... to leading a happy life for yourself. Jesus reflects a God that does not expect virgins or animals to be sacrificed in His name; but, a God that is pleased by followers that love not only God, but each other also. These seem like simple, logical rules to live by. But, they reflected a time in history where that kind of love for one another was hard to find because of the hardships inflicted upon the people. I find some conflict in Jesus' actions, however. Jesus never (as far as I know) says to ignore to commandments of God in the Hebrew Scriptures; however, constantly breaks the Sabbath (Matt 12:13 and others), and gives VERY flimsy and unconvincing explan ...

... What Are They Saying about Resurrection? by G.Collins, and Hope for the Flowers by T.Paulus. Although we can not fully understand the resurrection until it is our time, we cannot help but wonder. The mystery of resurrection can be traced to the historical life of Jesus. Through Jesus came strong faith from the Jewish people, this came to be from his good teachings and preaching. That is why today many approach the term resurrection in conjunction with Jesus. In the book, The reality of Jesus we come across a section known as the "The Pauline Evidence". This particular section interested me because Paul makes a contrast between two types of bodies. One type ...

... enemy but the city lay in smoking ruins. The remaining Jewish survivors were rounded up to be used as slave laborers or to be killed. What episode in Jewish history is depicted in this scenario? Most people would say this was the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis in 1943. But in fact it was the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in the year 70 The destruction of the Second temple and the attack on the Warsaw Ghetto, although separated by nearly two thousand years have and eerie sameness. The Germans sealed off the Warsaw's Jewish population with and eight-foot brick concrete wall. The Romans built a high earthen barricade around Jerusale ...

... carrying out their sentence before obtaining the approval of the Roman authorities; that is why Christ had to appear before Herod and Pilot.) In Medieval Europe, a similar situation obtained. Priests ran courts where a common man could obtain a fair hearing of his grievance according to the Canon Law. The churches were "places of refuge" where a fugitive could be safe until a proper Canon Law Court could hear his case. Priests were a class apart. They did not marry; they took vows of chastity and obedience to the bishop and Pope. Many even took vows of poverty. Most important, priests were not allowed to accept positions of temporal leadership. No matter how "high ...

... fish and it talks to me, I am still wiser to test the possibilities of trickery or insanity before believing it can talk. But if I found many fish that talked, trustworthy people confirmed it, scientists published carefully researched papers about them, and newspaper headlines read "INCREDIBLE DISCOVERY: TALKING FISH!" then it would be more than reasonable to believe they existed. No one really disputes such common sense, until it is applied to religion. I've never seen or talked to a god, or seen a god do anything unmistakably godlike. People insist they know one exists, but most of them really say they only feel it, and don't offer any other proof. Indeed, it ...

... are the most apparent between the two accounts of the Beatitudes. The beatitudes were given to those that followed the Lord’s Ten Commandments to the fullest extent. In doing so, they received numerous blessings. Matthew records nine beatitudes and among those, Luke recorded the first, second, fourth, and ninth. He also recorded four separate woes (curses or warnings of): “But alas for you who are rich; you have had your time of happiness. Alas for you who are well fed now; you will go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now; you will mourn and weep. Alas for you when all speak well of you; that is how their fathers treated the false prophets” (Lk. 6:24 ...

... as an important factor in establishing a democracy. They also recognized a space of freedom between the government and the people, whereby the government could not force an individual or group to do something they did not want to do. The government is not upholding their part of the constitution. They are trying to tell people that saying prayer in public school is unconstitutional. In fact, prayer in public school is legal, so is prayer in church and prayer in stores etc... . The area which is not legal is when students or teachers pray when engaged in school activities or instruction. This means students or teachers may pray in an informal setting, s ...

... In recent years, the Catholic Church has become politically active and more vociferous concerning its views on moral issues such as war, abortion, and euthanasia. It is my feeling that many Catholics are searching for sects that will allow them to retain their faith in Christ without a central body (i.e., the Vatican) speaking on behalf of them on issues that they are capable of rationalizing for themselves. Among Catholics and Protestants, there is a trend toward less rigid attendance of religious services. If we examine the figures from Stark and Glock's 1968 survey, 54% of Americans surveyed at the time attended church more often than once a month. This fig ...

... a book of facts. The best example would be in Mark 10:17-31 (Jesus Counsel to the Rich) & (Parable of The Camel and the Eye of a Needle). It is doubtful that these things happened at the same time; however, they are GREY in The Five Gospels anyway ... and probably didn't happen as Mark describes. This brings us to Mark's writing style. Mark seems to "tack-on" sentences to Jesus' teachings to make them more "Christian." This really changes the meaning more than any other tactic! Who knows what Mark may have edited-out to accomplish what he wanted to impress upon his readers? In this, he tries to interpret the meaning of Jesus' actions ... and does th ...

... the conversion of the church into a Mosque: "Here after my capital is Istanbul". Constantinople--the city that inspired many great men to admire, praise, and desire it. Since its creation it was a strategic commercial, military, and religious center. Its riches and charms were not only a source of admiration but its attractiveness had necessitated a rigorous fortification and protection from attacks and raids. In spite of being for more than 1000 years the unconquerable and surely the wealthiest city, it stood on the crossroads of the East and the West which proved to be an incessant source of troubles, always being entangled in the interests of foreign pe ...