5/4/22
Mr. Deace,
During your program yesterday (May 3, 2022) you repeated a common theme of yours “there are only broken people”, aka “all men are sinners.”
If all men are sinners the implication is this: God is powerless to make one sinless. A statement that cannot be true, for God’s power is unlimited. If you say he created one sinless person, Jesus, that only moves the problem one step away for it places another limit on God; he can create a sinless person, but only one.
Sola Scriptura
Another repetitive idiom of yours is your insistence upon total reliance to your belief in ’sola scriptura”, a tactic of ancient origin used to dismiss the authority of the pope who, like all ‘broken people’, should not be relied upon for dissemination of absolute truth as the Bible is the only source of infallible truth.
The logical conclusion of your beliefs is this: “there are only broken people”, people wrote the Bible; therefore, the Bible is broken. To put it another way: “all men are sinners”, the Bible was written by sinners who—like the pope—are fallible, therefore, the Bible written by them must also be fallible.
No amount of darkness can produce light. No amount of ignorance can produce knowledge and no amount of untruth can produce truth. In the same way, no amount of fallible can produce infallible.
Reliance upon scripture alone, sola scriptura, is another fallacious belief produced by a “broken people” of which you claim to be one.
Sola scruptura is an example of the fallible (be it yourself or Marsilius*) deciding what must be accepted as infallible. You are an intelligent man, why do you accept this obviously false logic?
Scripture does not produce saints (divine persons), saints produce scripture and, in turn, other saints.
There are scriptures written by infallible saints (the Vedas and their corollaries) which, in important ways, mirror the teachings of Jesus and the Bible but also reveal higher truths not found in the Bible or the teachings of Jesus.
The conclusion is not that infallible truth is non-existent or that it is unattainable. It exists and is attainable, but only through discipleship of a qualified self-realized spiritual master following the method described thusly:
Bg. 4.34
तद्विद्धि प्रणिपातेन परिप्रश्नेन सेवया ।
उपदेक्ष्यन्ति ते ज्ञानं ज्ञानिनस्तत्त्वदर्शिनः ॥ ३४ ॥
tad viddhi praṇipātena
paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ
jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
Synonyms
tat — that knowledge of different sacrifices; viddhi — try to understand; praṇipātena — by approaching a spiritual master; paripraśnena — by submissive inquiries; sevayā — by the rendering of service; upadekṣyanti — they will initiate; te — you; jñānam — into knowledge; jñāninaḥ — the self-realized; tattva — of the truth; darśinaḥ — seers.
Translation
Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized souls can impart knowledge unto you because they have seen the truth.
Purport
The path of spiritual realization is undoubtedly difficult. The Lord therefore advises us to approach a bona fide spiritual master in the line of disciplic succession from the Lord Himself. No one can be a bona fide spiritual master without following this principle of disciplic succession. The Lord is the original spiritual master, and a person in the disciplic succession can convey the message of the Lord as it is to his disciple. No one can be spiritually realized by manufacturing his own process, as is the fashion of the foolish pretenders. The Bhāgavatam (6.3.19) says, dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam: the path of religion is directly enunciated by the Lord. Therefore, mental speculation or dry arguments cannot help lead one to the right path. Nor by independent study of books of knowledge can one progress in spiritual life. One has to approach a bona fide spiritual master to receive the knowledge. Such a spiritual master should be accepted in full surrender, and one should serve the spiritual master like a menial servant, without false prestige. Satisfaction of the self-realized spiritual master is the secret of advancement in spiritual life. Inquiries and submission constitute the proper combination for spiritual understanding. Unless there is submission and service, inquiries from the learned spiritual master will not be effective. One must be able to pass the test of the spiritual master, and when he sees the genuine desire of the disciple, he automatically blesses the disciple with genuine spiritual understanding. In this verse, both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned. Not only should one hear submissively from the spiritual master, but one must also get a clear understanding from him, in submission and service and inquiries. A bona fide spiritual master is by nature very kind toward the disciple. Therefore when the student is submissive and is always ready to render service, the reciprocation of knowledge and inquiries becomes perfect.
—A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Bhagavad-gita As It Is
As God exists, so do liberated souls (saints), some of whom are sent to this world to disseminate knowledge of Him. Liberated souls, free from sin, should be sought out to gain knowledge of the Supreme Lord, for only they have full knowledge of Him. As God is unlimited, there are unlimited numbers of liberated souls who faithfully serve Him in loving devotion.
I like the idea “Seek and yea shall find.” It is true. If you seek a divine guide, a liberated soul, in the form of a spiritual master, there is no doubt you will find him for God is very merciful to the sincere seekers and He guarantees that result.
When you find such a liberated person you will be relieved to discover the truth of what I wrote above: Scripture does not produce saints (divine persons), saints produce scripture and, in turn, other saints. That means you too can become a liberated soul, a saint, as God wants you to be. You do not have to remain your whole life in the category of “only broken people.”
I pray this finds you well in health and spirits.
Sincerely,
Swami B.K. Giri
*”Marsilius believed that the pope doesn’t have absolute authority, and that the scriptures are above the pope. Marsilius saw the scriptures as being above the church and believed the papacy to be of human arrangement instead of divine.” —Wikipedia