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Christianity and Judaism Have Evolved – Let’s Examine Why — 4 Comments

  1. Maybe consider rephrasing this bit:

    “Oh what, Jesus and the woman brought to him you say? Oh I see he said “let he who is without sin cast the first stone” and everyone left right there? That changed it all you say? Really so Christians your bible then, it starts with the Gospel of Matthew right? You got rid of all that old testament stuff then right? No? Um, why not?

    Oh, I see Jesus also said, “I did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it”. Well, well, so it is all still in place? No. Just parts of it? Okay which parts, okay so no one is to be gay married, I see, what about eating shell fish and pork though, that is okay right? Yea this makes perfect sense.

    So you are saying that Jesus left a list somewhere saying you can do this now but not that, this is still wrong but don’t stone people for it, just lock them up or deny them rights etc.? Wait, that doesn’t exist? Okay, one more honest question then….”

    It just seems.. juvenile. It’s a good point though.

  2. “Okay so here is my answer to why religions like Christianity and Judaism have evolved, they had to, period.”

    Wrong. Humanity in general hasn’t “evolved.” Just look at any society that hasn’t been traditionally Christian prior to Deist-ification or Secularization. No no no.

    No, the reason Christianity “evolved” was because buried under all the Trinitarian dogma and other useless crap were liberal moral notions of tolerance like turning the other cheek. The reason Judaism “evolved” is it had to somewhat copy Christianity to survive.

  3. It’s my opinion that religion does not come from God (or our creator). Religion is a very human, cultural response to our consideration of our place in the cosmos and in relation to our creator. Therefore, religion does not divine origins. God did not start Judaism, or Christianity, or Islam, or Buddhism, or Hinduism. ALL of these religions were started by human beings living within certain cultures. And these religions show both brilliant insights into some things as well as obtuse ignorance about other things. This is why as human knowledge grows, these religions, though rooted in the past, have to incorporate new knowledge in order to remain relevant. Otherwise, they die out. This is also why almost every religion has a conservative branch that wants to keep things the way they were, and a progressive branch that wants to grow into new knowledge, new information.

    Having been a Christian for most of my life, I find Christianity to be, not a religion of divine origin from God himself, but a culture that very much picks and chooses which parts of the bible and of church history it wants to hold to. Most Christians can’t even recite the Beatitudes. That should tell you something about how highly they value the teachings of the one they call Lord (or God). But it is also the case that BOTH conservative AND liberal Christianity pick and choose. Conservatives reject Jesus’ social teachings, favoring Paul’s teachings about faith alone. Liberals reject Jesus’ teachings about hell or about leaving family in order to follow him. Religions, being created by human beings (not by God) are likewise shaped by human beings to meet the specific needs of the cultures in which they dwell. This is simply a fact. If they don’t, these religions die out. And some of them should.

  4. Now compare that to ritual, which is enacted, which is embodied. Rituals begin and end. They require both shared intention and shared attention. There are norms involved. They take place in a time within time beyond the time of the everyday. (Think, for example, of a football game in which balls can be caught out of bounds and time can be paused. We regularly participate in modes of reality in which we willingly bracket out the real world . Play allows us to do this.) Most important of all, says Bellah, play is a practice in itself, and not something with an external end .

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