You hear a lot of people beating up on Christians these days. Well, you always hear of people beating up on Christians. Some people go so far as to deny the existence of God, usually because they are fed up with the ridiculous claims made by Bible-thumping zealots.
Unfortunately, zealotry can be defined as not listening to reason or common sense, so it is pretty damn hard to talk to those who see themselves, "in Christ." Just this week I read yet another essay defending the practice of slavery.
We all know you can defend any sin against any individual by using The Bible. Normal folk know that to do so is utterly transparent and the mark of a true hypocrite--the ones we were warned of. Yet, every day, someone posts some essay somewhere defending murder; or torture; or war; or any other base act that needs to be defended at the moment. (It's a good thing there's forgiveness--even if some of these folks don't believe in it!)
The Bible was cobbled together in the fourth century under the direction of the world-famous hedonist, Constantine, emperor of Rome
The early Christians, in a deal that was actually quite contrary to the teachings of The Master ("render unto Caesar what is Caesar's"), entered into what was essentially a power-sharing agreement with Rome.
As part of that "New World Order," a book of rules was needed.
Voila!
The Bible!
1300 years later, King James put his own spin on it.
And every single day, some simpleton lets some evil individual tell him those politically-motivated words are the ABSOLUTE WORD OF GOD! (Amen.)
Good Lord.
But, that is not to say that God is a myth.
Nor His son.
I am not sure I could prove the existence of God to anyone else's satisfaction, but I have witnessed too many "coincidences" to believe otherwise.
And yes, I am educated as a scientist.
But do I believe the Bible as the "Word of God?"
Well . . . . . . . . .
If you talk about what God has to say, wouldn't that mean what His Son, Jesus, has to say? How about we just read the Gospels?
"The authors of the books of the Bible were all inspired by God."
Uh-huh.
So, you think that politicians--guys like Barack Obama and George Bush--when they were having their little committee meetings to decide which writings would be included in their Bible, chose ONLY those books that were inspired by God? And this was because they knew for certain that, say, Isaiah was inspired and Thomas the Apostle was not?
Wow! These were really prescient politicians! So different than the ones we have now.
Seriously, though.
The most important thing anyone needs from the Bible is Matthew, chapters five through seven.
If one is too busy persecuting another to sit down and read three chapters, one can save time by remembering this one line that comes from them:
"Do unto others as you would have it done unto you."
I challenge anyone who claims to be a Christian to say how there is anything more to being a Christian than abiding by that simple dictate.
About Me: Quentin, a candidate for President of The United States in 2000, writes opinion you'll not find elsewhere.
Quentin, my dear old confused Socialist friend. You must have spent a few months reading Dan Browns “The Da Vinci Code”, because you spew all the same lies he wrote in his forgettable book. Allow me to go down a list of things that you and he are wrong about. What follows is a list of statements by Brown about Constantine (B) from his book followed by a statement that is fact (F).
(B) Emperor Constantine was a lifelong pagan who was converted on his deathbed. p. 232
(F) Became a Christian convert (not on deathbed), built churches, favored clergy, convened council at Nicea.
(B) Constantine was baptized near death, too weak to object. p.232
(F) It was a custom at the time to delay baptism until the end of life – wiped your slate clean of preceding sins.
(B)Constantine converted the world from matriarchal paganism to patriarchal Christianity. p.124
(F) No basis for this statement.
(B)Before Constantine, Christians viewed Jesus as a mere man. p.233
(F) Many NT passages attest to Jesus deity as well as all the early church fathers.
(B) Constantine collated the Bible.
(F) Almost all of the NT Canon was already well-established two centuries before Constantine.
(B)Constantine decided that Jesus should be made into a deity and so embellished the gospels. p. 234
(F) The New Testament makes it clear Jesus is divine without adding a word.
(B) Constantine eliminated about 80 other gospels & thousands of documents that spoke of Christ’s human
traits. p.231, 234
(F) Only several dozen documents exist that tell not only of his humanity but his divinity as well.
(B) Dan Brown mentions “The Sangreal documents” that include tens of thousands of pages of information
found in four enormous trunks that the Knights Templar found under Solomon’s Temple.” p. 256
(F) No such find.
(B) Constantine moved worship from Saturday to Sunday. p.232-233
(F) Christian day of worship was established, “the Lord’s Day,” as recorded in Acts 20:7; I Cor 16:2; Rev 1:10.
(B) The Council of Nicea, on a “relatively close vote” endorsed Jesus’ deity. p. 233
(F) Council of Nicea endorsed Jesus deity by a vote of 300 to 2
Now as for the Gospel of Thomas, it was a gnostic gospel. It basically denies that Christ is the only way to the Father. If you truly are a Christian as you say would have known that, but then again you supports the idea that God somehow condones homosexuality and even thinks it would be Ok for two men, or two women to be married.
Now as for the idea that we cannot trust the Scriptures because of the way they have been translated through the years, come on Quentin. You are better than that. Do you really want a debate upon the accuracy of the Scriptures? Because if you do, I'll ask Pastor OV to come over and set you straight.
==================================================================
I have never read The DaVinci Code. I don't read populist crap.
I do not know why you would choose my blog to decry someone else's writings . .
But, what the heck.
I am happy to donate my space to one so eager to show his tenuous grasp on reality.
Does Mr. Brown have a blog?
Wouldn't that be a better place to show where he has made his mistakes?
You say that I say God condones homosexuality--again.
You say that I think it's ok for two men to marry.
You say it's not.
Once again, you are claiming to know the mind of God. Jesus Aitch!--You're full of yourself!!
I would love to debate the accuracy of scriptures!
But again, having a battle of wits with an unarmed man is cruel. . . . . . .
Brother, you really gotta start reading what I'm writing here.
You're making an [fool] of yourself.
And speaking of that gnostic gospel . . . .
If no one gets to Heaven except through Christ . . .
Are you saying that no matter how "holy" one lives their life, one is damned if they do not know of Christ?
I'll bet you get that "little tent" idea from being a so-called conservative . . . . .
OK, Fred, all kidding aside.
I need you to think for yourself for a second.
You are putting a guidebook together for the State Religion of the Empire. Are you going to include in there--as Gospel--that people DON'T have to a member of the State Religion? Then what would be your point?
Y'see, Fred, the decision to leave out a contrary gospel was a political decision. Once again, you have helped me to make my point. For this I am grateful.
I would love to sit down and have a serious debate over the validity/accuracy of your Bible.
I can get copies of the original documents.
Can your friend, OV, read Aramaic or Greek?
I cannot, and I do not know anyone in Chico who can translate . . . . .
But if you do, bring your friend and I can save two souls.
If he really is a pastor, we can save a bunch!
Great post, Quentin.
It is completely irrational to believe that every word of the Bible is divinely inspired, and that there couldn't possibly be any error. There is no reason to believe this, other than, and I quote from a few people that have actually said this, "The Bible says it's the Word of God, so it must be."
Now, there's nothing actually wrong with believing this. Faith itself is irrational. But certainty is another thing. Certainty is what you get from people like Fred. And certainty without factual basis isn't faith, it's insanity. When you start telling people that you know for sure they are going to Hell if they don't follow your religion...that's just insane.
I have waited a long time for you to discover my blog.
Thank you!
Quentin