I would like readers to know that last month’s letter “Mistaken Identity” was written long before John Guillaumier’s “A critique of religion”. However, Mr Guillaumier’s extensive compilation of a catalogue of the reprehensible inhuman butchery of the Old Testament induced me to break my word about writing only once to the editor. It seems that the editor sometimes allows the publication of lengthy letters as well. For this, I thank him for publishing my reaction to Mr Guillaumier’s letter.

Mr Guillaumier seems to be an avid reader and connoisseur of the Bible. In quoting it he is emulating the devil, because like him, he excels in doing so. But I’m afraid he is wasting his time because he is not humble enough to ask like a minister of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia did when Philip the Apostle asked him if he understood what he was reading and he answered: “Why, how can I understand unless someone shows me?” (Acts 8, 2640).

St Jerome, that great scholar of the scripture, wrote that “you can never understand the Holy Bible if you have no one to lead you towards the right interpretation of the Holy Books. The farmers, workmen, sailors and others who do similar kind of work cannot aspire to start their career without an instructor. It’s only the teachings of the Bible that everybody tries to explain by himself.

As regards Revelations, the theme of these writings is the result of history, the end of this world, the nature of the world to come described in veiled terms by means of allegories and symbols in which numbers, colours, animals and precious stones have special meanings. Written in times of persecution or disaster, such books aimed at giving the reader courage, consultation and confidence in divine providence.

John’s theme and intention was to also usher in the risen Christ as Master of all history, both the sacred history of Israel’s past and the future history of the Church.

At the time of the death of God himself on the cross, nobody saw how anything good could ever result from this tragedy, and yet God foresaw it as the opening of heaven to human beings.

Such is the power, glory, amazing mysticism and metamorphosis of the Almighty!

Insane was literally the last word of his masterful tirade against the Bible. For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not come to know God by “wisdom”, it pleased God, by the foolishness of our preaching, to save those who believe. Because the Jews ask for signs and the Greeks look for wisdom; but we preach a crucified Christ to the Jews, indeed a stumbling block, and for the Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God is stronger than men (Cor 121,25.) After all that turmoil of the past, Jesus Christ comes with a balm to heal all that iniquity and being completely innocent becomes the ransom of the world. It couldn’t be otherwise because an offence against such majesty could only be redeemed by someone as divine as He was.

He should have ruminated on the incandescent transfiguration of the resurrection, when Jesus conquered the world. The law of sin, transgression and death of the Old Testament has now been replaced by sweetness, meekness, patience, gentleness, long-suffering charity and kindness all natural to the Christian who partakes of the nature of Christ.

Why doesn’t Mr Guillaumier pluck up some courage and like St Paul exclaim: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger of the sword”, even as it is written, “For thy sake we are put to death all day long. We were considered as sheep for the slaughter.  But in all these things we overcome because of him who has loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:3539)

Mr Guillaumier’s gigantic effort was like a farmer (as we say in Maltese) ‘digging in water’ – a futile attempt to ridicule and smear the Almighty’s incomprehensible judgements. I shudder to think why he keeps on doing so and has done so for such a long time.

John Azzopardi

Zabbar