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Post by FilmFlaneur on Dec 6, 2017 9:23:44 GMT
According to an Oxford Scholar God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshiped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah. It is not known whether God had a mother-in-law. But it might explain why He is always angry at something. www.seeker.com/gods-wife-edited-out-of-the-bible-almost-1766083399.html
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Post by clusium on Dec 6, 2017 14:20:18 GMT
There were two people crucified to the left and right of Jesus. To his right was someone known as the Penitent Thief:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penitent_thief
I thought that was cool. I looked it up, and indeed most depictions of Jesus on the cross have his head going to the right.
What are some other lesser known facts about Christianity? Just as Jewish people have the concept of "Righteous Gentiles," Christians have the concept of "Virtuous Pagans." Virtuous Pagans
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 6, 2017 14:27:26 GMT
I tend to be interested in some of the Gnostic groups and sects of early Christianity; for many people, all knowledge of these groups comes from something like The Da Vinci Code, which is a nice way in which to grow interested but which certainly exaggerates, cherry-picks, and even makes up material at some points. It's Gnostic revival, but Catharism is also very interesting.
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 6, 2017 14:39:29 GMT
According to an Oxford Scholar God had a wife, Asherah, whom the Book of Kings suggests was worshiped alongside Yahweh in his temple in Israel. In 1967, Raphael Patai was the first historian to mention that the ancient Israelites worshiped both Yahweh and Asherah. It is not known whether God had a mother-in-law. But it might explain why He is always angry at something. www.seeker.com/gods-wife-edited-out-of-the-bible-almost-1766083399.html Haven't the Mormons long held to this concept? Ah, yes. Wikipedia informs me that she is not actively worshipped, however. As for whether "God had a wife"... If I'm remembering correctly, historians are still debating the notion in light of archaeological finds and of the fact that Asherah is actually a Canaanite goddess, the consort of El.
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klandersen
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Post by klandersen on Dec 6, 2017 17:41:23 GMT
I am often amazed that apparently the fact that Jesus was Jewish is widely unknown to many.
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Post by koskiewicz on Dec 6, 2017 17:52:19 GMT
...that there are more than a dozen bible versions filled with blatant errors...my favorite is the one called "The Fools Bible"
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Post by clusium on Dec 6, 2017 20:57:27 GMT
I am often amazed that apparently the fact that Jesus was Jewish is widely unknown to many. Interesting. I suppose that the fact that Buddha was Hindu is widely unknown to many too.
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Post by drystyx on Dec 6, 2017 22:59:46 GMT
An odd fact that pertains to the Old Testament and its relationship to Christianity.
King David, on his death bed, expressed the opposite of forgiveness towards a man who threw rocks at him. When David led his army through one village, a lone man cursed him and threw rocks at him. At the time, it seemed David was forgiving, even stopping his soldiers from killing the man.
But he vowed that Solomon avenge him on his death bed against this measly man.
Now, what does this have to do with Christianity? Well, every church I know of will swear that David is in Heaven, but will also swear that you can't get to Heaven if you die with un-forgiveness in your heart.
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Post by thefleetsin on Dec 6, 2017 23:30:17 GMT
a. you can indeed cherry pick from the bible whatever seems to work in your chosen lifestyle and still maintain an air of self-righteousness only found at swap meets and carnival attractions.
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Post by Eva Yojimbo on Dec 7, 2017 0:39:08 GMT
HERE'S a fun article I remember reading on the subject.
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Post by lowtacks86 on Dec 7, 2017 0:44:00 GMT
The word "cross" is never explicitly mentioned in the original untranslated scriptures
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Dec 7, 2017 9:36:04 GMT
Abortion is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. There is some coverage of miscarriage - but even then not in the context of child welfare. In fact abortion was legal under the Roman occupation, and one would have thought a major divergence from the norm, or condemnation of it, would have come up.
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Post by FilmFlaneur on Dec 7, 2017 10:33:05 GMT
Abortion is nowhere mentioned in the Bible. This is some coverage of miscarriage - but even then not in the context of child welfare. In fact abortion was legal under the Roman occupation, and one would have thought a major divergence from the norm, or condemnation of it, would have come up. True, the Bible never mentions abortion specifically. I think that's because they didn't have the medical technology for abortion back then.
Personally, I hate abortion. It takes two people who are symbols of love and compassion, mothers and doctors, and turns them into numb, unfeeling executioners.
It's a disgusting practice and I hope it becomes illegal.There's certainly a lot of heat and noise created by Christians around abortion, which as already noted is not mentioned in scripture. Divorce on the other hand, which is specifically mentioned, several times and in negative terms - including by JC himself - seems to bother hardly anyone.
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Post by shadrack on Dec 7, 2017 11:25:26 GMT
Jesus was not the founder of Christianity as we know it today. Most of the doctrines of Christianity come not from Jesus, but from Paul -- a man who never even met Jesus in the flesh.
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Post by captainbryce on Dec 7, 2017 14:45:07 GMT
I am often amazed that apparently the fact that Jesus was Jewish is widely unknown to many. Is it? What else do they think he was? What else could he have been?
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Post by Terrapin Station on Dec 7, 2017 14:47:10 GMT
At home, Christians are supposed to keep their shoes on, but wear socks over their shoes.
Although I don't know, maybe I'm just making that up.
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Post by captainbryce on Dec 7, 2017 15:03:18 GMT
The word "cross" is never explicitly mentioned in the original untranslated scriptures Nor was the penitent thief ever described in the bible as having ever actually “repented”. In the exchange, he merely acknowledges that he committed crimes, states that he deserves the punishment, and asks for forgiveness and for Jesus to remember him. Jesus then promises that he will be with him in Paradise. But at no point did the thief ever express “regret” or “remorse” for his actions. Nor did this thief ever have the opportunity to become baptized (washing away his sins/being born again), casting doubt on the idea that he ever actually received the Holy Spirit. He merely confesses his sins on his death bed, but “confession” alone is not necessarily “repentance”. Nevertheless, Catholic tradition has venerated the thief, and the traditional Christian assumption is that he was forgiven and went to paradise based on Jesus’s promise.
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 7, 2017 15:22:20 GMT
At home, Christians are supposed to keep their shoes on, but wear socks over their shoes. Although I don't know, maybe I'm just making that up. Ça m’amuse beaucoup.
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Post by mikef6 on Dec 7, 2017 15:46:22 GMT
The “Penitent Thief” brings up a good point about the Bible in general and the Gospels in particular: when Bible stories appear in different places, there are often significant differences between the versions.
The Penitent Thief only appears in one of the four Gospels. Luke 23:39-43 tells the story that is being discussed on this thread. Matthew 27:38 simply says that two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Matthew adds that the robbers were mocked by passers-by the same as Jesus. Mark 15:27 says the same thing (most scholars believe that Matthew used Mark as a source), but leaves out the comment about the robbers also being mocked. In Mark only Jesus gets the crowd’s rebuke. John 19:18 also just mentions the robbers in passing, but later in the chapter says that they had their legs broken by the Romans (to induce shock and then death), but that Jesus was already dead so did not have his legs broken. This detail is found only in John.
The takeaway then is that the author we call “Luke” created the story to make a theological point. Whatever historical (as opposed to theological) truth is contained in the Passion narrative, it is probably that the others executed with Jesus played no other part in the event except to be there and die. Another little known aspect is that although the Gospels may contain history, they are documents of faith, not biography. There was no concept of writing history as we think of it. The stories within them demonstrate to their first readers what to believe and how to act in their own lives.
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Post by cupcakes on Dec 7, 2017 18:46:07 GMT
tpfkar True, the Bible never mentions abortion specifically. I think that's because they didn't have the medical technology for abortion back then.
Personally, I hate abortion. It takes two people who are symbols of love and compassion, mothers and doctors, and turns them into numb, unfeeling executioners.
It's a disgusting practice and I hope it becomes illegal. "Unnecessary" would be the goal. Little Twelve-Toes
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