That is why there are so many versions of Christianity. That and the verse "`How can you say, "We [the Jews] are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?'" How can you know what is correct if much of it can be false? Using context, I could say that Christians never really come back from the dead but "Live forever" in the memory of those they helped.
I just scanned over your reference material from the web site [answering-christianity.com]. If this is your only source material its no wonder you're suffering from a stunted and warped view of Christianity as a whole.
The Apostle Paul, "says that all of the Bible is God breathed". The argument from the [about.com] web site is that the "Bible" didn't even exist.
That's a lame and pitiful excuse for a totally wrong statement since every 10 year old knows that the Torah was written on scrolls. Furthermore, the Septuagint was made for Greek-speaking Jews in Egypt in the 2nd-3rd centuries BC.
Paul, before his conversion was
Saul of TarsusHe was born to Orthodox Jewish/Pharisees parents in a Roman district, thus a Roman Citizen.
His Hebrew name was Saul(meaning, desired/asked for) and his Roman name was Paulus,(meaning, small). Other resources I've read argue about Paul's heritage and his father being a true descendant of Benjamin. That's understandable because scholars aren't sure of the date of his birth either.
The point I hope to make is that the early Christian Church was hunted by the Romans and hated by the Hebrews and Rome. Rome hadn't embraced the Christian faith and the popular faith of that era was pagan.
When Hebrews began intermarrying with pagans, different forms of philosophy and religious thought sprang up, Essene, Hellenistic and Stoic are a few I know something about.
Hellenistic society has its roots in the Classical Greek thought, influence and customs. George T. Montague had this to say concerning Paul's use of Classical Greek and his possible exposure to the university or philosophical schools in his training: "His mastery of the Greek literary technique of the diatribe and his occasional citation of Greek authors(Aratus in Acts 17:18 Meander in 1Corinthians 15:23; Epimenides in Titus 1:1)are considered by some as evidence that he frequented the Hellenistic schools of rhetoric. Information obtained from
The American Journal of Biblical TheologyThis resource also shows clear definitions of Stoicism, Judaism, Essenes, etc.
Why do you think modern archaeologists are finding the scrolls of the Essene's in jars, hidden in caves? I don't understand much about the Essenes except that they are a branch of Judaism and lived like monks.
When reading about the Sadducees from this web site, the similarities of modern political pressures still, to this day, influence some church rules and functions. Even sermons are to some degree influenced by popular political thought.
Your opinion of Christians never dying, but living forever is false.
I was alone with my mom when she passed and I knew the second her spirit left her body because when she brushed past me, in a doorway, I felt a slight breeze and my hair moved. No doors or windows were open and I ran to the sliding glass door to open it while saying goodbye to my mother. It was the most beautiful experience other than my wedding day and the birth of my son, I've ever had.
These are experiences of a deeply personal nature than defy nature. That's why they're called mysteries.
I see you have gotten the sexist "Men are better than women" message that is in many parts of the Bible. You could easily have achieved the same effect threw a different outlet, even a sport would could have done the same. This in no way proves any deity but is a peer pressure "Join us, we are happy" band wagon propaganda kind of thing I dislike(some may even call it brain washing...)
Obviously, you didn't read the entire comment I wrote. I wasn't influenced by peers of any sort; I was not attending any church services. I was totally alone when I had my Epiphany. Your theory fails, miserably.
I think the murder of millions, from both hate crimes and wars, as well as religious walls trying to block off stem cell research, cloning, and other human based experiments allows me to be some what hostile of religion.
Civilization went through a lot of changes between the Old and New Testament days.
GOD demanded obedience in the Old Testament era and His ways and methods do seem harsh to us now. Conversely, by the time the Hebrews were demanding a king instead of judges on earth, to serve, his name was Saul and he wasn't a very pleasant person at all. David replaced him and he still made mistakes.
God's punishments were "swift and severe" and very shocking and cruel to today's standards. GOD wasn't forming a democracy in the wilderness with the Children of Abraham. He was forming His Army!
How does an army learn to kill? By being killed. How do a group of people gain wisdom? By learning humility and obedience.
Politics has much more influence over which scientific research is conducted or even mentioned to the public. There are many religious sects that wave the banner of Christ who are neither Christ filled or Christ believing but rather are extremists and pervert the Word of God to suit there agendas.
Personally, I'm all for stem-cell research, that I disagree with you because I don't think research was hindered at all but rather hushed up. I don't believe in gaining the cells from aborted fetus'. There are other, non-evasive, more humane ways of gaining this material.
Okay I might as well touch on a few things before the topic get's routed to a change for being away from the OP (To bad it was getting to be more engaging off topic then on.)
I don't think it was very engaging at all. It lacked reputable links to factual knowledge of Biblical doctrine. It was baseless rantings of an immature child.
Seeing as faith is belief without proof, how can that possibly go hand and hand with wisdom? Yes faith can give the illusion of deep understanding, but without something definitive to back it up (evidence) all it is is an assertion being held as true. If you do have something definitive backing up your belief, it has a hard time being called faith.
My change of mind and heart was complete. I wasn't chanting the same prayer 12 times a day for a year before I changed. GOD excepted me as I was, a broken, bitter, b**** of a self-ceneterd person that barely liked herself. I didn't know that at the time but this is how drastically I've changed. No one can fake this. I'm not pretended to know GOD and His love for me, I just instinctively know. How can you measure or test a mothers/fathers instincts about their beloved children. How can a mother, at a busy airport hear the cry of a child and know in their gut(which is the location of the Biblical heart), that is their child in distress? What method of science can measure the feeling of the hairs going up on the back of the neck when the individual doesn't even "feel" cold but instead, instinctively senses danger?
I'm not posing these questions as a hedge or side-step but I'm trying to illustrate to you the absolute nonsense of how your questions and accusations sound to me.
