From: pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey)
Subject: Re: I'm God.
Organization: The Duck Pond public unix: +1 408 249 9630, log in as 'guest'.
	<10989@gunn.ed.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 19:00:11 GMT

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
monotheism, one God of Israel, He whose name is not to be pronounced, He
who responded, "I am that I am", no Christian Devil, no Christian Jesus,
no Christian Hell and the day of rest is the seventh day, Saturday. The
irony of Christians trying to tell the Jews the meaning of their own
Hebrew scriptures is not lost. Part of the reason for this
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
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,
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
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
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.

>I don't know about Mitras, but Osiris is in his kingdom, judging the dead.
>Your soul will be munched by a crocodile deity when you get there,
>that I can tell you.

If I remember correctly, your heart is to be weighed against a feather,
and if lighter than a feather, then you go to Heaven, but if heavier,
you are condemed to Hell.

<About Buddha>
>Yes, of course he did die, and he wasn't reborn -- he achieved nirvana.
>Surely that is a greater feat than rising again in this transitory world,
>and walking around in a body deformed by marks of nails and spears.

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
that he has read the Bible, (probably KJV), a book of Christian History
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
interested in the truth, that would be far to complicated, instead they
prefer the easy assurance of selffulfilling propaganda, the fool's idea
that the only book worth reading is KJV. The main attraction of
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 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.