The Three Hermits - a story by Leo Tolstoy

One of my favorite short story I would like to share: The Three Hermits
Have some cup of coffee while reading. :)

.............................


A bishop was sailing from the city of Arkhangelsk to the Solovetsky
Islands. On the same vessel there were pilgrims sailing to visit the
holy shrines. The wind was favorable, the weather fair, the sea
smooth. The pilgrims--some were lying down, some having a bite to
eat, some sitting in groups-were talking to each other. The Bishop,
too, came out on deck, began to pace the bridge. The approached the
bow, saw a group of people gathered together. A peasant was pointing
out something in the saw and speaking, and the people were listening.
The Bishop stopped, looked where the peasant was pointing; there was
nothing to be seen, only the sea gleaming in the sun. The Bishop came
closer, and began to listen. The peasant saw the Bishop, took off his
cap and fell silent. The people also saw the Bishop, also took off
their caps, and paid their respects.

"Don't mind me, friends," said the Bishop. "I have also come to hear
what you, good man, are telling them."

"This fisherman was telling us about the hermits,: said one merchant
who was bolder than the others.

"What about the hermits?" asked the Bishop, camp up to the rail and
sat down on a box. "Tell me, too. I'll listen. What were you pointing
at?"

"Why, that little island you can just make out," said the peasant and
pointed forward to starboard. "On that very island the hermits live,
and seek salvation."

"But where is the island?" asked the Bishop.

"Here, please look in line with my hand. See that could? Just a bit
to the left of it, below, showing like a thin streak."

The Bishop looked and looked, the water rippled in the sun, and, for
want of practice, he could see nothing.

"I cannot see it," he said. "So what kind of hermits live on that
island?"

"Godly men," answered the peasant. "I had heard of them long ago, but
never chanced to see them, and then the summer before last I saw them
myself."

And the fisherman began to recount his once more how he had gone out
fishing, and how he had run aground on that island and didn't know
himself where he was. In the morning he wandered off and came upon an
earth hut and saw a hermit by the earth hut, and then two more came
out; they fed and dried him and helped him repair his boat.

"And what do they look like?" asked the Bishop.

"One of them tiny, bent, quite ancient, in an old little cassock,
must be more than a hundred years old, the gray hairs in his beard
turning green already; but he keeps smiling and is bright as an angel
from Heaven. Another, a little taller, also old, in a torn coat, his
beard broad, yellowish white, but he is a powerful man; he turned my
boat over like a tub, I didn't have a chance to lend him a hand--also
joyous. And the third is tall, his beard long, down to his knees--and
white as a blue kite, himself gloomy, eyebrows hanging over his eyes,
and all naked, only girded with a piece of sacking."

"What did they talk about with you?" asked the Bishop.

"The did everything mostly silently, and they don't talk much to one
another. But one looks up and the other understands him. I began to
ask the tall one whether they had been living there long. He frowned,
began to say something, seemed to get angry; but the little ancient
one at once took him by the hand, smiled and the big one fell silent.
The ancient one just said 'Have mercy on us' and smiled."

While the peasant spoke the vessel drew still nearer to the island.

"Now you can really see it," said the merchant. "Be so good as to
look, your lordship," he said, pointing.

The Bishop looked. And indeed he saw a black streak--the little
island. After looking for a while the Bishop went away from the bow
to the stern and approached the helmsman.

"What is this little island here?"

"It's nameless. There are many of them here."

"Is it true what they say, that some hermits seek salvation there?"

"So they say, your lordship, but I don't know if it's true. Some
fishermen, they say, have seen them. It may be just idle talk."
"I should like to land on that island, to see the hermits," said the
Bishop. "How can this be done?"

"The ship cannot come near," said the helmsman. "You can come near in
a boat though, but the Captain must be asked."

They called the Captain.

"I should like to have a look at those hermits," said the
Bishop. "Can't you row me over?"

The Captain tried to talk him out of it. "It could be done, but we
would waste a lot of time, and if I may mention it to your lordship,
they are not worth looking at. I have heard from people that these
are foolish hold men who live there, they understand nothing and can
say nothing, like some kind of fish in the sea."

"I want to," said the Bishop. "I'll pay for the trouble, take me
there."

"There was nothing to be done; the shipmen gave orders, and sails
were trimmed. The helmsman turned the ship, and they sailed toward
the island. A chair was brought to the bow for the Bishop. He sat
down and watched. And all the people gathered at the bow, all looking
at the little rocks on the island and pointing out the earth hut. And
the Captain brought out a spyglass, looked through it, handed it to
the Bishop. "True enough," he said, "there on the shore, a bit to the
right of the large rock, there are three men standing."

The Bishop looked through the glass, trained it in the right
direction; true enough, there were three of them standing there: One
tall, another a little shorter, and the third quite small; they were
standing on the shore, holding hands.

The Captain went up to the Bishop. "Here, your lordship, the ship
must stop. If you so wish, you can go on in a boat, while we stand
here at anchor."

At once they let out the cable, cast anchor, furled the sail--the
ship jerked and shook. A boat was lowered, the oarsmen jumped down,
and the Bishop began to descend the ladder. The Bishop descended, sat
down on the seat in the boat, the oarsmen pulled at the oars and
rowed to the island. They rowed up within a stones throw; they saw;
there stood the three hermits--the tall one, naked girded with a
piece of sacking; the shorter one in a torn coat; and the ancient
little bent one, in a little old cassock. They stood, all three of
them, holding each other by the hand.

The oarsmen put to the shore, and held fast with a boathook. The
Bishop got out.

The hermits bowed to him, he blessed them, and they bowed to him even
lower. And the Bishop spoke to them.

"I have heard," he says, "that you, godly men, seek salvation here,
praying for people to Christ the Lord, while I, Christ's unworthy
servant, am here by God's grace, called upon to tend His flock, and
so I wanted to see you, servants of God, and give you instruction if
I can."

The hermits are silent, smile, and glance at each one another.

"Tell me how you seek salvation and how you serve God," said the
Bishop.

"The second hermit sighed and looked at the oldest, the ancient one;
the tall hermit frowned and looked at the oldest ancient on. And the
oldest, the ancient hermit, smiled and said: "We don't know, servant
of God, how to serve God; we only serve ourselves, feed ourselves."

"How then, do you pray to God?" asked the Bishop.

And the ancient hermit said: "We pray thus: three of You, three of
us, have mercy on us."

And as soon as the ancient hermit had said this all three hermits
raised their eyes to heaven and all three of them said: "Three of
You, three of us, have mercy on us".

With an amused smile, the Bishop said:
"You must have heard about the Holy Trinity, but you pray in the
wrong way. I have come to love you, godly hermits, I can see that you
want to please God, but do not know how to serve Him. That's not the
way to pray, but listen to me, and I'll teach you. I'll teach you not
in some way of my own, but I'll teach you according to the Lord's
Scripture, the way God commanded all men to pray to Him."

And the Bishop began to expound to the hermits how God have revealed
Himself to all men; he explained to them about God the Father, God
the Son and God the Holy Ghost, and said:

"God the Son came down on earth to save men and taught them all to
pray thus. Listen and repeat after me."

And the Bishop began to recite: "Our Father." And the one hermit
repeated: Our Father," the second repeated, too: "Our Father," and
the third, too, repeated: "Our Father"--"Which art in Heaven." The
hermits, too, repeated: "Which art in Heaven," but the second hermit
mixed up the words and said them wrong; and the tall naked hermit
could not pronounce them: his mouth was overgrown with whiskers, he
could not pronounce clearly; and the ancient toothless hermit mumbled
indistinctly.

The Bishop repeated once again, and once again the hermits repeated.
And down on a little rock sat the Bishop, and the hermits stood near
him and stared at his mouth and repeated after him that which he was
saying to them. And all day until evening, the Bishop labored with
them; and ten and twenty and a hundred times he would repeat a single
word, and the hermits would repeat it after him. They would get mixed
up, and he would correct them and make them repeat it all over again.

And the Bishop did not leave the hermits until he had taught them the
whole of the Lord's Prayer. They recited it after him and they
recited by themselves. The first to understand it was the middle
hermit and he repeated it all by himself. And the Bishop bade him say
it again and again, and repeat again and the other recited the entire
prayer.

It had already begun to grow dark and the young moon was rising out
of the sea when the Bishop rose to return to the ship. The Bishop
took leave of the hermits, they all bowed to the ground before him.
He raised them and embraced each one, bade them pray as he had taught
them and got into the boat and went back to his ship.

And as he was going back to the ship the Bishop still heard the
hermits loudly reciting in chorus the Lord's Prayer. They ere
approaching the ship, the hermits' voices were no longer heard, but
one could see in moonlight; standing on the shore, on the same spot,
were the three hermits--the smallest one in the middle, and the tall
one on the right, and the middle one on the left. The Bishop came up
to the ship, climbed on deck, the anchor was weighed, the sails were
unfurled, the wind filled them, set the ship in motion and sailed on.
The Bishop went to the stern and sat down there and kept looking at
the little island. At first the hermits could be seen, then they
disappeared from view, only the little island could be seen, then the
island disappeared, too; only the sea shimmered in the moonlight.

The pilgrims lay themselves down to sleep and all grew quiet on deck.
But the Bishop did not feel like sleeping, he sat alone on the stern,
gazed toward the place where the island had gone out of sight, and
though about the good hermits. He thought of how they had rejoiced in
having learned the prayer and he thanked God for giving them the word
of God.

The Bishop is sitting thus, thinking, gazing at the sea in the
direction of the vanished island. And his sight is blurred--now here,
now there the ,moonlight shimmers over the waves. Suddenly he seen s
something gleaming white in the path of the moon: is it a bird, a
gull or a little sail of a boat showing white? The Bishop peers
closer. "A sailing boar," he thinks, "speeding after us. But how fast
is it catching up to us? Just now it was far, far away and lo, it is
appearing quite near. And the boat is speeding after us and catching
up with us." And the Bishop cannot make out what it is: neither a
boat, nor a bird, now a fish! It looks like a man but is too big; and
then a man couldn't be in the middle of the sea.--The Bishop rose and
went up to the helmsman:

"Look," he said, "what is that?"

"What is that, my friend? What is it?" the Bishop keeps asking, but
he can now see for himself--over the sea speed the hermits, their
gray beards gleaming white, approaching the vessel as though it were
standing still.

The helmsman looked round, was terror--stricken, let go of the helm
and shouted in a loud voice:

"O Lord! The hermits are running after us over the sea as over dry
land!"

The people heard him, rose, and rushed to the stern. They all see:
the hermits are speeding, hand in hand, the ones on the outside
waving their arms, bidding the ship stop. All three speed over the
water as over dry land, without moving their feet.

The vessel had been barely stopped when the hermits drew even with
it, came right up alongside, raised their heads and spoke in unison:

"We have forgotten, servant of God, we have forgotten your teaching!
As long as we kept reciting it, we remembered it. We stopped reciting
for an hour, one word escaped us, and we forgot--everything fell
apart. We don't remember anything. Teach us again."

The Bishop crossed himself, leaned over the side to the hermits and
said:

"Your prayer, too, reaches God, godly hermits."

And the Bishop bowed to the ground before the hermits. And the
hermits stopped, turned and went back over the sea. And until
morning, a radiance shone in the direction in which the hermits had
disappeared.

Another nice stories to read: Short Stories to share with

Misrepresentation of Holy Trinity

by c.pio

In our previous article Trinity of Pagan World?, we discussed the issue on the alleged Pagan doctrine adopted by Catholic Church – the Trinity as false doctrine. But then, in a closer look and proper examination of the entire context, we can see no any congruity except for external similarities (since they saw a bundle of three they conclude that it was trinity). 

Ancient Pagan religion did not profess the belief in ONE GOD; they were all polytheist they worship multiple deities (gods and goddesses). So, like the Egyptian gods Osiris, Isis and Horus, seeing it in a group of three does not correspond to ONE GOD in three persons, it is THREE gods (from 8700 gods and goddesses) that group into THREE!  

But another mistake made by this allegation is the representation of the HOLY TRINITY (which commonly used by INC-1914 and J. Witnesses in attacking the Trinitarian doctrine). I agree, yes to Mr. Conrado J. Obligacion aka Conrado Rsbk (INC-1914 member and anti-Trinitarian) whom some time during his exchange in Trinitarian topic coined the word ‘monster’.



The Holy Trinity in Art

CATHOLIC CHURCH CONDEMNED SUCH ILLUSTRATION! 

This is not what the Holy Trinity is. The correct teaching of the Trinity is one God in three eternal coexistent persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

To put on records, these wrong illustrations belong to heretical doctrine called Modalism, also called Sabellianism, the belief that God is one person who has revealed himself in three forms. Accordingly, God is one person and has merely manifested himself in three forms at various times. (as a Father during creation, Son during redemption and as Holy Spirit during Pentecost). This heretical dogma is exactly the same with Hindu Modalist belief: Brahma, Vishnu and Shivah – the morphing god: a changing god for changing times

"At the end of a thousand periods of four Ages, when the earth's surface is for the most part wasted, there arises a dreadful drought that lasts for a hundred years. Then all these earthly beings whose strength has declined perish completely through oppression. And so the imperishable lord Vishnu, who abides in himself, adopts the form of Rudra, and exerts himself to act in order to destroy all creatures. [...] When everything movable and immovable in the world has perished in the watery darkness, these vast clouds pour down rain for another one hundred years. So is it as the end of every Eon, O excellent seer, by the majesty of the eternal Vasudeva, the supreme Lord. [...] Wind blown out of Vishnu's mouth makes the clouds disappear in a hundred years. When the eternal lord, fashioner of all creatures, inconceivable, the condition of creation, the beginning of everything who has no beginning himself, has entirely consumed the wind, then, reposing on Sesa in the single ocean, the lord, first creator, rests in the form of Brahma, praised by Sanaka and others...A day of Brahma, born of the lotus, lasts a thousand periods of four Ages; a night, when the world is destroyed and made into a vast ocean, is of the same length. At the end of the night, Vishnu, unborn, having awakened, takes the form of Brahma in order to create, as it has already been told to you." (Classical Hindu Mythology, quoted pp. 82-84, David Adams Leeming, The World of Myth).

(a)Three Headed / Three Faced Trinity

Taking into consideration its monstrosity, the Three Headed Trinity or the Three Faced Trinity has long been condemned by our Church, they were rejected by J. Gerson the chancellor of Paris University in the 15th century, Saint Antonious - archbishop of Florence again in the 15th century, J. Molanus a theologian of Leuven University in the 16th century, Pope Urban VIII in 17th century prohibited such art, and finally Pope Benedict XIV in 18th century.

In 1477 the Summa Theologica wrote by St Antonious Archbishop of Florence addressed artists saying:

“Painters are blameworthy when they paint things which are against the faith, when they make an image of the Trinity one person with three heads, which is monstrous in the nature of things.”

(b)Surviving example

St. Maria of Ponte di Cerreto, Italy

Santuario della Madonna

Church of St. Agata, Perugia Italy

Old Prayer Manuscript

(c)Proper representation

ONE GOD in three eternal coexistent persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Click Photo to enlarge

 

This is the oldest existing illustration of the Holy Trinity by Early Christian Church. The Dogmatic Sarcophagus, also known as the "Trinity Sarcophagus" (320–350 A.D.) Three similar bearded figures representing the Trinity, the middle enthroned representing God the Father, creating Eve from the rib of Adam, who lies on the ground.

A.B.C. Three persons represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit D. Eve E. Adam

This really reminds us the biblical account on Genesis 1:26 

Then God said, "Let US make man in OUR image, in OUR likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Wherein God speaks as a plurality that strongly suggests that there is more than one person in the Godhead. Same with Genesis 3:22; Genesis 11:7 and in Isaiah 6:8 – the singular speaker refers to himself in the plural.

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for US?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Another presentation (which I like most) the Old Testament Trinity icon by Andrey Rublev, c. 1400 (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). 

His illustration is base on another biblical account when Abraham visited by our God in the form of Three visitors [Genesis18:1-15]

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

Then lets us read the commentary of St. Augustine on this verse:

But under the oak at Mamre he saw three men, whom he invited, and hospitably received, and ministered to them as they feasted. Yet Scripture at the beginning of that narrative does not say, three men appeared to him, but, “The Lord appeared to him.” And then, setting forth in due order after what manner the Lord appeared to him, it has added the account of the three men, whom Abraham invites to his hospitality in the plural number, and afterwards speaks to them in the singular number as one; and as one He promises him a son by Sara, viz. the one whom the Scripture calls Lord, as in the beginning of the same narrative, “The Lord,” it says, “appeared to Abraham.” He invites them then, and washes their feet, and leads them forth at their departure, as though they were men; but he speaks as with the Lord God, whether when a son is promised to him, or when the destruction is shown to him that was impending over Sodom.

Trinity in Pagan World?

by c.pio

 

Moving. It is quite convincing especially for those who are not much familiar in Ancient pagan religion in particular the Asian History. This is how deception works, SELECT ONLY WHAT FITS TO ONE’S PREFERENCE instead of presenting the entire context.

Enemies of the Church prefer to argue according to SIMILARITIES (Is Catholic a Pagan Religion?). In dealing with the doctrine of Holy Trinity they commonly accused us that this was a borrowed from the heathens or adopted from Pagan religion. This argument goes flat from beginning to end, external similarities have long been rejected by expert in both field of Archeology and Anthropology.

By saying so, no single history book that says that during an Ancient time, Egypt worshiped only ONE GOD IN THREE PERSONS nor any Hindu Priest today would dare to step-forward and say Hey, we have only one God not gods or goddesses but one God in three persons same with the Christian Triad.

None! 

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TRINITY?

Osiris, Isis and Horus

Horus, Osiris and Isis

According to Egypt Mythology, Osiris is god of Afterlife, the under-world and Dead. He is the oldest son of god Geb & goddess Nut. He is husband as well as brother of god Isis and god Horus is their son. 

Now, we have a lovely family portrait of mythical married couple with their son. The question now is, did any Egyptian ever describe these three gods as One God in Three persons same like Christian Holy Trinity? Ancient Egyptians never considered these three gods to be three persons in ONE God! Or were these three gods the ONLY gods in Ancient Egypt? Contrary, they worshipped numerous divinities Nekhbet, the vulture goddess, Ammut, the crocodile goddess known as the "Devourer of the Dead", Anubis, Ra, Babi, Bes, Geb etc.

In fact, Osirus, Isis and Horus are not even consider the supreme among their gods and sometimes these gods are scattered to join the group of other gods and goddesses… by ten, some of four, five or in duo no set of rules by which god/goddess may be substituted.  So why are these three gods described as a 'trinity'? Simply because they are three gods, and as everyone knows (especially the INC-1914 and J.Witnesses), a 'trinity' is 'three gods.'

Osiris, Anubis and Horus

 

 

The Egyptian Pantheon (gods & goddesses)

Brama, Vishnu and Shiva

HINDU TRINITY?

Brama, Vishnu and Shiva

Brama the creator god, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer god. Is the God of Christian are the same from the very function of these three mythical gods?

Any alleged Hindu parallel with the Holy Trinity quickly debunk by simply analyzing the description of these three deities. Plus, same with Ancient Egyptian Hindus have numerous numbers of deities. 

Hindu Pantheon (gods & goddesses)

Just pick three from hundreds of gods & goddesses, bundle it into three then you have now a 'trinity'. Funny.

Clearly a triad of distinct pagan gods, not a trinity in the Christian sense.

There are so many 'alleged' trinity in the pagan world that the enemy of the Church was use to debunked the truth... but all of them are fall under same fallacy. Similis hoc ergo propter hoc.

due to limited space, I opt not to discuss here the wrong presentation of Holy Trinity as shown above. In next article I will deal on this (the Modalism Heresy)

The Desire for God

By c.pio

Baguio City. Its six o’clock in the morning, I go straight to the window… opened it, took a long deep breathe and let the misty cool air run through my nostrils… then I exhaled. In an instant it rejuvenates this sleepy tired body from yesterday activities. I glance the surrounding, my eyes captured a distant picturesque view of a pine forest sleeping under the blanket of a thin layer of white fog…AWSOME! Truly, how wonderful your handwriting is, my Lord. Amen.

          

I closed the window, headed to take a twenty minutes hot shower. Elevator – pressed the G button. Rush to the cafeteria for a cup of aromatic dark-brewed Benguet coffee.

Now, we are ready for a whole day learning process.

Deadpan. Bul’ol – rice god of highland people greeted us. Ifugaos are deity worshipper people; they expressed their beliefs in the numerous rites and prayers. Believe it or not they have as many as 1,500 deities in various ranks – gods to demons, monster to imps. They have various rituals to invoke their deities’ favor and to dispel the malady or misfortune. Sacrificial animals are common and meant to ‘bribe’ the gods. (the Mumbaki – ifugao priest study the carcass for omen to know if their prayers are answered).

This observation reminds me of my childhood ambition – to be a famous Anthropologist but most of all the Church teaching:

Indigenous religion – the Mythical gods

Man created his god

By focusing on Human behavior during a period where knowledge was not fully developed, wherein answers to every problem are not on the tip of a finger, Man has to rely on his illusionary / imaginative section of his brain. He creates Myth or story.

For instance, in an early stage man cannot explain the nature of SUN, why I cannot stare to it directly? Why this thing is so hot? Because he cannot find any answer that could address to all his ‘Why’, this SUN which has unexplained qualities became so mysterious to him and deep enough to be more powerful, this mysterious powerful now became a Being, then he called this Being as his god! [an instinct to respect that there is something greater than themselves] and since this god is powerful, he has to please him. Now the ritual begins, he has to offer something to gain the favor of his sun god. He has to do everything because this god is sacred - beyond his human capacity.

Same way with the rice god; the Ifugaos like all their Malay ancestry, rice is staple food, they cannot consider meal a meal without rice - they cannot live without rice. By associating rice to life, this rice became powerful that could strike-down someone’s life without it… this powerful again became being and they call this being Bul’ol or the rice god.

Myths attempt to explain the origins of things, but this explanation does not survive rational questioning.

With the explanation of science these gods became rare and in the blink of extinction.

In the end, it allows me to contemplate the pristine teaching of our Church; The Catechism of the Catholic Church succinctly explains the Human longing for his Creator – his desire for God.

I. THE DESIRE FOR GOD
 

27 The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for: 

The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his creator.¹

28 In many ways, throughout history down to the present day, men have given expression to their quest for God in their religious beliefs and behavior: in their prayers, sacrifices, rituals, meditations, and so forth. These forms of religious expression, despite the ambiguities they often bring with them, are so universal that one may well call man a religious being: 

From one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him - though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For "in him we live and move and have our being."²

Defend Life

‎

IN MEMORY OF FATHER NORMAN WESLIN

ACKNOWLEGMENT

VIDEO FROM THE SALT MINISTRY (click here PTSalt)

An exclusive footage of Coach Dave

Father Norman Weslin's arrest at Notre Dame University for protesting abortion.

Different depictions of Jesus Christ

 by c.pio

African Christ - Baptism

Chinese Christ - Last Supper

JaosonINC: Catholics are idiot! Christ is one person… but look LOL Catholic cannot give an exact facial feature of him HAHAHAHA

If I will post a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ depicting in an Ethnic presentation to my Catholic Brothers or Sisters, no doubt they would agree that the person depicted in the image is our Messiah. But try to show this to a nation or races that knew nothing about him. I know you know what could be the outcome. 

Painting or images depicting Christ in different races attesting the biblical accounts that Christ is

King of kings and Lord of all lords. Revelation 17:14

that he is with us Matthew 28:20, to show his plan to all races:

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

          Isaiah 11:6-10

and his invitation to his Kingdom

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  Matthew 11:29-30

Paul and his Missionary Journey

A True ecumenical approach – unity in Cultural Diversity

One good biblical account of proclaiming a gospel thru ethnic approach was made by Apostle Paul, in Acts 17 we can read it clearly how he invite the gentiles and offer the Kingdom of God.

Paul begin with a complimentary word to captures the goodwill of his listeners "I perceive that in every way you are very religious" then he explain who is this "unknown god" of the Athenians.

Paul adhere to what our Lord said "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6 He used the Athenian Literature, he presented an image of an Athenian Christ

Acts 17:28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

Taken from two Greek Philosophers name Epimedes (6th century BC reputed author of religious and poetical writings) and Aratus (315–c. 245 BC, Macedonia Greek poet)

          

Eratus

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

– Epimenides, Cretica

From Zeus let us begin; him do we mortals never leave unnamed;full of Zeus are all the streets and all the market-places of men;full is the sea and the havens thereof; always we all have need of Zeus. For we are also his offspring;

– Aratus ,Phaenomena 1-5

Epimenides

Again in his epistles to Titus 1:12-14 even one of their own prophets has said, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.

The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!

– Epimenides, Cretica is a poem against the general sentiment of Crete, proposed that pagan god Zeus was immortal.

Menander

Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 1Cor. 15:33

"Evil communications corrupt good manners"

 – Menander, Thaïs (342–291 BC) was a Greek dramatist

1 Timothy 5:4 But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God.

Terence

But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home

- Andria Act IV,  Publius Terentius Afer (185–159 BC), was a comic playwright 

 Whatever races you belong… color, language… Christ is always present.