their hope was to maintain these texts to accurately represent the histories and faiths of cultures and civilizations that now exist only in their modern-day descendants. 

However, many religions suffer from an occasional fracturing over core values, and with that, new sacred texts blossom in an attempt to guide the spiritual flock of that era. Furthermore, what we read today, in modern tongues, can never accurately represent the forgotten cultural references and idioms that some of these texts relied on for a specific audience. Some degree of critical analysis is necessary to approach these religious epics where some stories could have been either allegories or even stageplays that are now, possibly mistakenly, taken literally. Due to the thousands of years of historical and religious knowledge needed to decipher each of these texts, an appropriate way to begin is to ask who, what, when, where, and why? That caution is vital when considering that different faiths might revere a single religious book. Therefore, read closely to uncover the secrets and dramatic events that ultimately defined each of these sets Sacred Texts.

The Holy Bible - Christianity

Primarily, the sacred texts of Christianity are the Old and New Testaments found within the Bible. The Bible is divided into the Old Testament, also known as the Torah to the Jews, which is sacred to both Jews and Christians, and the New Testament, which is specifically Christian. Protestant , Orthodox , and Catholic Christians all share these texts but may have some differences in their canon. The New Testament is specifically centered around the teachings of Jesus Christ, whom Christians regard as God on Earth. 

The Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible, contains 39 books. In the Protestant Bible, 46 books in the Catholic Bible, and up to 49 books in the Orthodox Bible. It was written approximately between 1400 BCE and 165 BCE by multiple authors. The New Testament contains 27 books, which are the same across all Christian denominations. These books were written by various authors between 50 and 100 CE. The original language of the Old Testament is primarily Hebrew, with some portions in Aramaic , while the New Testament was written in (Koine) Greek.

Translations of the Bible have changed the original texts over time, though efforts have been made to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the translations. Language differences, cultural context, and the need for interpretation have led to variations among translations. It is also important to note that the original texts themselves have undergone changes over time due to scribal errors, editing, and additions.

Catholics have a set of books known as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books, which are included in the Catholic Old Testament but are not accepted by most Protestants. While some Protestant denominations may refer to or study these texts for historical or cultural context, they generally do not consider them canonical or divinely inspired. Orthodox Christians also have additional texts that are not recognized by Catholics or Protestants.

The authors of the biblical texts include various prophets, apostles, and other figures throughout ancient Israel's history and the early Christian church. The study of early church tradition is especially important in Eastern Orthodoxy. The exact authorship of many books is debated or unknown, and some books may have multiple authors or have been edited over time.

The texts within the Bible discuss various topics, such as the history of the Israelites, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, ethical and moral teachings, and prophetic messages. The Old Testament primarily focuses on the covenant between God and the Israelites, while the New Testament emphasizes the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the establishment of the Christian church.

The Quran, Hadith, and the Tafsir - Islam

The sacred texts and written collections of Islam include the Quran , the Hadith, and the Tafsir. The Quran is the primary religious text of Islam, believed to be the literal word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. The Hadith are collections of reports documenting the sayings, actions, and opinions of the Prophet Muhammad. Tafsir is the exegesis or interpretation of the Quran. There are some differences in the compilations of the Hadith and interpretation of the texts between Sunni and Shia Islam.

The Quran discusses a wide range of topics, including theology, morality, law, guidance for personal conduct, and the relationship between God and humanity. It is divided into 114 chapters called Surahs, which vary in length and cover diverse subjects. The Hadith collections contain reports on various aspects of the Prophet Muhammad's life, providing context and elaboration on the teachings of the Quran.

The Quran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years (610-632 CE). The original language of the Quran is classical Arabic . The Hadith was compiled by various scholars in the first few centuries after the Prophet's death. There have been many translations of the Quran and Hadith into different languages over time, and while the translations may have varied, the original Arabic text is considered immutable.

While the Quran is believed to have been verbally revealed by God to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel, the Hadith is slightly different. The Hadith was written by various scholars who collected reports from people who had direct or indirect contact with the Prophet. The most widely accepted Hadith collections in Sunni Islam are Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, while in Shia Islam, the main collections are Al-Kafi, Man La Yahduruhu Al-Faqih, Tahdhib Al-Ahkam, and Al-Istibsar.

Sunni and Shia Muslims do refer to some of each other's sacred texts, although the degree of acceptance and interpretation of the texts can differ significantly. While both Sunni and Shia Muslims accept the Quran as the central sacred text, they differ in their acceptance of certain Hadith collections. Sunni Muslims generally do not give the same weight to Shia Hadith collections and vice versa. However, some common ground can be found in the study and interpretation of shared texts.

The Sacred Texts of Hinduism

Hinduism has a vast collection of sacred texts and written collections, including the Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and more. The Vedas are the oldest and most important texts, composed between 1500 and 500 BCE. They consist of four parts: Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda. These texts contain hymns, mantras, rituals, and philosophical discussions. The Upanishads discuss the essence of reality, self, and the universe. Scribes compiled them between 800 and 500 BCE.

The Puranas, composed between 500 CE and 1000 CE, are a genre of religious texts that narrate the universe's history, legends, and myths. The Bhagavad Gita, a part of the Indian epic Mahabharata, is another important Hindu scripture that presents a conversation between Prince Arjuna and the god Krishna on various topics such as duty, action, and devotion.

The authors of these texts are largely unknown, though some are likely sages such as Vyasa and Valmiki. They wrote in Sanskrit , an ancient Indian language. Over time, scribes translated the texts into various languages, which could have led to differences in interpretation. However, the core teachings have largely remained consistent.

The major sects of Hinduism, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism, acknowledge each other's sacred texts. They have different emphases and interpretations of the texts but generally accept their authority. Vaishnavism focuses on the worship of Vishnu, Shaivism on Shiva, Shaktism on the Divine Mother, and Smartism on the worship of multiple deities. Despite their differences, these sects share a common foundation in the Vedas and other sacred texts.

The Sacred Texts of Buddhism

Buddhism has various sacred texts, the most important of which are the Tripitaka and the Mahayana Sutras. The Tripitaka is the primary holy text for Theravada Buddhists, while Mahayana Buddhists revere the Mahayana Sutras.

The Tripitaka, or "Three Baskets," is a collection of three sections: the Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules), the Sutta Pitaka (teachings and discourses), and the Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical and psychological analysis). The Mahayana Sutras encompass a vast range of texts, including the Prajnaparamita Sutras (Perfection of Wisdom), the Lotus Sutra, the Avatamsaka Sutra, the Pure Land Sutras, and the Vimalakirti Sutra, among others. There are also other texts in the Vajrayana tradition, such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which Vajrayana Buddhists revere.

Major Buddhist sects, such as Theravada and Mahayana, generally respect and study each other's sacred texts to some extent, recognizing their shared roots and the value of diverse perspectives. However, they may prioritize their own core texts and interpret them differently according to their respective traditions and beliefs.

The sacred texts of Buddhism discuss a wide range of topics, including the teachings of the Buddha , ethical conduct, meditation, the nature of reality, the path to enlightenment, and the nature of suffering and its cessation. They also guide monastic life and the community of practitioners.

The texts' age varies, but scribes wrote down most of the Tripitaka between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE. However, the oral tradition potentially dates back to the time of the historical Buddha in the 5th century BCE. Likewise, the Mahayana Sutras were composed between the 1st century BCE and the 5th century CE. The original language of the Tripitaka is Pali, an ancient Indian language closely related to Sanskrit. The Mahayana Sutras were written in various languages, including Sanskrit and Gandhari.

According to traditional history, the teachings in the Tripitaka were transmitted orally by the disciples of the Buddha and later written down by the monastic community. The authorship of the Mahayana Sutras is more complex, as some texts claim to be the direct teachings of the Buddha. In contrast, others were sayings of various Buddhist masters or celestial beings. Translations of Buddhist texts have indeed changed over time, as they have been translated into numerous languages and adapted for different cultures. 

The Tanakh and the Talmud - Judaism

The sacred texts of Judaism primarily include the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh, and the Talmud. The Tanakh consists of three parts: the Torah (Pentateuch), the Nevi'im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). The Talmud is a gathering of rabbinic discussions, interpretations, and laws, which has two main versions: the Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud.

Different Jewish sects, such as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist, generally accept the same sacred texts, although they may interpret them differently. All sects recognize the importance of the Tanakh, while the Talmud is primarily a central text in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. In some cases, specific mystical or philosophical texts, such as the Zohar, are more prominent within particular movements, like Kabbalah and Hasidic Judaism .

Major Jewish sects generally respect each other's sacred texts, but the degree to which they use and rely on them may vary. For example, while Orthodox Judaism strictly adheres to the interpretations in the Talmud, Reform Judaism may not emphasize the Talmud's legal aspects as much.

The sacred texts discuss a wide range of topics, from religious laws, ethics, and moral teachings to historical narratives, poetry, and prophetic visions. The Torah contains the foundational laws and narratives of Judaism, the Nevi'im recounts the stories of prophets and their messages, and the Ketuvim includes poetic, philosophical, and historical writings.

The Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) writings were composed over approximately 1,000 years, from the 12th to the 2nd century BCE. The language is Biblical Hebrew , with some portions in Biblical Aramaic. Scribes compiled the Talmud between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, with the Babylonian Talmud finishing around 500 CE and the Jerusalem Talmud around 400 CE. Both versions of the Talmud were written in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic.

Over time, translations of Jewish texts have evolved, and some meanings may have shifted or been lost. The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible completed in the 3rd to 2nd centuries BCE, is one of the earliest translations. Additionally, the Masoretic Text, a standardized version of the Hebrew Bible, was developed by Jewish scholars between the 7th and 10th centuries CE to ensure consistency in transmission and interpretation. Many modern translations are based on the Masoretic Text.

The authors of the Hebrew Bible were various prophets, scribes, and poets, with some parts traditionally ascribed to specific figures, like Moses for the Torah or King David for the Psalms. However, modern scholarly consensus suggests that multiple authors likely composed and edited the texts over time. The Talmud is a compilation of discussions by rabbis and scholars who contributed to its development over several centuries.

The Sacred Texts of Taoism

Taoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao, the natural flow of the universe. Its sacred texts and collections of writings are numerous and varied, reflecting the diversity of Taoist thought and practice. Significant texts include the Tao Te Ching, the Zhuangzi, and the Daozang. Different sects may refer to alternate collections, but these works are generally considered foundational for Taoism. Classical Chinese is the language of the original Tao texts; over time, numerous languages received their translations. 

The Tao Te Ching is the primary text of Taoism, attributed to the legendary sage Lao Tzu. Ancient scholars recorded the oral teachings in written form around the 5th century BCE, and it consists of 81 short chapters. The text is written in Classical Chinese, discussing the nature of the Tao, the art of governing, and the principles of leading a harmonious and virtuous life.

The Zhuangzi, attributed to the philosopher Zhuang Zhou who wrote it around the 5th to 3rd century BCE, is another critical Taoist text. The text contains allegories, anecdotes, and parables, delving into philosophy, the relativity of human values, and the importance of spontaneous and natural living.

The Daozang, also known as the Taoist Canon, is a large collection of writings with over 1,400 texts. Emperors and dynasties compiled it in various stages between the 5th and 15th centuries. The Daozang contains various materials, such as scriptures, commentaries, liturgical texts, and works on alchemy, cosmology, and meditation. The content of the Daozang varies between different editions, reflecting the various sects and schools of Taoism.

The strength of our shared humanity has always rested on our ability to communicate with each other. That communication includes sharing practical ideas and spiritual values that guide our communities and provide hope during overwhelming distress. Each sacred text embodies that criteria: certain proverbs share information like the ideal way to harvest crops, and others teach ways to live peacefully during famine or wartime. Despite a global trend towards secularism, modern institutions are founded on many of the values that our ancestors weaved into these holy books and teachings; for that, we salute them.

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The Quran: The Holy Book of Islam

• Important Principles
• Prayer Salat
• Prophets of Islam
• Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr
• Hajj and Eid Al Adha
• M.Ed., Loyola University–Maryland
• B.S., Child Development, Oregon State University

The Quran is the holy book of the Islamic world. Collected over a 23-year period during the 7th century C.E., the Quran is said to consist of Allah's revelations to the prophet Muhammad, transmitted through the angel Gabriel. Those revelations were written down by scribes as Muhammad pronounced them during his ministry, and his followers continued to recite them after his death. At the behest of the Caliph Abu Bakr, the chapters and verses were collected into a book in 632 C.E; that version of the book, written in Arabic, has been the holy book of Islam for over 13 centuries. 

Islam is an Abrahamic religion, meaning that, like Christianity and Judaism, it reveres the biblical patriarch Abraham and his descendants and followers.

• The Quran is the holy book of Islam. It was written in the 7th century C.E. 
• Its content is the wisdom of Allah as received and preached by Muhammad.
• The Quran is divided into chapters (called surah) and verses (ayat) of differing length and topics.  
• It is also divided into sections (juz) as a 30-day reading schedule for Ramadan. 
• Islam is an Abrahamic religion and like Judaism and Christianity, it honors Abraham as the patriarch.
• Islam reveres Jesus ('Isa) as a holy prophet and his mother Mary (Mariam) as a holy woman.

Organization

The Quran is divided into 114 chapters of different topics and lengths, known as surah. Each surah is made up of verses, known as ayat (or ayah). The shortest surah is Al-Kawthar, made up of only three verses; the longest is Al-Baqara, with 286 verses. The chapters are classified as Meccan or Medinan, based on whether they were written before Muhammad's pilgrimage to Mecca (Medinan), or afterward (Meccan). The 28 Medinan chapters are mainly concerned with the social life and growth of the Muslim community; the 86 Meccan deal with faith and the afterlife. 

The Quran is also broken into 30 equal sections, or juz'. These sections are organized so that the reader can study the Quran over the course of a month. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims are recommended to complete at least one full reading of the Quran from cover to cover. The ajiza (plural of juz') serve as a guide to accomplish that task.

The themes of the Quran are interwoven throughout the chapters, rather than presented in chronological or thematic order. Readers may utilize a concordance—an index that lists each usage of every word in the Quran—to look for particular themes or topics.

Creation According to the Quran

Although the story of the creation in the Quran does say "Allah created the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, in six days," the Arabic term " yawm " ("day") might be better translated as "period." Yawm is defined as different lengths at different times. The original couple, Adam and Hawa, are looked upon as the parents of the human race : Adam is a prophet of Islam and his wife Hawa or Hawwa (Arabic for Eve) is the mother of the human race. 

Women in the Quran

Like the other Abrahamic religions, there are many women in the Quran . Only one is explicitly named: Mariam. Mariam is the mother of Jesus, who himself is a prophet in the Muslim faith. Other women who are mentioned but not named include the wives of Abraham (Sara, Hajar) and Asiya (Bithiah in the Hadith), the wife of the Pharaoh, foster mother to Moses. 

The Quran and the New Testament

The Quran doesn't reject Christianity or Judaism, but rather refers to Christians as "people of the book," meaning people who received and believe in the revelations from God's prophets. Verses highlight commonalities between Christians and Muslims but consider Jesus a prophet, not a god, and warns Christians that worshiping Christ as a god is sliding into polytheism: Muslims see Allah as the only one true God. 

"Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians—whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve" (2:62, 5:69, and many other verses).

Mary and Jesus

Mariam , as the mother of Jesus Christ is called in the Quran, is a righteous woman in her own right: The 19th chapter of the Quran is entitled The Chapter of Mary, and describes the Muslim version of the immaculate conception of Christ. 

Jesus is called 'Isa in the Quran , and many stories found in the New Testament are in the Quran as well, including those stories of his miraculous birth, his teachings, and the miracles he performed. The main difference is that in the Quran, Jesus is a prophet sent by God, not his son. 

Getting Along in the World: Interfaith Dialogue

Juz' 7 of the Quran is dedicated, among other things, to an interfaith dialogue. While Abraham and the other prophets call upon the people to have faith and leave false idols, the Quran asks believers to bear the rejection of Islam by nonbelievers with patience and not to take it personally. 

"But if Allah had willed, they would not have associated. And We have not appointed you over them as a guardian, nor are you a manager over them." (6:107)

Modern critics of Islam say the Quran promotes terrorism . Although written during a period of commonplace inter-trial violence and vengeance, the Quran actively promotes justice, peace, and restraint. It explicitly admonishes believers to refrain from falling into sectarian violence —violence against one's brothers.

"As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part of them in the least. Their affair is with Allah; He will, in the end, tell them the truth of all that they did." (6:159)

The Arabic Language of the Quran

The Arabic text of the original Arabic Quran is identical and unchanged since its revelation in the 7th century C.E. About 90 percent of Muslims around the world do not speak Arabic as a native tongue, and there are many translations of the Quran available in English and other languages. However, for reciting prayers and reading chapters and verses in the Quran, Muslims do use Arabic to participate as part of their shared faith.

Reading and Recitation

The Prophet Muhammad instructed his followers to “beautify the Quran with your voices” (Abu Dawud). Recitation of the Quran in a group is a common practice, and the precise and melodious undertaking is a way adherents preserve and share its messages.

While many English translations of the Quran contain footnotes, certain passages may need extra explanation or need to be placed in a more complete context. If needed, students use the Tafseer, an exegesis or commentary , to provide more information.

• Juz' 27 of the Quran
• Juz' 29 of the Quran
• The Main Themes of Juz' 6 of the Qur'an
• Juz' 30 of the Qur'an
• Juz' 26 of the Quran
• Juz' 20 of the Qur’an
• Juz' 1 of the Quran
• Juz' 23 of the Quran Quotes and Theme
• Juz' 25 of the Quran
• Juz' 7 of the Quran
• Juz' 13 of the Quran
• Juz' 15 of the Quran
• Juz' 5 of the Qur'an
• Books of Revelation
• Juz' 22 of the Quran
• Verses of Juz' 4 in the Qur'an

The Ultimate Guide to the Christian Holy Book

The Christian holy book, also known as the Bible, has been a cornerstone of Western civilization for centuries. It is the primary religious text of Christianity and contains a wealth of information about the religion’s beliefs, history, and values.

The Bible is a complex and fascinating text that is made up of 66 books, divided into two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. It covers a vast range of topics, from creation to the end of the world, and contains stories, poetry, prophecy, and letters from early Christian leaders.

In this ultimate guide to the Christian holy book, we will explore the origins of the Bible, its importance to believers, and how to interpret its messages in the modern world. Whether you are a lifelong Christian or simply curious about this ancient text, this guide will provide you with valuable insights and knowledge.

Join us on this journey through the Bible and discover the wisdom, inspiration, and guidance that has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. Let’s delve into the mysteries and complexities of this remarkable book together and uncover the secrets that lie within its pages.

Discovering the Name of the Christian Holy Book

The Christian holy book is the foundation of the Christian faith. But, what exactly is it called? Many people refer to it simply as “the Bible,” but this name can be misleading. In reality, the Christian holy book is made up of two distinct sections, each with its own unique name. The first section is known as the Old Testament, while the second section is called the New Testament. Together, these two sections make up the Christian holy book, which is also known as the Scriptures .

But why are there two distinct sections? The Old Testament is made up of a collection of sacred texts that were written before the birth of Jesus, while the New Testament consists of texts that were written after his death and resurrection. These texts focus on the life and teachings of Jesus, as well as the establishment of the Christian church. The word “testament” itself means “covenant” or “agreement,” and reflects the idea that these texts represent agreements between God and humanity.

The name “Bible” itself comes from the Greek word “biblia,” which means “books.” This is because the Christian holy book is not a single book, but rather a collection of texts that were written over a period of several thousand years. Despite its diverse origins and complex history, the Christian holy book remains a central and essential part of the Christian faith, providing guidance, inspiration, and comfort to millions of believers around the world.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Christian holy book, read on. In the following sections, we’ll explore the history, origins, and significance of the Scriptures, as well as some tips for interpreting and understanding this complex and fascinating text.

The Different Names Used for the Christian Holy Book

The Bible: This is the most commonly used name for the Christian holy book and comes from the Greek word “biblia” meaning “books”. It is a collection of 66 books divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Holy Scriptures: This name is often used by Christians who emphasize the importance of the Bible as the inspired word of God. The term “scriptures” refers to any writing that is considered sacred, and in this case, it refers specifically to the Christian Bible.

The Word of God: This name emphasizes the belief that the Bible is not just a collection of human writings, but is also the inspired word of God. Christians believe that the Bible is the primary way that God has revealed himself and his plan for humanity.

The Good Book: This is a more informal name for the Bible, and is often used by Christians who have a personal and intimate relationship with the text. It is a name that reflects the deep love and reverence that many Christians have for the Bible.

Despite the different names used for the Christian holy book, it remains one of the most influential and important texts in human history. It has been translated into countless languages and has had a profound impact on art, literature, and culture.

Why Is the Christian Holy Book Called by Different Names?

It can be confusing to hear different names being used for the Christian holy book. The most common name for this book is the Bible , which is derived from the Greek word “biblia” meaning “books”. However, there are other names used for this book, such as the Holy Scripture, Holy Writ, and the Scriptures.

One reason why the Christian holy book is called by different names is due to its long history and the various translations it has undergone. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and has been translated into numerous languages over the centuries.

Another reason why the Bible is called by different names is due to the various religious denominations that use it. Different Christian denominations may refer to the Bible using their own preferred terminology, such as the Holy Book or the Word of God.

Despite the different names used for the Christian holy book, the content of the book remains the same. The Bible is a collection of sacred texts that contain the teachings, beliefs, and history of Christianity.

The Significance of the Name “Bible”

The word “Bible” is derived from the Greek word “biblia,” which means “books.” This name is significant because the Christian holy book is not a single book, but rather a collection of writings that were gradually compiled over centuries.

The term “Bible” is used to refer to the entire collection of sacred texts that form the basis of Christian faith. These texts include both the Old Testament and the New Testament, which contain the teachings, history, and beliefs of the Christian religion.

The name “Bible” reflects the fact that this collection of writings is considered to be the authoritative source of Christian doctrine and practice. It is viewed as the ultimate guidebook for how to live a Christian life, and its teachings are held in high esteem by believers around the world.

What Are the Origins of the Christian Holy Book?

The origins of the Christian holy book, also known as the Bible, can be traced back to ancient times. The Bible is a collection of religious texts that were written over a period of more than 1,000 years. The texts were written by various authors, in different languages, and in different geographical locations. The books of the Bible were eventually compiled into one document, and the modern version of the Bible contains 66 books in total.

The first part of the Bible, known as the Old Testament, was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. It contains 39 books and tells the story of the Jewish people and their relationship with God. The second part of the Bible, known as the New Testament, was written in Greek and contains 27 books. It tells the story of Jesus and the beginnings of Christianity.

The origins of the Christian holy book are closely tied to the history of the Jewish people and the development of Christianity. Understanding the historical context in which the Bible was written is essential to understanding its meaning and significance.

The History of the Christian Holy Book

The history of the Christian holy book dates back to over 2,000 years ago. The Bible was written by various authors over the course of many centuries, with some parts dating back to as early as 1,400 BC.

Compilation: The Christian holy book is divided into two main sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament consists of Jewish scriptures, while the New Testament contains writings that tell the story of Jesus Christ and the early Christian church.

Translation: The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. Over the years, it has been translated into hundreds of languages, making it the most translated and widely read book in the world.

Preservation: The preservation of the Christian holy book is a fascinating story in itself. Over the centuries, many people have risked their lives to preserve and protect the Bible, and it has survived despite attempts to destroy it. Today, it remains a sacred text that is cherished by millions around the world.

How the Christian Holy Book Was Compiled

The Bible is one of the most revered books in the world. It is the holy book of the Christian religion, and contains a wealth of information that has helped shape the beliefs and practices of millions of people worldwide. But have you ever wondered how this holy book was compiled?

The compilation of the Bible was a lengthy process that took several centuries to complete. The Bible was not written by a single author or at a single point in time. Rather, it was compiled from a variety of sources over a period of more than 1,000 years. The books of the Bible were written in three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

The process of compiling the Bible began in the 4th century AD, when the Council of Hippo and the Council of Carthage convened to determine which books should be included in the Christian Bible. These councils were responsible for determining which books were considered canonical, or authoritative, and which ones were not. The books that were ultimately included in the Bible were those that were deemed to be divinely inspired and in accordance with the teachings of the church.

• The books of the Old Testament were written between the 12th and 2nd centuries BC.
• The New Testament was written between the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
• The Apocrypha, a group of books that are not included in the Protestant Bible but are included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, were written between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in the mid-20th century, are a collection of Jewish texts that include some of the oldest surviving copies of the Hebrew Bible.

The process of compiling the Bible was a complex and often controversial one. While some books were widely accepted as canonical, others were the subject of debate and disagreement. Nonetheless, the Bible remains one of the most important and influential books in human history, and continues to be a source of inspiration, comfort, and guidance for millions of people around the world.

Why Were Certain Texts Chosen for the Christian Holy Book?

The question of why certain texts were chosen for the Christian Holy Book is a complex one. There were a variety of factors that went into the selection process, and different Christian groups had different ideas about which texts were the most important. One factor that played a major role in the selection of texts was their authenticity .

For early Christians, it was important that the texts they included in the Holy Book were written by people who had a direct connection to Jesus and his teachings. This meant that texts written by apostles, like Peter and Paul, were highly valued. Other factors that played a role in the selection process included the text’s doctrinal content and its popularity among Christian communities.

The process of choosing which texts to include in the Holy Book was a gradual one that took place over several centuries. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire, different Christian communities developed their own traditions and practices. These communities often had different ideas about which texts were the most important and which should be included in the Holy Book.

• Orthodoxy: Some Christian communities believed that the texts included in the Holy Book should reflect the traditional teachings of the Church. They placed a high value on texts that had been widely accepted and used in worship for centuries.
• Heresy: Other communities believed that the Holy Book should include texts that reflected their own particular beliefs, even if those beliefs were not widely accepted by other Christians. This led to the inclusion of some controversial texts in the Holy Book.
• Politics: Finally, there were political factors that played a role in the selection of texts for the Holy Book. In some cases, political leaders pressured Christian communities to include certain texts in the Holy Book for political or social reasons.
• Canon: Ultimately, the process of selecting which texts to include in the Holy Book led to the development of the Christian canon, a collection of texts that are considered authoritative by most Christian communities.

Overall, the selection of texts for the Christian Holy Book was a complex process that was influenced by a variety of factors, including authenticity, doctrinal content, popularity, tradition, and politics. While different Christian communities may place a higher value on certain texts than others, the Christian canon remains an important part of Christian tradition and worship.

Why is the Christian Holy Book Important to Believers?

For Christians, the Bible is the ultimate authority and source of wisdom. It is believed to be the inspired word of God , providing guidance for living a meaningful and purposeful life.

The Bible also serves as a record of human history, documenting the lives and teachings of prophets, apostles, and other important figures. It offers comfort and solace in times of trouble and helps individuals make sense of the world around them.

Moreover, the Bible provides a moral compass, offering guidelines for ethical behavior and principles for building strong relationships with others.

Through the stories and teachings found in the Bible, Christians gain a deeper understanding of their faith and a closer relationship with God. They learn about the nature of sin and forgiveness, the importance of love and compassion, and the hope of eternal life.

Finally, the Bible offers a sense of community and shared beliefs among Christians. Its teachings bring people together, encouraging them to live in harmony and support one another as members of the same spiritual family.

The Role of the Christian Holy Book in Faith

Scripture: The Christian Holy Book, also known as the Bible, is a collection of sacred texts that contain the teachings and beliefs of Christianity. It is considered the inspired word of God and serves as the foundation of the Christian faith.

Guidance: The Bible provides guidance to believers on how to live their lives in accordance with God’s will. It contains stories, parables, and commandments that serve as a moral compass for Christians.

Comfort: The Bible also serves as a source of comfort for believers during difficult times. Its words offer hope and solace, and the stories of characters overcoming adversity can provide encouragement and inspiration.

Connection: The Bible plays a crucial role in connecting Christians to their faith and to each other. It is often read in communal worship and used as a means of spiritual communication between believers.

• Unity: The Bible unites Christians around a common set of beliefs and values, regardless of cultural or geographical differences.
• Identity: It provides believers with a sense of identity and purpose, as it outlines their role in God’s plan for the world.
• Transformative: The Bible has the power to transform individuals and communities. Its teachings can inspire people to make positive changes in their lives and in the world around them.
• Authority: Finally, the Bible serves as the ultimate authority in matters of faith and doctrine. Its teachings are considered infallible and provide a foundation for Christian beliefs and practices.

The Christian Holy Book, therefore, plays a central role in the lives of believers. It provides guidance, comfort, connection, unity, identity, and authority. Its teachings serve as the foundation of the Christian faith and inspire believers to live according to God’s will.

The Moral and Ethical Teachings of the Christian Holy Book

The Christian Holy Book, also known as the Bible, contains numerous teachings on morality and ethics that have influenced individuals and societies for centuries. One of the most prominent moral teachings found in the Bible is the commandment to love one’s neighbor as oneself. This teaching emphasizes the importance of treating others with kindness, compassion, and respect, regardless of their background or beliefs.

Another important moral and ethical teaching found in the Bible is the concept of forgiveness. Christians are called to forgive others who have wronged them, just as God has forgiven them. This teaching encourages individuals to let go of grudges and resentments, and to seek reconciliation with others.

The Christian Holy Book also emphasizes the importance of honesty and integrity in personal and professional relationships. The Bible teaches that lying and deceit are harmful to oneself and to others, and that individuals should always strive to be truthful and trustworthy.

• Compassion: The Bible teaches that individuals should show compassion towards those who are less fortunate or marginalized in society, such as the poor, the sick, and the oppressed.
• Humility: Christians are called to be humble and to avoid pride and arrogance, recognizing that all individuals are equal in the eyes of God.
• Justice: The Bible emphasizes the importance of justice and fairness, calling on individuals to stand up for what is right and to seek justice for those who have been wronged.
• Mercy: In addition to forgiveness, the Bible teaches the importance of showing mercy and compassion towards others, even when they do not deserve it.

These moral and ethical teachings found in the Christian Holy Book have had a profound impact on individuals and societies throughout history. They continue to provide guidance and inspiration to believers today, shaping their values, beliefs, and actions.

The Role of the Christian Holy Book in Modern Society

The Christian Holy Book continues to play a significant role in modern society. It remains a source of inspiration, guidance, and comfort for millions of people worldwide.

One of the primary ways that the Holy Book impacts modern society is through its teachings on morality and ethics . Many of the values and principles outlined in the Bible are still relevant today and serve as a moral compass for individuals and society as a whole.

Additionally, the Holy Book has also been influential in shaping art, literature, and culture throughout history. The stories and teachings of the Bible have inspired countless works of art, music, and literature, and continue to do so today.

How the Christian Holy Book Has Influenced Literature and Culture

The Christian holy book, or the Bible, has had a significant influence on literature and culture throughout history. The Bible has been translated into numerous languages, and its stories and teachings have been woven into countless works of literature, art, and music.

One example of the Bible’s influence on literature is John Milton’s Paradise Lost , which is considered one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. The poem retells the story of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, as described in the Bible.

The Bible has also influenced music, particularly in Western classical music. Many composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, have incorporated biblical texts into their compositions. Handel’s Messiah , which tells the story of Jesus’ life and resurrection, is one of the most famous examples of this.

How to Interpret the Christian Holy Book

Context: Understanding the context of the passage is crucial in interpreting the Christian Holy Book. The Bible was written in a different time and culture, and it’s essential to consider the audience, language, and historical background.

Literal vs. Figurative: One of the most important aspects of interpreting the Bible is distinguishing between literal and figurative language. Some parts of the Bible are meant to be taken literally, while others are symbolic or metaphorical.

Application: The Bible is not just a book of historical accounts or teachings, but it also has practical applications for our lives today. When interpreting the Bible, it’s essential to consider how its teachings apply to our modern context.

Interpreting the Christian Holy Book for Personal Growth

The Christian Holy Book, also known as the Bible, can be a powerful tool for personal growth and spiritual development. One important aspect of interpreting the Bible for personal growth is to reflect on its teachings and how they relate to your own life. This can involve considering how biblical stories and lessons apply to your own experiences and struggles.

Another important approach to interpreting the Bible for personal growth is to pray for guidance and understanding. This can involve asking for wisdom and insight as you read and study the Bible, and seeking to deepen your connection with God through your engagement with the text.

Finally, it can be helpful to engage with the Bible in community, by discussing its teachings and insights with others who share your faith. This can help you to gain new perspectives and insights, and to deepen your understanding of the Bible’s messages and their relevance to your own life.

The Role of Scholars in Interpreting the Christian Holy Book

Scholars play a critical role in interpreting the Christian holy book, as they have the expertise and training to analyze the texts in their historical, cultural, and linguistic contexts.

Their research and insights can help believers gain a deeper understanding of the meanings and teachings within the Bible, especially for those who do not have access to the original languages or historical background.

At the same time, scholars can also provide valuable perspectives on the various interpretations and debates surrounding the Bible, which can help believers navigate different theological viewpoints and controversies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the significance of the name of the christian holy book.

The name of the Christian Holy Book is important as it reflects its central role in Christianity. The name itself carries meaning and significance for believers, and has influenced culture and society for centuries.

How was the name of the Christian Holy Book decided upon?

The process of deciding upon the name of the Christian Holy Book involved both historical and religious considerations. Scholars and religious leaders worked to select a name that accurately represented the teachings and beliefs contained within the text.

Are there different names for the Christian Holy Book in different Christian traditions?

While the most commonly known name for the Christian Holy Book is the Bible, there are variations in the names used by different Christian traditions. These variations often reflect differences in translation or interpretation of the text.

How has the name of the Christian Holy Book changed over time?

The name of the Christian Holy Book has undergone changes over time, with different names being used in different historical periods or cultural contexts. These changes reflect the evolving understanding and interpretation of the text over time.

Why is it important to know the name of the Christian Holy Book?

Knowing the name of the Christian Holy Book is important for understanding its central role in Christianity and its influence on culture and society. It also helps to facilitate communication and understanding between people of different faiths or beliefs.

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Belief in the Four Holy Books is an Essential Part of Islam

Quran – an intricate and beautiful book that is a light, a warning, a promise for Muslims. It was divinely revealed over fourteen hundred years ago. Ever since, the Quran remains a Muslim’s solace, hope, and guide.

Quran, the Holy Book of Islam

The Quran, the holy book of Islam, was given to Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam. The Quran contains many references to other books that God sent to prophets at different times in history – namely, the Book of Abraham, the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David and the Gospel to Jesus.

Believing in all four books is an essential part of the Islamic creed.

Each book was revealed by God to these messengers who then passed His words onto their people. While the Book of Abraham has been entirely lost, the Psalms, the Torah, and the Gospel, according to Islam, are no longer in their original state.

They have been added to, cannot be traced directly to their prophets, or were simply altered. Only the Quran has been preserved in its original state, exactly as it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

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Quran Affirms the Messages that Preceded it

The Quran affirms the core message present in the former books. It verifies that each contained divine guidance and elaborates upon their beliefs. At the same time, it points out the modifications and reinforces the correct message.

Hence, the Quran, the final revelation for all of humankind until Judgment Day, was sent to confirm, explain, and to an extent, correct the books that already existed.

We sent Jesus, son of Mary, in their footsteps, to confirm the Torah that had been sent before him: We gave him the Gospel with guidance, light, and confirmation of the Torah already revealed; a guide and lesson for those who take heed of God. … We sent to you [Muhammad] the Scripture with the truth, confirming the Scriptures that came before it, and with final authority over them. (Quran 5:46-48 )

Despite their differences, the central beliefs in all four holy books are the same. Each text preaches that there is one God. They share the concept that God sends Prophets to teach the common people how to live their lives according to God’s instructions.

The four holy books also say that we will all be held accountable on the Day of Judgment; eventually, everyone will end up in either hell or paradise.

Read: Where Does the Bible Agree with the Quran?

Each holy book is greatly significant to its people; every Muslim must believe in them. After all, they were sent down by the One God, with one purpose: to guide people to His worship which enables them to lead righteous lives.

And, although all four books are, by now, very different, they are still bound, as one, by the same message: that God is eternally, infinitely one.

Source: https://www.whyislam.org.

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Ask the Rabbi: What are the Jewish holy books?

Jews for Judaism

In this question and answer post, in the Ask the Rabbi section, we ask, what are the Jewish holy books?

Here is a brief explanation of the books within Judaism. I hope that this explanation gives you a better understanding the Jewish holy books. You will see that there are a lot of them.

There are two Within the Jewish tradition there are two parts

The Written Torah: The Jewish Bible is comprised of three sections.

Part 1: The Torah, which is commonly known as the five books of Moses . They include the books of Genesis (Bereshit), Exodus (Shemot), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar) and Deuteronomy (Devarim).

Part 2: Nevi'im, which includes the Jewish prophets. These include the books of Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The books of Nevi'im also include the later prophets, commonly known the " Trei Asar ."

Part 3: Ketuvim, the Writings. The writings include the following books, the Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel (although not all that is included in the Christian Canon), Ezra and Nehemiah, I Chronicles, and II Chronicles.

The Oral Torah:

The oral tradition is made up of the practical application of the Torah and other traditions that there passed down through out the generations. Originally it was forbidden to write a public record of the Oral Law, although, individuals wrote for themselves to help them remember the tradition.

The prohibition against writing the oral tradition existed for several reasons.

1. A written Oral Law could limit its scope.

2. The application of the Law requires interaction with a master teacher who can give the larger context. The Oral tradition was, therefore, passes down orally to make certain that the ideas were passes from generation to generation with the broader context and not relegated to a specific code.

3. With any knowledge, there are chances that elements are taking out of context and applied in ways there are not initially intended. Since God gave the Torah to the Jewish people so that they could foster their relationship with God, many believed that the oral tradition should remain beyond the reach of individuals where not Jewish.

The Mishnah

Judah the Prince or Judah I was a second-century rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea. Wikipedia Born: 135 AD Died: 217 AD, Sepphoris, Israel

Rabbi Judah the Prince, also known as Rabbi or Rabbenu Hakadosh, was born is 135 CE and passed away in 217 CE. Rabbi was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea. He realized that the Roman rule was only temporary and that eventually, the Jewish people would see more instability, and that the Jewish people would eventually scatter throughout the world.

It is for this reason; Rabbi found it necessary to codify the oral tradition is what is currently known as The Mishnah. The Mishna is a guidebook that spells out the major points of all the commandments.

The Mishnah is broken into six orders, 63 tractates, 525 chapters, and 4,224 Mishnayos. Rabbi concluded the Mishnah in the year 190 CE

זרעים - SEEDS: The laws relating to agriculture and Israeli crops; leaving offerings to the Priests and

the Levites; giving gifts to the poor

Berachot - ברכות, Peah - פאה, Dmai - דמאי, Kilayim - כלאים, Shvi'it - שביעית, Trumot - תרומות, Maasrot - מעשרות, Maasar Sheni – מעשר שני, Challah - חלה, Orlah - ערלה, Bikkurim - ביכורים

מועד - HOLIDAYS : The laws relevant to the Sabbath, the festivals, fast days, and other significant holidays

Shabbat - שבת, Eiruvin - עירובין, Pesachim - פסחים, Shekalim - שקלים, Yuma - יומא, Sukkah - סוכה, Beitzah - ביצה, Rosh Hashanah - ראש השנה, Taanit - תענית, Megillah - מגילה, Moed Katan – מועד קטן, Chagigah - חגיגה

נשים - WOMEN: The laws pertaining to the husband/wife relationship, starting from the marriage ceremony, to adultery, incest, divorce, vows and property.

Yevamot - יבמות, Kesubot - כתובות, Nedarim - נדרים, Nazir - נזיר, Sotah - סוטה, Gitin - גיטין, Kiddushin - קידושין

נזיקין - DAMAGES: The laws regarding civil jurisprudence and penal law; Rabbinic courts; errors in judgement; vows; punishments etc. Also deals with some religious criminal law, like pagan worship.

Bava Kama – בבא קמא, Bava Metzia – בבא מציעא, Bava Basra - בבא בתרא, Sanhedrin - סנהדרין, Makkot - מכות, Shevuot - שבועות, Ediyot - עדיות, Avodah Zarah - עבודה זרה, Avot - אבות, Horiyot - הוריות

קדשים - HOLY THINGS: The laws mainly pertaining to the Temple and its sacrifices. Also, laws on ritual slaughter, and kosher and non-kosher foods.

Zevachim - זבחים, Menachot - מנחות, Chullin - חולין, Bechorot - בכורות, Eiruchin - ערכין, Tmurah - תמורה, Krisus -כריתות, Meilah - מעילה, Tomid - תמיד, Middot - מדות, Kinim - קינים

טהרות - PURITY

The laws of ritual purity and impurity. Also, laws of women's menstrual cycles and family purity.

Keilim - כלים, Oholot - אהלות, Negoim - נגעים, Poroh - פרה, Taharot - טהרות, Mikvaot - מקואות, Niddah - נדה, Machshirin - מכשירין, Zavim - זבים, Tvul Yom - טבול יום, Yodayim - ידים, Uktzin - עוקצין

Based on the sections and text of the Mishnah, the Talmud, commonly referred to as the Gemara, is the compendium of Jewish law and thought.

The Talmud is made up of the Talmud Bavli, the edition developed in Babylonia, and edited at the end of the fifth century C.E.; the Talmud Yerushalmi is the edition compiled in the Land of Israel at the end of the fourth century C.E.

The following is a chart of the transmission of the Oral Tradition.

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Hindu Scriptures and Holy Books

Hindu scriptures and holy books are divided mainly into two categories, viz. Shruti and Smriti. Shruti literally means “that what is revealed” and Smriti “that what is remembered”. Hence, Shruti is what ancient Hindu sages heard during deep meditation. It belongs to the Vedic period, while Smriti belongs to the post-Vedic period. Shrutis are more philosophical and ritualistic in nature whilst Smritis are concerned more with moral and civil law.

Shruti literature consists of four Vedas :

1. Rigveda.

2. Yajurveda.

3. Samaveda.

4. Atharvaveda.

Each of these Vedas include Upanishads, Samhitas, Brahmanas, and Aranyakas.

Smriti literature consists of a large number of texts including but not limited to Vedangas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras, Arthashastras, Puranas, Upapuranas, Bhagavadgita, poetic literature, commentaries on various texts, and many other texts.

We are trying to list out here as many Hindu scriptures and holy books as possible. If you know any Hindu books other than these, please feel free to inform us about those scriptures.

Four Vedas:

Atharvaveda

Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana

Panchavimsha Brahmana

Sadvimsha Brahmana

Shatapatha Brahmana

Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa

Vamsa Brahmana

Aitreya Aranyakas.

Sankhayan Aranyak.

Taittiriya Aranyak.

Maitriyani Aranyak.

Madhyandini Vrihadaranyak.

Talvakar Aranyak.

Svetasvatara

Brihadaranyaka

Manusmriti .

Narada Smriti.

Yajnavalkya Smriti.

Vedangas (Sutras):

Shiksha (Phonetics)

Kalpa (Ritual)

Vyakarana (Grammar)

Nirukta (Etymology)

Chhandas (Metrics)

Jyotisha (Astronomy)

Ayurveda (Medical Science)

Dhanurveda (Military Science)

Gandharvaveda (Musical Knowledge)

Shilpveda (Science of Architecture)

Bhagvadgita

18 Puranas:

Vishnu Purana

Skandhapurana

Varahpurana

Agni Purana

Bhagvatpurana

Bhavishyapuran

Brahmapuran

Brahmandapuran

Brahmavaivartapuran

Markandeyapuran

Matsyapuran

Naradapuran

Vamanapuran

Upa-Puranas:

Sanat-Kumara

Brihan-Naradiya

Siva-Rahasya

Devi -Bhagavata

Mahabharata

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Quran in English Translation: The Holy & Noble Qur'an in English Complete | Translation of the Sacred Scripture of Islam Hardcover – May 5, 2024

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This edition is crafted to respect its profound legacy while making its teachings accessible to new generations of readers and scholars . Explore the divine wisdom of The Holy Qur'an, the cornerstone of Islamic faith, which has guided millions of believers for centuries. This exclusive English edition presents the sacred text in its revered form, allowing readers to delve into the spiritual and ethical teachings of Islam with ease and clarity .

Key Features of This Edition

• Readable Font Size : Set in a clear 10-point font, this edition ensures that the text is accessible and easy to read.
• Convenient Book Dimensions : The 7x10 inch format combines portability with readability, providing ample space for the text while still fitting comfortably in your hands.
• Pure English Translation : This edition focuses solely on the English translation of the Noble Qur'an, offering a straightforward approach for those seeking to engage with its teachings directly in English.

The Holy Qur'an has been preserved through meticulous compilations , first by Abu Bakar, the first Caliph, and later refined by the third Caliph Uthman, who ensured the text remained true to its original message. Today, as the influence of Islam continues to grow, understanding this sacred text is more important than ever. This edition is crafted to respect its profound legacy while making its teachings accessible to new generations of readers and scholars .

Enhance your spiritual library with this beautifully formatted edition of The Holy Qur'an and experience the timeless wisdom that has shaped the lives of millions.

• Print length 191 pages
• Language English
• Publication date May 5, 2024
• Dimensions 7 x 0.67 x 10 inches
• ISBN-13 979-8324861292
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (May 5, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
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• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8324861292
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.5 ounces
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Michael brown talks ‘fresh wave’ of holy spirit, mainstream ‘pushback’ against lgbt agenda.

Prolific author and radio host Michael Brown believes that a “fresh wave of the Holy Spirit” is coming to the United States, with the American Church needing to harness it for positive social change.

Brown's latest book, Turn the Tide: How to Ignite a Cultural Awakening , was released earlier this month and is the second entry in his “From Revival to Reformation” series.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Brown, host of the nationally syndicated  Line of Fire radio program, said the two books composing the series “can be read independently,” though one builds off the other.

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“I've been deeply convinced, like many, many other Christians in America, that without sweeping revival in the Church that then impacts society, that America as we know it is done. That we need something radical to turn,” he said.

“So, we're in an urgent situation. I believe we are seeing pockets of God moving in different parts of America. So, we've got to seize this moment and then work with God to turn the tide.”

The Christian Post talked with Brown about his new book, how conservative Christians must look at culture war battles as multi-generational, and how revival is hitting the U.S. since the Asbury University gathering last year. The following are edited excerpts from that interview. 

CP: Why did you decide to write this book series?

Brown: I began to sense about a year-and-a-half ago that there was a fresh wave of the Holy Spirit coming.

Before Asbury happened, I got on my radio show and said, "The beginning of the next wave is here. It’s in its early stages, but something is happening." And then about eight days after that, the Asbury Revival hit and the whole nation was talking about revival.

And that's the context of the first book, Seize the Moment: How to Fuel the Fires of Revival . What happens when God begins to move? What happens in a church when the Spirit is poured out? How can we work with God to see a genuine revival and outpouring come?

The new book, Turn the Tide , is independent but builds on that. It says, "Once God is moving, how do we go from outpouring in the Church to awakening in society? How do we go from revival to reformation?"

Not just in inspirational terms, but in practical terms.

CP: In Chapter 4 you discuss pushback to various socially liberal causes, noting as examples the overturning of Roe v. Wade and increased social rejection of the LGBT movement, even though many conservatives saw both issues as "lost" at some point. Does this show that many of these debates are more cyclical or longer-term than previously assumed?

Brown: Yes, these are definitely longer-term issues and battles. Many times, as followers of Jesus, we have a short-term mentality.

Those with other social agendas, those fighting for what they felt was equality and tolerance in gay relationships or those fighting for what they said is a woman's autonomy, pro-abortion, etc., often have a long-haul mentality.

There were Marxist ideologues in the '60s who were talking about "the long march" and how they would infiltrate educational institutions in America and change the thinking of Americans. And we now see how successful they've been.

So, we need to have that persevering multigenerational mentality as well.  

CP: You write in the book that "LGBTQ+ activists declared war on religion 50 years ago" and that "their coming out of the closet necessitated putting us in the closet." Some conservatives have argued that the LGBT movement and religious liberty are fundamentally incompatible with each other. Do you agree?

Brown: Certainly. Our position is that if someone is not breaking the law, they can live their lives how they please and they have to answer to God. In other words, followers of Jesus are not here to be moral policemen and see how people are living in secret and tell them what they can and can't do.

But the flip side is that many of those who have been on the frontlines of LGBTQ+ activism have really said, "You can't have it both ways." In other words, they have branded us "bigots." They have branded our views hateful. They have said there's no place for our viewpoint.

There is a fundamental attack on our liberties and our freedoms. It’s been ongoing for years; it’s becoming much more overt and there is another area where we must push back.

CP: You write about the importance of revivals to have lasting fruit. Do you believe that the Asbury University revival that happened last year is bearing lasting fruit?  

Brown: I've heard lots of reports about students at other college campuses being powerfully touched and churches being powerfully touched since the Asbury outpouring. I haven't tracked it in depth personally, but what I do know is those who have been touched have now gone about greater outreach, sharing their faith more boldly, given themselves more to prayer, and are working together with other groups to see a revival on their campuses or churches.

That, to me, is positive fruit. When God moves, we've got to capitalize on it. We've got to seize the moment. We've got to say, "OK, now we press in more deeply in prayer. Now we give ourselves even more to community outreach. Now we give ourselves even more to making positive changes to the world around us."

If we continue to pour out what God has poured in, then we will see an ongoing moving of the Spirit. And it will grow from year to year.

CP: You mention in your book the struggle for children and how social media, public schools and modern entertainment are leading them away from a godly understanding of life. In recent times, conservative Christian groups have been launching their own social media websites, book companies, streaming services, TV series, etc. Do you believe this wave of new content and information sources can be used to help improve and keep young people in the faith?

Brown: We have to do whatever we can on all fronts.

It’s good that we have platforms that are Christian-oriented, that can focus on Gospel-themed materials. Make some safe spaces for our kids. At the same time, we have to be realistic and recognize that our kids could well be interacting on dangerous platforms like TikTok, which are so full of indoctrination and anti-God information, and that come in such persuasive ways for our kids.

So, we have to make a determination. Having kids is great, and having lots of kids is wonderful, but we have to focus on doing a better job of discipling them than TikTok and the world are doing.

I know godly parents who even homeschool their kids, who are very careful to see what their kids watch for entertainment. They were careful as to who their kids hung out with, but they forgot about cell phones and all of the influences that their kids were getting through social media. They have now found that, as their kids have gotten older, they've turned away from the faith.  

So, parents just need to be vigilant. It’s a tremendously dangerous environment. There are even kids who get human trafficked through these means. So, it just requires a greater vigilance than any generation has had to have before. 

CP: In Chapter 9, you wrote about being "salt and light" in our public education system. As you may know, several states are considering laws to allow chaplains into public schools. Do you see this as a great opportunity for working as "salt and light" in public schools?

Brown: However we can serve the local school communities, we should. There are churches that I know where public schools have reached out to them and said, "We don't know what to do with our students, they're out of control."

So, the churches sent in students from their ministries school.

And they'll go and sit and have lunch with the kids, and then outside of school hours, they'll hold chapel services. And they're seeing many of these kids come to the Lord.

The public schools are welcoming them because the needs are great. We have to realize, though, that it’s just as legitimate a call of God to be called to teach in the public school as it is to be called to go on a mission field or preach behind the pulpit.

Whatever we can do to get back in the school system, not to try to impose our Christian values and views on others, but to get back to teaching a solid education and to push back against some of the extremist agenda.

CP: In Chapter 11, you discuss Christian political engagement, warning that, oftentimes, Christian Americans go to one of two extremes when it comes to politics. Either they "drop out entirely" or they "confuse politics with the Gospel." How does a church properly avoid these two extremes?

Brown: We have to have involvement without seduction. That means putting politics in its proper place. We recognize it has an important role because the people that we vote for will pass laws and have great influence in the direction of our country.

But politics cannot take the place of the Gospel. Politics cannot transform a human being. Politics cannot bring redemption and healing and restoration and forgiveness. So, we must give ourselves to the Gospel first, to prayer first, to winning the lost first and to being positive influences on our communities first.

It means as well that we refuse to become the appendage of a political party and that we never look to a human being as the Savior. 

CP: What do you hope readers take away from your book? 

Brown: First, I hope they'll be inspired. I hope that something will rise up in their heart where they say, "It’s not too late, we can bring about change."

Second, I pray that and hope that they will find themselves in this book, that as they're reading it, they're going to think, "That's me, that's my job, that's my role, that's my calling, that's my task."

And together we can literally see the turning of the tide morally and culturally through the Gospel, through outpouring, through awakening, in our day.

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The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday – May 26, 2024

The Adventurous Lectionary – Trinity Sunday – May 26, 2024

Isaiah 6:1-8 Psalm 29 Romans 8:12-17 John 3:1-17

This Sunday joins the unusual cocktail of Trinity Sunday and Memorial Day, and many pastors don’t know what to do with either. First, as it will be obvious in church attendance, May 26 is the eve of Memorial Day in the United States, and in many ways the unofficial beginning of summer. While pastors are not obligated to remember civil holidays or days celebrating mothers or fathers, it is always good for a preacher to know what time it is! On Memorial Day Weekend, I always make room for “America the Beautiful” and sometimes, if requested, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” not as a surrender to nationalism or American exceptionalism but a recognition that faith is always tied to time and place. Isaiah goes to the Jerusalem Temple in a time of upheaval, the great king has died. Paul is writing to a particular congregation, the church in Rome and not just any community of faith. Our times and places are the venues where God shows up and transforms our lives.  Jesus’ ministry took place in Judea.

Still, we need to focus on the global as well as the local, the planet as well as the nation. Today’s readings invite us to experience the mystical presence of God, revealed in creation, our inner lives, and the call to mission. Progressive Christians typically don’t lift up the paranormal or mystical. We see such experiences as other worldly, detracting from our need to respond to the messy social and political challenges of our time. Rooted in the earth, we are often skeptical of the transpersonal. Yet, in contrast to stereotypes, historically, the great mystics have also been world-changers. Their spirituality led them to be both heavenly minded and earthly good. Moreover, whenever I teach courses on mysticism and spirituality, I have found that members have had mystical and paranormal experiences, including encountering angels, deceased relatives, and the voice of God.  The church needs to be a laboratory for mystical experiences and spiritual practices and provide spiritual nourishment for seekers in our congregations and in the larger world.

Isaiah’s mystical vision is one of the most powerful witnesses to humankind’s encounter with the divine, or better put, God’s breaking into human life in a life-transforming way. God is always present, moving gently and sometimes dramatically in our lives. Still, there are moments that change everything. Moments that take us beyond the normal and horizontal to a deeper naturalism in which the heavens declare God’s glory and the whole earth is filled with God’s presence. As I imagine Isaiah’s experience, I see the future prophet, one of Jerusalem’s elite and educated, attending a worship service. People are standing beside him, but in ways he can’t imagine, God speaks directly to him. No one may notice anything peculiar in Isaiah’s demeanor, but for Isaiah, God is real, present, and challenging him to a new vision. When he entered the Temple, Isaiah may just have wanted to find a little peace of mind in a time of political turmoil. Instead, he encounters the living God and discovers his life’s vocation.

Isaiah is overwhelmed before the God of the universe. In the spirit of Psalm 8’s confession that in the vastness of the universe, humans are so infinitesimal to deserve divine consideration, Isaiah protests his imperfection and unimportance in the great scheme of things. Awareness of the distance between the infinite and the finite, regardless of our sense of God’s immanence, should provoke what Abraham Joshua Heschel describes as “radical amazement.” Anything less than amazement fails to do justice to the wondrous complexity and wisdom of the universe and its creator. “How great thou art” is Isaiah’s cry and our own when we experience the utter holiness and wonder of life.  The Infinite is beyond our imaginings, and yet the Infinite addresses the finite with grace and demand.

Moreover, in the presence of the Holy, Isaiah is acutely aware of his personal fallibility and the social injustices he has taken for granted as normal. After encountering the God of the Universe, we cannot be content with business as usual.

Angels praise the Creator and Isaiah realizes that the whole earth is filled with God’s glory. Each cell or solar system provokes praise and wonder. Each moment is a theophany, each encounter an epiphany. Senses aware perhaps for the first time of the majesty of creation and the Creator, Isaiah experiences the world as God-filled. Our cells and souls declare God’s glory.

Isaiah’s ecstasy is short-lived: God challenges him to enter the maelstrom of political turmoil and national security. Mysticism leads to mission: God needs us. God needs people who will call the nation back to God – the God of social justice, economic equality, sound foreign policy, relational hospitality, and political civility. Who will speak for God? Who will be God’s companion in healing the world? “Here I am,” stammers Isaiah. Transformed and cleansed, Isaiah embraces a new vocation, to call the nation back to God’s ways.

This is a big deal! God needs us! God can’t, as Thomas Jay Oord says, heal the world without us.  There is no dominating omnipotence or zero sum hording of power.  Rather, God needs us to do God’s work in the world, and the more we do, the more God is able to accomplish in our lives and the world.

We typically don’t expect paranormal experiences and mystical encounters at Sunday morning worship. Still, worship can be life-transforming. It can alter our senses and understanding of the world. Worship can lead us to significant new insights and the willingness to take on God’s mission in our time and place. We are invited to come to worship expecting the unexpected; we are called upon to be open to new vistas of understanding God and the world. (For more on earth-oriented mysticism, see Bruce Epperly, “The Mystic in You: Discovering a God-filled World,” Upper Room, 2017; “Mystics in Action: Twelve Saints for Today,” Orbis, 2020; “Prophetic Healing: Howard Thurman’s Vision of Contemplative Activism,” Friends United, 2020; and “Angels, Mysteries, and Miracles,” Energion, 2017.)

Psalm 29 is a hymn to divine glory. God is beyond our imagination, energetically creating in all things. Thundering yet giving life. Praise and amazement at God’s wisdom and creativity is the only appropriate response. From praise and amazement comes a sense of stewardship for God’s wondrously diverse and amazing world.

The words of Romans 8:12-17 assert that God of infinite space and time is also infinitely personal. God is moving in our cells and our souls. God is speaking within us, inviting us to share in the mystic in the midst of time. God is calling us to holiness and wholeness, to freedom and creativity. God’s Spirit is our deepest reality and the Spirit’s movements enable us to call upon God and claim God’s freedom and courage in the living of each day. In Romans 8, we catch a glimpse of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity in the process of formation and what we learn is that the three “persons” of the Trinity are one in character and intent. God comes to us in diverse ways, responding to our context and condition. God is, in God’s complexity, relational both within Godself and in terms of the world.

John 3:1-17 speaks of the fullness of God’s loving revelation in our lives and the world. God moves in our lives; the Spirit is free and unbounded, embracing all, and calling us beyond the heaviness of the past, both positive and negative, to new life. We can be born anew, regardless of age or experience. The God who calls us to new life cand God calls all creation to new life. God loves the world, cosmos, both non-human and human. God’s love is manifest in the life of Jesus, the Child, the Son, and the Beloved, who invites us to move from receptivity to acknowledgment and activity and partnership with God. God’s aim is wholeness and salvation for all creation. God is in the salvation business, not the business of condemnation. God’s aim is toward everlasting life in moment and forever.

In John 3, we experience another picture of the Trinity, all of whose “persons” are aimed at our salvation and healing. Cosmic yet intimate, orderly yet free, God’s love for the world – for us – is the foundation of our salvation today and our hope for the future.  There is no theological “bait and switch”: God is love, period, there is no hidden God out to get us.  God is out to love us!

Trinitarian in spirit, today’s scriptures reflect the wondrous presence of God in the world: majestic, yet loving; transcendent, yet immanent; mighty, yet graceful; defined by love, not unrestricted power; relational and needing our partnership to heal the world. The Infinite is the Intimate. The Eternal is the most relational, the Transcendent is the Most Moved Mover. (Heschel) Flexible in doctrine and open to novelty, they speak to the wondrous loving diversity of a Cosmic Creator who loves the world and each creature intimately. The loving integrity of the Trinity serves as a model for our own creative and intimate quest for healing and justice, global in scope but always personal and contextual in nature.

Bruce Epperly is a pastor, professor, and author of over eighty books, “Jesus: Mystic, Healer, and Prophet,” “Process and Politics,” Spirituality, Simplicity, and Service: The Timeless Wisdom of Francis, Clare, and Bonaventure,” and “The Elephant is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theology and Religious Pluralism.” He is the author of the upcoming “The God of Tomorrow: Whitehead and Teilhard on Metaphysics, Mysticism, and Mission” and “Head, Heart, and Hands: An Introduction to St. Bonaventure.”

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On Pentecost and “matters not dictated by the Holy Spirit”

The Holy Spirit is sent into the world for one basic reason, to make known the essential truth that we are made not merely for a life in this world, but for eternal life.

May 19, 2024 James V. Schall, S.J. The Dispatch 14 Print

“Objection : The Scripture is plainly full of matters not dictated by the Holy Spirit. – Answer : Then they do not harm faith. Objection : But the Church has decided that all is of the Holy Spirit. Answer : I answer two things; first, the Church has not so decided; secondly, if she should so decide, it could be maintained.”

— Pascal, Pensées, #567.

“The Apostles, prompted by the Spirit, invited all to change their lives, to be converted and be baptized. Immediately after the event of Pentecost, Peter spoke convincingly to the crowd: ‘When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘ Repent , and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts, 2:37-38).” — John Paul II, The Mission of the Redeemer, 1990, #47.

An accusation leveled against God in recent years is that he did not do enough for us. He gave us the cosmos and our existence in it, perhaps. But since he did not give us everything we think we need and want, either he does not exist or he is cruel. He is, at best, a negligent God. He abandoned us in this messy world and left us to fend for ourselves. Our “rights” have been violated by the divinity itself. We have no choice but to act on our own. We will make the rules, establish justice on earth. We have no need to listen to any revelation from on high or respect it if we hear about it. How could any “god” know more about us than we know ourselves? We have a “right” to happiness. Since we are not happy, someone must pay.

What’s more, we have a “right” to have our “rights” respected. We cannot depend on anything outside of ourselves. It isn’t wholesome. We are free to make what we want and do what we want. We are “owed” what we want; we are victims if we do not have it awarded to us. That is the basis of our dignity. The Supreme Court understands this and has worked to let us enact our own views of the universe. There is no natural or divine order. The Obama administration, in its many arbitrary decrees, has made every effort to free religious people of the blindly-imposed burdens attributed erroneously to God. Current elections are about extending government power to free people in religious organizations from restrictive commandments and customs that might inhibit government polity and control. So goes the current wisdom.

Part of the history of Christianity has been the effort to decide what the Holy Spirit was up to out there among the nations that had not yet heard of the “good news”. This is why missionaries were sent out. But most of the Chinese, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim world wants nothing to do with them. Some now say that the Holy Spirit merely inspires us to be good human beings, or to practice whatever we want. No particular way of approaching God is better than any other. So we really do not need missionaries, or even dialogue. Why disturb anyone in his settled beliefs? It only causes violence and turmoil.

At the end of the Gospel of John, we are told: “It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written” (Jn 21:24-25). The other part of Christian history recounts how the Church was formed and organized, how it came to understand in ever more careful terms just who Christ was, his place within the Godhead, his Incarnation amongst us, his life and death, the Resurrection, Ascension, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Thus, we can ask ourselves: “Just why did God do it this way, as it were, his way?”

The best way to answer that question, it sometimes seems to me, is precisely to imagine some other way that would be better—one that made more sense to us. Actually, some of this alternate imagining can be found in Scripture itself. It is not without interest that right up to the Ascension, the Apostles were still wondering if Christ was about to reestablish the Kingdom of Israel. They could not quite get it out of their heads that, while Christ did announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, he did not quite mean what they thought he meant. He was not going to establish a world-wide Empire beginning in Jerusalem, Macedonia, Persia, or Rome. Eventually, St. Augustine devoted over a thousand pages to explain the difference between the City of God and the City of Man. (Just to have this book was probably reason enough not to set out on worldly empire.)

But we also find the accounts of Christ’s temptations in the desert. Here, the Devil himself is perplexed over what Jesus is up to. He (the Devil) knew that he (Christ) was up to no good. So he felt him out. The Devil understood a good deal about his Adversary. He (Christ) seemed to be able to accomplish things that no ordinary human agency could bring about. The Devil has certain pretensions of his own. So he asks Christ to “adore” him. He does not get anywhere with this approach. The Devil presumably knew that he was not himself divine. He had some premonition that God was up to something else. Some thought that the devils fell because they knew something about this God-becoming-man business. They did not like it. But they could not be sure. So this Christ had to be tested to find out just who he was.

What about the poor? Ah, social justice! Wasn’t the Messiah supposed to be on the side of the poor? So why not change stones into bread? That way, we would put all the bakers out of business, of course, but everyone would be fed with no problem or expense. Suppose Christ had gone along with the Devil and provided free bread in unlimited quantities. Next thing we know, the people would want Bavarian chocolate cakes, Danish pastries, and Baked Alaskas. The Devil would then accuse Christ of niggardliness, just as the Hebrews in the Desert grew tired of quail and manna. They longed for the fleshpots of Egypt. There is a similar situation in Plato. Once the basic necessities of life are satisfied, people would want more, luxuries, nicer things. We have already here in a nutshell something of the history of economics.

The Devil next offers Christ all the kingdoms of the world, but with the one little hitch, that of his accepting to be second in command. Christ simply ceases arguing. Some conversations and arguments simply need to end when we see where they are going. “Be gone!” This is the problem with incessant dialoguing that never reaches any conclusion. It is like the Greeks in Athens discussing with Paul. When they came to something so ridiculous as the Resurrection, they bid farewell to Paul. They would deal with it at another time. There are many ways not to listen to the truth or to cut short insincere discussions. But the point seems clear. Christ could have done many things that he did not do. Why?

As we saw in John’s Gospel, Christ does invite people to “change” their lives. Evidently, that is something that cannot be done from the outside. And it seems that this invitation to change our ways can also be rejected. If it could not be rejected, we would not be talking about it. It would simply happen whether we liked it or not. In the short dialogue from Pascal that I cited at the beginning, the curiosity in Scripture concerns those not dictated by the Holy Spirit. The objector thinks, however, that the Church has claimed that the Holy Spirit does decree everything. Pascal answers in two steps. First, he tells us, rightly, that the Church does not say that Scripture is designed to tell us everything we need to know. Nor does the Church say that it does. But, secondly, if the Church did say that Scripture contains everything, “it could be maintained.”

What did Pascal mean by that? He meant that, if this were true, what was contained would in fact make sense when we thought clearly about it. He is reaffirming the experience that we have of those things indeed contained in Scripture. Namely, when we think about them, having learned them from Scripture, they do make sense and shed light on everything else. Faith does seek reason, and finds it. Likewise, when reason looks at what is found in Scripture, it finds good sense, when spelled out.

This conclusion brings me back to something I was talking about earlier, namely the accusation that God was negligent in not giving us everything we need. This is itself an aspect of the question of whether the Holy Spirit, on being sent by Christ at Pentecost, had as his mission the teaching us of everything that we needed to know about both God and the world. I like to approach this issue via the path I sketched above. Would we want a world in which bread and pastries were freely available with no effort on our part so that we did not have to do anything but eat them with no effort to make them or pay for them? In other words, would we want our practical reason—that function of the mind and hand that makes things—to be left unused by each member of the human race? I think not. We would become inert.

Let us take this issue a step further back. Mankind had to learn to bake. This means it had to learn to grow wheat, corn, oats, and other grains, not to mention how to make butter, strawberry jam, and Austrian whipped cream to go with the bread and pastries, let alone worry the dietitians and doctors when we eat too many of them. Mankind had to learn to mill the grains into flour. Ovens had to be invented. Baking is a certain skill. Not everyone needs to be a baker. If everyone were a baker, we would not have time for anything else. We would have an abundance of bread but no shoes. There are people who complain about the world because many are poor or lack something. Was the Creator somehow oblivious of this little need that went along with the object of His over-all creation? Or rather, did he have something else in mind about how best to provide for it? Was it all that cruel if he gave us enough brains and talents to work it out ourselves? Aquinas says that we were not created with tusks and hides because we were given brains instead to figure out how to protect ourselves.

The things not in Scripture were elsewhere found in the world from the beginning. Scripture was not designed to help us learn how to make a rocket or a computer. Evidently, its author knew that these things could eventually be figured out with the things already in creation, especially the human mind itself. We conclude from these considerations that God had something else in mind when he got around to divine revelation. He did not need further to instruct us in what we could figure out by ourselves and would enjoy doing so. He just had to turn us loose on the world with enough time and a little pressure on us to go about learning what we needed and wanted to know. It is not that things in Scripture hinder us from knowing what we could know by ourselves. Usually they help us.

But the Incarnation and Pentecost are divine initiatives we could not have anticipated. Once they happened, we can make sense of them by thinking about them. That was Pascal’s second point. So Christ’s coming amongst us and his sending the Holy Spirit were needed to explain what we were really here in this world for, nothing more, nothing less. Revelation was not designed to tell us about building a better world order or how to do so in a few easy lessons. We were supposed to do what we could. But most people, most of the time in human history lived in pretty tough circumstances, usually brought on by themselves or others who put themselves first. And even those who lived in prosperous times somehow seemed to develop even more serious problems than the poor and less well-off. “Why was this?” we wonder. It was because human life was really about something transcendent. There was no escape from what we really are. This is what we were being told about ourselves and what we really wanted.

What men needed to know was not how to build a railroad or develop a better cough medicine. Rather, it concerned each person’s final destiny, what it basically was, and how to obtain it. Achieving this purpose is what each human life, no matter when or where lived, or how long for that matter, was about in its basic drama or story. At the end, each person is to be judged on the basis of how he lived his life based on what he did and knew for himself and others. This judgment is always fair and just, but is always founded on the free choices of the person being judged. They manifest what kind of a person he really is and always will be. In this sense, princes and scholars, farmers and merchants, mothers and fathers, the great and the small, are judged by the same standards. This is the only real equality, a proportionate one, that exists everywhere in the human historical universe.

The Incarnation, birth, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ are empirical accounts of what happened when God decided to explain to us exactly what we are and the significance of our own choices and way of life. God was in something of a bind. He could not invite other free but finite beings besides himself to participate in his own inner life unless they wanted to do so. Some things are impossible for us to have unless we want them after the manner in which they are. Friendship and love are two of these. They bind man and God together in a way simple being does not. We could not be given free choice with one hand and have it taken back by another so that we would necessarily be inhabitants of God’s Kingdom.

The genius of God’s redemptive plan, if we might put it that way, was that it was given to us as a “second chance”. That is, men had already rejected God and followed their own ways. If another way were to be provided to return to the original purpose for which we were created, it would have to be after the manner of a free gift, something that is really what we want but also capable of being rejected. The life of Christ in this sense is what happened when many men rejected God’s second offer. Instead of greeting and accepting him, they rejected him, denied him.

Christ’s response was to suffer in His innocence. With this suffering, some few finally saw His point that we cannot do wrong. But others rejected Christ’s way. They sought to find an alternate way. This is what the lives we see among us today are about. The continued seeking of an end that is not the one we were designed to possess, that of eternal life, that life that is ours, but follows our death. Its completion is not something we can do in this life.

What we can do in this life is to learn to provide for ourselves and to take care of one another, to worship God as he has indicated is the one way properly to worship Him. We can accomplish this purpose only if we use our minds and virtues to do what is reasonable and makes sense. When we reject the ways that are in reason and revelation, we end up in our own closed world. We claim a “right” to do what we want. We deny any transcendence or life beyond death, as the resurrection implies. The Holy Spirit is sent into the world for one basic reason, to keep alive and to make known in various ways, but principally through the Church, the essential truth, that we are made not merely for a life in this world, where we begin, but for eternal life where we end. Our path to it has been made known to us in the life and death of Christ.

The Spirit still leads each of us to only one goal, the change of our hearts whereby we choose to accept the final good that is given to us. This one good is so much better than anything we could concoct for ourselves that we are amazed that we could reject it. But we can and do. This is the drama of the history, of the world in which we find ourselves. It is a world in which, much to our surprise. God did not really leave anything out that we needed to know either to take care of ourselves or to be saved for eternal life.

( Editor’s note: This essay was originally posted at CWR on May 15, 2016.)

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What is the Holy Spirit like?

National Catholic Register, May 19, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Sunday, May 19, is Pentecost Sunday, and the Mass readings — Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13; and John 20:19-23 — present a number of symbols of the Holy Spirit: strong, driving wind; tongues of fire; races united; and breath of Jesus on the apostles.

The Holy Spirit is like a strong driving wind, because the Holy Spirit has a clear direction and wants to take everyone there with it. A wind is an unseen force that refreshes; so is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is a tongue of fire ; not a wildfire that destroys, not a stationary fire that we have to huddle next to, but a fire bestowed on us, which transforms what it touches.

The Holy Spirit unites people and breaks down barriers. When St. Peter speaks after receiving the Holy Spirit, he speaks with boldness, decisiveness, but also attractiveness, drawing many to the faith. He doesn’t condemn, insult, and disperse the people because of their weakness; he challenges them and calls them to greatness, each in his or her own language.

The Holy Spirit is the breath of God in us. He breathes on his apostles and gives them the ability to forgive sins. He breathes on us, too, and we also become his representatives. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit,” as the second reading says.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Nos. 694–700) mentions other symbols of the Holy Spirit worth considering:

The Holy Spirit is like water. Water fills all things; it is gentle like dew or strong like a flood; it seeps into what will let it, bringing life, and pushes aside what will not.

The Holy Spirit is an anointing, a sacramental seal. The Spirit marks us as God’s, incorporates us into his family, and connects us with his company of saints.

The Holy Spirit is like a cloud and light. The Spirit is like a cloud because God is a mystery and like light because “mystery” means he is too brilliant for us to fully comprehend.

The Holy Spirit is like a hand or a finger. He is a hand that works, reaches out, heals, and blesses.

The Holy Spirit is like a dove. A dove can fly high or walk lightly, and its beauty is subtle and calming.

You can also hear all of these symbols echoed powerfully in the 13th-century British prayer that St. John Paul II prayed when he visited Great Britain:

Wash what is unclean.

Water what is parched.

Heal what is diseased.

Bend what is rigid.

Warm what is cold.

Straighten what is crooked.

This story was originally published in the National Catholic Register, CNA’s sister news partner, on May 15, 2016, and has been updated and adapted by CNA.

The Blessed Virgin Mary: Sinless by grace, saved by grace, assumed by grace

On the Readings for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 2018 […]

14 Comments

Fr. Schall wrote beautifully and well. Truly, his having left the world left us bereft and weak. Our only recourse, as he taught, is to the Holy Spirit, the Sacred Heart, and Our Father. RIP, Fr. Schall.

Blessed Feast of Pentecost !

Along with the good points mentioned in the article as the false reasons being used not to trust in God and His goodness from our darkened intellects , there is the influence of literary works too – they do have shadows of truth and can bring on the temptation that every thing can be lumped as fruits of human fantasy ! Such a threat esp. for the ‘ the learned and the wise ‘ and thus need for more caution about such for the young people . The ? excess importance given to such works , seeing them as ‘ foundational ‘ , at the same time , often mocking The Word with the subtle contempt as being all ‘impossibilities’ – our times are blessed with much biblical truth and studies and would it not be time to claim such alone as the true foundation, both for the East and the West and to use other works more as examples of the ‘torrent of waters …’ to be waded in with caution !

Interesting how Virgil happens to be writing about characters afflicted with lust and its fruits at a time when God is preparing the remedy for it all , in the quiet and hiddenness of a Royal Line , destined to bring forth The Woman – Sts Ann and Joachim , spending time in prayer and fasting and brings forth The Woman as The Immaculate Conception , in holiness !

‘ The dragon spewed forth a torrent of water after that woman to sweep her away but the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river ‘ – in the Truth of The Incarnation , to bring us The Help as The gentle yet powerful breath of The Spirit .

May He bless us ever , in all battles against the lies and confusions , to be blessed with the wisdom from on high to know and live for our true Patrimony !

Incredible.

What is incredible about it? Incredible means “hard or impossible to believe.”

Christ’s Temptations in the Wilderness all deal with some aspect of the wielding of power, on the world’s terms. To this you can add that after the multiplication of the loaves and fishes the crowd wanted to make Christ king, which He rejected. * One thing missing in the article is Original Sin. In the book of Genesis the Garden of Eden was planted by God and Adam was placed in a stewardship role over the Garden. The description of the Garden was that of lush fertility. That God was the One giving the rich soil its increase. The presence of the trees of the knowledge of good and evil and of life bestow a mystical, supernatural dimension to the Garden of Eden. * The promise of the serpent to Adam and Eve was that if they ate of the forbidden fruit that they would attain autonomy. After having eaten of the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve showed no sign of repentance for their actions. The first effect of the forbidden fruit was to make Adam and Eve aware of their nakedness. They were no longer clothed in the robes of righteousness. They were denuded of God’s graces. In expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden, God was making them live with the consequences of their actions. If they wanted autonomy, then they could no longer enjoy the God enhanced fertility of the soil of the Garden of Eden. They would need to till the soil in its natural state and live out the full consequences of their autonomy.

“Some now say that the Holy Spirit merely inspires us to be good human beings or to practice whatever we want. No particular way of approaching God is better than any other”

Humility is the key as the Holy Spirit can only dwell in a humble heart because no matter how broken any child of God may be or how worldly a man’s heart may become, it could be said, that when true humility is found, in childlike wonder, we walk anew upon holy ground.

At Pentecost, The Spirit of God inspires the Apostles and sends them on their mission; while all the Baptized are asked to do the same. As those who receive the Holy Spirit are also empowered to give witness to Jesus Christ in the world, while He the Holy Spirit sanctifies our hearts in creating a dwelling place for Himself (The Divine Presence) to reside within us.

After the Crucifixion in the Upper Room, we see those who had travelled the road of enlightenment/self-realization with Jesus (The Word Made Flesh) hide in fear of the Jewish leadership, while now knowing the full reality of their brokenness (Betrayal and cowardice) before our Father in heaven. It could be said that their hearts were now readied to receive The Holy Spirit as a humble heart is His dwelling place, as in

“I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid”

Prior to Pentecost, we see Man’s understanding of the righteousness of God manifest by Prophets, such as, in Elijah’s murderous blood bath of the vile prophets of Baal, with all their wives and innocent children. He then hides in fear because “I have been very zealous (Ruthless ) for the Lord” Similar to St Paul’s zealous murderous persecution of Christians, while James and his brother John wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan town; they were rebuked by Jesus. Prior to this rebuke, Jesus called James and John, Boanerges, which meant “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17) – probably a reference to the positive side of their bold and zealous personalities

A Personal understanding of 1 Kings 19:11-12 A wind there was (of Pride), rude and boisterous, that shook the mountains (Heavens) and broke the rocks (Holy precepts) in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not to be found in the wind (of my bluster). Nor in the storm (High expectations of life) and earthquake (Of self-made foundations/delusions) leading to the Fire (of suffering/Reality of the selfhood) and after the fire, the whisper of a gentle (Uplifting) breeze

For men of good intent on the Worldly plain It is natural to want to prevail over evil (especially in others) to call to account and punish those who do evil, this desire comes from a worldly feeling of self-righteousness but as seen by Elijah’s inspired self-realization, God is known through His gentleness, as in a gentle breeze.

Jesus says “Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart”

So, the battle has to be fought on the Spiritual Plane if it is to bear lasting fruit, we do this when we walk with the Holy Spirit in humility. (St Bernard, Humility; a virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is, abases him-self) .

At Pentecost, we see the Holy Spirit descend and then separate onto the Apostles conferring within them (and now to those who serve Him) the power of Truth. The Truth bears witness to Itself and needs no embellishment, as those who are of the truth hear His voice. It could be said that authority comes with Truth and those who serve It. (As manifest in a humble heart)

Quote from the Article: “Part of the history of Christianity has been the effort to decide what the Holy Spirit was up to out there among the nations that had not yet heard of the “good news”. This is why missionaries were sent out. *But most of the Chinese, Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim world wants nothing to do with them.*

One reason is that today we live in a world of telecommunication/internet etc and mankind has become cynical, as many see a Church that does not reflect the teaching of the Gospel that she preaches. So in our present day, more so than ever mankind needs to see the light of the Holy Spirit dwelling/working within us, as only a humble Priesthood/Church can lead mankind away from evil, as a humble heart (Church) will never cover its tracks or hide its shortcomings, and in doing so confers authenticity (Holiness), as it walks in its own vulnerability /weakness/brokenness in trust/faith before God and mankind. It is a heart (Church) to be trusted, as it ‘dispels’ darkness within its own ego/self, in serving God (Truth/Love) first, before any other as the Holy Spirit (Divine Presence) cannot dwell in an untruthful heart as “The Truth” will not permit evil to hide. We are ALL sinners but being honest with ourselves and others permit us to walk in humility (friendship) with the Holy Spirit, where no deception or lie is tolerated within ourselves or between each other.

Christ reveals that the Holy Spirit will “convince the ‘unbelieving’ world of sin, and of justice and of judgment; ” he will “teach…all truth;” and will “glorify” Christ.

*Words of condemnation have their place, but it is the whisper of a gentle breeze’ bearing witness to the Truth, in a humble heart, which glorifies God as it permits others to see and believe in His merciful gentle ‘living’ Face/heart, which leads others to contemplate/know/follow Him in humility also.

“Father forgive them they know not what they do”

Here we see His understanding of the human heart and the compassion that He had for all of mankind. Reflected in Isaiah 42:3 “He won’t break off a bent reed or put out a dying flame, but he will make sure that justice is done” There is no self-righteous anger, but rather a call for mercy and insightfulness for all those sinners who dwell in darkness. Which was manifest in His total self-giving on the Cross, for all men.

As with the Centurion who stood facing Him as He hung on the Cross “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned” The divine spark had been ignited within the Centurion, a new understanding had commenced as he exclaimed

“This man was indeed God’s Son.”

We can look to St Mother Teresa as a modern-day example of Christian Charity in the way she spread the Gospel through works of charity and her confrontation with a fallen sinful world. In her confrontation with the promotors of abortion (The Clintons), it was not in a ranting emotional bluster, driven by self-righteous indignation. See the link https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/how-mother-teresa-challenged-hillary-clinton-on-abortion

An extract from the article given via the link, the parts highlighted in bold text emanate from a gentle humble (Loving) heart, which is what my post is all about.

“This was not the end of the relationship, which Hillary has always looked back upon with fondness. In the short time she had left on earth, Mother Teresa continued to try to change Clinton’s view on abortion. According to Hillary, “she sent me dozens of notes and messages with the same gentle entreaty. She dealt with the first lady with patience and kindness , but firm conviction: “Mother Teresa never lectured or scolded me ; her admonitions were always loving and heartfelt,” wrote Hillary, adding that she had “the greatest respect for her opposition to abortion.” Mother Teresa saw in Hillary a potentially huge convert to the pro-life cause, and never gave up, but to no avail”

I take umbrage with the statement “to no avail as only God knows the full long-term effects that her firm conviction and the persistent actions of Mother Teresa will have had on Hilary Clinton and those around her, as those who walk with Holy Spirit, produce good fruit, the seeds of which are often sown unseen within human hearts, at the time of their encounter with Him. Mother Teresa will have known this and trusted in the workings of the Holy Spirit knowing that all enlightenment comes from God and because of this she would not have been driven to distraction or bitterness as the peace that He gives to His true Disciples, cannot be taken from them.#

It could be said that these actions by Mother Teresa spring from “a gentle breeze” living ( Dwelling ) within her loving humble heart.#

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa

Father! with tongue and flame give us unity again.

kevin your brother In Christ

Hello my brother:

Good to see your name and read your words.

You seek concordance amongst men and honour the Lord by proclaiming peace. It is sad that some will not bend the knee to the Lord and go out of their way to denigrate His precepts. The Lord has chosen the Christian to speak of His saving grace, yet far too many would not listen to Jesus Himself, consequently they will not heed our voice either.

We spread the seed and it lands where it will. The Lord is mighty to save, yet some want nothing to do with Him. Satan would be the prime example.

God bless you in your walk,

Thank you Brain my brother, for your encouraging comment ”Good to see your name and read your words” It is also very good to know we are of the same ilk, Brian, may God bless you this Whitsuntide and always.

Sincerely kevin your brother In Christ

“I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And it is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid “ I feel I was led to read those words this morning. Thank you Kevin. God bless you always.

Thank you, Catherine, once again for another supportive comment I am most grateful.

You say I feel I was led to read those words this morning or in other words, you were/are looking for Him, Catherine. Praise the Lord!

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Since I live, you also will live

May His peace be with you this Whitsuntide and always. kevin your brother In Christ

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16.

Here is my thought while reading this excellent piece: I only wish some bishop who was interested in fulfilling his munus of teaching his flock would mandate that all parishes under his jurisdiction should make sufficient copies of this piece and insert them into the weekly bulletin for all parishioners to read. Wouldn’t that have an impact?

Another example of a good “S.J. “ 🫣

Pentecost -May 19th, 2024 – Feast of the week of Sevens – 7×7 .. that falls a bit over 7 months and 7 weeks after Oct 7th – Feast of Our Lady of Rosary , through whom her children bring the ‘fruits ‘ to The Father – the prayers, the trials , united to her Immaculate Heart, blinding Satan, so that he does not know the source of his expulsion to retaliate ! -https://www.catholicexorcism.org/deliverance-prayers-for-the-laity

Inexplicable events of these days and times – as it was on the Oct 7th of Battle of Lepanto – Oct 7 2023 – those who ought to have had eyes seemed to have failed…there in too a lesson, for all sides too ,to have turned to The Mother .. the enemy, when called upon in any unjust ways by who ever, chooses to show his true face – that also gets called as ‘wrath of God ‘, as evil and destruction , the Fatherly Hands as The Spirit having been pushed aside to invite the enemy – to come crashing down , bringing down much with him ! We may not know who acted how in the dramatic events going on around us, even as we invoke His mercy unto all for The Spirit , who moves much in this universe at incredible speeds who is also gentle with us through our Mother ! May her children learn to embrace same as Peace , as The Church honors her today as Mother of The Church ! Shalom !

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Holy moly! Scott Morrison has plans for your (and his) own good

Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University

Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University

Disclosure statement

Dr Joshua Black holds a Palace Letters Fellowship with the Whitlam Institute, Western Sydney University.

Frank Bongiorno does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Australian National University provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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If Scott Morrison’s Plans for Your Good is a memoir, it is in the tradition of Christian autobiography. But unlike St Augustine – the author of the most famous example – Morrison does not have anything to say about a sinful youth. Indeed, confession – so often a feature of the genre – is rather hard to find.

Scott meets his eventual wife, Jenny, at Luna Park on a religious youth group excursion while they are still at primary school. They begin dating towards the end of high school, and marry when he is 21. After 14 painful years of infertility, including unsuccessful IVF treatment, they are blessed with two daughters, who are “the faces of God’s goodness”.

Review: Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness – Scott Morrison (Thomas Nelson)

In reality, Morrison’s book, targeted at an explicitly Christian market, belongs more comfortably in the modern motivational or self-help field of publishing. And while he weaves some elements of political memoir around a narrative replete with biblical stories and scriptural quotations, he is coy about any sins he might have committed in politics.

He tells us the political world he faced as prime minister was “a malevolent and often toxic” environment, but there are few hints of any role he might have played in making it that way.

Unlike most political memoirs, Plans for Your Good does not parade itself as a contribution to “history”. Indeed, Morrison can scarcely contain his derision for historians and academics, who, he says, “focus almost exclusively on negatives”. The Lord, and only He, will be ScoMo’s judge.

All the same, there are chapters on his management of the pandemic and the creation of AUKUS, just in case there are any historians out there interested in legacy issues. In Morrison’s telling, AUKUS is a parable about resilience and courage in the face of a regional bully, China, whom “God says we should not fear”. Oh, and he did not lie to French president Emmanuel Macron about it.

Australia’s response to the COVID pandemic, according to Morrison, was world-leading and shaped by his “political sacrifices” in pursuit of national “unity”. For his US readers, though, he stresses that he was responsible for no national vaccine mandate, nor the border restrictions and lockdowns that the states took “too far” in 2021 – apparently forgetting that the main reason for those lockdowns was his own government’s failure to deliver vaccines on time.

Morrison made sure there were “backup plans” in case a cabinet member came down with the virus, which we take to be an oblique reference to his signing himself up for five secret ministries without the knowledge of the public or, in most cases, the ministers concerned.

Vintage Morrison

In terms of such evasiveness, Plans for Your Good is a vintage Morrison performance. He claims he lost his job as director of Tourism Australia in 2006 because of the minister’s jealousy over the “increasing media profile” he enjoyed. The minister in question, Fran Bailey, is left unnamed.

The preselection contest Morrison lost in 2007 “was remarkably overturned”. We do not hear of the fibs about the victorious candidate Michael Towke, a Lebanese-Australian, that mysteriously found their way into the press, including the claim that he was a Muslim. For Morrison, God’s plan apparently kicked in and all was well.

There is nothing here about his role as architect of Operation Sovereign Borders and Robodebt, although he assures us that as treasurer, he and the prime minister Malcolm Turnbull “achieved a lot together”. Morrison became Turnbull’s successor in August 2018 “in a surprising plot twist”, not by way of any Machiavellian manoeuvre – he is careful to establish that point early in the book.

There are allusions to various crises that “threatened to end” his government, but these are almost never specified and, in the end, they don’t really matter because God’s plan trumps all.

There are no Hawaiian holidays or ministerial scandals – indeed, colleagues, opponents and political parties are nearly invisible in these pages, with only the occasional passing mention. Morrison discusses his state visit to Washington in 2019, but not the controversy about his efforts to ensure that his friend and mentor, Hillsong pastor Brian Houston, was on the guest list.

Morrison is interestingly coy about his relations with, and attitude to, Donald Trump. The former prime minister is a politician to his bootheels, despite his self-depiction here as an alien among natives. He knows how dangerous it would be, especially in the year of a presidential election, to hitch his wagon too securely to that wild, bucking horse, currently on trial for allegedly using campaign funds to pay off a porn star. The book’s foreword instead comes from the more wholesome former vice-president Mike Pence, the man a violent pro-Trump mob tried to force to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

The former prime minister congratulates himself for reckoning with the church’s dark legacies in Australia by delivering the national apology to victims of child sexual abuse in institutional settings in 2018, but he does not tackle the awkward questions that were raised by Four Corners’ subsequent allegation that his words were influenced by his then-friend and QAnon conspiracist Tim Stewart. Tellingly, both Houston and Stewart are absent from the book’s acknowledgements, although Pastor Margaret Court is there.

Of course, there is his defeat at the 2022 federal election, an event that seems to have shaken Morrison’s faith a little, and one way of reading this book is as an extended effort to deal with that humiliation. Afterwards, he falls victim to a “pile on” from his opponents, who “humiliate, discredit and cancel” him.

The multiple ministries affair and the Robodebt royal commission are not mentioned in any of this. But Morrison “can always know victory through Christ, even in defeat”.

Politics aside, Plans for Your Good is a very strange book. The chapters take for their titles major existential questions, but not in an especially compelling order, and not according to any theological rationale. The prose is at once childish (in the manner of the books of bible stories one used to find in doctors’ waiting rooms), evangelical, unconvincingly folksy and uncomfortably jingoistic.

It also contains some of the clumsiest literary segues we have seen. The following example is indicative:

whenever we pray, we have entered a sacred and holy space. In some ways, it is like when I was prime minister and I would go to meet the Queen.

Not even that transition trumps Morrison’s accounts of his conversations with his maker, some of them “pretty heated”. “Why are You letting my enemies get the better of me?” Morrison enquires after his election defeat, to which the Lord replies:

Scott, I get it. I’ve been there and worse […] I did it all for you, because I really love you.

That dialogue (and much else like it) belies the real nature of Morrison’s conception of faith. Denominational differences are mere earthly irrelevances in which one must not get bogged down. It is the stories of Daniel and David, of Moses and Joshua, the psalms and the gospels that really matter.

Morrison wants to be seen like Moses, who trusts God by raising his staff before the Red Sea is parted. It is God’s plan and power that parts the sea, but it is a leader – a Moses or a Morrison – who becomes His instrument in the world: a neat way for a Christian believer such as Morrison to think about political action.

But his version of Christianity comes across as corporate and individualistic. Morrison expects good works, loyalty and faithfulness from God, as he did from his political colleagues. “Christianity is the only religion in the world that is based on God reaching out to us,” he explains. The book is, to use his own words, an account of what “God has done” for the former prime minister “through His faithfulness”.

The only other Australian prime minister whose writings suggest they saw the world in such spiritual terms was Alfred Deakin, thrice prime minister in the first decade of federation. As a young man, Deakin wrote A New Pilgrim’s Progress , which he believed had been dictated to him by the spirit of John Bunyan, the author of the original Pilgrim’s Progress.

Deakin’s private writings are full of his sense of providential history, of a world organised according to God’s plan, and of his own poor self as unworthy, sinning and needful of God’s help.

There is some of this in Morrison’s book, but his religion has more of an off-the-shelf feel about it. It is something that can be bought on the internet to help in achieving success, or at least provide consolation in life. Believers can just “set up a meeting with God” where “everything is on the agenda” and “transfer ownership” of their worries to God. This is not the late-Victorian agonising of Deakin over the purpose of existence, nor the Protestant ethic Max Weber wrote about, but something altogether more banal and transactional.

There are contradictions in Morrison’s faith and his political record, but that is not to say his belief is anything other than sincere. When he says it is not for Christians to judge others, he has presumably forgotten about his brutal humiliation of Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate on the floor of parliament. But much the same could be said of Deakin in his day: the high-minded phrases went hand-in-hand with opportunism and deceit when it suited his purposes.

Much commentary around Plans for Your Good has thus far focused on a very brief passage in which Morrison reveals he was medicated for anxiety during the pandemic. This disclosure is brave and well-meaning, though not as unprecedented as some are making out. Turnbull and former minister Andrew Robb have also written about their struggles with mental health, and there have been instances of suicide and attempted suicide by politicians in this country.

Optimistic outlook

Still, there are at least two positive qualities worth recognising in this book.

First, even allowing for God’s hand in his policy-making processes, Morrison is candid about the uncertainties he encountered when responding to the pandemic. He is probably right to say that, in 2020, “there were no easy calls”. He describes the data (ranging from infection rates to bond yields) on which he and others depended as they made a “large number of decisions” each day. Though unapologetic about opposing school closures and vaccine mandates, he does acknowledge public unhappiness with the vaccine strollout and the “trouble obtaining rapid antigen tests”. He admits personal regret for supporting Clive Palmer’s legal assault on Western Australia’s border closure.

Second, the book has an astonishing and admirable lack of vindictiveness. There is virtually no score-settling, and any criticism of others is latent or implied. His outlook stands in stark contrast to that of his successor Peter Dutton . The present leader of the opposition presents the world in Manichean terms, as a place where goodness and decency require protection from the very worst lurking among us and their evil instincts.

Morrison has a more optimistic outlook: the world is a sunny upland where grace, love, joy and friendship are embodied in family, faith and community. He loves his wife and daughters, and feels the need to keep telling us so: no other Australian political memoir is so uxorious. He has good friends – mainly from outside politics – and he holds them tight. He meets good people on life’s journey and they became his friends and, sometimes, advisers and mentors – an ever-present help in trouble, as the psalm says.

There are some moving stories of love and forgiveness, which (with God’s help) will overwhelm pride and bitterness. God – always with His plan – will do us good, even if there is suffering and failure along the way.

As we would expect of Morrison, this performance of selflessness and grace is also calculated to achieve certain results. Plans for Your Good is the equivalent of a round of door-knocking in a new neighbourhood to which one has just moved. The prose is littered with clumsy cultural translations to help US readers understand this knockabout Aussie’s words. Quite literally: “How good is God?”

Published under a specifically Christian imprint, the book seems designed to ingratiate Morrison with conservative evangelical fellow travellers in the US corporate and defence scenes. Theirs is a world led by people who, like Morrison, worry over the threats to the dominance of Judeo-Christian values. The least optimistic aspect of his account is his belief that Christians are now a beleaguered minority who, in a world of receding religiosity, “will increasingly face trials, discrimination, mocking, and persecution”.

As he did during his political career, Morrison condemns identity politics. But in passages such as this one, he discloses that he intends a post-prime-ministerial career as a proud cultivator of Christian identity politics, and in more fertile soil than Australia’s. Optimism’s Promised Land beckons.

• Scott Morrison
• Book reviews

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Executive Dean, Faculty of Health