The first successor to Peter was Clement. Clement states that Peter actually was only the Bishop of Rome and that Peter in fact reported to the "Bishop of all Bishops" who was Jesus' brother James. James was the leader over the Jerusalem Assembly, which was the seat and headquarters of the early...
Not of we remember to capitalize on Russia's inability to learn from Afghanistan. If we get involved, then yes, we could be headed toward a real problem. I think we should let the Russians get all involved in that region. There is no margin in it. Lack of action on our part may be seen as...
Well, according to Guruji Sri Hanuman Das Gunda Paramahansa (a character I just made up), I think Ramana Maharishi was perhaps offering way in which to cultivate love and adoration. Once you learn how to love one thing, you are in a more auspicious position to move on and learn to love other...
When you worship something you are setting it apart from yourself and setting yourself apart from it. I take it from your tag that you are a Christian, so let's take the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth for instance. Whether or not he was the Messiah or whatever anyone wants to think he was...
Well, you could always appeal to the multiverse theory. There was a universe where the Holy family fled to Egypt, and another where they didn't and another where Judas died one way, and another where Judas dies another, and another where the Sanhedrin met at night and at Passover, and the one...
Let me pose the question differently. What would it take to convince you that anything whatsoever in the bible is inaccurate or false? What would you consider proof that it is inaccurate or false? I think we both know the answer.
All the best,
Gary
So , if I am correct, it is not a matter of who wrote the gospels and whether or not they are accurate or true accounts, but more a matter of how you speculate on verses. You go on to say that because the texts are not presented as fiction that it is incumbent on anyone who refutes their...
You said I was appealing to authority and now you say it's not about authority. It's somewhat difficult to follow your line of thinking.
All the best,
Gary
Again, and as I stated in my last reply, I think you may want to step back and reassess who is and who is not appealing to authority. If you are operating from fact, then you should be able to tell me where the copies of the gospels that you posit were penned by the apostles are. Where are they...
Because the Romans kept tight records of everything they did, and there was no census. Also because we know the Romans did censuses in order to obtain wealth and inviting the hundred or so dirt poor families from Nazareth to a census would have been a waste of time. Nazareth wasn't even on the...
Good Evening Q Konn: Actually, I think you're getting your terminology mixed up. I am not speculating, I am deducing. Much in the same way that if I stick a 5 foot pole into the water until it reaches the bottom and two feet remain above water, I would be deducing that the water is 3 fee deep...
Because the Romans kept a record of every census and there was no census at the time. Secondly, the manner in which censuses were conducted was well documented by the Romans as well. They didn't call you out of town so you could go to them and lie about what you had. They came to your house to...
Good Morning Q Konn: I don't think we're talking about speculation. We are trying to rectify gospel accounts with known history and common knowledge about the culture in which Jesus lived. The account of a 1st century Jewish man taking his pregnant wife who is about to deliver on the roads for a...
You're right - the Romans didn't trust people to come to far away places to take their word for what they had. They came to you and checked out what you had for themselves.
All the best,
Gary