Apr
26
Prayer and Religion – Prayer Isn’t a Religious Thing, It’s Thought
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Pete Koerner
Have you ever really thought about prayer – what it is, or why and how it might work? Most people don’t; they simply live their lives with the same simple understanding they were given as children: “Prayer is when you talk to God.” The biggest problem with that is the limited understanding of a child. Children don’t consider that “talking” is a way of converting our thoughts into vibrations in order to share those thoughts with others; nor do they truly understand the concept of a God that is “All things.” Consequently, most children grow up to be adults with childlike understanding and unfulfilled lives – simply because they don’t understand the most basic principle of life: “As you think, so it is done to you.” Prayer isn’t a religious thing, it is thought; and the way you think will determine the life you live – no matter what religion you subscribe to.
I once had a conversation about prayer with a very religious young man who, after a great deal of discussion about the mind and the power of our thoughts, asked to me, “But you do believe your prayers are answered because of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, don’t you?” I grew up in a Christian household, going to Christian churches; and I understand the importance of a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” to the Christian church and those who are invested in it. But the complete lack of conscious thought and understanding in that way of thinking never hit me as strongly as it did that day. At first I thought, “Have you not heard anything I said?” and then I realized that most devoutly religious people are relying on their memory of the things they have been told before – at home and in religious settings – by people they trusted and believed (or were afraid not to believe).
My answer to this man’s question is something that all Christians should consider. Believe what you wish to believe; but don’t let your beliefs blind you to the truth of who you are. Christians aren’t the only people who pray. Prayer was not invented by Christians; nor was it invented by the Church or any religion or religious establishment. Prayer takes many forms – even inside a Christian church. If God is Omnipresent (All things and all places), where exactly are you directing your words or thoughts? If God is Omniscient (All knowing), why vainly repeat the same rituals – or continue to state the obvious? Jesus taught, “As a man thinketh, so it is done to him,” and, “It is done to you according to your beliefs.” If you don’t believe the words He said, you will only get what the world around you gives you. Unfortunately, we have been led to believe that, “Believe in me,” means, “Believe the stories others tell about me,” rather than, “Believe the things I say and the stories I tell about YOU.” Jesus said, “You will do these things and much greater,” and, “All things are possible to he who believes.” Do you really believe this?
Obviously, if your efforts to create or find happiness in your life have been thwarted, or unsuccessful thus far, it is probably easier to cling to a dogma you were given by others than it is to ponder the mysteries of the mind as taught by Jesus and other great spiritual leaders who have always told us, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be.” It is easier to memorize stories and follow rules than it is to accept personal responsibility for your own life and the thoughts that create it. It is easier because the world is full of people willing to tell you what to think, what to believe, what to say and what to do. But it is also more difficult – more painful and unfulfilling. Thoughts are things; and you are responsible for yours and the things they create. All wise people know this. All religions teach this. This wisdom, in fact, predates religion and has always been taught by the wisest among us.
If you want to keep believing that, in order to have your prayers (thoughts/desires) “heard” and answered, you must believe certain stories or have a personal relationship with a specific entity, then do that. Likewise, if you want to believe that, even if you meet the above criteria, there’s no guarantee that your prayer will be answered, and if it is, there’s no guarantee that the answer will be, “Yes,” then by all means do that. But, if you’re doing all of this because you are a Christian, consider that Jesus was a Jew and He was speaking to and teaching Jews and Gentiles alike the same wisdom that had been taught in their holy texts for thousands of years before anyone could have had a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Prayer works because it is thought. Good thoughts are seeds for good fruits; which is why Jesus said things such as, “Fear not; be of good cheer,” “Judge not,” “Do unto others…,” and “As you thinketh, so it is done to you.” Consider these things. Then, consider your constant mind set and the life that it has created. Finally, if you want to change your life, simply change your mind and the thoughts you entertain.
If these words have upset you, angered you, or caused you fear or consternation, just remember that Jesus had the same effect on most of the people he shared this wisdom with; they already had a religion and religious beliefs they lived by, and these words were shockingly different from the interpretations they had been taught their entire lives by their own religious leaders. In fact, the very people Jesus was trying to help and enlighten sought to harm him many of the times He spoke these words. Further, it was this “clarification” of ancient holy teachings that caused the church leaders to have Jesus put to death. Then consider that Truth always goes through 3-stages: Ridicule; Violent opposition; and, finally, Acceptance. Judgment, fear, anger and violence are always signs that the truth has not yet been realized and accepted. Think about it; then take charge of your life by accepting responsibility for your thoughts.
Have you ever really thought about prayer – what it is, or why and how it might work? Most people don’t; they simply live their lives with the same simple understanding they were given as children: “Prayer is when you talk to God.” The biggest problem with that is the limited understanding of a child. Children don’t consider that “talking” is a way of converting our thoughts into vibrations in order to share those thoughts with others; nor do they truly understand the concept of a God that is “All things.” Consequently, most children grow up to be adults with childlike understanding and unfulfilled lives – simply because they don’t understand the most basic principle of life: “As you think, so it is done to you.” Prayer isn’t a religious thing, it is thought; and the way you think will determine the life you live – no matter what religion you subscribe to.
I once had a conversation about prayer with a very religious young man who, after a great deal of discussion about the mind and the power of our thoughts, asked to me, “But you do believe your prayers are answered because of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, don’t you?” I grew up in a Christian household, going to Christian churches; and I understand the importance of a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” to the Christian church and those who are invested in it. But the complete lack of conscious thought and understanding in that way of thinking never hit me as strongly as it did that day. At first I thought, “Have you not heard anything I said?” and then I realized that most devoutly religious people are relying on their memory of the things they have been told before – at home and in religious settings – by people they trusted and believed (or were afraid not to believe).
My answer to this man’s question is something that all Christians should consider. Believe what you wish to believe; but don’t let your beliefs blind you to the truth of who you are. Christians aren’t the only people who pray. Prayer was not invented by Christians; nor was it invented by the Church or any religion or religious establishment. Prayer takes many forms – even inside a Christian church. If God is Omnipresent (All things and all places), where exactly are you directing your words or thoughts? If God is Omniscient (All knowing), why vainly repeat the same rituals – or continue to state the obvious? Jesus taught, “As a man thinketh, so it is done to him,” and, “It is done to you according to your beliefs.” If you don’t believe the words He said, you will only get what the world around you gives you. Unfortunately, we have been led to believe that, “Believe in me,” means, “Believe the stories others tell about me,” rather than, “Believe the things I say and the stories I tell about YOU.” Jesus said, “You will do these things and much greater,” and, “All things are possible to he who believes.” Do you really believe this?
Obviously, if your efforts to create or find happiness in your life have been thwarted, or unsuccessful thus far, it is probably easier to cling to a dogma you were given by others than it is to ponder the mysteries of the mind as taught by Jesus and other great spiritual leaders who have always told us, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be.” It is easier to memorize stories and follow rules than it is to accept personal responsibility for your own life and the thoughts that create it. It is easier because the world is full of people willing to tell you what to think, what to believe, what to say and what to do. But it is also more difficult – more painful and unfulfilling. Thoughts are things; and you are responsible for yours and the things they create. All wise people know this. All religions teach this. This wisdom, in fact, predates religion and has always been taught by the wisest among us.
If you want to keep believing that, in order to have your prayers (thoughts/desires) “heard” and answered, you must believe certain stories or have a personal relationship with a specific entity, then do that. Likewise, if you want to believe that, even if you meet the above criteria, there’s no guarantee that your prayer will be answered, and if it is, there’s no guarantee that the answer will be, “Yes,” then by all means do that. But, if you’re doing all of this because you are a Christian, consider that Jesus was a Jew and He was speaking to and teaching Jews and Gentiles alike the same wisdom that had been taught in their holy texts for thousands of years before anyone could have had a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Prayer works because it is thought. Good thoughts are seeds for good fruits; which is why Jesus said things such as, “Fear not; be of good cheer,” “Judge not,” “Do unto others…,” and “As you thinketh, so it is done to you.” Consider these things. Then, consider your constant mind set and the life that it has created. Finally, if you want to change your life, simply change your mind and the thoughts you entertain.
If these words have upset you, angered you, or caused you fear or consternation, just remember that Jesus had the same effect on most of the people he shared this wisdom with; they already had a religion and religious beliefs they lived by, and these words were shockingly different from the interpretations they had been taught their entire lives by their own religious leaders. In fact, the very people Jesus was trying to help and enlighten sought to harm him many of the times He spoke these words. Further, it was this “clarification” of ancient holy teachings that caused the church leaders to have Jesus put to death. Then consider that Truth always goes through 3-stages: Ridicule; Violent opposition; and, finally, Acceptance. Judgment, fear, anger and violence are always signs that the truth has not yet been realized and accepted. Think about it; then take charge of your life by accepting responsibility for your thoughts.
Apr
7
Slandering Jesus
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Henry Bechthold
It is not surprising to hear our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, slandered by atheists and those from other world religions. However, should such slander be conducted by Christian theologians, preachers and teachers? Should doctrines be embraced that distort the character of our Lord, and which present Him as an unjust, cruel and sadistic tyrant?
We know that the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as being the Creator and Judge. Therefore, Jesus is the one who determines who does or does not qualify for salvation. And, likewise, Jesus is also the one who determines the rewards and punishments for all human beings. It is in His capacity as Creator and Judge that the character of Jesus Christ is being slandered by two unjust, cruel and sadistic doctrines; furthermore, both of these teachings are contradicted by the vast majority of biblical evidence.
What are these doctrines? The Church’s hell doctrine, regarding the eternal torment of human beings, and the doctrine of Calvinism are the slanderous dogmas to which I am referring.
The Church teaches that Jesus, our Judge, will torment human beings throughout the trillions of years of eternity, as supposed just recompense for a seventy-year lifespan on earth. If hell was limited to one trillion years, that would equal 30,000 years of agonizing torment for each and every minute lived on earth. That equals 14 billion “units” of punishment for every single “unit” of disobedience. Is that equitable justice? Such a system of justice would be considered as cruel, sadistic tyranny if it was practiced anywhere on this planet.
However, what is most important is that this sadistic teaching contradicts the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence. The Bible clearly teaches that eternal life is only available for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The wicked have not placed their faith in Jesus, so they have no access to eternal life. Therefore, they cannot live forever in hell. And, there are dozens of scriptures which state that the final fate of the wicked is “death”, not an eternal life of pain and agony. There is not one scripture in the entire Bible that specifically and unequivocally states that people live in hell throughout eternity. There are scriptures which state that the hell fire itself is eternal, which is necessary to punish the devil and his evil angels forever, but not one single scripture specifically and unequivocally states that this is the case for lost people.
When you combine the Calvinist predestination doctrine with the Church’s eternal-torment hell doctrine, the God of Christianity is presented as being far more unjust and cruel than the gods of any other religions. Why? Calvinism teaches that Jesus Christ, because Jesus is presented as the Creator in the New Testament, intentionally creates some people to go to heaven and some to go to hell; moreover, the people themselves have no opportunity to change their predestined fate. The ones who Jesus creates for hell will have no option to avoid their painful, horrid, eternal destiny.
Therefore, according to Calvinism, Jesus intentionally creates people with the sole purpose of being able to torture them forever in the fires of hell. This doctrine becomes even more repulsive when you realize that Jesus said that many more people are going to hell than to heaven, because that means that this one-way ticket to hell will be given to the vast majority of human beings.
Fortunately, the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence also contradicts this sick and sadistic doctrine. Jesus Christ is the epitome of mercy, love and equitable justice; He is not the cruel, unjust, sadistic monster portrayed by Calvinism. The Bible clearly states that God wants “all” men to be saved, and that He does not want any to perish, but that He wants “all” to come to repentance (1st Timothy 2:3-4; 2nd Peter 3:9).
It is not surprising to hear our glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, slandered by atheists and those from other world religions. However, should such slander be conducted by Christian theologians, preachers and teachers? Should doctrines be embraced that distort the character of our Lord, and which present Him as an unjust, cruel and sadistic tyrant?
We know that the New Testament reveals Jesus Christ as being the Creator and Judge. Therefore, Jesus is the one who determines who does or does not qualify for salvation. And, likewise, Jesus is also the one who determines the rewards and punishments for all human beings. It is in His capacity as Creator and Judge that the character of Jesus Christ is being slandered by two unjust, cruel and sadistic doctrines; furthermore, both of these teachings are contradicted by the vast majority of biblical evidence.
What are these doctrines? The Church’s hell doctrine, regarding the eternal torment of human beings, and the doctrine of Calvinism are the slanderous dogmas to which I am referring.
The Church teaches that Jesus, our Judge, will torment human beings throughout the trillions of years of eternity, as supposed just recompense for a seventy-year lifespan on earth. If hell was limited to one trillion years, that would equal 30,000 years of agonizing torment for each and every minute lived on earth. That equals 14 billion “units” of punishment for every single “unit” of disobedience. Is that equitable justice? Such a system of justice would be considered as cruel, sadistic tyranny if it was practiced anywhere on this planet.
However, what is most important is that this sadistic teaching contradicts the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence. The Bible clearly teaches that eternal life is only available for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The wicked have not placed their faith in Jesus, so they have no access to eternal life. Therefore, they cannot live forever in hell. And, there are dozens of scriptures which state that the final fate of the wicked is “death”, not an eternal life of pain and agony. There is not one scripture in the entire Bible that specifically and unequivocally states that people live in hell throughout eternity. There are scriptures which state that the hell fire itself is eternal, which is necessary to punish the devil and his evil angels forever, but not one single scripture specifically and unequivocally states that this is the case for lost people.
When you combine the Calvinist predestination doctrine with the Church’s eternal-torment hell doctrine, the God of Christianity is presented as being far more unjust and cruel than the gods of any other religions. Why? Calvinism teaches that Jesus Christ, because Jesus is presented as the Creator in the New Testament, intentionally creates some people to go to heaven and some to go to hell; moreover, the people themselves have no opportunity to change their predestined fate. The ones who Jesus creates for hell will have no option to avoid their painful, horrid, eternal destiny.
Therefore, according to Calvinism, Jesus intentionally creates people with the sole purpose of being able to torture them forever in the fires of hell. This doctrine becomes even more repulsive when you realize that Jesus said that many more people are going to hell than to heaven, because that means that this one-way ticket to hell will be given to the vast majority of human beings.
Fortunately, the overwhelming weight of biblical evidence also contradicts this sick and sadistic doctrine. Jesus Christ is the epitome of mercy, love and equitable justice; He is not the cruel, unjust, sadistic monster portrayed by Calvinism. The Bible clearly states that God wants “all” men to be saved, and that He does not want any to perish, but that He wants “all” to come to repentance (1st Timothy 2:3-4; 2nd Peter 3:9).
Mar
17
Arnold Cafe
Historically, it was the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) and accused him as the impostor messiah, that until now they still believe that the messiah prophesied in their scripture has still yet to come. On the other hand, modern day Christians (where the majority are Pauline Christians) consider him to be the “begotten son” of God and worship him as if he is one of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
But the Islamic view of Jesus (peace be upon him) is based on what God has revealed to mankind when He said, “Truly the likeness of Jesus in God’s sight is in the likeness of Adam, He created him of dust, then He said to him, “Be!” and he was. This is the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.” So in God’s view, the creation of Jesus no different from the creation of Adam (peace be upon them). When God wants to create something, He only says “Be!” and it is. God can create anything and anyway He pleases.
A good example we can consider is the size and the perfection of the universe which is difficult for the human mind to comprehend and yet God has revealed and differentiated it to us the nature of His two creations when He said, “Are you more difficult to create or is the heavens (above) that He (God) constructed? On high has He raised its canopy, and He hath given it order and perfection.” God has further concluded when He said, “The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet most mankind know not.”
Is having a “begotten son” befitting of God? The rejection of the very idea of God having a son is stated clearly with strong words from God Himself when He said, “The Most Gracious has betaken a son! Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! As if the skies are about to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin. That they attributed a son to the Most Gracious. For it is not consonant to the Majesty of the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to the Most Gracious as a slave.”
God has further said, “Such is Jesus, son of Mary, it is a statement of truth, about which they doubt or dispute. It befits not to the Majesty of God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him, when He decreed a thing, He only says to it “Be!” and it is.” God has stated clearly who Jesus (peace be upon him) is when He said, “O people of the scripture, do not commit excesses in your religion or say about God except the truth. The messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was but a prophet of God and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul (created at a command) from Him so believe in God and His prophets. And do not say ‘trinity’, desist- it is better for you. Indeed God is one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is God as Disposer of affairs.”
On the day of judgment, all the prophets and their respective followers of their times will be gathered before God and He will ask the prophets how they were received by their respective people and what they said to them. Among those who will be questioned by God is Jesus (peace be upon him), when God will ask him, “O Jesus, son of Mary did you say to the people, ‘take me and my mother as deities besides God?’ Jesus will answer before God, ‘Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me – to worship God my Lord and who is also their Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are over all things – Witness. If You should punish them, indeed they are Your slaves; but if You forgive them – indeed it is You who is Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
The real mission of Jesus (peace be upon him) was that he was especially prepared by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated from the teachings of the prophets sent to them by God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus’ ministry. It is an unfortunate fact and event of history that not many are following the ‘ straight path ‘ to which people were called in by Jesus Christ, the Noble Prophet of Islam. To know more of what God has enjoined us to believe for our salvation, please study and read the Holy Quran, (God’s Speech to Mankind).
Historically, it was the Jews who rejected Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) and accused him as the impostor messiah, that until now they still believe that the messiah prophesied in their scripture has still yet to come. On the other hand, modern day Christians (where the majority are Pauline Christians) consider him to be the “begotten son” of God and worship him as if he is one of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.
But the Islamic view of Jesus (peace be upon him) is based on what God has revealed to mankind when He said, “Truly the likeness of Jesus in God’s sight is in the likeness of Adam, He created him of dust, then He said to him, “Be!” and he was. This is the truth from your Lord, so be not of those who doubt.” So in God’s view, the creation of Jesus no different from the creation of Adam (peace be upon them). When God wants to create something, He only says “Be!” and it is. God can create anything and anyway He pleases.
A good example we can consider is the size and the perfection of the universe which is difficult for the human mind to comprehend and yet God has revealed and differentiated it to us the nature of His two creations when He said, “Are you more difficult to create or is the heavens (above) that He (God) constructed? On high has He raised its canopy, and He hath given it order and perfection.” God has further concluded when He said, “The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind; yet most mankind know not.”
Is having a “begotten son” befitting of God? The rejection of the very idea of God having a son is stated clearly with strong words from God Himself when He said, “The Most Gracious has betaken a son! Indeed ye have put forth a thing most monstrous! As if the skies are about to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin. That they attributed a son to the Most Gracious. For it is not consonant to the Majesty of the Most Gracious that He should beget a son. Not one of the beings in the heavens and the earth but must come to the Most Gracious as a slave.”
God has further said, “Such is Jesus, son of Mary, it is a statement of truth, about which they doubt or dispute. It befits not to the Majesty of God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him, when He decreed a thing, He only says to it “Be!” and it is.” God has stated clearly who Jesus (peace be upon him) is when He said, “O people of the scripture, do not commit excesses in your religion or say about God except the truth. The messiah Jesus, son of Mary, was but a prophet of God and His word which He directed to Mary and a soul (created at a command) from Him so believe in God and His prophets. And do not say ‘trinity’, desist- it is better for you. Indeed God is one God. Exalted is He above having a son. To Him belongs whatever is the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And sufficient is God as Disposer of affairs.”
On the day of judgment, all the prophets and their respective followers of their times will be gathered before God and He will ask the prophets how they were received by their respective people and what they said to them. Among those who will be questioned by God is Jesus (peace be upon him), when God will ask him, “O Jesus, son of Mary did you say to the people, ‘take me and my mother as deities besides God?’ Jesus will answer before God, ‘Exalted are You! It was not for me to say that to which I have no right. If I had said it, You would have known it. You know what is within myself and I do not know what is within Yourself. Indeed, it is You who is Knower of the unseen. I said not to them except what You commanded me – to worship God my Lord and who is also their Lord. And I was a witness over them as long as I was among them; but when You took me up, You were the Observer over them, and You are over all things – Witness. If You should punish them, indeed they are Your slaves; but if You forgive them – indeed it is You who is Exalted in Might, the Wise.”
The real mission of Jesus (peace be upon him) was that he was especially prepared by God to be sent to the Jews who had deviated from the teachings of the prophets sent to them by God. However, the majority of the Jews rejected Jesus’ ministry. It is an unfortunate fact and event of history that not many are following the ‘ straight path ‘ to which people were called in by Jesus Christ, the Noble Prophet of Islam. To know more of what God has enjoined us to believe for our salvation, please study and read the Holy Quran, (God’s Speech to Mankind).
Mar
10
Jesus the Pharisee
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Robert Baird
RESPONSE TO PAULINE CHRISTIANITY: – The whole of Christendom is not Popery or Romanized but the Pauline influence is arguably the strongest doctrine in the whole of philosophy and theology. ‘The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity’ by Hyam Maccoby say these things on the back cover:
“Defying the accepted view of Jesus as creator of Christianity, Hyam Maccoby, a leading Talmudic scholar, offers a brilliantly argued, boldly provocative challenge to traditional theories about the origin of the Christian religion and leads us to a startling unorthodox conclusion. Maccoby claims that Paul rather than Jesus was the theoretician and architect of that amazing hybrid of Hellenism and Judaism we know today as Christianity, and that it was Paul alone who created a new religion through his vision of Jesus as a divine Savior who died to save humanity. This concept went far beyond the messianic claims of Jesus and, in fact, was an amalgamation of ideas derived from Hellenic religion, especially from Gnosticism and the mystery cults… Bold and scholastically scrupulous. (pg. xi) In my earlier book on Jesus, Revolution in Judaea, I showed how, in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus speaks and acts a Pharisee, though the Gospel editors have attempted to conceal this by representing him as opposing Pharisaism… In the present book I have used rabbinical evidence to establish an opposite contention: that Paul, whom the New Testament wishes to portray as having been a trained Pharisee, never was one (pgs.4&5).
This explains the puzzling and ambiguous role given in the Gospels to the companions of Jesus, the twelve disciples. They are shadowy figures, who are allowed little personality, except of a schematic kind. They are portrayed as stupid; they never quite understand what Jesus is up to. Their importance in the origins of Christianity is played down in a remarkable way. For example, we find immediately after Jesus’ death that the leader of the Jerusalem Church is Jesus’ brother James. Yet in the Gospels, this James does not appear at all as having anything to do with Jesus’ mission and story. Instead, he is given a brief mention as one of the brothers of Jesus who allegedly ‘opposed’ Jesus during his lifetime and regarded him as mad. How it came about that a brother who had been hostile to Jesus in his lifetime suddenly became the revered leader of the Church immediately after Jesus’ death is not explained, though one would have thought that some explanation was called for. Later Church legends, of course, filled the gap with stories of the miraculous conversion of James after the death of Jesus and his development into a saint. But the most likely explanation is, as will be argued later, that the erasure of Jesus’ brother James (and his other brothers) from any significant role in the Gospel story is part of the denigration of the early leaders who had been in close contact with Jesus and regarded with great suspicion and dismay the Christological theories of the upstart Paul, flaunting his new visions in interpretation of the Jesus whom he had never met in the flesh.” (1)
So Paul and his Temple inbred idiots who inherited or sold out in order to get their positions are the creators of a history that is entirely opposite to what Jesus wanted for humanity. The Pharisaic and Mishnah saying that covers this perspective is a little less delicate:
… “A learned ******* takes precedence over an ignorant High Priest.” (2)
Paul’s own words tell us in Romans 11:2: ‘I am an Israelite myself, of the stock of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin,’,’ circumcised on my eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin, A Hebrew, born and bred; in my attitude to the law, A Pharisee (Philippians 3:5).’
Nothing in his early life actions would tell us that he was a Pharisee who supported the underprivileged (Or even in later life if one reads his thoughts about women) in laws and all societal structures throughout the Roman and Parthian Empire. A detailed and honest investigation can easily see the Pharisees have been ridiculed and given all kinds of negative publicity in the Gospels and from the evangelical pulpits of this very day. What better way to destroy someone, than to have your ‘front man’ write their dogma? This is classic espionage and ‘black ops’ intrigue! Mr. Maccoby gives us these further comments on the matter and we could have chosen many other scholars to say these things.
“Instead of the priests, the Pharisees looked for guidance to their own leaders, the ‘hakhamin’ (sages), who were not a hereditary class but came from every level of society including the poorest… The other verse quoted by Jesus from Leviticus, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ was also regarded by the Pharisees as of central importance, and was treated by the two greatest figures of Pharisaism, Hillel and Rabbi Akiba…
Jesus’ threat to the Temple was not subversive of the High Priest… rather it was the Jews who were framed by the Gospels, whose concern was to shift the blame for the crucifixion from the Romans to the Jews and their religion.” (3)
“When in the name of God {Nations or academia}, people hold black and white beliefs that cut them off from other human beings; when in the name of God, they give up their own sense of right and wrong; when in the name of God, they suffer financial deprivation; then they are suffering from religious addiction. When, in the name of God, people are made to feel unhealthy fear, false guilt, toxic shame, and destructive anger; when in the name of God, they have been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused; when in the name of God, they have judged themselves and others as inherently worth- less; then they have been subject to religious abuse… At that point, Father Leo Booth says, ‘God has become a drug. My name is Leo. I’m an alcoholic and religious abuser. I’m a recovering priest.’ {He was a Catholic who taught that non-Catholics receiving no catechism went to Hell.}
…Moses was told by God that his name was ‘I am who I am.’ Every child is born with a sense of ‘I am who I am’. The job of the family and the church is to orchestrate life so that the sense of ‘I AM’ can grow and expand. Chapter 5 painfully outlines how children raised by religious addicts have their ‘I AM’-ness ripped apart – how their sense of wholeness is split. This is a far cry from religion’s promise of at-one-ment.” (4)
PEACE: – Let us give credit to John Lennon and the ‘hippies’ who were strong enough to say NO! Their collective energy and thought or prayer has been useful in ending organized war among superpowers, now we need to extend a hand to those who are suffering within nations under the strong arm and insanity of national despots protected by international sovereign rights.
RESPONSE TO PAULINE CHRISTIANITY: – The whole of Christendom is not Popery or Romanized but the Pauline influence is arguably the strongest doctrine in the whole of philosophy and theology. ‘The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity’ by Hyam Maccoby say these things on the back cover:
“Defying the accepted view of Jesus as creator of Christianity, Hyam Maccoby, a leading Talmudic scholar, offers a brilliantly argued, boldly provocative challenge to traditional theories about the origin of the Christian religion and leads us to a startling unorthodox conclusion. Maccoby claims that Paul rather than Jesus was the theoretician and architect of that amazing hybrid of Hellenism and Judaism we know today as Christianity, and that it was Paul alone who created a new religion through his vision of Jesus as a divine Savior who died to save humanity. This concept went far beyond the messianic claims of Jesus and, in fact, was an amalgamation of ideas derived from Hellenic religion, especially from Gnosticism and the mystery cults… Bold and scholastically scrupulous. (pg. xi) In my earlier book on Jesus, Revolution in Judaea, I showed how, in the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus speaks and acts a Pharisee, though the Gospel editors have attempted to conceal this by representing him as opposing Pharisaism… In the present book I have used rabbinical evidence to establish an opposite contention: that Paul, whom the New Testament wishes to portray as having been a trained Pharisee, never was one (pgs.4&5).
This explains the puzzling and ambiguous role given in the Gospels to the companions of Jesus, the twelve disciples. They are shadowy figures, who are allowed little personality, except of a schematic kind. They are portrayed as stupid; they never quite understand what Jesus is up to. Their importance in the origins of Christianity is played down in a remarkable way. For example, we find immediately after Jesus’ death that the leader of the Jerusalem Church is Jesus’ brother James. Yet in the Gospels, this James does not appear at all as having anything to do with Jesus’ mission and story. Instead, he is given a brief mention as one of the brothers of Jesus who allegedly ‘opposed’ Jesus during his lifetime and regarded him as mad. How it came about that a brother who had been hostile to Jesus in his lifetime suddenly became the revered leader of the Church immediately after Jesus’ death is not explained, though one would have thought that some explanation was called for. Later Church legends, of course, filled the gap with stories of the miraculous conversion of James after the death of Jesus and his development into a saint. But the most likely explanation is, as will be argued later, that the erasure of Jesus’ brother James (and his other brothers) from any significant role in the Gospel story is part of the denigration of the early leaders who had been in close contact with Jesus and regarded with great suspicion and dismay the Christological theories of the upstart Paul, flaunting his new visions in interpretation of the Jesus whom he had never met in the flesh.” (1)
So Paul and his Temple inbred idiots who inherited or sold out in order to get their positions are the creators of a history that is entirely opposite to what Jesus wanted for humanity. The Pharisaic and Mishnah saying that covers this perspective is a little less delicate:
… “A learned ******* takes precedence over an ignorant High Priest.” (2)
Paul’s own words tell us in Romans 11:2: ‘I am an Israelite myself, of the stock of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin,’,’ circumcised on my eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin, A Hebrew, born and bred; in my attitude to the law, A Pharisee (Philippians 3:5).’
Nothing in his early life actions would tell us that he was a Pharisee who supported the underprivileged (Or even in later life if one reads his thoughts about women) in laws and all societal structures throughout the Roman and Parthian Empire. A detailed and honest investigation can easily see the Pharisees have been ridiculed and given all kinds of negative publicity in the Gospels and from the evangelical pulpits of this very day. What better way to destroy someone, than to have your ‘front man’ write their dogma? This is classic espionage and ‘black ops’ intrigue! Mr. Maccoby gives us these further comments on the matter and we could have chosen many other scholars to say these things.
“Instead of the priests, the Pharisees looked for guidance to their own leaders, the ‘hakhamin’ (sages), who were not a hereditary class but came from every level of society including the poorest… The other verse quoted by Jesus from Leviticus, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ was also regarded by the Pharisees as of central importance, and was treated by the two greatest figures of Pharisaism, Hillel and Rabbi Akiba…
Jesus’ threat to the Temple was not subversive of the High Priest… rather it was the Jews who were framed by the Gospels, whose concern was to shift the blame for the crucifixion from the Romans to the Jews and their religion.” (3)
“When in the name of God {Nations or academia}, people hold black and white beliefs that cut them off from other human beings; when in the name of God, they give up their own sense of right and wrong; when in the name of God, they suffer financial deprivation; then they are suffering from religious addiction. When, in the name of God, people are made to feel unhealthy fear, false guilt, toxic shame, and destructive anger; when in the name of God, they have been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused; when in the name of God, they have judged themselves and others as inherently worth- less; then they have been subject to religious abuse… At that point, Father Leo Booth says, ‘God has become a drug. My name is Leo. I’m an alcoholic and religious abuser. I’m a recovering priest.’ {He was a Catholic who taught that non-Catholics receiving no catechism went to Hell.}
…Moses was told by God that his name was ‘I am who I am.’ Every child is born with a sense of ‘I am who I am’. The job of the family and the church is to orchestrate life so that the sense of ‘I AM’ can grow and expand. Chapter 5 painfully outlines how children raised by religious addicts have their ‘I AM’-ness ripped apart – how their sense of wholeness is split. This is a far cry from religion’s promise of at-one-ment.” (4)
PEACE: – Let us give credit to John Lennon and the ‘hippies’ who were strong enough to say NO! Their collective energy and thought or prayer has been useful in ending organized war among superpowers, now we need to extend a hand to those who are suffering within nations under the strong arm and insanity of national despots protected by international sovereign rights.
Mar
4
How Jesus Surpassed Jupiter, The Great Roman God – A Case Study in Market Innovation
Filed Under News And Society | 1 Comment
David Dent
Two thousand years ago, Jupiter was the supreme god of the Roman Empire, worshiped as Optimus Maximus. He was where Jesus Christ is today, the ceremonial divinity of the world’s greatest empire. While Jesus, a crucified Jewish rabbi, was a cult figure of a breakaway new religion known as the Way. Within a few hundred years, Jesus grew into the Christ, the promised Messiah, while the Way grew from cult into a mature religion, Christianity. In the end, the Roman people humiliated Jupiter.
In “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Edward Gibbons tells the story of Jupiter’s final humiliation. Emperor Theodosius I, who was a supporter of orthodox Christianity, officially banned the practice of the old Roman pagan religion in about 389 AD. In a full meeting of the Roman Senate, he posed the question of whether the worship of Jupiter or that of Christ should be the religion of the Romans. The outcome was decisive. Most of the Roman Senate condemned and degraded Jupiter. It was an impeachment of Divine proportions. Therefore, Jupiter slipped away, banished by the people who had once worshiped him.
How could a state religion disappear in such a relatively short period, defeated by a religion that people had once considered a cult? It would be comparable to Scientology becoming the official religion of the USA within the next 200 years.
Sociologist Rodney Stark of Baylor University, and expert on religious economies, offers some insight using marketing theory. A 2006 paper in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, titled “Religious Competition and Roman Piety,” Stark argues it was market forces that ended Jupiter’s reign. In particular, product innovation by the Christians defeated Roman paganism.
According to Stark, the market theory of religious economies predicts that when the state neither supports an official religion nor limits religious choices, competing religious groups will exist. Also, the more religions that exist, the more people get involved. This situation existed in ancient Rome. As well, the more effective and more innovative religious organizations will prosper, and, conversely the less effective, less innovative ones will decline.
To be sure, there were other competing religions. Some of the competing faiths included the goddess Cybele, known to the Romans as Magna Mater, the “Great Mother,” and her consort Attis; Isis, the Egyptian goddess; Mithras, a god popular within the Roman army. Like any arena of product innovation, like cars and personal computers in the early years, competition among religions was intense and, over time, led to a market shake out.
What were the competitive advantages that made Christianity more appealing? Stark identifies five major innovations. First, Christianity had greater emotional content, especially in worship. The trumping emotional ingredient for the Romans was Love. According to Stark, Romans thought their gods might come to their aid, but they did not believe the gods loved them. For the most part Jupiter was depicted as unfriendly to people, whereas Jesus loved them. Similarly, Romans often feared the gods, admired some, and envied all, but did not love them; at least not in the way they came to love Jesus.
A second innovation was that Christianity appealed directly to the individual and virtue. The focus was on personal morality, atonement, and salvation. Jupiter and his family were mainly gods of the state. Salvation of the state mattered, personal morality and salvation did not. Something like the ethic of the TV series 24. For years, philosophers had rebuked Jupiter for his philandering ways. Indeed, his whole family lacked morals and manners, acting more like flawed humans who had immortality and some super powers. Nevertheless, they also were afflicted with the major deadly sins, including jealousy, greed, pride, and lust. They set bad examples: they lied, stole, raped, committed adultery, betrayed and tortured.
Reinforcing the moral tone of Christianity was a set of written scriptures, presenting a more rational, sophisticated divinity. For all of Rome’s sophistication, traditional Roman religions had no scriptures. They were known largely through the works of poets and playwrights like Ovid and Virgil. Written scriptures satisfied the intellect, presenting a divinity that was at once more potent and more virtuous than Jupiter and his family.
As historian Franz Cumont has noted, the new Christianity “acted on the senses, the intellect and the conscience at the same time, and therefore gained a hold on the entire man. Compared with the ancient creeds, they appear to have offered greater beauty of ritual, greater truth of doctrine and a far superior morality…The worship of the Roman gods was a civic duty, the worship of the foreign gods (Christianity) the expression of personal belief.”
In addition, Christianity appealed to women. In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Stark, relying on historical data, argues that Christianity grew as rapidly as it did precisely because of its strong pro-life ethic, which stood in direct contrast to the Roman culture of death. Abortion was a common killer of both fetuses and women in secular Roman society. Archaeologists have discovered Roman sewers clogged with the bodies of babies. Because Christianity condemned such practices from the beginning, pagan women viewed it as a sanctuary. These women came to the Christian faith out of a wish to protect themselves and their children from a secular world that treated both as disposable goods. In Christianity, their children were children of God entitled to their own rights and dignity.
A final innovation may well be one of the most important one. Stark notes that Christian churches were not content simply to function as temples to which people went periodically. They went further, organizing adherents into active communities that, says Stark, provided a deeply rewarding social as well as spiritual life. To be sure, at times the Roman authorities resisted. Officials preferred easygoing gods whose clients gathered for a feast. Stark argues that one of the strategic errors of the Roman authorities was using a top-down approach to attack Christianity, murdering bishops and other church leaders. While the logic of killing the leadership to kill a movement may work sometimes, it unfortunately was ill suited as a deterrent to Christianity, which was a bottom-up movement.
There is more to life than economics, that said, Stark’s use of market theory of religious economics fits well with the religious life of Rome. It also helps us understand how Christianity came to displace the Roman pantheon of Gods.
Two thousand years ago, Jupiter was the supreme god of the Roman Empire, worshiped as Optimus Maximus. He was where Jesus Christ is today, the ceremonial divinity of the world’s greatest empire. While Jesus, a crucified Jewish rabbi, was a cult figure of a breakaway new religion known as the Way. Within a few hundred years, Jesus grew into the Christ, the promised Messiah, while the Way grew from cult into a mature religion, Christianity. In the end, the Roman people humiliated Jupiter.
In “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Edward Gibbons tells the story of Jupiter’s final humiliation. Emperor Theodosius I, who was a supporter of orthodox Christianity, officially banned the practice of the old Roman pagan religion in about 389 AD. In a full meeting of the Roman Senate, he posed the question of whether the worship of Jupiter or that of Christ should be the religion of the Romans. The outcome was decisive. Most of the Roman Senate condemned and degraded Jupiter. It was an impeachment of Divine proportions. Therefore, Jupiter slipped away, banished by the people who had once worshiped him.
How could a state religion disappear in such a relatively short period, defeated by a religion that people had once considered a cult? It would be comparable to Scientology becoming the official religion of the USA within the next 200 years.
Sociologist Rodney Stark of Baylor University, and expert on religious economies, offers some insight using marketing theory. A 2006 paper in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, titled “Religious Competition and Roman Piety,” Stark argues it was market forces that ended Jupiter’s reign. In particular, product innovation by the Christians defeated Roman paganism.
According to Stark, the market theory of religious economies predicts that when the state neither supports an official religion nor limits religious choices, competing religious groups will exist. Also, the more religions that exist, the more people get involved. This situation existed in ancient Rome. As well, the more effective and more innovative religious organizations will prosper, and, conversely the less effective, less innovative ones will decline.
To be sure, there were other competing religions. Some of the competing faiths included the goddess Cybele, known to the Romans as Magna Mater, the “Great Mother,” and her consort Attis; Isis, the Egyptian goddess; Mithras, a god popular within the Roman army. Like any arena of product innovation, like cars and personal computers in the early years, competition among religions was intense and, over time, led to a market shake out.
What were the competitive advantages that made Christianity more appealing? Stark identifies five major innovations. First, Christianity had greater emotional content, especially in worship. The trumping emotional ingredient for the Romans was Love. According to Stark, Romans thought their gods might come to their aid, but they did not believe the gods loved them. For the most part Jupiter was depicted as unfriendly to people, whereas Jesus loved them. Similarly, Romans often feared the gods, admired some, and envied all, but did not love them; at least not in the way they came to love Jesus.
A second innovation was that Christianity appealed directly to the individual and virtue. The focus was on personal morality, atonement, and salvation. Jupiter and his family were mainly gods of the state. Salvation of the state mattered, personal morality and salvation did not. Something like the ethic of the TV series 24. For years, philosophers had rebuked Jupiter for his philandering ways. Indeed, his whole family lacked morals and manners, acting more like flawed humans who had immortality and some super powers. Nevertheless, they also were afflicted with the major deadly sins, including jealousy, greed, pride, and lust. They set bad examples: they lied, stole, raped, committed adultery, betrayed and tortured.
Reinforcing the moral tone of Christianity was a set of written scriptures, presenting a more rational, sophisticated divinity. For all of Rome’s sophistication, traditional Roman religions had no scriptures. They were known largely through the works of poets and playwrights like Ovid and Virgil. Written scriptures satisfied the intellect, presenting a divinity that was at once more potent and more virtuous than Jupiter and his family.
As historian Franz Cumont has noted, the new Christianity “acted on the senses, the intellect and the conscience at the same time, and therefore gained a hold on the entire man. Compared with the ancient creeds, they appear to have offered greater beauty of ritual, greater truth of doctrine and a far superior morality…The worship of the Roman gods was a civic duty, the worship of the foreign gods (Christianity) the expression of personal belief.”
In addition, Christianity appealed to women. In his book, The Rise of Christianity, Stark, relying on historical data, argues that Christianity grew as rapidly as it did precisely because of its strong pro-life ethic, which stood in direct contrast to the Roman culture of death. Abortion was a common killer of both fetuses and women in secular Roman society. Archaeologists have discovered Roman sewers clogged with the bodies of babies. Because Christianity condemned such practices from the beginning, pagan women viewed it as a sanctuary. These women came to the Christian faith out of a wish to protect themselves and their children from a secular world that treated both as disposable goods. In Christianity, their children were children of God entitled to their own rights and dignity.
A final innovation may well be one of the most important one. Stark notes that Christian churches were not content simply to function as temples to which people went periodically. They went further, organizing adherents into active communities that, says Stark, provided a deeply rewarding social as well as spiritual life. To be sure, at times the Roman authorities resisted. Officials preferred easygoing gods whose clients gathered for a feast. Stark argues that one of the strategic errors of the Roman authorities was using a top-down approach to attack Christianity, murdering bishops and other church leaders. While the logic of killing the leadership to kill a movement may work sometimes, it unfortunately was ill suited as a deterrent to Christianity, which was a bottom-up movement.
There is more to life than economics, that said, Stark’s use of market theory of religious economics fits well with the religious life of Rome. It also helps us understand how Christianity came to displace the Roman pantheon of Gods.
Feb
27
Nick Poulios
Religion and everything philosophical about religion, started during the prehistoric period when people faced with ignorance, and covered with fears about what they could not explain, begun the journey of believing in something bigger than themselves, gods that deserve their obedience and servitude.
We see this at the extreme when the Greeks, who while able to explain that all matter is made of atoms, they worshiped not one, but twelve gods, who were there to help them anytime there was something difficult to deal with. In fact, gods were there regardless of human difficulty; there was even a god to join the wine party!
We have made progress with regards to the teachings about morality but they still carry some unexplained, if not unwise – unwritten laws that do not make sense. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; he that without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her (from the woman adultery story), seem to imply that only non-sinners are allowed to punish. Hence the dilemma about how imperfect societies are supposed to punish their sinners. Even Jesus’ authority to forgive implies that people who had to be done wrong were left without compensation. We also see the gender bias in the woman adultery case, where Mosaic Law required that her male partner must also undergo the stoning. But where is he?
Then, we have the miracles. If we define a miracle as modification or alteration of the expected and/or established course of things, this of course would involve anything and everything, from apples falling inversely from the ground to the trees, tides going into the seas, to the sun rising in the west, etc., etc. The presentation of a miracle has to have two derivatives: one has to do with the laws of physics being violated, and the second has to do with the observation that the party witnessing this miracle is suffering from infinite imagination.
Modern day miracles, the Harry Houdini types, or the UFO sightings, have to be put in contrast to the ones described in the New Testament. Just about all types are being witnessed today, with the exception of course of the resurrection. We have been told that Jesus managed this task three times: one by raising Lazarus and two by raising the daughter of Jairus and three by raising himself. Following the “Murder at Golgotha” reasoning of forensic investigator, you would think that someone would have taken the time to interview all survivors and document their amazing extra-humane experience. In any case, what happened to them? Why did they vanish from history?
Questions about Jesus, and in general about religion are of paramount importance, given the cost of human life and sacrifices that humanity has endured over thousands of years. One can accept the fact that Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, and by most accounts suffered a brutal death. But, what about his father, what about God? What about paradise or the afterlife? What if there is God but not afterlife? What about if there is afterlife, but not God?
What about humans? Are they to remain mortals? Latest scientific discoveries have shown that life, in its primitive ameba form, can be artificially recreated. Religion on the other hand, claims to know all about “the end”, a process of thought known as “eschatology”. In the end, we are all after the truth, although the truth can take several interpretations depending on the ends that intends to justify.
The Greeks proclaim “know thyself”, i.e., you need to learn about yourself, your inner-soul, first, if you are to know anything about anything else. After all, the truth is not a function of possessions, nor are possessions required to know the truth. It is rather a process, the truth, that takes you to a place where you perhaps have never expected to arrive, but nevertheless have painstakingly worked to get there – and when there, you feel fulfilled.
One wonders how the brightest minds approach these concepts. For example, how would Einstein feel about Jesus, religion? According to Einstein, “science is the century-old endeavor to bring together by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world into as thorough-going an association as possible. To put boldly, it is the attempt at the posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization.”
How does the idea of an omnipotent personal God stand up to the might accumulation of science? For one thing, the idea that God is able to help man while in solace and guide towards the good deeds is not necessarily unreasonable. However, this is where the weaknesses appear with respect to defending beliefs and feelings and taken them in a dogmatic sense; if God is omnipotent, then everything we do, every action we take, everything we think is the result of his work. And if this is the case, how can men be held accountable for their actions, if these actions are God’s anyway?
Assuming that punishments and rewards are the results of our actions, then one would conclude that God holds himself accountable, i.e., punishes himself. Some would argue that this is precisely why Jesus came to our world, to serve as the extension of God, hence allow us to sin and in the process take the punishment himself. But, it has been argued before that if Jesus is godly, punishment offers no pain, no deterrent, so how does this help humanity? There is obviously a duality here, good and evil, right and wrong, and how you see each one evolving is relative to where you are sitting and observing the world while the world is evolving.
In the end, perhaps it is not so important if Jesus was a man, god or Son of God, or even whether his existence is a myth. What is important is whether we live our lives according to some order, an order that follows a reasonable approximation of the true values Jesus presumably taught us to live by. If we do that, the world will be a better place and perhaps we can spend more time thinking about how to do good in this world – and less about the afterlife. We know – or at least have an approximate knowledge of, our small-immediate world, and we can therefore spend time trying to improve it, rather than spending time and resources planning for some unknown afterlife.
Religion and everything philosophical about religion, started during the prehistoric period when people faced with ignorance, and covered with fears about what they could not explain, begun the journey of believing in something bigger than themselves, gods that deserve their obedience and servitude.
We see this at the extreme when the Greeks, who while able to explain that all matter is made of atoms, they worshiped not one, but twelve gods, who were there to help them anytime there was something difficult to deal with. In fact, gods were there regardless of human difficulty; there was even a god to join the wine party!
We have made progress with regards to the teachings about morality but they still carry some unexplained, if not unwise – unwritten laws that do not make sense. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; he that without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her (from the woman adultery story), seem to imply that only non-sinners are allowed to punish. Hence the dilemma about how imperfect societies are supposed to punish their sinners. Even Jesus’ authority to forgive implies that people who had to be done wrong were left without compensation. We also see the gender bias in the woman adultery case, where Mosaic Law required that her male partner must also undergo the stoning. But where is he?
Then, we have the miracles. If we define a miracle as modification or alteration of the expected and/or established course of things, this of course would involve anything and everything, from apples falling inversely from the ground to the trees, tides going into the seas, to the sun rising in the west, etc., etc. The presentation of a miracle has to have two derivatives: one has to do with the laws of physics being violated, and the second has to do with the observation that the party witnessing this miracle is suffering from infinite imagination.
Modern day miracles, the Harry Houdini types, or the UFO sightings, have to be put in contrast to the ones described in the New Testament. Just about all types are being witnessed today, with the exception of course of the resurrection. We have been told that Jesus managed this task three times: one by raising Lazarus and two by raising the daughter of Jairus and three by raising himself. Following the “Murder at Golgotha” reasoning of forensic investigator, you would think that someone would have taken the time to interview all survivors and document their amazing extra-humane experience. In any case, what happened to them? Why did they vanish from history?
Questions about Jesus, and in general about religion are of paramount importance, given the cost of human life and sacrifices that humanity has endured over thousands of years. One can accept the fact that Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, and by most accounts suffered a brutal death. But, what about his father, what about God? What about paradise or the afterlife? What if there is God but not afterlife? What about if there is afterlife, but not God?
What about humans? Are they to remain mortals? Latest scientific discoveries have shown that life, in its primitive ameba form, can be artificially recreated. Religion on the other hand, claims to know all about “the end”, a process of thought known as “eschatology”. In the end, we are all after the truth, although the truth can take several interpretations depending on the ends that intends to justify.
The Greeks proclaim “know thyself”, i.e., you need to learn about yourself, your inner-soul, first, if you are to know anything about anything else. After all, the truth is not a function of possessions, nor are possessions required to know the truth. It is rather a process, the truth, that takes you to a place where you perhaps have never expected to arrive, but nevertheless have painstakingly worked to get there – and when there, you feel fulfilled.
One wonders how the brightest minds approach these concepts. For example, how would Einstein feel about Jesus, religion? According to Einstein, “science is the century-old endeavor to bring together by means of systematic thought the perceptible phenomena of this world into as thorough-going an association as possible. To put boldly, it is the attempt at the posterior reconstruction of existence by the process of conceptualization.”
How does the idea of an omnipotent personal God stand up to the might accumulation of science? For one thing, the idea that God is able to help man while in solace and guide towards the good deeds is not necessarily unreasonable. However, this is where the weaknesses appear with respect to defending beliefs and feelings and taken them in a dogmatic sense; if God is omnipotent, then everything we do, every action we take, everything we think is the result of his work. And if this is the case, how can men be held accountable for their actions, if these actions are God’s anyway?
Assuming that punishments and rewards are the results of our actions, then one would conclude that God holds himself accountable, i.e., punishes himself. Some would argue that this is precisely why Jesus came to our world, to serve as the extension of God, hence allow us to sin and in the process take the punishment himself. But, it has been argued before that if Jesus is godly, punishment offers no pain, no deterrent, so how does this help humanity? There is obviously a duality here, good and evil, right and wrong, and how you see each one evolving is relative to where you are sitting and observing the world while the world is evolving.
In the end, perhaps it is not so important if Jesus was a man, god or Son of God, or even whether his existence is a myth. What is important is whether we live our lives according to some order, an order that follows a reasonable approximation of the true values Jesus presumably taught us to live by. If we do that, the world will be a better place and perhaps we can spend more time thinking about how to do good in this world – and less about the afterlife. We know – or at least have an approximate knowledge of, our small-immediate world, and we can therefore spend time trying to improve it, rather than spending time and resources planning for some unknown afterlife.
Feb
25
Is Modern Religion Teaching God’s Word Through Jesus Or is it a Hoax?
Filed Under News And Society | Leave a Comment
Atman Zaza
The Bible has everyone talking the talk, but who is walking the walk? Let us listen to what Jesus had to say. One can certainly say, From what we may know of Jesus, That he spoke of peace and love for your fellow man. This means everybody living upon God’s Earth.
Well actually, we must say every man born of woman, which means almost every man. We are all children of God. Jesus was a man, a child of God, just like you and me. God created man in his (God’s) own image. He breathed his breath into man to animate him.
We do not study the intangible power of man. Man seems satisfied going to a church, praying, and accepting what he is being taught. Lets briefly touch upon the churches. Most churches consider themselves as a not for profit organization. Although they are run like a business, dealing (a lot of them) with a lot of money. Most of them with a priestly caste. This money is spent on the operation, and beautification, of that particular church. I do not think that is what Jesus came to this earth to speak of.
Jesus spoke of the body as the temple of God. God does not live in a temple, with a device of torture ( Jesus’ torture ) reaching high into the sky, Golden or not. Yes that is right, God does not like what we call the holy cross.
I may have just lost some readers, but the truth stands, What if we used a guillotine to execute Jesus? We should celebrate his life, and not dwell upon his crucifixion. Ask yourself this, Who killed Jesus? Whatever your answer, I am sure its nothing to be proud of. I know it was one of your brothers, which God loves as much as you.
Look around you. we are a people at war with ourselves. Killing one another in the name of God. Trust me when I say this was not Jesus message. I am sure God is not proud of Christianity, among other religions, which was spread through senseless bloodshed. This and more is kinda why I say we missed Jesus point.
Through a religion called Islam, God told Mohammed to unite the world under this new religion. It was excellent in theory. But hen the Christians and the Jews caught wind of this, they strongly opposed a religion that would eliminate their religions. As Islam grew and became a thorn in Christianity’s side, They degraded and killed every muslim they could. Millions died. Then arose another holy war, The Jihad. How can you justify all this in the name of God.
Now I would like to send a message to the leaders of the very powerful Jihad. If you do succeed in taking over the world. who would you then make war with?
“When you fight monsters long enough, you will become a monster yourself…”
The Bible has everyone talking the talk, but who is walking the walk? Let us listen to what Jesus had to say. One can certainly say, From what we may know of Jesus, That he spoke of peace and love for your fellow man. This means everybody living upon God’s Earth.
Well actually, we must say every man born of woman, which means almost every man. We are all children of God. Jesus was a man, a child of God, just like you and me. God created man in his (God’s) own image. He breathed his breath into man to animate him.
We do not study the intangible power of man. Man seems satisfied going to a church, praying, and accepting what he is being taught. Lets briefly touch upon the churches. Most churches consider themselves as a not for profit organization. Although they are run like a business, dealing (a lot of them) with a lot of money. Most of them with a priestly caste. This money is spent on the operation, and beautification, of that particular church. I do not think that is what Jesus came to this earth to speak of.
Jesus spoke of the body as the temple of God. God does not live in a temple, with a device of torture ( Jesus’ torture ) reaching high into the sky, Golden or not. Yes that is right, God does not like what we call the holy cross.
I may have just lost some readers, but the truth stands, What if we used a guillotine to execute Jesus? We should celebrate his life, and not dwell upon his crucifixion. Ask yourself this, Who killed Jesus? Whatever your answer, I am sure its nothing to be proud of. I know it was one of your brothers, which God loves as much as you.
Look around you. we are a people at war with ourselves. Killing one another in the name of God. Trust me when I say this was not Jesus message. I am sure God is not proud of Christianity, among other religions, which was spread through senseless bloodshed. This and more is kinda why I say we missed Jesus point.
Through a religion called Islam, God told Mohammed to unite the world under this new religion. It was excellent in theory. But hen the Christians and the Jews caught wind of this, they strongly opposed a religion that would eliminate their religions. As Islam grew and became a thorn in Christianity’s side, They degraded and killed every muslim they could. Millions died. Then arose another holy war, The Jihad. How can you justify all this in the name of God.
Now I would like to send a message to the leaders of the very powerful Jihad. If you do succeed in taking over the world. who would you then make war with?
“When you fight monsters long enough, you will become a monster yourself…”
Feb
22
I came to divide.
Filed Under News And Society | Leave a Comment
Anthony Smith
I came to divide.
There are more religions in the world today than ever. Many have sprung up in the last 35 years and a new one has just came upon the scene. Many of these religions are calling for a joint unity between all religions that will lead us all into one big happy family with world peace assured. The biggest thing that divides the world today is religion.
For those that call for unity of religions, Please answer this one question, Which religions are willing to adapt all religions as being true?
There are none, even between the peoples of many religions, there are variances between themselves. Let’s take Islam for example. These people fight among themselves, having the same religion. They are known to kill others of the Same Religion for little or no cause. Islam, Hindi and other religions around the world accept Jesus as being a Man of God and a Prophet, but as Jesus told the Pharisees,
“You do not accept a prophet of God in His own country and have killed the others that God has sent unto you.” If Jesus was a prophet of God, why didn’t all these other religions listen to His message?
Jesus said, “I come not to send peace on the earth but a sword. I came to divide.” The word that we preach also continues to divide, putting families and friends at odds with each other. Matthew 10:34, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
(Mic-7:6) Christ being the prince of Peace was not going to do the Dividing but His message would set in motion the things covered by prophecy. His message caused wide hatred of Him and does us also. We are the most hated Religion by all peoples and even by some of our own.
The message of the Bible separates family’s, friends, countries and nations. Jesus said that there would be lords many and Christ many, but go not unto them, for they are false. We either believe Jesus is Lord or we don’t. Its that simple. Why are we so hated?
The message that we preach is controversial in all aspects. We balance Preaching Love and Preaching Fear. Jude 1:22-23; And of some have compassion, making a difference: (These are the tender hearted.)And others save with fear (These are the Hard Hearted.), pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
The message that Jesus left to us, rejects all other religions for there are none that can save the Soul of man except one. His message doesn’t give any leeway for any occasion to sin nor to join forces with the darkness of unbelief.
There is one central theam that all religions have, except for Christianity, Refusal to Declare Jesus as, Lord, Christ and Son of God. All religions believe in a god, weather it be one or multiple.
They all believe in a here after and a punishment. They all believe that their religion is better than the rest but they all lack substance, they all lack insight and they all lack Spirit. God can not denigh His Son nor can He denigh Himself. Those that say, we will be reincarnated. If you can’t get it right in this life how can you expect to get it right in the next?
There are three major religions in the world and all three say they worship the True God, “Jehovah”. Worshiping God, “Jehovah”, brings about a responsibility to man to believe in Gods Word, letter by letter, word by word and passage by passage. Only 1 religion actually does.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance (a conflict.) against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. The conflict spoken of here is not one of family ties or love but of religious differences, in other words, we **** what our children do but we still love the children.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes (Enemies) shall be they of his own household. The Bible states very clearly that in the end of days that even the family will be at odds with each other and the children will have the parents put to death and the parents will also put their children to death.
Here are two verses that prove this; Matthew 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. Zec 13:3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through(Kill) when he prophesieth.
This is not a contradiction of Matthew 10:35, but a revelation on the state of mans’ changing attitude toward his relationships within his own family.
Governmental regulations have almost destroyed the family unit by their interferences with the parental rights under God to correct their children and raise them up as called for by God.
Do you think that this can’t come about? Well think again, todays’ society has gone the way of family murders, children killing parents and parents killing entire households, and remember the Civil War? But what we are speaking of is religious differences that will cause this same type of behavior, it is inevitable. Everyone is preoccupied with the past and trying to make sense of what happened but very few are considering the future.
We must consider that tomorrow never comes, the future of mans’ soul is today. Sometimes our own love, for our family and even our children, put us at odds with the Creator. Many times we will think of our family, wife, husband, daughter and son, before we even think about considering God. Jesus knew that this would take place even more in the times of the end. I have seen this myself in my life and in the lives of others.
Jesus told us in Matthew 10:37-39;
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: (This is not physical love, for God and Jesus are Spirit, but this is a spiritual love and arrangement of our spiritual priorities.) and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.(His demands for total regard and love is all inclusive.) And he that taketh not his cross (The word,”Cross” is speaking of responsibility and labors due to God.), and followeth after me (To follow Jesus is to follow His example of obedience to God and His will. Even prior to His Death, the thoughts of Jesus, were on only fulfilling the will of His Father.), is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it ( Refusing to follow after Jesus, and taking the easy way thru this life may give you, Joy, Love, Pleasure and fulfillment in the flesh but in the end you will lose your everlasting soul.): and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Obedience unto death.) The last division I want to mention is within the Christian Community itself.
There are many different Churches that dislike and even **** other Christian Churches because they worship God in different ways and with different Names over the Door. Baptist, (Which do not accept the gifts of the Spirit for todays Church.)1St. Baptist, 2ND Baptist, Independent Baptist, Southern Baptist, Northern Baptist, Apostolic (Which does not accept a Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost.) Pentecost(Which does accept the gifts of the Spirit for todays Church.) , Nazarene, Catholic (Believes that common man does not have the intelligence to read and interpret the Bible for themselves.), New Life Baptist, Church of God, ect, ect, ect. Each of these Churches must look at each other as fellow brothers in Christ, follow His Doctrine, as lined out in the Book of Acts, and accept each other as fellow workers in the search for lost souls.
What causes this division? Doctrine. Mans doctrine started to get a foot hold in the Church many years ago, starting with the separation of the Catholic Church (Which sought to control the minds of its followers, not allowing them to read the Bible for themselves.) and the Protestant Movement,(Which believed that the Gospel of Jesus should, be open to all men, to be able to read and interpret within themselves.)
If you would take the time and look at most Church Doctrines, you would see that it doesn’t line up with the word of God and many are contrary to it. An evangelist, that is preaching the Gospel, should be able to go into any Christian Church and Preach Salvation, no matter what name is on the door. Just because a man of God is not affiliated with any specific Church that He enters, does mean that He is a wolf at the door. Its time the Church woke up. The End is near.
1 Co. 14:26; How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. We must either join hands and quit this division and bickering or we will have a hard time walking together. We must all walk together, hand in hand, or we might miss Heaven altogether. ars
I came to divide.
There are more religions in the world today than ever. Many have sprung up in the last 35 years and a new one has just came upon the scene. Many of these religions are calling for a joint unity between all religions that will lead us all into one big happy family with world peace assured. The biggest thing that divides the world today is religion.
For those that call for unity of religions, Please answer this one question, Which religions are willing to adapt all religions as being true?
There are none, even between the peoples of many religions, there are variances between themselves. Let’s take Islam for example. These people fight among themselves, having the same religion. They are known to kill others of the Same Religion for little or no cause. Islam, Hindi and other religions around the world accept Jesus as being a Man of God and a Prophet, but as Jesus told the Pharisees,
“You do not accept a prophet of God in His own country and have killed the others that God has sent unto you.” If Jesus was a prophet of God, why didn’t all these other religions listen to His message?
Jesus said, “I come not to send peace on the earth but a sword. I came to divide.” The word that we preach also continues to divide, putting families and friends at odds with each other. Matthew 10:34, Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
(Mic-7:6) Christ being the prince of Peace was not going to do the Dividing but His message would set in motion the things covered by prophecy. His message caused wide hatred of Him and does us also. We are the most hated Religion by all peoples and even by some of our own.
The message of the Bible separates family’s, friends, countries and nations. Jesus said that there would be lords many and Christ many, but go not unto them, for they are false. We either believe Jesus is Lord or we don’t. Its that simple. Why are we so hated?
The message that we preach is controversial in all aspects. We balance Preaching Love and Preaching Fear. Jude 1:22-23; And of some have compassion, making a difference: (These are the tender hearted.)And others save with fear (These are the Hard Hearted.), pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
The message that Jesus left to us, rejects all other religions for there are none that can save the Soul of man except one. His message doesn’t give any leeway for any occasion to sin nor to join forces with the darkness of unbelief.
There is one central theam that all religions have, except for Christianity, Refusal to Declare Jesus as, Lord, Christ and Son of God. All religions believe in a god, weather it be one or multiple.
They all believe in a here after and a punishment. They all believe that their religion is better than the rest but they all lack substance, they all lack insight and they all lack Spirit. God can not denigh His Son nor can He denigh Himself. Those that say, we will be reincarnated. If you can’t get it right in this life how can you expect to get it right in the next?
There are three major religions in the world and all three say they worship the True God, “Jehovah”. Worshiping God, “Jehovah”, brings about a responsibility to man to believe in Gods Word, letter by letter, word by word and passage by passage. Only 1 religion actually does.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance (a conflict.) against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. The conflict spoken of here is not one of family ties or love but of religious differences, in other words, we **** what our children do but we still love the children.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes (Enemies) shall be they of his own household. The Bible states very clearly that in the end of days that even the family will be at odds with each other and the children will have the parents put to death and the parents will also put their children to death.
Here are two verses that prove this; Matthew 10:21 And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. Zec 13:3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through(Kill) when he prophesieth.
This is not a contradiction of Matthew 10:35, but a revelation on the state of mans’ changing attitude toward his relationships within his own family.
Governmental regulations have almost destroyed the family unit by their interferences with the parental rights under God to correct their children and raise them up as called for by God.
Do you think that this can’t come about? Well think again, todays’ society has gone the way of family murders, children killing parents and parents killing entire households, and remember the Civil War? But what we are speaking of is religious differences that will cause this same type of behavior, it is inevitable. Everyone is preoccupied with the past and trying to make sense of what happened but very few are considering the future.
We must consider that tomorrow never comes, the future of mans’ soul is today. Sometimes our own love, for our family and even our children, put us at odds with the Creator. Many times we will think of our family, wife, husband, daughter and son, before we even think about considering God. Jesus knew that this would take place even more in the times of the end. I have seen this myself in my life and in the lives of others.
Jesus told us in Matthew 10:37-39;
“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: (This is not physical love, for God and Jesus are Spirit, but this is a spiritual love and arrangement of our spiritual priorities.) and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.(His demands for total regard and love is all inclusive.) And he that taketh not his cross (The word,”Cross” is speaking of responsibility and labors due to God.), and followeth after me (To follow Jesus is to follow His example of obedience to God and His will. Even prior to His Death, the thoughts of Jesus, were on only fulfilling the will of His Father.), is not worthy of me.
He that findeth his life shall lose it ( Refusing to follow after Jesus, and taking the easy way thru this life may give you, Joy, Love, Pleasure and fulfillment in the flesh but in the end you will lose your everlasting soul.): and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Obedience unto death.) The last division I want to mention is within the Christian Community itself.
There are many different Churches that dislike and even **** other Christian Churches because they worship God in different ways and with different Names over the Door. Baptist, (Which do not accept the gifts of the Spirit for todays Church.)1St. Baptist, 2ND Baptist, Independent Baptist, Southern Baptist, Northern Baptist, Apostolic (Which does not accept a Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost.) Pentecost(Which does accept the gifts of the Spirit for todays Church.) , Nazarene, Catholic (Believes that common man does not have the intelligence to read and interpret the Bible for themselves.), New Life Baptist, Church of God, ect, ect, ect. Each of these Churches must look at each other as fellow brothers in Christ, follow His Doctrine, as lined out in the Book of Acts, and accept each other as fellow workers in the search for lost souls.
What causes this division? Doctrine. Mans doctrine started to get a foot hold in the Church many years ago, starting with the separation of the Catholic Church (Which sought to control the minds of its followers, not allowing them to read the Bible for themselves.) and the Protestant Movement,(Which believed that the Gospel of Jesus should, be open to all men, to be able to read and interpret within themselves.)
If you would take the time and look at most Church Doctrines, you would see that it doesn’t line up with the word of God and many are contrary to it. An evangelist, that is preaching the Gospel, should be able to go into any Christian Church and Preach Salvation, no matter what name is on the door. Just because a man of God is not affiliated with any specific Church that He enters, does mean that He is a wolf at the door. Its time the Church woke up. The End is near.
1 Co. 14:26; How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying. We must either join hands and quit this division and bickering or we will have a hard time walking together. We must all walk together, hand in hand, or we might miss Heaven altogether. ars
Feb
18
Jesus Christ and Other Religious Leaders – 5 Tips to Finding a True Religion
Filed Under News And Society | Leave a Comment
Tumwesigye Wycliffe
Many people in the whole world claim to be religious and subscribe to one or more religious authorities. However, some people have remained uncertain and they move from one religion to the other looking for a true religion. A good number of people have lost their property and some their own lives following false teachers who claim to be very religious and godly. This article provides five tips to guide people on how to find a true religion/church to stay in with a peace of mind. These include: source of authority, literature, Trinity, actions and concept of Jesus Christ.
The source of authority
False religions usually exalt the leader of their religion instead of God who created the heavens and earth. They pay tribute and worship a personality or the founder of their religion. Such people obey their religious leader without questions and they take his/her to be the final authority. A true religion recognizes God and His son Jesus Christ as the final authority in all matters of faith.
The literature they use
True religion believes in the Bible as the infallible word of God. It is the creators manual to guide all his creation to live in harmony for the glory of God. It talks about the creation of the universe, the present downfall of mankind, God’s redemptive plan and the future destiny of man. Any other religion that does not believe in the Bible as the true word of God and tries to supplement it with other books or uses other books as their major source of authority is questionable.
The trinity
God exists in three personalities, God the father, God the son (Jesus) and God the Holly Spirit. The father is the creator, the son is the savior and the Holly spirit is the giver of life/counselor. He is the same God but existing in three personalities to provide sufficient services to His people. A religion that does not believe in the trinity of God is a false religion. This trinity is depicted in God’s creation such as three parts of an insect, tree parts of a tree or a person.
The words and actions
False teachers usually promote the attitude to ‘do as I say and not as I do’. They are hypocrites and do the opposite of what they teach their followers. May religions have caused a global moral crisis and the genuine seekers remain puzzled as to which one is the true region? You will know them by their fruit. Any religion that does the opposite of what it teaches is a false religion and misleading. So take heed!
The concept of Jesus
Jesus is the son of God who came from heaven to the planet earth to redeem mankind from both the penalty and consequences of sin. He sacrificed his life, died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day thereby reconciling man back to God. This is the only way God could reach mankind, talk with him in order to know and attend to his problems. God was pleased to have all his authority vested in Jesus Christ. Any religion that does not believe in this truth is considered to be false hence questionable.
It is not a simple task to get a true religion but a close look at the source of their authority, attitude towards the Bible, the Trinity, their actions and the position they give to Jesus Christ would help you to differentiate between a false and true religion and the right church to stay in.
Many people in the whole world claim to be religious and subscribe to one or more religious authorities. However, some people have remained uncertain and they move from one religion to the other looking for a true religion. A good number of people have lost their property and some their own lives following false teachers who claim to be very religious and godly. This article provides five tips to guide people on how to find a true religion/church to stay in with a peace of mind. These include: source of authority, literature, Trinity, actions and concept of Jesus Christ.
The source of authority
False religions usually exalt the leader of their religion instead of God who created the heavens and earth. They pay tribute and worship a personality or the founder of their religion. Such people obey their religious leader without questions and they take his/her to be the final authority. A true religion recognizes God and His son Jesus Christ as the final authority in all matters of faith.
The literature they use
True religion believes in the Bible as the infallible word of God. It is the creators manual to guide all his creation to live in harmony for the glory of God. It talks about the creation of the universe, the present downfall of mankind, God’s redemptive plan and the future destiny of man. Any other religion that does not believe in the Bible as the true word of God and tries to supplement it with other books or uses other books as their major source of authority is questionable.
The trinity
God exists in three personalities, God the father, God the son (Jesus) and God the Holly Spirit. The father is the creator, the son is the savior and the Holly spirit is the giver of life/counselor. He is the same God but existing in three personalities to provide sufficient services to His people. A religion that does not believe in the trinity of God is a false religion. This trinity is depicted in God’s creation such as three parts of an insect, tree parts of a tree or a person.
The words and actions
False teachers usually promote the attitude to ‘do as I say and not as I do’. They are hypocrites and do the opposite of what they teach their followers. May religions have caused a global moral crisis and the genuine seekers remain puzzled as to which one is the true region? You will know them by their fruit. Any religion that does the opposite of what it teaches is a false religion and misleading. So take heed!
The concept of Jesus
Jesus is the son of God who came from heaven to the planet earth to redeem mankind from both the penalty and consequences of sin. He sacrificed his life, died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day thereby reconciling man back to God. This is the only way God could reach mankind, talk with him in order to know and attend to his problems. God was pleased to have all his authority vested in Jesus Christ. Any religion that does not believe in this truth is considered to be false hence questionable.
It is not a simple task to get a true religion but a close look at the source of their authority, attitude towards the Bible, the Trinity, their actions and the position they give to Jesus Christ would help you to differentiate between a false and true religion and the right church to stay in.
Feb
3
The Pagan Jesus – Did Jesus Come From Pagan Religions?
Filed Under News And Society | Leave a Comment
Gregory E Hanson
A popular and growing belief is that the Christian Jesus is just a copycat of pagan religious figures. This is the claim that the early Christians merely “borrowed” from the pagan religions of the day. Essentially, Christianity absorbed these other figures, mixed them together, and created the person named Jesus.
In recent years, promoting this view has become big business. It has climbed the best-sellers list (The Pagan Christ) and has hit the big screen (The DaVinci Code). And on the surface, it sounds plausible. But is it true?
This view of Jesus emerged in the late 1800s, and was propelled by a book by Kersey Graves entitled, The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors (1875). This book claimed that Jesus was not a real person but was instead a compilation of stories of other “deities or god-men saviors who had been crucified, and descended to and ascended from the underworld.”
However, Graves’ research was unreliable. For example, number 16 on his list was Mohammed. But Islam does not teach that Mohammed died and rose again. Besides, Mohammed came centuries after Jesus. So it is obvious that Christian beliefs about Jesus did not come from Mohammed.
Among scholars, both Christian and atheist, The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors has been almost universally rejected, and Graves has been dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. Even the secular website Infidels.org warns, “Readers should be extremely cautious in trusting anything in this book.” However, the belief the book promoted persists to this day, and it has given rise to what is known as the Jesus Myth Hypothesis.
The most common comparison between Jesus and pagan religions involves the Persian sun god Mithras. Mithras, who was popular in the Roman Empire particularly among the military, supposedly had a virgin birth on December 25. That is what advocates of the Jesus Myth Hypothesis will argue. But actually, the Mithras cult claims that he emerged fully grown from a rock. That was his “virgin birth.”
Furthermore, while the Mithras cult did exist before the time of Jesus, many of the beliefs about Mithras were not developed until at least half way through the second century after Jesus. So it would really be Mithras borrowing from Jesus, not the other way around.
As for the December 25 birthday, Christianity does not claim to know the date of Jesus’ birth. In fact, throughout the centuries his birth has been celebrated on a variety of dates including May 20 and March 28. Even today in Armenia, his birth is celebrated on January 6. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates his birth on January 7. December 25 is an arbitrary date and is not relevant to doctrinal beliefs about Jesus.
Another pagan icon, Attis, was killed in a hunting accident. One of the people assigned to protect him threw a spear at a wild boar and hit Attis accidentally. So Attis was impaled by a spear; Jesus was impaled by nails. According to the Jesus Myth Hypothesis, this story of Attis is supposed to be a parallel to the crucifixion story. But that conclusion is a stretch.
The pagan god Osiris allegedly had a resurrection. But his actual story is that after he died he came to life in the Underworld. He rules there over the dead, not the living. Osiris is reminiscent of an Egyptian mummy, and his story is nothing like the resurrection of Jesus.
Without knowing the facts, the Jesus Myth Hypothesis sounds plausible. But with a little investigation, it becomes apparent that there is very little support for it.
There are, however, some valid comparisons that can be made between paganism and Christianity. For example, baptism was a pre-Christian concept which was practiced as a pagan religious ritual. Jesus took this practice that was already in existence and infused it with new meaning, identifying it with his own death and resurrection.
Easter was once a pagan holiday and a pagan term. So how did it become a Christian holiday? Well, the pagan holiday happened to coincide with the Jewish Passover, which was also the weekend of Jesus’ death and resurrection. So today, this pagan holiday has been infused with new meaning and is now a commemoration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is no longer the same pagan celebration; it’s a thoroughly Christian celebration.
Some people suggest that Christians worship on Sunday because it was a day set aside to worship the sun-god. But in reality, Christians worship on that day because it was on a Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead. This switch from Saturday to Sunday worship occurred fairly quickly after the Resurrection.
As James Garlow, an expert on church history, explains, “The issue is less about the church ‘borrowing’ pagan concepts and more about authentic Christianity’s magnificent capacity to adapt and adopt without losing the core of its Christocentric message.”
Plus, remember that every significant detail about Jesus was foretold centuries earlier. Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, some dating back 1000 years before his birth. Christianity emerged from Judaism, not paganism.
The claim that Jesus is a merging of pagan beliefs is false. Whether or not a person accepts the Christian view of Jesus, it is clear that he did not come from pagan religions.
(This article is adapted from an excerpt of Who Is Jesus? Discovering the Man, the Message and the Mission by Gregory E. Hanson.)
A popular and growing belief is that the Christian Jesus is just a copycat of pagan religious figures. This is the claim that the early Christians merely “borrowed” from the pagan religions of the day. Essentially, Christianity absorbed these other figures, mixed them together, and created the person named Jesus.
In recent years, promoting this view has become big business. It has climbed the best-sellers list (The Pagan Christ) and has hit the big screen (The DaVinci Code). And on the surface, it sounds plausible. But is it true?
This view of Jesus emerged in the late 1800s, and was propelled by a book by Kersey Graves entitled, The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors (1875). This book claimed that Jesus was not a real person but was instead a compilation of stories of other “deities or god-men saviors who had been crucified, and descended to and ascended from the underworld.”
However, Graves’ research was unreliable. For example, number 16 on his list was Mohammed. But Islam does not teach that Mohammed died and rose again. Besides, Mohammed came centuries after Jesus. So it is obvious that Christian beliefs about Jesus did not come from Mohammed.
Among scholars, both Christian and atheist, The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors has been almost universally rejected, and Graves has been dismissed as a conspiracy theorist. Even the secular website Infidels.org warns, “Readers should be extremely cautious in trusting anything in this book.” However, the belief the book promoted persists to this day, and it has given rise to what is known as the Jesus Myth Hypothesis.
The most common comparison between Jesus and pagan religions involves the Persian sun god Mithras. Mithras, who was popular in the Roman Empire particularly among the military, supposedly had a virgin birth on December 25. That is what advocates of the Jesus Myth Hypothesis will argue. But actually, the Mithras cult claims that he emerged fully grown from a rock. That was his “virgin birth.”
Furthermore, while the Mithras cult did exist before the time of Jesus, many of the beliefs about Mithras were not developed until at least half way through the second century after Jesus. So it would really be Mithras borrowing from Jesus, not the other way around.
As for the December 25 birthday, Christianity does not claim to know the date of Jesus’ birth. In fact, throughout the centuries his birth has been celebrated on a variety of dates including May 20 and March 28. Even today in Armenia, his birth is celebrated on January 6. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates his birth on January 7. December 25 is an arbitrary date and is not relevant to doctrinal beliefs about Jesus.
Another pagan icon, Attis, was killed in a hunting accident. One of the people assigned to protect him threw a spear at a wild boar and hit Attis accidentally. So Attis was impaled by a spear; Jesus was impaled by nails. According to the Jesus Myth Hypothesis, this story of Attis is supposed to be a parallel to the crucifixion story. But that conclusion is a stretch.
The pagan god Osiris allegedly had a resurrection. But his actual story is that after he died he came to life in the Underworld. He rules there over the dead, not the living. Osiris is reminiscent of an Egyptian mummy, and his story is nothing like the resurrection of Jesus.
Without knowing the facts, the Jesus Myth Hypothesis sounds plausible. But with a little investigation, it becomes apparent that there is very little support for it.
There are, however, some valid comparisons that can be made between paganism and Christianity. For example, baptism was a pre-Christian concept which was practiced as a pagan religious ritual. Jesus took this practice that was already in existence and infused it with new meaning, identifying it with his own death and resurrection.
Easter was once a pagan holiday and a pagan term. So how did it become a Christian holiday? Well, the pagan holiday happened to coincide with the Jewish Passover, which was also the weekend of Jesus’ death and resurrection. So today, this pagan holiday has been infused with new meaning and is now a commemoration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. It is no longer the same pagan celebration; it’s a thoroughly Christian celebration.
Some people suggest that Christians worship on Sunday because it was a day set aside to worship the sun-god. But in reality, Christians worship on that day because it was on a Sunday that Jesus rose from the dead. This switch from Saturday to Sunday worship occurred fairly quickly after the Resurrection.
As James Garlow, an expert on church history, explains, “The issue is less about the church ‘borrowing’ pagan concepts and more about authentic Christianity’s magnificent capacity to adapt and adopt without losing the core of its Christocentric message.”
Plus, remember that every significant detail about Jesus was foretold centuries earlier. Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish prophecies, some dating back 1000 years before his birth. Christianity emerged from Judaism, not paganism.
The claim that Jesus is a merging of pagan beliefs is false. Whether or not a person accepts the Christian view of Jesus, it is clear that he did not come from pagan religions.
(This article is adapted from an excerpt of Who Is Jesus? Discovering the Man, the Message and the Mission by Gregory E. Hanson.)