Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am always stunned that Christians can't seem to get over nor understand we Jews don't want to be Christian. Its ok we are happy being Jews and we are happy with our religion, community and we don't need to be Christian.
You get a better Quad out of that combined trip of inner freedom with property development relations. Of course, as that friend mine said unheeded to me; there thse very BAD people in the world. Maybe bad functioning, eh?
I'm laughing right now. The behavior they taught and the behavior which the new testament instructs the followers of Christ to follow is absolutely never followed. Who do you know in this country who is meek, turns the other cheek, walks the extra mile, loves their neighbor and their enemies alike, if sued in court for coat voluntarily gives cloak?? It's a no brainer. And the part about selling what they have and giving it to the poor...give me a break.
Adolph Hitler was a Christian...did he ever love his enemies?
no and the early church is responsible for anti-semetism in the first place. The early church set in motion the possibility to blame an entire people for killing Jesus, blood libel. The Christians were more then willing to accept and believe the lies told by the church and make Jews the scapegoats for all bad things in history. The pope, Martin Luther espoused killing Jews, destroying their homes and driving them out of the lands they lived in. Only in the modern times have Christian leaders apologized for the behavior of the Christian church towards Jews.
I will also point out it was not just Hitler or his nazis who have blood of Jews on their hands. Its a multitude of countries in addition to Germany. Those who didn't let the boats land that were loaded with Jews trying to escape. Those who didn't bomb the railroad tracks that the transports used. Those who didn't let the children into their countries without their families. The USA refused to let Jewish children into this fine country because they would not let children into this country without their families and to let the families in would have been a huge problem. Yet Great Britain let in children and saved many children by doing that. The world turned a blind eye until it was impossible to continue to do so.
I find it interesting that they were the ones who wrote the gospels and that now the Jewish people don't even believe what they wrote. Is it possible that the whole virgin birth, healing leprosy by touching, resurrection etc. was all a plot to keep a certain selected group in charge? Israel seems to get a lot of headlines.
Don't misunderstand me...if I had to pick a superior group in the world right now it would definitely be the people of Israel. They're smarter than everybody else...not just a little bit, a lot smarter.
In reality....no one knows who the authors of the gospels are....my guess it was more the Roman Church Fathers than any one entity. And lets also give the credit to Christianity and its spread to those that it is due: The Early Roman Church. Like the Jews who stole El from the Caananites and made him Yahweh....Yahweh was stolen and made in Jesus Christ. The early Roman Church managed to literally snuff out every other pagan religion of its time and I believe it was pretty easy for them in most respects due to the fact that there was nothing new or unique about Jesus Christ that hadn't been seen in all the other pagan gods/religions of that time. There was some opposition but that wasn't until they made Jesus Christ into a literal human figure who walked the earth...the pagans were fine when he was just another godman in the sky like all their other godmen. The Church knew how to handle them though....they were executed and their material/scriptures were burned and destroyed. Christianity has survived to this day through centuries of mass control and violence. So you tell me....who was smarter?
But, I see, Hitler was a relatively honest man, in business more honest that Ahmedinejad. Don't get me wrong. It's that aspect of timing for the honest business. The gaza people have their business; the Israelies have their's.
But, I see, Hitler was a relatively honest man, in business more honest that Ahmedinejad. Don't get me wrong. It's that aspect of timing for the honest business. The gaza people have their business; the Israelies have their's.
Note:
Everybody had a business...their own.
When the first explorers and pilgrims found and settled the America's(in the name of Christianity) they called the natives Heathens. Then they proceeded to introduce them to STDs and mass murder. I'm not disagreeing with you...just amplifying. Old Captain Cook killed half of the population of Hawaii after his crew spread syphyllis among the islands.
I find the book Saving Paradise by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker an interesting read. These two women have tried to piece together a picture of the early church.
Among their findings, I find two things rather interesting:
1. The early Christians focused on the birth, the resurrection, and the coexistence of paradise with reality. For at least the first six hundred years, the crucifixion was "buried" as something that had a relatively minor aspect of the Christ's ministry.
2. The NT was written to be anti-Roman in nature. Inasmuch as the Roman Empire was the super-power of the day and could control just about any aspect of daily living, the idea is that the writers of the NT and the leaders of the various churches (and sects) were emphasizing that it was possible to move one's spiritual and physical dependence away from a secular authority to a spiritual authority. Hence, the first Christian churches, according to these women, became more like communes: self-supporting and, yet, able to reach out to the community at large.
Alfred Edersheim, author of the tome The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, wrote that rabbis were highly regarded if miracles could be attributed to them. Edersheim also pointed out that many of the attributed miracles were either made up or exaggerated.
1. We are faced with a bit of a dilemma. Since we must look at the writings of the gospels in the light of the literary mechanisms used thousands of years ago, it could be very possible that the miracles attributed to Jesus were fabrications. The intent was not to dupe the people but to lend an accepted method of assigning authority to the teachings of a rabbi.
The dilemma appears if we modern people base our faith on the need to believe that Jesus did do miracles. If the argument that he did not and because he did not, then faith in his philosophy is flawed, and we lose whatever faith we have in believing or following his philosophy: then, in my opinion, we have lost a great deal of our own spirituality and possibly humanity.
Miracles happen every day. They may not be very earth-shattering. They may be as simple as a word from someone that brightens up your day. Only a person reflecting on his/her own life can truly state whether or not a miracle occurred (even if we no longer use or accept the old denotation of the word).
2. When we take the parables that Jesus used, Edersheim shows that these very same parables were well known by the Jews. Except, Jesus often turned the old parables upside down at the end. The original parables usually ended with God rewarding the faithful for whatever "righteous" actions they took against the non-faithful--or worse yet--all non-Jews. Jesus changed these parables to teach that there are no "chosen people" and "non-chosen people" in the eyes of God.
One of the reasons that acceptance of non-Jews was extremely difficult to swallow was, of course, the "brainwashing" of Jewish theology (termed Rabbinism) upon the masses. In contrast to a "heaven-hell" dichotomy of most modern Christian congregations or organizations, the Jews simply had a City of God. All Jews were admitted into the City of God, which would eventually descend to Earth in the last days. Of course, God would divide the Jews up into different classes, with the most righteous being closest to Its Holy of Holies, and the lesser righteous closer to the walls. Birth and occupation often divided the Jews (by the church hierarchy) into classes, a kind of predestination, if you will. I mean, if you were a butcher, your "heavenly" reward would put you right up against the walls.
The non-Jews would be relegated to exist outside the walls of the City of God. This was not a damnation, just a denial to enjoy the fruits of God. Then, Jews would be able to stand on the walls of the City of God and laugh at the hapless non-Jews for their plight.
Hell, in Jewish philosophy was not eternal in the aspect of eternal torment. It was eternal in the fact that it was total annihilation. There was no more soul to endure torment: there was just no more soul.
In effect, Jesus sought to tear down this Jewish (or Rabbinic) concept of this City of God. He ripped down the walls that separated the Jews from the non-Jews, and that did not sit well with the church hierarchy.
It is also interesting to read St. Augustine's City of God, albeit a very long and often rambling treatise. After digesting his work, I can agree wtih one assessment that the title of his work was an apology (defense) against the Rabbinic view of the City of God and promoted a more ecclesiastic view of the City of God where all people are saved and brought into the presence of God, regardless of nationality.
If we look deeply enough into the gospels, perhaps an easy explanation for minor differences in the telling of Jesus' work, parables, and miracles, is not necessarily the target audience (although that is a factor) but more likely the authors' differing literary approaches to eliciting an emotional, spiritual, and cognitive understanding of this radical philosophy of all people being equal in the sight of God and classless in structure and form.
If we look deeply enough into the gospels, perhaps an easy explanation for minor differences in the telling of Jesus' work, parables, and miracles, is not necessarily the target audience (although that is a factor) but more likely the authors' differing literary approaches to eliciting an emotional, spiritual, and cognitive understanding of this radical philosophy of all people being equal in the sight of God and classless in structure and form.
Minor?
There are documented and registered over 44,000 denominations, conventions, sects, cults, variations, beliefs etc. based upon the writings in the new testament. My question is and always has been...since only Christians can expect to make it to heaven and all the masses who don't believe that way will burn eternally in hell fire and brimstone...why did the creator allow it to become so confusing?
When the first explorers and pilgrims found and settled the America's(in the name of Christianity) they called the natives Heathens. Then they proceeded to introduce them to STDs and mass murder. I'm not disagreeing with you...just amplifying. Old Captain Cook killed half of the population of Hawaii after his crew spread syphyllis among the islands.
Business's amongst friends with the politics in mind. But the government had no death and was evidently alive for all the loveless time. As in E.T.
My take on it is what I said: that it was written by Gentile Christians who were pushing the Pauline view that the (originally Jewish) message now applied to gentiles.
The gospels constantly and falsely showed Jesus as finding the Jews generally unworthy of being saved and banging on about it was the non - Jews who had better faith.
Don't misunderstand me...if I had to pick a superior group in the world right now it would definitely be the people of Israel. They're smarter than everybody else...not just a little bit, a lot smarter.
Actually, in the U.S. on intelligence testing
Asians score higher than Jews and Jews score higher than wasps.
You know how some people complain that colleges have quotas for minorities which keep more qualified 'whites' out of those schools?
Well, there are quotas for Asians because they score higher than everyone and more qualified Asians are kept out of colleges because there are quotas to allow the less qualified 'whites' in.
For some reason, this is not generally known.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
