Who Wrote The Gospels?

[headinhands]

"Matthew contains 606 of Markâ??s 661 verses. Luke contains 320 of Markâ??s 661 verses. Of the 55 verses of Mark which Matthew does not reproduce, Luke reproduces 31; therefore there are only 24 verses in all of Mark not reproduced somewhere in Matthew or Luke."

A good diagram here

BigDorrit I would say do not be so hasty to to free yourself from your Cognitive Dissonance that you accept or reject new information merely on a whim...the discipline that allows you to posses Cognitive Dissonance, in the presence of mystery, serves a purpose. It allows a person to exercise patience, whilst they consider all the information they have and patience, until they find out more. This allows them to be open to new ideas without rejecting lessons from the past prematurely.

Re. The box BigDorrit maybe you just did not look properly...

You are not saying 'I don't know about God', though are you, BigDorrit?

Well, it's a move in the right direction IMO BigDorrit.

And as you say, "I don't know" is not a scary option." Cognitive Dissonance is not looking all that bad after all...

...and I like getting what I want BigDorrit, as long as it is what I need. And I often get what I want, when it is what I need...eventually...

i often get what I want, when it is what I need

And people starving to death? Wouldn't it be nice if god could stop devising cute little learning experiences for you long enough to feed some kids in the third world.

Playing cards often involves belief BigDorrit. Belief is what allows you to have a game plan, to predict other's moves and plan your own accordingly. No good saying I don't know, full stop, without any beliefs, you'd never be able to decisively make your move.

head God is a spirit, He works through people. We have to act as His hands and feet.

but it would be pretty stupid to believe it was a spade even after it turned out to be a diamond.

But if you could count cards, completely reliably, this would tell you that you were playing against a cheat.

^but also that you yourself was cheating if you were counting cards.

Christianity says we should not judge from our own human perspective. So if a person is wrong, they have made a mistake, no big thing. This does not require Cognitive Dissonance. It is when the data might require further investigation, further analysis, that you learn that being patient with Cognitive Dissonance can be a good thing.

BigDorrit and don't forget the game is not over yet....

should not judge from our own human perspective

That sounds scary. And actually your god expected and relied on your ability to judge well from a human perspective in order to decide to be a Christian.

God saves by His Grace, head. He chooses all of us, but we have to choose Him, not reject Him, because we have free will. So not a straightforward stark choice, more a directing or channeling by God, I think. Not got this fully worked out yet, one if those difficult concepts.

We should not judge, with any degree of finality (as in condemn) from our human perspectives because we do not see the whole picture. There is always more to find out.

And as far as I can see, that's the only perspective we are capable of judging from. To suggest otherwise seems bizarre.

That is because you do not believe in God or accept Christ, BigDorrit. So the above is true for you.

I agree in part BigDorrit, however when a person's belief, in Christ, is so strong, they begin to emulate Him, their decisions start to become the same as His. Hence Christians believe we are in Him and He in us.

I do not aim to judge people, but I do have to make decisions concerning situations. It is during this decision making process I am thankful for my Christian Faith.

...like in a marriage when you start to think and say the same things....