The Walrus Was Paul

by MoneurMallard 35 Replies latest jw friends

  • PSacramento
    PSacramento

    Just an FYI:

    What Marx said in context.

    Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man—state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d'honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion. Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

  • MoneurMallard
    MoneurMallard

    Interesting responses... I knew the Beatles pun in the thread title would throw everyone towards more fruitful reponses.

    My thoughts on Paul of Tarsus are thus: Yes, he wrote before any of the gospels were penned, however, he was starting his own new religion, based upon Gnostic views of the Jesus figure. I happen to appreciate a few things he says here and there still to this day, especially Galatians chapter 5, and 1 Corinthians 13, very well written poetry in my onion.

    However, one cannot escape the fact that he admits that "all in Asia turned away from me" (2 Tim 1:15) and that Jesus in Revelation congratulated the Asian church in Ephesus for "rejecting those who call themselves apostles but are not, and are in fact liars". The Jesus of the gospels was surely a staunch supporter of the Tanakh and it's legal code, to the letter. He even stated that he didn't come to abolish the Torah but to uphold it (Mat 5:17-20). Most of the gospels and epistles of John seem to indicate a Jesus that was Torah-true, while Paul seems to point towards a Gnostic approach that abandons the "law of commandments in dogma" (Ephesians 2:14-17).

    Either way, interesting, to say the least, from a historical perspective.

  • Band on the Run
  • JeffT
    JeffT

    If I rub vaseline on my NWT will it disappear?

    Gospel reductionism has received a bad rap over the years, but when I read what Jesus said I see a very loosely organized (if organzied at all) church. For example "whenever two or three gather in my name, I will be there also." Jesus did not add a lot of verbiage about following a particular set of beliefs or teachings or adhering to an organizational standard. This idea dominates the current portion of my spiritual journey.

  • ScenicViewer
    ScenicViewer

    Paul was the walrus? John was the walrus? And Tarsus....weren't they from Liverpool?

    Now I don't know what to believe!

    Sigh. Religion is hard.

  • Quarterback
    Quarterback

    So what are we to make of this post? Are we to extract Paul's letters, excluding the Hebrew book, from the new testament?

  • Glander
    Glander

    Eleanor Rigby kept her face in a jar by the door.

  • botchtowersociety
    botchtowersociety

    They've been going in and out of style but they're guaranteed to raise a smile.

  • MoneurMallard
    MoneurMallard

    The post is here to add confusion and chaos to your life, as opposed to order and "witness truth".

    Think for yourself. Questoin authority.

    You're supposed to do with this post whatever you like. Which is why I appreciate all the responses that ignore the underLYING biblical message and instead promote Beatle-mania.

    "She's not a girl who misses much...... doo doo doo doo doo doo.....oh yeah....."

    ....on to my next post... anyone wanna guess the thread title?

  • Glander
    Glander

    Look at all the lonely people

    where do they all belong?

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