Og

There's this neat book. "Misquoting Jesus." It shows how the story of the stoning of the adulteress (he who is without sin cast the first stone) is not in the earliest copies of the texts that we have (we don't have the originals) amongst other changes in the text. The author is a duke university professor of theology.

So what were you saying about "error theory not holding water?" I believe that addition of the story to the texts is a direct piece of evidence illustrating that it certainly does hold water.

__________________
Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are

lauraclay

There isn't anything there about Constantine being divinely inspired. To me, the whole point of the Council, is that several aspects of Christianity were defined by man. Who Jesus Christ was, what belongs in the Bible, etc. And, since no man agrees, over the centuries, there have been several different interpretations of the Bible, hence many different branches. If Christianity is only meant to mean one thing, and if the Bible is true, and the Council was able to declare what was true, then why all the dispersion? Why all the different sects?

__________________

The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish,
and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.

The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits.
When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.

The purpose of words is to convey ideas.
When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words?
He is the one I would like to talk to.

MJ

Didn't the Dead Sea scrolls show us just how good the Jews were of passing down the truth? Regards the NT - I'm sure some stuff got lost in translation - but I assume that most of it was handled with care, especially since Jewish ways (e.g. preserving the truth) were still a major part of the NT culture.

lauraclay

The Dead Sea scrolls are debatable. Some say they are written by random people, others say they are holy. Your guess is as good as mine.

__________________

The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish,
and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.

The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits.
When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.

The purpose of words is to convey ideas.
When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.

Where can I find a man who has forgotten words?
He is the one I would like to talk to.

MJ

Yeah, very good point.
I can still go with the idea though that God was creating in the midst of the chaos. This was even a problem in the NT. Paul mentioned that people's motives for preaching Christ were warped, but even so, at least Christ was being preached.
More and more, I think the scriptures are less and less God breathed - which is causing me major headaches.

Og

Dead sea scrolls are more reliable than the texts we have today in the bible (i.e. they're from closer to the time of jesus). Also, they are quite different in there interpretation of Jesus' teachings than the rest of the bible. The gospel of thomas is quite opposed to the gospel of John. John casts thomas as the doubter who had to put his fingers in the holes in jesus' hands in an attempt to illustrate him as someone without faith (in the actual bible).

Thomas' gospel from nag hamadi is quite in line with buddhist ideas vs the hebrew modifications that the current bible contains.

__________________
Vi veri veniversum vivus vici. (By the power of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe)
The self is not a fixed entity but a dynamic process of relationships
You & I, no distinction. - Tat Tvam Asi
Become Who You Are

jaej

Deb, I've heard that in church before.

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debdodd

No kidding huh? love letter .... jeez now I've heard the ultimate lie .... the more info I read about the Bible and all it's nonsense ... the more disgusted I get with religions as a whole. Thanks for enlightening me JJ.

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"Ubi dubium ibi libertas."

"We are all lone souls. It pays to know humility, lest the delusion of control, of mastery, overwhelms. And indeed, we seem a species prone to that delusion, again and ever again ....."

jaej

Deb, delete YOUR pm's.

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jaej

You don't even know what some people call the bible. Roadmap, love letter, guide book, cheat sheet. The list goes on. Just people deluding themselves..

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