(June 19, 2015 at 12:08 am)Rhythm Wrote: The idea of a resurrection -at all- Nica......is hellenistic influence. The idea of a heaven where people go after their lives -at all- is hellenistic influence...I'm -not- saying that the idea of an afterlife and your bodily resurrection are the same ideas.....wtf are you talking about? I'll have pages to say before we -ever- get to the council of Nicaea.....Those are just the first two -demonstrations- of syncretism (please, look this up too while you're at it..since it's the term for what we're discussing) that, due to their early influence..have seeped into -every- christian sect. The hellinizing influence on judaism was crucial in changing those parts of judaism which needed to be changed in order to yield the christianity we see today, yours included. If judaism (and later christianity) -hadn't- incorporated pagan thoughts on the matter, you wouldn't have this belief in resurrection, you wouldn't have this belief in an afterlife. Your beliefs would not differ from jewish beliefs in this way (not that their beliefs are now..what they were then....we're talking about a sea change in judaism -a sea change in the entire western world- predating christianity, which forms the basis of concepts important to the current iterations of all three branches of the abrahamic faiths). This was so well understood as an event that early christian writers, centuries later, like "Paul" warn us of it explicitly....whilst not realizing that a few verses later they are blissfully spouting hellenized christo-judaism themselves. You should understand all of this, as you like to lambast catholics for their syncretism (The JW National Sport, if ever there were one).......had you looked beyond the materials the kingdom hall provided you with...you would have found that the catholics didn't -start- this trend. It was (and is) ongoing. You, as a christian, as a JW...have -inherited- syncretism. So please, please, stop haranguing others denominations for what is equally true of your denomination. You seem to think that catholic syncretism is obvious...but I'm not sure what that means, obvious in ways that the syncretism in your own sect isn't? Obvious relative to sneakier examples of syncretism in some other faith system?
The religious explanation for this is simple..mind you. Progressive revelation. But you asked me for facts..........so progressive revelation is out. The facts are, yall have been cribbing from pagans.
Now, show me that you're even capable of having this conversation, and when you ask for facts....then get them.....handle it a little bit better, eh?
You either have the facts or you don't. Scriptural examples of bodily redirections existed long before hellenizing. And that has been the only example you have raised. I'm not going to play this game where you say that I have to understand this and that before we discuss anything further. Just tell me what jws believe that is syncretism or hellenizing. The one rule I have is that it has to be current teachings. Jws used to celebrate Christmas but that doesn't mean they're grandfathered into the custom