Hello everyone

I gonna do a short series of threads posing the questions that I have developed during my research into the Universe and religion. Forgive me if these things are old news I have only just discovered them myself and I can't find much about them online..
PS: I hope I'm posting in the right section.

My first question involves the book of Mark 16. v14-20

(Taken from the King James Version)

(BTW. This is just after Jesus rose from the grave and had been seen by witnesses who were not believed by his deciples.)

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14Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
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Right let's start with verse 19... This happened just before Jesus ascended into heaven, so if you belive in the Bible, and you believe that Jesus was God in human form on Earth. Then surely you would think that these being the last words that God himself ever said directly to a mortal man, they carry some weight... So anyway, it clearly states here in verses 17 and 18 that any truly saved baptised believer will be hereafter imbued with the supernatural abilities of exorcism, speaking languages they've never studied, healing powers and an ability to pick up snakes and drink deadly poisons without harm.

Now I recently saw a Youtube video where a man gave a preacher a bottle of poisonous liquid and told him to prove himself by drinking it. Obviously the Pastor didn't drink from the bottle but he instead created a loophole for himself whereby he said the man offering the bottle was a demon and just like Jesus, he didn't accept chalenges from demons... But if you look again at verse 20, I think he was wrong to do this. The Bible clearly states that the Lord was there to help them show these signs and that the signs are there in order to comfirm the word of God. As it says... "Confirm the word with these signs following". So Jesus wanted you (With his very last words on Earth) to prove him, yourself and the word by displaying these abilities.

So therefore, I would personally conclude that if the Bible is the perfectly inspired word of God and you believe it to be literal. It would stand to reason that if U do not possess these abilities then you would have to admit to one of two things... Either your Bible is full of sh@@ and putting lives in danger or you're NOT a truly saved baptised believer and you're going to hell with the rest of us. Whichever the case, who are you to preach to anyone?

What are Ur thoughts on this? Does this sound like a feasible argument to you guys or am I missing something important here?

I've been told by religious people that the book of Mark 16 actually ended at verse 8 and the rest was an "Apocryphal addition", meaning that some unknown author added the text from v9 to v20 at a later date and it shouldn't be taken too seriously... But... Isn't the ascension of Jesus Christ right there in verse 19? Isn't that a major part of the story of Christ? Are we to not take that seriously either? After pointing this out to said religious people one of them actually told me... "You have just chosen to be ignorant and because of this you are reading it wrong." Oh is that right? Try that argument in a court of law. It's right there in black and white and it's written in your book not mine... So you wait there Mr Christian and I'll go get you some bleach and a nice clean glass and we'll see exactly how much "Faith" you have, won't we? lol.

Thanks in advance for any contributions to this thread.

The reason they say it was added on, is that in the earliest manuscripts 9-20 simply do not exist.

Acts mentions it, but it is open to interpretation. The ascension is a very shaky bit of theology.

I'm sure one of the more competent bible contortionists can come up with an interesting take on things.

Thanks for the reply NoMoreFaith.

I totally agree but like I said to the religious guys I discussed this with...

Isn't this like someone studying pigs and writing a paper on them that is considered by all that read it to be the consise authority on pigs and their habits, only for some other guy to come along and add "Oh yeah they can fly too..." to it? Why wouldn't anyone (Especially the original author) have anything to say about that? Why would they leave it in? I mean it's making some bold and outlandish claims that have no basis in realit.... Oh yeah, it's the Bible, I forgot. lol.

It's just a book.

(April 13, 2012 at 5:41 am)leo-rcc Wrote: It's just a book.

Hi,

I fully understand that Leo-rcc, I'm just wondering if this might be a cast iron way of showing someone who doesn't understand it that it's just a book.

(April 13, 2012 at 12:39 pm)Pearls a stinger Wrote:

(April 13, 2012 at 5:41 am)leo-rcc Wrote: It's just a book.

Hi,

I fully understand that Leo-rcc, I'm just wondering if this might be a cast iron way of showing someone who doesn't understand it that it's just a book.

You forget the evasive power of the question "what if (insert bullshit here)"

Scholars say that Mark was written before Matthew. To me this says that all the supernatural stuff that happens in Matthew and not in Mark was added purely for an amazement factor. Therefore, considering this author wasn't a witness I would tell that pastor to stay away from the bleach drinking.

(April 18, 2012 at 7:56 am)FallentoReason Wrote: Scholars say that Mark was written before Matthew. To me this says that all the supernatural stuff that happens in Matthew and not in Mark was added purely for an amazement factor. Therefore, considering this author wasn't a witness I would tell that pastor to stay away from the bleach drinking.

Most modern translations note these verses could have been added, no one knows for certain, they are not found in the earliest copies. For someone who wants to run down the scriptures you should at least learn their history.

(April 18, 2012 at 5:48 pm)Godschild Wrote: Most modern translations note these verses could have been added, no one knows for certain, they are not found in the earliest copies. For someone who wants to run down the scriptures you should at least learn their history.

For someone who claims that his god inspired ALL of the Bible, you should really get your story straight before you run down the new guy.

(April 18, 2012 at 5:48 pm)Godschild Wrote:

(April 18, 2012 at 7:56 am)FallentoReason Wrote: Scholars say that Mark was written before Matthew. To me this says that all the supernatural stuff that happens in Matthew and not in Mark was added purely for an amazement factor. Therefore, considering this author wasn't a witness I would tell that pastor to stay away from the bleach drinking.

Most modern translations note these verses could have been added, no one knows for certain, they are not found in the earliest copies. For someone who wants to run down the scriptures you should at least learn their history.

Don't listen to G-C...he's a hopeless apologist for bullshit.The earliest intact "bibles" we have do not include this bit of bullshit. ( Nor do they include the John story about the woman taken in adultery.

"Mark" is the earliest and most primitive of the so-called gospels.

You should read Earl Doherty's "The Jesus Puzzle."