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

saintsalive You were the one who said someone who sins isn't a christian. If it is dangerous to get it wrong shouldn't you be worrying that god might have heard you?

I imagine he is going to commit all kinds of atrocities against the Atheists, the Muslims, the Jews and the Hindus, but he will presumably also deal with all those who made up their own variation of Christianity. They might even get it worse.

Capsium. I know you know this and I know that you know that I know that you know this etc :) but I have to say it anyway

We point to the nasty god of the OT and you say but it's ok because Jesus is gentle and won't stand for that nastiness. Fine, but then you say they are the same person and that doesn't make any sense unless we're talking something like Jekyll and Hyde. If Jesus were as gentle and kind as Christians claim then he'd be on our side against the OT god and if he accepts the OT atrocities then he is not gentle and kind.

Also the whole "it made sense to commit atrocities back then but stopped making sense when Jesus turned up" actually make no sense at all. Humans just prior to that were the same as humans just after it so why not send Jesus 500 or 1000 years earlier?

All the justifications for it are as convincing as "the dog ate my homework" unless someone wants to claim that god had therapy in the meantime or did an Anger Management course.

First sentence - where?
Second. Gods sees and hears all the time. So I am ultra careful.
Third. Yes. Jews are a special case though, in a good way.
Fourth. Oh yes, they are in lots of potential trouble too. Nothing is to be added or taken away from the bible. Both attract all sorts of nasties.

saintsalive Fri 11-Apr-14 09:44:53
No one is allowed to kill anyone.
Killing yourself is a sin.
So if a person who did that, by definition, is not a christian

See? someone who sins is not a Christian. Therefore there are no Christians who have sinned.

eh? Still are not seeing what you are seeing.

I mean that killing yourself is a sin. As a whole sentence. hth?

Back to come closer to understanding God, you have to get your head round viewing Him holistically, as He is in the whole of the Bible, in it's entirety, OT and NT. He remains the same, but the Bible shows us Him in different contexts.

The OT and NT have different contexts, we have the old and new Covenant. With OT we get the Fall and the Law, with the NT we get Christ, Salvation, Redemption and Grace.

......and I am convinced.

Humans have Free Will.

Tell that to Mary...

OK, so let's see if I've got this straight. The fightin' and smitin' god of the Old Testament decided that he wanted to do things differently. He decided to send his own son down to earth in the full knowledge (the Abrahamic god is supposed to be omniscient, after all) that Judas would take the money and the Romans would nail him up.

Yet your god bears no responsibility for Jesus' death? Even though Jesus' death was required by your god to balance things out? That's like saying a Mafia boss who arranges for one of his rivals to be bumped off has no case to answer as it wasn't him who pulled the trigger.

Howard God is in Jesus and Jesus in God, they are the same. God suffered, in Jesus. He bears full responsibility, it was His choice to die for us, and He willingly did so.

saints why would you like him to intervene in wrong doing more often? Are you suggesting that you, a mere human, care more about people than god does?

"If you don't say sorry"

I've said sorry to the person I've hurt when necessary. Do I get in to paradise?

So because man wasn't following your god's rules (which your omniscient god totally must've known would happen) your god arranged for god to be sacrificed to god. Which was him.

Got it. Thanks for the clarification!

up to Christians to defend what needs defending?

Howard You might actually have got it... (?)

We couldn't actually follow the rules, apart from God's help, since the Fall.

Believing on Christ, allows us to be transformed by Him, from the inside, which is then worked out, in our life. Our nature is changed and we want to emulate Christ, God. It is no longer like following a rule book, which we cannot comprehend, apart from God. We do not have to communicate through appointed human priests. We can each have a personal relationship with God, through Christ. Christ stays with us, the Holy Ghost guides us.

The bible needs defending
The name of Jesus needs defending.
The name of God needs defending.
The Truth needs defending.

saints why would you like him to intervene in wrong doing more often?

I would like Armeggedon to arrive right now.
It would save a lot of people a lot of pain.
Thy kingdom come and all that.

Are you suggesting that you, a mere human, care more about people than god does?

But it isnt going to happen yet. By quite some way.
God's timing etc.

Even though Jesus' death was required by your god to balance things out?

It was foretold. God can foretell. Doesnt mean that the people involved didnt have choices and free will [I think I am right in saying this, happy to be corrected if I have got that wrong]

save a lot of people a lot of pain

Why would you want to save people from pain? Are you, a mere human, more caring than god?

saints Yes, Free Will is interesting. I believe we have Free Will, but God knows us very, very well. He knows the beginning and the end of everyone and everything.

Free Will, since Christ came to earth, involves choosing to be 'free in Christ' or a 'slave to sin'. So it when you choose against Him you are in bondage and are being deceived by Satan. God is in all that it good. So a good choice is for God. Christ gives us freedom from sin's bondage, since Christ Redeems us.

Our nature is changed and we want to emulate Christ, God.

You want to emulate a god that purportedly murders children and defends slavery? Ick.

Of course I am not more caring than God!

Howard We become Christlike. God in human form. Christ shows us how to live as human beings. God, in Christ, forgave, healed, cast out demons, bought people back to life, fed the hungry....

...and told us to be good slaves. No thanks.

Howard would you rather be a slave to sin? I say this because in Christian belief there are only 2 choices, you can be 'free in Christ' or a 'slave to sin'.

A person is free in Christ because they freely choose Him, His will, it is wanted. God gives a person Grace (power) to do His will.

Sin can be likened to addiction, people are slaves to their addictions, they make a person miserable and unwell.

Capsium, some of us live in a world where we don't have to be a slave to anyone.

In your world there are only two choices- I'm glad I don't live there.
So us atheists must be slaves to sin.

Funny that I am not miserable and unwell, in fact I am extremely happy and very healthy.