Criminal
12-08-2002, 09:34 AM
http://www.dimensional.com/~randl/tcont.htm
(Note: This article does not reflect 100% of my own beliefs though it does reflect some of them. I thought I would throw this out for discussion.)
Bible Contradictions
The Bible, that is the Torah, is the legacy of Moses. It consists of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It forms the basis of the Jewish religion, and has remained essentially since Erza and Niamiah "canonized the Torah in 444 BC. The "New Testament" consists of material surrounding Jesus (diaries, letters, narratives, pious fabrications, written and oral histories) that survived Catholic editors 700 years later who were motivated by piolitics and not, as is obvious to anyone free of thiological bias, logic "Translations" of both the Bible and the New Testiment are pitifully lacking, Hebrew (Torah), Greek (New Testiment), Aramaic and Chaldean (bits of both) are rich, beautiful, poetic languages with myriad hidden meanings and depth. English translations are pale shaddows of the originals. THe more mystic and universally phillosophical overtones were left out altogether, at Nicea, in 325 AD, when any of the { over 150 versions of the Gospel - hence "Hetrodoxy'] writings not in line with the Council standards were systematically destroyed to favor the mystically vacant and emotionally mean Orthodoxy.
The 'Bible", to the Jews, does not include the New Testiment, which is seen to some as an opportunistic add-on. The Christian experience of religion is radically different than the Jewish, so inconsistancies seem inevitable when the two books are bound together in one book. To begin to understand the Bible, learn Hebrew. To understand the New Testiment learn Greek.
Christianity exists in translation - and so much gets lost in translation. The Jewish religious experience is joyously human. Cwelibrating and sanctifying all acts of life, including eating, excreting and mating while contemplating God and the Torah in its original languate. The Christian experience, because it is a translation, and because of Paulist and other Hellenistic add-ons, is more theoretical, with conditiona joy and strained, convoluted guilt and denial. It attempts to destry the human part of all of us, most obviously in its suppressin of sex and the notion of Original Sin. By splitting God into three, and having a mulitated corpse as its central icon, Christian becomes Anti-Messiah (Messiah brings peace....not gore). By inventing the "Devil, " God's ower is Subverted and challenged. Inconceivable in a non-pagen, one God system.
Paul's <tarsus.htm> notion of "Original Sin" taints the well of spirituality. The Jewish Bible was passed on and carefully preserved for more than a millennium when it was finally canonized by the scribe Ezra, in 444 B.C.E. This was the first 'religion of the book,' written and kept by people who had been in and out of exile, and with whom 'God had formed a special bond.' The early Jewish editors were rigorously conservative, and kept the book to the basics. It was written mostly in Hebrew, with some Aramaic and Chaldean. Before the Bible was canonized (from the Hebrew kaneh, meaning 'cane,' or'upright'), there were prophets everywhere. Jews were literate early on, and many considered themselves authors, commentators, or prophets. Prophecy dwindled after canonization, as the older (and official) texts gained authority. There were also the numerous claimants to being "Messiah" that annoyed Jewish authorities off and on through the centuries. Some of the Jewish innovations were the concept of 'ethical monotheism,' and a system of covenants with an immediate, personal deity. The one-on-one relationship with the creator was democratizing; for a homeless, captive people, it provided a way around 'the system.' The Jewish idea of being 'The Chosen People' has been causing friction for nearly 4,000 years - but the Jewish conception of "chosen" less like being "better than," and more like being "singled out." Rabbi Jesus adhered to the ancient Jewish system of laws, and was a devout Jew (the "Last Supper" was a Passover Seder), but rejected legalistic corruption in the Jewish establishment. For this, conservative Jewish authorities (Sadducees) rejected Jesus, and made it easy for the Romans to crucify him. Scholars agree that the Gospels were written long after the events they describe, and NOT by people who actually walked with Jesus. Paul of Tarsus <tarsus.htm> Hellenized the story of Jesus, removed its Jewishness, grafted on Pagan Greek ideas, and opened the gates to hordes of converts. The multitude of Christian cults canonized their literature, and added it onto the Torah, calling the combined material the "Old" and "New" Testaments. But Christianity is not the "next phase" of Judaism. It is a religion unto itself, with Judaism as its initial inspiration, but sharply different than Judaism in its teaching. The things in Christianity that sound Jewish are Jewish. Christianity is not founded so much upon Jesus the man as upon Jesus the concept, and the resulting theology that was invented to support it. The New Testament is not the logical completion of the Old Testament. "Judeo-Christian" is a misnomer, an erroneous concept - Christians and Jews have both said so. Judaism is unrelated to any religion that claims that it is the one and only true religion and the sole ticket to heaven, and that if you don't join, you're damned. [Catholics also reportedly accept that theirs is not the only way to Heaven - if that's the case, it's certainly difficult to understand their role in the torture and killing of tens of thousands of innocents] Christianity did not begin with Jesus, but after Jesus. Jesus was an Essene Jew - the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that the ideas he taught had been part of the Essene tradition for 200 years when Jesus was alive. [Jews today do ritual immersions in water (John the Baptist was a Jew also), and believe in the Final Redemption when the Messiah comes, with the revival of the dead.] Jesus was not an innovator. Fifty years after his crucifixion by the Romans, Paul of Tarsus <tarsus.htm> grafted on Pagan Mithraic ideas and began the Christianity we know today, which is so radically different than its mother religion, Judaism. The absolutist, Heaven or Hell Christian and Islamic world views differ sharply from Torah ("Old" Testament) religion. They read the Bible (and later writings, Koran, New Testament) and see only black and white. The original Bible religion, Judaism, understands the relationship with the Creator differently, seeing it as a contractual relationship, a dialog, or a dialectic. Jews do not believe that theirs is only way to paradise. Christianity and Islam, later interpretations of Torah, are both much more prone to laying down absolute dictums about the fate of your soul. "God, however, does not play dice." (Albert Einstein, Jewish Physicist) A literal approach to the Bible embalms it. The Bible's function (providing us with a diagnostic tool, a "litmus test" for life) is enhanced by its contradictions and ambiguities. It forces our minds to reach beyond the obvious and find new meanings and hidden teachings. The Jewish oral tradition fills in a lot of the blanks. The Zohar (Mystical Biblical commentary from Spain in the 1200's) says: "The stories in the Torah couldn't possibly be about what they seem to be about, otherwise we could write better stories!" (III 152a). Anyone who is really interested in the Bible should take the time to learn Hebrew and study it in its original language. Experience has shown this writer that it's worth the effort. All of the hair pulling over the "King James Version" or whatever other translation someone's using is really a moot point. The Burning Hell, the "Lake of Fire," the Pointy Tailed Devil, these fictions are all medieval-Christian scare tactics, and have nothing at all to do with the Judaism of Jesus. God created humans, and said "It is Good." The God of the Bible (Jesus' God) has faith in humanity, and waits for our gratitude and praise. On the other hand, the New Testament God has condemned humanity, robbed his followers of the Joy of Life, and resorted to bullying and sham to corral the faithful. The Bible is fractal- filled with thickets and labyrinths, and that is why people love it. It has as many contradictions as any other thought system; and is seen by some as a form of poetry. <sant.htm> Each of these contradictions could provide a seed for great mystical analysis. Use them as a way to raise spiritual sparks, instead of as a cudgel against other people (see Spanish Inquisition <racking.htm>). Here are a few of the contradictions:
Should we kill?
Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not commit murder.
Ex. 32:27 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side...and slay every man his brother...companion..neighbor.(See also 1 Sam. 6:19; 15:2,3; Num. 15:36)
Ex 20:5 "...for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (see also Ex 34:14, Deut 4:24, Josh 24:19, and Nah 1:2)
Gal 5:19-20 "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are...jealousy..." (See also 2 Cor 12:20)
Should we tell lies?
Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness.(Prov. 12:22; Rev. 21:8)
1 Kings 22:23 The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (II Thess. 2:11; Josh. 2:4-6 with James 2:25)
Should we steal?
Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. (Lev. 19:13)
Ex. 3:22. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Ex. 12:35-36; Luke 19:29-33)
Shall we keep the Sabbath?
Ex. 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32,36)
Is. 1:13 The new moons and the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity. (John 5:16; Matt. 12:1-5)
Shall we make Graven images?
Ex. 20:4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven...earth...water. (Lev. 26:1)
EX. 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them.
Are we "saved" through works?
Eph. 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith...not of works. (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 2:16)
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.(Matt. 19:16-21)
Note: This article continues but I could not post all of it. Please see the link above if you wish to read the rest.
-Tom
(Note: This article does not reflect 100% of my own beliefs though it does reflect some of them. I thought I would throw this out for discussion.)
Bible Contradictions
The Bible, that is the Torah, is the legacy of Moses. It consists of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It forms the basis of the Jewish religion, and has remained essentially since Erza and Niamiah "canonized the Torah in 444 BC. The "New Testament" consists of material surrounding Jesus (diaries, letters, narratives, pious fabrications, written and oral histories) that survived Catholic editors 700 years later who were motivated by piolitics and not, as is obvious to anyone free of thiological bias, logic "Translations" of both the Bible and the New Testiment are pitifully lacking, Hebrew (Torah), Greek (New Testiment), Aramaic and Chaldean (bits of both) are rich, beautiful, poetic languages with myriad hidden meanings and depth. English translations are pale shaddows of the originals. THe more mystic and universally phillosophical overtones were left out altogether, at Nicea, in 325 AD, when any of the { over 150 versions of the Gospel - hence "Hetrodoxy'] writings not in line with the Council standards were systematically destroyed to favor the mystically vacant and emotionally mean Orthodoxy.
The 'Bible", to the Jews, does not include the New Testiment, which is seen to some as an opportunistic add-on. The Christian experience of religion is radically different than the Jewish, so inconsistancies seem inevitable when the two books are bound together in one book. To begin to understand the Bible, learn Hebrew. To understand the New Testiment learn Greek.
Christianity exists in translation - and so much gets lost in translation. The Jewish religious experience is joyously human. Cwelibrating and sanctifying all acts of life, including eating, excreting and mating while contemplating God and the Torah in its original languate. The Christian experience, because it is a translation, and because of Paulist and other Hellenistic add-ons, is more theoretical, with conditiona joy and strained, convoluted guilt and denial. It attempts to destry the human part of all of us, most obviously in its suppressin of sex and the notion of Original Sin. By splitting God into three, and having a mulitated corpse as its central icon, Christian becomes Anti-Messiah (Messiah brings peace....not gore). By inventing the "Devil, " God's ower is Subverted and challenged. Inconceivable in a non-pagen, one God system.
Paul's <tarsus.htm> notion of "Original Sin" taints the well of spirituality. The Jewish Bible was passed on and carefully preserved for more than a millennium when it was finally canonized by the scribe Ezra, in 444 B.C.E. This was the first 'religion of the book,' written and kept by people who had been in and out of exile, and with whom 'God had formed a special bond.' The early Jewish editors were rigorously conservative, and kept the book to the basics. It was written mostly in Hebrew, with some Aramaic and Chaldean. Before the Bible was canonized (from the Hebrew kaneh, meaning 'cane,' or'upright'), there were prophets everywhere. Jews were literate early on, and many considered themselves authors, commentators, or prophets. Prophecy dwindled after canonization, as the older (and official) texts gained authority. There were also the numerous claimants to being "Messiah" that annoyed Jewish authorities off and on through the centuries. Some of the Jewish innovations were the concept of 'ethical monotheism,' and a system of covenants with an immediate, personal deity. The one-on-one relationship with the creator was democratizing; for a homeless, captive people, it provided a way around 'the system.' The Jewish idea of being 'The Chosen People' has been causing friction for nearly 4,000 years - but the Jewish conception of "chosen" less like being "better than," and more like being "singled out." Rabbi Jesus adhered to the ancient Jewish system of laws, and was a devout Jew (the "Last Supper" was a Passover Seder), but rejected legalistic corruption in the Jewish establishment. For this, conservative Jewish authorities (Sadducees) rejected Jesus, and made it easy for the Romans to crucify him. Scholars agree that the Gospels were written long after the events they describe, and NOT by people who actually walked with Jesus. Paul of Tarsus <tarsus.htm> Hellenized the story of Jesus, removed its Jewishness, grafted on Pagan Greek ideas, and opened the gates to hordes of converts. The multitude of Christian cults canonized their literature, and added it onto the Torah, calling the combined material the "Old" and "New" Testaments. But Christianity is not the "next phase" of Judaism. It is a religion unto itself, with Judaism as its initial inspiration, but sharply different than Judaism in its teaching. The things in Christianity that sound Jewish are Jewish. Christianity is not founded so much upon Jesus the man as upon Jesus the concept, and the resulting theology that was invented to support it. The New Testament is not the logical completion of the Old Testament. "Judeo-Christian" is a misnomer, an erroneous concept - Christians and Jews have both said so. Judaism is unrelated to any religion that claims that it is the one and only true religion and the sole ticket to heaven, and that if you don't join, you're damned. [Catholics also reportedly accept that theirs is not the only way to Heaven - if that's the case, it's certainly difficult to understand their role in the torture and killing of tens of thousands of innocents] Christianity did not begin with Jesus, but after Jesus. Jesus was an Essene Jew - the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal that the ideas he taught had been part of the Essene tradition for 200 years when Jesus was alive. [Jews today do ritual immersions in water (John the Baptist was a Jew also), and believe in the Final Redemption when the Messiah comes, with the revival of the dead.] Jesus was not an innovator. Fifty years after his crucifixion by the Romans, Paul of Tarsus <tarsus.htm> grafted on Pagan Mithraic ideas and began the Christianity we know today, which is so radically different than its mother religion, Judaism. The absolutist, Heaven or Hell Christian and Islamic world views differ sharply from Torah ("Old" Testament) religion. They read the Bible (and later writings, Koran, New Testament) and see only black and white. The original Bible religion, Judaism, understands the relationship with the Creator differently, seeing it as a contractual relationship, a dialog, or a dialectic. Jews do not believe that theirs is only way to paradise. Christianity and Islam, later interpretations of Torah, are both much more prone to laying down absolute dictums about the fate of your soul. "God, however, does not play dice." (Albert Einstein, Jewish Physicist) A literal approach to the Bible embalms it. The Bible's function (providing us with a diagnostic tool, a "litmus test" for life) is enhanced by its contradictions and ambiguities. It forces our minds to reach beyond the obvious and find new meanings and hidden teachings. The Jewish oral tradition fills in a lot of the blanks. The Zohar (Mystical Biblical commentary from Spain in the 1200's) says: "The stories in the Torah couldn't possibly be about what they seem to be about, otherwise we could write better stories!" (III 152a). Anyone who is really interested in the Bible should take the time to learn Hebrew and study it in its original language. Experience has shown this writer that it's worth the effort. All of the hair pulling over the "King James Version" or whatever other translation someone's using is really a moot point. The Burning Hell, the "Lake of Fire," the Pointy Tailed Devil, these fictions are all medieval-Christian scare tactics, and have nothing at all to do with the Judaism of Jesus. God created humans, and said "It is Good." The God of the Bible (Jesus' God) has faith in humanity, and waits for our gratitude and praise. On the other hand, the New Testament God has condemned humanity, robbed his followers of the Joy of Life, and resorted to bullying and sham to corral the faithful. The Bible is fractal- filled with thickets and labyrinths, and that is why people love it. It has as many contradictions as any other thought system; and is seen by some as a form of poetry. <sant.htm> Each of these contradictions could provide a seed for great mystical analysis. Use them as a way to raise spiritual sparks, instead of as a cudgel against other people (see Spanish Inquisition <racking.htm>). Here are a few of the contradictions:
Should we kill?
Ex. 20:13 Thou shalt not commit murder.
Ex. 32:27 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side...and slay every man his brother...companion..neighbor.(See also 1 Sam. 6:19; 15:2,3; Num. 15:36)
Ex 20:5 "...for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..." (see also Ex 34:14, Deut 4:24, Josh 24:19, and Nah 1:2)
Gal 5:19-20 "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are...jealousy..." (See also 2 Cor 12:20)
Should we tell lies?
Ex. 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness.(Prov. 12:22; Rev. 21:8)
1 Kings 22:23 The Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. (II Thess. 2:11; Josh. 2:4-6 with James 2:25)
Should we steal?
Ex. 20:15 Thou shalt not steal. (Lev. 19:13)
Ex. 3:22. And ye shall spoil the Egyptians. (Ex. 12:35-36; Luke 19:29-33)
Shall we keep the Sabbath?
Ex. 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32,36)
Is. 1:13 The new moons and the Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity. (John 5:16; Matt. 12:1-5)
Shall we make Graven images?
Ex. 20:4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven...earth...water. (Lev. 26:1)
EX. 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them.
Are we "saved" through works?
Eph. 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith...not of works. (Rom. 3:20, 28; Gal. 2:16)
James 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.(Matt. 19:16-21)
Note: This article continues but I could not post all of it. Please see the link above if you wish to read the rest.
-Tom