Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Whoever controls the Urim and Thummin must be a higher god than the God of Moses for even the God of Moses said he will obey the decision made by the Urim Thummin. Deuteronomy 17:8-12 "Even God must obey their decree as it is written, 'You will decree and he will fulfill it." Midrash Pesik...

Okay, I'm just going to ask it. What happens when we die? What happens to a candle flame when the candle is used up? Allow me to rephrase the question: What happens to the light when the candle flame goes out? Answer: Light continues to travel until it is absorbed and takes on a new form. Just beca...

"Modern Gnostic Christians do not believe in reincarnation nor do we believe in reading any scriptures literally."...Gnostic Bishop I'm not at all surprised to read that. Still, that doesn't change my point which was, Gnosticism was founded upon the belief that reincarnation was for those ...

@Maryhelena,

Thanks for taking the time to fully answer my question in detail.

Sincerely,
John T

Please pardon this interruption but I'm very curious.

Do they believe the Essene writings, i.e. Dead Sea Scrolls, regarding a Jewish messiah/deliverer is fiction as well?

Sincerely,
John T

Apparently, the high priest kept a small pouch attached to the ephod (Exodus 28:29). Inside the pouch were two magic items known as the Urim and Thummim . The high priest using the Urim and Thummim would cast them as lots to determine solutions asked of God. Use of magic idols would seem to be in di...

That will do Huller.

@ Huller. I will ask once again: Please provide the evidence, (chapter and verse) that "Jesus and early Christianity saw the temple as an abomination." Furthermore, please show (chapter and verse) where the "Torah is absolutely incompatible with a permanent physical building" i.e...

But this is heresy on Josephus's part. The Torah is absolutely incompatible with a permanent physical building. At some point John you are going to have to decide if you want to be Jew or a Christian. Jesus and early Christianity saw the temple as an abomination, something that contradicted the com...

@semiopen, Thank you for your source. It appears Josephus was worried that without a temple the Jewish people would lose their national identity and that new festivals were needed to replace/revise the old in an attempt to preserve what was left of the Jewish culture. I always wondered if Josephus a...