The reason I have been giving you selected quotes is that I don't have time to write out the whole New Testament word for word. Of course many people quote the Bible out of context, which is why, if you really want to know what it says, you have to read it for yourself. The Old testament is really long, and much of it is repetitive and obscure, but all you need to know about Jesus can be found in the New Testament, which is much shorter and more accessible. Unless you are a fan of 16th Century English, go get one of the several modern translations. Old Dog and I are partial to the RSV, but there are others. Reader's Digest even put out a condensed version some time ago. It's probably the easiest one to read, but it's not marked with chapters and verses, which makes it difficult to look up something to quote out of context. We switched over to the RSV at Elsdon, but it must have been after you stopped attending.
The fact that the average Christian in the street believes some things that are not supported by Biblical scripture or church doctrine is exactly the point I have been trying to make. Of course, people can believe anything they want to believe, and there is no law that says you can't attend a particular church if you don't sincerely believe every doctrine they hold. I suspect that many people attend church primarily for social reasons, nothing wrong with that if you've got nothing better to do. I stopped going to church when I became uncomfortable reciting the Apostle's Creed every Sunday when I didn't really believe most of it, but that's just me.
As I have previously stated, many religions have assimilated parts of other religions over the years, and many individuals would be surprised to find out that a lot of their personal beliefs are not found in the Bible or the doctrines of their own church. Example: "We all worship the same God, we just call Him by different names." It has a nice ring to it, but it's a Hindu belief, not a Christian one. The concept of karma comes from the Hindus as well although, if you take out the reincarnation part of it, it's not so different from the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra. The idea of St. Peter at the gate is largely a popular myth, likely derived from when Jesus left Peter in charge of His congregation when He went off to be crucified. Jesus was probably speaking metaphorically when he gave Peter "the keys to the kingdom", but I suppose that it could be interpreted as a gate guard assignment. The point system that Peter allegedly uses to decide who does and does not get past the gate comes right out of Zarathustra.
Speaking of the point system, I watched the season finale of "The Good Place" this evening. I won't spoil it for anybody who hasn't seen it but, suffice it to say, I would never have guessed it in a million years. I don't know whether or not there will be a second season, but the ending works either way.
A careful reading of the first few chapters of Genesis reveals that there are actually two different creation stories, likely written by two different authors. I never noticed it myself until it was pointed out in a video course on mythology that I watched. I went back and looked at it again, and sure enough, that's what it seems to be. All those stories in Genesis were likely passed around by word of mouth for centuries before Moses or whoever wrote them down, and some of them have counterparts in Mesopotamian mythology.
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