>c) keep in mind that the Bible as we know it is only a small part
>of all of thebiographical texts, and that the two gospels which
>were actually written by actual disciples of Jesus were left out
>of the Bible because they weren't conducive to a stern autocratic
>Church. The four gospels that are in the Bible were written 70-150
>years after the death of Jesus, and are thus open to significant
>debate as to whether the quotes attributed to Jesus are actually
>what he said. The Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Mary
>Magdalene can be found in the Nag Hammadi, along with a number of
>other texts which paint a much different picture of Jesus.
Very well put, it's ironic that this subject came up again just as
I'm re-reading Pagel's "The Gnostic Gospels".
I've always been amazed that the average church-goer knows little
to nothing about the origin's of christianity. The study of early
christianity, by the way, is known as "Patristics".
It's my opinion that it's not taught by practicing religions
because it would cause difficulties if your average christian for
example, ever found out that the doctrine is almost literally word
for word taken from Zoroastrianism, or of the break immediately
after Jesus's death, between the supporters of Peter, (later to
become the Catholic church) and those of Mary Magdelene and Jesus's
brother James (remember him) which became the Gnostic's. (later
hunted to near extinction by the orthodox.)
Bonus question: After the betrayal and suicide of Judas Iscariot,
the disciples picked a new member to complete the 12, what was his
name?
Brian
Member,Extropy Institute