The Bible is not a reliable guide to Christ’s teachings. Mark, the oldest of the Gospels, was written at least 30 years after Christ’s death, and the newest of them might have been written more than 200 years after his death. These texts have been amended, translated, and re-translated so often that it’s extremely difficult to gauge the accuracy of current editions—even aside from the matter of the accuracy of texts written decades or centuries after the death of their subject. This is such a problem that the Jesus Seminar, a colloquium of over 200 Protestant Gospel scholars mostly employed at religious colleges and seminaries, undertook in 1985 a multi-year investigation into the historicity of the statements and deeds attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. They concluded that only 18% of the statements and 16% of the deeds attributed to Jesus had a high likelihood of being historically accurate. So, in a very real sense fundamentalists—who claim to believe in the literal truth of the Bible—are not followers of Jesus Christ; rather, they are followers of those who, decades or centuries later, put words in his mouth.
If first hand eyewitness testimony is not credible within a court, why are people using a book that was written thirty years after the fact? You would think that if people, at the time, are deviating from Judaism because they believe that he was the Messiah that they would write everything down, neurotically, as it happened. Not so, which will tie into Reason #1 later on.
Well, I'll obviously not jump into the fray...cuz it's much too complex to settle via blogs.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you what it is absolutely, 100% spot-on about, though: I AM A SINNER IN NEED OF A SAVIOR!
It doesn't matter if it was written yesterday or 40 million years ago, or by Buddhist monks or atheists...the fact of the matter is that it's at the very least still a fact!
Why that one? Why not practice meditation? Why not Hare Kirishna? Kinda curious, cause there are other options of there to spiritual "salvation".
ReplyDeleteBecause, to my knowledge, none of them teach the truth about sin.
ReplyDelete"I can tell you what it is absolutely, 100% spot-on about, though: I AM A SINNER IN NEED OF A SAVIOR!"
ReplyDeleteHow do you know this is so? What do you need salvation from? How do you know that is so?
Not to belittle what you identify as your needs as being, but how do you know you cannot get the same relief from a psychiatrist? Or, a social worker? And, I agree, how do you know that your "flaws" are sins? Why not reframe them and look at it from a different perspective?
ReplyDeleteKinda curious, because you are buying a really rusty old car in favor of newer, younger ones that seem to have way more practical options.
SIN
ReplyDelete1. transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.
2. any act regarded as such a transgression, esp. a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
3. any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It's a sin to waste time.
–verb (used without object)
4. to commit a sinful act.
5. to offend against a principle, standard, etc.
–verb (used with object)
6. to commit or perform sinfully: He sinned his crimes without compunction.
7. to bring, drive, etc., by sinning: He sinned his soul to perdition.
CRIME (krm)
ReplyDeleten.
1. An act committed or omitted in violation of a law forbidding or commanding it and for which punishment is imposed upon conviction.
2. Unlawful activity: statistics relating to violent crime.
3. A serious offense, especially one in violation of morality.
4. An unjust, senseless, or disgraceful act or condition: It's a crime to squander our country's natural resources.
Sounds about the same to me.....
So, is sin the same as crime? Sounds similar to me. Crime is just the secular world's ways of sanctioning what I think is common sense....
ReplyDeleteIf you hold yourself to the standards of the Bible, you're bound to feel evil, but that is only because the Bible demonizes so many things which are innocent. One can be a moral person, make mistakes, and still be a good person.
ReplyDeleteI think asking an divine being for forgiveness is nothing compared to taking active steps to take responsibility for yourself and correct your mistakes. When you make mistakes (because you're human), just do everything in your power to make it better and dutifully handle the consequences. No one needs Jesus to do that.
Yes, Ginx- totally agree. I do not believe in God, and I do not do anything that I cannot live with- both in outcome or emotion. There is such a thing as being self aware of your faults, and learning to work with them, not running to a divine being to appease the problem.
ReplyDeleteI have said this before, and I will see it again. Religious people are so self deprecating and tortured. They are in this dichotomous struggle with themselves, and they really do not see themselves objectively at all. The worst things that I have ever heard people say about themselves has come out of the mouths of people who identify as being highly religious. It is really sad.
How do I know this is so, GCT? Look at all that ails the world...it certainly has to do with more than just good people misbehaving badly.
ReplyDeleteTinkbell, you're right on...sin and crime look exactly alike. Crime violates someone at some point...so does sin.
Ginx, who said Christians aren't about taking active measures to remove sinful behavior and thoughts from our lives? This is something the scriptures speak of at great lengths.
Sin and crime are the same.... I choose to not commit crimes, and this is where I do not understand it. I am not a sinner, and I do not commit crimes. I have no savior....
ReplyDeleteThe other question I have is why settle for such a flawed belief system when you could have a more solid foundation? All due respect.
Honestly, Tinkbell (and I took no offense to your comment, by the way), a flawed belief system is one that teaches "you're ok and I'm ok." We're not ok! We are sinners and we need a Savior...and salvation is found in none other than Jesus Christ. Whose system is really the flawed one?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, just wondering: if you hate Christianity so much, and if Jesus Christ's teachings actually change some/many people, why does it bother you so much if we choose to worship that way? Why do you feel as much need to convert us to another belief system that you profess has a more "solid foundation" than Christianity? Aren't you doing the same you accuse Christians of doing?
No, I am not. I am asking, in all honesty why someone would choose a used, broken down car, Christianity. If I wanted religion, I would certainly not choose that when I see so many other options that are more solid in comparison. Personally, I would feel more comfortable going to a Hare Krishna temple than a church. At least they can think outside the box.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me, I have no illusion about converting Christians. The notion that I am trying to convert you because I have a different perspective reflects more on your beliefs than mine, no disrespect intended. I really believe in people empowering themselves with education and information to make good, kind, and solid decisions for themselves. In my experience, most Christians are not informed, and the more information that they are presented with, the more resistant they become. Which makes no sense to me, at all.
I tend to see Christians trying to remove the sins from other people. It's easy to notice them, they're the ones with giant beams of wood sticking out of their eyes...
ReplyDeleteOr whipping their own backs with lots of interesting devices.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDelete"How do I know this is so, GCT? Look at all that ails the world...it certainly has to do with more than just good people misbehaving badly."
I'm sorry, but you didn't answer my question. Vague allusions to what "ails the world" is not an answer. How do you know that you are in need of a savior, especially since what you are really claiming is that the savior saves you from what comes after this world? Pointing to this world to claim that you need a savior from ending up in hell is logically suspect.
(Psst, Mike, the correct answer is "you gotta have faith, baby", since there is no evidence anywhere that the claims of Christianity are accurate. Hope this helps!)
ReplyDeleteNice.... So true
ReplyDeleteFaith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence.- Richard Dawkins.
Faith is so subjective.