ASK THE BISHOP: Vicariate Apostolic of Kuwait

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Answers from the Bishop ...

His Lordship Bishop Camillo Ballin, MCCI, welcomes any questions which you may have regarding the Catholic faith, teachings, morality and missionary life. As time and schedule permit, the Bishop will try to respond. If you wish to ask the Bishop a Question please click here.

YOUR QUESTIONS : ANSWERED BY THE BISHOP

Question: Why aren't Christians united (or one)?

Answer: ChristiaNITY is one, "as Jesus is in the father and the father in Him", but "ChrisTENDOM" (meaning human beings) are divided. Division is unfortunately a "human" feature, even in the same family. It goes vertically against the wishes of the Lord who did pray, as a man :"Let all be ONE" (John 17). But He did prophesy also that "there will be One Shepherd and One flock" (John 10). Divisions in the human history of the Church occurred because of pride, estrangement and misunderstandings. In the East, some "heads" of Churches continued unconsciously the immature and anti-evangelical marathon in order to be "the GREATEST"- a conflict which started among the Apostles themselves, before they received the Holy Spirit. The two sons of Zebedee (James and John) wanted the seats at the right and the left hands of Jesus...
Actually, one may summarize the heresies or schisms (both being Greek words meaning "to tear", to divide) in the MISUNDERSTANDING about Christ! Instead of clinging to the Scripture which stated the divine Incarnation in simple words ("The Word became flesh", like in Jn 1 : 14; "in Jesus dwells the whole fullness of divinity" in Colossians 2 :9), "theologians" sought to use philosophical words such as "nature" and "person" (in Greek "physis" and "hypostasis"). The Copts (already in 449A.D.), and later the Armenians and the Syriacs (in the Chalcedon Council in 451 A.D.) were misunderstood and claimed that they believed in "one nature in Christ" (hence "mono-physists"). But they actually had and do have our same faith.
This question was clarified , in an unofficial way, in Egypt, two or three decades ago. All Church Heads stated that :"We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is true God and true man, except for sin", thus ending sixteen centuries of misunderstanding.
But, as Pope Paul VI realistically declared, "the main objection to unity is the authority of the Roman Pontiff". There, not only the mentioned churches refused such a claim but also that of Constantinople, since 1054. HERE, another root of division came forth : who is the successor of St. Peter and what authority does he have? The Roman Catholic answer is well known : it is the Pope who has not only priority of honor but also authority of jurisdiction over all the Bishops of the world. The Byzantine Orthodox Church claimed that Constantinople is the new Rome (after this one fell into the hands of the Barbarians) and that the Constantinopolitan Archbishop-Patriarch was the Supreme Pontiff "as Bishop of the capital city". Yet, the Roman Pontiff would keep a primacy of honor, as "the first among equals" (a small contradiction). The Syriac Orthodox claimed that their patriarch is the successor of St. Peter on the see of Antioch (where actually the Prince of the Apostles had been Bishop before moving to Rome where he was crucified). The Copts, especially Patriarch Diodorus in 449, claimed that their patriarch is the "Pope", as he is the successor of St. Mark at the Alexandria see, Mark being "the disciple of the FIRST APOSTLE PETER". The Ethiopians follow the Copts who founded the Church in Ethiopia. As for the Armenians, they were a national Church. Because of the persecution and the oppression of their homeland, a parallel "katholikos" (=Universal patriarch) to that of Etchmiadzin was established in Lebanon, Antelias, "the katholikossat of Cilicia".
As for the Western Church, it overcame heresies and could keep its unity in most countries until 1517 until a Roman Catholic German priest, Martin Luther, rejected the Tradition and the authority of the Church in explaining the Scripture. His principle "of the sole Bible" and its twin principle, "that of the free examination of Scriptures" allowing each person to discern and explain the Bible as he or she wishes and understands gave rise to unlimited denominations gradually denying this or that belief of Christianity arriving to the "Jehovahist" denominations (at least 18) denying the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, His Resurrection with the crucified Body, the holiness of the Church as a divine institution. The ecumenical movement (since the mid sixties of last century) tries to bring Christians closer to each other. Prayers and conversion of the heart are the best ways to overcome divisions, with a good lot of humility and brotherly love.

Question:  I thank you for your Pastoral Letter 2007 - 2008 – Eucharistic Amazement, and although I am a practicing Christian and read the holy Bible once in the morning and once before I go to bed at night, I wish to have some authentic clarifications on the following:

1. What is Water Baptism - and how is it different from the Baptism that is practiced in the Catholic church. Why is it called Baptism of the Holy Spirit and being Born Again by the Evangelic Church – The Light House church of Pastor Gerry Zandrast? 2. Why was Jesus Christ baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan when Jesus was the son of God? 3. The Rosary - who invented it? 4. The Rosary prayers - where are they mentioned in holy Bible? 5. Who invented the Stations of the Cross that we observe during Lent? 6. What is Charismatic, Catechist and Catechism? 7. The first 5 books of Moses in the Old Testament are part of the TORAH - the holy Book of the JEWS - why is it in the Christian holy Bible? I would appreciate your clarifications and response.

Answer: 1. Baptism has been instituted by the Lord Jesus Himself when He said: "Go therefore and baptize all nations" (Mat.28:19; Mk.16:15), even as early as when Nicodemus visited Him, at night (Jn.3:1 onwards). Actually no baptism is possible except with water. In the Catholic Church, we baptize and are baptized with water and Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some Eastern Catholics baptize by immersion (like the Byzantines or Melkites). Since Vatican II, even Roman Catholics may baptize by immersion. The dissident groups (the Baptists, Adventists and Jehovahs) "baptize" only by immersion, even though, most probably, the Apostles did not always christen people by immersion, especially the great crowds on Pentecost Day (Acts 2), nor the Ethiopian minister (Acts 8:36) who said to Deacon Philip :"Here is SOME WATER" (in Greek: ti hydor), indicating a small stream where it was impossible to immerse someone, especially a grown up! Being "born again" occurs only through "water and the (Holy) Spirit", as Jesus told Nicodemus. Thus, the Water Baptism - which is the only one anyway- is a re-birth, a washing which re-generates, cf. Titus 3:5.

Jesus Himself stated that "John baptized only with water" (Acts 1:5) and John the Baptist said that 'the One who is coming will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire' (Lk.3:16).   In Christianity, there is only one baptism, with water, except for the baptism of desire (for those who want to be Baptized, but die without the Sacrament due to lack of opportunity) and the baptism of blood, (for those who die a martyr for Christ have been baptized by virtue of that martyrdom - whether they have ever been baptized with water or not). Yes, we have only one Faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5) which talks about the unity of the Church. So any so-called "baptism of the Spirit" which divides Christians is against Scripture and Jesus' will. Acts 10:44-48 tells us of the people who receive the Holy Spirit even before their baptism but they eventually get baptized by Saint Peter, with water of course.

The Catholic Charismatics do not talk of a "Baptism in the Spirit" which is different than the Water Baptism but rather about "the effusion of the Spirit", as in the Acts of the Apostles accompanied at times by the gift of tongues (2:4; 10:46;19:6) but at other times without such a gift (2:41).

We are baptized in the Holy Spirit by water. It is also a fire which burns away our sins, beginning from the original stain. We are united to Christ (cf. 1 Cor.12:13; Rom.6:1-4). Re-baptizing already baptized people - "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" does not make any sense. They are already born again so there is no need to have them re-born for the third time!

2. As for Jesus' Baptism, the John the Baptist himself said to Our Lord Savior :"I am the one who needs to be baptized by you and You come to me?" So, Jesus the all-holy-One-of-God did not need any baptism, neither for purification nor for the forgiveness of sin - which He never had. But He was keen on showing us humility, by giving us a good example, and also to reveal Himself and the Trinity to the Baptist and to all the penitent people.

3. Saint Dominic meditated on the life of the Lord Jesus. In doing so he also intended to honor the Virgin Mary, within the FRAMEWORK of the major EVENTS in our Savior's life. The Saint thought of the "Rosary" as a crown of roses on the head of the heavenly Queen. At the time when the PSALTER was well memorized by many people, Saint Dominic thought of the illiterate. For such people in particular, and for the faithful in general, the 150 "Hail Mary"s were meant to remind them of the 150 Psalms. The Rosary - in Arabic- "misbahah", "praise tool" , is NOT at all meant to "praise the Virgin, as if she were a goddess", but to praise THE LORD through and with Mary who had sung :"My soul praises the LORD and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior". As a matter of fact, the "Hail Marys" are preceded by the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father") and always followed by the "GLORY" - not to Mary - but to the Triune One God. The Muslim world has also a "misbahah", for the praise of Allah, with 33 beads- which , multiplied by three, reach the number of 99, the traditional "best names of Allah" (al-assmaa' al-hussna)

When Greece was threatened by the Turks, back in 1571, the Italian navigators prayed the Rosary. They attributed the victory of the Battle of Lepante (today Navpaktos) to our Lady – which is recalled every day three times at the Angelus bells. That was on October 7, 1571, later installed by the Pope as the feast of "Our Lady of victory" and later to "Our Lady of the Rosary".   This is an opportunity to clarify that the Church never worshipped – nor ever advocated the worship of the Virgin Mary as a goddess. We might find amongst individuals, here and there, some exaggerations in popular devotion, contrary not only to the Scriptures but also to the Church directives. Mary is "the Mother of the Lord" (as acknowledged by her relative Elizabeth) but not the Lord.

As for the repetition of the Hail Mary, it is not meant - like the heathens - to awake a sleeping god but rather to express love, respect and veneration to Mary, not adoration. The Lord Himself repeated the same prayer thrice at Gethsemane. Psalm 136 (135 according to the Greek) repeats "Because eternal is His love (or mercy)" 26 times. When Bishop Fulton Sheen was asked by a young fiancé' :"Why do we repeat so often the Hail Mary?" The Bishop asked :"How many times did you tell your fiancée that you love(d) her?" Let us not forget that the Rosary is a popular prayer, but not an official one we find in the Holy Mass or in the Breviary.

4. The Rosary is composed of BIBLICAL prayers - and meditates mainly on biblical events, with the exception of the Assumption and the Coronation of Our Lady which is accepted by Catholic-Orthodox and even Anglican creeds and traditions.

- The prayers are : The Our Father (Matthew 6)

- The GLORY is a wonderful doxology. One finds often similar formulas at the beginning of the Pauline Letters.

- The Hail Mary - the first part of which is taken from the greetings of the Angel Gabriel, and of Elizabeth.

- The second part of the "Hail Mary": i.e. "Holy Mary" : "blessed art Thou among women", "Mother of God": are found in the exclamation of Elizabeth expressing her surprise, joy, gratitude and amazement that "the Mother of her Lord has come to her" (see Lk.1:43) "Pray for us" : asks for the intercession of Our Lady, as at the wedding at Cana where she intercedes for the couple, John 2:1-11. "sinners" : when we deny our sins, we make God a liar! so writes Saint John.

5. Who invented the Stations of the Cross? Inasmuch as these Stations remind us of the Lord's Passion, one may certainly retrace their origin to the Holy land and City where the faithful, since the beginning of the Church followed literally and topographically the footsteps of the suffering, crucified and risen Christ. Saint Jerome speaks of such a devotion. As early as the fifth century, European personages tried to reproduce in Europe the Shrines of the Holy Land, especially the Way of the Passion. For example, in the fifth century, St. Petronius, Bishop of Bologna who, in the monastery of Santo Stefano, had chapels built, called "Hierusalem" reproducing somehow the Holy Places of Redemption. From the 12^th until the 15^th century, a "Via Sacra" (a Holy Road) was well known by Holy Land Pilgrims, including - but not exclusive to the places of Christ's Passion. After 1342, Ferrari writes that the Franciscans in the Holy Land were keen on pointing out - with indulgences - to stages (literally "stations") of Jesus' Passion, namely the places where: - Jesus met His Mother - He spoke to the women of Jerusalem - He met Simon of Cyrene - The soldiers cast lots for His garment - The soldiers nailed Him to the Cross - Pilate condemned Him to death - The Sepulcher where His body was laid. The earliest mention of the "stations" is found in the writings of the English pilgrim William Wey who visited the Holy land in 1458 and later in 1462. The present order of the Stations seems to go back to the 16^th century. The remote origin of the present worldwide Stations of the Cross is probably the chapels built by St. Petronius (fifth century). Later in the Middle Ages (from the fifteenth until the sixteenth centuries), many personages did reproduce the stations or stages of the Lord's Passion : the blessed Alvarez (who died in 1420) at Cordova; the blessed Eustochia, a Poor Clare, at Messina (Sicily); Ketzel at Nuremburg (in 1468); Peter Sterckx at Louvain in 1505.

6. The word Charismatic comes from the Greek "charisma" meaning a special gift for the good of the Community, not the individual, like that of prophecy, healing or tongues, see 1 Cor.12:4 and following verses. Eventually, the word took a specific meaning: in the Catholic Church in U.S.A., a group of faithful experienced some "gifts" of healings, tongues and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in 1948. They were described as "charismatic" or "renewal in the Spirit movements" to make a clear-cut distinction and separation between them and the Pentecostal groups (of course dissident from the Church, and founded in Los Angeles by William Seymour in 1906). The "charismatic" groups - which are not popular among the Middle-Eastern Christians, but are very popular among the Asians - have spiritual guides, qualified priests, who are very keen on keeping Catholic faith and moderate manifestations of heavenly gifts, according to the directives of St. Paul, especially in 1 Cor.14. The late Fathers Mc Nut and Emile Tardiff excelled themselves among charismatic Catholics.

The words "Catechist" and "Catechism" come from the Greek "kat- echo", the echo, the repetition of the teachings. Thus, the repeated teaching of Christian doctrine and the care put in transmitting it faithfully, according to the Holy Scripture and to the Tradition and the Church's Magisterium (=teaching) is called catechism or catechesis, and it is given by "catechists", faithful teachers and repeaters of the one doctrine of the Church. Such people have to be adequately prepared by the various Dioceses, especially in the countries where Christian schools do not exist. A course, of at least two years, is required in order to become a qualified catechist, under the supervision and with the blessing of the local Bishop.

7. The first 5 Books of Moses in the Old Testament are part of the Torah - so you write, the Holy Book of the Jews. Why is it in the Christian Holy Bible? Strictly speaking, the first five Books are actually the Torah (Hebrew word meaning "Law"). But, in Arabic also, apparently, the word Torah was extended to the whole Old Testament. We, as Christians, believe in the Old Testament as the first stage of Revelation which came to its perfection in the New Testament. Why do we believe in them? Because Our Lord Himself did and quoted them, with the expression "It is written", implying clearly that their contents are the Word of God. Thus, Jesus (in Matthew 4, for example) quotes Deuteronomy, when He responds to the Devil's temptations. The Lord and even the Apostles in the New Testament quote most of the Old Testament Books, always as God's Word. Most quoted of all are the Psalms (more than one hundred times).

To the two disciples of Emmaus, the Risen Christ explains "all what concerns Him in "beginning with the books of Moses (which implies the Pentateuch, the 5 Books) and the writings of all the Prophets (four big ones, and thirteen small ones) and in all the other Scriptures" (Luke 24:27). Again, in the same chapter (Luke 24:44), the Lord Jesus in the clearest possible way states “that everything that was written about Him in the Law of MOSES, the writings of the PROPHETS and the PSALTER (writings) had to come true". Thus, we have in the same chapter of Luke the classical Jewish Hebrew division of the "Old Testament" books, namely :

Torah (TA) - Nebyim (Prophets) (NA) - Ketubim (Writings) KH - giving the abbreviation : TANAKH.

As for Saint Paul, he calls the Old Covenant Books "Moses" or/and "the Old Covenant" (=Testamentum, in Latin), see 2 Cor.3:14-15. So, in brief, we believe in these Books and accept them: because they talk about Christ (especially Genesis 3:15; Dt.18:15-18); they reveal to us the origin of humankind, the mystery of sin, evil and death; and they offer the promise of salvation. As for the Prophets, they prophesy (foretell) about Christ in more than two hundred passages. The Wisdom Books teach wisdom and pave the way to Christ, the Eternal Wisdom of God. As for the "historical books" (described by the Jews as the former Prophets) they give us the history of a sinful and imperfect nation that badly needed salvation as well as the widening of its horizons to embrace "all nations" (see Matthew 28:19).

Question:
Dear Bishop Camillo,

Thank you very much for your response to my numerous queries. I truly appreciate your time and effort in clarifying and explaining each query.

I do not need logic or substantiation to my Christian faith or for my belief that Jesus Christ is my God and redeemer. I believe that my Christian faith is living and is my main life line.

Nevertheless, it is very important for us ordinary Christians, who do not have other than the Holy Bible, to actually refer to and take correct knowledge and guidance from people of God, like yourself, to some of the unexplained beliefs and practices that are widely practiced by Catholics in general and are not practiced by other Christian denominations.

1. The Holy Hour
2. The Veneration of Mother Mary - Why is her husband Joseph sidelined and of no reverence?
3. The various beliefs that Our Lady of Lourdes in France is different from Our Lady of Vallankani in India, and so on?
4. The Speaking in Tongues - which cannot be understood?
5. The power of Healing - Then why do we see the doctors?
6. The Bachelor Catholic Priests - Who told them not to marry and have a family?
7. The Married Evangelical Pastors - Who told them to marry and have a family?
8. The Apostle's Creed and its many variations - why is it not written in the Bible?
9. The Lord's Prayer "Our Father", - Why are there so many variations?
10. Why do we need to pray for redemption when Jesus Christ died for our sins and redeemed us all!

You ask any Catholic any or all of the above, and you will not find anyone knowledgeable enough to explain - as this type of education is never imparted at any of our services. It is very important that this type of Christian education is made available or Christian Faith education classes are held in our Church premises to solidify our faith as Christians and not as mere Catholics.

Yes, and you do not need my permission to publish my queries and your explanation to me, on your website. Please feel free to spread the word around - perhaps it might throw some light in the right direction!

Thank you very much once again, and may God bless you with good health and good faith.
I wish to make myself available to you and to all brethren in our Christian faith - to spread the love of Jesus. Best regards

Answer:
1. The Holy Hour: is an hour (roughly sixty minutes) spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament- as we firmly believe in the real presence of the Lord there. The Holy Hour is the literal answer and positive response to the question of the suffering Jesus at the "Garden of Olives" (Gethsemane), a question addressed to St. Peter :"Aren't you capable of watching (staying awake) with Me for ONE HOUR?" (You, the three Apostles: Peter, James and John? in Matthew 26 : 40; and YOU, only Peter, in the singular (in Mark 14 : 37). So the Catholic Church, the See of Peter, fostered this devotion to Christ Present in the Blessed Sacrament, especially on Thursdays evenings (to remember the Holy Thursday) and on the Holy Week Thursday. The Franciscan Fathers at Gethsemane celebrate every Thursday evening the "Holy Hour" with prayers, hymns, remaining awake with the suffering Jesus (see also Hebrews 5 : 7). The paramount importance of the Eucharist comes from the fact that it contains the Lord Himself, thus becoming "the Sacrament of Sacraments".
2. The Veneration of Mother Mary is evident as She is "the Mother of the Lord", "the one full of grace, the One blessed among women". We also venerate her, in a secondary way, because of Her perpetual virginity. But the primary gift She received was that of becoming the Mother of the Lord.
As for Saint Joseph, he is venerated in the Catholic Church, officially twice a year: on March 19 and on May 1st. He actually should be venerated more, especially in the Orthodox Church and in the Protestant denominations, simply because it is thanks to Saint Joseph that the pregnant Mary and the unborn Jesus could survive. The Gospel does not say much about Saint Joseph BUT what it says is SIGNIFICANT and OUTSTANDING: "Her man, Joseph, was a RIGHTEOUS MAN" (Greek "δικαιος",dikaios) means SAINT, in the full sense of the word. St. Joseph is also described by Luke's Gospel, with the Virgin Mary, as "the PARENTS" (Greek "γονεις", goneis) of Jesus (see 1:27; and 32 (!) and 41 and 43), considering that the educator is a FATHER, even though he might not be the physiological genitor. The Virgin Mary describes Saint Joseph as "the father" of Jesus (see Luke 2: 48). So, you are right: Saint Joseph should be much more venerated and respected. This is a duty of gratitude, especially when one knows that, according to Jewish Law, an adulterous betrothed fiancée (officially a wife) is condemned to death by stoning. Thanks to Saint Joseph who believed the Angel's statement about the spotless conception of his Fiancée - and consequently in her innocence, it was possible for the Virgin and Infant Jesus to survive and live decently as respected persons.

3. Our Lady of Lourdes, or Fatima, or Guadalupe is always the SAME and ONE VIRGIN MOTHER of God. Only the place changes, according to the belief that She appeared there. And, usually, people imagine her similar to them, including their color and main features. As a matter of fact, the Catholic Church is extremely cautious about approving - officially- any of the "appearing (apparitions) of Our Lady". The Church is aware that (a) Revelation has been completed in the Scriptures, finishing with the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) (b) The Tradition and the Church's Magisterium (official teaching) give the Faithful the basics of the Christian doctrine. (c) any extraordinary phenomena are subject to scientific research, medical and psychological analysis, as the Church fears to ask her faithful to believe in something which might prove - some centuries later - false or forged or the fruit of hallucinations and unbalanced characters.

4. THE SPEAKING IN TONGUES (not understood!) Pastorally speaking, St. Paul in his 1st Letter to the Corinthians rules out any speaking in languages, in public, during the assemblies, when there is no one to translate. The Apostle prefers to say FIVE intelligible words than ten thousand in unknown and unintelligible tongues (14: 4-19). Nevertheless, some thinkers claim that the speaking in languages, even with incomplete words or/and unintelligible sounds, IS a PRAISE to the Lord (1 Cor 14 : 4), since EVERY TONGUE (Greek γλωσσα, glossa, means the organ in the mouth, and the language) should praise the Name of Jesus and confess that He is in the Glory of the Father (see Philippians 2 : 11). Needless to say, that such a gift is restricted to the sole beneficiary who praises the Lord without understanding himself (herself) at times what he (she) says. Even the unintelligible - and not understood sounds - find somehow a "justification", for some thinkers, in the sense that they fulfill the words of St. Paul about our incapacity to pray. "So, the Spirit comes to assist us, praying Himself in us, through unintelligible sighs" (see Romans 8:26).

5. THE POWER OF HEALING It is ONE of the charismas (gifts for the good of the community) and is anything but frequent or guaranteed. Only special persons receive at times that charisma, according to the divine wisdom and plans which graciously heal some people or simply do not do so, according to criteria and reasons completely inaccessible to us, poor limited creatures. But medicine is a science which DISCOVERS the rules of the human body, created by God. And, since the same causes yield the same results, medicine is much likelier to heal than problematic "charismas". The Lord created us in His image and likeness, through our conscience and mind. In medicine, we use our MINDS. We invent and we discover, always amazed by the Creator's wisdom and greatness. Some sects, like the "Christian Science", reject all medicine. To do so is "to tempt God", somehow "forcing" Him to interfere and to perform miracles.
6. MARRIED and UNMARRIED CLERGY The bachelor Catholic - and Orthodox monks and priests try to imitate Christ who renounced marriage, being fully chaste, although He did perform the first Miracle at a wedding, in Cana of Galilee (see John 2 : 1 - 11). Jesus once stated that there are "eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom" of God, implying men (and virgins, presumably) renouncing marriage and procreation, out of love for the Lord of the Kingdom and the Kingdom of the Lord (see Matthew 19:12). St. Paul - himself a bachelor or a widower, anyway "without woman" - asserts that "a married person has a DIVIDED heart": between pleasing God and pleasing the partner, see 1 Corinthians 7: 32-38).
Celibacy - in the framework of chosen full chastity - is the IMAGE of the future eternal bliss, where the chosen ones will live "like angels in heaven, without marrying or being given in marriage", see the Lord's Words in Matthew 22 : 30). In the Oriental Church - Orthodox and Catholic, MARRIED men are admitted to Priesthood (Diaconate, Priesthood). But the condition is that "they be married once": if the partner dies, they are not allowed to remarry, according to the directives of the Pastoral Letters of St. Paul: see 1 Timothy 3:2 and 12). Even in the Western primitive Church, married men were ordained Bishops, like St. Hilary of Poitiers. But soon the Church realized that it was impossible for a married man, especially with the long distances of the Dioceses, to fulfill his duties as a Bishop, restricting marriage - before the ordination and NEVER afterwards- to priests and deacons.
7. THE PROTESTANT MARRIED PASTORS Historically, Protestantism was born in the sixteenth century, exactly in 1520 when the Pope excommunicated the German priest Martin Luther. In the following year, another German priest, Thomas Muenzer, together with a layman, Nikolaus Storch, founded the "Anabaptists", "the re-baptizers", remote origin of the Baptists. None of these and other ex-priests showed enthusiasm for celibacy, considering its rejection as part of their revolution against the 'Papist" church. Some of them were personally involved with women. Martin Luther praised "the noble knight Koppe" for kidnapping nuns, on Easter Eve in 1523 (Weimar edition, IX, pp. 394 - 395); he encouraged priests to leave celibacy, considering such a behavior as "a grace of God's" (De Witte, II, p. 640; Jansen's edition, II, pp. 61 and 251). Of course, deviations are condemned by the Scripture and the Church, especially homosexuality, child abuse. H.H. Pope Benedict XVI has been very firm on such issues in his recent trip to the U.S.A. (April 2008). Not only do the Protestant Pastors marry (as a matter of principle, the Catholic and Orthodox Church do not see any contradiction or incompatibility between priesthood and marriage, following the example of the Apostles, except for St. John the Beloved, Paul and Barnabas, see 1 Corinthians 9 :6)- preferring "marrying to burning" (see 1 Cor 7:9)- but Protestant Pastors remarry after the death of their partners.

8. THE APOSTLES' CREED and its variations All the "traditional churches" (Catholic, Orthodox and main line Protestants, namely and mainly Anglicans and Lutherans) have TWO Creeds, basically containing the same fundamental beliefs : the Apostles' Creed (a short one) and the Nicene-Constantinopolitan one (the long one usually said in Masses, as decreed by the homonymous Councils, respectively in 325 and 381 A.D.).   ALL the contents of both Creeds are WRITTEN, either directly and explicitly or indirectly and implicitly, in the Bible, actually in the New Testament where: about God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God (see Matthew 28 : 19; 2 Corinthians 13 : 13 or 14); about the "Word being God" (John 1 : 1c), Jesus having said :"The Father and I are One" (this lead to the philosophical expression "of the same substance as the father" (Greek : omo-ousios). The New Testament is very clear about the saving Passion of Christ, His Resurrection and Ascension, the divinity of the Holy Spirit (namely Acts 5 : 5) ; about the Church (Matthew 16 : 18;18 : 7; 1 Timothy 3 : 15) as "holy " (especially in Ephesians 5), and the faith in "one baptism". Why the variations? Because the Church, as a Mother, found herself facing (1) the necessity of SUMMARIZING Christian Faith for the Faithful (2) the theological and pastoral necessity of explaining the Christian teaching (doctrine) and clarifying it, in front of heresies and other deviations. So, when heresies emerged, like the Aryanism, denying the divinity of Christ, the Church explained and explicated the teaching contained in the Holy Scriptures. A "small" variation is detectable between Catholics and Protestants on the one hand, and the Orthodox on the other : about the Holy Spirit, apparently some time in the fifth century (around 448 A.D.) some Spanish monks added the "Filioque" : "who proceeds from the Father AND FROM THE SON". Three years later (451) the General Council of Chalcedonia and the following ones never condemned that addition, simply because "all that belongs to the Father belongs to the Son", as stated by the Lord Jesus Himself. Recently, not only are the Greek (Byzantine) Catholics authorized to omit the "Filioque" but even the Roman Catholics, in order to get closer to the Orthodox Church(es), although the Council of Florence, which took place after the schism between Rome and Constantinople, had already solved the question saying it was no problem at all. Thus, we see that the philosophical-theological expression(s) of the Christian Teaching came as a response to the various questions and challenges.

9. THE LORD'S PRAYER : why so many variations? If you imply MODERN variations, these are due to the constant Endeavour of the Church to adapt herself to the contemporary man. At times there is a lack of co-ordination between the different countries which speak the same language, for example Britain, the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, South Africa for English; Spain and Latin America for Spanish; Portugal and Brazil for Portuguese. BUT, a worldwide effort has been made, since the late sixties, in the last century, in the "ECUMENICAL BIBLES' where most denominations take part and reach ONE unified text. Now, if the question refers to the TWO versions of the "Our Father" in the Gospels of Matthew (6 : 9 - 12) and Luke (11 : 2 - 4), then one can notice the following: (a) Both texts are substantially the same and express roughly and basically the same ideas. (b) The present Matthew's "Lord's prayer" reports, in koine (colonial) Greek the Words of the Lord in a way which is very close and nearly literally translates the Hebrew and Aramaic expressions of the original pronounced by Jesus. Most of the invocations are literal quotations, done by the Lord Himself and collected by Him, from Hebrew and Aramaic Jewish prayers but the genius of Jesus was to put them together and to give a deeply different meaning to some expressions. For instance "the Kingdom" of God was commonly thought of, in the Jewish milieu, as a world empire thanks to political and military power.
(c) The Luke's Gospel, the best Greek writer in the New Testament, reproduces exactly the same words and ideas of the Lord’s prayer, putting some expressions in the Greek (Hellenistic) framework- the only means to have people coming from a pagan background understand the text, memorize it and use it for the Christian Prayer "par excellence". - The Jewish typical Hebrew expression "Avinu she-bashamaym" "Our father in heaven" was quoted by Jesus. It was well known in the Jewish synagogue devotion. Unfortunately, for the Jews, God was/is considered as their EXCLUSIVE Father, being the "Lord and Master" of the nations. When Jesus asked us, even from pagan origin, to say "OUR Father", He extended the dimensions of the "OUR" to the whole of humankind. This is exactly what St. Luke reports in the universal unlimited invocation "Father", "Abba (Greek: Pater), Father of all! In Luke 11: 4 St. Luke explicates (explains) the meaning of the Aramaic "hawbaya" (debts), specifying that it means "sins, transgressions".
10. WHY DO WE NEED TO PRAY FOR REDEMPTION? Jesus did die for our sins and did redeem us all (see Mathew 26 : 26 and following verses). HE brought us salvation, "being the FIRST to love us" and not waiting for any good works of ours (see Titus 3 : 5). BUT this was/is the INITIAL SALVATION: it means that Jesus brought for us the redemption, let's say the living water. Yet, since human beings are free, THEY are the ones who can accept or reject this salvation. Someone brings me water but I am free to drink or to die of thirst. The road of salvation is, thus: the faith in Christ, keeping the Commandments and other good works summarized in love for God and for the neighbor.
Rejecting faith and/or good works is actually REFUSING salvation and redemption. And since we are weak, we pray that we always accept Redemption and act accordingly, and ask constantly for the forgiveness of our sins and ATONE for them. Rightly St. Augustine wrote: "God who created us without our consent CANNOT save us without our consent". It depends on our free will. It would have been disastrous if - as some denominations claim- we were allowed to commit all sorts of sins, not avoiding evil and not regretting any transgression, under the pretext that "Christ redeemed us". NO! HE does want to redeem us constantly from our selfishness and evil. He never approves sin and does not want to justify or to strengthen it, but on the contrary!

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