Paul vs. Jesus
After a conversation with a friend I was inspire to look into this for myself. I found this WEBSITE that outlines all of the scriptures in the new testament where Paul and Jesus ‘conflict.’
It brings into question the very nature of salvation…
Justification by faith, a product of the protestant reformation, is the belief that Gods gift of salvation is free. Justification by works is the belief that salvation is something to be earned and maintained…while neither is true they are compelling. What separates Christianity from every other religion is NOTHING…it’s one and the same.
Pagan Christianity is a book that outlines the origin of christian practices and traditions of our beloved faith. The authors intention was to imply that the church is missing the point. Christianity is synonymous with Catholicism, the decline and fall of the Roman empire and the rise of the holy Roman empire. The early church easily replaced the government of Rome with a brand new hierarchy lead by the pope. It caught on quick…the framework was already there. The religion that is…faith in Christ and christianity need to be separated. NOW…if protestants and catholics are both wrong…what’s the answer?
I don’t know…
God’s gift of salvation is free…how can it be any other way? Considering logically that God would demand some kind of penance or favour for an infinitely costly gift is absurd. Ere go, salvation has NO requirement. Also, making some stupid assumption that God will sit back and allow you to abuse the gift of salvation is unnecessary because salvation through Christ is a marvelous thing. (We are ALL going to sin, all of the time…but to live in sin, while professing to love Christ..to knowingly and willingly ABUSE the gift of salvation is the opposite of what salvation really is.) Accepting Christ assumes we want to change; it assumes we have recognized need for change and so we DO change.
If Paul’s words contradict Christ…who should we listen to?
Did Christ tell us to wear suits?
Did Christ tell women not to preach?
Did Christ instruct us to give money to a Church?
You get the point I hope. Christ told us to love…and that doesn’t mean sending a cheque to a “Capitalist-Would-Be-Christian” firm that profits from helping the poor. It means getting off your complacent duff and using your hands to do the work that is in your heart to do.
November 9th, 2006 at 9:06 pm
I appreciate you discussing this issue. I guess I just feel like we are ignoring Jesus b/c the church ignores everything “difficult” that he tells us to do. Has a preacher ever told you to sell your possessions? No way, because people would stop going to his church. But Jesus says that. How do I know what parts of the Bible to take literally? Take Matthew 25 literally and we face “eternal punishment” if we don’t help “the least of these.” We don’t even talk to “the least of these.”
November 9th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
One more thing… I guess the reason the university food bank made me roll my eyes was b/c I felt like once again Christians were avoiding “the least of these” and staying in their own safe neighbourhoods. I don’t actually disagree with having a food bank on a university campus. But I think we need to go further.
November 9th, 2006 at 10:22 pm
Well, this is true. Salvation is free. The church as put far too much emphasis on looking proper and giving b/c Christ gave His life to us and expected nothing in return. Although, Christ did talk a lot about money in the New Testament. For example… ,”Show me a coin. Whose portrait is this on it? And whose name?”
They replied, “Caesar’s- The Roman emperor’s.”
He said, “Then give to the emperor all that is his- and give to God all that is his!” Luke 20:24, 25
Anyway, I do think I get your point. I also do need to stay changed and keep coming back to the place of running away from my evil tendencies.
Word up
n8
November 10th, 2006 at 8:57 am
i agree about getting christians out of their safe little places too. thats very much part of what we want to address. this christmas we’re hoping to organize a dinner downtown, and get students to come help and serve. i think this would be good for a lot of them, because most students here don’t realize just how many people even in the sault are homeless. there’s this ridiculous perception that it’s a ‘toronto’ problem. so in addition to the food bank (which there is a need for), we also want to go a lot further, especially in raising awareness among christians and the community in general.