Written: Jan 7, 2024
Last Edited: Jan 8, 2024
When people read the name of my ministry, they tend to raise a red flag when they see the word “Prism.” It’s because a prism is so similar to a pyramid right? And what does the pyramid remind people of? Does it not remind people of the Freemasons and the Illuminati? Though the actual symbol these two organizations are tied to is a pyramid with an eye in the center, the similarity of a prism to a pyramid tends to raise a red flag in many people’s minds.
Well, let me set aside your worries. The reason why my ministry is focusing on the Prism is because of its propensity to split the light into a rainbow.
When we look at a beam of light we, normally, do not think about the properties of light, but when light enters a medium that slows down the speed of light, just like this prism, we realize that white light is made up of an array of colorful lights. In “Praying For Our Enemies,” in the section titled “Interaction of the Spirit (part 2), I talked about taste. I talked about how we can break down BigMac sauce into individual components through taste. I used that analogy to talk about the distinction between our spirits with our feelings or emotions, whereas normally spirit and feelings/emotions are perceived as the same entity. However, in order for us to grow in God, I recommended that people spend the time to learn to distinguish between the two.
When The Meaning Changes – The Language
The Bible is a collection of writings from many centuries ago where, through the passage of time, the languages of the world had undergone numerous changes in the way it was written. Civilizations ended and languages died out, and in the case of the Bible, the Greek language had a facelift whereas the Hebrew language didn’t change as dramatically. Regardless of how major or minor the change, any change in the written form of the language signifies that the communication format, itself, has changed. That means the manner in which an idea is conserved through the writing has also changed. In other words, the meanings of words or word phrases would either make sense or not make sense based on how recently the language changed.
For example, originally, English was the primary language in the United States and the United Kingdom, But over the years, usage of the English language changed for both countries, and now there is American English and British English. As such, certain things that are said in the U.K. are not always understood in the U.S. Whereas, in the United States, people get in line to get in the theater, in the United Kingdom, people get in the queue instead.
When The Meaning Changes – The Society
In the above example, the U.S. and U.K. had different ruling governments, different geographic locations, different conflicts and issues, different climates, different inventions, etc., and people in each country lived different lives, with different values. Such promoted different usage of the English language, and as a result, the language in both countries evolved in different directions and started using words and phrases that only made sense to those in the respective countries.
Now, apply this concept to other countries in the span of hundreds of years. Imagine how much a society can change during 2000 years? Think about what happened to United States. U.S. is known as a melting pot because people from all over the world came into the country and introduced diverse traditions and cultures. And, sometimes, certain words and phrases from the visiting country were incorporated into the American language and evolved into the American English that we know today. At the time of the introduction, the incorporated words/phrases may have easily described a situation or an issue to the people living in that era, but the people reading the same words/phrases after 4-500 years may not understand the situation or an issue in the same manner.
Again, the Bible is a collection of writings from hundreds of years ago. The original language that was used back then has changed so much that the meanings of the words and how they were used in certain phrases may appear crystal clear in their meaning, but the actual meaning may differ.
When The Meaning Changes – The Writing Style
When I was still in medical school, as I was preparing to apply to the residency program, I decided to show my personal statement to a doctor who is an alumnus of my medical school. I wanted his critique and his suggestions on what to put in my personal statement. After I had written it, as I was proofreading it for the final time, I remember feeling good as I was congratulating myself on writing a fine essay. When I received his critique, he flat-out told me it was hard to read and he didn’t understand anything I wrote. He said it was wordy and the sentences were unnecessarily long.
I remember asking myself, “Is he not an American? How can he not understand my writings?” No, he was not an American. However, if he was smart enough and educated enough to become a medical doctor, comprehending written English was not an issue for him.
I have never been a stellar English student while I was in school, but I have never had difficulty expressing myself in writing. Needless to say, I was shocked at his response! I considered myself a deep-thinker, and I understood that the general population may not always understand my logic, but I had thought that someone who became a doctor would have to have enough intellect to follow my long drawn-out thoughts, as I didn’t violate any grammatical rules and my usage of the punctuations were adequate. “I mean, I see other writers do it too! Why is it their long drawn-out sentences were fine, but not mine?”
What I found out was that people of different personalities write in different styles. For example, I am well aware that some of the sayings in my articles are difficult for others to understand because of my writing style, and I was not blessed with the ability to simplify my thoughts so that others can easily understand them. But then again, I have to acknowledge that at the other end of the spectrum, there are people who do not have the patience for lengthy reading. Their personalities are not compatible with reading. Then there are an array of people in between the extremes.
So, my point is that, sometimes, written words or phrases are understood only by people of the like minds or of the right personalities. That said, based on my reading of the Bible, I have found that there are many parts of the Bible where the writings and/or concepts mentioned were written for a person like me. And, when I thought about, “how to share that with others,” I realized that using the Prism and the property of light was the most correct method.
So, let me go ahead and illustrate how that will work!
Prism and the Property of Light
So, to start off, when light is constricted to a medium that slows down its speed, we realize that white light is made up of all of the above tones of color. That means, if I remove the red tone from the light, the light won’t be white/clear anymore. The same is true if I remove any other tone of color or colors of light. So, below is a summary of what I just said.
White light is white because ALL of the other tones of colors come together to make it white. So, Red tone, alone, will not make white light and the same is true with other tones of color. I will use this property of light to explain the essence of SALVATION, below.
Paul says, in Ephesians 2:8-9, Salvation is achieved with Faith alone, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. However, James says otherwise, in James 2:17, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” So, who is right? Paul or James?
Isn’t this concern that of white light, mentioned above? I said that red color (Faith), alone does not make white light, and the same with blue (Works). I said that white light is made of a combination of all the other tones of light. In the same manner, Salvation is complete when both Faith and Works are present.
But isn’t this, still, a contradiction that is apparent in the Bible? A question like this is the reason why I am using this Prism model. Even though it seems like Paul and James are talking about the same issue, they are not quite in congruence. The difference between Paul’s statement and James’s statement is a temporal issue. Paul is talking about salvation in terms of the initial phase of Salvation. He is saying that at the time of a person’s initial salvation, it was not the person’s works or other qualifications that granted him/her the salvation, but the faith alone, “so that no one may boast.”
If I were to go back to the light illustration, I can say that Paul’s whole argument is only regarding the “red light.” For example, I can write a whole paragraph dedicated to the red tone of the white light. I can say that “red light” makes up the white light or that “red light” is included in the white light. I could also say that “red light” has a longer wavelength as compared to other tones of color. As an inverse, I could say that “red light” has a slower frequency as compared to other tones of color. All of these statements that I just made about “red light” are true!
I said that the issue between Paul’s statement and James’s is a temporal issue. I can just talk about “red light” as it pertains to time. For example, as the sunlight bends, the first tone of color that becomes visible to our eyes is red (faith) and one of the last tones of color that leaves our eyes is blue (works). Just as Paul talked about “faith” to represent the initial portion of a person’s salvation, red is the initial tone of color that enters our eyes.
As you can see, the prism and the property of light is an ideal illustration to further the understanding of an individual regarding Christianity! But, before we leave here, I have a confession. The above illustration of salvation is only a small portion of real salvation! See below.
Salvation is 1) a gift from God – True, 2) happens through loving God and our neighbors (Luke 10:25-28) – And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life (true salvation)?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 3) manifests works – True, 4) achieved through endurance – True, 5) received through faith in Jesus and the knowledge of Jesus – True, 6) Ten Commandments – Matt 19:16-19 and Luke 18:18-20 speaks of inheriting eternal life (true salvation).
True salvation is the salvation that leads to eternal life Vs. one-time salvation where we accepted God’s gift, but later on throw it away (denying God – 2 Timothy 2:12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us) and negate that gift of salvation. I am sure I won’t have to mention faith and works, but the reason why I included 2 Peter 1:5-10 is because we just believing Jesus Vs. believing Jesus after having known him is two different things. We can say we believe in Jesus without really knowing who he is about is no different from saying we believe in any Joe Shumo!
So, this completes my explanation of the prism aspect of the ministry, and I sincerely hope that I have made sense.
Thank you!
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