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The Problem with the Gospels
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Who Wrote the Bible by Richard Friedman goes over the authorship of the Pentateuch. One of my favorite parts is when he posts the Noah's Ark myth and shows the J writer, the E writer, and how R put it together. Good stuff.
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." Benjamin Franklin
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Another good book specific to the subject matter at hand that I personally read and recommend is 'Gospel Fictions' by Randel Helms.
There is nothing people will not maintain when they are slaves to superstition
http://chatpilot-godisamyth.blogspot.com/  RE: The Problem with the Gospels
October 28, 2009 at 11:06 am
(This post was last modified: October 28, 2009 at 11:06 am by Meatball.)
Good read, Eilonnwy.
The very concept of non-canonical gospels(not really the subject of your post, but related) has always been damning to the argument of the Bible being credible. We know that at some point, people(see: not God) had to choose which books and testimonials and letters WOULD be compiled into the "New Testament" and which would simply be discarded. What are the various church standpoints on this?
- Meatball
Well that's why I brought up Marcion, he was a catalyst for the canonization of gospels, because he espoused the idea that Jesus was the son of a different/new god, not the god of the Jews. Marcion himself made his own "gospel" using Mark and certain Pauline letters, some probably written by Marcion himself! So yeah, the early church then decided to make their own canon and called it "Catholic" (Universal) to try and quell the Marcionites, but they did also include the Gospel of Mark as a sort of way to get some of the Marcionites to move back over to Catholicism. You're definitely right, it's very damning when you consider how the New Testament was put together and the reasons for it.
I have no idea what various churches think about the canonization process, but would be interested to know. Maybe the theists here can put forth their views on the process by which Gospel canon was put together.
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." Benjamin Franklin
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I'd actually never heard of Marcion until I read yout post today. I'm definitely going to look into it.
- Meatball
I did not know about Marcion until recently, too. It's so sad how important details like these are not taught as part of basic Christian education, given how critical he was to the process by which certain Gospels were determined to be canon.
 But then again, it's not surprising, given the tendency of Christians to ignore historical facts that cause trouble for their religion.
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason." Benjamin Franklin
::Blogs:: Boston Atheism Examiner - Boston Atheists Blog | : odcast:: Boston Atheists Report (October 27, 2009 at 8:34 pm)chatpilot Wrote: * J: a writer who used JHWH as the "unpronounceable name of God." It is often translated as Jehovah. Are you sure the last letter is not an I ? they are (according to the last census) the third largest religious group in the UK * J: * E: * D: * I: A
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Angela it took me a moment to get that one lol nice one!!
There is nothing people will not maintain when they are slaves to superstition
http://chatpilot-godisamyth.blogspot.com/ (October 28, 2009 at 9:48 pm)chatpilot Wrote: Angela it took me a moment to get that one lol nice one!! HHHHMMMRGGG thanks I give A
EE WA EE WA, WIGGY WIGGY WIGGY, PLUNGA A PLUNGA A
There is only one reason that Marcion is considered a heretic.
It's because after his death, his followers lost out. Had they won he would hold the place now reserved to the fictitious Paul. |
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