An important missive examines some of the many social constructs we accept on faith. Read more:
How religious assumptions can mislead us: 4-27/28-19
Earlier this week, here on the blog, I wrote about how important it is to know something of the cultural contexts in which the Bible was written if we are to have any hope of understanding with much clarity what...
Most of what Billy implies here is correct, but insufficiently presented imo.
ReplyDeleteThe most important aspect of the founding of Christianity, resides in the person of Constantine The Great.
The Council of Nicea, is described by Wikipedia as a convention made up of "Christian" Bishops. A fuckin lie. They were ALL Jews and had been summoned a couple of years early (On pain of fuckin death) to show up and VOTE on the issue of weather Jesus was a GOD.
Constantine was a genius administrator and he wanted to consolidate the many, diverse and troublesome religions, with their many gods and rules regulations etc. into a more controllable, manageable fit, into the vision he had for Pax Romana. The Jewish Bishops (The writings still exist) were uncomfortable with this "Vote" but were intimidated (Rightly so) and all voted that indeed, Jesus Christ, was GOD.
Included in this vote, was the decision to anoint the 4 Gospels of Matthew - Mark - Luke and John as the ONLY words and history of God.
In 1945, the Nag Hammadi Scrolls were discovered and they are the most salient example of the many "Gospels" (Recordings of the times of Jesus) that existed in 325, that were cast aside, by a hard working bureaucrat with unlimited power to change history.
This doesn't mean Jesus was, or, was not, what every you want to believe, it just is, what it is.
There are many interesting studies on the Apocrypha - absolutely fascinating studies that provide a window into a time gone by that - with the help, (perhaps-ordained by GOD) changed history.
The Gospel of Judas, Mary (Jesus' wife?) the whole thing is mesmerizing to me. Infinitely interesting.
If you want to fall off or your own horse, outside the metaphorical walls of Damascus, then look into the many tomes available now, on this subject.
St. Paul was ca. 120 AD. The FIRST Gospel was written some 30 years AFTER Jesus' death.
Jesus was a real paradox, an Essene (A Mystic, kind of like a Buddhist), that lived very close to the Nag Hammadi find, he was also a Zealot in the tradition of the Maccabees who was a very violent man.
The era is complicated, not just by the usual warp and weft of any age from antiquity and our perceptions which by way of time and space are oversimplified, it is a bouillabaisse of conflicting, passionate beliefs, in combination with a larger percentage of what we would today, call "believers" who - were certain that THEIR god could kick YOUR God's ass.
And the Fairy-tale goes on, and on, and on, and on,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
ReplyDeleteNext: Learned discourse about Santa and the Easter Bunny.
Helen was the true believer. She is the one who decided which hill was Mount Sinai (probably incorrectly.) There are two towns called Bethlehem, one near Jerusalem & one near the Sea of Galilee. The one near Jerusalem was chosen so they could claim that Jesus was born into the House of David (which doesn't make any sense if Joseph isn't really Jesus' father) when the one near the Sea of Galilee makes more sense (He's sometimes referred to as a Galilean.) There is archeological evidence that suggests that Helen (perhaps correctly) believed that the one near the Sea of Galilee was the correct one. This would explain why his arrival in Jerusalem (in the fall of the year 3 BCE) was a big deal.
ReplyDeleteSo, believe that the King James version of The Bible is the inerrant Word of God if you like, but don't expect me to believe it, too.
Sorry, I got the year wrong.
ReplyDeleteHey, just for grins, tell us if you've read the KJV? It is available in Braille. Via Amazon, even.
DeleteChuck can't get his history right any better than the lying tammeus
ReplyDeleteByron the great atheist chiming in on religion. For someone who hates something calling it fake and all so much he sure wastes a lot of time looking up stuff just so he can copy and paste another of his stupid comments.
ReplyDeleteBy the way Byron you dipshit petersucker, it's Helena not Helen.