God, Christianity, and Santa Claus ( long post)

[THUNDERCOCK]

I like to study history and different civilizations and see how we came to be where we are today. I want to share and discuss some of my thoughts pertaining to Christianity and how over time it has changed from a belief based on love and peace and become a tool of evil to control the masses. Some of this comes from the Bible, other books and websites I have read, and some of my personal thoughts.

Between 606 B.C. and 536 B.C., the people of Israel were taken to Babylon and held in captivity. During this time, the Jewish priests became infatuated with the Babylonian Mysteries and began to incorporate them into Judaism. When fully developed, this Oral Tradition "mystically re-interpreted" the Jewish Pentateuch [Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy]. However, this mystical re-interpretation was Oral Teaching, or Oral Tradition, not written.

Then, as these priests slowly began taking over the entire Jewish priesthood, they went beyond mystically re-interpreting the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures (called Old Testament by Christians) they began to issue edicts that became known as the Traditions of the Elders. Around 1300 A.D., this became codified and is now part of the Torah and Kabbalah.

During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jerusalem were the dominant sects of Judaism. The Pharisees and Sadducees who confronted Jesus were not traditional Jewish priests, but were mystic priests secretly practicing the Oral Tradition based on Babylonian Mysticism.

Jesus spoke out against the Pharisees and Sadducees, most noticeably in Matthew 23:13-33. In this passage, Jesus harshly criticized them and called them hypocrites, blind guides, Sons of hell, and serpents to be damned to hell.

Less than a week after this speech, Jesus was dead. It is said that Jesus died for our sins but I think there is a more sinister story behind the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus refused to keep the people spiritually blind and he began to give the common people the keys of understanding that the Pharisees had deliberately hidden from them. He showed people that they had a direct connection with God that did not require the intercession of a priest. This was the beginning of the original form of Christianity. This is why he had to be killed. The Pharisees and Sadducees knew that the people would listen to Jesus and after a while they would lose their power. They couldn’t let the truth come out, so they had him executed in the most public (and painful) way possible.

Fast forward about 300 years and we come to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine. The teachings of Jesus survived in the form of Christianity, but it existed as a clandestine network of believers who were persecuted. Constantine saw the potential of Christianity with its one God and growing popularity to unify the empire. In 325 A.D. he convened the Council of Nicaea which formed a uniform Christian doctrine. Pagan ideas and holidays were incorporated into Christianity to make it more appealing to the Roman people and easy for them to accept quickly without much thought. It was at this point that Christianity changed from a belief system based on truth and love to a tool used to control the masses.

Today, religion is still used to control the minds and hearts of the masses. There are bits of truth in almost every religion, but those who want to use religion for power will always try to destroy the truth. This is why we had the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the witch hunts of the middle ages. I believe that Christianity as practiced before Constantine was a peaceful and good system of beliefs. Once it became institutionalized and turned into “convert or die”, it became a tool for evil. Church was a place for those in power to collect money, consolidate their power, and indoctrinate the masses. Fear replaced love.

So how do I deal with the teachings, deceptions, and mythology of organized Christianity while still basing my faith on Jesus? I try to follow the basic teachings of Jesus and filter out the dogma and mythology of Christianity. The "filter" I use is if it's not based on love, I don't accept it. I believe there is a God, but that God is not a “Santa Claus” figure watching your every move and tallying each time you sin. God created us and he loves us. God is everywhere and in everything, including us. You don’t need to perform rituals or sacraments to be forgiven of your sins. All you need to do is repent for the wrongs you have done to other people and to love everyone. The path to salvation and everlasting life in heaven is through love.

I don't try to convert anyone to my beliefs. My beliefs may not be perfect, but neither am I. I respect the beliefs of others as long as they respect mine and as long as their beliefs are THEIR beliefs and not the ones spoon fed by the so-called "experts".

One last thought: God doesn’t care if you believe in him or not. God is not Santa Claus.

[Viraljimmy]

I'm glad you figured out god is just what you wanted him to be. Good for you.

[among_the_living]

quote:Originally posted by THUNDERCOCK:

I like to study history and different civilizations and see how we came to be where we are today. I want to share and discuss some of my thoughts pertaining to Christianity and how over time it has changed from a belief based on love and peace and become a tool of evil to control the masses. Some of this comes from the Bible, other books and websites I have read, and some of my personal thoughts.

Between 606 B.C. and 536 B.C., the people of Israel were taken to Babylon and held in captivity. During this time, the Jewish priests became infatuated with the Babylonian Mysteries and began to incorporate them into Judaism. When fully developed, this Oral Tradition "mystically re-interpreted" the Jewish Pentateuch [Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy]. However, this mystical re-interpretation was Oral Teaching, or Oral Tradition, not written.

Then, as these priests slowly began taking over the entire Jewish priesthood, they went beyond mystically re-interpreting the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures (called Old Testament by Christians) they began to issue edicts that became known as the Traditions of the Elders. Around 1300 A.D., this became codified and is now part of the Torah and Kabbalah.

During the time of Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees in Jerusalem were the dominant sects of Judaism. The Pharisees and Sadducees who confronted Jesus were not traditional Jewish priests, but were mystic priests secretly practicing the Oral Tradition based on Babylonian Mysticism.

Jesus spoke out against the Pharisees and Sadducees, most noticeably in Matthew 23:13-33. In this passage, Jesus harshly criticized them and called them hypocrites, blind guides, Sons of hell, and serpents to be damned to hell.

Less than a week after this speech, Jesus was dead. It is said that Jesus died for our sins but I think there is a more sinister story behind the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus refused to keep the people spiritually blind and he began to give the common people the keys of understanding that the Pharisees had deliberately hidden from them. He showed people that they had a direct connection with God that did not require the intercession of a priest. This was the beginning of the original form of Christianity. This is why he had to be killed. The Pharisees and Sadducees knew that the people would listen to Jesus and after a while they would lose their power. They couldn’t let the truth come out, so they had him executed in the most public (and painful) way possible.

Fast forward about 300 years and we come to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine. The teachings of Jesus survived in the form of Christianity, but it existed as a clandestine network of believers who were persecuted. Constantine saw the potential of Christianity with its one God and growing popularity to unify the empire. In 325 A.D. he convened the Council of Nicaea which formed a uniform Christian doctrine. Pagan ideas and holidays were incorporated into Christianity to make it more appealing to the Roman people and easy for them to accept quickly without much thought. It was at this point that Christianity changed from a belief system based on truth and love to a tool used to control the masses.

Today, religion is still used to control the minds and hearts of the masses. There are bits of truth in almost every religion, but those who want to use religion for power will always try to destroy the truth. This is why we had the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the witch hunts of the middle ages. I believe that Christianity as practiced before Constantine was a peaceful and good system of beliefs. Once it became institutionalized and turned into “convert or die”, it became a tool for evil. Church was a place for those in power to collect money, consolidate their power, and indoctrinate the masses. Fear replaced love.

So how do I deal with the teachings, deceptions, and mythology of organized Christianity while still basing my faith on Jesus? I try to follow the basic teachings of Jesus and filter out the dogma and mythology of Christianity. The "filter" I use is if it's not based on love, I don't accept it. I believe there is a God, but that God is not a “Santa Claus” figure watching your every move and tallying each time you sin. God created us and he loves us. God is everywhere and in everything, including us. You don’t need to perform rituals or sacraments to be forgiven of your sins. All you need to do is repent for the wrongs you have done to other people and to love everyone. The path to salvation and everlasting life in heaven is through love.

I don't try to convert anyone to my beliefs. My beliefs may not be perfect, but neither am I. I respect the beliefs of others as long as they respect mine and as long as their beliefs are THEIR beliefs and not the ones spoon fed by the so-called "experts".

One last thought: God doesn’t care if you believe in him or not. God is not Santa Claus.

So you filter out all the shit and you still believe in the leftovers? heaven, deity and such......moron.

[glutamate antagonist]

quote:Originally posted by Viraljimmy:

I'm glad you figured out god is just what you wanted him to be. Good for you.

QFT

[THUNDERCOCK]

quote:Originally posted by among_the_living:

So you filter out all the shit and you still believe in the leftovers? heaven, deity and such......moron.

I said I base my beliefs on the teachings of Jesus. They are also based on my personal experiences. My beliefs are not limited to what I typed in the original post. There is a lot more, but I was addressing Christianity specifically.

Name calling only makes you look like a fool. It really doesn't add any credibility to Atheism.

[glutamate antagonist]

quote:Originally posted by THUNDERCOCK:

It really doesn't add any credibility to Atheism.

I actually want to remove that word from the English language. People always assume that it's some sort of organisation, as if it has any sort of structure whatsoever, because it's a word.

Just replace it with "the lack of belief in a god" and it'll prevent most of these assinine arguments.



Now,

"It really doesn't add any credibility to 'the lack of belief in a god'."

, as if that's what anyone would be trying to do.

The lack of belief in something needs no credit. Or do you somehow believe it does?

[THUNDERCOCK]

quote:Originally posted by glutamate antagonist:



The lack of belief in something needs no credit. Or do you somehow believe it does?

It does when you are trying to convince me that your lack of belief is superior to my belief.

My point was that calling people names doesn't add anything to the discussion.

[---Beany---]

quote:Originally posted by THUNDERCOCK:

My point was that calling people names doesn't add anything to the discussion.

Name calling tends to turn potentially good discussions into battles of ego. It's usually when I opt out.

[Guildenstern]

Hold up. This sounds suspiciously like Jesus has infiltrated Totse. It doesn't help that he's using the username THUNDERCOCK. Oh Jesus, please ask your father why he is trying to fuck up my life.