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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 12:02 pm
(This post was last modified: September 18, 2014 at 12:07 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Are you looking for contemporary sects (with regards to pauline christianity)? If you squint at the NT long enough you'll see their crumb-trails. Many of the things regarded as "letters" in the NT are more likely addressed to and solicited by -no one-. Doctrinal responses and arguments to competing sects, their practices, and their structure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles
(check the links towards the bottom for non-cannon Paul. Seems a likely place to start, not too far from where you came from)
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 12:13 pm
(This post was last modified: September 18, 2014 at 12:14 pm by Michael B.)
(September 18, 2014 at 10:57 am)Celestine Wrote: Understand I don't wish to learn about the history of Christianity
Well, it's up to you of course, but I think you'll understand the teachings much better if you understand the history of the debates that forged the 'accepted' writings and teachings, and you'll understand the context of why other writings and teachings were rejected. None of this (the accepting of some writings and teachings, and the rejection of others) occured in isolation from what had gone on before and from what was going on around at the time. Some historical study will, I would say, reward you richly in return for the time it takes. But you're obviously free to do as you will.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 12:29 pm
Quote:if you understand the history of the debates that forged the 'accepted' writings and teachings
Interesting terminology.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 12:39 pm
(This post was last modified: September 18, 2014 at 12:41 pm by Neo-Scholastic.)
(September 18, 2014 at 10:57 am)Celestine Wrote: Understand I don't wish to learn about the history of Christianity, I wish to learn about the teachings. Of which I am very skeptical of Paul. The teachings should be consistent.
In my humble opinion, the more heretical something is the more it deserves to be learned of. Then I would focus on three texts: The Book of Enoch, The Gospel of Thomas, and the Hymn of the Pearl. I would not consider various so-called gnostic text niche, as Michael does. Many of the gnostic themes are found repeated in the canonical Gospel accounts and the Pauline epistles.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 3:01 pm
(September 18, 2014 at 1:19 am)Celestine Wrote: As I am taking it upon myself to study religion, I am currently reading the quran which will be followed by a book or two on hadiths. Of Course I mean to reread the new testament and the torah but I am also fairly interested in the books that NEVER made it into the bible. I am also reading a book on Buddhism to.
I know full well though as a lover of history, that people tend to change history to better suit their agenda. It was a technique used thousands of years ago and its a technique still used today. So that's why I have an interest in these 'hadiths' of Christianity. If you know of some I would dearly like to know of them as well.
If not simple speculation or opinions on these books would suffice.
If you want history, it's not in those books.
Skepticism is not a position; it is an approach to claims.
Science is not a subject, but a method.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 4:21 pm
(This post was last modified: September 18, 2014 at 4:23 pm by Celestine.)
(September 18, 2014 at 3:01 pm)Chas Wrote: If you want history, it's not in those books.
I think it would be a gross miscalculation to not view all historical books in the same manner as we might view these books. Is not all history forged? Or do you think that the modern era is somehow immune to this?
Likewise I think it would be a huge mistake to just ignore what happened two thousand or one thousand four hundred years ago just because we don't believe what has been commonly accepted as the message that was being spread.
If people thought like you then all the works of Socrates, Plato, Archimedes, Aristotle, Kongzi, and the many scholars whose names I do not know would have been lost. Indeed it is because of our neglectfulness as a species that we have lost so much already that we have but fragments of our past.
I treat the works of religions just like I would treat any philosophy on ethics, belonging to a single author or many authors it matters not, what matters is that someone had to write these moral philosophies.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 18, 2014 at 4:54 pm
Quote:I think it would be a gross miscalculation to not view all historical books in the same manner as we might view these books.
I do.
But I also don't run around pretending that the bible was inspired or written by any silly 'god.' Thus I can point out the obvious propaganda in Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico and not have to worry that some fundie will want to burn me at the stake for it.
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 20, 2014 at 4:46 am
(This post was last modified: September 20, 2014 at 4:46 am by Mudhammam.)
(September 18, 2014 at 1:19 am)Celestine Wrote: As I am taking it upon myself to study religion, I am currently reading the quran which will be followed by a book or two on hadiths. Of Course I mean to reread the new testament and the torah but I am also fairly interested in the books that NEVER made it into the bible. I am also reading a book on Buddhism to.
I know full well though as a lover of history, that people tend to change history to better suit their agenda. It was a technique used thousands of years ago and its a technique still used today. So that's why I have an interest in these 'hadiths' of Christianity. If you know of some I would dearly like to know of them as well.
If not simple speculation or opinions on these books would suffice.
You might be interested in earlychristianwritings.com
It includes all the currently available Christian works from the first three centuries of Christendom. These are:
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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RE: The books that never made it into the Bible.
September 20, 2014 at 5:15 am
(September 20, 2014 at 4:46 am)Pickup_shonuff Wrote: (September 18, 2014 at 1:19 am)Celestine Wrote: As I am taking it upon myself to study religion, I am currently reading the quran which will be followed by a book or two on hadiths. Of Course I mean to reread the new testament and the torah but I am also fairly interested in the books that NEVER made it into the bible. I am also reading a book on Buddhism to.
I know full well though as a lover of history, that people tend to change history to better suit their agenda. It was a technique used thousands of years ago and its a technique still used today. So that's why I have an interest in these 'hadiths' of Christianity. If you know of some I would dearly like to know of them as well.
If not simple speculation or opinions on these books would suffice.
You might be interested in earlychristianwritings.com
It includes all the currently available Christian works from the first three centuries of Christendom. These are:
That is quite a list...
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