Jesus is Coming Soon!
Long before there was a Bart Ehrman to point out the obvious, I could tell which of the "epistles" in the New Testament were Paul's and which were later forgeries. In the "authentic" Pauline letters, the end of the age was imminent and they were living in the last days of the last generation and time was short. In the forgeries, that part doesn't matter anymore, what matters is the traditions of the church and defending the faith and hanging onto what was left.
When Jesus said, according to the unknown gospel writers, that "this generation" would not pass away before all was fulfilled, he meant "this generation" that he was living in and no other. However, he was wrong and excuses have been made for it ever since. His apocalyptic prophecy of the soon coming restoration of the kingdom to Israel, called the kingdom of God, didn't happen. What to do, what to do? Spiritualize it away, that's what. Make the kingdom be "within" you and go to heaven when you die etc. Cults, like the Christadelphians, have the end time in every generation that rolls around - always just a few years from now, just out of reach but you can almost see it from here...all you have to do is just hang in there just a little while longer.
It's that obvious imminent return of Jesus to reign in Jerusalem that didn't happen that, to me, proves the whole Xian religion is based on a false prophecy by a first century Jewish apocalyptic preacher and merely propped up by apologetic lies and pretentious babblers and the naive beliefs of otherwise good people.
Now, I've never read any of Bart Ehrman's books but I can tell by what other people have written about him that he has figured this out and people hate him for it.
6 comments:
What? You have never read any of Bart Ehrman's books? You really should. Like many before him his devotion to xianity led him to dedicate himself to bible study and the more he studied the more he realised that what the churches do is to hide the real truth from the ordinary xian in the pew. Lots of church men have seen this, but they have a vested interest to maintain the deception. Erhman has written some easily readable (if somewhat repetitive) books for the general reader to explain what scholars have known for years - that the bible is a mish-mash of copies of copies of copies of ancient works, written many years after the "events" that they supposedly recount, full of contradictions, forgeries, mistakes and pre-scientific crazy ideas. Yes - it's obvious if you actually take the trouble to read it - but so many xians have an uncritical acceptance that the bible is sacred and not to be questioned, and they are very very good at imaginative explanations of why the bible is saying something different to a plain reading of the text. That's what 2000 years of practice does for you!
But please - read Ehrman. He's thorough, honest and convincing. And he is still employed as a distinguished professor of religious studies!
You just put your finger on the reason that I have never read any of Bart Ehrman's books - I already know all that stuff that you just pointed out, have known it for years - way before I ever even heard of Bart Erhman.
I do plan on reading his newest book due out in November - even got a Kindle app on my PC in anticipation that Bart can prove that Jesus actually existed. I don't believe he can - but we'll see.
uhm, i didn't read the whole article yet, but i found what i did see to be off base. it's somewhat clear that there is a terrosist writting this article, and/or let me put it this way..you're certainly entitles to your opiion and estimation of facts. but i shall read further and maybe give some points here on what i've read in your blog here..
point one: when you are reffering to the "this generation" point, it is given in the context of referring to a phrofetic and future time and people. but maybe i shall re read it to further confirm that. it is possible that jesus was reffering to us all..but it does seem rather specific though in further thought. in another though, maybe jesus was referring to what happen on the cross and all the things that would transpire in the future was on account of what transpired there in his time?..have you thought of that one? lol.
i'll tell you anotehr miystery that may be possible is that long agos people wrote these things in teh bible through beginnings of the books and through the trials of their translations, etc. it has been said that many peoples had come along and added things or taken things away from the new testiments. in thinking lately i'm not sure the whole book of revalations wasn't added by some people of anotehr thought and religion, becasue of the way it reads and of the way that it fits in and also clashes with otehr things in teh old and new testiments, etc.. people are evil, and people will do things that are not honest for their reasons, whatever they may be. but finding the truths there among the stories can be interesting as well as useful maybe. i think most people know what truth is and i think most people really know where the truths in life are. and that is something which is written about in one of the books of the new testiment, where is sais that all of god's creation has the evidence of his existance in them. i think that's true. if people cold just be seniable and logical in and of whatever religion of philosphoical beliefs they have. that would help us all out. keep your self in check, i know i do.
you are invited to follow my blog
Valuable information and excellent design you got here! I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts and time into the stuff you post!! Thumbs up
Post a Comment