January 24, 2009, 11:31 am by dc-agape.

Before I can start reading the NT I must cover one more topic.  Previously, I covered the “silent years”.  I must bring up the Synoptic Problem before I can begin reading the four gospels.  The Problem boils down to: the independence of the Gospels and the order the Gospels were written.

In the Zondervan NIV 9 theories are presented on this Synoptic Problem.  Many of these theories are variations on the same theme.  One common source (verbal, lost verses, lost Gospel, or Matthew, Mark, or Luke being the original) are all similar concepts.  One theory, which can be thrown out, is that all three books are completely independent.  This is hogwash…between Matthew and Mark there is a 91% correlation, and between Luke and Mark there is a 53% correlation.  Since only one of these authors that might have been an eyewitness, Matthew, it is impossible to have 3 independent accounts of the same events with these correlation numbers. 

It seems odd that the best theory accepted today does not include Matthew as the source (if he was the Apostle Levi!  He was the only one there, yet Biblical scholars do not believe that the Book of Matthew was the original source.  In fact, it is clear that the author of the Book of Matthew was not the Apostle Matthew (Levi).  So we have 3 Gospels of Jesus that were not written by his Apostles.  This concept leaves a feeling of corruption in the mouth of a gay Atheist. 

The earliest possible date of “publication” was at least 20 years after the death of Jesus.  If you are more than 25 years old, think back 20 years…could you write about the events of that period in your life with accuracy?  Now think about someone else writing about that same time period with you as the center piece…what do you think about the possibility of accuracy now?  When we push the dates of writing out further from the actual events, toward 40 years, repeat the thought process I introduced previously.  How does the accuracy of the writings look to you now?

I will use the most accepted theory of the Biblical scholars.  This one includes Mark and another document (called the Quelle) as the original source of the 3 Synoptic Gospels.  As a result, most of Matthew and Mark will be identical translations.  I should probably start with the book of Mark as a result.

Posted in Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Matthew, Biblical topics | Print | 1 Comment »

January 24, 2009, 10:09 am by dc-agape.

Growing up in the Southern Baptist and then joining the Oahu Church of Christ, I was exposed to the concept of Pascal’s Wager.  In this link, of Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert), Scott describes much about the concept.  He even points out mathematically that Islam would be the best bet!  In Piers Anthony’s Tarot Series, Piers Anthony comes to the conclusion that only Satan can be the true religion!  But even this is his satire…how can anarchy (Satan worship) be organized!  More will be posted on Piers Anthony’s influence on my becoming an Atheist in later posts.

As I have said before, I was baptized as a Presbyterian, Southern Baptist, and into the Oahu Church of Christ.  I was even a founding “missionary” for the Hilo Church of Christ.  I see that my work as a missionary failed!  The Hilo Church of Christ is now part of the International Christian Church.  Referring to Pascal’s Wager, I wonder which one will make it to heaven!  Remember:

Eph 4:2-6 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Even the church that taught me this has fallen into disunity!  With Pascal’s Wager, alone, any Christian faith would be enough, or as Scott Adam’s points out in his post, Islam.  But when you add Ephesians 4:2-6 you realized that there is only one Body (One Church), one Spirit (One Translation of the Word), and One Baptism.  The so-called “christians” have minimized this verse to the One Hope and ignored the other Ones! 

Pascal’s Wager takes on a new meaning when you apply the Word of God to the wager.  Even if the “god” of the Bible is the “One True God”, how do we know which christian faith to follow?  Catholism is the oldest, maybe it is right.  Maybe Mohammad is the last prophet and Islam is right.  Maybe the NT is a fake and only Judaism is right.  What about those faith healers, are they right?  But maybe it is the fungementalist who want to make the US a theocracy, maybe they are the good ones?  How can a person know that their religion, that most of us were born into, is the right one?  Jumping from Christian sect to sect is no better…we stop either when we find the one that “feels” right or when we settle for the best of the worst! 

In the NT the apostles and some of the disciples could do miracles.  People died for their beliefs.  Today, in the US, christianity is so pervasive that everyone knows the story, but no one knows the score!  Pascal’s Wager cannot be used to “save our soul” because “just believing” is not enough.  The god of the OT is inerrant and unchanging…well guess what, if that is true, then he will only accept one thing.  And that One Thing is not a divided church with 38,000 variations! 

As a gay man, I have been the outsider of each church I have joined.  Each gay person that attempts to be a Christian has more to overcome than any other “sinner”.  There is a stigma that homosexuality is a “worse” sin than any of the others.  But this is not true, and remember these verses are directed at the Christians in the area of Galatia:

Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.  I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

This verse clearly states that “sin is sin”, none is more “sinful” than any other.  As a result, the litmus test for the True Christian Church is this:  I, or any gay person, am accepted and have all the same rights and privileges of any other member, when everyone knows that I am gay!  In the news today, we can see which denomination are not the True Church.  The Catholics, the Holy Rollers, and the Southern Baptist, all feel that homosexuality is an unforgivable sin.  Even the Episcopal Church struggles with this issue.

So these Pascal’s Wager, Ephesians 4:2-6, Galatians 5:19-21, and the organized “churches” combine to leave the option that the god of the Bible maybe real.  But if this is true, all humanity is doomed to hell.  Not a single human has done as the Bible commands, and we know that breaking the commandments of YHWH will send you to hell!

As a gay Atheist I can easily interpret this situation into one that uses Pascal’s Wager to insure that Atheism is the correct assumption.  A loving god would not leave all of humanity to hell; he would leave markers to follow and a Holy Ghost to guide us.  These markers and this Holy Ghost do not have visible signs in the world today.  If they did, we would have one unified Church that followed the teachings of Jesus and obeyed the Word of God.  All we have is a fractured religion that cherry picks verses from the Bible that do not scare or intimidate their followers.

To cut down on spam, please solve this math equation: (
- 6 19 13 9 - 2 + 17 + 6 10 + 3 11 16
)?
UPDATE wp_posts SET comment_status = ‘closed’, ping_status = ‘closed’ WHERE comment_status = ‘open’;
- 6 19 13 9 - 2 + 17 + 6 10 + 3 11 16
)?

Posted in Pascal's Wager, State of Mind, Becoming an atheist, Introduction | Print | 165 Comments »