Christianity: A Summary

[Kenny]

I have been a student of Christian history and the Bible for over 45 years. My goal here is to offer a simple summary and historical consensus of the Christian faith. I will try to avoid denominational issues or cultural influences, and concentrate on the central elements of historical, biblical Christianity. Many of the terms will be of classical usage, and might carry ambiguity for some. I will try to clarify if there is confusion.

Christianity has been the caretaker of a worldview, concerning the nature of God, man, and the universe.
God
God is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He created all things with a word. He is everywhere, and has no constraints of time and space. He is perfect, without flaw, gender, or limitations common to the creation.

Man
Man was created as a perfect being, and enjoyed open communion with God. God created man in His image, and shares traits with the creature. Man was created as an eternal soul, that transcends his material being.

The Universe
The universe was created in purity and perfection, and will be restored to that state when the fallen era ends. The order and majesty of God is reflected in the material universe.

The Fall
Evil and discord entered the universe when an angelic being rebelled against God, and corrupted the perfection of God's creation. Death and suffering became part of the experience of all living creatures. Man joined in that rebellion, where lies, murder, and human corruption ran rampant. Both the material and spiritual realms are in discord, in this cosmos of rebellion and enmity toward God.

Redemption
God made provision for the rebellion of man. Even though man's sins and corruption were contrary to the standard and nature of God, He provided a Way of escape from the coming reckoning. He became a man, Himself, and took the penalty for all of man's sins, if they will receive it. God appeared in the person of Jesus, and revealed the nature of God. He outlined the process of redemption, for those who would accept it. It is a spiritual transaction that has been likened to rebirth, or going from darkness to light. It is a quickening of the soul, where the lost human is awakened to the perception of spiritual reality. It usually involves acknowledging God and the atonement of Jesus, repentance for past wrongs, and the reception of God's Spirit into the redeemed soul. It is a very personal transaction, and transforms the life of the recipient.

Citizenship
The redeemed souls are now God's people. They have been likened to the children of God, His beloved bride, and a home for His dwelling. They are no longer of this fallen world, even though they still live in it. Their primary loyalties are to God and His government, not to any earthly institution of man.

Deception
This world is under the influence of a great deceiver. His goal is to kill and destroy, and to bring confusion to man so he cannot understand the redemption process, and be reconciled to God.

Restoration
The evils, suffering, and deceptions of this world are temporary, and will end when Jesus returns to make all things right. The universe will change, and God's kingdom and rule will be absolute and complete. Sin, death, and evil will no longer define the cosmos, but a restoration will take place, and make all things new.

My goal here is to present a concise summary of the basic, historical Christian faith. I feel that footnotes and proof texts would detract from this goal, but i would be happy to elaborate on any point. My perspective here is one of a 20th century American, but i have tried to avoid temporal or regional biases in this summary. This is, however, my perspective of the basic consensus of Christian belief and teaching, over the last 2000 years.

There are many more nuances and expanded points of science, empiricism, miracles, eternity, destiny, and origins that can be examined in greater detail, if there is interest. But i hope this provides a basic framework for better understanding of the Christian faith.

Looks great to me!! It is the basics of Christianity

 

[leov]

Concerning the great deceiver, how do you know Christianity is not one of his lies?
After all, it is quite apparent that there is a big change of attitude between the God in the OT and the God in the NT.

I ask, because if I had been him, that is exactly what I would have done: destroy as many souls as possible by acting under false flag.

I would be a tiny bit worried if I were you.

Ciao

- viole

Christ Jesus left one commandment - the Golden Rule. So, it is not a lie. If one says being Christian , it means she/he should follow the Golden Rule.

 

[Brickjectivity]

A summary dismissal is nice, to express your indignation, but arguments, facts, and reason are better tools, if you wish to refute the OP.

Its broad, a large number of points. Which one are you most confident can be supported historically? Support that one. Show it is historically continuous.

Departed saints, and their role in living Christians, is a personal belief, and is not a theme in the earliest traditions of Christianity. My goal was a simple summary of the basics. There are many peripheral beliefs among individual Christians (and non Christians), that are not included in a basic summation like this.

You present that insistence without evidence. In proving anything about early Christianity you may well encounter evidence against some of your other points, so lets see the evidence.

Not so. The historical, biblical ideology called 'Christianity', has remained consistent and constant, throughout history. Certainly there have been departures, aberrations, and distortions of, "Christianity!", but those are not the original, as defined by the Founder.

We now know that space is curved, but we've always known that the tongue is forked. To assure me that this historical and biblical ideology is christianity you'd first have to show me historical christianity. Its one thing to believe this because of a personal revelation from God. Its completely different to show it from ancient documents.

 

[usfan]

Its broad, a large number of points. Which one are you most confident can be supported historically? Support that one. Show it is historically continuous.

I did that here:

Here are a few other 'summaries', or statements/clarifications of faith, regarding the Christian worldview.

Paul the Apostle:
1Cor15:3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance a : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, b and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
Amen.

Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen

There would be many more, but this is a few of the earliest ones..

Most of the points in the OP are established by the earliests apostles, biblical authors, creeds and apologists. They established the 'baseline' for all future definitions of Christianity.

Any dissenting views of the early xtian church, and its definition of Christianity, would need evidence to refute their simple summaries submitted over the millennia..

 

[Brickjectivity]

I hope all faiths, especially Christianity and Islam, will die a death one day and be no more.

What I hope is for is that humanity continues to struggle on but suffers less and less and fellowships more. I've met some really great people, and I hope you have, too. I've met people who were gold through and through, happy and honest, and they loved life. Now that is a terrific goal for all of humanity.

 

[shunyadragon]

This is not an appeal to anything. It is an historical analysis of 'Christianity', as an ideology. It's roots, it's Founder.

If it is not an appeal to what you believe why post it. Again it is an interpretation of what you believe . . . what you posted does not represent 'historical consensus,' but

I am not insisting that anyone 'Believe!', anything..

Never said you did, and not the point of my post.

Not sure of your criticism. Are you claiming that any of these points are NOT exemplary of historical Christianity?

Actually none are.

 

[sayak83]

I have been a student of Christian history and the Bible for over 45 years. My goal here is to offer a simple summary and historical consensus of the Christian faith. I will try to avoid denominational issues or cultural influences, and concentrate on the central elements of historical, biblical Christianity. Many of the terms will be of classical usage, and might carry ambiguity for some. I will try to clarify if there is confusion.

Christianity has been the caretaker of a worldview, concerning the nature of God, man, and the universe.
God
God is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He created all things with a word. He is everywhere, and has no constraints of time and space. He is perfect, without flaw, gender, or limitations common to the creation.

Man
Man was created as a perfect being, and enjoyed open communion with God. God created man in His image, and shares traits with the creature. Man was created as an eternal soul, that transcends his material being.

The Universe
The universe was created in purity and perfection, and will be restored to that state when the fallen era ends. The order and majesty of God is reflected in the material universe.

The Fall
Evil and discord entered the universe when an angelic being rebelled against God, and corrupted the perfection of God's creation. Death and suffering became part of the experience of all living creatures. Man joined in that rebellion, where lies, murder, and human corruption ran rampant. Both the material and spiritual realms are in discord, in this cosmos of rebellion and enmity toward God.

Redemption
God made provision for the rebellion of man. Even though man's sins and corruption were contrary to the standard and nature of God, He provided a Way of escape from the coming reckoning. He became a man, Himself, and took the penalty for all of man's sins, if they will receive it. God appeared in the person of Jesus, and revealed the nature of God. He outlined the process of redemption, for those who would accept it. It is a spiritual transaction that has been likened to rebirth, or going from darkness to light. It is a quickening of the soul, where the lost human is awakened to the perception of spiritual reality. It usually involves acknowledging God and the atonement of Jesus, repentance for past wrongs, and the reception of God's Spirit into the redeemed soul. It is a very personal transaction, and transforms the life of the recipient.

Citizenship
The redeemed souls are now God's people. They have been likened to the children of God, His beloved bride, and a home for His dwelling. They are no longer of this fallen world, even though they still live in it. Their primary loyalties are to God and His government, not to any earthly institution of man.

Deception
This world is under the influence of a great deceiver. His goal is to kill and destroy, and to bring confusion to man so he cannot understand the redemption process, and be reconciled to God.

Restoration
The evils, suffering, and deceptions of this world are temporary, and will end when Jesus returns to make all things right. The universe will change, and God's kingdom and rule will be absolute and complete. Sin, death, and evil will no longer define the cosmos, but a restoration will take place, and make all things new.

My goal here is to present a concise summary of the basic, historical Christian faith. I feel that footnotes and proof texts would detract from this goal, but i would be happy to elaborate on any point. My perspective here is one of a 20th century American, but i have tried to avoid temporal or regional biases in this summary. This is, however, my perspective of the basic consensus of Christian belief and teaching, over the last 2000 years.

There are many more nuances and expanded points of science, empiricism, miracles, eternity, destiny, and origins that can be examined in greater detail, if there is interest. But i hope this provides a basic framework for better understanding of the Christian faith.

One missed point of importance. Christian God is a Trinity

 

[usfan]

Unfortunately, before you say that, Christianity would have to be a single thing. Instead it's thousands of things.
There are problems with that claim. One is that the bible portrays a God who is many incompatible things ─ a polytheist, a being who can't find Adam and Eve in the Garden or know the number of righteous in Sodom (or care about them, until they're drawn to [his] attention), whose Bronze Age morals are appalling (invasive war, massacre, mass rape, human sacrifice, slavery, women as chattels, religious intolerance, absolute autarchy and more).

A second problem is that if you're right then everything good or bad that has ever happened and will ever happen is exactly and only as God intended before [he] made the universe. There's no moral responsibility left over for humans, and the Christian notion of the Fall goes out the window.

A third problem is that if God is genderless, why does the Tanakh (albeit only once) and the NT (all the time) and the Trinity Doctrine, and the Creed, call [him] Father?
No, man wasn't created perfect, having neither immortality nor knowledge of good and evil. No one has ever offered a coherent meaning to 'created in [his] own image'. The early part of the Tanakh is at very best ambiguous about a soul, which is an idea developed later, and in its Christian form draws heavily on Greek tradition.
The cosmology of the bible is plain ─ the earth is flat, fixed and immovable, and the heavenly bodies go round it. The sky is a solid dome that you can walk on and to which the heavenly bodies are affixed, so that if they come loose they'll fall to earth. (Details >here<.)
The Fall is essentially a Christian idea. There's no Fall in the Garden story, for instance.
This version didn't become available until the 4th century CE when the Trinity doctrine was invented. In the NT, Jesus never once claims to be God, and expressly denies that he's God on at least 17 separate occasions. Paul agrees with him.
This is the autarchy I complained of earlier, a dream of mindless obedience. It's a taste I don't share.
Always tomorrow ─ Jesus has had two thousand years to tidy up the place, but ─ nothing.
Still, I dare say none of that will worry believers.

Well, obviously people have beliefs, biases, and prejudices, either for or against, Christianity. That is not really the topic here, though 'triggering!' of some seems unavoidable.

You do not evidence your dismissals, just assert them. Are there any specifically you would like to examine in more detail? There are lots of biblical and historical precedents, for a basic summary of Christianity. Can you refute.. with facts.. that your beliefs about basic xtian orthodoxy conflicts with the creeds and statements from the earliest years of Christian history?

A specific charge, against a specific point would be better than a shotgun dismissal without evidence.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I did that here:

You showed evidence of struggle.

Most of the points in the OP are established by the earliests apostles, biblical authors, creeds and apologists. They established the 'baseline' for all future definitions of Christianity.

'Earliest' means there are gaps. How did you fill those in? Do you have a historical theory, or do you merely insist that everything happened in the manner that assures you of eternity in a lazy boy recliner or mansion? Fill in the gaps.

Any dissenting views of the early xtian church, and its definition of Christianity, would need evidence to refute their simple summaries submitted over the millennia..

By leaving evidence of their existence they show that there are dissenting views, and further that their views were not always considered dissenting. We also know as a matter of historical fact that their views were once acceptable and only became unacceptable for political reasons. Early on bishops jockeyed for position, and alliances grew up around this. There were also regional disputes. You were blissfully unaware of this?

 

[Road Warrior]

..not really. Not at all. Jesus spoke more about eternal hell than any OT prophet. The God of the bible did not change, just revealed Himself more clearly.

True, but Jesus also didn’t burn down entire cities and slay all of the men, women and children living there.

The God of the OT was a wrathful god with the blood of thousands to his name. The God of the NT was a god of peace and love.

 

[usfan]

One missed point of importance. Christian God is a Trinity

Obviously, this theme is clearly enumerated in all the early creeds, statements, and apologias. I did not emphasize it in the OP, but allusions to the Godhead are throughout.

Note the emphasized clarifications, in the early creeds..

Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

Then,
Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.

The deity of Christ was AMPLIFIED, as the heresies circulated.. Modalism, gnosticism, and many other distortions of the orthodox tenets of basic Christianity circulated until a clarifying statement was needed.

IMO, that clarification is still needed.. constantly..

 

[David T]

Nah, they are more literalist than fundamentalist. They don't even understand the watered down children's versions of the stories.

Here are a few other 'summaries', or statements/clarifications of faith, regarding the Christian worldview.

Paul the Apostle:
1Cor15:3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance a : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, b and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord,
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead;
He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.
Amen.

Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made;
of the same essence as the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
and was made human.
He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory
to judge the living and the dead.
His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life.
He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
and to life in the world to come. Amen

There would be many more, but this is a few of the earliest ones..

Nicene Creed:
(We believe, we dont believe we are agnostic) in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

Is a singular view argued in three ways and is irrelevant.

 

[shunyadragon]

In the Old Testament, Satan was in control of the earth and humans. Satan was like a CEO, of the earth. He reported to the Board of Directors, led by God. Satan was the Lord of the Earth. Like a large corporation, all the rest of the employees; humans, do not interact with the board directly, but do so via the CEO. The OT Jews worshiped God through his CEO, Satan. The New Testament is connected to Satan losing his role as CEO.

Before Jesus began his ministry, he went into the desert to meditate and fast. There he met Satan, who tempts him with various things that are important to humans, like power and wealth. Satan was in charge of these earthy things. Jesus never denies his authority, but rather Jesus politely does not make a deal with him. Had Jesus made the deal, he would have become the Messiah the Jews had envisioned; powerful, wealthy and a warrior. However, this Messiah would be subordinate to a middleman; Satan.

In Revelations, which was written, by John, decades after the death of Jesus, Satan is thrown from heaven. If Satan was thrown from heaven, decades after the crucification of Jesus, that means that Satan had to be in heaven, up through the time of Jesus. Satan, while in Heaven, had God's ear and acted in official capacity. The Book of Job, shows this rapport between Satan and God.

Once Satan was expelled from heaven, according to the chronology, Satan becomes the Devil. He is not longer acting in official capacity, for God. After his expulsion to the earth, Satan, starts to free lance, as the Devil. This change is the New Testament foundation; all things start to change. The ancient way was no longer sanctioned, and a new era begins. After Rome, the old way was gone, forever.

In the OT, since Satan was part of Heaven and he was in charge in an official way, war was considered divine and killing and dying was assumed controlled via heavenly places. The OT attitude was much different than now.They were not squeamish of war since it was of the Gods.

After Satan becomes the Devil, who is now free lancing in an unsanctioned way, things like war is no longer seen as quite the same, since it now under the Devil, and he was no longer sanctioned by God. It was like waking up one day, and the rules have all changed. However, the old habits and the super ego of ancient cultures, run deep, So it takes to time to get with the new program. We no longer see the glory or war and conquest, collectively, although the Devil can still motivate some via visions of old school; Old Testament fire and brimstone.

This symbolism had to do with a major software update in the human brain's operating system; new era; 2.0. It was a buggy version that still had some bugs due to incomplete uninstall. Along the way, to the present many critical updates were added like 2.1 and 2.2. We are nearly ready for 3.0. The Prophesies of Revelations represent a clean uninstall where only personal settings are transferred.

A rather bizzaro anti-Jewish rant, not even worthy of consideration. The 'interpretation' by @usfan is at least reasonable.

 

[usfan]

'Earliest' means there are gaps. How did you fill those in? Do you have a historical theory, or do you merely insist that everything happened in the manner that assures you of eternity in a lazy boy recliner or mansion? Fill in the gaps.

No gaps. Jesus, the apostles, the NT writers, the earliest apologists (Irenaeus, Polycarp, etc) ALL followed a lineage of eyewitnesses, defenders, and clarifyers of the basic tenets of Christianity.

This from Irenaeus..

3. The blessed apostles, then, having founded and built up the Church, committed into the hands of Linus the office of the episcopate. Of this Linus, Paul makes mention in the Epistles to Timothy. To him succeeded Anacletus; and after him, in the third place from the apostles, Clement was allotted the bishopric. This man, as he had seen the blessed apostles, and had been conversant with them, might be said to have the preaching of the apostles still echoing [in his ears], and their traditions before his eyes. Nor was he alone [in this], for there were many still remaining who had received instructions from the apostles. In the time of this Clement, no small dissension having occurred among the brethren at Corinth, the Church in Rome dispatched a most powerful letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace, renewing their faith, and declaring the tradition which it had lately received from the apostles, proclaiming the one God, omnipotent, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of man, who brought on the deluge, and called Abraham, who led the people from the land of Egypt, spoke with Moses, set forth the law, sent the prophets, and who has prepared fire for the devil and his angels. From this document, whosoever chooses to do so, may learn that He, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, was preached by the Churches, and may also understand the tradition of the Church, since this Epistle is of older date than these men who are now propagating falsehood,and who conjure into existence another god beyond the Creator and the Maker of all existing things. To this Clement there succeeded Evaristus. Alexander followed Evaristus; then, sixth from the apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telephorus, who was gloriously martyred; then Hyginus; after him, Pius; then after him, Anicetus. Soter having succeeded Anicetus, Eleutherius does now, in the twelfth place from the apostles, hold the inheritance of the episcopate. In this order, and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles, and the preaching of the truth, have come down to us. And this is most abundant proof that there is one and the same vivifying faith, which has been preserved in the Church from the apostles until now, and handed down in truth.

4. But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna, whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always taught the things which he had learned from the apostles, and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present time, a man who was of much greater weight, and a more steadfast witness of truth, than Valentinus, and Marcion, and the rest of the heretics. He it was who, coming to Rome in the time of Anicetus caused many to turn away from the aforesaid heretics to the Church of God, proclaiming that he had received this one and sole truth from the apostles that, namely, which is handed down by the Church. There are also those who heard from him that John, the disciple of the Lord, going to bathe at Ephesus...

The 'change!', and 'error!' accusations toward xtianity and the bible are false narratives, from a competing worldview.

 

[viole]

Christ Jesus left one commandment - the Golden Rule. So, it is not a lie. If one says being Christian , it means she/he should follow the Golden Rule.

That is what you think. I believe it is a lie from Satan. The God of the OT never said anything of a golden rule.

Ciao

- viole

 

[viole]

In the Old Testament, Satan was in control of the earth and humans. Satan was like a CEO, of the earth. He reported to the Board of Directors, led by God. Satan was the Lord of the Earth. Like a large corporation, all the rest of the employees; humans, do not interact with the board directly, but do so via the CEO. The OT Jews worshiped God through his CEO, Satan. The New Testament is connected to Satan losing his role as CEO.

Before Jesus began his ministry, he went into the desert to meditate and fast. There he met Satan, who tempts him with various things that are important to humans, like power and wealth. Satan was in charge of these earthy things. Jesus never denies his authority, but rather Jesus politely does not make a deal with him. Had Jesus made the deal, he would have become the Messiah the Jews had envisioned; powerful, wealthy and a warrior. However, this Messiah would be subordinate to a middleman; Satan.

In Revelations, which was written, by John, decades after the death of Jesus, Satan is thrown from heaven. If Satan was thrown from heaven, decades after the crucification of Jesus, that means that Satan had to be in heaven, up through the time of Jesus. Satan, while in Heaven, had God's ear and acted in official capacity. The Book of Job, shows this rapport between Satan and God.

Once Satan was expelled from heaven, according to the chronology, Satan becomes the Devil. He is not longer acting in official capacity, for God. After his expulsion to the earth, Satan, starts to free lance, as the Devil. This change is the New Testament foundation; all things start to change. The ancient way was no longer sanctioned, and a new era begins. After Rome, the old way was gone, forever.

In the OT, since Satan was part of Heaven and he was in charge in an official way, war was considered divine and killing and dying was assumed controlled via heavenly places. The OT attitude was much different than now.They were not squeamish of war since it was of the Gods.

After Satan becomes the Devil, who is now free lancing in an unsanctioned way, things like war is no longer seen as quite the same, since it now under the Devil, and he was no longer sanctioned by God. It was like waking up one day, and the rules have all changed. However, the old habits and the super ego of ancient cultures, run deep, So it takes to time to get with the new program. We no longer see the glory or war and conquest, collectively, although the Devil can still motivate some via visions of old school; Old Testament fire and brimstone.

This symbolism had to do with a major software update in the human brain's operating system; new era; 2.0. It was a buggy version that still had some bugs due to incomplete uninstall. Along the way, to the present many critical updates were added like 2.1 and 2.2. We are nearly ready for 3.0. The Prophesies of Revelations represent a clean uninstall where only personal settings are transferred.

This is what Satan planned. That most people believe that. He would not be a master deceiver if he did not manage something so simple, like replacing the God he is rebelling against with a meek one.

Honestly, that is brilliant, I would have done the same, in his shoes. See how many people believe the meek God today, and not the true old one: namely the one who was requiring the stoning of children, the marriage of raped girls to their rapists, etc. anymore.

Ask yourself: why is Jesus not returning? The answer is obvious. Jesus is Satan invention and he wants to win as many souls as possible, by keeping the game open.

Isn't that obvious?

Ciao

- viole

 

[Brickjectivity]

No gaps. Jesus, the apostles, the NT writers, the earliest apologists (Irenaeus, Polycarp, etc) ALL followed a lineage of eyewitnesses, defenders, and clarifyers of the basic tenets of Christianity.

This from Irenaeus..

The jockeying for power among bishops fits with this neatly. What we see in Irenaeus is evidence of this early brittleness and strife, and he is quite boastful of his lineage, disciple of Polycarp, disciple of John -- completely counter to what a disciple of Jesus should be like. He says that what he calls dissent is swiftly crushed by a single letter! Good golly what a joke. This is not evidence of a continuous anything. It just means you approve of Irenaeus quashing political opponents. What do you think of Jesus methods? He was much too permissive in the gospels and should have followed the tradition of discipleship. Then he might have had Irenaeus approval, too.

 

[usfan]

The jockeying for power among bishops fits with this neatly. What we see in Irenaeus is evidence of this early brittleness and strife, and he is quite boastful of his lineage, disciple of Polycarp, disciple of John -- completely counter to what a disciple of Jesus should be like. He says that what he calls dissent is swiftly crushed by a single letter! Good golly what a joke. This is not evidence of a continuous anything. It just means you approve of Irenaeus quashing political opponents. What do you think of Jesus methods? He was much too permissive in the gospels and should have followed the tradition of discipleship. Then he might have had Irenaeus approval, too.

Yes, you can view the early church history and apologetics through an anti-christian bias. Everyone has to do two things:
1. Their own believing.
2. Their own dying.

But the history and orthodoxy of Christianity has been preserved through MILLENNIA of lies, heresies, and distortions. You can follow the lineage of Truth and orthodoxy, or believe a prejudicial, revisionist theory.

 

[leov]

That is what you think. I believe it is a lie from Satan. The God of the OT never said anything of a golden rule.

Ciao

- viole

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice;" Hosea 6:6. It is said right here. Satan is in human mind.

 

[viole]

This was the accusation (unevidenced)

What accusation?

Even a child would see a difference between

God1) Adulterers should be stoned to death
God2) Who is without sin throw the first stone.

I think you guys are confused.

No, i am not Roman Catholic, though that is an ad hominem deflection with no bearing on the topic.

Are you just looking for outlets for your hostility toward Christianity? Or do you want to discuss the precise definition of Christianity?

Well, you posted a few definitions of Christianity which contain belief in the one and only Catholic Church. For instance the Nicene creed and the Apostle creed. Assuming you read them before posting them, of course. So, what should we think? That belief in Catholicism is not entailed by Christianity? Why did you post it then if they contain flaws in the definition? Are there other points in those creeds that might not necessarily apply to define a Christian?

And you spent 45 years studying that?

Again, you are very confused.

Ciao

- viole