IBADAN, OYO STATE - The Catholic Bishop of Ondo Diocese, Most Rev. Jude Arogundade has stressed the need for the proper knowledge of the Scripture for a faithful and rewarding Christian life, pointing out that the “Word of God is the key to the door of Faith.” Bishop Arogundade posited this assertion in his keynote address to the workshop for members of the Catholic Biblical Apostolate of Nigeria, held recently at the Redemptorist House, Ibadan, Oyo State. The paper titled: The Word Of God Key to the Door of Faith, was delivered on behalf of the bishop by Rev. Fr. Anthony ‘Dewale Ojo while the workshop was organized by the Religious Education, Catechesis and Biblical Apostolate unit of the Pastoral Affairs department of the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria. Using several references from the Bible, other teachings and traditions of the Church to buttress his point, Bishop Arogundade established the Scripture as the cornerstone of the Christian faith noting that the Word of God plays a major role in helping us to accept and respond to the plan of God. According to the local ordinary of Ondo Diocese, the first place to know God or learn something about Him is the scripture. Quoting several instances in the Bible, Bishop Arogundade further submitted: “… so faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ (Rom. 10, 14 & 17). He continued: “If one is to believe, he needs to encounter the objects of faith and there may no meaningful encounter without introduction.” Bishop Arogundade went further to reflect on the Old Testament being the Key to the New Testament and Our Lord Jesus Christ being the only way to God the Father. He also spoke on the Word of God as the source of every Doctrine of the Church pointing out that: “The Bible is the source of every doctrine of the Church, every teaching of the Church is biblically based and the Bible is its source.” Adding that tradition is complimentary to the Bible, the bishop noted that: “The reality is that the content of faith is more than what is recorded in the scriptures.” The bishop therefore admonished the participants and indeed all faithful to have deep knowledge of the Word of God to be able to profess their faith and carry out their apostolate successfully. Other speakers at the workshop included Very Rev. Fr. Callistus Elucuie, who spoke on the importance of Introductory Course on Sacred Scriptures for all levels of the faithful of the Church and Rev. Fr. Michael Oyedare whose paper was premised on the form of meditation rooted in liturgical celebration prayer – Lectio Divina.