Von: fpbstra@club-internet.fr (Francis BUSSER)
  Datum: 23.05.98, 14:40:34
Betreff: Re: When the SAINTS go marching home...

Brunner De wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I would like to all those who have responded to my questions on the name game
> as will refer it from now on. It is worse then the real name game where they
> sing your name in a song with rymthing words. But I do have it all figured out
> with the middle name or call name as most put it.
> Now for another question. Baptiste and William are these bible names?
> and Do Lutherans go by a bible that christians go by?
> Dee


Hello Dee,

'Baptiste' is biblical and refer to 'John the Baptist' (Mt 14.1-12 or Mc
6.17-29). John was a prophet in Galilea at the time of Jesus-Christ. It
was decapitated by Herod owing to his criticism.

William, Willi, Wilhelm, Guillaume refer to saints in the Catholic
christian Church. God alone is Holy, but the 'Saint' participate to his
holiness. Each of us is called to saintliness as a form of relation or
union with God and for christians, with Christ. Some realize this ideal
better as others, and the Catholic Church give them as an exemple to the
community, in so she cannonize them, it est, say them 'Saint'. This
incite the Catholics to take exemple from the 'Saints' in her life or in
her dead (martyrs) and allow the Christians to address prayers to God
through the intercession of the 'Saints' (as a kind of advocates). This
has lead to some deviations and misunderstandings, so the Protestants
mostly prefer to pray God directly and don't like to pass through
intercessors.

The 'Bible' is not a book, but a library, a collection of books formed
by the compilation of many documents first transmitted in several
languages by oral tradition (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). Catholics,
Orthodoxes, Protestants and Jews have the same 'Bible', but with
slightly different translations and selections (canons).

The Jewish 'Thora' ('The Rule') is formed from the five first books of
the Scripture (Pentateuch). The other books are an history of the faith
and of 'Gods People' through the prophets.

To the Jewish Bible, considered as 'the Old Testament', the Christians
add 'The New Testament' or 'Gospel', a collection of textes written
after the dead of Jesus. The Protestants consider some more recents of
these textes as apocryphal (of doubtful authenticity). This is today the
only difference between a Catholic and a Protestant Bible. Both are very
carefully translated and many translations are oecumenical (it was time
!). I know today only one would-be 'Christian Church' wich use his own
deliberately falsifiated translation to confort his sectarianism.

Protestants are Christians (indeed, they are !), as well as Catholics
and Orthodoxes. Lutherans are one of the branches or denominations of
the Protestant family of Christians.

To return to our 'Saints', William, Willi, Wilhelm, Guillaume can refer
to several differents 'Saints'. Please remember, it is tradition to
choose a 'patron saint' at the baptism. In France, the patron saint for
William, Willi, Wilhelm or Guillaume is mostly 'Guillaume de Bourges'
('William from Bourges', a town in France) celebrated the 10th of
january. Sometimes and in other countries, the patron are William from
Eschil, from Saint-Brieuc, from Maleval, from Monte-Vergine, from
Norwich, from Roschild (Roskilde?), from York.

I hope this help.

Avec les amitiés de Francis Busser (in Strasbourg, Alsace, France)