CONTRARY to the claim of Mr. Chito Germino, the Bible is infallible. Unfortunately for him, he gets stuck on super-literal and narrow interpretations that he fails to see the bigger picture that Holy Scripture provides. The root of the matter is that if God willed that His word be manifested and written down, He will provide the means for us to get its true meaning.
Germino cites what he sees as “inconsistencies” in the Creation story to back up his claim of the Bible’s fallibility. What he forgets is that there are many literary genres in the Bible, and we must be careful to read the texts according to the writer’s style and always in context.
The Creation story really happened, of course, but it is unwise to think of it in excessively literal ways. It is not a scientific telling of an event. It is the conveying of what happened during Creation through the eyes of faith and using the language common among the Israelites and other ancient peoples.
For example, God creating the world in seven days. Can it be that those days were more than the 24 hours we perceive as one day? Of course, remember that “with the Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years are one day.” (2 Peter 3:8)
This brings us to the question of infallibility. The Bible, as God’s Word, is infallible and since it is so, God also created an infallible interpreter of that word. Because what use is an infallible book if the one who interprets it is fallible?
The Lord gave this power over to His Church when he said twice in the Gospel of Matthew, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19 and 18:18). “Binding and loosing” to the Jews meant the indisputable authority to permit and forbid.
With this in mind, how can Mr. Germino make such claims? It is ironic that he is a proponent of reading the Bible and interpreting it by your own self. That is problematic because if everyone lives by his own interpretation, how will we know which one is correct?
Mr. Germino must think that he is the infallible one. He bases his “true religion” on James 1:27, a verse in the same Bible that he says is not infallible. His doctrinal ideas do not make sense.
So how will we know that our interpretation of the Bible is correct? We must refer to the definitive teachings of the Catholic Church, which is the same church, by the way, that compiled the books of the Bible. --Gerard Biagan
Assistance for drivers
Why is the Cebu City Government giving assistance only to Angkas and habal-habal drivers? Just because the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is going after them. Why give assistance to drivers who are operating illegally?
What about us drivers of public utility jeepneys and drivers of public utility buses? We also need assistance, especially now that Christmas is near.
A sack of rice--maayo na kaayo na. With that, we can spend the money that we earn for other needs.--Tirso Alcone of Cebu City