A Test to See if You Are Wise

In order to be a Wise Man, you have to be able to look at yourself as a fallen person and examine your own conscience.  Ask yourself different questions such as....

• What good have I done?
• What have I done that is good for others? 
• Am I able to be loving toward those who are close to me?
• Am I able to recognize the beauty in another person?
• Have I done anything to help the less fortunate?
• Can I be empathetic?
• Am I a light to others?
• Do I practice kindness regularly?
• Am I able to love?
• Love requires willing the good of another, have I done that?
• What have I sacrificed to ensure the good of another?
• Can I stay true to those closest to me?
• Do I listen actively or do I just wait for my turn to speak?
• Am I patient with those closest to me?
• Do I hold grudges or am I able to forgive?
• How have I hurt them and what have I done to make it right?
• What harm have I caused?  
• What have I done that is hurtful towards others?  
• Am I critical or judgmental of others, while being no better?
• What do I do for benefit of myself at the expense of others? 
• Am I a giver or a taker?
• Do I often find myself getting into trouble?
• What expectations do I have of others, and am I willing to give at least that much towards my loved ones?
• How am I using the gift of life?
• How much time have I wasted on meaninglessness when I could have done something good?  
• Am I able to see and respect the beauty in the world?
• What do I focus my energy on?
• How am I making the world a better place than I found it?
• Am I humble?
• Do I brag about my accomplishments?
• Do I get myself into trouble in order to make myself look better than I actually am?  
• Do I worry too much about what other people think of me?
• How do I handle criticism?
• How do I handle disappointment?
• Can I admit when I'm wrong?
• How do I deal with failure?
• What have I learned from my mistakes?
• How do I manage my emotions?
• Am I able to show gratitude?
• Am I personally responsible?
• Do I take responsibility for my actions?
• Do I deny pleasure in order to meet my responsibilities?
• Do I contribute to my community?
• Am I trustworthy?
• Am I nurturing my spiritual growth?
• Do I pray?
• Do I study scripture?
• Do you fear God?

How did you do?

There are probably thousands of questions you should be asking yourself, but this is at least a start.

Taking it to a whole new level

Back in the spring 🌱 of 2021, I had gone to confession and was given the Rosary as a penance. I wasn't all that familiar with it, I waited until that evening so I could pray along with The Family Rosary Across America which is on Relevant Radio at 8 PM Eastern Time, which I had recently discovered. I listened to it while I was at work.

That must have really pissed off my devil 👿 because the next day, I fell off my electric bike and broke my wrist.  It was like, during a moment where I wasn't paying attention, he kicked the back wheel right out from under me, and down I went. I was laid up for about 10 weeks. It totally sucked.

That's how the devil works. If you try to turn to God, he will be right there doing whatever he can to turn you away. He will find a way to distract you. He will find a way to hurt you. He will point out your faults. He will try to get you to focus on the things that aren't very important. He will whisper things in your ear that will remind you why you should be angry. I'm sure that he thought he had me for a moment. 

I was in pain. It was all I could do to get through my day. I couldn't work, so I had a lot of time on my hands. I didn't have the money coming in. I had to have surgery. I had a big bulky cast that went all the way up to my armpit. I was raising a young child on my own. She was a handful. She was still a little too young to help me, although she did what she could. It was a real struggle. I started going to bed around 10:00 p.m. completely exhausted. So, I started praying the rosary every night.

I really began to look forward to that time, trying to pray. At first it was an escape from a difficult situation. It brought me to a place of peace, if only for a moment.  It was a way to connect with God. I learned to look forward to that time.  

Once I felt better I started to do it in the morning. Now, I start everyday by praying my rosary.  It has become a part of my regular morning 🌄 routine.  It has been for a couple of years.  It's often a struggle to get through it.  Especially if I'm anticipating something, good or bad, it doesn't matter.  Especially if I have something major going on.  My mind will wander, and saying the words become a little mundane.  

There is one thing that I have discovered that the rosary is really good for, that is helping me to deal with a crisis.  It's amazing how things just fall into place when God gives you the grace to deal with it.  It's amazing how simple a solution to a problem can be when you turn to him.

Now, I'm going on 4 years into it. I managed to get through it on most days.  Some days it's easier than others. Some days it's really difficult to stay focused, but even a bad prayer is better than no prayer at all. I simply offer my distractions to God, because that's how I take my worries to him. Most days I'll do it on my own. 

From Curiosity to Critique: My Experience with a New Faith

Please don't tell my friend I wrote this. 

I have been exposed to a different religion.  This happened through a series of videos that I have been watching that a friend turned me on too. The video series is called, "The Confidence in Jesus Seminar". This seminar took place a couple years ago in Oxford Maine, at a 7th-Day Adventist Church, over 21 nights I believe, and it is on YouTube.  

Kudos to the people who made it through the entire thing.  I watched nine of them and decided that I had seen enough.  There was a lot of repetitiveness, and a lot of interpretation that I found interesting but simply don't agree with.  

It was like Bible ADHD the way he bounced around from verse to verse coming to all of these conclusions. They were mostly based on single passages that are taken out of context, and used to interpret the end time prophecies, which these people seem to be a little too fixated on.  

From there, I went on and did a little bit of research and learned what I needed to know. 

I don't have much nice to say honestly. I mean, I'm sure these are all good people. We're all looking for meaning in a chaotic and sinful world, and apparently these people find it there.  We're all looking for our connection to God. And if this church brings people closer to Jesus and ultimately to Heaven, then all the power to them.

One warning that he gives repeatedly in these videos is this: "Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived!" It was a way of claiming that every other religion missed the mark.

Another phrase that he uses repeatedly is this, "95% of Christians believe this, but that's not what the Bible says...". And of course, he's going to tell you what it does say because he has the real answer.  

Okay!

I decided that I had heard enough after he claimed that the Catholic Church was the beast that was prophesized in the book of Revelations, and that the Pope is the Antichrist. He went on to criticize the sacrament of reconciliation, which the Catholics often refer to as confession, which was also the path that started me down my own personal spiritual journey into the church.  And he claimed that the Catholics changed the ten commandments in the Bible.  Then he says that they're not bashing the Catholics. 

As for the changing of the wording in regard to the 10 Commandments, it is true that there are variations in wording between the Catholic Bible and the King James version, but it wasn't the Catholics who changed anything.  It was the fact that the King James version of the bible which these people use comes from a different source, a different set of ancient Greek texts, and was put together by people who were involved in the Protestant Reformation during the 16th Century AD.  The Catholic Bible was translated by Saint Jerome in the 4th Century AD.  

There is one other thing that really concerned me. And that is he says is something like, we need to know what's in the heart of Satan, so that we can know how to resist him, and I guarantee you he has no clue what he is talking about.

I have seen enough.  Honestly.  They're very anti-Catholic.  It is clear that whoever founded this Seventh-Day Adventist religion back around 1863, lacks any realistic understanding of Catholics or the Catholic Church.  That's common among the Protestant religions, but these people take it to a whole new level. It's like they hate what they believe about the Catholic Church, not what they know about the Catholic Church, which isn't much because if they did have an understanding of the Catholic Church, what it teaches, and what it offers, they'd be much more likely to be drawn toward Catholicism than this.

I'm not going to claim that the Catholic Church is perfect in any way.  It's run by imperfect humans.  The church has had her controversies, and even priests need to go to confession every now and then because we all fall short.  But the teachings of the Catholic Church are much more hopeful and joyful, I guess you can say.  

When done right, meaning that you make a heartfelt confession, the sacrament of reconciliation is powerful way to help yourself heal by experiencing Jesus. It helped me to deal with mistakes I've made, the regrets I have, and the sins that I have committed in my life.  As I stated earlier, this was the beginning of my spiritual journey into the church. Thank God I had it available to me when I did. That's all I can say.  Without it, who knows where I would be now?

So, if this works for you, than have at it.  I will pray for you.

The saddest thing of all is that if you tried to explain anything to any of these people, they will probably have canned responses to anything that you say.  

  

Why is the Catholic Bible and the Protestant (King Jame's) Bible different?

When the topic of religion came up during a recent conversation with a dear friend who belongs to a Protestant denomination, a claim was made that the Catholics changed the wording in the Bible.  

The example given was in regard to the 10 Commandments, which I learned is worded differently between the texts of the Standard Catholic Bible and the King James Bible that is used by Protestants.  

Because I am no biblical scholar, I wasn't sure how to answer that, but I am able to do the research, and when I got home, I did.  Here is what I learned.  

Origins

The main difference between the Protestant i.e. King James Bible and the Catholic Bible is in the origin.  

• The Catholic Bible that we have today, was translated into Latin by St. Jerome in the 4th Century CE.  This is the Standard Catholic Bible that has been used for centuries, and that has been translated into the different languages that the Bible is available in today from that original source.  
• The King James Bible on the other hand, was compiled during the 16th Century as part of the Protestant Reformation.  The KJB was translated by a team of scholars.  The project was overseen by Archbishop Richard Bancroft.

Original Source Material

• King James Bible: The New Testament of the KJV was translated from the Textus Receptus (Received Text), a series of Greek texts compiled by Erasmus and later revised by others like Stephanus and Beza. The Old Testament was translated from the Masoretic Hebrew text, and the Apocrypha from the Greek Septuagint.  This text was compiled in the 16th century and is based on a limited number of late Byzantine manuscripts. While it's highly respected, especially in Protestant traditions, it may not include the oldest or most varied manuscript evidence.
• Catholic Bible: The New Testament of the Catholic Bible primarily uses the Vulgate, which was translated by St. Jerome from the Hebrew and Greek texts, including the Septuagint. The Old Testament also uses the Septuagint for some books. The Septuagint is a Greek translation of Hebrew scriptures dating back to around the 3rd century BCE, making it one of the oldest translations. The Vulgate, translated by St. Jerome in the 4th century CE, uses these older sources and reflects a longer tradition of textual transmission, particularly within the Catholic Church.

St. Jerome's work made the scriptures more accessible to the common people of his time, as Latin was the prevalent language of the Roman Empire.

Notable Differences

There are a number of books and chapters that are included in the Catholic Bible that are not in the King James Bible.  These additional books are known as the Deuterocanonical books. Here they are:

1. Tobit

2. Judith

3. 1 Maccabees

4. 2 Maccabees

5. Wisdom (of Solomon)

6. Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

7. Baruch

8. Additions to Esther (parts of Esther that are not in the Hebrew Bible)

9. Additions to Daniel:

   • Prayer of Azariah

   • Song of the Three Holy Children

   • Susanna

   • Bel and the Dragon

These books are included in the Catholic Old Testament but are not part of the Protestant Old Testament, including the KJV.

The Catholic Bible includes the Deuterocanonical books for several reasons:

1. Historical Tradition: These books were widely used by early Christians and were part of the Greek Septuagint, a key scriptural source in the early Church. The Septuagint included these books, and early Church Fathers often referenced them in their writings.

2. Council Decisions: The Deuterocanonical books were affirmed as canonical at several important Church councils. The Council of Rome (382 AD), Councils of Hippo (393 AD), and Carthage (397 and 419 AD) all endorsed the inclusion of these books. This decision was further solidified at the Council of Trent (1546 AD) in response to the Protestant Reformation.

3. Theological Consistency: The Catholic Church views these books as inspired and consistent with the rest of Scripture. They provide valuable teachings, historical accounts, and insights into Jewish life and faith during the intertestamental period (between the Old and New Testaments).

4. Liturgy and Devotion: These books have been used in Catholic liturgy and devotion for centuries. They are included in the readings at Mass and other liturgical celebrations.

In summary, the Catholic Church considers the Deuterocanonical books an integral part of its scriptural and theological tradition, reaffirming their importance through historical councils and consistent use in liturgy and teaching.

Another difference is in the wording or presentation.  The specific example that I was presented with during the conversation was in regard to the 10 Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are essentially the same across different Christian traditions, but the wording and grouping can differ slightly between the Catholic and Protestant (King James Bible) versions. Here's a comparison to highlight these differences:

Catholic Ten Commandments:

1. I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before me.

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.

4. Honor your father and your mother.

5. You shall not kill.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Protestant (King James Bible) Ten Commandments:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honour thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet.

Key Differences:

• The Catholic version combines the prohibition of other gods and the creation of idols into the first commandment.

• The Catholic version separates the commandment on coveting into two: one for coveting a neighbor's wife and another for coveting a neighbor's goods.

• The Protestant version explicitly separates the commandment against making graven images.

These differences reflect variations in theological emphasis and historical tradition. Despite these variations, the core moral teachings remain consistent across both versions.

So yes, the Catholic Bible and the King James Version have a number of key differences and variations in wording.  The original claim that the Catholic's changed the bible is unfair and incorrect.  I hope I have been able to explain why that is and how it came to be.  

Sources

The God Who Speaks

King James Bible Translators

English-Bible-4-Understanding-the-Greek-Text-Behind-the-King-James-Version.pdf

The Texts | The King James Bible: A Translation for the Ages | Cedarville University

Septuagint Version | Catholic Answers Encyclopedia

How St. Jerome Translated the Bible for the Masses

Forgotten

We will ultimately be forgotten by future generations.  Everything we have or do will be forgotten.  Even if we leave something behind that lasts forever, who we are, what we looked like, our struggles, joys, feelings, life, will ultimately be gone and forgotten.

I know I'm generalizing and have no educated expertise other than my own thoughts after reading the wisdom books of the Holy Bible.  

It's crazy to think that everything we do, everything we have accumulated in our lives will eventually amount to nothing as much of it will be gone, recycled, or passed onto someone else who didn't work for it.  I think this happens a lot more today.  We live in a throw away culture.  We live in a world that consumes goods at an astronomical rate.  

Then we use it up and move on to the next thing.  

What interesting creatures we are, eh?