christianity

by BR25 41 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  sinis

  Christianity.

  Founded on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

  Read about it first hand in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

  Read it from a Bible written in conversational English,

  After praying in faith for God's Holy Spirit,

  See if what you read about is different than what you were taught.

  Then read it again a few times, from other translations.

  See if what you read about continues to be different than what you were taught.

  Now do the same with the whole New Testament.

  Break out the concordances and commentaries to shed light on meaning and interpretation.

  If you do so, you'll learn more than you now know about Christianity.

  At some point, you'll need to decide to be a follower of one of the many Christian sects, or,

  continue to read and research, and most importantly practice, Christianity outside one of the many Christian sects.

  I chose the latter.

  Online sources:

  http://www.biblegateway.com/

  http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Catechism/bible.html

  http://www.ntgateway.com/bible.htm

  BA- Good luck.

  PS- It's a journey, not a destination.

  And we know Jesus existed how? Don't use the bible or tainted works from Josephus...
• 

  Brother Apostate

  And we know Jesus existed how? Don't use the bible or tainted works from Josephus...

  Faith, that's how.

  Nothing can be absolutely proven beyond the shadow of doubt.

  Including your existence.

  BA- Not takin' the bait.

  PS- Faith, love, hope. But the greatest of these is love.
• 

  Sad emo

  It is a pity that none of the spiritual awakenings ever imparts a useful by-product such as increased I.Q., musical genius, sudden capactity to translate heiroglyphics or even skill in cooking souffle.

  Terry - you are very, very wrong.
• 

  Zico

  'And we know Jesus existed how? Don't use the bible or tainted works from Josephus...'
  
  LOL! Prove Jesus existed without using any sources that refer to him? Ha ha!
• 

  XJW4EVR

  And we know Jesus existed how? Don't use the bible or tainted works from Josephus...

  Would the archeological work of Sir William Ramsey or the legal work of Simon Greenleaf suffice?

  Edited to add: sarcasm/ Would not the above request be akin to saying to prove the existence of George Washingto, without using any book that references George Washington? \end sarcasm. Using this sort of reasoning no historical figure could ever be proved. You don't really believe that, do you?
• 

  sinis

  Would the archeological work of Sir William Ramsey or the legal work of Simon Greenleaf suffice?

  Edited to add: sarcasm/ Would not the above request be akin to saying to prove the existence of George Washingto, without using any book that references George Washington? \end sarcasm. Using this sort of reasoning no historical figure could ever be proved. You don't really believe that, do you?

  Your example is fallible in that George Washington was not only a British Officer but also the President of this country which can be proven from a myriad of NON RELIGIOUS books, journals, paintings, court documents, family lineage of which ancestors exist today. So with that in mind prove to me that Jesus existed without using the RELIGIOUS books (such as the bible) or the works of Josepheus since there is some question as to certain passages authenticity. No pictures of Jesus in any book, no indication from the Qumran sect that he or christanity existed, and the list goes on...
• 

  Terry

  : Is there nothing at all palpably substantial to be had in a Christian experience that demonstrates anything of actual importance other than attitude adjustment?
  
  You don't think attitude adjustment is significant?

  Not with my attitude!
• 

  Terry

  Faith, that's how.

  Nothing can be absolutely proven beyond the shadow of doubt.

  Respectfully, Faith is the tiredest of cop-outs. Really.

  It isn't an Either / Or proposition.

  When you say "Nothing can be absolutely proven beyond a shadow of a doubt" you are making an ABSOLUTE statement and sounding pretty darn certain about it!

  You see, certainty isn't either/or for anybody. Certainty is a process from 0% possibility to 100% probability.

  That is a very useful scale for humanity and especially for science. It makes anything we can measure and analyze into a useful predictive tool that adds to human understanding.

  Faith is none of that! Why? Because Faith has nothing of substance to analyze, measure, quantify, or objectify to the point of converting mere hypothesis into 0% to 100% of anything.

  Faith follows the thing heard. Hear-say.

  The only thing religious scholars have to go on are written documents. Documentary Analysis can be applied to manuscripts and comparisons with other manuscripts can form a picture of quantitavie probability. This sort of thing has been done for decades now and the yield has not been pretty for the accuracy or logic of the bible.

  I am flatly contradicting your statement by demonstrating that what mankind claims as knowledge or certainty is the result of quantitative analysis and mathematical scrutiny of patterns. Otherwise there would be no Physics, Astronomy, Medicine, Aeronautics, Space flight, Insurance industry, Engineering, etc.

  When a 90 story office building is erected I can assure you it isn't the result of a 50/50 guess or coinflip.

  So, once again, please reconsider your statement. I respectfully submit this for your consideration.
• 

  Terry

  It is a pity that none of the spiritual awakenings ever imparts a useful by-product such as increased I.Q., musical genius, sudden capactity to translate heiroglyphics or even skill in cooking souffle.

  Terry - you are very, very wrong.

  I'm sorry---I seem to have missed your elucidation which demonstrates how wrong I am and why.

  Did you have something to offer for my delectation?
• 

  Sad emo

  I'm sorry---I seem to have missed your elucidation which demonstrates how wrong I am and why.

  Did you have something to offer for my delectation?

  Nobody here, not even you or I can account for what happens to everyone who has a 'spiritual awakening'. I suspect (forgive me if I'm wrong) that your logic would say that people who do suddenly have musical talent or whatever, already had it within their personality - it was just undiscovered. This may indeed be true in many cases - I would cite my own spiritual journey as an example of that.

  The point is that without the 'spiritual awakening', what would have been the likelihood of these gifts being discovered, developed and used? Citing my own case again - 0%, but you have to take my word for that!

  I do also know of other people in my life who have been gifted in what would be termed supernatural ways however.

  I could say if you wanted recorded examples, look what happened to the apostles at Pentecost .... ah .... but you don't believe all that crap do you? If it doesn't have a logical explanation, it must be made up - but the core of the problem is that one can't weigh up the supernatural using a natural mindset.