Bible Discussion Thread

Further to my question about the emblems and in reply to Chris and Jesse , thank you for your replies to me .

I have never believed in transubstantiation and recognise it as one of many spurious catholic doctrines . I'm also aware that the Bible has many layers and I always look for the literal , then metaphorical and then spiritual aspects in what I read . The events at the last supper are fascinating to me and I am always amazed by how different the accounts in the four Gospels are and yet they are perfectly symbiotic . The differences in the Gospel accounts are mostly down to the four different personalities of the writers , remember in the mouth of two or three witnesses ? Here we have four witnesses with four distinct personalities which we can see coming through in their accounts . I'm particularly fascinated by John's account , very different from the other three . He doesn't even mention the new covenant and is the only one to mention the washing of the disciples feet . He focusses very much on Jesus's words , which is great as he's the only one to do that to that extent . The Bible is the Gift that keeps on giving as it reveals itself to us continually showing us something deeper each time we read it , in that it is truly alive and is a living seed growing in us as we learn from it and allow it to take hold of us and grow in us , truly a living Word . I used to be sure that it is essential for us to take the bread and wine every Sunday at church . I'm not so sure now but I am sure that it's definitely beneficial and is also an act of obedience and submission . It can only do us good ,but we shouldn't feel left out if we are not able to partake for whatever reason .

I'm not a fan of islam but one thing I know , there are a lot of muslims where I live and I wondered why they tend to live close to each other , I found out that they don't choose to live close to each other but to their mosque , so they can always get to it . Nothing must block their path .

Thank you Fuji for your further comments here. I fully agree what you wrote about the uniqueness of the Gospels, and I too am particularly fond of John's Gospel as he recalls events & wisdom that are particularly pertinent to understanding the Nature of Jesus & His relationship to the Father. The one thing that always makes me sad, is that my hunger for more details of the events portrayed in the Gospels are not given. And I suppose rightly so, as John 21:25 declares to us. So, I need to learn to be more content with what is given, and of course, the tremendous insights in the epistles, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach & comfort my heart through all that's in the Word & from Himself.

I used to live & work (ministry) in Karachi, Pakistan for a little while before being 'shown the door'. There are approx. 3000 mosques in Karachi alone, of various sizes & importance. And as you wrote, there would always be a mosque nearby for those folk, particularly to the diligent who need to drop everything five times a day to go to prayer. So, in non-Islamic countries, where mosques are very much fewer in number, it would be reasonable for them to live as close as possible to their place of prayer & the meeting of their other needs. Blessings.