what would you ask jesus
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Originally Posted by KaiWang,Dec 10 2004, 01:15 PM
hahaha well a cat was my first choice.. hehe
ok i have to remember this.. do the goat... kill a fresh cat.
and wear armour so the jews dont stone me
ok i have to remember this.. do the goat... kill a fresh cat.
and wear armour so the jews dont stone me
You'd need a bullock (young cow), sheep/lamb, or turtle dove. I don't think anything else was acceptable (though I'll be the first to admit, I'm not exactly the world's foremost expert on Mosaic law as practiced by the children of Israel).
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From: Laguna Vista, Texas
As far as the Bible being the inerrant "Word" of God, I believe that the Bible must be read critically, intelligently and with an understanding of its historical and cultural contexts for the vast spiritual truths it contains. I believe that the ultimate source of truth is of a higher plane, not a book or a practice or a product by humankind, given in grace. Still, it is helpful to consider the tradition of early, pre-New Testament Christianity, the history of Christianity, the Bible, and spiritual writings of the Church Fathers and Mothers. Jesus' concern was to point beyond himself toward God and to help us understand how, in the humanity of his special nature, we can inherit the kingdom and become as he was in our humanity. I believe as a fellow in the Fellowship of Man, we are charged with finding the "Spirit" within the poor and sick, with remaining humble and letting compassionate loving kindness so enrich his or her life that those in the world are drawn to the divine "goodness". Although, being human, we cannot truly comprehend the divine essence, we can know It's energies and they are a mixture of the masculine and feminine as Jesus reflected in his use of "Abba" which means "Daddy" and implies compassion and love as well as guidance and direction.
Critical study will help you to come to an understanding that even within the same tome, glaring differences and contradictions exist. This is not surprising as much of the "Bible" as we know it today was pieced together from folklore handed down from generation to generation long before it was ever put into written form. We also see this in the legends of the Buddha, with the story of his birth: Siddhartha (Buddha) was born around 563 B.C.E. in the town of Kapilavastu (located in today's Nepal). Siddhartha's parents were King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, who ruled the Sakyas. His history is a miraculous one... One night, Queen Maya dreamed that an elephant with six tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched her right side. At that moment her son was conceived. Brahmins (learned men) came and interpreted the dream. The child would be either the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic (a holy man who practices self-denial). The future child would be named Siddhartha, which means "he whose aim is accomplished." Later when Queen Maya was going to her father's home to prepare for the birth, she stepped off her chariot in the Lumbini Gardens and held the branch of a sal tree to rest. In that instant, Siddhartha emerged from her right side without any help. The infant walked seven steps each in four directions of the compass, and lotus flowers sprouted from where his foot touched the earth. Then the infant said, "No further births have I to endure, for this is my last body. Now shall I destroy and pluck out by the roots the sorrow that is caused by birth and death." The idea of immaculate conception is not new to Christianity, most royalty was considered to be of a virgin birth as we see in Greek mythology and of course with the Egyptian pharaohs. In fact a surprising number of cultures believed in various forms of resurrection as well. Being that Jesus was a "God", it would seem odd to not have him conceived immaculately also. However, I digress, this is not the point of our conversation.
The exact message of Jesus is lost in antiquity, however, thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammati Scrolls, we are beginning to see that the message that we have come to believe as the "Word of God" may have easily been very different than that which we know today. (Read Elaine Pagel's "The Gnostic Gospels" It's an excellent and concise review of the Nag Hammati texts) We now have a large body of evidence that Christianity borrowed some of its essential beliefs and practices from Hellenistic philosophy, Greco-Roman mystery religions, and Gnosticism. This is certainly no surprise as the early church comprised of a large group of gentiles from this area. The victors always write the history and scholars believe that much of the early writings on the Christian faith were systematically destroyed to leave us with only fragments of the diversity of understanding in the early days of the Christian church. (You may find writings of the early Greek Orthodox Church of great benefit in getting and inkling of that great separation that resulted from the Council of Nicodemas and the formation of the Roman Catholic Church.)
The tragedy is that the typical Christian believer has not been introduced to these insights. The Bible did not drop from heaven in its final format, written in English. Getting an understanding of the geopolitical and cultural background and the scope of time involved aids one greatly in understanding from what point of view the authors were coming from.
People talk of Christianity as being the way to the "Truth," however, from my experience and historically, Christianity has done everything in its power to keep people from the truth and perpetrate it's views. By it's actions and mythology, the Christian church does not show either a compassionate, loving "God" nor a "God" of understanding and grace. It is by all definitions a cult and if followed as stated in the Bible does not allow for many of the "moral precepts" that we try to follow as compassionate and loving people.
Christians continue to reference the Bible as "God's Word." and the only true reference. There are certainly many "truisms" in the Bible, but it is not the only source. Take a look at the Koran some time when you get a chance, ask yourself whether or not the stories and miracles in the Koran are any less believable that that of the Bible. The Muslims also believe that the Koran is the inerrant word of "God". There are many books on moral teachings that have many of the "Truths" you will find in the Bible. "God's Word" and teachings are found throughout many, many writings. What is important it the ability to see beyond the dogma and agenda of each and get the bigger picture.
Gassho,
" There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." - Hebert Spencer
Critical study will help you to come to an understanding that even within the same tome, glaring differences and contradictions exist. This is not surprising as much of the "Bible" as we know it today was pieced together from folklore handed down from generation to generation long before it was ever put into written form. We also see this in the legends of the Buddha, with the story of his birth: Siddhartha (Buddha) was born around 563 B.C.E. in the town of Kapilavastu (located in today's Nepal). Siddhartha's parents were King Shuddhodana and Queen Maya, who ruled the Sakyas. His history is a miraculous one... One night, Queen Maya dreamed that an elephant with six tusks, carrying a lotus flower in its trunk, touched her right side. At that moment her son was conceived. Brahmins (learned men) came and interpreted the dream. The child would be either the greatest king in the world or the greatest ascetic (a holy man who practices self-denial). The future child would be named Siddhartha, which means "he whose aim is accomplished." Later when Queen Maya was going to her father's home to prepare for the birth, she stepped off her chariot in the Lumbini Gardens and held the branch of a sal tree to rest. In that instant, Siddhartha emerged from her right side without any help. The infant walked seven steps each in four directions of the compass, and lotus flowers sprouted from where his foot touched the earth. Then the infant said, "No further births have I to endure, for this is my last body. Now shall I destroy and pluck out by the roots the sorrow that is caused by birth and death." The idea of immaculate conception is not new to Christianity, most royalty was considered to be of a virgin birth as we see in Greek mythology and of course with the Egyptian pharaohs. In fact a surprising number of cultures believed in various forms of resurrection as well. Being that Jesus was a "God", it would seem odd to not have him conceived immaculately also. However, I digress, this is not the point of our conversation.
The exact message of Jesus is lost in antiquity, however, thanks to the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammati Scrolls, we are beginning to see that the message that we have come to believe as the "Word of God" may have easily been very different than that which we know today. (Read Elaine Pagel's "The Gnostic Gospels" It's an excellent and concise review of the Nag Hammati texts) We now have a large body of evidence that Christianity borrowed some of its essential beliefs and practices from Hellenistic philosophy, Greco-Roman mystery religions, and Gnosticism. This is certainly no surprise as the early church comprised of a large group of gentiles from this area. The victors always write the history and scholars believe that much of the early writings on the Christian faith were systematically destroyed to leave us with only fragments of the diversity of understanding in the early days of the Christian church. (You may find writings of the early Greek Orthodox Church of great benefit in getting and inkling of that great separation that resulted from the Council of Nicodemas and the formation of the Roman Catholic Church.)
The tragedy is that the typical Christian believer has not been introduced to these insights. The Bible did not drop from heaven in its final format, written in English. Getting an understanding of the geopolitical and cultural background and the scope of time involved aids one greatly in understanding from what point of view the authors were coming from.
People talk of Christianity as being the way to the "Truth," however, from my experience and historically, Christianity has done everything in its power to keep people from the truth and perpetrate it's views. By it's actions and mythology, the Christian church does not show either a compassionate, loving "God" nor a "God" of understanding and grace. It is by all definitions a cult and if followed as stated in the Bible does not allow for many of the "moral precepts" that we try to follow as compassionate and loving people.
Christians continue to reference the Bible as "God's Word." and the only true reference. There are certainly many "truisms" in the Bible, but it is not the only source. Take a look at the Koran some time when you get a chance, ask yourself whether or not the stories and miracles in the Koran are any less believable that that of the Bible. The Muslims also believe that the Koran is the inerrant word of "God". There are many books on moral teachings that have many of the "Truths" you will find in the Bible. "God's Word" and teachings are found throughout many, many writings. What is important it the ability to see beyond the dogma and agenda of each and get the bigger picture.
Gassho,
" There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation." - Hebert Spencer
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