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

So Christianity could be more likened to volunteering to do something you love, which is also very fulfilling and rewarding.

As opposed to being a wage slave, in a job you hate, which is making you ill, but which you feel you need to do, because you need the little money you receive for it.

No don't get that one, the "wage slave " is atheism is it?

atthestroke you can make good choices, which God would agree with, because they are good, without following Christ.

God designed us and a remnant of Him is in all of us, passed down through the generations.

However it is in Christ that we can overcome and be Redeemed from our sin (that which is in us, which is not good, not of God).

So maybe you have more of a remnant than I had atthestroke ? I cannot say but know I do need Christ's Redemption.

It all just sounds like fluff under the bed I'm afraid.

Howard would you rather be a slave to sin?

Nice try at diverting the attention away from the fact that your god, as described in your holy book, unequivocally condones the owning of other people as slaves. Any deity that condones slavery has morals that are, at best, questionable. It's not a difficult moral position.

Similarly, deliberately killing children as an act of political terrorism is monstrous by any morality other than, apparently, your god's. Again, that's hardly a difficult moral position for most people.

You worship fluff under the bed, atthestroke ? Well I've never heard of that one.

Come to my house, fluff balls everywhere. It's either my husband's socks causing them (huge feet) or books. We always seem to create loads of dust and fluff....

I don't worship anything capsium.

Your words are just a meaningless stream, they sound regurgitated , borrowed, robotic, recited and have no substance.

I don't mean to insult you personally, but just sounds like stuff you have been fed and playing back.

Howard? Slavery is a feature of war. As is killing. Pagan societies took slaves too and were pretty blood thirsty with regards to killing.

I am vehemently opposed to both, but I do not attempt to judge God. I hate war but also recognise war is sometimes the lesser of two evils.

atthestroke I'm not insulted. I don't expect anything from you.

I have not been spoon fed stuff, my words have value to me, as has my Faith. It has given me Hope enough to overcome some very difficult situations and come out winning. Without my Faith, I really do not know where I would be now.

It might all be 'white noise' to you but I find meaning in it.

atthestroke I'd be interested to know what words move you deeply, what do you think is profound?

I could be wrong, but what I could glean from slavery in the bible, it was being as a servant? [Not as a slave like we think of slaves]. They didnt seem to be treated badly. I could be wrong, but I dont think there is any mention of them being treated badly.

I like the words in this song:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=VbrO1XnrD3I

Well done capsium. By being vehemently against slavery your morality is better than your god's. As such, what moral guidance can your god give you?

My morality is not better than God's. I cannot judge God. I cannot judge others either, from my own human perspective.

Human morality is not an absolute concept, it varies from society to society. Apart from God I am lost in relativism and Post Modernism. Some of this I talked about in another thread.

BigDorrit I'm always amazed at the sheer diversity between cultures though.

The Pirahã people 's language has no narrative or recursion, something which linguists thought as defining aspects of language. Animals have complex communication systems which could be defined as language, if these features were not definitive of language.

It is perhaps the Pirahã's cultural belief system, which denotes anything outside if the present, immediate experience, as Taboo, which has affected them.

This is very pertinent since scientists have connected differences in language ability with differences brain physiology. In this way Pirahã belief may well have affected their physiology.

If physiology also affects behaviour, I can see why psychologists would argue against free will. But if it is belief affecting physiology, in the first place, you must see why people, such as myself, assign importance to beliefs.

crescentmoon also posted an interesting article:

www.psmag.com/magazines/magazine-feature-story-magazines/joe-henrich-weird-ultimatum-game-shaking-up-psychology-economics-53135/

I really do know nothing, John Snow...

(Apart from Christ that is. In Him, I know all because He knows all).

My morality is not better than God's. I cannot judge God. I cannot judge others either, from my own human perspective.

You have a book that reportedly describes your god's behaviour and choices.

If you cannot read that and form a view on that god's morality how can you possibly decide whether you wish to follow that god's teachings or not?

When your personal morality (against slavery) is in direct contradiction of your god's (yay for slavery!) how do you form a view over whether to follow your personal morality or that ascribed to your god?

If you choose to follow your own (which is what, actually, I think everybody does - religious or not) then why bother with listening to what some god or other is said to want from you?

Howard I came from a position of being lost in relativism, I was looking for positive direction. I saw this in Jesus, He offered me Hope.

Relativism, taking to the ultimate degree, along with some current psychological theory, suggests we have no Free Will, an idea I find depressing. The Bible shows a way we can be Free.

This is a strange thread! Is it really about the authorship of the Gospels, or more 'defend your faith, you terrible Christians, you'?

Holo gone a bit off track, hasn't it?

i cannot judge god

You weren't born a Christian. You obviously made a value judgement on yahweh/Jesus at some point when you decided to become a Christian and god knew this would have to happen otherwise you wouldn't have made a decision ether way.

I had some Christian belief from being very small head. My post above explains some of the why I decided to pursue my Christian beliefs more seriously.

HeadinHands, I'm not being antagonistic here, but why did you start this thread? Are you genuinely interested in the authorship of the Gospels, or was it just a starting point for a more general discussion on whether being a Christian is okay? I know that MN threads do meander, which is one of MN's many charms, but just so that I know what I'm (potentially) getting myself into, why did you start this thread?

I don't think there is any mention of then being treated badly

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

The upshot is, don't kill him/her off straight away. You want a slow death so you don't get in trouble.

Hi holo. It has meandered somewhat hasn't it. Basically a poster said the gospels were written by the disciples after I said there was healthy doubt concerning as such.

Additionally, as a Christian, I had always assumed they were written by the individual they were named after (eponymous?)). As for the gospels that didn't make it in? Blew my mind, there are Christians that don't know how the books were chosen or that there even were other books.

i had some Christian belief from being very small

So did I. What country were you born in out of interest? I'd be surprised if it was Afghanistan.