Beliefs Without Foundation For Christians (worth a rerun for any lurking theists)
In the short time I have been involved with these forums it has become tediously obvious that Christians in particular have no concept of the origins and political nature of their various sects and beliefs.
I am just going to list very few of the most egregious errors that are commonly held as “truth”
Let us start with the biggy:
The synoptic gospels are all eye witness accounts of the Jesus figure’s life written by disciples or followers at the time of the events.
Nope, the gospels by their own admission are NOT eye witness accounts. The timelines are wildly off and both Matthew and Luke correct and extensively plagiarise 'Mark” showing they are interpolated, edited copies of that earliest gospel written not earlier than 70CE.
John came much later and is dated to the early part of the second century. All the stories are changed or embellished.
There is lots of evidence that the Jesus of the Gospels existed.
There is no contemporary evidence that a Jesus figure as described in the gospels ever existed. None.
The apostolic tradition lives on in my Church
There is no contemporary evidence for the existence of any Disciples or Apostles*. The gospels don’t agree on who they were or where they went. There are no contemporary records of their deaths or even their lives.**They can’t even agree on how many there were.
My Church is founded by Jesus
Read your bible; the last thing Jesus the Torah bound Jew would do is admit gentiles to the temple. He instructed his disciples/Apostles not to approach gentiles or even Samaritans unless they first became Jews.
My Church is founded upon the rock of Peter in direct succession
There is no contemporary evidence at all that “Peter” or “Simon Peter” as described in the gospels ever existed.
*Note: A James was at the upper room temple at Jerusalem, and head of the Messianic Jewish sect that developed into Christianity. Several contemporary sources mention him. The same sources call him “Elder Brother” which immediately calls into doubt the virgin story of the mythical Mary figure.
**It is fairly certain that “Paul”, author of the epistles, who is anonymous, existed. But by his own admission never met the Jesus figure and conducted all his business by way of dreams and visions some 30 years after the events described in the gospels. So if your church adheres strictly to the uttering of Paul you may be justified in using “apostolic tradition” ( just insert the word “imagined” here) even though Paul himself was charged with apostasy of the Law by the founders of the Jewish Messianic Jesus sect.
The One True Church
There were a myriad of “Jesus” sects in the First and Second Centuries: The Ebionites, The Marcionites, The Sethians, The Syriac Church, The Valentianians, The Ophites, Cainites, Barbeloites, Abelonians, Agapetae, Alogians, Angelici, Antitactae, Aquarii, Archontics, Ascodroutes, Borborites, Levitics, Phibionites, Stratiotici, Carpocratians, Cerinthians, Adamites, Marcellianas, Cleobians, Docetae, Elcesaites, Encratites, Apostolics(Apotactics), Severians, Marcosians, Messalians, Nicolaism, Naassenes, Perates, Priscillianism, Secundians, Seleucians, never mind the many forms of other rites that eventually coalesced under duress from the Roman Emperors into what we now know as the Latin Rite (Catholic) and Eastern traditions. The Latin Rite and Eastern churches survived by dint of extreme brutality, massacre and book burning.
It is history, dear reader. Search out and read some truth.
We (insert the church here) preserved/translated the bible as truth
Bollocks. None of you preserved/translated a “bible” you all chant from comparatively recent translations of expurgated, interpolated texts, none of which actually date to the last quarter of the 1st century. Get real.
Pick a point if you wish to argue. Prepare to concede (as I will) when you are found to be in error.
Anyone want to do the same for Islam?