Hard to believe that anybody could talk so much and say nothing. She says that there is no archaeological evidence for the book of Exodus. There are 17 digs in Jericho and 6 at Petra. She says that the gospels were written in the second century. Mark's gospel was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls dating it before 70AD. She says that others rose from the dead. There is no written evidence prior to 3rd century for any of this. She says the garden of Eden was at the Temple Mount when the origin was Babylonian.
The god that chose the Israelites is not the god that Jesus prayed to. That's why for centuries people have wondered "How come the god of the Old Testament is a brutal, slaughter-all-the-women-and-children god, but the god of the New Testament is full of love and mercy?" ------------> Because they are not the same god.
Dr. Stavrakopoulou has an almost uniquely talent for presenting very complex cultural and historical themes and inter-related evolutions in an accessible and understandable way. It isn't that she is trying to convince any one of anything other than the objective facts and the full extent of their context to the extent that we know it. She is an excellent scientist and I deeply appreciate her scholarship and generosity in sharing her studies. Going from his other public comments, I believe the reason that Jordan Peterson is so enamored of Christianity is two-fold. First, it is already woven into the accepted mythos and identity of the United States imperial character. Some American Christians would have a hard time electing a non-Christian, (though Jews would get more of a pass.) Secondly, Christianity became very hierarchical during the Roman period and if there is something that Jordan really likes is hierarchies. Anything that keeps the extant social structure in place is going to be on his "must-do" list.
BROTHER RAYAN AND MADAM FRRANSECA THE FOLLOWERS OF ATHEISM AND JUDAISM WILL ALWAYS FIND FAULT WITH CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY. CHRIST IS THE STUMBLING BLOCK AS FORETOLD IN JRWISH ANCIENT SCRIPTURES. AROUND 300PROPHECIES FORETOLD SOME 700 YEARS BACK WERE FULFILLED DURING THE LIFE TIMES OF JESUS CHRIST AS RECORDED IN 4 GOSPELS. TO UNDERSTAND THE PLAN OF SALVATION OF BIBLE GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST ONE HAS TO BE ARDENT STUDENT OF HISTORY. BECAUSE OLD AND NEW TETAMENTS OF BIBLE ARE ALSO RECORDS OF TRUE HISTORICAL EVENTS OF HUMAN HISTORY. THE BIBLE IS NOT PAGAN FABLES BOOK OF GREEK ROMAN EGYPTIAN AND ORIENTAT MYTHOLOGY. YOU ARE TREATING BIBLE AS FABLES AND CHRISTIANITY AS RELIGION AND THIS IS THE MISTAKE YOU ARE COMMITTING. GOD OF BIBLE IS VERY INTELLIGENT PERSON A DIVINE ENTITY. APART FROM RELIGIOUS STATUTES GOD GAVE MOSES ON THE MOUNT OF SINAI THE ENTIRE JURISPUDENCE OF CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LAWS WHICH ARE FOLLOWED BY MODERN DEMOCRACIES. GOD GAVE MOSES SEVERAL HYGIENE LAWS AND DIRECTIVES ABOUT PERMITTED MARRIAGS AND PROHIBITED MARRIAGES WHICH ARE STRICTLY FOLLOWED BY ALL ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS AND HINDU RELIGIONS.. ALL THE ABRAHMIC AND HINDU RELIGIONS UPHOLD THE DOCTRINES THAT WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE IS NO ATONEMENT OF SINS. THAT IS WHY VEDIC HINDUS USED TO CARRY OUT ANIMAL SACRIFICES ON THE SIMILAR LINES THAT OF JEWISH RELIGIOUS RITUALS. IN FACT ANCIENT HEBREWS AND ANCIENT VEDIC HINDUS AND HEBREWS ARE THE SAME PEOPLE'S AND THEY WERE LIVING SIDE BY SIDE IN THE PARTS OF BABYLON AND PERSIAN KINGDOMS FROM 6TH TO 3RD BC CENTURY. THE BOOKS OF ISAIAH AND JEREMIAH HAD ALREADY REACHED PARTS OF BABYLON AND PERSIAN KINGDOMS WHERE HEBREWS AND HINDUS WERE RESIDING. THE CONCEPT OF COMING OF MESSIAH AND GREAT GURU AS DEPICTED IN THE BOOKS OF ISAIAH AND JEREMIAH HAD ALREADY REACHED HINDU POPULATION. THEY PICKED UP THIS CONCEPT OF COMING OF MESSIAH AND GREAT GURU ANF DEVELOPED THEIR OWN FINE RELIGIOUS DISCIPLINE CALLED GURUADHYATTM. THIS ORIENTAL GURUADHYATTM IS STILL PREVALENT AMONGST ALL ORIENTAL RELIGIONS. THE BASIC TENETS OF THIS ORIENTAL GURUADHYATTM IS THAT GURU IS GOD AND GOD IS GURU. THE DIVINE PERSON ENTITY IN FLESH AND BLOOD. THIS DIVINE GURU IS PERFECT BACHELOR GREAT TEACHER AND GREAT HEALER AND CAN CURE ANY DISEASE OF HUMAN BODY AND MIND. HE HAS COMPLETE COMMAND AND CONTROL OVER FIVE ELEMENTS OF THE EARTH. HE IS MRUTUNJAYA ALWAYS VICTORIOUS OVER DEATH. THIS DIVINE GURU IS JESUS CHRIST DESCRIBED IN THE 4GOSPLS OF CHRISTIANITY. THE ASIANS HAVE FOUND OUT THEIR TRUE DIVINE GURU IN JESUS CHRIST. DESPITE ALL THIS VICIOUS PROPAGANDA AGAINST CHRIST AND CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA AND IN WESTERN COUNTRIES BY SOME INTELLECTUALS IN INDIA IRAN AND IN PAKISTAN THOUSANDS MUSLIMS HINDUS BUDDHISTS AND OTHERS ARE LEAVING THEIR RELIGIONS AND EMBRACING CHRIST AND HIS GOSPLES. THERE ARE SOME INTELLECTUALS WHO ASK STUPID QUESTIONS AS TO WHY THE RESURRECTED CHRIST DID NOT MEET PONTIUS PILATE AND JEWISH HIGH PRIESTS. PEOPLE DONT READ ST LUKES GOSPEL ACCOUNT. AFTER THE RESURRECTION CHRIST MET ALL THE WOMEN NEAR THE TOMB . AND THE ROMAN GUARDS SAW WITNESSED ALL THESE EVENTS AND IMMEDIATELY REPORTED TO THE JEWISH HIGH PRIESTS AND LATER ON TO THE ROMAN GOVERNOR PONTIUS PILATE FURTHERMORE THE JEWISH AND ROMAN AUTHORITIES COULD HAVE EASILY HARMED THE RESURRECTED BODY OF JESUS CHRIST.
Brilliant! I needed this beautiful man to come into my life! The difference between Frederico and the rest of science is Frederico's glass is half full and theirs is half empty!
"In a living HELL"... yep... that is it. You nailed it, Rob. You should've stopped there. That is EXACTLY what they are doing. Let's go ahead and AFFIRM them in that. SUPER Biblical advice, Buddy!😂
Yeah... sinners... its just HOW OUR WORLD IS... some people murder, some people R*pe, some people are prone to violent bursts of anger, greed, gluttony... we should just ROLL with it all... we are all born that way. .... expect that the Bible SAYS we are born into Sin... and THAT leads to destruction. And that we should turn away from our broken selves. The LITERAL FIRST THING GOD DID IN THE BIBLE WAS MAKE MAN and WOMAN. Made them in His image... and told them to multiply. When He made us in His image He did this AS A CREATOR God... and then INVITED US into that Creation process by allowing us to be a part of ALSO MAKING NEW HUMANS. Then the VERY FIRST THING He commands Humanity to do is to "be fruitful and multiply". When we disembark from the very FOUNDATION of who we are as humans, not only to we reject God by our very existence, we also preclude ourselves from participating in the source of the greatest joy on earth that He intended to give to us. Then we sinned, invited brokenness into that whole equation, and the worlds become a mess. And I can tell you, as a father, that the most PROFOUND JOY that I have ever experienced, the deepest love I have ever experienced, has been in the context of MAKING A FAMILY. I loved my wife SO much more as I have gotten to watch her grow as a mom, I love my kids in a way that I can FINALLY understand how God can love us, even with our flaws, even in our weakness... God loves us all, even if we sin, but that does NOT mean that He condones, accepts or celebrates us in the depths of our departure from HIS VERY DESIGN for us. Our very purpose.
There is no reason to believe outside of Christian beliefs and lore that Jesus was ever crucified. Many Jews were killed this way, it was the normal. So, ya, if Jesus did exist, and he was killed, then ya, he must have been crucified, it only makes sense. If you read Paul's literature first, and disregard the rest - Jesus was never an earthy person.
We can't live in the sky without special equipment. Resources are hard to come by and it's very very cold. The Bible authors didn't know (1st Thessalonians 4:17).
Contradiction in the Bible? Think about this one: God one day decides to annihilate all of sinful humanity, but saves Noah God, only a few centuries later, decides to save all humanity, but plans to crucifry one innocent man. Does anyone see a contradiction here? Surely not our dear christian theologians with theor heavy, heavy doctorate degrees! This is aclear contradiction...Or, this all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent God, who over one billion people worship, is a schytzoprhrenic monster. Blood purifies? Washes away sins? How much more of this primitive human sacrifice nonsense do 21st century human beings believe in? I am afraid, intelligence can be completely wiped out in weak human beings with all kinds of holy book nonsense.
There's a delightful catch 22 in saying the universe, and thereby our brains, are purely material phenomena. Materialism would say (if it could, but being material it can't) a material brain doesn't know what materialism is. Even more ironically, the material brain is that brain which hasn't even heard of materialism.
I think she is ripe for a "Road to Damascas" moment. The facts and denials are neatly arranged in her mind, but at some point God will allow her to have a realization. She has said she doesn't like Paul, but I believe it's because Paul scares her. She's afraid her Karma will run over her Dogma!
Moses- fiction, Jesus son of Nun- fiction; Elijah- fiction, Elishua- fiction (based on Moses-Jesus narrative); Jeremiah's adventures- fiction, Jesus son of Jehozadak- fiction (based on Moses- Jesus narrative); Absalom son of David- fiction; Jesus of Nazareth, based on all prior Moses-Jesus style narratives and the son of David Absalom - fiction!
Thank you I'm a big fan of her work. All of the historical scholars who work on some aspect of the Bible I've read are secular, Joel Baden, Ehrman, Litwa, Richard Miller, Carrier, Price, Mcdonald, Finklestein, John Collins, Mary Boyce, Lataster, Kipp Davis, John Tabor, J.Z.Smith, Klause, and many more. It's very common in critical-historical scholarship. I have yet to read a peer-revied historical work who argues as a believer. Some start out fundamentalist but see the evidence and are forced to face the reality of what it demonstrates. It's the theologians who are religious. They, like all theologians in Islam, Mormonism and so on, assume their text is from God.
I'm a moralist Christian so I don't focus on magical based faith because I became a Christian because of the morality of Lord Jesus Christ, not because of all the magical mystical literature of the New Testament. I'm a more militant moral based Christian, and yes I gave my life and allegiance only to God and Lord Jesus. I don't like unrealism but I'm aware that the New Testament contains a lot of that stuff but I just bypass it all. I agree that there are interpolations, mistranslations and embellishments in the New Testament but I'm only interested in the morality of Lord Jesus not the magical stuff. For me, religion is just the doctrine of one's moral compass whether they believe in a God or not. But everyone needs to have a doctrine which explains their own moral compasses. I don't believe people can live properly without having a moral compass, fantasies about being mechanical and robotic is a fallacy. We are emotional/spiritual beings. Language is emotional/spiritual, just like when we were babies, we experienced being happy, sad, inspired, transcendental and so on with our parents and everyone else. Therefore, religion is actually all about a moral compass once you peel away the mask. I think Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest humanitarian moralist teacher that will ever be ❤️ ✝️
Sounds like bull crap to me! The one that denies the creator denies oneself! You can have all the degrees in the world, that doesn't make you intelligent.
I have certainly wnjoyed Rob's Nooma swries from back in the day. The education on how Christ's words and actions were speaking to the Jewish people and how it can help us Gentiles understand him better has be great. I dont really have anythijg against anything Rob has said over the years. I think I'd prefer to think what he said in Love Wins is right. It's like the people who want to label him a heretic are hurt by things he's said. The idea he talked about where people who are outside the New Jerusalem still have a chance to get in eventually sounds good to me... Maybe because I personally feel like I've pushed God/Jesus away sometimes and want to know that I can be forgiven and accepted. I'd say I lean towards Rob being more right than wrong about things. I think I'd certainly enjoy talking to him. Best of blessings be his with the rest of his journey.
When Christians come to my door, i actually like it, because i enjoy discussions. I would never make fun of, or upset, a Christian who was gentle and respectful. I especially respect all pacifists, Christian ones included. However, if a Christian is arrogant and overbearing, then i will use Voltairean wit, because s/he then has deserved it.
And the Jewish temple had golden images anyway, of golden calves and angels etc., in spite of the no graven image commandment. Josephus mentions too a Jewish temple of the Golden Calf visited by Vespasian. The Ark of the Covenant was kept in a golden box surmounted by golden angels.
There is still an earthiness 43:22 in Eastern Orthodoxy, in that the bodies of the dead will physically rise at the last trump (pun intended) and join up with their corresponding souls in either Heaven or Hell. So, when Peter the Great forced Russian peasants to shave their beards, they kept the hairs with them for their whole lives and in burial, so God would recognise them on Judgment Day!
It is funny to think that those who promote the Bible as the infallible "Word of God" not to be doubted in any way, the creationist fundamentalists (who tend to hate the Catholic Church btw), are holding in their hands a Bible the books and gospels of which were selected by the bishops of the Council of Nicaea, the bishops of the Byzantine Empire and the Orthodox Catholic Church! All other gospels were suppressed. Yet the fundamentalists of today do not consider the suppressed gospels and bible books valid. No, their Bible is the one that Catholic and Orthodox bishops have authorised - in other words, men the evangelicals consider minions of the devil!😅
Whether a particular rebel with the name of Joshua existed (and it was such a common name that it is very likely) is not really of any importance. What is the case is that he did not preach peace, but revolt. We know this from alterations and contradictions in the gospels, which mirror the changes in Christianity in its first two centuries. I refer you to Kautsky's socio-historical study, The Foundations of Christianity. It is equally possible Jesus was a composite of many Jewish rebels created after the events. His arrest is indicative of the clumsiness of different Christian writers altering the texts to suit the changing demands of a cult as it changed from a violent rebel movement into a respectable one that rich people might be persuaded to join. And this already long before the conversion of Constantine. Blessed are the poor becomes blessed are the poor "in spirit" is another example, emasculating the original message. "Spirit" originally has no more to do with early Christianity than it has with the very earthly and physical Hebrew God; nor is Christian resurrection "spiritual" but actually corporeal and material. "Spiritual" is a rewriting and re-invention of an originally violent body of work telling the story of a botched attempt, along with numerous other such attempts by different "Messiahs", to topple the status quo in Jerusalem.
James Finley is my favorite mystic. His book Christian Meditation changed my life. Every time I listen to this man I catch something new. Just blessed to know he is in this world.
When I first visited the Middle East I felt I understood how monotheism developed in that harsh and demanding environment. I felt that monotheism came from the geography of that region.
