If A Tomb Was Found...?

[jillian]

You know, I grew up with a lot of different versions of Christianity when I was young. Because of what each and everyone of them did was to try to tell me that the way I beleived before moving in was wrong, and I had to believe as they did (orphaned at 8 and in foster care until 16).

Because of that, I turned my back on Christianity, but I never turned my back on God. Why? There were WAAAAAYYYYY too many instances in my life where a certain piece of synchronicity showed up in my life (that's what I call coincidences), and I knew that God was watching out for me and asking me what I wanted to do.

In 1994, I started to research Eastern philosophy, which led me to Zen, which in turn led me to Taoist philosophy. From then on, I was a Taoist, because when they refer to the Tao, they're actually talking about Father (which is what I call God, because that's what Yeshua taught when he told people how to pray). From then on, I started to look for where various sects of Christianity agreed, then I would compare their truth to Tao, and was able to sort though many of the various lies or simple untruths.

A few years back, I started to look into Jewish theology, and found out that it was remarkably similar to what Lao-Tzu wrote in the Tao Te Ching.

I also watch an obscene amount of History and Science channels, because I really like learning new things. Many of the programs I watched showed how the Bible had been disturbingly re-edited by the KJV and the Niecine councils, and lots of things that should have been included weren't. Check out the original Book of Daniel sometime on a scholar site called Sacred Texts Archive.

I also continued on seeing where various faiths were similar, and I noticed an interesting thing about Yeshua and Buddha. They both taught basically the same thing.

I also looked into various faiths and checked out how they handled sin. Interestingly enough, all 3 (Judaism, Christianity and Eastern Philosophy) have a pretty similar way of handling it.

If you sin in Judaic theology, you are supposed to take an offering to the Temple, where the priests would make the sacrifice for you and then you left. Know what they did with the offerings? They used them to feed the priests.

Yeshua was a good Jewish boy, that's why He was in Jerusalem during Passover. He'd come to celebrate the holiday and make the required offerings and prayers. But......here's the trick.........He didn't come necessarily for the whole world, He came for those who were Gentiles, so that they could have the same connection with Father that He has. And, because He understood that an offering had to be made to Father, He decided to take on the job of saving everyone who WASN'T Jewish (remember, the Jews already had a special connection to Father), and offered Himself up as an offering for the rest of the world.

Incidentally, it's kinda covered the same way in Eastern philosophy. Monks go into town, sit on a mat with a bowl in front of them and people come by and give them something to eat. In their beliefs, when you give a monk some food, he then eats the food and your sins are gone, although, they do still have temples where you can go and make offerings.

It's also been said (in the Bible), that he who saves one life, saves the whole world. Now, if we could all realize what Yeshua was actually doing, we'd all end up in Heaven (which is Father's original plan).

But, since there are so many similarities in the various religions, I don't think that God wants you to worship Him in one specific way.

And.......FWIW.........religion is kinda like spiritual kindergarten. It's still up to you to make the appropriate choices and act accordingly.

And Father's rules are kinda simple, if you need a refresher, check out the 7 Noahide commandments, or the 10 Commandments. There are only a few don'ts and a couple of reminders.

What do you do if you can't do those few things? Everything else.

I've always said that religion is different languages with which people can speak to G-d. He's multi-lingual and understands all of them. What you said is also interesting because many assert that the covenant was broken by jesus and a new covenant formed. I don't see anything in Jesus' teachings that said jews should stop observing their laws.

 

[signelect]

Faith is the answer, not the bones. I don't need scientist to prove or disprove my faith. I bet that there is a book deal in there somewhere.

 

[LumpyPostage]

To be fair, texting will replace actual sentences anyway.

At least we'll save a little public money on prisons....

Where's the good-God-that-was-awful emoticon?

 

[LumpyPostage]

If you sin in Judaic theology, you are supposed to take an offering to the Temple, where the priests would make the sacrifice for you and then you left. Know what they did with the offerings? They used them to feed the priests.

That sounds much easier than the Yamim Noraim, Yom Kippur, etc.

 

[AVG-JOE]

You know... the bottom line is that none of us actually "knows".

I find that the simplest reasoning is often the closest to the truth. Truth is, ever since I read "the DaVinci Code", I've had some struggles. Not with my faith, so much... but with the message that Jesus was trying to get across.

I think that salvation is much simpler than we make it out to be. Why would an all powerful God make his word so contradictory and convoluted if he wanted that "none should Perish"? Seems to me he would make the message forthright and obvious... right?

Also.. let's take a look at the word "none". That word screws with my head on a continual basis. That implies that he doesn't want anyone.... let me repeat... ANYONE.... to perish. Not Christians...not Jews... not Muslims... not Buddhists...not Hindus... not Atheists.

So, maybe I'm wrong... maybe I'll burn in hell for my beliefs... But I think God sent Jesus down to Earth to pay for everyone's sins. That's where "works" actually does come into play.

What if.... you were born in China and were raised a Buddhist? Born in Iran and you were raised a Muslim? Born in India and were raised a Hindu? Born on some Island in the Pacific and were raised a Pagan(ist)?

Don't you think that if God... an all powerful being that can see into the heart and soul of a person... saw that you were living your life and practicing your particular brand of religion according to it's principles... would accept that person into heaven?

Yes... you can quote me scripture after scripture showing me where I am wrong. However, the one thing that a fictional book(DaVinci Code) has stirred in me is... not a question of the existence of God, or even that Jesus was his son... but all the rules and regulations of the bible.

In short... I think it's much simpler than we think, and I also think that parts of the bible are man made, rather than divinely inspired.

I mean.. heck.. just look at the past presidential term. Look at all the falsehoods and half truths that have come from both sides of our own political spectrum.... Do you really think that the Council of Nicaea was any different than politics have been throughout the ages?

Like I said.. I believe in God... I believe in Jesus. But I also know the corruption and the actions of man.

First let me say that I dig your post. From the heart is kind of rare.

You've hit the crux of the base problem with religion. If you honestly think about it, no two, let alone more, people have ever believed exactly the same things. Groups form, to be sure - but even identical twins aren't identical, eh?

Since it's impractical to actually kill everyone who doesn't share OUR faith, we have to tolerate differences. O.k. - now we need a judge.... What IS right from wrong?

Who among us is comfortable with a mere human sitting in judgment over our lives? It's tough evolving into an animal that can both see itself and feel regret.

One thing for sure... Life on earth is in-fucking-credible, no matter what the "mystery of what happens next" turns out to be and whether or not our lives here 'count' in some sort of judgement.

 

[AVG-JOE]

You know... the bottom line is that none of us actually "knows".

Actually, that's blatantly false and contrary to the whole point of the scriptures

<snip>

Thanks for volunteering to be The Judge.



Don't take this personal but... no.

 

[Avatar4321]

You know... the bottom line is that none of us actually "knows".

Actually, that's blatantly false and contrary to the whole point of the scriptures

<snip>

Thanks for volunteering to be The Judge.



Don't take this personal but... no.

Don't need to be the judge. I've read the scriptures. The whole point of the Scriptures is to lead us to Eternal Life. And the scriptures define Eternal Life as "Knowing the Father and Christ who He sent".

The proposition that no one can know is false. If you believe in the Bible, you believe in a God who reveals Himself to man and answers prayers. If no one can know than the scriptures are blatantly false because they are the record of people who know and testified of what they know.

There is a reason God says "Ask and ye shall recieve" or "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given unto you"

Anyone who says that you can't know has missed the entire point of the Gospel. That man can know for Himself and be reconciled with God.

 

[AVG-JOE]

" The opinion of the archaeological expert who knows these ossuaries best
According to The Jerusalem Post, Amos Kloner, the archeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb starting in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents, dismissed the claims: It makes a great story for a TV film, but it's impossible... There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb. They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the 1st century CE.
2. The names are common

Despite the arguments of the filmmakers that this was an unusual set of names, these names were extremely common — then and now. The name combination "Jesus son of Joseph" was so widespread that it has in fact been already discovered on other first-century ossuaries over the years. Archaeologist Kloner told the Jerusalem Post, Those were the most common names found among Jews in the first centuries BCE and CE. At least three other ossuaries have been found inscribed with the name Jesus and countless others with Joseph and Mary. There are at least two other "Jesus" characters in the New Testament alone. There are at least six distinct "Marys" in the New Testament: The mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the sister of Lazarus, the wife of Cleopas, the mother of John Mark, and a Christian in Rome. So these ossuaries could belong to any of them — or none of them. What we know for certain is that there were many first-century families with these exact same names. "

" Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun." William Dever, an expert on near eastern archaeology and anthropology, who has worked with Israeli archeologists for five decades, said specialists have known about the ossuaries for years. The fact that it's been ignored tells you something, said Dever, professor emeritus at the University of Arizona. It would be amusing if it didn't mislead so many people. "
The Truth Behind the Lost Tomb of Jesus

O.k. so we're still left with a first century tomb with a bunch of bone boxes with a VERY interesting list of names.

I can live with this being just one of those things that make you go

 

[AVG-JOE]

Actually, that's blatantly false and contrary to the whole point of the scriptures

<snip>

Thanks for volunteering to be The Judge.



Don't take this personal but... no.

Don't need to be the judge. I've read the scriptures. The whole point of the Scriptures is to lead us to Eternal Life. And the scriptures define Eternal Life as "Knowing the Father and Christ who He sent".

The proposition that no one can know is false. If you believe in the Bible, you believe in a God who reveals Himself to man and answers prayers. If no one can know than the scriptures are blatantly false because they are the record of people who know and testified of what they know.

There is a reason God says "Ask and ye shall recieve" or "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given unto you"

Anyone who says that you can't know has missed the entire point of the Gospel. That man can know for Himself and be reconciled with God.

You judge EVERYTHING based on your sacred texts! It's your litmus test for all and you use it to judge everyone you meet. We all do... assistance in the difficult task of judging and making decisions is the main attraction for religion after the whole 'after-life' thing.

 

[Sunshine]

Tom Robbins' book, Another Roadside Attraction deals with this. It is interesting how the problem is thought out and handled. I doubt anyone would do it any differently.

 

[ABikerSailor]

Just out of curiosity, WHICH sacred texts are we supposed to use?

Hindu? Judaic? Taoist? Christian?

All of 'em pretty much say the same thing.