Readers’ Responses to Our Question (328)

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All possible kind of questions asked by non Muslims about Islam answered on below web sites:

ALL MISCONCEPTIONS AND FALSE MEANINGS ARE ANSWERED:

1-www.irf.net/irf/faqonislam/index.htm
2-www.islamalways.com/
3-www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/
4-www.jamaat.net/deedat.htm
5-www.islamtomorrow.com/yusuf.asp

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Useful site. Thanks.

Useful site. Thanks.

The question asked is "How does the Pope's reiteration that the church of Christ exists fully only in the Catholic Church strike you? How will this affect ecumenical relations? Does anyone care?"

To answer the third question first, yes I do seriously care. As to the second question, my answer is: I really do not care how or to what extent ecumenical relations are affected. I see ecumenism as a counterfeit "unity", or should I say, a "hodge-podge" or syncretism of religions, leading to no good. And as to the first question, I find the pope's statement quite revelatory.

As leader of the larget counterfeit Christian faith, statements of this sort are to be expected. Roman Catholicism (RC) to its core is antichristian and heretical. Comparison of RC with the the faith defined in the Scriptures yields no similarities. There has been whole-sale departure from "the faith once delivered to the saints" over the centuries of church history.

Jesus is supposed to be Lord in that faith, but in practice, it is the pope who is receiving all of the glory. To them, the Catholic Church is the Kingdom of God. But in the Bible, Jesus, as the Son of Man, is coming back to earth, and will establish the Kingdom (to the nation of Israel), which leaves no room for any pope (or Antichrist, for that matter).

So the pope can say whatever he will. He does not have long to say it, though. Jesus is coming...

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You Crazy Guys n Gals,
It's insupportable: The idea that some dude that had some good ideas that people remembered could cause so many useless deaths. That dude being Jesus. I say Hitler is a close second to getting the award for the most destructive character in human history. Look at you Christians fighting everyone with your ideas about being all righteous while it really just about oil money and getting big SUV's with shiny wheels.
I liked the way the Nazi's stole the riches of Europe and ran off to South America, they just were following the example of the Christian Church that was well established since the 1600's when the Spaniard commited their genocide in those regions under the banner of Christ. It's a piggy religion that makes slaves of entire races. That's what the Pope stands for.
His word is the word of the worst that humanity can muster from the deepest regions of it's collective colon.
Thank's for considering my purely scientific analysis.
Get it? Poop, pope, colon, anal. Flush it.
I'm not talking about Atheism, I'm saying flush it all.

A Hermit:

I resemble that remark, and had to laugh :-)

First of all, many people have neglected to do a little research. The statement given by the Pope was most likely said, because of two things. The first Christian church that was established was the Catholic church. Also, the word Catholic is derived from the greek word katholikos. Katholikos means universal, or general, so when the Pope made this statement he could have been taking this into concideration.

I will say that i am not exactly supportive of the statement; however, the Pope, and the Catholic church have their reasons for the claim.

And for the people that claim to be good Christians, no matter the church they belong to, must remember every virtue that their church tried to instil into them. The first is the golden rule, "do onto others as you would have them do onto you," also church leaders try to encourage tolorence. You can be a Christian without the golden rule, and without tolorence; however, you cannot be a good Christian. For people that are not tolorant, please don't back your anger with religious facts, because you are making everyone with similar beliefs seem to be hate mongers.

Very, very amateur christian soccerer. I like to hit the ball specially with my feet. Perhaps European blood.

Well. Years ago I was a christian soccerer.

To James Macdonald, 20 July, 2007'

I am an christian conservative and I could not have said it better.

Cliff:

Just wanted to say, MYSELF as a Christian am totally against your comments. If you are a real Christian (and just not someone who doesn't like Christians and decided to post something negative so everyone could think you were a Christian saying bad things) you would know that that is not of God.

Yes, Allah is not the true God and that is what we CHristians have been taught and Jesus always taught about false gods and prophets. But I would never tell any Muslim that your people are bombing people and don't care. There are good kind-hearted people in every religion and even those that don't have religion. So the fact remains that we are to Love all of God's Creations, we were all created by the same God/ The Creator God. So therefore we should love one another. However, I do not have to agree with the Muslims or their faith. But I would never say I wanted to shoot them. That just sounds exactly like the so called "Christian" KKK of the old days. Saying they were Christians and then shooting all black people and hanging them or whipping them or enslaving them. That wasn't of God nor did Jesus die on the Cross for that Junk. It also sounds a little like the Nazi regime calling themselves men of faith and killing all of the Jews. Hmmm not the Jesus I know. Tell me how many people did Jesus kill again? If I recall correctly when Peter sliced the soldiers ear off when they came to get Jesus, Jesus healed the man and his ear was put back on. He was an enemy of Jesus (according to the bible) but Jesus loved him enough to heal is wounds. Hmmm, I think you have it twisted Mr. Cliff.

Ummm...Cliff??

Are you sure you are a Christian? Kind of hateful words there coming from someone who professes Jesus. You know Jesus...the guy who said to love your enemy?

There will be no progress until all faiths are tolerant of others' beliefs and accept others' faiths as alternative paths to salvation. All monotheistic religions preach of the presence of one supreme being so if everyone's religious foundation is the same, why fight about how to be one with God?

Hypothetically speaking, if I am born in India and believe in the existence of God having no ties to Catholocism, or Judaism, or Islam, or Buddhism because of physical distance from the centers of those religions, how can anyone tell me that my beliefs are incorrect?

The bottom line is, anyone who professes that they are right and others are incorrect has a myopic and flawed view of the purpose of religion and a self-centered view of their place in the universe. What God created is far too grand and is way beyond the scope of our imaginations. For anyone to believe that there is only one way to achieve spirituality is nothing short of being narrow-minded.

That doesn't make any sense. I know the Pope believes that partiality of Christ is represented in the other denominations. Well, what is part of infinity? Christ is present in the church or it isn't. It's fully in catholics and no where else or Christ is fully in his followers, be them catholic or not.

Anon
There's a good one going on in the "Muslims Speak Out" section if you can stand some ranting and raving in the comments section.
Said ranting and raving is further proof, to me, that we will never have peace as long as humans indulge their compulsion to put others into neat categories and condemn all other groups besides their own.

It is my belief that religion has caused most of the problems we face. Who knows who is right? It would be nice if god had just given man common sence and not the power to think. We would all be better off it the was only one religion then there wouldn't ba so much anger between our religions. That said, God Bless You All Amen

Cliff,
One word - Lithium.

O.K. Washington Post.
I think it's time to post another question. Haven't you all come up with anything else to talk about. The Pope is NOT the greatest person of faith. Let's be open-minded and search for other topics of Faith now.

Thank you

From reading the comments here, I can only conclude that the effects of relativism are stronger than I thought.

Humanity forbid that there is ONE path and ONE truth. Isn't it more comforting to believe that there are many paths and all are equally justified as long as they confirm to our collective attitudes that comprise the terms "right action" and "right belief".

Also, I was wondering if anyone else noticed the vitriol and blatant anti-Catholicism present here. And if you didn't, maybe you should think about that.

The sight if Moslems celebrating the attack of 9-11 infuriated me. I'm glad I'm a Christian. In the opinion of this proud American the best moslem is the one I've just shot dead.
When the tsunami struck southeast Asia a couple of years ago Christians and Jews were helping the victims. Moslems were out setting bombs and causing problems.
The moslem god Allah does not exist. The prophet Mohammed was a liar and the Koran is a piece of trash and a book of falsehoods.
Moslems should be exterminated like the vermin they are. While the rest of the world is trying to make things better moslems are out killing inocent people or trying to force their oppression on the world.

Jidhadist kill in allah's name....catholics' (crusades) killed in god's name....the real
God said to love, He gave us His only Son so
that we could enjoy eternity & examples of loving others....not killing/judging others

More biblical contradiction:
Divorce is never permissible.
Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery. -- Mark 10:11

Whosoever putteth away his wife and marrieth another, committeth adultery. -- Luke 16:18

Only when the wife is unfaithful
Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery. -- Matthew 5:32

Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery. -- Matthew 19:9

When the 'unbelieving' partner chooses to leave
But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. -- 1 Corinthinians 7:15

When the husband is displeased with his wife
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. -- Deuteronomy 24:1-2

Ol Hippie --

This was red-lettered, too:

"Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me."

Narrows the field even further.

There is absolutely no doubt that the Pope is correct. I was raised as a Baptist, but became an atheist in my early teens. One of the reasons for my decision was that it became obvious to me that religion seperated people more than it unified them. Further, it seemed that even the most devout believers "cherry picked" the scriptures to condem others while allowing themselves to remain pious. The "cherry picking" that proves the Pope was right in this case is divorce. In Mark 16:18, Jesus clearly says, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." And it was written in red, so you know it was important. Ipso facto, if your church allows divorce, it is not a "true" Christian church.

Pretty much narrows the field, eh?

"Man is the religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion –- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn't straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother's path to happiness and heaven." -- Mark Twain

So it's some sort of big surprise, some sort of outrage that a religion would claim truth for itself? There are thousands of religions encompassing tens of thousands of gods in the span of history. They all claim truth for themselves. That's what religions do. That's what their witch doctors do.

Go out and start one sometime -- you'll find that it's a prerequisite.

I just visited the Vatican City and saw the most impressive thing I have ever seen that was constructed by mankind, St Peter's Cathedral. Money was no object. Many different generations added their part to it while they were alive. Some sculptures were so beautiful. They moved me spiritually like no others have ever done before. I almost wanted to convert to Catholicism...almost. On the floor of the church were markings listing the length of the next 19 other churches in size. They were put there to clearly point out to the visitor how much larger this church is in comparison. On the steps out front of the cathedral were a number of Italia's poor and elderly begging for their survival. I was struck by the hypocracy of us all. It really is simple. The only way to the father is through the son. Either you have or have not excepted what he did on the cross as your sacrifice to eradicate your sins. If you have, then your life from that point forward reflects that simple truth. When you fall short and you will, that you admit it, repent for it and give life your best shot again from that point forward. It isn't about Catholics or Lutherans or Baptists. It is all about Jesus, period. Look through the mirage of mankind and make your own decision before it is eternally too late.

Here's what happens:
People find divisions, be it one religion versus another or oil versus corn.
We've seen the black and white and all the grey.
No matter what happens in the long run, it's all about feeling good about ourselves and disliking those that aren't just the same way we love ourselves.
Religion and politics pretty much just throw gasoline on that old fire.
I'd like to see a world in which everyone understands that nobody really gets it.
We are just all trying for a slice of the economic pie without breaking the laws of men and god and morality too bad.
Summing it up like that dosn't fix it, I just hope someone quotes me on that when I'm the Emporer of The Universe.

I am not a Christian of any stripe, I am a PanDeist.... since PanDeism is not concerned with divisions between earthly religions (its only interest is in a rational understanding of God through science and logic), the Pope's pronouncement is of no significance to PanDeism or any other religion that can demonstrated through rational thought alone!!

Relax Concerned the Christian Now Liberated

Your post explaining on baptism etc (an updated and revised version) in another thread would drop the jaws of Qur'an thumpers who would not even understand the traditional Christian reasons for it. At least the rite of baptism keeps priests busy doing something, and theological students occupied to rationalise on that rite.

So much time and money spent on rites and minds to justify them - theologically eh?

I am really interested to listen to what the so-called Bible and Qur'an thumpers have to say.

Ahhh, the bred, born and brainwashed bible thumpers, what would we do without them????

Well we get an occasional comment from koran thumpers.

Salaam Aleykium,

The pope is the follower of the Roman Sun god and deities.The Roman Catholic and apostalic church is divided and weak.The lies will shed the truth.Find out for yourself because I will not answer that for you.Question your way of life never take sources for granted. Walekium.

David, you say, “Do you really think you can show any evidence convincing enough to make any of us Christians give up our faith?” No, I think some people won’t budge no matter what. Some people still think Iraq was involved in 9/11. Nothing will change their minds.

What’s the point? Well, in some cases, facts are important. Not when it comes to faith, though – facts are definitely not the point. That’s why I don’t understand why any modern biblical finds matter to believers. The beliefs are based on events from over 2 thousand years ago. Believers have already decided to believe without evidence and in spite of any evidence to the contrary.

John M. you say, “It's just cool that it makes the news and non-believers get to see it and ponder the meaning of it.” I agree – same goes for news that disputes biblical history.

No, I’m not offended really, to be considered less of a Christian by Pope Benedict XVI but I am amazed at the audacious ability of a man born Joey Ratzinger of Bavaria to lose sight of his own human-ness. Jesus Christ himself said He was for everyone, and I have yet to read anything of Him saying that His forgiveness was only to be given through what has become a very selfish lineage of men known as the Roman Catholic Church.

In a nutshell, the pope recently reaffirmed previous statements made when he was cardinal, stating that the Catholic church is the only true church and that the reformed church, due to it’s lack of ecclesiastical succession, cannot offer salvation. The statement kindly calls that shortcoming a “defect” in our theology and states that we might be considered part of the community but not part of the church.

The “Dominus Iesus,” which translates as “Jesus the Lord,” begins with a statement of faith and ecumenical desire, expressing them well. Shortly, however, it goes into a warning against other theologies even minutely different from theirs, and a proclamation that there is but one church. Further impoliteness follows. Sadly, as with some other derivatives of the faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the proclamation of faith in a loving God becomes one of exclusion that if taken too far, becomes one of war.

The ecclesiastical succession the pope refers to is the incoming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as told in Acts 2. The apostles were infused with the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues, and went on to build the church by spreading the word, performing miracles of healing along the way. The Roman Catholic Church believes that only from men who have had a direct succession of laying on of hands from those twelve might the power of God to forgive be continued in the world.

With incredible rising arrogance the Pope then goes on to call us “wounded” for not accepting him with primacy, or as the supreme leader of the Christian faith. Has a man of faith ever been more wrong in beating his own chest and saying “I am the way!” Sorry, Benny, but you could not be further from the Truth. Methinks you doth protesteth the heretics too much.

I read of this in today’s Los Angeles Times and two pages later found the “Religious Directory.” It is a half-page of very small type with listings of faithful gatherings. It’s a nice snapshot of the religious community, or at least those that feel the need to advertise in the Times with a small budget, and the variety of faiths, from mainstream to the far reaches, is enlightening.

I’d actually like to visit the Messianic Jewish congregation that has “proof who the Jewish Messiah is” but might pass on a non-denominational groups call that “Spiritworks is a Feeling!” To each their own. The mainstream groups, Christian and Jewish alike, give no indication to their respective differences in theology, mostly going with name, address and times of worship alone. You can tell which groups might be breaking new ground by the fact that they need to proclaim something there along with their name. They are still building the association of name and theology in the public mind.

It has been said that mankind was born with a God-sized hole in their souls and I’ve liked the sound of that phrase every time I come across it. Even those that deny any god at all, in so doing, speak or think of the possibility. For those that seek some fulfillment with God or a higher power as they individually understand it, their personal theology is as good as they can get it, as rational and as faith-driven as it needs to be, and as different from the next as the variety of plants on the planet. Who is to say that "What is written on their hearts" could be written by a creator that doesn't care about bringing them home? I'm left wondering if the pope has even read Romans 2, or if that would be too painful a reminder of the whole reformation brought about from within his church?

What part of “The Peace of our Lord” does the pope think we cannot have except by the touch of man? Communion? Was it not well before the coming of the Holy Spirit that the command “Do this in remembrance of me” was given? Was it not well before then that Jesus proclaimed, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed ... you (could move a mountain)?”

Surely the pope’s proclamation does nothing to further the love of God among those of His creation, surely nothing to open the ears of those that have yet to hear, surely only spite can come of it.

Does the pope think that God does not hear every prayer called out in His name? That He doesn’t respond but to those He chose and their selected followers? Does this then give the pope a better understanding of the Jewish view of Christ and His church?

That all said, I am not offended by these statements because they are but opinion of a man, a man that happens to be head of his church. Call him the Jerry Falwell of Rome if you like, I hold him in no higher esteem. For a church to have such a belief as part of their faith I can accept, if with my own reservations. For a church, however, to publish such a statement is the height of arrogance, of the foolishness of man, and can only be seen as intentionally and acerbically condescending. Those are, in a phrase, fighting words. Where is the love in them?

Would it not have been better to keep that paper within the church, knowing in their hearts that it defined their thinking, but holding back from using it as a slap in the face to every person they were trying to reach?

Whenever a man or group of men considers themselves the only conduit of God, one might immediately realize that they are not.

With apologies to any of the Catholic Church laity who may be offended, my sense is that you may be comfortable in your faith and I applaud that. I, too, am comfortable in mine. Can we move on please, working together in our communities, separately in our churches, and know that we have the love of Christ in common?

E Fav:

I agree with David. Archeological finds help confirm the historicity and time frame of the authors. (Those two things are under attack all the time. Just look at any post by CCNL - Oh, wait...all his posts are the SAME.)

As for the spiritual truths in the Book, that is up to each reader to believe or not believe.

The research finds do not really build on my faith. I'm not sitting by my front door looking for my newspaper to show me proof that God exists. I am not at all surprised to see these finds. I know what I believe, and I know it's true. It's just cool that it makes the news and non-believers get to see it and ponder the meaning of it.

E Fav,

I never said this archaeological find proved what Jeremiah wrote to be correct. That is up to the individual. I merely stated that it proved it to be HISTORICALLY correct. In other words this find would make it quite hard to attack the reliability of Jeremiah's account because truly he was at the time of what he wrote about. That's all.

It seems that non-believers want to be all over the evidence in support of the Bible and attack it in any little way possible. E Fav, just let it be, man. Do you really think you can show any evidence convincing enough to make any of us Christians give up our faith? Probably not. So what's the point?

Early in my religious education I had the good luck to be taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Maurs - they were straight from France and taught with a great and ecumenical spirit. From their teachings I grew to understand that much of what the Vatican says deserves my review and a decision of conscience.

To that affect I choose to believe in the principles of Catholicism but not the rules that make us less Christian. We need more independent thinkers who can use Christ as a model and not a hammer of submission.

Early in my religious education I had the good luck to be taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Maurs - they were straight from France and taught with a great and ecumenical spirit. From their teachings I grew to understand that much of what the Vatican says deserves my review and a decision of conscience.

To that affect I choose to believe in the principles of Catholicism but not the rules that make us less Christian. We need more independent thinkers who can use Christ as a model and not a hammer of submission.

Early in my religious education I had the good luck to be taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Maurs - they were straight from France and taught with a great and ecumenical spirit. From their teachings I grew to understand that much of what the Vatican says deserves my review and a decision of conscience.

To that affect I choose to believe in the principles of Catholicism but not the rules that make us less Christian. We need more independent thinkers who can use Christ as a model and not a hammer of submission.

Why are so many people either shocked, or defending this scum. This is not a man of honor, who has the basic understanding of right and wrong. It's the same man who tried to kill allied servicemen, actually defended the Third Reich, was part of Adolf Hitler's war machine. And now states that people who do not hold his church, of which he holds absolute power over, are deceivers and false in their beliefs? Give me a Buddhist, Taoist, or Muslim over some jerk in a funny hat who's church is staffed by guys, who spread the faith by pinching little boys on the butt.

Brian - One more thing - could you name some of the verbal blows you mention that secular humanists have struck against the church?

thanks

Brian, you say, "We as Christians, be you Catholic or Protestant, need to unite together against the powers of evil. Secular humanists are constantly striking verbal blows against the church."

Do you consider secular humanists to be evil? If so, how?

If not secular humanists, who are the powers of evil that you think Christians need to unite together against?

Thanks - I hope you get back to me on this.

Well, the church did originate in the Catholic church. However, I feel that the church of Christ encompasses all of Christendom. We as Christians, be you Catholic or Protestant, need to unite together against the powers of evil. Secular humanists are constantly striking verbal blows against the church. I don't think they care if it would be Catholic or Protestant. Let's unite and worship Jesus together and stop letting our differences seperate us. We will share in the same heaven with the same God and the same Jesus.

Lepidopteryx,

Again, I am glad that you are on a similar wavelength of spiritual thought as I am. Did you read the Amit Goswami book, “The Self Aware Universe” that I recommended on the blog about heaven and hell? If so, what do you think?

Matthew:

I too applaud the clarity, passion, and courage of the women speaking against this evil.

Mojo poster: Thats one way of putting it, Like I said before truth hurts those who don't understand it, good video by the way. But yet through the whole video, yes one man narrated with a song but it was the women in the clip that spoke the Truth. So us Men need to step back and actually listen to the women who speak the truth. When God comes to judge with his two witnesses do you serioulsy think both will be male. For He created male and female. So his judgment would not be just by sending two men but just in sending a man and a women to testify to the truth.Just as it was in the begining so shall it be in the end. God bless and Peace always.Matthew

Stuck Mojo's Open Season on CAIR..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9oX5Q2ftmA

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has complained to the US government about the release of the video.

Push That Link: MUST SEE..

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 2Timonthy 3:1-5. God Bless and Peace be welcomed by all.Matthew

Amen Matthew Joseph and to that I would add:

Ezekiel
# And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man.--4:12
# Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung,and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.--4:15

dear Anon -

I'm opposed to banning any words except obvious foul language.

I'm in favor of speaking clearly and consider your proposed sentence to be a good alternative to "cherry picking."

I suggest people who post anonymously aqcuire a handle. It's easier for others to followvarious posters remarks that way, and makes for a more congenial conversation, I think.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

efavorite and posters:

I say we temporarily ban the use of the words "cherry picked" from posts. It has been overused and has lost its meaning ad nauseum.

Just say -"I choose to disregard the points you have made because they don't correlate with my belief system."

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." John 14:1-4

For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

Hi, John M and David – what I find interesting is how some believers “cherry pick” archeological research just the way they cherry-pick biblical verses. As Robert Coote, the San Francisco Theological Seminary professor says in the article cited below, "The logical fallacy"… "is to say that this one corroboration makes the whole narrative true and accurate."

While eager to accept minimal and incomplete information on the historicity of Jeremiah based on a two-inch clay tablet, the same believers reject years of archeological research that deny the enslavement of the Jews in Egypt, and their escape to the Promised land. In fact, archeology indicates that the Jews were in Palestine along side the Canaanites the whole time. They are essentially the same people.

Here’s the Amazon description of archeology scholars Finkelstein and Silberman’s “The Bible Unearthed” http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684869128/ref=olp_product_details/002-1878591-2519231?ie=UTF8&seller=

“The Bible Unearthed is a balanced, thoughtful, bold reconsideration of the historical period that produced the Hebrew Bible. The headline news in this book is easy to pick out: there is no evidence for the existence of Abraham, or any of the Patriarchs; ditto for Moses and the Exodus; and the same goes for the whole period of Judges and the united monarchy of David and Solomon.”

And here’s a link to an article about how this information have been included since 2002 in the “Tree of Life” books found in all Conservative Jewish temples: http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/ConservativeTorah.htm

I was initially shocked to learn about this – especially that it was well known among scholars and clergy, but not passed on to the public. I asked numerous clergy about it after I learned of it. They all acknowledged it -- some immediately, others after a little hedging.

Z-BOB: "Could “god” be the collective consciousness of all space and time that exists in the transcendent order"

That's basically how I see my pantheon. My deities are not separate from me or from any other aspect of the world - the Divine IS the world.

David:

Thanks for the link. Cool article.

You know, for 1800 years, people who read the Bible believed it - all of it. But, now that some feel we are "too intelligent" to believe some of it, it is interesting that all of these archeological finds are coming out.

Everybody is discussing what the pope should be. So I guess that the reality is no one cares anymore what the pope thinks, sad in a way, but a reality none the less. Nothing against old people because we get alot of knowledge from them, but when you reach a certain age change comes very difficult to grasp. So do you think the leaders should change the age limits so younger people with more open minds can discuss things, because this is the only way talks will actually get done.

Hey there John M,

Nice post as always. Since you referred to Jeremiah, I thought I would post this article about the recent find confirming the historical accuracy of the book of Jeremiah.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1645738,00.html

Thought you might be interested. Have a blessed day, my friend.

God bless

Ladies and Gentlemen: The question is

How does the Pope's reiteration that the church of Christ exists fully only in the Catholic Church strike you? How will this affect ecumenical relations? Does anyone care?

Why are people discussing the religions of the world?

Hi, Viejita:

You wrote:
"There is a good argument to show that Jesus was a rebel, not against His Father, but against the religious authorities of His time. It is good to sometimes be reminded that Christianity did not start out as a worldwide, majority faith, but as a whole new covenant, a "New Deal" for all of humanity."

He was rebelling against the religious authorities? Hmmm. Who gave them that authority? Oh, wait ... it was JESUS! The leaders had hijacked the Law and changed it to their liking and benefit. He just called them on it.

I also disagree that He was starting a new religion. The New Testament (New Covenant) is a fulfillment of the Old Tesatment. This New Covenant is promised in the old covenant, including for example, Jeremiah 31:31 -
"The time is coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah."

Isn't it a little odd that one religion's sacred text would repeatedly speak of another religion before it came to be? The answer is that there is One God and He has one people: those who follow Him. That, by the way, answers this week's question, I think.

"Could “god” be the collective consciousness of all space and time that exists in the transcendent...."

That is exactly why I call god IT. IT is in everything animate and inanimate. IT is not capable of creation IT is creation.

He seems to have arrived at an exceptional grasp of the idea of chutzpah. Hubris insults God and should not be a characteristic of someone who claims to represent same.

He has now alienated Protestants. Having alienated Muslims and native peoples in South America, he has finessed a hat trick. Maybe he ought to resign the papacy and return to the classroom and its freedom to explore ideas without provoking wars -- either actual or ideological.

He does better, it seems, with cats. They love him.

He seems to have arrived at an exceptional grasp of the idea of chutzpah. Hubris insults God and should not be a characteristic of someone who claims to represent same.

He has now alienated Protestants. Having alienated Muslims and native peoples in South America, he has finessed a hat trick. Maybe he ought to resign the papacy and return to the classroom and its freedom to explore ideas without provoking wars -- either actual or ideological.

He does better, it seems, with cats. They love him.

John Larsen

It is very refreshing to hear a Buddhist point of view on this blog. The middle way of Buddhism is a fantastic way to live everyday life mindfully and to eventually discover that this shore is the other shore. (All concepts contain within them their opposites). If more people could realize the interdependent nature of all life and things in the universe (Thich Nhat Hanh calls it “interbeing”), and overcome the illusory independent self, then many of the world’s egocentric caused problems would cease.

Could “god” be the collective consciousness of all space and time that exists in the transcendent order (see Einstein’s absolute space-time, David Bohm’s implicate order, Stephen Hawking’s time has no boundary proposal, etc.) which is actually “created” in the explicate order by conscious beings’ experiences. In other words do our impermanent conscious experiences in the historical dimension create the “god” of the transcendent ultimate dimension. While “god” may be irrelevant in Buddhist thought and practice, (especially as an interceding being) doesn’t the collective consciousness of the ultimate dimension (Thich Nhat Hanh’s terminology) lead to a similar transcendent, universal, absolute “being”?

Peace in every moment!

Take a moment to think about the WORD: God...

The United States has had such a large portion of its population as Christians for so long that most folks use the word God as a generic term for diety. The word 'God' is like the word 'Kleenex,' in that both are proprietary terms.

'Kleenex' is owned by the Kimberley-Clark paper company. In much the same way - without the legal
ramifications - 'God' is owned by Christianity and is a much different diety than, Allah, Yahweh,