Sannhetseeker

As I was re-reading 2 Corinthians and a favorite book of mine by Karen Armstong (The History of God) the other night something struck me. If you have been reading this blog for awhile, then you know that I am leaning toward the belief that Yeshua/Jesus’ message from his New Testament is three-fold: the kingdom of “God” is within, not “out there”; love is the key to spirituality, the key to knowing “God”; and the old way of doing things (the Old Testament) is just that old. There is a new “way”... Sign in to see full entry.

Over the past year, I have done extensive research (actually conducting extensive research again – I first began my journey more than 20 years ago and did several years worth of research then) with regard to the New Testament, with considerable interest in those books that were not included when the final tally for the NT was conducted in 325 AD. And one of the interesting things I found, and that many have left in comments in my blog about, are statements concerning different books (or people)... Sign in to see full entry.

Westwend asked a good question in a comment on yesterday's post. His question: What is loving? Is it allowing evil? I guess to answer the question, first we must define what evil is. Evil is defined in the American Heritage College Dictionary as meaning morally bad or wrong; wicked. Wickedness, in turn means unrighteous or morally wrong. The Hebrew equivalent 'evel', means unrighteous or wicked. So being evil then, anyway you look at it, is being morally bad. The question then is, if one is a... Sign in to see full entry.

I'm looking for serious input here. I've been struggling for the past several weeks with the concept of tough love, because of a situation with a loved one. Part of me says that tough love is necessary. If a person won't help themselves, you can't help them either. And they won't help themselves if they are always taken care of and bailed out of the jams they get themselves into. But isn't tough love conditional love? And isn't conditional love unacceptable? Yeshua/Jesus said to love your... Sign in to see full entry.

When looking at the books of the New Testament, a grouping of 27 books is what is found today. But this has not always been the case. Irenaeus, a highly regarded early Christian leader, had a Bible with 28 books in the New Testament. His copy included a book known as the Shepard of Hermas. The Sinaiticus, an early Greek Bible found on Mt. Sinai in 1844 at St. Catherine's Monestary, had 28 books as well, including the book of Barnabas. Another Greek Bible, known as Alexandrius, had 29 books in... Sign in to see full entry.

The Augustinian view of sin, as has been implied in previous posts, won out. Augustine based his argument on the fact that he felt that a just God would not allow infants to suffer. "If nothing deserving punishment passes from parents to infants, who could bear to see the image of God sometimes born retarded, since this afflicts the soul itself." (Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, 1988). The Julian view, based on Pelagius' view and supported by nearly all of his contemporary Christian... Sign in to see full entry.

A follower of Pelagius (as were many revered early Christian leaders of the Church, including Justin, Clement, Irenaeus and Tertullian), Julian of Eclanum, himself a bishop, continued on with Pelagius' fight against Augustine, though he greatly admired him. Julian however, felt that when it comes to nature, Augustine was completely wrong (Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, 1988). Julian believed (like many other Christian leaders) that natural sin did not exist and that there was no... Sign in to see full entry.

It is interesting to note that prior to Augustine (an early Church leader born around 354), Church doctrine stated that death was a natural part of the human experience, not a result of the sins of Adam and Eve (Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve and the Serpent, 1988). Most Christians, even if they did except the concept of original sin, felt that it was washed away upon baptism - all baptized people were sinless. The idea that there was no sin to speak of fell in line with what St. John wrote: Whosoever... Sign in to see full entry.

In earlier posts, I have discussed the nondualistic side of spirituality. Most Christian, Kabbalahists, and Muslim mystics talk extensively of this nondualistic aspect. As a matter of fact, the nondual level is the highest level of spirituality one can reach. Just what does the nondualistic side of spirituality mean? While I am no expert, I think I can offer a bit in the way of understanding. It is generally excepted that we live in a dualistic universe. There is matter and antimatter. There is... Sign in to see full entry.

As most of you wrote in your comments to my last post, Luke 12:49-53 at one level is about the price of being Christian. And I agree this is definitely part of it. Yeshua/Jesus understands that his ideas and beliefs will create turmoil and he is taking responsibility for it. And he is telling those who follow him, that turmoil will be a constant companion. But I wonder if it might go deeper than that. If one looks at the social structure during his time, one will find that family is what bonds... Sign in to see full entry.