I recently watched the director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven - highly recommended 3.5 hours of your time. It takes on several new attributes to the story arc and characters that provide a tent in a tent theme (movie in a movie) - [think holy sepulcher]. Anyway, I always grimace when I see the scene in Messina where a monk is telling the traveling passerby Crusaders, "*To kill an infidel is a blessing. It is your pathway to heaven!" -- It is good to pray, No?... I grimace because when I hear the digital christian cheerleaders or atheists and antagonists say some of the things they say - it reminds me of this scene. It makes me grimace not because I am or am not a believer but because I am an intellectual and these ideas remind me just how much we have forgotten about our very own history and trace evidence we left behind.
"But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does" -- (((James 1:25)))
Did you see what I did there? I called James a (((Jew))). Does this bother you? Does it bother you that I have no problem pointing out to you that (((Jesus))) was a (((Jew))). Does this make me (((anti-Semitic)))? God forbid you think me an anti-Semite. If so - please know, I don't care about your pansy feelings. I only care about the truth. The truth is, the Jews are God's chosen people and a lot of folks ride these coat tails - including today's practicing (((Jews))). If you have a problem with this, it is your cross to bear -- don't make it mine. Please kindly move so I may climb into this oven and shut the door behind me.
Let's Reflect: Who is really behind today's Christianity.
This question is way to deep to cover in less than 10,000 words which is the capacity of this board when it comes to posting. I know - I have tried it. I would probably get a TL;DR anyway. That said - let's try this a little different. Serious discussion here...
In your perfect world of Christian understanding, what would religion look like if
- Jesus was not crucified.
- James was not stoned to death
- Saul of Tarsus did not have a vision (St Paul, MN is definitely a NO-GO)
- The Essenes were not butchered after Rome burned Jerusalem to the ground in 70AD destroying the 2nd temple
In your view - how do you believe Christianity would have played out given this was God's plan? You answer that question and you will realize the Philistines grabbed hold of the Christian movement after the disciples all died out. What if Helena (Saint or Empress you pick) really was a pagan temple prostitute and her son Constantine was a Serbian goat herder who got lucky. What if Helena simply saw an opportunity and seized it. Son, tell the people "In this symbol - you will conquer" -- call it a vision and your army will follow you to fight the western Romans because they follow Christ and they hate those pig eaters. Then we will push your empire back to Rome, incorporate the nicean church, deputize a Vicar of Christ, tell everyone Peter elected to be crucified upside down at a pagan temple at the request of Jesus in a vision on a road out of Rome cuz Nero wanted his head because Osama Bin Laden hides in the Pentagon broom closet logic. Then build a Basilica according to the dimensions of Jupiter's temple and worship Athena in the name of the Virgin Mary that is bought and payed for by selling indulgences.
What if Helena was a very smart Hellenistic Jew living in Serbia? (far-fetched? I think not) What would a protestant reformation look like, if this had not occurred. What would a King James Bible look like if a protest bible was not required?
Do you really believe this just happened a couple hundred years ago? Have you ever wondered if Protestant heavy hitters have always known this or at least suspected it. Makes sense given what happened to the Templars
Oh, and Q sent me and she said what's up
Edits include cleaning up my language and punctuation
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[–] Ti_Time57 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Thanks here I thought oh no a big esoteric debate. LOL.