RE: Is the soul eternal
September 14, 2010 at 9:23 pm
(This post was last modified: September 14, 2010 at 9:26 pm by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
@Entropist
The notion of an eternal hell is not part of Judaism and never has been. The Jewish idea is analogous with the Christian idea of purgatory. IE everyone gets out eventually .The Jews even have a formula to work out the length of one's stay.
As far as I can tell,the Christian notion of an eternal hell is a Pauline invention. Also, Paul did indeed abandon much of Mosaic law,especially ritual. EG circumcision, bar/bat mitzvah and dietary law .
The argument that the religion called Christianity should rather be called Paulism is a very old controversy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity
This link has some interesting ideas on the Christian origins of hell and the devil.,with LOTS of biblical references. It's quite anti Christian.
From near the end
http://englishatheist.org/indexz26.shtml
The notion of an eternal hell is not part of Judaism and never has been. The Jewish idea is analogous with the Christian idea of purgatory. IE everyone gets out eventually .The Jews even have a formula to work out the length of one's stay.
As far as I can tell,the Christian notion of an eternal hell is a Pauline invention. Also, Paul did indeed abandon much of Mosaic law,especially ritual. EG circumcision, bar/bat mitzvah and dietary law .
The argument that the religion called Christianity should rather be called Paulism is a very old controversy.
Quote:Pauline Christianity is a term used to refer to the Christianity associated with the beliefs and doctrines espoused by Paul of Tarsus through his writings. Most of orthodox Christianity relies heavily on these teachings and considers them to be amplifications and explanations of the teachings of Jesus. Others perceive in Paul's writings teachings that are radically different from the original teachings of Jesus documented in the canonical gospels, early Acts and the rest of the New Testament, such as the Epistle of James. The term is generally considered a pejorative by Restorationist Christians as it carries the implication that Christianity as it is known is a corruption of the original teachings of Jesus, as for example in the belief of a Great Apostasy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity
This link has some interesting ideas on the Christian origins of hell and the devil.,with LOTS of biblical references. It's quite anti Christian.
From near the end
Quote:In a nutshell, the Christian invented the Devil and Hell, starting with their misrepresentation with the serpent in The Garden, adding reinterpreted vague references to Satan and Lucifer in the Old Testament and combining them with ancient hebrew myths, stealing figures from other religions and tossing into the pot the such ancient Babylonian storys like Ba'al Marduk killing a great serpent called Tiamat.
Add the passage of time, over which the Christians made the Devil more and more frightning and diabolical and accorded him the power to tempt people to sin. They also combined references to Sheol, Hades and Gehenna, presenting them as Hell, gave the place to their construct Devil and let him have legions of demons at his beck and call, ready, willing and able to assist him in tempting humanity.
http://englishatheist.org/indexz26.shtml
