ALAN: The Gospel should be presented as an exciting adventure. It is the “living person of Jesus Christ.” The approach to teaching about salvation as a Divine Union can help people realize God’s love for them. Christ is calling humanity and asking us to respond to Him with our most intimate love. This is love of the only Son coming from the Father filled with an enduring love. It is in this love that we are joined with Christ into His mystical body. in this regard, I like to develop exciting ways and various charts to present the Gospel to people.
Q. What has been the reaction to your conferences and courses?
ALAN: We’ve had lots of positive reactions from so many wonderful people who have attended either a conference or a course. Some frequent comments people have made are “you make Scripture fun and exciting” and “so easy to understand” and “I never understood the bible before.” Many others have said “the information you present is so impressive and thorough” and “you bring the writers personally alive.” Others have told our volunteers, “it would be nice if we had more courses like this.” Still there have been other comments that have been somewhat more embarrassing like “what a tremendous gift you give us.” We tell such gracious people the credit belongs completely to our Lord and the Holy Spirit and my guardian angel. We know it is Holy Spirit who guides our thoughts and words. Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin we’d be lost.
Q. What are some of the difficulties Christians encounter in studying the Bible?
ALAN: Generally, we feel they fall into five categories. First, one should try to avoid a using “fundamental” approach. That is, interpreting Scripture apart from its context (the before and after verses, and the context of Scripture overall). Additionally, it is important to know the overall themes of the gospel writers, as well as the related themes of other New Testament writers, and to not infer something that is contrary to these themes.
Secondly, it is important to understand that most of the teachings of the Church come from Scripture. Vatican II states Scripture “rules the Church.” Yet, it is Church’s foundation in its teaching authority that protects the faithful from errors. Many have fallen into deception, thinking that they can find contradictory evidence to the teachings of the Church, which has evolved over centuries from Scripture. In my researching, studying, and teaching Scripture for over twenty-five years, I must say I have never found a teaching of the Church contradicted in Scripture. All truth is contained within Scripture, and it is the Church’s job to protect that truth.
The third item in understanding Scripture is the inclusion of spirituality in studying Scripture. Many people, teachers, and scholars alike often stumble by not including prayer along with the study of Scripture. I have seen this many times. It is through prayer that one unites more closely to God himself, and through a closer relationship one receives the grace of understanding about God and what He has revealed to us. Vatican II encourages us to pray before and after reading scripture. Unfortunately, it has been my experience to find that those who frequently misunderstand or teach Scriptural errors lack a solid devotion to the Blessed Mother. So, if you are truly sincere about understanding Scripture, I suggest the daily Rosary as a solid means to help. Of course, even the practice of prayer is recommended in Scripture itself.
The fourth difficulty is to think that you can understand everything yourself. The second letter of Peter refers to this danger (2 Pet. 3:15-16). In addition, St. Paul cautions the faithful about false teachers (Rom. 16:17-18; 1 Cor.12-13). So, it is good for people to attend courses with instructors who possess a solid spirituality. I think its like choosing a confessor, you want to find one who knows that he’s talking about. In learning the Scripture from sound instruction one is able to understand and unite themselves to the gospel message of salvation in Christ.
The fifth pitfall today is the tendency to be too symbolic. Some biblical teachers want to think of many events in the New Testament as being just symbolic of Old Testament events, rather than reenactments or fulfillments of Hebrew Scripture. Some see far too much symbolism in the Old Testament, or do not view Sacred Scripture as historical as well. These pitfalls create the possibility of distorting the interpretation of Scripture.
Q. Do you ever encounter poor Scripture scholarship in circles?
ALAN: Absolutely. Let me give you several examples. I’ve heard some say that the Adam and Eve account in Genesis is only symbolic. My head grows gray over this one. In Luke’s Gospel we have the genealogy of Adam to Christ. It is extremely hard to be a descendent of a symbol. Besides, St. Paul also refers to Adam as a living being in his Second Adam theology in Corinthians and Romans. Additionally, the original sin comes Adam and Eve, and St. Paul discusses this concept as well (Rom. 5:15-16; 7:11-12), so any denial of the actual existence of Adam and Eve comes into real conflict with the Church’s teaching and the Scriptural texts. I’ve also heard some say Abraham also was a symbol. This is news, because Christ in the Gospels, and St. Paul in his Epistles, refer to him as a historical person. If Abraham was symbolic, then the entire New Testament would have to be a falsification, because the faith of the Israelites rested on Abraham! Perhaps, one of the more interesting ones often heard, is that the Red Sea was only at low tide with sandbars that allowed Moses and the Israelites to cross. I chuckle at this one. It must have been really low tide to drown all the Egyptians who followed after the fleeing Israelites.
Q. Tell me about your writings and some of those overheads you display. They seem to make understanding Scripture so easy. What do you feel are your most important contributions to the study of Scripture?
ALAN: Well, I’ve written lots of commentaries and manuscripts on the New Testament, including all the Gospels and Pauline Epistles. I feel there is a need for a solid English commentary that is pastoral, spiritual, yet still contains some intellectualism as to the concepts of faith. This has been our approach. Two of these manuscripts were completed to correct some errors that have creep into Scripture study, these are The Messiah: His Birth and Death and The Christian Messiah.
As to the charts I have used, these are designed to enhance the understanding of Scripture. Many like my “baseball chart”, this is an overview to the salvation concept in Romans. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I’ve designed a number of these simple, yet theologically sound charts. Defining the terms is part of the design, like the Flow of Righteousness chart. It shows the flow of righteousness (God) through grace (God’s self communication of himself into ones soul) through faith (simply defined as surrender to God) to justification (humanity possessing God’s righteousness).
One of the concepts I will be publishing that of “Thematic Delineation.” This is defined as a style of writing in which an author chooses the historical events to include or exclude based upon a preconceived theme, purpose, and approach as to what is narrated or taught. This is what the evangelists did, and I believe with this concept one can easily understand why there are differences in the gospels. Simply stated, each writer wanted to convey salvation using several themes, and they included only those events that enhanced their themes. Another is the concept of “Unity of God Within Humanity.” Unity is God’s primary attribute within the Trinity. And God gives us this image of his unity through our baptism.
