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Page 1 of 4 Origins
Christianity, now 2000 years old was originally intended to be a
modification to Judaism (The religion of the Jews going back more than
2500 years). The founder, Jesus, a man born a Jew in modern day Israel,
thought the Jewish religion was flawed and needed bringing up to
date. He had many religious and moral points to make which
made
him very unpopular with both the Jews and the Romans of the day, which
included:
- The Jewish faith was only available to those born a
Jew. Hence was a divisive religion.
- A religious faith should be open to all.
- The Jewish faith did not concentrate sufficiently on the
poor. That is attention needed to be directed to those in
need. Also it is easier to be a good poor man than a good
rich
man.
- The Jewish view of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth was
barbaric. Jesus preached a very tough alternative, “turn the
other cheek”. Clearly a suggestion that a
discussion might
avert a war.
Jesus also preached forgiveness. This has been
interpreted
by the Roman Church as forgiveness through confession. That
is if
you confess to a priest, God will not hold your sin against you when
its your time to die and go to paradise (Heaven). The priest
is
not in any circumstances obliged to tell the police even in the case of
murder. (Roman Catholics only)
ORIGINAL TEXTS AND
SCRIPTURES.
Jesus as with many other prophets did not write down his own set of
instructions and left it instead to others. In the case of
Jesus
his immediate followers provided a record of what Jesus taught but
written from memory more than 50 years after his death in the form of
easy to read and astonishing stories. The main contributors
were
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John plus the prolific letter writer and
evangelist, the gentile (or non Jew) Paul.
The three most important written instructions for Christians
are:
- The Bible, Old Testament. The first five books of which are
also followed by Jews.
- Bible, New Testament, where the words written by Matthew
and Mark etc are recorded.
- The Crede, written by Roman Christians about 1700
years ago
in the monasteries around Istanbul (Turkey), then Constantinople, the
then capital of the Eastern Roman empire of Byzantium.
As with some other religions the interpretation of the written words
must be by ordinary mortals who are prone to disagree particularly as
their first language is not necessarily the language of the original
scribe. In addition the interpretations need to be continuously brought
up to date for example as required by science (example birth control
and genetic engineering) and social customs (example the role of
women). Therein lie further problems which have regularly
created
splits (schisms) in the church and new cults or denominations.
THE BIBLE AND THE
FUNDEMENTAL RULES OF CHRISTIANITY
The most important parts of the Bible for Christians are:
Firstly -THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
The Ten Commandments are shared between the Jews and the Christians.
These rules for life were thought by Moses to be given to him by God on
Mount Sinai in the now Egyptian Sinai desert when he (Moses) was
leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt en route to the
“Promised Land” which is present day Israel plus
the
Palestinian West Bank. (About 2500 years ago).
They are: (Bible, Exodus Ch. 20)
- Honour your father and mother
- Don’t kill other humans
- Do not commit adultery
- Do not envy or long to own your neighbours house, or wife,
nor anything that belongs to your neighbour
- Do not tell lies about your neighbour
- Do not steal
- Work for six days a week
- On the seventh rest but this is also Gods day.
- Do not mention God’s name without reverence.
- Do not make models or icons about God or Heaven.
Jesus added to these some 500 years later on another desert mountain in
what is now called the Sermon on the Mount as follows:
(Ref.: Bible New Testament, Matthew chapters 5/6/7)
- Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth
- Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the
sons of God
- Blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy
- Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God
- Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
for they shall be satisfied.
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven
- Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted
At the same time Jesus took the opportunity to strengthen the rules of
the Ten Commandments for example he said:
- Remember what the old timers said about adultery, as far as
I’m concerned you have committed adultery if you so much as
think
about sleeping with another man’s wife.
- It was also said by the old timers, “If you
divorce your
wife give her a certificate (Testimonial letter)”. I say if
you
divorce your wife for anything other than unchastity (refusing to have
sex with you) makes her an adulteress and who ever marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.
- Remember also the words “Thou shalt not
kill.”
“I say to you every one who is angry, even with his friend,
shall
be liable for punishment.”
What Jesus left out.
The Ten Commandments were ten out of more than one hundred given to
Moses by God some 500 years before Jesus gave “his Sermon on
the
Mount.” Here are a few examples of some Jesus left
out:
(See Exodus chapter 20/1/2/3 for the complete list.)
- If a man has sex with a maiden (virgin) he must marry her.
(Ch. 22 v.16)
- If her father refuses, he shall give the virgin’s
father a suitable present (dowry) and then marry her. (Ch 22 v. 17)
- If a man has sex with an animal he must be put to
death (Ch 22 v.19)
- If a man takes an additional wife she must in no way be
treated worse than the first. (Ch 21 v 10)
- If a man kills another man he must be put to
death. (Ch 21 v 12)
- If a man hits his Father or his Mother he must be put to
death
Secondly - Prayer
At the same time Jesus told his followers that it was important that
they should pray regularly. He also advised that private prayer (e.g.
at home) would be more valuable than public prayer (e.g. in the
street). The basic prayer he gave at this time was. (Freely translated)
Our Father who is in
heaven,
Glorious is your name,
Your kingdom will come,
Your rules will be obeyed,
On this Earth as they are in Heaven.
Please give us this day the food we need.
Please also forgive us our sins,
As we have been told to forgive those who sin against us.
Please also lead us away from temptation and evil.
Thank you God,
For ever and ever
Amen
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