It sits well with your spirit i.e. a sense of peace and rightness
Although most people tend top freely on what their intuition tells them, the abovementioned statement seems rather questionable to me. Indeed, on the one hand, it is important for a Christian to have the moral fundament which will serve as the compass in his or hers actions and will help the person to act as a true Christian must.
However, on the other hand, if the ideas of a person do not coincide with what the Scripture tells him or her to do, a true Christian has to grind and bear it, acting the way he must. Whatever the consequences might be, we must follow what has been prescribed to us by God, not daring to interfere the highest judgement with our feeble attempts to judge what is right and what is wrong.
Alter (1990) speaks of “the sheer heroism of a naked man, forsaken by his God and his friends and bereft of a clue to understand his suffering, still maintaining faith in the value of his virtue and in the absolute duty of man to be virtuous (p. 295)”. Thus, he emphasizes the fact that even those who have abandoned their hope still have the solid foundation of the Bible behests to stick to.
The idea of the implicit faith is the basis of the relationship between a man and God. Believing every single word said in the Holy Book, a man proves that his faith is strong indeed. Those faithful must not “fail in their duty” (Kerkmode 72).
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
(John 5:44)
People tend to exaggerate their righteousness and the importance of their judgement. It seems that the mankind has to learn a lot before understanding that it is only God who can judge people and their deeds. The statement under the discussion views God as a kind parent who takes a man by the hand and shows him what is just and what is nit.
Interfering God’s judgement is like claiming that a man can govern the world no worse than God, this is practically a blasphemy. The “honor from one another” (Poole 306) is worth nothing compared to the Word of God.
Thus, the statement in question teaches people to be patient and obedient in their serving God, otherwise they cannot be called true believers. Although some people might consider placing their faith in God unreasonable and prefer to act as they consider right, God’s behests are to be of the prior importance for Christians.
Indeed, sometimes, under the spur of the moment, people cannot tell the right form the wrong, and they make irrecoverable mistakes which they feel sorry for further on. Only the faith in God and His highest judgement will help people to follow the path of justice and love, both for God and for His creations. After all, we must keep in mind what Jesus said as he saved the woman taken in adultery: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7)
It follows the same pattern as spiritual ‘happenings’ in other places around the globe
Such statement seems to me quite doubtful as well. There is no doubt that the world religions do have something in common, but these are usually the basic traits of religions, such as the upper being and the universal power which the creature possesses. This is where all the coincidences end and where the differences begin. One cannot help admitting that the Biblical happenings differ from the ones established in the other religions greatly.
One of the examples of the miracles which no other religion except the Christian witnessed was the Christ walking on the water. There are no analogues for the miraculous scene described in Bible. Christ’s walking in water was the evidence of the power of the Creator and the proof that God descended to guide people.
And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. (Matthew 14:29)
The other happenings described in the Bible also cannot be compared to any other religious miracles all over the world. Thus, there is no there religion which would tell the fable about the poor being fed with five fish, or blood turning into wine, as Jesus did, or into blood, as Moses did. The Biblical happenings are unique; they are the proof that the Bible is telling the real story of life and hiding the secrets of the Universe.
If one decides to enumerate the unique and incredible miracles described in Bible, starting from the birth of Jesus up to the miracles of Moses, it will take an eternity to mention all of them. However, none of these miracles was dubbed in any of the world religions.
Even the very idea of the pattern in the Bible seems rather vague. Indeed, Bible embraces too many events to follow only one pattern and create a single story; the Bible is like an ocean where all the stories come like rivers to make the circle of life. After all, it must be well remembered that people read it not to learn about the miracles themselves; nor they try to search for the factual mistakes in the holy text.
The purpose of this reading is to try to understand the Word of God and to see one’s own purpose in living. Being a guide for those lost in this world, Bible helps people to get out of the moral and spiritual maze which they have driven themselves in. The Book of Books is like a life buoy for those who need help. And, as they say, when one is in need, one will believe in miracles.
Thus, Biblical miracles cannot be compared to the happenings in the other religions. Bible is not aimed at amusing the audience with wonders. All that it does is giving people the answers to the questions which trouble them most.
Reference List
Anon (1974) Holy Bible: King James Version. New York, NY, New American Library.
Alter, Robert and Kerkmode, Frank (1990) The Literary Guide to Bible. Harvard, Harvard University Press.
Poole, Matthew (1852) Annotations upon the Holy Bible. New York, NY: R. Carter and Brothers.