From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Trying to define Christianity
Date: 21 Aug 92 04:32:56 GMT
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <Aug.20.02.24.09.1992.21212@athos.rutgers.edu> lazarus@wixer.cactus.org (Michael Lax) writes:
>A questions about Christianity:
>
>(But first, a few of _my_ assumptions)
>
>     It is based, primarily, on a 2,000 year old book written about 100
>     years after the protaginists died.  This book steals heavily from a

Don't forget that the Book was written by Jesus the Christ's disciples and 
their contempories.  The Book is consists of many books by multiple authors.
It chronicles a lot of day to day activities and later spends a lot of time
teaching theology and giving some prophecy.

Oh, just for the record, Christianity is based on the life and works of
Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ, the Messiah, God in human flesh).  The
Book chronicles what He did and how He paid our sin debt.  The Old 
Testament points to Jesus coming upon the scene and New Testament proclaims
His arrival on the earth and both the OT and NT point to His triumph over
evil, as He was begun by His life, death, and ressurection.
The Book points to Jesus - the Book is not eternal life Jesus is.

We do use the OT.  

>     5,000+ year old book.  BOTH have been heavily mistranslated, either
>     from ancient Greek or ancient Hebrew & Aramaic.  Some claim both books

However, for one to say that "BOTH have been heavily mistranslated" is BY 
FAR AN EXAGGERATION.  There are some point that are in question.  However, 
none of them take away from the main theme, which is Christ in you who believe. 

>     are "divinely inspired," while others claim really wise men wrote
>     them.  Few, anymore, claim that god wrote them.

If one would read it, one would see that the Book attest to being God's word. 

People wrote the words, but they were moved by the hand of God - all
scripture is give by inspiration (II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:21).

2 Tim 3:16   All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
    rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

2 Pet 1:20   Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture
    came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
2 Pet 1:21   For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men
    spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

And Paul's writings are given the status of Scripture by Peter, a 
close contemporary of Jesus.  Paul wrote a lot of the New Testament.

2 Pet 3:15   Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as
    our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
2 Pet 3:16   He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of
    these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to
    understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the
    other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

>Question:
>
>There seems to be a common thread amongst devout Christians.  They have, in
>some manner, found Jesus.  They have some experience or enlightenment, to
>which they attribute this particular deity.  Now what confuses me is how,

Correct.  We have heard and believed in what Jesus did while He was here
on earth (His life and works, death, and resurrection).  It is only through
what He did (the shedding of His blood and His resurrection) that we have
any hope of eternal life.

>when someone else brings up a similar occurrence, but attributes it to
>something else, these same people say the experience is invalid.  And then

Could you cite what you mean by a similar occurrence?

Remember, that God from heaven spoke and said that Jesus was His (Beloved)
Son, in whom he was well pleased.  We believe that Jesus was God in human
flesh - fully God and fully man - God incarnate.

>_they_ get angry and defensive when someone tries to logically explain away
>their experience.  Huh?  I am very confused.

My belief is in what has been recorded and passed to us.  I'm not sure
how one logically explains away this experience.  There can be and I have
and still do experience emotions as part of my communion with God, but that
is the basis of my faith nor the faith.

Sincerely,
Richard Pitts
-- 
rpitts@cerl.gatech.edu       |    
Atlanta, GA                --|-- 
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