(January 8, 2019 at 2:03 am)rtwined Godscreated Wrote:(January 7, 2019 at 3:29 pm)alw0992 Wrote: They are different in they they teach two different things; "messiah," soul, after-life, etc. Also in the fact that you have other authoritative texts such as the Talmud and Zohar. Where they are spin-offs is that Christianity cherry picks and misrepresents Judaic theology to attempt to justify its theology. However, most of what is taught in Christianity today is the result of councils, written creeds, adaptions of other religions to gain converts (such as paganism), break away from other larger groups, and so on. Religion is great to read about and research and learn some philosophical insight but there's a point where the rubber meets the road; meaning are you going to follow reason and logic, or be completely true to the faith and suspend all reason; because in the end you can't have both.
First off you did not answer my first question, this may not seem important to you but it holds truth in Christianity.
Secondly the Bible is strictly Christian because it shows how the OT and NT are intertwined, you can't separate them, each would lose much of it's value. The bible contains no adoption from any pagan religions, the reason some people see pagan things in the Bible is simple, they do not read the Bible with the intent to learn. faith has nothing to do with suspending reason and yes you can have both, I know this because I have both in my everyday Christian life.
GC
Kingdom? There can't be one due to human nature. A utopia would be difficult due to, again, human nature. As far as a kingdom as a Christian construct, can't happen due to it having to being created using only one source, which is highly debatable. What makes a Christian idea of a kingdom more valid or real versus a kingdom as defined by other religions as well as other Christian denominations? Because we all know that deep down each denominations thinks they're right and the others are wrong. I have to disagree with you, the OT isn't less valid without the NT because there's an entire religion based on the OT. Only reason they appear to be intertwined is because the NT can't stand on it's own and has to use broad interpretations to attempt to make it work. Also, yes, comparative religious studies show that Christianity does have adaption of pagan traditions. Trinity, immortality of the soul, hell, iconography, belief in saints, hymns, robes, crosses, and so on. As the religion moved to other countries, regional beliefs got woven into Christianity.
