From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: I'm God.
Date: 12 Oct 92 15:42:40 GMT
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <fTKMHnC@quack.sac.ca.us> pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey) writes:
|In article <10989@gunn.ed.ac.uk> 
|iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski) writes:
|>In article <70498@hydra.gatech.EDU> 
|rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts) writes:
|><In article <ksand-071092185018@wintermute.apple.com> 
|ksand@apple.com (Kent Sandvik) writes:
|><|In article <70319@hydra.gatech.EDU>, 
|rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts) wrote:
|><What is the volume of books we call the Bible that predicts and
|><confirms this one man Jesus the Christ as he was to come, was here,
|><and will come again?  I understand that's not enough.  
|>No, it isn't, for two reasons: (1) those books belong first and
|>foremost to Judaism, and it denies that they have anything to do with
|>Jesus of Nazareth -- and Jews ought to know, it's _their_ scripture;
|>and (2) those books are so full of wild claims and odd contradictions
|>that they are best dismissed altogether.
|
|That's one of the strangest things about Christianity. The idea that the
|Jews are not capable of correctly interpreting their own Hebrew
|scriptures and that Christians are able to correctly interpret a Greek
|translation (Septuagint) of Hebrew scripture. In Judaism, there is only

Oh.  I thought the Jews (specifically, Jesus) opened the eyes of the
people to his fulfilment of the Olt Testament.

|monotheism, one God of Israel, He whose name is not to be pronounced, He

Jesus repeated this.  The Lord our God is one.  The question is who is the Lord.

|who responded, "I am that I am", no Christian Devil, no Christian Jesus,

I suppose the book of Job wasn't in the OT, huh?  Who came to God after
roaming to and fro on the earth?  I think it was Satan (i.e., the Devil).

The whole OT points to the coming of a Savior, the Messiah, the Annointed
One.  In Malachai 3, we see the Lord Almighty telling us that he (the
Lord) will come.  Often we see THE angel of the Lord being referred to
as God.  (angel means messenger.)  In Zechariah chapter 1, we see this
angel of the Lord (who is at times referred to as God) and the Lord
Almighty in the same passage - a hint of the trinity.

Jesus even said he was the "I AM" - and that he was before Abraham.

|no Christian Hell and the day of rest is the seventh day, Saturday. The

Saturday is the Sabbath.  It is still observed by the Jews.  However,
Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the
Sabbath and that IT IS LAWFUL to do good on the Sabbath, as it is any
day of the week.

|irony of Christians trying to tell the Jews the meaning of their own
|Hebrew scriptures is not lost. Part of the reason for this

Again, the Jews are the ones who gave us the NT.

|miss-communication on the part of the Christians is that the center of
|Judaism was in Babylon at the time and Babylon was outside of the known
|Christian world. Some Christians even try to claim that the Hebrews of

I'm not sure what you mean by this.  Why were all of the Jews in 
Jerusalem for the feast (Passover and Pentecost, etc.), if what you
say is true?

|the OT died out or disappeared and the Jews of Babylon adopted the
|ancient scriptures and claimed it as their own. Thus, by this logic,

I've never heard this claim - the Jewish high priest was there in Jerusalem.

|Christians are the rightful heirs of the Hebrew scriptures and Judaism
|is a more modern re-interpretation of Hebrew scriptures that are more
|modern than the Greek Septuagint. The fact that Judaism has been in practice

Jesus the Christ is the fulfillment of the Scriptures.

|continuously from the begining of the oral tradition right up to the
|present, against all odds, and in the same Hebrew language is something
|that the Christians prefer to ignore. Clearly, from a Christian

How is this (Hebrew language) ignored?????

|perspective, the Jews must be misguided in their interpretation of their
|own Hebrew scriptures. It makes no sense to me, but some people buy this
|argument, then again, you remember what PT Barnum said about suckers
|being born every minute. If they'll go for the free gift grift, they'll
|go for anything.

And there is someone (Mr. Harvey?) trying to sell something to the
sucker, isn't there?  What are you sell?

|...
|The topic of what Buddha did or didn't do is far to complicated for the
|average EVILgelical Christian. Richard Pitts has so far demonstrated

I am often amused at these kinds of intellecual superiority statements
made they "THESE ENGLIGHTENED" people.  

|that he has read the Bible, (probably KJV), a book of Christian History

Oh.  I guess the KJV is not worth reading.  I guess you've never read
any of the modern translations, for I generally (90+%) of the time
quote from the NIV.

|propaganda and an encyclopedia. The message of the Buddha is an
|intellectual one. Your average Christian is not interested in the truth,
|instead they are interested in the easy story, the quick grift,
|something simple that doesn't tax the mind. Most Christians aren't

I see that intellecutalism is going to save you, correct?  

   1 Cor 1:18   For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
      perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
   1 Cor 1:19   For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the
      intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
   1 Cor 1:20   Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the
      philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
      world?
   1 Cor 1:21   For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom
      did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was
      preached to save those who believe.
   1 Cor 1:22   Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
   1 Cor 1:23   but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and
      foolishness to Gentiles,
   1 Cor 1:24   but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
      the power of God and the wisdom of God.
   1 Cor 1:25   For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the
      weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

   2 Cor 4:4   The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
      that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who
      is the image of God.
   2 Cor 4:5   For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and
      ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

|interested in the truth, that would be far to complicated, instead they

You are right - they are far to complicated.  Wisdom is not required
to enter the Kingdom of God.  Faith is required - you can be wise, but
that doesn't get you in.  Else, why would an ability one is born with 
be the factor of one being able to merit salvation.

A quote from a well-know coach is:

                    Talent is from God
                        be humble,
                    Fame if from man
                        be thankful,
                    Conceit is from self
                        be careful.

|prefer the easy assurance of selffulfilling propaganda, the fool's idea
|that the only book worth reading is KJV. The main attraction of

The fool has said in his heart there is no God.

|Christianity is the marketing concept that all you have to do is believe
|in Jesus and ride his coattails into Heaven when you die. If you believe

That's right.  Jesus paid the price - you got a pretty good grasp of what
is required to follow Jesus and so be saved.

|that and have also fallen for the free gift grift, well what can be
|said. Perhaps a purchase of some swamp land in Florida is called for
|also. Caveat lector, caveat emptor. The teacher says, "Follow me and be
|Free". Caveat lector! Caveat emptor! Roma backwards is amor.

   Acts 28:23   They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even
      larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till
      evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried
      to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the
      Prophets.
   Acts 28:24   Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not
      believe.
   Acts 28:25   They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul
      had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your
      forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:
   Acts 28:26   "'Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but
      never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving."
   Acts 28:27   For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear
      with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might
      see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts
      and turn, and I would heal them.'

Don't let it be said of you that you never understood, but just heard.
Open you heart up to Jesus the Christ - humble yourself and he will 
exalt you.

For Christ and His Kingdom,
Richard Pitts
-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu       |    
Atlanta, GA                --|-- 
                        -|-  |  -|-
                         |   |   |
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc