The problem for me with the moral code rationale behind the advent of Jesus and the Bible is that these fundamentals existed prior to Jesus. We had numerous cultures over the span of 6,000 more recorded years prior to Jesus with the same religious mechanisms to boundaries of life. We then see examples going back at least another 7,000 years of cultural spiritual guidance to living well and with nature. In those 14,000 years, what has also been consistent is how those religions were used to weaponize the peasant and to enslave the peasant to standards defined by "earthly deities". Babylonians had spiritual leaders who became kings and enslaved peasants and waged war. Pharaohs and emperors and etc.
Where then does one make claim that there is a divergence between religion and exploitation when it is symbiotic for millennias? Christianity is just the latest greatest version of consume next religion. When then we can see how many denominations span from Christianity.. shd be warning to there is not true fundamentalisms in these faiths -- only adaptations to appease supply and demand.
I’ll be honest man, the phrasing of your post is difficult for me to respond to and a bit out of my intellectual field. I’ll respond to what I can, which is the subject of denominations springing from Christianity as an issue- it is.
Christianity, at least as we see it today, is not the original intention of either God or Jesus Christ. There’s nowhere in his teachings that he says “we’re going to start a new religion, everyone!”. All the denominations stem from a disagreement on either some guys writings about the Bible or church, or some argument over the interpretation/application of a handful of verses. Few people along the way stopped to think if the whole thing was out of sorts and we’re playing dominos when we should have been playing jacks, so to speak.
The major separation from “truth of purpose to corruption of purpose” was during the major persecution of the early believers and the following councils that placated to pagan practices with a newly established Christian flavour. I’d point back to early councils eradicating the commandments of God as a starting point, the Catholic Church upholding the abolition of Gods Sabbath (as an example) in favour for something they call the Lords day, and an influx of false teachings that made it so that, even today, most Christian’s read the Bible through a faulty lens that creates a misunderstanding.
Just as an example, most people say something like “when God led the Jews out of Egypt…” in reference to the Exodus story, when in truth there were no specific people group called “Jews” or “Jewish” until the Babylonian exile when the House of Judah/Jew-dah was exiled from Israel. It’s a minor deviation, but it establishes the groundwork for misconception that snowballs into what we have today. Take that concept, multiple it by 1000 and make EVERY Christian university teach that, or a slightly altered version of it. What we end up with is 30,000 different denominations arguing over ideas like transubstantiation, methods of church liturgy, baptism, or other more spiritual ideas all the while they have barely grasped the essential foundations of the faith.
I don’t disagree that religious leaders have exploited and manipulated their followers, even in Christianity. I agree whole heartedly that the manipulation of any person on the grounds of religion, my own or someone else’s, is a gross injustice. I cast blame on those who used Christianity for gain, and those who manipulated the true teachings of Christ for the establishment of religion and government. To take it further, I’m insulted by the modern Republicans and Democrats who both twist the Bible to advance their political agendas, and I’m equally insulted by the churches that use smoke and lights and elaborate performances to evoke emotional responses in church goes in the name of worship services.
But I don’t believe the answer is to throw out the baby with the bath water. I think we can see past everywhere that man had his hands and twisted the religion for his gain and boil it down to the basic elements of the faith, the teachings of the Bible, that in their proper context most Christian’s today would actually reject.
Just to reiterate and summarize my point: the false image and teachings of Jesus represented by the church, distorted through man made traditions, gross human moral failings, denominational preferences, pagan and satanic rituals/holidays and influence as well as political usurpations are just that- false images. They are not the true faith taught by the Bible or by Christ and they are just as dangerous as they are misleading.
All that being said, as a thought experiment:
if I’m right and the false brand of Christianity that we’ve been sold is a
Psy-op, we should wonder why work that hard to deface the truth and to what end have the perpetrators been working towards. Those are the areas of study I’ve been devoting myself to lately anyways.
The problem for me with the moral code rationale behind the advent of Jesus and the Bible is that these fundamentals existed prior to Jesus. We had numerous cultures over the span of 6,000 more recorded years prior to Jesus with the same religious mechanisms to boundaries of life. We then see examples going back at least another 7,000 years of cultural spiritual guidance to living well and with nature. In those 14,000 years, what has also been consistent is how those religions were used to weaponize the peasant and to enslave the peasant to standards defined by "earthly deities". Babylonians had spiritual leaders who became kings and enslaved peasants and waged war. Pharaohs and emperors and etc.
Where then does one make claim that there is a divergence between religion and exploitation when it is symbiotic for millennias? Christianity is just the latest greatest version of consume next religion. When then we can see how many denominations span from Christianity.. shd be warning to there is not true fundamentalisms in these faiths -- only adaptations to appease supply and demand.
I’ll be honest man, the phrasing of your post is difficult for me to respond to and a bit out of my intellectual field. I’ll respond to what I can, which is the subject of denominations springing from Christianity as an issue- it is.
Christianity, at least as we see it today, is not the original intention of either God or Jesus Christ. There’s nowhere in his teachings that he says “we’re going to start a new religion, everyone!”. All the denominations stem from a disagreement on either some guys writings about the Bible or church, or some argument over the interpretation/application of a handful of verses. Few people along the way stopped to think if the whole thing was out of sorts and we’re playing dominos when we should have been playing jacks, so to speak.
The major separation from “truth of purpose to corruption of purpose” was during the major persecution of the early believers and the following councils that placated to pagan practices with a newly established Christian flavour. I’d point back to early councils eradicating the commandments of God as a starting point, the Catholic Church upholding the abolition of Gods Sabbath (as an example) in favour for something they call the Lords day, and an influx of false teachings that made it so that, even today, most Christian’s read the Bible through a faulty lens that creates a misunderstanding.
Just as an example, most people say something like “when God led the Jews out of Egypt…” in reference to the Exodus story, when in truth there were no specific people group called “Jews” or “Jewish” until the Babylonian exile when the House of Judah/Jew-dah was exiled from Israel. It’s a minor deviation, but it establishes the groundwork for misconception that snowballs into what we have today. Take that concept, multiple it by 1000 and make EVERY Christian university teach that, or a slightly altered version of it. What we end up with is 30,000 different denominations arguing over ideas like transubstantiation, methods of church liturgy, baptism, or other more spiritual ideas all the while they have barely grasped the essential foundations of the faith.
I don’t disagree that religious leaders have exploited and manipulated their followers, even in Christianity. I agree whole heartedly that the manipulation of any person on the grounds of religion, my own or someone else’s, is a gross injustice. I cast blame on those who used Christianity for gain, and those who manipulated the true teachings of Christ for the establishment of religion and government. To take it further, I’m insulted by the modern Republicans and Democrats who both twist the Bible to advance their political agendas, and I’m equally insulted by the churches that use smoke and lights and elaborate performances to evoke emotional responses in church goes in the name of worship services.
But I don’t believe the answer is to throw out the baby with the bath water. I think we can see past everywhere that man had his hands and twisted the religion for his gain and boil it down to the basic elements of the faith, the teachings of the Bible, that in their proper context most Christian’s today would actually reject.
Just to reiterate and summarize my point: the false image and teachings of Jesus represented by the church, distorted through man made traditions, gross human moral failings, denominational preferences, pagan and satanic rituals/holidays and influence as well as political usurpations are just that- false images. They are not the true faith taught by the Bible or by Christ and they are just as dangerous as they are misleading.
All that being said, as a thought experiment:
if I’m right and the false brand of Christianity that we’ve been sold is a Psy-op, we should wonder why work that hard to deface the truth and to what end have the perpetrators been working towards. Those are the areas of study I’ve been devoting myself to lately anyways.