Q&A Home > B > Holy Bible

I have an American friend who just started to believe in the Holy Bible and in Christianity. She was asking me about some of the beliefs of the Orthodox Christian Church because she's been reading the Holy Bible so that she can be able to find a church that has beliefs that correlates with her own understanding of the Holy Bible. She sees that what I tell her about our church beliefs and what I've showed her in the Orthodox Study Bible that I have is what she understands from reading too. I was discussing the gifts God bestows upon his followers and I told her about some of the miracles that I'd heard of and that I'd been a witness to, and she asked me a question that I had a hard time answering. I told her about the monks and Pope Kyrillos and the saints and how God allows miracles to happen through them.

I told her about how they had such a close relationship with God that they could speak to the angels, see saints, and some can even be in two places at once. But the question she had was "Where in the Bible does is say that God gives these gifts to people and what confirms these claims?" She doesn't really believe in saints or any of that. She only believes in what the Holy Bible says and therefore only believes in Jesus and doesn't believe that the holiness of anyone else matters. She wants to know why we feel like we need to ask for intercession. I explained that we are not praying to the saints, that we are asking them to pray for us because there is a verse that says that the we should pray for each other, and that we don't consider the saints to be dead because they have eternal life so their spirits are alive and that the prayers of someone holy will often be heard better. I can't remember the verse. I believe it was in Jacob? She wanted to go and pass out Holy Bibles to people and spread the word.

She wanted to know if there is anything against that, and if so where in the Bible does it discourage against this? She wants to see evidence for everything from the Holy Bible, she doesn't want to hear anything that is otherwise. She reads every word literally and doesn't like it when I say "It means...not literally..." So far, God has been helpful in giving me the responses that answer her questions, but I do not have the understanding of the Holy Bible that I wish I did and I cannot pull quotes from it like I should, so I am asking for your help because I don't want to give her the wrong information. I understand the concepts of our faith, but I don't know how to quote the Holy Bible to verify what I explain. She likes what I explain, but she wants the biblical reference to validate it. She has read the Old Testament in depth, and she quotes it to make points, but I keep telling her that the Holy Bible is like a life manual. You read it like you’re growing. I told her that just like you can't give a kindergarten student high school information when they are just beginning to learn, God couldn't reveal everything at once. The New Testament is like a college course where everything is topped off, and the Old Testament is the history to it.

But, she quotes the Old Testament and still thinks "eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth" is part of what God wants, but I tried to explain to her "you need to turn the other cheek to your enemy." I don't want her to think that the Holy Bible contradicts itself, so how do I explain this to her?

I am glad to hear that your friend is starting to see the True Light and God willing will come for repentance to life and grace through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is too much to take it all in at one time. The intercession of the angels and saints and the explanation of miracles are mentioned in depth throughout the Holy Bible, but first things first. We do not want people to believe strictly on the basis of miracles. It is important to clarify this point so that people do not misinterpret miracles to be in a worldly sense as some kind of voodoo, magic, or witchcraft. We can see how the apostles dealt with a particular sorcerer who misunderstood the power of the Holy Spirit as though with money could be bought. "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money" (Acts 8:20). Your friend will benefit more if she can first understand her personal need and the world's need for Salvation through the Christian faith and then how the Coptic Orthodox Church has preserved that faith through biblical teachings, the Holy Sacraments, the oral traditions, and the writings of the apostolic and early church fathers. Our church has withstood numerous persecutions and fought many heresies for over two thousand years and yet still keeps the true faith. In this light, I hope your friend will gain a better and more comprehensive foundation with a clear understanding that the doctrine which we have has been safeguarded from the time of our Lord Jesus Christ even until now. Two books by H.H. Pope Shenouda III are essential for new adult believers: Comparative Theology; Salvation in the Orthodox Concept. These two books address many of the concerns that a new believer questions (including miracles and the intercessions of angels and saints). They are on-line and can be found in most Coptic Orthodox Churches.

May the Lord bless you with wisdom and compassion to be a shining light unto others.