OK, so…

1. there are biblical scholars that state that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate reflection of the original texts because it maintains the poetic flow of words and descriptive phrasing

1. Scholars are still discovering flaws in the translations because the original texts did not use punctuation, nor were there breaks between sentences and chapters.

1. Many times there are notations in a concordance matched Bible where it is noted "the exact translation of this text is uncertain." Thus, we cannot now know what the original was exactly, only the word used which is now too vague.

1. Trying to discern any prophecy from these old texts is like playing the sorcerer who tosses a can of chicken bones on the floor to see how they strategically landed, ie it does not really yield any certainty and can easily be contorted to conform to one's own personal ideas and beliefs.

1. Jesus spoke against the scribes. What did he know? Were the scribes doing their own version of translating the texts of their tribe, in order to make laws that oppressed the people? And what is the Talmud? It is a collection of personal opinions about the texts and may not at all conform to the history of the tribe. Believe such things at one's own risk, but don't assume that such things are "the word of God."

1. So, if we cannot rely on "every jot and tittle" being an accurate translation of an original that goes back milliniums and which when Ezra attempted to translate were in a nearly forgotten language —

noting here that only the Levite priests practiced the ancient Hebrew–

if these texts have been subjected to errors in translation,

what can we honestly glean from them?

We can glean very much, indeed.

These texts are the history of a tribe wherein the nobility of its original kings was on a high scale. The texts are part of the legacy that was handed down from one inheritor to another to preserve that nobility.

It is very readable to follow this tribes history if you do not put on the glasses of prophecy and instead put on the glasses of righteousness. When you come to believe in the righteousness of the kings, you will discover that — Jacob did a wonderful thing to preserve his tribe, when his sons had become quite horrible. He gave them a religion. But he gave the legacy only to one… the son of Joseph.

When all this unfolds to you

you will love Jacob and Joseph

and you will love Abraham.

This tribe was a tribe of justice and non-violence. If you look for this you will find it.

Jesus tried to give the legacy back to his people.

Very beautiful story, indeed.

OK, so…

1. All these number calculations may well prove some point to people, and if you juggle things just right you can end up with a mathematical summation that justifies a particular belief you wish to cling to. Cling to it as you wish, but…

the proof of what you need to find is…

what is mankind's "most beautiful self."

Mankind's "most beautiful self" comes from equanimity of understanding.

What can simple people know and understand?

Simple people can know and understand MERCY

and living in a Truth and a Peace with one another.

Living in Truth and Peace with one another

requires learning how to speak well

it requires learning how to act well

Religion surely must be that process by which

we learn to live our lives where Truth can abide in Peace

both with ourselves and with one another.

These are not easy skills to master.

These skills require much thought and contemplation.

These skills require one to clear the mind

of all judgment and accusation

and take on the mantra of love and understanding.

It is with those skills that you will free your human spirit

and live freely without fear or condemnation.

When your intentions become purified

you do the hard work of learning to live in peace.

OK, so…

born again

in ancient times surely it was known

that there was much that they did not know

but they realized that some day… one day…

there would be greater knowledge than what they then knew

we are now living in the days when what was then unknowable

can now be discovered and understood

being born again means being able to gather all those truths

and finally be able to live IN truth

and not in superstition

not by depending on FAITH

but by KNOWING the truth of what we are told

The scriptures DO very much sound like a religion of superstition

but this is a mistake

it was a religion very much of TRUTH

based on FACT and not of assumption or superstition

So, if we shed the garments of superstitious religion, with its demons and angels

without which a religion just wasn't a religion, you know

and no one would have believed it was a religion without such things

and begin again in a base of FACT and provable TRUTH

you may discover that there IS a God

or a Power that rules all of life

and if we are to live in harmony with that

we must become OUR MOST BEAUTIFUL SELVES.

We need no longer be ruled by fear of the unknown and unknowable

we can live knowing that there is a grand and beautiful order here

wherein all things come into harmony

and where all things find their peace.

OK, so…

Truthfully?

The language of the kind of Christianity that has evolved from Paul

– who was very much challenged by Peter in his beliefs–

adopts the old superstitions of demons and angels and ghosts and goblins.

To me it sounds like pagan mumbo jumbo.

With a magic wand we become pure again.

With a magic wand everything is done for us.

Don't worry about anything

because God will save the day.

Just BELIEVE and it is all fixed.

Naw. This is not for me.

Believe first in love and peace.

Believe that these are the things that purify us.

Learn what love really is… what it means… what it requires of us.

Then take that golden knowledge

and sort through the mumbo jumbo…

sort through the pagan magical words.

Where in the scriptures did God EVER ask

for a sacrifice of blood??

It will take a lot of searching, I assure you,

and you will NEVER find it.

NEVER EVER did God demand a bloody sacrifice.

The closest thing you will get is Abraham's sacrifice of an ox

after which Abraham had a horrific nightmare

and then was told to sacrifice his own son.

When Abraham went to do this

he was drawn away and sacrifice a goat.

What does this mean?

It means that God loves his creatures like they are his children

and NEVER should one be killled

just for the sake of the killing.

Look again in Genesis 14:14

God gave permission to eat animals only under strict circumstances

which was – to survive –

and that killing for the sake of killing was abhorent

that an animal that kills just for the sake of killing

is considered a deranged creature and is destroyed

and he told Noah

that the life of a man was even moreso protected

that if a man kills just for the sake of killing

that he should be destroyed.

the Passover Lamb

was not a sacrificial lamb

it was a feast to celebrate the journey back to their homeland

a preparation for the hard days to come

and that they should leave blood on their houses

before they left their bondage behind them.

There are no sacrifices after Abraham.

He had ended them.

He had come to his senses.

OK, so…

Look again at Moses.

He had come down the mountain with a beautiful plan for the tribe of Jacob

and found them resuming the pagan ways of worship

and he destroyed the tablets.

He gave the tribe of Jacob a religion to follow

but now it was a religion that accused them

it enscribed into stone their sins

rebel means to "go back" and to "war with"

and their religion now would include animal sacrifice

which is an abhorent thing

and which no god of righteousness and good

would ever request or require

and they would have this version of religion

until they came back to God

and knew him.

OK, so…

The tradition of inheriting to the eldest son

was NOT a tradition with the Hebrews.

The legacy of the tribe was too important.

Jacob enshrined this tradition for all time

and he made a emphatic note of it

He would inherit to the sons of Joseph.

If you think that beautiful and righteous Jacob

would honor his horrible sons with the legacy that had been entrusted to him

think again.

He was setting a standard for the kings

that would follow in his line

and he had a heavy duty to be true to his forefathers.

No.

He gave them nothing but insults.

Read the last words of Genesis knowing this

and you will see that Jacob mocked them.

He had held his tongue for Joseph's sake

but he was dying

and he was silent no longer.

He mocked them.

Judah had pranced around like a prince

wearing his princely ring like a king

and he was mocked.

But Jacob did save his tribe.

He put Joseph in charge of ensuring it.

He would give them a religion.

It was his answer to a very tough circumstance.

OK, so…

Although the King James' version of these texts

is considered more TRUE because of the reflection

of its form as a poetic and flowery script

a student might find it useful

to compare other translations

for a better depth into the passages.

However, the temptation has been in some translations

to conform the wording to the doctrine

rather than keep the translation more pure.

Doctrines that have evolved over time

have been used as the controlling method

to deciphering the "INTENT"

where

one might very easily go afoul of the intent.

OK, so…

Paul was the man (his duty as a Roman citizen) who was put in charge of quelling the Jesus movement- the REBELLION (if you can find historical data, please post it).

So, what a momentous stroke of luck it was (yes sarcasm) that he would have a heavenly vision and begin a preaching career on the meaning of Jesus' asassination.

NOW it was by GOD'S ORDER that Jesus had to be killed, not Rome's order.

Jesus was the sacrificial lamb.

He had to die to save us from SIN.

Well, who knows. Paul may have actually believed his doctrines. He had a few really good statements. But people in those days would not have believed that there was a religion without a hierarchy of spirits and ghosts and goblins.

Paul and Peter did not agree on some things. Go figure. Believe at your own risk and glean the good from the bad in all of this. Become a whole human being with a mind of its own – not a walking robot spouting things one can't possible prove or understand.

JMHO

There are many denominations of Christianity, not just Southern Baptist.

The first thing you see on the General discussion board

is this

"And you shall know the Truth

and the Truth shall set you free."

And so darlings

consider just what that high Truth really is.

That high Truth MUST be an eternally TRUE truth.

Eternal truth is that which has always been true

and which will always be true.

The high Truth is

no God worth worshipping

would require or request blood sacrifices.

This requires one to reread the text

in a new light.

That new light is

Jesus was trying to bring the children of Jacob

back to Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham

who were dedicated to non-violence.

When you reread the texts in this light

the entire story comes full circle.

Jesus was also a man dedicated to non-violence.

He reconnected to beautiful King Jacob.

It is the story of a tribe of Great Kings.