Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

First off, acknowledgement and many thanks to Peter Kirby for his compassion to this tremendous site! Thank you Peter.

My faith as it grows:
I believe in the teachings of Christ not Christianity
I believe that Christ is part of the Divine Mystery of our Infinite Creator
I believe in the One Divine Infinite Creator
I believe that each of us have a unique Divine Spark, that as we grow to recognize our uniqueness, can then come together in unity as one and continue our unending/everlasting life of 'true free will' which is necessary for life to exist.

That is where it stands now.

Hi Eric,

Welcome aboard.

I also noticed this other post of yours:

Eric wrote:The greatest attribute that Ehrman has given to general readers, is a stronger foundation to see that the Christian/Judea Bible is what it is -- a collection of writings by humans interpreting their beliefs before and during their lifetime based on events and influences of what it means to believe.

Where do you turn for the teachings of Christ? What are your sources?

Each of us have a unique divine spark? An ancient opinion, to be sure. Sounds vaguely gnostic, actually.

Where do I turn to for the teachings of Christ? To the source , i.e. God. Am I Gnostic? No. Am I Muslim? No. Am I Jewish? No. Simply a child of God who loves God with all his heart and soul.

Eric,

How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

spin wrote:Eric,

How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

Through prayer, meditation, listening, reading, analyzing.

Eric wrote:

spin wrote:How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

Through prayer, meditation, listening, reading, analyzing.

I don't see how any of these responds to my question. Analysis is something one does in one's head. Reading and listening are merely means of getting information, not knowledge. Meditation and prayer seem not to have anything to do with gaining or testing knowledge. Perhaps you could expand your thoughts so they are comprehensible to someone like me, who has difficulty knowing much about anything without dealing harshly with whatever it is.

Eric wrote:

spin wrote:Eric,

How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

Through prayer, meditation, listening, reading, analyzing.

Reading and listening to what? What visual or aural media do you have access to which provides verifiable information about God?

Eric wrote: I believe in the teachings of Christ not Christianity

What did Christ teach? In Mark's gospel he teaches precious little, only crumbs about fasting, the sabbath, divorce and how to be a first-century follower.

If the sermons in later gospels were authentic and important why aren't they mentioned in Mark, the source of events they were required to draw upon?

St Paul doesn't seem to know what Jesus taught other than on divorce.

spin wrote:

Eric wrote:

spin wrote:How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

Through prayer, meditation, listening, reading, analyzing.

I don't see how any of these responds to my question. Analysis is something one does in one's head. Reading and listening are merely means of getting information, not knowledge. Meditation and prayer seem not to have anything to do with gaining or testing knowledge. Perhaps you could expand your thoughts so they are comprehensible to someone like me, who has difficulty knowing much about anything without dealing harshly with whatever it is.

Analysis as you state is something one does in one's head and I agree. When one seeks God with all their means, heart (aka inner feelings) soul and mind, God will not fail to provide them with knowledge. It is God who is our creator, thus the very foundation of knowledge. Prayer and meditation is a means to commune with God and to hear His/Her voice in guidance to our understanding. It is through faith in which we act upon this guidance.

Diogenes the Cynic wrote:

Eric wrote:

spin wrote:Eric,

How do you get knowledge of the world and how do you test that knowledge?

Through prayer, meditation, listening, reading, analyzing.

Reading and listening to what? What visual or aural media do you have access to which provides verifiable information about God?

Reading and listening to what? (Reading of Old Testament, New Testament, Qu-Ran, Qumran texts, Hermetica writings, different theologian views throughout the years, atheist writings, scientists and history). Listening? (I listen to hear God's direction). What visual or aural media do you have access to which provides verifiable information about God? (This is an age old argument which cannot be answered. Just as an atheist cannot prove or have visual facts to support their theory. I.E. What started motion when there was nothing, no heat, no cold, no molecules, no atoms, no electrons, no space dust, no gases, no electrons, no aether, no sound, no vibration, etc. Thus through faith the atheist must say that all those elements had to be there without verifiable facts as to how all of these elements came into existence individually and how they started to move to formulate together to cause a big bang).