Dear Christians. (A letter to them).
Offline Dear Christians.
I'm getting a bit bored of this whole thing. I've been expecting a little more out of you guys, however, you've all come up short. Very short. Gay Coleman short. When a discussion of science comes up, you often refer to the Bible and quote vague scripture to support your claim. So, why don't we take some very unvague pieces and apply it to yourself, especially since you openly say that the word of Jesus is correct.
Matthew 6:5-8
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Don't pray in public. Very simple. Don't pray in public. Not at church, which you aren't even supposed to go to, not at events, not at anything besides in private. Here's a small list of places you should not pray.
Church
Work
School
Events
Further, Jesus tells you EXACTLY how you will pray in the next few passages. Word for word.
Now, where is the Kingdom of God? He answers us in Luke 17:21
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Alternative translations of this passage are:
"The kingdom of God is among you"
However, it still has the same meaning. In other words, all this work you are doing to get into heaven is nigh, as the Kingdom of God is within/around us. In a very literal sense, it's everything. Sounds pretty Pagan to me.
So let's continue on about the soul. The supposed never-ending entity that continues even after we die. Firstly, to understand the whole thing, you must realize that the word Nephesh, in Hebrew, is soul. It is also:
Life
Creature
Thrist
Hunger
Throat
Being
Etc.
Pretty much anything and everything that deals with life.
Genesis 2:7
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
We can easily gather, from this, that a person is a living soul. So, what does this even mean? Very simply, according to your book, that a person IS a living soul. That is to say, once a person dies, the soul dies. There is no inbetween in regards to life and death, it is a black and white issue and, as such, your entire basis of the soul relies entirely on life. There is no eternal soul, there is no life after death and your bible clearly states this in the begining.
The entire Bible is Buddhism with a different leader. Since you take this stuff so literally, why don't you examine what it actually says? It's not very hard to walk through the bible in it's initial languages instead of the horribly error filled translations of the KJV.
So, next time I hear any of you praying in public, going to church, or claiming that my soul will burn in hell, I'll simply repeat the scriptures you hold so dear and go on my way.
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There is an amusing typographical error in the first paragraph, and you used the word "nigh" when I think you meant another word.
Nigh means near.
It's an ancient English word, a relic from the days when the King James Bible was written.
I interpret that passage from Matthew as saying, "don't play the holy man just to get props from people around you". Numerous other verses in the Bible encourage people to gather and praise God / worship together. Christ himself attended the synagouge, in the context of being a believer, your 1st point is wholly refuted.
Your 2nd point is equally full of holes when looked at from the perspective of a Christian. In the Christian tradition, the New Testament that is, makes many a reference to the eternal soul and heaven, an afterlife, eternal damnation etc. Perhaps an Orthodox Jew would be more shaken by this amazing revelation you have discovered.
It was a good effort on your part to try to use a Christians own canon against them, I can understand why you would interpret the above verses as such, but they are taken out of context from the new testament and those all important "words in red".
All in all a good topic though, clearly outlined points to argue, a concise argument, etc. kudos on the good post dude.
neah / nigh / near
The End Is Nigh
The word nigh has a positive Imminent meaning to it in this context
As in "Well nigh" "Nigh-on" nearly almost
"All this work you are doing to get into heaven is nigh"
In this context the word takes the negative meaning, / almost / not complete / not quite accomplished / Short of the Mark
And it is used correctly
And, as such, you failed to see the point. Jesus said to not pray in public and then instructs people on how to pray. Exactly how to pray. Word for word.
This was for the Christian who says they take the bible word for word yet completely neglect what it actually says. There are no holes, only arguements from one who does not know what is said. It clearly states that you should not pray in public. Very. Simple.
Perhaps you are suggesting that the Jesus character was a hypocrite as he went to synagogues to pray however condems such actions. If so, why trust a hypocrite?
If my arguements are filled with holes, then so is the Bible as I've taken this from there. Not from some vague passages either, especially in regards with what Jesus said about prayer.
My other arguement is a translation one. The word nephesh was turned into soul which, in turn, the soul=life. Without life there would be no soul. If life ends, so does the soul. Very simple. Nephesh also means a plethora of other things as well. Throat=soul would work as well as without a throat there would be no soul.
If you see these arguements as having holes then you see the bible as having holes.
That's a very nice job of "cherry picking" you've done here. Now, sit down and read the whole book and stop verse slinging.
Jesus was a fastidiously observant Jew. This is made clear from the very beginnings of the Gospels. As such, he attended Jewish rites regularly. The Gospels record several instances of Jesus attendance at synagogue or in the Temple. The purpose of his attendance was to particiapte in public rite or prayer.
Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his mission: before his Father's witness to him during hid baptism and Transfiguration, and before his Passion (Lk 3:21, 9:28, 22:41-44).
And the whole prayer he goes on to teach, the Lord's Prayer or Our Father is in the plural. That kinda indicates to me that it's primarily a group prayer to be prayed in community, like mebbe at a church or something.
Another prayer uttered by Jesus in public (Matt 11:25-26): "At that time, Jesus declared, 'I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them unto babes.'"
And another example at the rising of Lazarus recorded in John 11:41-42: "So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, 'Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. I knew that thou hearerst me always, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that thous didst send me.'"
Jesus uses teachings showing men praying in the temple (Lk 18:91-14), another pretty public place.
The whole of John 17 is a prayer by Jesus in the presence of the Apostles (ie, in public).
The Book of Acts has several examples of the Apostles (the dudes who tagged along with Jesus, and were the recipients of his most intimate teachings) participating in community prayer. I'll cite just one from Acts 3:1: "Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour."
Jesus admonition in Matt 6 is against prayer for the sake of self aggrandizement, and is designed to show folks the value of humble prayer.
Negative. Jesus Christ is the King. The Kingdom is where the King is. We are all members of that Kingdom. Jesus makes that clear in Matt 25: 40: "And the King answered them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me.'" And Matt 25:45: "Then he will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of my brethren, you did it not to me.'" That simple.
Yes, let's talk about the soul.
God speaks all of creation into existence with his Word with one exception, man. He forms man from the "dust of the earth". The whole universe he lets determine its own course, but man...man he forms with his own hands, he carefully guides the process of creation, because man is precious to him. Then, he takes one more step when the process is done, he breathes into man the "nefesh", the divine breath of life. It is God's own breath, his own life, not given by him to any other of the creatures he's made. Not dogs, nor cats, nor wallabys. Not Cromagnon man, nor the Neanderthal. Only man. That brreath is the Spirit of God, a share of his life. That's a soul, part of God, holy and immortal and divine, like its source.
"With its enduring appeal to the search for truth, philosophy has the great responsibility of forming thought and culture; and now it must strive resolutely to recover its original vocation." Pope John Paul II
That's not what the verse says. Further: Prove it.
That's not what the bible says. Further: Prove it.