Ignorance can lead to wisdom, and that is wisdom even unfathomable! It is wisdom that is deep, profound, enigmatic.
But it is wisdom that is certainly not for everybody but for those who accept truth! An example is Paul’s case. He was a persecutor before of the followers of Christ. He did it in ignorance, however.
I TIMOTHY 1:13
Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Paul’s sincerity in learning the truth led him to know the riches of the wisdom of God. And more. God was pleased to introduce Christ to him. From there, he made up his mind not to learn from the teachings of this world. Hence, Paul’s wisdom turned exceptional and God-given!
GALATIANS 1:13-16
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Paul’s co-apostle, Peter, gives cognizance to this fact. The latter acknowledges that there are things hard to understand in the writings of Paul because of the kind of wisdom given to him.
II PETER 3:15-17
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
Notice that Paul calls himself the least of all saints – a mark of humility despite his wisdom. He could feel the element of mystery in such wisdom that is not openly given to just anyone at anytime.
EPHESIANS 3:8-9
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
With such nature, this wonderful wisdom cannot be appreciated and comprehended by the wicked. And so what do they do? They pervert teachings from this wisdom.
This is exactly what is happening to Stephen “Steve” Shott and his peers. In the futile attempt of this Catholic priest to defend his baseless belief of baptizing infants, he asked if there is any verse forbidding infant baptism.
Here is an exchange in Twitter between Shott and a believer -
Shott implies that since there is no verse in the Bible forbidding infant baptism, the Catholic Church is correct. He also demands to be shown a command by Christ or the Apostles condemning infant baptism. As we earlier pointed out, Pope Benedict XVI declared ex cathedra that there is no Limbo after all. But Catholics still baptize their infants. It is very clear Shott prefers to ignore our argument, hence insisting on a verse.
If every prohibition is expressed in “don’ts” and “must not’s,” will man be unable to find his way? Will he not know his whereabouts? God gave common sense and logic to man. There is no excuse that he cannot find his way in this life – unless one is as willingly stupid and stubborn like Shott!
Let’s illustrate this with God’s prohibition of eating blood. Blood is a sacred matter in the Christian faith. From the time of the Israelites it is forbidden to eat blood.
LEVITICUS 17:10
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
The reason for the prohibition is this: Blood is sacred and does propitiation for the soul. It can turn away the wrath of God.
LEVITICUS 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Aside from its being sacred as given and described by God, we have now knowledge about the disadvantages of consuming blood for food. Here’s an excerpt from Live Science -
The strange fact is, blood, when drank, is toxic. When confined to places where blood is supposed to be — such as the heart, vessels, and so on — it is essential for life. But when ingested it's a very different story. Of course all toxins have doses, and just as a tiny bit of poison won't necessarily harm you, the more you eat or drink, the greater the danger.
Because blood is so rich in iron — and because the body has difficulty excreting excess iron — any animal that consumes blood regularly runs a risk of iron overdose. While iron is necessary for all animals (and indeed most life), in high doses it can be toxic. This condition, called haemochromatosis, can cause a wide variety of diseases and problems, including liver damage, buildup of fluid in the lungs, dehydration, low blood pressure, and nervous disorders. (Ref: http://www.livescience.com/15899-drinking-blood-safe.html)
Written by Benjamin Radford (9/02/2011), the question is about drinking blood, one may say, but Live Science underscores the effect of excess iron that can kill. Comparing bats and the human being, the latter has no mechanism that can extract too much iron from the bloodstream, the report said.
The bodies of animals that digest blood have adapted specialized digestive mechanisms. According to Katherine Ramsland in her book "The Science of Vampires" (Penguin Putnam, 2002) the vampire bat, "requires an enormous intake of iron, which helps make hemoglobin for carrying oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues. Yet the iron intake is generally higher than what the bat needs, so it has a special process for secreting the excess. When ingested, the blood goes through a tract that's adapted for extracting nutrients. Research on this system suggests that bats have a mucous membrane along the intestinal tract that acts as a barrier to prevent too much iron from getting into their bloodstreams." You, however, are not a vampire bat. Because humans did not evolve such an iron-extracting mechanism, drinking blood can kill us. (Ref: http://www.livescience.com/15899-drinking-blood-safe.html)
This wisdom can be perceived by just examining instructions given by God to His people, the Israelites.
As fats can cause a host of human ailments, logic and common sense dictate that blood also can. That is one reason it was strictly prohibited by the Lord for the Israelites through stern warnings using “don’t” and “mine” in the consumption of both!
LEVITICUS 3:17, 16
17 It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
16 And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the LORD's.
The Lord’s way of saying “Fat is not good for you” was expressed by these wise declarations: “The priest shall burn them” and “All the fat is the LORD’s.”
This Shott will never understand! In fact, he eats blood as if it is not prohibited for Catholics to consume such a sacred thing! Tsk! Tsk!
HEBREWS 9:22
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
All the blood not eaten by God’s people were shed to allegorically and rhetorically figure the importance of the redemption done by the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!
THE ACTS 20:28
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
This is the reason why up to the time of the New Testament, God through the Apostles and the Holy Spirit underscored four abstentions for God’s people: 1) From pollutions of idols; 2) From fornication; 3) From things strangled; and 4) From blood. Abstain! Refrain yourself from things unhealthy and forbidden! The Apostles were talking and from here, we can learn what a true follower of Christ must do.
THE ACTS 15:19-20, 28-29
19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well, Fare ye well.
We don’t read “don’ts” in the preceding verses, do we? “Animals strangled” means animals that died without the blood being shed. Thus logic follows that because blood is forbidden, a strangled animal which flesh is filled with the forbidden blood is also prohibited.
Here’s another wisdom that can be appreciated in this. Animals and fowls that die without the blood being shed may not be exactly healthy and may infect the consumer. The Department of Health warns against double-dead meat.
DOH defines "botcha” or double-dead meat as a livestock or poultry that have died due to disease, slaughtered and then sold fraudulently to consumers as “fresh meat.”
In an earlier statement, DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy said that eating double-dead meat is hazardous to health because it may result to stomachache, diarrhea and even food poisoning.
According to the DOH, double-dead meat can be spotted through its pale color with bluish or greenish-gray tint; sticky consistency; foul smell; cold (meat has been frozen); hair and skin not properly cleaned. (Ref: http://balita.ph/2015/03/03/doh-warns-on-health-risk-of-eating-double-dead-meat-during-summer/)
Back to infants, nowhere in the Bible can we find that it is prohibited for an infant or even a child to be baptized – and for that matter - to be married, as part of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. None. So, is that why you do it to them?
According to the Modern Catholic Dictionary, the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church include baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, orders, matrimony, and the anointing of the sick.
Note that these seven sacraments include baptism and matrimony. Following the senseless and stupid allegation of Shott therefore, it is rightful for him to bestow upon a baby the sacrament of matrimony! Stupidity at its pinnacle is the stupidity of Shott!
The Bible nowhere declares that you must not perform matrimony upon a child! But no normal thinking person will say “Show me in the bible that it is prohibited and I will not perform unto the child the sacrament of matrimony”.
There are admonitions without the “don’ts” and “must not’s” from where we can get wisdom.
I CORINTHIANS 7:38, 36
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
This is a glaring truth in the Bible but I doubt if Shott can learn anything from this!
Let me say this: “With all my heart I believe lovers and seekers of truth can comprehend the wisdom contained in this blog.”
More to come, God willing.
God bless you.
