Christians

[dauer]

Dogbrain,

I don't think the OP is with us any longer.

 

[Dogbrain]

Do the vast majority of Christians world wide, Protestant and Catholic, believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, never sinned, performed miracles, died on the cross but resurrected, bodily ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God, died for our sins, and if you do not believe this, if you are a Buddhist, you will be going to hell because, Jesus is the only way on to the father?

Speaking as an Orthodox Christian, I have to say yes, yes, yes, yes but yes, yes, yes (of the Father), not exactly, and it's really more complicated than that.

 

[Courage]

There is something that I have to know about the world and Christianity; my questions is:

Do the vast majority of Christians world wide, Protestant and Catholic, believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, never sinned, performed miracles, died on the cross but resurrected, bodily ascended into Heaven, sits at the right hand of God, died for our sins, and if you do not believe this, if you are a Buddhist, you will be going to hell because, Jesus is the only way on to the father?

Do most Christians in American and around the the entire world, the contemporary widely accepted, widely believed Christianity, that this, "Dogma" or "Creed", if it be lawful to call it that, Most Christians believe this?

Do most Christians believe that, regardless of reading the Bible and being able to say hey, "This is not Biblical". Despite that being the case, most Christians do believe that Jesus died for our sins and people who do not accept Jesus and decided to follow the teachings of the Buddha instead, will be going hell, according to their belief, am I correct?

Basically yes, though it's abit judgmental to say who and who will go to hell. Moreover, hell usually means 'void of God'. One is in hell because it ends up that he didn't choose God and God didn't choose him, so he's thus not with God. Christians call this separation from God. Since everything created (including light) belongs to God, in a separation from Him, one has nothing left (not even light), so he's said to be in hell.

 

[wil]

Well, the Nicene creed is a declaration of the Christian faith, as a whole. To deny the virgin birth, places Jesus in position of extraordinary man, not God, and implies that he was born into sin. The denial of the resurection of Jesus after death, clearly removes any Christianity from the faith.

So, I say yes, that is wrong (if one is insisting they are still Christian).

But a close examinaton of the bible indicates that the birth story varies from gospel to gospel, and we now know that the word virgin was inserted into the texts, that it wasn't the original word (young lady). We also know that many 'gods' on earth in previous religions had 'virgin' births so someone thought that in order to raise the Jesus stories above them it became part of our mythology.

Similar with the resurection, previous beings did such things, so our saviour must, the stories again are different in each gospel when compared side by side and can only be rectified by huge stretches of imagination...ie imagining words that are not written.

One does not have to believe everything that was written about Jesus to believe some of the stories, or to gather faith from the essence of the stories. This is obvious as some Jesus stories didn't even make it into the bible. (the childhood stories, gospels of Judas and Thomas, etc)

Each gospel writer took pieces of what he had heard over the decades and put pen to paper. Each had their own agenda, each had their own experiences and understanding and each was talking to their own audience. Each was aware of Paul's letters circulating and attempted to put the information in a concise package and each gospel after the first attempted to correct what were discussions and commentary on previous gospels...again for their audience and with their knowledge and agenda.

So again, yes I am a Christian, and yes the Bible is my main spiritual book, but I don't believe everything in it to be completely factual, nor do I believe the creed can stand up in the light of todays theological understandings.

 

[Courage]

But a close examinaton of the bible indicates that the birth story varies from gospel to gospel, and we now know that the word virgin was inserted into the texts, that it wasn't the original word (young lady). We also know that many 'gods' on earth in previous religions had 'virgin' births so someone thought that in order to raise the Jesus stories above them it became part of our mythology.

Similar with the resurection, previous beings did such things, so our saviour must, the stories again are different in each gospel when compared side by side and can only be rectified by huge stretches of imagination...ie imagining words that are not written.

One does not have to believe everything that was written about Jesus to believe some of the stories, or to gather faith from the essence of the stories. This is obvious as some Jesus stories didn't even make it into the bible. (the childhood stories, gospels of Judas and Thomas, etc)

Each gospel writer took pieces of what he had heard over the decades and put pen to paper. Each had their own agenda, each had their own experiences and understanding and each was talking to their own audience. Each was aware of Paul's letters circulating and attempted to put the information in a concise package and each gospel after the first attempted to correct what were discussions and commentary on previous gospels...again for their audience and with their knowledge and agenda.

So again, yes I am a Christian, and yes the Bible is my main spiritual book, but I don't believe everything in it to be completely factual, nor do I believe the creed can stand up in the light of todays theological understandings.

There are false Gospels. By God's will, He speaks through the early Church and thus the existence of the Apostle's Creed which serves as a witness and reference for Christianity.

 

[Quahom1]

But a close examinaton of the bible indicates that the birth story varies from gospel to gospel, and we now know that the word virgin was inserted into the texts, that it wasn't the original word (young lady). We also know that many 'gods' on earth in previous religions had 'virgin' births so someone thought that in order to raise the Jesus stories above them it became part of our mythology.

Similar with the resurection, previous beings did such things, so our saviour must, the stories again are different in each gospel when compared side by side and can only be rectified by huge stretches of imagination...ie imagining words that are not written.

One does not have to believe everything that was written about Jesus to believe some of the stories, or to gather faith from the essence of the stories. This is obvious as some Jesus stories didn't even make it into the bible. (the childhood stories, gospels of Judas and Thomas, etc)

Each gospel writer took pieces of what he had heard over the decades and put pen to paper. Each had their own agenda, each had their own experiences and understanding and each was talking to their own audience. Each was aware of Paul's letters circulating and attempted to put the information in a concise package and each gospel after the first attempted to correct what were discussions and commentary on previous gospels...again for their audience and with their knowledge and agenda.

So again, yes I am a Christian, and yes the Bible is my main spiritual book, but I don't believe everything in it to be completely factual, nor do I believe the creed can stand up in the light of todays theological understandings.

She was 14...and to play around and not be married was a death sentence back then...