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Christians...how do you justify all of this?

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posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 11:49 AM
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I think if you looked at the history of the world and the things that have happened since Christianity became an 'official' religion, you would not think it has had such a positive influence.

I'd be more impressed with Christians if they actually acted like the one they purport to follow. Give away all your possessions and dedicate your life to serving your fellow man. Put your body where you say your faith is and stand between Israeli tanks and lawful Palestinian homes (not to mention female American peace activists) being bull-dozed. Join the Christian peacekeepers Teams and go to Darfur to lay down your life for your fellow man.

Mod Note: Courtesy Is Mandatory – Please Review This Link.

What do we expect form a religion that represents itself with a symbol of torture and death?

If God is able to prevent the rape of infants and grandmothers in Darfur and doesn't, then he's a pretty petty god and not worthy of any of my attention. If he's unable then he's not omnipotent, is he? Somehow, evil is stronger then he is, therefore he is not god. Or, God is evil...whoa!

The bible is a compendium of stories plaigiarized from other, older religions. The virgin birth, the execution and subsequent resurrection after three days in a tomb....nothing new or original about it!! Gee whiz, people! At least come up with something dozens of other religions haven't already come up with!!

Islam is no more violent than Christianity. Yes, there are fanatical zealots...ever hear of the abortion clinic bombing Christian? Should we assume ALL Christians are as psychotic as him? Maybe not. Then again, he IS proof there are Christian terrorists, isn't he??

You have to have FAITH to believe the bible...because it's a fairy tale. Just like Santa Claus...just keep saying "I believe!, I believe!!" Oh wait..is that Tinkerbelle???

I believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster because I've been touched by His noodly appendage. But, I'm not invested in you believing in Him.

[edit on 3/7/08 by FredT]



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 11:52 AM
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The first problem today seems to be that we've been brainwashed into believing that ALL ancient history is myth. It isn't. Ancient history is simply that: history. It's been called religious because the people chose certain figures in history to work for (the definition of worship), to believe in and to fight for.

The second problem appears to be language barriers, translations and so forth.

The third problem appears to be time and frame of reference. We weren't there so we look at our experience and expect it to approximate what they were experiencing, and since we don't appear to be able to do that, we assume they didn't do it either. This is a perfect example of frame of reference problems.

There's many more.

I have an explanation for why Jehovah appears to be off the charts in the OT (Old Testament). However, it MAY take this thread off the OPs topic (and then again, it may not. just depends on the OP)



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 11:52 AM
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And lastly, if you think that the bible is a bad reference an unbelievable piece of a book, what makes you think that a 10 minute You tube video is more believable & accurate source or reference?
reply to post by searching_for_truth
 


Well, for starters, because the wording and the scriptures on the video come straight FROM THE BIBLE. Are you saying that direct quotes from the bible were written incorrectly in the video? Otherwise, I have no idea what you mean.

Even if the video narrator were dead silent, and only the images of the biblical scriptures were shown, it would still make the same exact points as the narrator simply by delivering the message that it was intended to deliver. A five year old can watch that video with the sound off and still come to the same conclusions as anyone else, that the verses being pinpointed are twisted and depraved. Period.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 11:55 AM
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reply to post by BlackOps719
 


Hey, I love these threads especially as a Christian. You know what's funny? Not even my mother believes the bible is the word of God. She and I both know that the Bible has been "edited" several times throughout history. So we stick to the red letters...You know the actual word of the Christ. Like keep to the poor and..Oh yes keep to the poor...And oh yes, love thy neighbor as well as thine enemy(Christians today don't understand this one. This doesn't mean love you enemy when he's shooting at you, this means try to remove the reason for why he's shooting at you). He says to be good stewards of each other, animals, and this Earth.

As a Christian, I can only speak for myself and those of us that do follow the word of Christ instead of trying to turn the message into something it's not. Believe me when I tell you, I love Jesus, just not 98% of his fan club..



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 11:58 AM
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reply to post by themillersdaughter
 


I'm a Christian, I'm not giving away my possessions...But I am serving my fellow man... If you wanna look at how Christianity as a religion has seriously destroyed large parts of this world, look no further than the Bible Belt. Or even better, Africa. We gave them Bibles and took their land...Very Christian...

I will say this again, as a Christian I love Jesus, as a man of reason I can't stand his fan club.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:01 PM
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Originally posted by theendisnear69
their god would tell the israelites to wipe out entire nations. he would tell them to kill everyone, even the women and children. I don't see how you can justify that in any way. The people don't have a choice what country they were born into, much less what god their king is going to make them serve.

When king Saul kept some of the livestock and gold and spared some of the people from one of the nations god ridiculed him.

that doen't really seem like like a loving peaceful god to me

good post


I will tell you how they justify it. Because the Bible was written by MEN. That's why. Sure, the message of God is within the texts but it is so very obvious that the bulk of the Old, and a good chunk of the New, was written by jealous men trying to lay the foundation for enslaving people.

"I'm allowed to kill you all or enslave you because you didn't submit to me or my God." That's man speak there.

I have a lot more to say on this and will watch to see what many others have to say.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:02 PM
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reply to post by BlackOps719
 


I can offer a possible explanation (I say possible because I'm not naive enough to believe everyone will agree) to your OP. I just need to verify with you, in advance, that it is okay to take the topic into the rarely charted places of the ancient past, into an area that is filled with its own controversy and which may spawn totally different debates (it has the potential to take the thread hopelessly off topic but it will result in an explanation for those offending passages in the bible).



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:03 PM
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Reply to RedmoonMWC : "The old testament has nothing to do with what Christians believe other than as a history of where we come from..."

This and several other comments in the same vein come from a misunderstanding of how the Bible, consisting of Old and New Testaments, constitutes a coherent whole. There is no contradiction to be found anywhere. Claims to the contrary come either from people who have not read it themselves or who have been misled by their leaders. I have studied the book virtually every day for about 28 years, and will briefly lay out some food for thought.

What Jesus said about the Old Testament:

"Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets (a figure of speech meaning Scripture written up to that point in time), I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For I assure you: Until heaven and earth pas away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all things are accomplished".

All Old Testament Scripture is totally true and reliable: "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35), such that he used it in this context as the last word to settle his frequent claim to be God in the flesh.

Exodus 21:23 (i.e. a law in the Old Testament) - "If there is an injury, then you must give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, bruise for bruise, wound for wound". Jesus in Matthew 5:38 - "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'. But I tell you, don't resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also..."

There is no contradiction - as Jesus taught elsewhere, he did not remove the O.T. law. Rather the quote about 'an eye for an eye', etc., was, and remains God's standard of justice. In Old Testament days God told the Israelites to apply his standard in their code of law for application in the courts. (The standard is perfection, a perfect balance - you receive no more and no less than what you have done to others, and this is the standard that will be applied to every person on the day of judgement, unless they have found forgiveness through the Gospel (which means 'Good News'.) The problem was that people were applying the legal principle to their personal relations, and Jesus sought to redress this error. In fact the Old Testament standard in the realm of personal relationships, as revealed by God, always consisted of compassion, kindness, love and mercy, even to enemies.

The reason the Israelites were told in no uncertain terms to destroy entire nations without mercy was because the depravity of these societies had reached such heights of utter debauchery, abuse, violence and occult practices (e.g. throwing children into fire as an act of worship) that allowing them to continue would only have led to more generations being born only to continue the same way of life. As such there is an element of mercy to the destruction in that it would have been better not to be born than to be born in those places. The Israelites were asked to participate so that they would learn to hate evil and begin to understand that they should not tolerate it in their own lives. This was so that they would not have to be condemned themselves, and as such it came from God's kindness towards them.

God has not changed in the slightest from those days. His standards have not changed. The only difference is that he no longer requires that a particular nation encorporate his Old Testament laws and punishments into their legal code. The New Testament teaches that every person breaks God's standards and as such is liable to answer to him for this. The Good News is that he poured out his anger for human depravity and moral rebellion on his own Son, to give us the opportunity to wipe the slate clean forever. This type of justice was infinitely costly to God himself, and demonstrates that he always has been, is now, and always will be: love personified.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:04 PM
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reply to post by undo
 




Have at it my friend. As long as it adds to the subject matter or helps invoke discussion, I am fine with it. This is why I come here.




posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:04 PM
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reply to post by BlackOps719
 


There are many versions of the bible. People interpret it differently. When I watched the You tube video, I laughed and at the same time, I felt sorry for the one who made it. I don't know what the real intentions are, but the way I see it, it's either trying to twist the verse or the one who made it is really naive.

The video is not just showing the verse alone. There is a narration. Just for example it even underline the word ''Death". Do you know the different kinds of "Deaths" the bible described?

You can't take all the verses nor the word in the bible literally. I would love to take time to answer the questions here but I am afraid I don’t have enough time. I will try my best though.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:06 PM
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Can't we all just get along?

Who cares what the bible says. It says what it says, and whether you believe what the Christians do, and that it's the word of god, or if you believe the atheists, who say it was Stephen King after he slipped through a Quantum wormhole, well it doesn't matter. There is so many important things to deal with now. Our government in the US and most western world is slipping away to tyranny, our planets heating up like its on a hotplate, Disease and starvation is rampant in third world countries, and the oil is running out. Of ALL the things to worry about, here we are, 9 pages in on nothing but spiteful attacks upon one another in a philosophical debate without purpose nor end.

Isn't it time to grow up and start dealing with now, instead of 3,000 years ago?



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:09 PM
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reply to post by searching_for_truth
 


On the contrary, I believe that the video only served to point out what is already there and hidden away in the bible. Where there is smoke, there must be fire. If those verses were not in the bible and written for all to see then you would have a point, but as I stated before I believe that the verbage speaks for itself.

One would be hard pressed to misconstrue the messages invoked in those scriptures. That message is death and doom. Shine it up, paint a smiley face on it, do whatever makes you happy, but again I would say that the wording speaks for itself.

[edit on 3/7/08 by BlackOps719]

[edit on 3/7/08 by BlackOps719]



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:09 PM
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Well Christians do not follow the Old Testament and those that did and still do are called Jews. To Christians the Old Testament is more of a religious history book and so yes we mostly do not follow what is written in it though Jews still do.

The OP is under the impression that to be Christian one must believe that the whole Bible is an un-doctored work of god that must be followed unquestionable. Many Christians could believe this and many could not while still able to say they are Christian. The reason for this is very simple, and that reason is, to be Christian one just needs to believe that Jesus Christ is your savior, and in believing one needs to try to the best of their ability to live their life according to his teachings…period. Because of this there is nothing for a Christian to explain to the OP in defense of the bible.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:12 PM
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I wish I could remember the the name of the scholar I heard interviewed on NPR about the translational errors of scribes that copied the Bible. He is a PhD of Biblical Studies and teaches/taught at a Bible College for years and years. In his research he concluded that there are so many mistakes and mis-translations that the Bible is not even the same book that was written/compiled over hundreds of years. So, even if it WERE the inherent word of God to begin with, it isn't anymore. This man no longer considers himself a Christian, but an agnostic.

People want to justify their hatred and fear of what they don't know by saying God says "this" or "that". The Bible makes it easy for them to do so--not to mention the brainwashing that they subject themselves to.

A little history:
In 306, the entire of the Roman state was in serious trouble. A Roman general, Flavius Constantius, had wrested control of the Roman state after the death of his father, and set about to rein-in the rebellious provinces.

He grasped one thing which his predecessors did not - that the only way a polyglot state such as Rome would ever come together - with enough power to stay together - was if there was a Power above all else.

He rolled the dice, and declared himself a Christian.

Christianity was a far different religion than is known today. In reality it was a collection of religions - the notion of 'god' was actually polytheistic; there were numbers of 'Christian leaders' who worshipped a combination of 'older' gods, plopping the Christ-figure on top of it all and calling it good.

These factions were serving to divide the Roman state as only religion can divide a nation - and to Constantine, this would not do. His vision of a reunited Empire under single control was running headlong into the early Church schisms, which made his task all but impossible. By declaring himself a Christian, and declaring the state religion to be Christianity, Constantine did what no other Emperor had the vision to do - he made one religion the religion of state; he banned all other religions, and then set about the task of codifying the religion in a book which everyone could read and understand.

In 324 C.E., when Constantine (along with several legions) put down the last of the Eastern rebellions, he sent several of the Church 'presbyters' (leaders) to Alexandria with the sole mission of making peace among themselves. They spent the better part of half the year, writing "...in all, two thousand two hundred and thirty-one scrolls and legendary tales of gods and saviours, together with a record of the doctrines orated by them." (Life of Constantine; 1891)

It became clear to Constantine that until he locked everyone in a room to get their story straight, his vision of a new Rome under one religion - and hence at peace with itself and capable of withstanding invasion from without -- simply wasn't going to happen.

He ordered everyone to the city of Nicaea.

In the summer of 325, Constantine got his wish. At the palace of one of his advisers, a man named Osius, Constantine's Council of Nicaea began.

Osius himself stated that "...apart from Constantine himself and Eusebius Pamphilius, they were a set of illiterate, simple creatures who understood nothing." This was the start of modern Christianity.

By all accounts, this meeting was a free for all of 'wild texts' which purported to support Jupiter, Hera, Zeus, and most of the other members of the Greek and Roman pantheon, with a 'Jesus' figure somewhere in the middle.

Up until this time, most Romans either idolized Julius Caesar and his descendants, or Mithras (the Romanized version of the Persian god Mithra.) Offerings to Greek gods which had been "Romanized" (Jupiter for Zeus, for example) were mainly limited to the Roman aristocracy. Caesar, the Roman 'Saviour' (from the Latin, 'sower of seed') and father of the empire had been worshipped by the Roman common people for centuries now; it would make sense to replace him with something - or someone - who could simply 'own' these attributes anew, creating an entirely new 'god' who would reunify the Roman state under one deity.

Monotheism, first invented by the Egyptians, was about to see its biggest day in the sun.

A year and a half later -- presumably, with the approval of Osius, whose palace by this time likely resembled a cheap hotel -- they had balloted-down the shortlist: Caesar, Krishna (the 'saviour' god of the Eastern peoples), Hesus (the great Druid god of Brittania), Mithras (the Persian fellow), and a couple of others.

Constantine knew that he had to provide a composite deity which would be accepted by the people. To mollify the Celtic peoples of the north and west, he choses Hesus, and Krishna to satisfy the eastern peoples of the Empire.

A ballot was taken, and using his title as Pontifex Maximus, Constantine declared these deities to be 'one'. The corruption of their two names are used today - Jesus Christ (which isn't a name, so much as an Occupational Title).He then made his famous declaration: "Search ye these books, and whatever is good in them, that retain; but whatsoever is evil, that cast away. What is good in one book, unite ye with that which is good in another book. And whatsoever is thus brought together shall be called The Book of Books. And it shall be the doctrine of my people, which I will recommend unto all nations, that there shall be no more war for religions' sake."

A good intent. Problem was, what happend was a lot like trying to herd cats or organize a revolution.

It took, if the records are to be believed, another two to four years to finally codify the four Gospels, and record them. Constantine himself paid for fifty copies (none of which survive to this day), which were sent to the fifty major cities of the known world with instructions that they be immediately copied. As to the rest, it was a muddied mess from the word 'go', and as late as 420, a church leader named Jerome wrote that the various Epistles were "...greatly interpolated to lend weight to the personal views of their authors."

For all this, there are no 'ancient' Bibles. The earliest-known copy is a 346-page manuscript dating from ca.380C.E., and was likely a copy generated from one of Constantine's 'masters'.

(oops out of room! There's more!!)



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:12 PM
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reply to post by BlackOps719
 


Okay, here goes: *cracks knuckles, rolls up sleeves, dons bullet proof vest (haha)*

According to Genesis 6:

1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,

2That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

3And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

4There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
--------------------

Now the sons of God in that passage are "Bene Elohim", a phrase used in THAT timeframe, to refer to "angelic beings." So essentially what you are seeing is "Angelic Beings" tinkering with the human species via the female humans.

It's very important that you read and understand the following verses of out of the Book of 1Enoch:

1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not 4 indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations 5 not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves 6 by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn 7 and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, 8 Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.

[Chapter 7]

1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms 2 and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they 3 became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed 4 all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against 5 them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and 6 fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

[Chapter 8]

1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all 2 colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they 3 were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .

----------

did you read it all? If so, I'll continue.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:12 PM
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Firstly sir you are accusing Christianity of being evil (or at least our Bible), this is coming from a man who states in his profile that his"business is killing... and business is good" LOL. Now, I don't take that seriously, but if your going to make your case, dress for court.

Secondly if you've ever read the Bible (which you will say you have even though you have'nt) you'll see the Yeshua gives us a new covenent, the old testament talks about the old covenant and why we need the new one.
The new testament is accurate, what you've probably seen on the internet is some video that obviously has it's own agenda to bring down Christianity (which is what Atheists really want to do even though they deny it). Said video probably talks about how in the Bible God created man twice (which anyone who has read a newspaper can tell that's not what it's saying) and how it "advocates murder" as Pen and Teller put it. Well folks guess what it does'nt advocate murder, or slavery or anything like that, murders happened and people fought to survive (as they do now days).

Let me make one thing clear though:
The Old Testament is NOT the New Testament. Yeshua FULFILLED the old way, He was the FINAL sin sacrafice. He taught us to LOVE one another and to sacrifce our selves for the betterment of others. He DENOUNCED killing. When will you people get it!

I'm really getting tired of explaining the same thing over and over agian to people who are being willfully ignorant of the truth, but then agian Yeshua said this would all happen.

But I would like to know why people like you don't attack Islam in the way you attack Chrisitanity, Islam claims it is a peacful religion, yet we know this is'nt so. The real conspiracy is that Atheists and people who claim they're not anti-Christian, but really are, are trying to bring down Christianity. It's really getting rediculous how you guy's just bombard Chrstians. It only shows us that what we believe is true more and more cause Yeshua said it would happen and it is. So when you attack us your only making us stronger.

I'm not angry, I did'nt get any sleep last night and am exausted, plus I'm sick. I'm also tired from hearing the same old "Christians are EVIL!". They are the most persecuted here or anywhere for that matter.

-Jimmy



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:13 PM
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reply to post by WolfofWar
 




Wolf, I would tend to agree if not for the hightened role that Christianity plays in all of our lives, like it or not. Our laws are based on the bible, we have God on our money, in our government, our president uses this book to base his political decisions on. And I wont even get into the suffering that has taken place world wide at the hands of Christian progress. It would be grand to ignore religion and Christianity as a whole, but since it is all around us in every facet of our lives and since it is being crammed down our throats on a daily basis, I would like a full account of what it is I am supposed to be believing here.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:17 PM
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reply to post by jimmyjackblack
 





Firstly sir you are accusing Christianity of being evil (or at least our Bible), this is coming from a man who states in his profile that his"business is killing... and business is good" LOL. Now, I don't take that seriously, but if your going to make your case, dress for court.


You can relax Jimmy...it is actually wording from a song. I can assure you that Im not gonna kill anyone...lol......yet


In all seriousness though, I do appreciate your effort. I am just trying to understand things from a Christian perspective. I did not make the video nor do I endorse it. This is why I came to ATS, to see what real believers had to say about the video and it's contents. Thanks for adding to the topic!!



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:19 PM
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reply to post by undo
 


I am following you undo...please continue. Thanks again.



posted on Mar, 7 2008 @ 12:19 PM
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The problem is, it bore little resemblance to what is commonly-published today. In fact, it was so different (over 14,000 variations between it and the 'modern Bible') that most historians now disregard both documents completely, preferring to refer to it as an evolving work, based on an already-unhistorical document, created centuries after the last living person supposedly invovled in the events had up and died.

Added to this problem was the fact that full 'accreditation' was routinely granted to religious schools, giving them the same weight as real universities; this practice continues in the Western world today (you can go to Harvard University today and obtain a "Doctor of Theology", just as you can at many universities throughout the Western world). This practice leant the same weight to a preacher as it did to an historian - something which has, in turn leant the weight of historic accuracy to the Bible, which as the reader can see, is clearly not a historically-accurate document.

Known to historians as the Sinai Bible, the document discovered quite by accident has created much controversy over the years, as it has contradicted much of the modern Bible, and is the 'smoking gun' to which scholars have referred over the years since its discovery in 1859C.E.

While there are many discrepancies (for example, the Sinai Bible's Gospel of Mark begins with 'Christ' at the age of thirty; doesn't mention Mary at all or the notion of 'virgin birth'), the biggest issue with the Sinai Bible is with what historians call the Great Omission and the Great Insertion.

There are an equally-staggering 10,000 words added to the Gospel of Luke in modern-day Bibles than in the earliest-known (Sinai) Bible. These passages, which are bewildering to scholars, were added in the 15th century, taken from other 'Gospels' which didn't make the 'cut' in the Bible which was approved by the Nicaean Council.

Now -- the Omission is this: Missing from the original are the six words, "Jesus was carried up to heaven."

Uh-oh!!

We can go on, but it's really not necessary (there was the Vatican Expurgation of 1562, deleting passages which were deemed 'inflammatory'; the Council of Trent, which removed similar passages, and so forth) - but those six words are the 'bullet from the smoking gun' -- it's literally the passage on which all of Christianity depends.
Christians believe that 'Jesus' was executed as an innocent man, and hence mystically took on the sins of the whole world - then he was raised from the dead on the third day after he was buried, and acended to 'heaven'.

Paul, one of the original Apostles, said of this "...If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain" (1 Cor. 5:17).

Uh oh!!

So, if the Bible isn't historic - especially the New Testament -- just what is it?

Like I said before:

The Bible is a compendium of stories. Many are taken from ancient Egyptian texts (Psalm 104 in the Old Testament is an almost-dead-on-copy of the Great Hymn to the Aten, written by Pharoah Akhenaten several hundred years prior to the authorship of the Psalms); the Indian epic "Mahabahrata" supplied the verbatim text for 22 verses of the Book of Matthew - and on it goes. Christ, as it turns out, is the invention of the Council of Nicaea; his 'acts' are the simple adoption of stories from several ancient religions (for example, Mithra was crucified on a cross, bound in linen, rose on the third day after his burial in the third week of March - now called "Easter" after either the Babylonian goddess Ishtar or Astarte, or the Celtic equinox-festival, Eostar).

I like to deal in facts... Facts, to be established as such, have to (1) be consistent, (2) believable, and (3) verifiable.

Christianity fails, and quite miserably, on all counts here.

I don't hate Christians. I respect many people who call themselves Christians...but they aren't the ones acting like everyone else is going to spend eternity writhing in agony for not believing the same things they do. They are the ones actually willing to live like Christ did.

Google Art Gish/Lebanon..you'll see an example of what I mean.







 
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