Why is the Devil the bad guy if.....

[Doug1029]

they are both a son of god. so are all people ever born or will be born on earth. christ is the only begotten son on earth. everyone else comes through adam and eve who were created. all of the demons are also children of god as is most angels. some of the angels are brothers and sisters of god. such as the angels who ate supper with lot before destroying those two cities.

The Thing we Missed

On the Road we Trod

Was to Walk as the Daughters

And Sons of God.

--Up With People

[Doug1029]

Lucifer was the Angel of Light and Knowledge.

The Druids were the learned people of Celtic society, the doctors, lawyers, historians and religious leaders. Christianity takes a dim view of the Druids. And Lucifer. And learning.

Yet it wasn't always so. The church preserved western knowledge through the Dark Ages. Until about 500 years ago when something went wrong - the invention of moveable type led to the printing press and suddenly the church's carefully-preserved monopoly on knowledge vanished. Anyone could become a scholar. And anyone could ask questions. And people did. And the church had no answers. The church took Draconian measures to protect itself, but eventually its armies were defeated and its scholarship discredited. Charles Darwin delivered the final blow.

The Catholic Church remains the foremost Christian organization in the world. It could once again take the lead in science, education, the arts. But it chooses not to - it has long been bereft of true knowledge.

Christianity has been around for going on 2000 years. During that time it has been everything that anyone ever called it. Some of our most-shining stars have been been church people and Christians. And some Popes have made Mafia dons look like choir boys. It has entertained virtually every idea of god that anyone could think of from the Adamites to the Jesuits to the Quakers to the Southern Baptists. It has stood for so much that it stands for nothing.

Maybe there is still hope for religion. But arming the religious with nuclear weapons sounds like a way to commit suicide. We must learn to get along, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, atheist, or what have you. Wars with religious overtones now imperil civilization and everything that lives on earth. We need to quit acting like spoiled children and learn to share the earth. We are running out of time. We must grow up or die.

Doug

Edited September 15, 2014 by Doug1029

[danielost]

doug the church didn't preserve knowledge, they restricted it to the priesthood. most of the nobles couldn't read and write. but as the population grew twice, reading and writing became more needed. until the usa revolution against england. when the founding fathers dfecided everyone needed to read and write. there are exceptions but not many.

[Doug1029]

doug the church didn't preserve knowledge, they restricted it to the priesthood. most of the nobles couldn't read and write. but as the population grew twice, reading and writing became more needed. until the usa revolution against england. when the founding fathers dfecided everyone needed to read and write. there are exceptions but not many.

There wasn't any formal restriction, but only people who went into the monasteries could take the time away from farming and scraping out a living to learn to read and write. Again, it was the printing press that broke the church's monopoly.

Doug

[Davros of Skaro]

The Book of Mark, as we have it, was written well into the transition period. There were probably earlier versions but little of those has survived. And we have other writings than just the gospels that present a developing picture of Jesus.

Philo wrote at the time Jesus supposedly walked the earth. Yet Philo is talking about an entirely different son of god and does not mention Jesus, at least, not by that name.

Doug

I see no evidence of a transition, proto, source, or secret Mark prior to canonical Mark, or even an Oral tradition Mark.Those are just theories.

Mark is not some huge Novel.To me someone took Messianic belief, a Son of God belief and tied things into an historical account.

Philo's Son of God is influenced by Plato's Logos and there were these Gnostic mystery Religions popping up as the latest hot trends.

[Doug1029]

I see no evidence of a transition, proto, source, or secret Mark prior to canonical Mark, or even an Oral tradition Mark.Those are just theories.

There are some fragments that are believed to have come from an earlier version of Mark. And it's hard to believe there wasn't an oral tradition, even though we don't know what it was. But the evolution I am talking about came mostly after Mark was already on paper (parchment, papyrus, whatever). Luke, Marcion, Justin, John, etc. (Here's a question: did Marcion derive his account from Luke, or did Luke derive his from Marcion?).

To me someone took Messianic belief, a Son of God belief and tied things into an historical account.

I agree, except that there are a few references that tie to a later date than some on UM would like to admit. One can't resolve that by only reading the Bible and a few Christian texts. One has to study the history of the times. Then one can see what the different verses are actually referring to. Why did the Romans reneg on restoring the temple? There's a lot of history in that question.

Doug

[Davros of Skaro]

There are some fragments that are believed to have come from an earlier version of Mark. And it's hard to believe there wasn't an oral tradition, even though we don't know what it was. But the evolution I am talking about came mostly after Mark was already on paper (parchment, papyrus, whatever). Luke, Marcion, Justin, John, etc. (Here's a question: did Marcion derive his account from Luke, or did Luke derive his from Marcion?).

I agree, except that there are a few references that tie to a later date than some on UM would like to admit. One can't resolve that by only reading the Bible and a few Christian texts. One has to study the history of the times. Then one can see what the different verses are actually referring to. Why did the Romans reneg on restoring the temple? There's a lot of history in that question.

Doug

I wish you would take the time to watch the lectures in my sig.

[Doug1029]

I wish you would take the time to watch the lectures in my sig.

I will when I have some time. That first one is an hour and seven minutes. Most scientific theories can be stated in 50 words or less.

Doug