Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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John 3:3 - 5 Jesus answered and said to him: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith to
him: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his
mother's womb and be born again? Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say to thee,
unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.
Some maintain that only a profession of faith is necessary, but I prefer to take my
orders directly from Jesus (and His Holy Catholic Church), who considered the
Sacrament of Baptism so important that Christ Himself received it. His Father in
heaven agreed!
Matthew 3:13 - 17 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan, unto John, to
be baptized by him. But John stayed him, saying: I ought to be baptized by thee,
and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said to him: Suffer it to be so
now. For so it becometh us to fulfil all justice. Then he suffered him. And Jesus
being baptized, forthwith came out of the water: and lo, the heavens were
opened to him: and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming
upon him. And behold a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.
Matthew 28:18 - 20 And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given
to me in heaven and in earth. Going
therefore, teach ye all nations: baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you. And behold I am
with you all days, even to the
consummation of the world.
Just as Christ's birth powerfully proclaimed
"God's Kingdom" on earth, our "rebirth in
the Holy Spirit" through the sacrament of
Baptism, banishes sin and proclaims ”God's
Kingdom" to the whole of creation. This is powerful stuff!
You might ask, "If God's Kingdom is so powerful, why then, is
there still so much evil in the world, today?"
Let's look at the problem of evil in contemporary terms.
As this is being written, the United States is at war in Iraq. Death and destruction is
a daily occurrence, with heavy casualties on both sides. All this conflict goes on
despite the fact that the Iraqi leader, Sadaam Hussein has been out of power
since April of 2003 and has since been captured and locked up in jail.
Sadaam Hussein is powerless, yet his followers continue to fight. In fact, they
often choose to fight while mixing in with groups of innocent civilians (for protection
and cover).
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