Never a JW, the outcome of every single revolution (against the Church) in history resulted in total depravity, debauchery, and murder. Why is that? Do you have some sort of sugar-glossed recollection of the French revolution?
It's Time to Dump the Hebrew Scriptures.
by smmcroberts 47 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Satanus
I have often suggested keeping only jesus' words. All of them taken out and then molded into one composite, based on their chronology, it's all a jesus only christian would need. The rest of the bible could be available as a reference if the christian wanted further background. While there are a few conflicts within the jesus corpus, it would be a much more positive and less confusing gospel for followers.
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smmcroberts
Satanus: "I have often suggested keeping only jesus' words. All of them taken out and then molded into one composite, based on their chronology, it's all a jesus only christian would need. The rest of the bible could be available as a reference if the christian wanted further background. While there are a few conflicts within the jesus corpus, it would be a much more positive and less confusing gospel for followers."
I think that's exactly what Thomas Jefferson did when he cut-and-pasted together the Jefferson Bible. I was intending to mention that as the next step in the sequel to my blog on dumping the OT.
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never a jw
No stone cutters
Read my comment again. I thing you missed the essence, namely that we need a God to scare the living day lights out of the people who are prone to do evil.
The French Revolution was started for the right reasons, but went the wrong way. In the end, the entrenched, opressive political and religious systems were shaken for the the better, long-term that is. This forum is an example of what we owe to many of the revolutions around the world, especially the French and the American revolution.
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smmcroberts
The promised sequel has been written: Abridging the Christian Greek Scriptures.
I'll start a new post for discussion of this second part of the 3-part series of articles.
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jgnat
I also vote for the removal of Revelation.
This topic brought to mind the Red Letter Christians. I see someone else had the same thought.
Leolaia, I had not heard of the Odes of Solomon. I think I might just look those up.
P.S. I've come across a decent story of how the NT canon came to be. http://www.orthodox.net/faq/canon.htm Wouldn't the Witnesses be surprised.
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james_woods
Only a fourth century Pope can decide what is in the Bible and what is not.
Even the Watchtower Society has to respect the judgement of the fourth century Pope.
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Terry
In the Hebrew scriptures the Semitic people of Israel conflated legends, myths, partial histories and several versions of stories into national "book".
The Jews came to be called the people of the book.
Once Alexander the Great spread Greek culture by conquest a wave of philosophy from outside swept over the Jews and changed their language and self-identity.
So many Jews began speaking and reading the Greek language--- Hebrew of their scriptures was all but lost to them.
An effort was made to translate the holy writings into Greek and the result was the Septuagint. (70 elders).
A grand movement by Gnostics led by Marcion washed like a tidal wave over Palestine under Roman rule almost suceeding in expunging Judaism's Jehovah worship. The Romans destroyed the central temple in Jerusalem and scattered the "old time religion" leaving the Messianic (Jesus christians) to take over and proliferate.
The letters of the self-named "Apostle" Paul (Saul) had fueled Marcion's movement as the first "New Testament" writings.
The actual "Gospel" followed afterward with "books" ascribed later to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Gospel=Good spiel. Good story.
Word of mouth retelling.
Second and third hand rumors, ad infinitum.
These writings do not agree in hundreds of details. However, later apologists sought to reframe this problem as a Solution instead!
The description "Synoptic" was put forward that those good stories (good spiels) complemented each other.
For one thousand five hundred years the universal (Catholic) church controlled Christianity without resorting to the Bible for authority.
( Magisterium (tradition) was imposed and, eventually, infallibility of pronouncement by the Pople on matters of faith and morals.)
In the early 1600's, a monk, Martin Luther challenged the authority and morals of the church.
Luther destroyed the lock of clergy on the destiny of christians by substituting a new doctrine REPLACING Magisterium: Sola Scriptura.(The Bible alone)
According to Luther, any faithful believing christian could read his BIBLE and the holy spirit would REVEAL absolute Truth to the individual without
resort to clergy!
This theory proved ridiculously misguided. We know this because thousands of DIFFERENT interpretations sprung up from that time forward.
Christianity went from being one united Catholic religion into sects, divisions, subdivisions, denominations of DISAGREEING belief.
All of these "proved" their own interpretations using THE SAME BIBLE!
The easiest way to "explain" the Gospel is to point to the Divisions in Christianity.
It is all a matter of "reading INTO" the text rather than extracting FROM it.
As Shakespeare might say: Much Ado About Nothing!