100 Prison Meditations: Cries of Truth from Behind the Iron Curtain (15 page)

The Truth is Only in the Whole

There is no single Bible verse on which one can rely absolutely. Only the whole Bible gives the truth. A kidney removed from the body is no longer a kidney, but a piece of meat. Even the commandments given directly by God have meaning only when connected with other parts of Scripture, and augmented by common sense.

Considered alone, the commandment given on Mount Sinai, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), is unpracticable. Taken literally it forbids all killing, including the killing of animals. It must be modified by the idea contained in Genesis 9:3: “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you,” for God has given to some animals other animals as food. The prohibition “Do not kill” does not forbid hunting for livelihood, which can be considered, as Aristotle put it, “a just war.”

The commandment also does not forbid killing in just wars for the defense of the motherland, or in defending an innocent person from attack.

Killing is not forbidden absolutely. Augustine taught that God forbids men to kill without renouncing that right Himself. God says, “I kill and I make alive” (Deuteronomy 32:29), and indeed, the sixth commandment is given by the same God who orders the death sentence many times. On earth the state authority represents God in this: “[The ruler] is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil” (Romans 13:4).

Suicide is killing, even though the murderer is the person killed, and is considered unlawful. But even here there are exceptions. Samson killed himself in order to kill a multitude of God’s enemies with him. Christian virgins, preferring purity to life, killed themselves when compelled to become prostitutes under the Roman emperors. Many believers, when they were unable to bear any more torture, committed suicide in Communist and Nazi prisons to avoid becoming traitors.

On the other hand, the prohibition also includes the propagation of hatred. Streicher, the editor of a powerful anti-Jewish magazine in Nazi Germany, defended himself at the trial of war criminals in Nuremberg saying that he never even slapped a Jew. Nonetheless he was justly sentenced to death because his publications portrayed the Jews as so disgusting and dangerous that those who read them became possessed by the desire to kill Jews.

Never stop at the letter of isolated verses, but draw all the conclusions they imply.

How Old is the New Testament?

The New Testament is the more reliable the earlier the texts were recorded. With the passing of time, memories fail and subsequent events make men record things as happening other than as they really did.

Are the Gospels late forgeries as some assert? Intelligent forgers, in order to accredit a book with being old, would specially mention things to make it appear so. There is no sign of this in the New Testament. On the contrary, the Gospels contain certain sayings of Jesus which do not square with future events, and which a later writer would surely have modified to prove the teacher’s infallibility.

In Matthew 24:15,16, Jesus tells His disciples in Judea to flee into the mountains, obviously the mountains of Judea, when they see Jerusalem besieged. However the church historian Eusebius informs us that the disciples fled instead to Pella, on the east side of the Jordan. A late author of the Gospel would have modified Jesus’ speech in such a way that their departure to such a distance and, as consequence, their break with Judaism, was foretold or ordered by Jesus.

According to Luke 21:20, Jerusalem would be encircled by armies. This took place during the fall of Judea to the Babylonians, not during the Roman siege. But Jesus was not speaking in military terms. A city attacked by an overpowering army can be said to be encompassed by horror. A later author would have made an exact description of the many sufferings which were to befall the Jewish nation at that time. He would not have missed magnifying Jesus’ prophetic role by knowing every detail in advance. However, our only knowledge of the atrocities comes from the historian Josephus Flavius.

In Egypt a papyrus was discovered showing that John’s Gospel circulated in Egypt at the end of the first century. The Gospel must have been written before 70 a.d. because it does not mention the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem which occurred at that time. The temple is there described as functioning, and when Jesus speaks of destroying it, the Jews tell Him, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple” (John 2:20). Even the Acts of the Apostles must have been written before the destruction of the temple. Had they been written later, this event would have been used to show what a great prophet Jesus had been: He had predicted the destruction of the temple and, behold, it happened.

The five porches of the pool mentioned in John 5:2 were buried under rubble at the fall of Jerusalem. So they remained until excavated recently. The Gospel says, “There is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool,…having five porches.”

The devil has tried everything to dispel belief in the Bible. A scholar, who might be sincere and not know for whom he works, could point out that what is called the first epistle of John has 39 Greek expressions that do not appear in John’s Gospel, whereas the Gospel uses thirty words not found in the epistle, etc. Linguistic specialists analyzing my own writings of different periods, books written before and after my imprisonment, would likewise conclude that they are not from the same author.

Those who doubt the authenticity of the authorship of the New Testament would do well to doubt their doubts. We can rely on the Gospels. They were surely written very early by firsthand witnesses.

No History Book

There are those who debate whether or not the Bible is a reliable history book. It is a phantom question. The Bible is no history book at all. The word “history” occurs nowhere in it. The word that comes closest is the Hebrew
toldot
, but this is used only to indicate genealogy or origin.

Biblical personalities are much interested in the past. Joshua wishes to speak to the Jewish people about an immediate question, but begins by enumerating the important events that took place 400 years earlier (chapter 24). When Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity, is charged with blasphemy, instead of speaking in his own defense, he tells the lives of all the forefathers beginning with Abraham (Acts 7).

But the biblical manner of recounting the past does not constitute what modern men regard as history. The succeeding generations are spoken of not as about men of different times, but as all one. Joshua records the Lord saying to Israel, “Your eyes saw what I did in Egypt” (24:7). Those who had actually seen God’s miracles in Egypt had died in the desert, and Joshua spoke now to a new generation which had never been in Egypt. Still he writes, “Your eyes saw,” not “the eyes of your parents.”

Jesus says to His apostles, “You shall be witnesses to Me…to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The apostles however, did not even know about the extremities of the earth. But it is their teaching and example and spirit which witness even now on all continents, after 2,000 years. Jesus makes no distinction between the first apostles and their successors after many generations.

The biblical story cannot be called history, because it mocks objectivity. It pursues an aim, and things are told in a manner conducive to attaining it.

In the books of Chronicles there are 323 verses regarding the temple practices, 73 on David’s activities, and 100 on Judah’s genealogy. The Messiah had to come from this tribe, and what happened in the temple was more important than the king’s politics.

In 2 Chronicles, 480 verses deal with the very few pious kings and only 342 with the 17 wicked ones. The rulers of the dissident Samaria are omitted completely. Edifying episodes are heightened. The result is more an ideal picture than a real one.

The Jewish writings record the convictions of the writers more than the facts.

The author of Chronicles was probably a Levite. In his books, the Levites are mentioned 100 times, whereas in the books of Kings they are mentioned only once and in those of Samuel, only twice.

In 1 Chronicles 1–9, all narrative is eliminated. What is important religiously is the transmission of the seed of David from which the Messiah will stem. Therefore in the beginning of the second book of Chronicles, there are 102 verses about the descendants of Judah, 81 about those of Levi, and only 186 about those from the other 10 tribes.

“But one thing is needed” (Luke 10:42). Do not pursue “objectivity,” but rather make your memory and your history serve this one thing, the triumph of the Word of God.

Our Attitude Toward Rulers

Every Christian could take as his motto Shakespeare’s words, “May that thought when I imagine ill against my king and brethren be my last breathing in this mortal world.”

Such loyalty from a citizen puts an obligation on the ruler. Among the Jews, the chosen people, “the king’s upper house [palace] was by the court of the prison” (Nehemiah 3:25). This is the right place for a king to dwell—where he can always have in view how much his sovereignty costs those over whom he rules.

In order for the king to have the majesty and the power of a ruler, others must die in wars under his command. Orphans remain behind. Driven by poverty and lack of education, they end in prison. The king may have neglected to spread morality among his people. His life should remain close to the lowliest of the rejected so he will perceive his kingdom truly.

In biblical Greek, “to rule” and “to feed” are the same word,
poimaino
—as a shepherd both tends and feeds his flock. What matters is not how many state banquets the king attends, but how much care he has taken that the hungry be fed.

In Aramean, “Lamb of God,” a name for Jesus, is
talya Aeloha
, which also means “servant of God.” The king can be the first servant of a country only if he has the character of a lamb.

Unfortunately, not all Jewish kings had this character. Solomon, although his might as a religious poet is undenied, as king is remembered for two things: his many wives and concubines, and his love of luxury. The heathen king Hammurabi is known in history for his righteous laws; likewise the Indian king Asoka. But not Solomon.

How did he administrate his country? What was his economic policy? What were the relationships between the different classes of the population? Did he provide for charity? Were his judgments righteous or abusive?

His son Rehoboam said to the people that his father loaded them with a heavy “yoke” and chastised them with “whips” (1 Kings 12:14). When you read about the Roman Cæsars, some French and English kings, Hitler, or Stalin, a shudder passes through you. Good rulers have always been the rare exception.

If the ruler does not fulfill his duty, the believing citizen must review his attitude. Every nation has a ruler. The ruler must be subject to God. Then the believer must obey the highest authority.

Let us remember that Elijah resisted arrest (2 Kings 1:10), bringing death upon the officers of an unrighteous king. The Christian is a loyal citizen of a country, but not a bootlicker of tyrants.

Commanded Love

One of God’s strangest commandments is that we should love him (Deuteronomy 6:5). Can love be commanded? Can a young man command a girl, “Love me and not somebody else”? Could she do this through her own effort?

The imperative “love” can be expressed in Hebrew in two forms.
Ohev
can mean only the order to love;
ahavta
has a double sense, both the imperative “love” and the perfect tense of the verb: “You have loved.”
Ahavta
is used by the Bible in this text, not
olev
. Thus God reminds you, “You come from Me; I shaped your soul; you loved Me once; I was your great passion. This was your first sentiment although you may have forgotten it; but now remember,
ahavta
, you loved Me once. Return to this first love!” This is the deep sense of the biblical commandment. It is the only perspective from which God can be loved with the entire heart.

From the earthly point of view, love of God contains a dose of foolishness. I owe Him gratitude for many blessings, and I admire many of His creations. But why did He create the deadly scorpions and the viruses of so many illnesses? Why are there earthquakes and floods and bereavements? Why so much poverty and injustice in a world in which He is almighty? Why is Christianity such a small light? Why do hundreds of millions live and die in darkness? Could the punishment of sinners not be less than an eternal hell?

The fact that my thoughts are not conjoined with His shows that I have no imaginary God. If I had decided how God should be, I would have chosen Him to create a universe without suffering, age, and death. But I know I have the real God because my heart, the heart of a fallen sinner, is in disagreement with Him.

God said to Adam, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good
and
evil you shall not eat” (Genesis 2:17). Man has to choose between good and evil, one or the other—he cannot have them both. God is otherwise, as are those in the heavenly spheres. They know both good
and
evil (Genesis 3:22). This is the separation between us.

The ultimate good is unintelligible for us, so we cannot be commanded, “Love God.” Instead we must be reminded that we come from the sphere where things are known otherwise. The Lord says, “Return.” Remember,
ahavta
, you
have loved
. Return to your first love. Seated in heavenly spheres, the veil will be lifted and you will receive new understanding.

There you will understand an ancient teaching which has never been written, but is expressed in a Japanese dance. Once there was a prince of such beauty that all who beheld him could do nothing else. All activity ceased in his presence. So the prince donned an ugly mask in order for men to live. Perhaps you can understand from this the existence of a beneficent God and yet of so much suffering.

Let us love God as He is known in heaven to deserve. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “The measure of loving God is to love Him without measure.” Do not love Him for His special gifts—at a certain moment He may withhold them. Love Him without reason. Sometimes He may afflict you. When Israel was young, he loved God and followed Him in the wilderness (Jeremiah 2:2). Love Him like this again.