Who is a Christian?

[Somerville]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

 

[Revelation]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

the extra books were not considered bible by the Jewish OT priests. unneeded.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

sure they can, many don't try though.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

the dating is fairly well known.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

nope, you are batting Zero.

try again. strike three, good bye.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

ignore? meh, mostly a Frivolous post. got any more ?




you can get any Opinion you want in bible schools, forums, or the man on the street.

to get at the Truth, well you have to Dig; put some Effort into it.

but you wont, will you?

then you fight with those who do, and we may just walk away. we feel you are not interested and move on.


blessings Somer, what's on the Sports Channel today?


50 days, keep digging.

.

 

[Bok Tuklo]

Those who adhere to the red letters.

Otherwise, they are Paulians. Or Jewish.

 

[Metanoia]

Those who adhere to the red letters.

Otherwise, they are Paulians. Or Jewish.

IMO a good answer. It is difficult to be a syncretist…..too much to apologize for or attempt to explain away. All of which can be an impediment to spiritual growth……and sometimes leading to becoming a recovering Christian.

 

[LittleNipper]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

GOD works through the HOLY SPIRIT to reveals HIS truth in the Bible. In this way Christians both study the Word seeking the truth and mature in their faith. The Christian is answerable to the LORD and not Church tradition. Moses who was once an Egyptian prince (the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter) wrote the first 5 book of the Bible.

 

[cpwill]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

You are incorrect on where the scholarship is on sourcing and timing of authorship; though it is true that many Christians conflate non-critical and critical doctrines.

 

[ASHES]

IMO, a christian is someone that claims to have accepted jesus as their savior from sin and eternal damnation. There are various different flavors and fakers. What I consider a true Christian is one that lives by Jesus's teachings of love thy neighbor and forgiveness. Not focused on wrath and revenge and coercive control endemic in the old testament.

Non-religious myself. Atheist I suppose. It is an accurate description but I also resist the capital A atheist description.

 

[VySky]

Those who adhere to the red letters.

Otherwise, they are Paulians. Or Jewish.

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

 

[ASHES]

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

That doesn't address mutually exclusive scriptures. It complicated their existence.

 

[poppopfox]

Who is a Christian?​

As far as this thread goes, only Metanoia fits the bill.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Lots of people.

 

[ASHES]

Lots of people.

I like your kind.

 

[Bok Tuklo]

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness

Paul wrote that, right?

 

[Parker_Chess]

The idea that we should base our Old Testament canon off the Jewish canon (the people who reject Jesus) is absurd. And the irony is that many Jews left Judaism for Christianity because they thought the Rabbis were removing important scriptures from the canon. For example, the Book of Maccabees, contains the Hanukkah miracle. Which is a widely celebrated holiday in Jewish tradition.

Anyone who believes in Jesus's death, resurrection, and 2nd coming to judge the living and the dead. And worships him as the one true God can be considered a Christian. This means that Unitarians, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses along with other cults/fringe groups these are not Christians. Even if they believe in the events in the Bible they're not apart of broad Christianity.

 

[btthegreat]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

I am not a Christian. It's not my place or my judgement that matters. Members of a club always get to decide membership criteria to join the club and they are not obliged to post them on the door. People on the outside need to MTOB.

 

[Michael Cole]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

I haven't heard of this, but it's interesting. It makes sense.

If we look at contemporary societies, Egyptian during the period described in the OT, and Greek/Roman when the NT was written, we see secular writings in addition to scripture. Where are the contemporary Hebrew secular writings? There are no Hebrew extra-biblical writings of any consequence.

The oldest known religious writings are the Pyramid Texts from the Old Kingdom in Egypt. Writing itself was in its infancy at this stage, and it wouldn't be until the Middle Kingdom that literature became widespread, but the secular writings (which almost always have a religious reference) that have survived are numerous.

Therefore, if we are to accept the common assumption that the OT was written beginning ~1,600 BCE, one would also expect secular writings from a society that spanned a millennium and a half. Especially since 1,600 was during Egypt's Middle Kingdom, at the height of literary art in the region.

I'm not prepared to say the OT is "made up," but I'm open to the idea. It does make sense. Who are these Hebrews and why haven't they written anything but scripture?

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

 

[OrphanSlug]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

That is the thing about Christianity and it is all rooted in a type of subjective truth (sometimes called personal or political truth.) But it is a lesson when looking across the history of the Abrahamic Religions that so few are willing to acknowledge.

Just about anyone can call themselves a Christian, the argument comes down to others suggesting otherwise based on how they look at being a Christian. Why? Because it is all based on a claim, that their splinter of the faith, reading from the version of the Bible they agree with, and hearing the context from someone of authority, all justifies their subjective truth.

It is the very reason you can have one church with traces of fundamentalism preaching literal hatred for some group, with another right down the road doing the exact opposite preaching, arguably, from a more progressive interpretations of the same text. The core of all of this, Bronze Age beliefs sprinkled across all sorts of people over a long period of time. Once subject to translation and interpretation, what the Roman Empire did notwithstanding, the game was up on universal agreement on what it means to be Christian.

Sure, plenty of similarity branch to branch, but... not really.

 

[Michael Cole]

Recent study using AI suggests the Dead Sea Scrolls may be older than we currently think.

How Old Are the Dead Sea Scrolls, Really?

Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls may be older than previously believed, and certain biblical texts might date back to the time of their original authors, according to new research. The first of these ancient scrolls were discovered in the Qumran caves in the Judean Desert by Bedouin shepherds in the mi

www.thearchaeologist.org

Apparently, AI uses the style of writing to determine age, and as tested, was correct 79% of the time as compared to carbon dating.

This system has already yielded fresh insights: for example, a copy of Ecclesiastes (included in both the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament) appears to date to the period of its supposed author.

This is far from definitive, but if shown to be accurate, this would put the date of writing back to the timeline described in the OT.

 

[Rumpel]

Who is a Christian?​

As far as this thread goes, only Metanoia fits the bill.

why?

 

[poppopfox]

why?

They are the most Bhudda-like. That and the absence of dogma.

 

[Rumpel]

Who is a Christian?​

anybody who is a member of a Christian denomination

 

[Fearandloathing]

"The Bible" in the book accepted by the majority of Protestants is a collection of 66 books, 39 Old Testament (Tanakh) and 27 New Testament. The Roman Catholic Church's Bible has 73 books; the additional seven are known as the Apocrypha. Greek and Russian Orthodox churches accept 79 books, while the Ethiopian Orthodox faith has 81 books.

Funny how so many who call themselves Christian can't agree with others who call themselves Christian.

Another subject on which Christians can't agree is the dating of the books found in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Recent scholarly work has been looking at the possibilities that the Old Testament books were all written during the Alexandrian period at the Library of Alexander in the Third and Second Centuries BCE, while the New Testament texts were created in the second half of the Second Century CE.

Of course, I expect some responses that will argue for earlier dating for these old books, while others who frequently post here may have me on "Ignore".

I was Christian for many years.

I attended bible college, taught a sermon or two.

Woke up one day with a huge "wait a sec" thought. "One woman?" God gave Adam one woman?

Even a kid knows you need at least two females to raise guppies otherwise the DNA deteriorates.

The world makes perfect sense when you realize its nothing more than an accident of nature. Probably billions across this universe....we just THINK we have to be special and not vermin destroying our own habitat

 

[poppopfox]

anybody who is a member of a Christian denomination

Don't buy that.
"And the sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside."

 

[MikePrime]

only low iq individuals, progressives and children take the bible exactly literally and ignore the cultural, literature, and philosophical importance.

If you dont understand the historically important of the bible and Christianity, you're seriously undereducated if you have a 4th grade take like "religion bad!"

This is honestly tiresome. Get a new hobby.

 

[Slartibartfast]

only low iq individuals, progressives and children take the bible exactly literally and ignore the cultural, literature, and philosophical importance.

If you dont understand the historically important of the bible and Christianity, you're seriously undereducated if you have 4th grad take like "religion bad!"

This is honestly tiresome. Get a new hobby.

?

One of the major critiques of progressive theology is that they take liberties with the Bible in terms of thinking of items as allegorical where others feel it should be taken more literally.

Also, I suggest one should try to shy away from these kinds of criticism when also making a large number of spelling and grammar mistakes. It takes a lot away from your point.