Misc All Things Religious

[thundersnow]

Yep....YOU have a problem with it. That's always been your problem. That's exactly why I said goodbye to religion because you folks can't handle any path that doesn't 100% match yours. If we put every follower of the abrahamic religions on an island in the pacific and told you to iron out your own differences within your own respective corruptions you would all kill each other in less than 10 years........

The question is… how long are you going to continue to battle this out here? What are you hoping to accomplish here by these condemnations of “Abrahamic religions?” Will you grow weary of this continued assault, or will you be able to make peace with the fact that belief in the divine authority of Scripture is a deeply held part of the faith of many people here, and you aren’t budging it?

And, by the way, I don’t demand 100% agreement with me on everything. So, you can stand down on that one. Through my life and studies, my understanding of things has been shaped over time, and I continue to discover new things from what God has revealed in the Scriptures.

 

[Metwannabe]

Guys, you can't argue against a pantheistic worldview, where God is anything and everything and where there is no authoritative word on anything. It is a completely pointless and fruitless endeavor.

100% correct. It's difficult to accept but realize it does exist.

Bottom line, one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. One can deny it, one can debate it, one can get mad over it but one day we all will know and I'm just grateful that I'm secure in the Cross through the work of Jesus Christ. And I will continue to pray that others will one see that truth. God bless all who advance His work daily.

 

[Sandbar]

The question is… how long are you going to continue to battle this out here? What are you hoping to accomplish here by these condemnations of “Abrahamic religions?” Will you grow weary of this continued assault, or will you be able to make peace with the fact that belief in the divine authority of Scripture is a deeply held part of the faith of many people here, and you aren’t budging it?

Simply making points about how ruthless the people who created your bible really are. They have killed millions upon millions of "non-believers" over centuries of rule over you and you accept it willingly out of nothing but shear fear. The Vatican knows the truth and they have made every one of you a slave. It's a religion thread. That doesn't mean it's a thread full of cheerleaders

 

[snowlover91]

Simply making points about how ruthless the people who created your bible really are. They have killed millions upon millions of "non-believers" over centuries of rule over you and you accept it willingly out of nothing but shear fear. The Vatican knows the truth and they have made every one of you a slave. It's a religion thread. That doesn't mean it's a thread full of cheerleaders

Sorry but you’re completely wrong there. The Roman Catholic Church didn’t create the Bible. Do some research first before spouting nonsense like this. The earliest Biblical manuscripts date to approximately 350 BC. The entire Bible was written before the Catholic Church even existed. We have numerous copies (manuscripts/scrolls) of every portion of the Bible in the original languages that predate the Roman Catholic Church. You can compare the thousands of manuscripts that date anywhere from 350 BC to 1200 AD and see the differences in the text over 1500 years is incredibly small and are mostly punctuation/grammatical differences. This is all well documented with plenty of info out there about the biblical manuscripts, dating and recent discoveries.

 

[thundersnow]

The Vatican knows the truth and they have made every one of you a slave. It's a religion thread.

Try telling that to the Greek Orthodox or millions of other Eastern Orthodox Christians who have a history that was never under the authority of the Vatican. And, they have the Scriptures. We have Biblical manuscripts today that pre-date consolidation of power in Rome by hundreds of years.

 

[Sandbar]

Sorry but you’re completely wrong there. The Roman Catholic Church didn’t create the Bible. Do some research first before spouting nonsense like this. The earliest Biblical manuscripts date to approximately 350 BC. The entire Bible was written before the Catholic Church even existed. We have numerous copies (manuscripts/scrolls) of every portion of the Bible in the original languages that predate the Roman Catholic Church. You can compare the thousands of manuscripts that date anywhere from 350 BC to 1200 AD and see the differences in the text over 1500 years is incredibly small and are mostly punctuation/grammatical differences. This is all well documented with plenty of info out there about the biblical manuscripts, dating and recent discoveries.

Constantin and the roman catholic church decided what went in the canon and what didn't and they still do today. Much of it is plagerized and piece-milled together from older text including the hindu scriptures as well as the sumerian tablets. In fact a lot of scripture was left out such as the book of Enoch (Ethiopian bible only) which apparently didn't jive with the program. But Constantine would NEVER deceive you nor would the roman catholic church but they will sure as hell kill you for being a non-believer. Millions were killed during the inquisitions. Even more millions have been killed since the abrahamic religions took control. That's really something to be proud of!

 

[Sandbar]

Try telling that to the Greek Orthodox or millions of other Eastern Orthodox Christians who have a history that was never under the authority of the Vatican. And, they have the Scriptures. We have Biblical manuscripts today that pre-date consolidation of power in Rome by hundreds of years.

Many of the disciples who's text the bible comes from couldn't read or write. That leaves a lot of room for error and misinterpretation. Stories in general change over short periods of time and governments and clergy take no issues with making damn sure you stay in line. You are simply putting blind faith in something that you hope is spot on just like your family before you and the generation before them and so forth. Same way in Judaism, Islam and Catholicism. It's all done out of fear. Nothing more, nothing less. Same people who nailed Jesus to that cross still control you today. You don't need any of it to connect to the creator. Not one single piece of it

 

[WEATHERBOYROY]

Simply making points about how ruthless the people who created your bible really are. They have killed millions upon millions of "non-believers" over centuries of rule over you and you accept it willingly out of nothing but shear fear. The Vatican knows the truth and they have made every one of you a slave. It's a religion thread. That doesn't mean it's a thread full of cheerleaders

Sandbar, first of all, the Bible was not created by any man, it is the divinely inspired Word of God. Though God used imperfect men to write it, His Word is totally True. It is the most scrutinized and criticized literature on the face of the earth, yet it stands tall and unblemished. Everything from history to health, from biology to archeology. from philosophy to psychology, from justice to government, the Bible is proven the best source on earth.
Just look at America. When we esteemed the Word of God, we grew into the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth. When we decided to remove God from our government and identity, we have been in rapid decline. Now even the prosperity is but a paper tiger. Consider if you are old enough to remember cities like Birmingham, that were once great places to live, have been reduced to habitats of corruption and squalor. Even in my own life, when I live according to God's ways, there is love , joy and peace. But, when I live to please my flesh, there might be temporary satisfaction or pleasure, but there is no real purpose or fulfillment, ending in discontent and frustration. The Truth of God's Word is proven in every way, including in death and destruction. You may think you don't like His Way, but you seem to be yearning for Love ,Joy, justice, Peace and prosperity. Give Him a try and see what happens for you. You might find the piece of the puzzle that has been missing in your life, that brings this frustration you have with not understanding God. You won't ever know the entire mind of God, but you will be able to see things that have happened, and that are happening with "eyes that can see". I truly hope you get to know Him!

 

[snowlover91]

Constantin and the roman catholic church decided what went in the canon and what didn't and they still do today. Much of it is plagerized and piece-milled together from older text including the hindu scriptures as well as the sumerian tablets. In fact a lot of scripture was left out such as the book of Enoch (Ethiopian bible only) which apparently didn't jive with the program. But Constantine would NEVER deceive you nor would the roman catholic church but they will sure as hell kill you for being a non-believer. Millions were killed during the inquisitions. Even more millions have been killed since the abrahamic religions took control. That's really something to be proud of!

Sorry you are factually incorrect.

No, Nicaea Didn’t Create the Canon

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code popularized the notion that church leaders invented the Bible, especially at the Council of Nicaea. John Meade debunks the notion.

www.thegospelcoalition.org

Did the Bible copy some of its stories from other religious myths and legends? | GotQuestions.org

Did the Bible copy some of its stories from other religious myths, legends, and fables? Why do some of the stories in the Bible have parallels in other religions?

www.gotquestions.org

 

[Sandbar]

Sandbar, first of all, the Bible was not created by any man, it is the divinely inspired Word of God. Though God used imperfect men to write it, His Word is totally True. It is the most scrutinized and criticized literature on the face of the earth, yet it stands tall and unblemished. Everything from history to health, from biology to archeology. from philosophy to psychology, from justice to government, the Bible is proven the best source on earth.
Just look at America. When we esteemed the Word of God, we grew into the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth. When we decided to remove God from our government and identity, we have been in rapid decline. Now even the prosperity is but a paper tiger. Consider if you are old enough to remember cities like Birmingham, that were once great places to live, have been reduced to habitats of corruption and squalor. Even in my own life, when I live according to God's ways, there is love , joy and peace. But, when I live to please my flesh, there might be temporary satisfaction or pleasure, but there is no real purpose or fulfillment, ending in discontent and frustration. The Truth of God's Word is proven in every way, including in death and destruction. You may think you don't like His Way, but you seem to be yearning for Love ,Joy, justice, Peace and prosperity. Give Him a try and see what happens for you. You might find the piece of the puzzle that has been missing in your life, that brings this frustration you have with not understanding God. You won't ever know the entire mind of God, but you will be able to see things that have happened, and that are happening with "eyes that can see". I truly hope you get to know Him!

So is the Holy Quran. So is the Torah. Nothing but war, death and killing since. You all think you are right. Meanwhile the rest of the planet suffers over the religous battleground

I have already been where you suggest I go. I was there for 45 years. I know my creator and connect every single day but I have only said this about 2 dozen times now

 

[Sandbar]

Sorry you are factually incorrect.

No, Nicaea Didn’t Create the Canon

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code popularized the notion that church leaders invented the Bible, especially at the Council of Nicaea. John Meade debunks the notion.

www.thegospelcoalition.org

Who was/is in charge of putting the bible together? Who decided what went in it, what was changed, how it was interpreted? On top of that you have a plethora of versions to choose from but surely they all say the same thing since it's the word of god and all......There are many opinions out there about errors in translation (especially singular vs plural) but I'm sure whatever you go by is the right one!

 

[thundersnow]

Constantin and the roman catholic church decided what went in the canon and what didn't and they still do today. Much of it is plagerized and piece-milled together from older text including the hindu scriptures as well as the sumerian tablets. In fact a lot of scripture was left out such as the book of Enoch (Ethiopian bible only) which apparently didn't jive with the program. But Constantine would NEVER deceive you nor would the roman catholic church but they will sure as hell kill you for being a non-believer. Millions were killed during the inquisitions. Even more millions have been killed since the abrahamic religions took control. That's really something to be proud of!

There are scores of scholars from a variety of stripes and traditions who have made it their life's work to deeply explore the ancient manuscripts and historical context of the Ancient Near-East, far more time and study about many, many aspects of all this that you have ever scratched the surface on, I suspect. No credible scholar would suggest that the Judeo-Christian scriptures originated from Hinduism. You've been feeding on misinformation, it appears. As for Sumerian tablets, and the like, that gets more into the time period when the Hebrew Scriptures were being written, yes. And, there was a common legal code in the Ancient Near-East such as in Mesopotamia. The Old Testament law does speak in those terms. And, yes, there are other writings such as the book of Enoch. I probably actually know a whole lot more about than you assume... probably know a lot more about those writings, as well as other writings found among the Dead Sea Scrolls from the time period that pre-dates the New Testament during Second Temple Period Judaism... than you even know about, if we're being realistic. Yes, I have studied these things. And, that's not to toot my horn about anything but just observing when someone is dabbling or getting exposed to just enough material packaged up into agenda-motivated narratives to be dangerous (mainly to themselves).

Constantine lived 300+ years after any of these writings that were completed from the New Testament era back a thousand years before that.

 

[snowlover91]

Who was/is in charge of putting the bible together? Who decided what went in it, what was changed, how it was interpreted? On top of that you have a plethora of versions to choose from but surely they all say the same thing since it's the word of god and all......There are many opinions out there about errors in translation (especially singular vs plural) but I'm sure whatever you go by is the right one!

The links I sent those are good starting points. There’s plenty of great articles and books on it.

Bible translations is another story. There’s a TON of them out there. Some were created merely for profit or an agenda. Others are poorly done or didn’t treat the Scriptures with care. There are very good translations out there like the 95 NASB, CSB, NLT, NKJV, KJV, and ESV that treat the Scriptures with great care and are faithful to the underlying manuscripts we have. There are some great books and articles on the subject, they can get quite technical and a knowledge of Greek is very helpful for some of them.

 

[Sandbar]

The links I sent those are good starting points. There’s plenty of great articles and books on it.

Bible translations is another story. There’s a TON of them out there. Some were created merely for profit or an agenda. Others are poorly done or didn’t treat the Scriptures with care. There are very good translations out there like the 95 NASB, CSB, NLT, NKJV, KJV, and ESV that treat the Scriptures with great care and are faithful to the underlying manuscripts we have. There are some great books and articles on the subject, they can get quite technical and a knowledge of Greek is very helpful for some of them.

It's a jumbled up book of nonsense put together by evil people with an agenda and society is paying for it dearly. Maybe you will get it one day maybe you wont

 

[Sandbar]

There are scores of scholars from a variety of stripes and traditions who have made it their life's work to deeply explore the ancient manuscripts and historical context of the Ancient Near-East, far more time and study about many, many aspects of all this that you have ever scratched the surface on, I suspect. No credible scholar would suggest that the Judeo-Christian scriptures originated from Hinduism. You've been feeding on misinformation, it appears. As for Sumerian tablets, and the like, that gets more into the time period when the Hebrew Scriptures were being written, yes. And, there was a common legal code in the Ancient Near-East such as in Mesopotamia. The Old Testament law does speak in those terms. And, yes, there are other writings such as the book of Enoch. I probably actually know a whole lot more about than you assume... probably know a lot more about those writings, as well as other writings found among the Dead Sea Scrolls from the time period that pre-dates the New Testament during Second Temple Period Judaism... than you even know about, if we're being realistic. Yes, I have studied these things. And, that's not to toot my horn about anything but just observing when someone is dabbling or getting exposed to just enough material packaged up into agenda-motivated narratives to be dangerous (mainly to themselves).

Constantine lived 300+ years after any of these writings that were completed from the New Testament era back a thousand years before that.

I have done my own research and made up my own mind just like everyone else has or should do right? Whatever works for you great but I have said that about a dozen times too. I know you guys don't like to be challenged which is really just your own insecurity in my humble opinion

 

[thundersnow]

I have done my own research and made up my own mind just like everyone else has or should do right? Whatever works for you great but I have said that about a dozen times too. I know you guys don't like to be challenged which is really just your own insecurity in my humble opinion

Look in the mirror... you're getting challenged here. How do you like it? Think about it. If you ever feel like you "have arrived," then you have stopped growing. And, why do you keep going on about this? Could that be your own insecurity?

You say you "have done your own research"... but, I hope that never stops. It appears you need to do a whole lot more research to challenge the wisdom you think you have attained. Don't ever get complacent about your spiritual prowess.

I endeavor not to for myself. I hope you will do the same.

 

[Sandbar]

Look in the mirror... you're getting challenged here. How do you like it? Think about it. If you ever feel like you "have arrived," then you have stopped growing.

You say you "have done your own research"... but, I hope that never stops. It appears you need to do a whole lot more research to challenge the wisdom you think you have attained. Don't ever get complacent about your spiritual prowess.

I endeavor not to for myself. I hope you will do the same.

I did my research on Religion and the bible. This time I didn't just blindly "believe" because grandma told me I better. I did all I need to do to form a clearer picture of my eternal life. Spirituality on the other hand is new to me and I continue to grow every day now that I removed the blockages that were holding me back and getting in my way of healing. This is a common and growing theme among service men and women who saw combat and are sick and tired of killing in the name of........We are leaving religion in droves and thinking more spiritually. Some guys/gals get great support from friends and family, some get shunned as if trying to heal from war isn't bad enough. Now we have to relive it on TV everyday as Jews and Arabs continue to kill each other in record numbers

 

[thundersnow]

I did my research on Religion and the bible. This time I didn't just blindly "believe" because grandma told me I better. I did all I need to do to form a clearer picture of my eternal life. Spirituality on the other hand is new to me and I continue to grow every day now that I removed the blockages that were holding me back and getting in my way of healing. This is a common and growing theme among service men and women who saw combat and are sick and tired of killing in the name of........We are leaving religion in droves and thinking more spiritually. Some guys/gals get great support from friends and family, some get shunned as if trying to heal from war isn't bad enough. Now we have to relive it on TV everyday as Jews and Arabs continue to kill each other in record numbers

The world certainly is a broken place and always has been since the rebellion of mankind when they ate of the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil back in the garden. That is when the violence started, beginning with the first murder (when Cain killed his brother Abel).

 

[Arcc]

So is the Holy Quran. So is the Torah. Nothing but war, death and killing since. You all think you are right. Meanwhile the rest of the planet suffers over the religous battleground

I have already been where you suggest I go. I was there for 45 years. I know my creator and connect every single day but I have only said this about 2 dozen times now

This is the interesting part to me. There has been killing in the name of everything; greed, expansion, control, love, hate, religion, rights and freedom since the dawn of time. Mao and Stalin probably killed more than all religious wars combined. You stopped short of telling exactly what you and the other soldiers killed in the name of?

 

[Sandbar]

The world certainly is a broken place and always has been since the rebellion of mankind when they ate of the forbidden fruit of knowledge of good and evil back in the garden. That is when the violence started, beginning with the first murder (when Cain killed his brother Abel).

Yeah you would think by now that religion would fix all that but here we sit. Seems to have just gotten worse but that's life in bible world. Evil, torment, war. All sent to you by a loving diety who cares so much you get to test your faith with fear and anxiety every single day. At some point I would think you would get exhausted but I'm sure Jesus is gonna come riding over the hills any day now and take all that pain and suffering away