Christians believe Christ died for our sins. He took our place - dying for us so we wouldn't have to die. Through this selfless act, He showed that death isn't the end. Didn't Judas' betrayal merely act as a catalyst bringing about the inevitable? So many people bemoan what Judas did, but wasn't it necessary? Wasn't he an important part of that critical reason Christ came to Earth?
March 31st should be "Give Judas a Freakin' Break" day.
Showing posts with label Judas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judas. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
What makes up the Christian Bible?
Are we just talking about the books in today's New Testament? What about the The Book of Splendor or The Gospel of Judas? Someone wrote all that stuff down a long time ago, but someone since decided it was heretical. Why?
It seems that early Christianity was a very segmented and heterogeneous collection of interpretations of Christ's teachings - many of which didn't agree with each other. The oldest original surviving manuscripts are translated copies of texts originally written down and copied by hand over and over many years after Christ and His disciples left this planet. We're so used to the Bible as it stands today that it's easy to understand why books previously expurgated seem odd, fanciful, or even downright bizarre.
But what if the Book of Revelations was a new find? Wouldn't it seem completely odd when compared to other books of the New Testament? To me, it seems more comparable to some of the removed texts than much of the rest of what was deemed acceptable. It almost seems, dare I say, more like a gnostic tract than comparable to Matthew or Mark.
So what makes up the real Christian Bible? That's a question to which I don't have an answer, but I have lots of incomplete opinions. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
It seems that early Christianity was a very segmented and heterogeneous collection of interpretations of Christ's teachings - many of which didn't agree with each other. The oldest original surviving manuscripts are translated copies of texts originally written down and copied by hand over and over many years after Christ and His disciples left this planet. We're so used to the Bible as it stands today that it's easy to understand why books previously expurgated seem odd, fanciful, or even downright bizarre.
But what if the Book of Revelations was a new find? Wouldn't it seem completely odd when compared to other books of the New Testament? To me, it seems more comparable to some of the removed texts than much of the rest of what was deemed acceptable. It almost seems, dare I say, more like a gnostic tract than comparable to Matthew or Mark.
So what makes up the real Christian Bible? That's a question to which I don't have an answer, but I have lots of incomplete opinions. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.
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