A critical study of the Bible

one with discernment can see through these lies and distortions to the real gold that resides in scripture.

Indeed. But the real GOLD that lies in the scriptures is the hidden references to entheogenic (drug plants) origins. Any study that ignores such a likely key origin is certainly not “critical”. And such ignoring is excuseless, since the information has been around since at least 1970. It’s about as honest as a study of 60’s acid rock that doesn’t mention LSD.

First hint: “Gospel” translates as “trance”. It doesn’t take a genius to see drug origin there.

Now just imagine; if all the words spent on communicating any type of Christianity, other than one based on a hallucinatory drug plant, were just folly. Can you even attempt to imagine, if the entheogenic origin is true, all the words spent in error? Words, hell; imagine all the LIVES spent – all in waste!

Well maybe not a complete waste. Curiously, it seems that those who kept communicating about the scriptures, even though it was purely unintentional, actually kept the real meaning alive.

(Even though I skimmed most of this thread, I can’t imagine anyone has previously mentioned this – even though it constitutes the MOST CRITICAL study of the bible.)
 
Jesus reaffirmed the 10 commandments. Paul not only did not do away with the 10 commandments he did not have the RIGHT to do away with them. Jesus = God. Paul = man. A good man, but a man nonetheless.

But, like I said, Paul did not teach what you think he was teaching. We are not under the human condemnation of the law, but we are still under the law. Sin is still defined as the transgression of the law. (1 John 3:4) The law still points out sin. (Romans 7:7) The wages of sin is still death. (Romans 6:23) But the good part is that the gift of God is eternal life. (Same verse). All of the 10 commandments are still binding. Even coveting is still wrong. (Again see Romans 7:7). Further Jesus said that unless our righteousness EXCEEDS that of the pharisees, we will not enter heaven. (Matthew 5:20).

But I'll ask you the same question I asked earlier. Which of the 10 commandments do you now think it is ok to break? Is it ok to steal or kill or covet or commit adultery or dishonor your parents or use God's name as a swear word? Really?

Edit: I went back and looked up the verses you quoted and I see your mistake. Re-read Galatians 5:1-6 and explain to me why you apparently think circumcision was part of the 10 commandments?

1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.


Again you have to understand that there was a ceremonial law that stood apart from the 10 commandments. Christians don't have to be circumcised. But Christians are supposed to abstain from killing, adultery, perjury, coveting etc.

Now let's look at 2 Corinthians 3:7 in context.

7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9 If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


Remember earlier when I said that the new covenant isn't really all that new? Well 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 also says nothing about doing away with the 10 commandments. To the contrary it talks of the "old covenant" being like a "veil". That's because it was communicated indirectly through Moses. But God first TRIED to talk DIRECTLY to the Israelites. That's what we can have under the new covenant. The same direct face to face communication with God that Moses had and that God tried to have with all of Israel.

If Leviticus is still active? If yes/no, why/why not?
 
Indeed. But the real GOLD that lies in the scriptures is the hidden references to entheogenic (drug plants) origins. Any study that ignores such a likely key origin is certainly not “critical”. And such ignoring is excuseless, since the information has been around since at least 1970. It’s about as honest as a study of 60’s acid rock that doesn’t mention LSD.

First hint: “Gospel” translates as “trance”. It doesn’t take a genius to see drug origin there.

Right. A New Age "critical" look at the Bible through the lens of LSD and drugs is better than 2,000 years of consistent interpretation.
Now just imagine; if all the words spent on communicating any type of Christianity, other than one based on a hallucinatory drug plant, were just folly. Can you even attempt to imagine, if the entheogenic origin is true, all the words spent in error? Words, hell; imagine all the LIVES spent – all in waste!

Well maybe not a complete waste. Curiously, it seems that those who kept communicating about the scriptures, even though it was purely unintentional, actually kept the real meaning alive.

(Even though I skimmed most of this thread, I can’t imagine anyone has previously mentioned this – even though it constitutes the MOST CRITICAL study of the bible.)

Right. A New Age "critical" study of the Bible that has been around for 30 years is better than 2,000 years of consistent interpretation.
 
I still think that all of the books of the bible should have been either included in the cannon or as a separate cannon. I do not believe that just because the curators of the bible did not 'feel' that the other books were worth including, that they should have been left out. Historians have found several of the missing books. I just do not believe that Christianity should be judged by so few books.

You are leaving out the possibility of divine influence in selecting the cannon.
 
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I still think that all of the books of the bible should have been either included in the cannon or as a separate cannon. I do not believe that just because the curators of the bible did not 'feel' that the other books were worth including, that they should have been left out. Historians have found several of the missing books. I just do not believe that Christianity should be judged by so few books.

What do you think of the "Gospel of Thomas"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Thomas
 
Right. A New Age "critical" study of the Bible that has been around for 30 years is better than 2,000 years of consistent interpretation.

First off, your math is wrong; it has been around for 40 years.

Secondly, basing your argument on antiquity is a logical fallacy (“appeal to tradition”). The age of a belief/interpretation says nothing about its validity. If it did, the King James Bible would all be void; because many opposing beliefs that predated it were around for much longer.

Third, I don’t know what you mean by “New Age”, but Allegro’s SCIENTIFIC work far predated the common meaning of that term.
 
First off, your math is wrong; it has been around for 40 years.

Secondly, basing your argument on antiquity is a logical fallacy (“appeal to tradition”). The age of a belief/interpretation says nothing about its validity. If it did, the King James Bible would all be void; because many opposing beliefs that predated it were around for much longer.

Third, I don’t know what you mean by “New Age”, but Allegro’s SCIENTIFIC work far predated the common meaning of that term.

A "critical study" of the gospels began in the 5th century with Augustine of Hippo, regarding the synoptic problem. I agree with Christian Hermann Weisse's theory; that both Matthew and Luke borrowed from Mark and another source, "Q".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels
 
First off, your math is wrong; it has been around for 40 years.

Secondly, basing your argument on antiquity is a logical fallacy (“appeal to tradition”). The age of a belief/interpretation says nothing about its validity. If it did, the King James Bible would all be void; because many opposing beliefs that predated it were around for much longer.

Third, I don’t know what you mean by “New Age”, but Allegro’s SCIENTIFIC work far predated the common meaning of that term.

I cited 2,000 years of consistent interpretation, which I should have specified includes the earliest of Christians, none of whom ever talk about hallucinogens. You would think that the earliest Christians would know about these hallucinogens if the Bible was intended to be interpreted that way. People like Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Iraneaus, St. Clement, St. Polycarp, St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome (the best Bible scholar of the ancient world), and on and on and on...

I have seen nothing in all my studies of the Christian tradition that indicate a theory which you have proposed. As such I reject it. Jesus Christ established his Church on and set St. Peter as its first head. Never have I seen anything in the history of His Church which would indicate your hypothesis being true.
 
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I cited 2,000 years of consistent interpretation, which I should have specified includes the earliest of Christians, none of whom ever talk about hallucinogens. You would think that the earliest Christians would know about these hallucinogens if the Bible was intended to be interpreted that way. People like Origen, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Iraneaus, St. Clement, St. Polycarp, St. Augustine, St. Athanasius, St. Jerome (the best Bible scholar of the ancient world), and on and on and on...

I have seen nothing in all my studies of the Christian tradition that indicate a theory which you have proposed. As such I reject it. Jesus Christ established his Church on and set St. Peter as its first head. Never have I seen anything in the history of His Church which would indicate your hypothesis being true.

I’m afraid you miss the point. The interpretations reveal that the earliest Christians DO talk about hallucinogens. I can’t help it if your studies have not accessed any of this information, but the misdirection of your studies does not detract anything from the entheogenic origin theory. And I’m unclear why you would reject something so flatly without knowing anything about it (or wanting to). Are you not concerned that you may have been mislead about the true Christianity for all these years? If there was one tiny chance that the real Jesus was something quite different, would you not want to at least be somewhat educated about the details (if nothing else than to more competently argue against it)?

Would you like a link?
 
I’m afraid you miss the point. The interpretations reveal that the earliest Christians DO talk about hallucinogens. I can’t help it if your studies have not accessed any of this information, but the misdirection of your studies does not detract anything from the entheogenic origin theory. And I’m unclear why you would reject something so flatly without knowing anything about it (or wanting to). Are you not concerned that you may have been mislead about the true Christianity for all these years? If there was one tiny chance that the real Jesus was something quite different, would you not want to at least be somewhat educated about the details (if nothing else than to more competently argue against it)?

Would you like a link?

I would.
 
I've heard conjecture that the words "bosem qaneh" being mistranslated as: sweet calamus, aromatic cane, fragrant cane, sweet myrtle, calamus, sweet-smelling cane, scented reed, fragrant calamus, spice-cane.... , but so far I find little evidence that it was incorrectly translated.

Here is where the supposed mistranslation is found, Exodus 30:23 . I believe it is a matter of conjecture as to it being a mistranslation.
 
If Leviticus is still active? If yes/no, why/why not?

What do you mean by "active"? Are there principles in Leviticus that still make sense like not having open sewage running on the ground*? Yes. Do we have to kill a lamb for forgiveness of sin now that the Lamb of God (Jesus) has already died? You won't go to hell just because you're not circumcised. But if you let the sins of murder, theft, dishonesty, sexual immorality etc. control you the sacrifice of Jesus will not cover you. The 10 commandments are reaffirmed in the gospels and throughout the New Testament.

* (actually that's in Deuteronomy. But by "Leviticus" I'm assuming your meaning "law of Moses" as opposed to the 10 commandments)
 
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What do you mean by "active"? Are there principles in Leviticus that still make sense like not having open sewage running on the ground*? Yes. Do we have to kill a lamb for forgiveness of sin now that the Lamb of God (Jesus) has already died? You won't go to hell just because you're not circumcised. But if you let the sins of murder, theft, dishonesty, sexual immorality etc. control you the sacrifice of Jesus will not cover you. The 10 commandments are reaffirmed in the gospels and throughout the New Testament.

* (actually that's in Deuteronomy. But by "Leviticus" I'm assuming your meaning "law of Moses" as opposed to the 10 commandments)

Yes, I'm referring to the law of Moses.
 
I just started reading the bible a couple weeks ago. I had never read it before because I never made the time. At first I was trying to read the King James version but it was taking me forever because I had no idea what half of it meant. My friend suggested I switch to the NIV bible. It's been a lot easier for me to read.

I have an NIV Study Bible and I really like it. Everything Jesus said is in "red" print. My grandpa gave me his "Jerusalem Bible" (not New Jerusalem) before he died. This is supposed to be the most neutral translation; in other words the translators didn't try to push any agenda. The NIV Bible does push the Trinity, but outside of that, I think it is a good translation.

There is one thing I keep in mind when I read the gospels. Jesus spoke in Palestinian Aramaic, which is a dead language. So, it is very possible that the meaning of what He said could have been lost in translating from His language, to Greek, to Latin, etc. There is an excellent book that explores this called: "The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus."

http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Gospel-Decoding-Spiritual-Message/dp/0835607801
 
Well to be clear we are not under the law of Moses. But parts of the law of Moses still make sense if you want to live healthy, have financial security etc. The sacrificial laws no longer apply at all.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

What is this all about?
 
A good reading is the Wedding at Cana.

Jesus orders the six (imperfect number) water jugs, which are used for "ritual purification", filled to the brim. Miraculously the water is transformed into wine. One reality has been fulfilled and replaced by a greater reality. This reality is true life and joy in God. We are no longer bound to the complete law of Moses, but we must live as Christ lived.
 
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

What is this all about?

Well I've given my own explanation of this very passage already in this thread. What good is it for you to hear what I think over and over again? Still I'll try and give the cliff notes version.

The ceremonial law (the Passover, Yom Kippur etc) were all prophetic rituals that pointed to Jesus coming the first time. Those prophecies have been fulfilled. Jesus came and died and rose again already. What point would it be to keep doing ceremonies pointing to the fact that the messiah would come if the messiah already came?

On the flip side, the prohibitions against theft, murder, perjury etc. have nothing to do with fulfilling any prophecy. It was wrong to murder before Jesus was born and it's still wrong to murder now.

There are other laws that also were not prophetic, but weren't part of the 10 commandments either such as tithing or laws about health. Are those laws still "alive"? Well the consequences with regards to health and finances still exist, whether you are "under" such laws or not. Untreated sewage flowing on the ground can lead to disease today just as surely as thousands of years ago.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Now what are yours?
 
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

What is this all about?
The part I have bolded in your post might be the key to understanding that quote from scripture. What did Jesus say just before He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost?

Here is a quote from the King James Version of the Bible.
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

When He said "It is finished.", what do you suppose He meant by that?
 
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