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Originally posted by adjensen
In one of his letters, Paul notes the trouble with the Jewish Law that Christ came to fulfill -- it told us how to act, but it didn't empower us to do so.
Originally posted by adjensen
We lack the will to overcome that ingrained human nature. Christians, or anyone who wishes to follow Christ's teachings faces a similar problem, hence Christ's two commandments, "Love God, love your neighbour as yourself." It is only through the first that we are able to perform the last.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Originally posted by adjensen
In one of his letters, Paul notes the trouble with the Jewish Law that Christ came to fulfill -- it told us how to act, but it didn't empower us to do so.
Which is one of the reasons I do not accept Paul as legitimate. He undermines the teachings of Jesus. And he has led millions off the narrow path onto the broad one.
Originally posted by adjensen
But I do tend to favour Paul, because his argument is not easily dismissed when analyzed logically.
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 5:21
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Originally posted by adjensen
But I do tend to favour Paul, because his argument is not easily dismissed when analyzed logically.
.. snip ..
The reason people like Pauls message is because Paul is a salesman, and a con. He made Christianity a much better deal. You got more reward, for less effort, and Jesus did it all for you.
But Jesus himself never, ever claimed that. He is the way, because you were to follow him, be like him. When he said "believeth in me" he did not mean believe I exist, or believe I am the son of God, but more, he meant believe me, trust me, have faith in me.
Those who follow Paul are not having faith in Jesus. They are having faith in Paul.
Paul was a bad tree. There is no way he could have borne good fruit.
Paul says:
Rom.10
[4] For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.
Jesus says:
Matt.5
[17] Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.
[18] For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
Paul says:
1Cor.12
[28] And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third, teachers,
Eph.4
[11] And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
1Tim.2
[7] For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
2Tim.1
[11] For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher,
Jesus says:
Matt.23
[8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
Paul says:
Rom.3
[9] What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin,
[10] as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
[22] For there is no distinction;
[23] since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . ..
Jesus says:
Matt.12
[35] The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
Luke.6
[45] The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Matt.23
[35] that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah the son of Barachi'ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.
originally posted by adjensen
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Your phrasing already indicates that you choose to overlook specific instances where Paul is in direct and fundamental contradiction to Jesus and rather focus on his "overarching" use of the message of Jesus.
People only hear what they want to believe, and what Paul offers is attractive, because it promises easy access to heaven, while what Jesus asks of us is very hard, and requires great sacrifice.
And what was the purpose of his life and teaching to turn your argument around?
You make the moment of his death, his sacrifice carry more weight than what HE said was important, his example, his words, his message.
And to answer your question, "what use his death?" It was again, his example. If he could be willing to die for the message, how could we refuse to make the lesser sacrifices involved in living for it. And yet we do.
Paul says:
Rom.10
[4] For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.
Jesus says:
Matt.5
[17] Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.
[18] For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.
Paul says:
1Cor.12
[28] And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third, teachers,
.. snip ..
Jesus says:
Matt.23
[8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren.
they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
originally posted by adjensen
If you want to believe that Christ was anything other than a Rabbi wandering through Judea, proclaiming a message of "why can't we just get along" that one can find in plenty of other places, then you need to consider Paul and his message, because without him, Christianity would almost certainly have never become anything but a minor Jewish sect that died out in the 1st or 2nd Century.
But this brings us back to the other problem with the prophecies. They are so generalized to the experience of mankind, that they have been seen as being fulfilled RIGHT NOW, from the time of Jesus. Humans have always been at war, or rumbling towards war, somewhere in the world. Pestilence, famine, earth quakes, all of these things have been going on for as long as we have records. I dont see any "signs" mentioned that could ONLY be interpreted as happening now. No mention of anything that could only be technology from the 21st century. In fact that is the appeal. The signs are vague enough that they could be happening anytime, anywhere on Earth. Heck the list of signs in the post below yours that is purportedly from Islam is more convincing as an argument for a modern "end times" as are the Hopi end of the world prophecies.
This is not true. I dont care if make pretend Christians judge me, but not because of my innocence. Im not perfect. I dont care because they are not my judge. I could be guilty as all hell of something and I still would not care about the judgment of any of you. You arent the ones I have to worry about answering to, and, quite frankly, if you are judging me, you certainly arent representing God in any way superior to mine. We get right to the "beam in your own eye" issue. I only answer to God. The main difference is I am not distorting the teachings of Jesus to suit myself, and pretending MY judgment of others is ok. I know it isnt. And despite my continued failure to cease in all judgment of others, I am making progress and I do work on it every single day. I dont just throw up may hands "oh well, thank goodness Jesus died for me and I dont have to try." I know that is not true. The death of Jesus did not free you from the necessity to follow his word just because someone came along later and said so.
It may not be surprising, but it sure isnt Christian. That venom is his or hers entirely to own. None of the responsibility for it lies at my feet. We are each responsible for our own actions. I suggest you read the Sermon on the Mount for clarification. Jesus did not say " do not insult other peoples beliefs" in fact Jesus seemed quite out spoken on his stand on people twisting beliefs to suit themselves. And Jesus did not say, "if someone insults your ridiculous interpretation of my teachings you have the right to act like a savage animal and hate and spew bile." I read it many times, and I am quite certain he did not say that.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
Originally posted by Lionhearte
The only kind of judgment I ever use, is used out of love, at least I try to.
Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander
Which is one of the reasons I do not accept Paul as legitimate. He undermines the teachings of Jesus. And he has led millions off the narrow path onto the broad one.
He did not leave us without hope, but he acknowledged it was not easy. And Paul went the wrong way with "fulfilled." Jesus did not "fulfill" the law, meaning we did not have to act as he instructed us to act, he "filled the law out fully" just like he says in the sermon on the mount,
Matthew 5:21
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
He didnt "fulfill" the law by making it easier for you with his death, he "fulfilled" the law by elaborating it more fully for you.
And I know, I know, I will catch hell from the Paul lovers. But you dont have to believe me. All you have to do is put your absolute faith in Jesus' word over mine or anyones. Including Pauls.
Im not sure entirely how you mean "judging with love" but I might agree with that. I think judging with a neutral mindset, "this is this, this is that" is fine. I think condemning, or damning, or setting up moral "betters or worses" is a violation of the teachings of Jesus.
Mat 24:6 "You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
24:7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
24:8 "But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs."
"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),