Concluding My Debate on Sunday vs. Sabbath

A while back I started a series about Sunday worship vs the Sabbath: see Sunday Church--To Go or Not to Go, How Sunday and the Sabbath Became Intertwined, and The Sabbath, The Mark of God, and Still Debating Where Sunday Fits In.  It was during this period that someone showed me a video that I'm pretty sure has convinced many people not to believe in anything. They kept repeating "Christianity is stolen; it's all false." In a way it made me laugh, because with all the things said in the video, I expected that particular person to have a lot more to say. On the other hand, it reminded me why I went about my explanation the way I did... Throwing all the information out there is a touch overwhelming.

After talking to this person I was at a loss for which direction to go and how to present the point. Should I keep going as is? Should I skip to the end and back track? I've been debating this for a while, which is why I left the topic dangling. I've decided to jump to the conclusion.

My friend's quote is partially true. Christianity is a plagiarized religion. However plagiarism is not equivalent to false. Just because I stole a saying or story from someone doesn't make it false; it just makes it stolen. Of course, it's likely I would change parts of what I've stolen in an effort to make it look original. This is where it gets overwhelming. If you're a believer, the easy thing to do is put on your blinders and deny everything. If you're a non-believer or on the fence, the easiest thing to do is to say "ah ha! I told you it was all false." The natural tendency for people is to take the path of least resistance. For me, this is what I believe enables the real God (and His message) to be hidden. This false ideology acts as substitute, splitting the population into essentially people following a counterfeit religion and people who let the counterfeit religion turn them away from God altogether.

Falsification

Let's jump back to the beginning of Christianity. The typical assumption is that Christianity started during Jesus Christ's ministry, then expanded through the Roman Catholic Church. If you check historical sources, however, the disciples and other original followers of Christ still considered themselves Jews (there are various passages in the Bible where they differentiate themselves as Jews in comparison to the the gentiles, too). "Christianity," as it is structured today, actually started with the Roman Catholic Church around 321 AD, when Constantine declared it to be the official religion of Rome (this also marks the beginning of Sunday being declared the official day of rest). Growing up this was the main source of my desire to know more; I kept coming back to the same question--"If the Romans were so scared of Jesus that they arrested and eventually allowed the crucifixion of Jesus, why would they be the ones to spread the religion?" How did Christianity go from dangerous--to the point of execution--to the "it" thing?

The story given, is that Constantine had some dream about a cross or something, woke up a believer, and decided to convert the Roman empire to Christianity. What actually happened was the fusing of several "pagan" religions and  Judaism. They then took the traditions of sun worship, which includes the festival celebrating the winter solstice and the rebirth of the sun on December 25, and the original Easter celebration (also of pagan origin but conveniently celebrated close to the time the passover), fused it with the idea of the Jewish Messiah and Jesus, to create modern Christianity. It always struck me as odd that Christianity has not a single holiday/tradition/etc. that doesn't coincide with something pagan. The video I mentioned early uses this to say that the Jesus Christian's worship is actually a deity in sun worship and that Jesus Christ the Messiah doesn't exist. Of course even after many re-translations of the Bible, if you read the Bible and match it with history you can distinguish that the Jesus described in the Bible was not born on December 25. This was set as Jesus' birthday for Roman (and thus man's) convenience. I conclude that the Messiah was not born on the 25th of December, but that doesn't mean He wasn't born (as I said, stolen doesn't mean false and blending of stolen material requires taking bits and pieces to create the "new").

Why

For most people, there's only one punishment worse than jail, and that's death. The reason a religion with a belief in an afterlife was dangerous to the Roman Empire is that it takes away the fear of death. Where you would have been a fool dying for no reason, now you could be a martyr and have the promise of another life--one even better than the one you were leaving behind. How was Rome supposed to reign in someone who believed that death wasn't the worse punishment they could have? This ideology, if left to spread, would have overturned Rome's control over the Jews.

Unfortunately, religion is a double edged sword. It had the possibility of giving the population hope, but in the same swoop, it gave Rome the perfect fear tactic to cancel out that hope. They put a quantifier on the promise of afterlife; it was there if you followed the pope's decrees, if you did what the priests wanted, if you gave them your money, if you didn't rebel. Under this guise they could over tax the population, discourage education, and keep the population completely dependent on the church which was faithful to Rome not Jerusalem. During the dark ages, the Roman Catholic Church was the most powerful entity in the world; the pope even had power over the kings and queens of Europe. Anyone who spoke against them was excommunicated and thus "denied" entry in to heaven. Those who chose education and posed questions or ideals that threatened this power where killed. Writings such as the dead sea scrolls, and the Gospel of Thomas, were hidden away in fear. In short, they restructured the religion to manipulate hope into fear, which enabled them to create a very powerful kingdom (well, a kingdom that was over kingdoms which is quite unique actually...).

What You Should Know

The biggest irony to me, is that under Constantine, there was the Council of Laodicea which determined what books would be included in the bible, deeming certain accounts of Jesus unacceptable (the beginning of killing people over forbidden knowledge and the term heresy), but they left in the book of Revelation and most references to the end times from the old testament. These are some of the hardest passages in the Bible to understand and often seem far-fetched and outlandish. I'm guessing that they didn't fully understand the prophecy and simply wanted something scary and intimidating to hang over the congregation's head.

Earlier on the blog I discussed why mark of the beast from Revelation is a false or counterfeit religion. I'd like to point out that Revelation says that in the end times, if people don't take the mark of the beast, they would not be able to participate in society and would be persecuted by the Antichrist. Well, the Inquisition, backed by the Roman Catholic Church murdered people in scores throughout the dark ages for "heresy" and not agreeing with the church. While the protestant church may have disassociated with the Catholic Church, it has retain many of the Catholic Church's practices, even adopting some of the same customs and practices (which sounds a lot like the daughters of the "Whore of Babylon"--Revelation 17--especially since the church is always referred to as a woman, i.e. the Bride of Christ). So even without knowing why or how, it becomes apparent that something is off with modern day Christianity and because they were sloppy with the book of Revelation, you can still figure out why (for me this the one of the signs that God does have a message He is trying to relay, but that's possibly a post for another day).

Tammuz carving from 1500 BC: Take a look in his left hand

Modern day preist: Again, take a look in his hand. Remember that 2nd commandment about not making graven images?  Doesn't seem that strange that the cross (a graven image) can be traced back to pagan origins as well.

Fear not, just because something is off, does not mean everything is false. If you do the research, you will find many stories from the Bible are duplicated across cultures. In some cases, it is quite possible that someone inserted those ideas into Christianity (particularly the sun worship ideas that Constantine merged into Christianity), but in other cases, such as the great flood, the story spans continents and it is unlikely the two cultures ever interacted. Some Biblical stories have possible scientific verification as well.

So where does that leave us?

I have little faith in religious practices, especially anything that could possible give man power over you. The basic ideas however, I think are real.  Any time you have multiple people witness an event, they will recount it differently. Sometimes it will be small differences; perhaps person A and B agree that something has happened, but A thinks it happened on a Monday and person B thinks it happened on a Wednesday. Or maybe its something inconsequential; maybe A thinks it was raining and B thinks it was sunny out. Often, unfortunately, the difference is signifcant. Even in my family, my mom and I may recount a conversation to my dad where she'll say some one said or did something and I'll disagree, insisting they did not do or say whatever has been attributed to that person. Imagine that all these cultures have been shown the same things, not only will they process what they've seen and heard differently, but they'll have a language barrier trying to communicate the ideas as well. Now here we are 2000+ years later trying to piece it together. Some of it makes sense, some of it doesn't... It's the ultimate depiction of the gossip game.

It would take me 1000's of blog posts and years of writing to step through what I think is true vs false and why I think it. Some, you may agree with me, some you may not---you'd probably get sick of reading them, and I'd probably get tired of writing them. I've found that some things you have to find for yourself (like the existence of God); you have to figure out if you believe in Him on your own. No one can conclusively prove or disprove His existence. The only way to know what you believe is to study it all. One of the reasons it was so easy to manipulate people is that it was considered ungodly, unholy, etc. to read about other religions, to study history and science, etc. The truth is, you'd be amazed how much lines up and falls apart just by studying sources outside of what the preacher (or priest) gives you. I just watched a documentary where they believe they've found evidence of an asteroid collision to the earth that would have produced the exact conditions described in the story of Sodom & Gomorrah (and around the time it was supposed to happen).

My suggestion would be to read, to study, to question, and to seek answers. Don't just do it because that's how they've always done it. Don't just believe it because your pastor said it. Find the answer for yourself.

"1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."

2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will rule over all."

3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) imperial rule is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the (Father's) imperial rule is inside you and outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty." -Gospel of Thomas

Another Poem

Wrote this in a semi-conscious, half-sleep/half awake state. Not entirely sure where it came from (maybe whatever I was dreaming) but I liked it so I kept it.

Being Me

I always agree with myself,
Even when no one else does--
Sometimes I’m the only one agreeing
And its a strange feeling being all alone;
But no one’s given me valid cause
Not to be the me I’ve always been
So I can only conclude that I’m still me
And the me I’ve always been
Has always been the me I’ve wanted to be…
But what if the me I want to be--
The me I’ve grown up to be--
Is not the me I should be?
And now the me I should be
Is living in the shadows of the me that is
Wondering what would be,
Voicing what could have been,
Fracturing me in half
And, now I’m lost in between the two.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

I was listening to some people complain a while ago and for some of the things they were complaining about, I couldn't help but think to myself "Oh, please! Get over yourself!"  Over time, if you let yourself, you will come to realize a lot of things aren't worth getting bothered by. Below are some of the things that use to rile me up, that I couldn't care less about now. There are ALOT more, but I'll keep it short. I may do a follow up later.

The N Word
Growing up in SC schools, I received my fair share of insults in which the best my opponent could come up with was the infamous N word. Admittedly, the first time a white classmate of mine called me the N word, I didn't  know what it meant so I obviously wasn't offended. The next few times, however, whoa buddy. I think my head might have started spinning and steam probably rose from ears. That might have been the quickest way to ruffle my feathers in grade school. At some point in high school, I realized the obvious: it's just a word. What makes calling me the N word any worse than calling me an idiot or ugly or whatever insult have you? Why did I get upset if someone called me the N word, but I was completely unfazed by other name calling? It was simply because I was giving that word power. When a person chooses to call me the N word, it doesn't do a thing to me. All it does is show that they're filled with hate... Suddenly the question became, why should I care what you call me?

Assumed Stupidity

For some reason people often assume that I'm of below average intelligence (or maybe it's "smart" people assuming I'm of average intelligence...). I don't know if it's the way I carry myself, or a product of my appearance, but it used to drive me up the wall. It wasn't until I was much older that I realized, this too is a reflection of the person, not of me. When people don't understand things, they get frustrated. Different people respond to frustration differently, and one of those responses is to become indignant. Often in these situations, we see ourselves as right and the other person as wrong (simply because we have no clue what the other person is talking about). Thus, our demeanor may say "you idiot, this is the right way!" I probably give this same vibe off to others often without knowing that I'm doing so, especially since I tend to be on a different page than the masses... At the end of the day, that doesn't change what I know, or any of my opportunities in the future. So,  why should miscommunication bother me? I learned to take a step back, re-evaluate, and re-explain.

Borderline-Racist Comments

I'll never forget the moment I thought I was going to choke a girl in my high school. We were "friends" and having a "friendly" conversation about her first trip to Atlanta. She gets to the point in the story where she and her family took the subway and remarks "We were the only white people there. I was so scared!" -_- Off the bat, I'm angry because she clearly thinks that something is wrong with non-whites, that we're all gang bangers or something. Then I'm angry because she clearly thinks that out of all the other people in the subway, these "hood"/"gang-banger" non-whites are going to ignore each other and focus their attention on the white family (because white people are always the center of attention, right?). And then I go over the edge, that she had the balls to say this in front of me--was she that bold that she didn't care? She forgot I wasn't white? She thought I was an Uncle Tom and wouldn't care? Oh man was I contemplating strangling this girl on the spot; it might have been worse than calling me the N word. And then it dawned on me. I spent my whole life in predominately white schools, in predominately white classes, and I hated almost every minute of it. It was awkward learning about slavery from a white teacher in a class full of white kids, especially in the south. It was awkward being the only person in the class who didn't watch whatever they were talking about or listen to the radio station they were talking about. It was awkward that I was expected to answer for all the black people and was asked questions like "why can't black people swim?" or "ask her, she's black obviously she listens to 2pac." Quite frankly, the only reason I'm not weirded out when I walk into a room full of white people is because I've been  conditioned to that setting and I've become desensitized to the situation. So why should I be mad at her lack of conditioning?

Being Told I Look Young 

and That I'll Love It When I'm Older

People are forever telling me that I look about 12, even though I'm only a few weeks shy of 25. They all (and I mean every single one of them) make sure to "inform" me that I'll "be thankful when I'm old and still look young." Yes, yes I know that. If I didn't know it the first time someone said it, I certainly do now, a bazillion comments later. What really made me mad was that they assumed I didn't like looking young. Quite frankly it didn't bother me until I graduated from undergrad. Who doesn't want to be able to get the child's discount at a restaurant or movie and  be able to show proper ID to enter the bar? Of course once I graduated school, it became awkward that all the guys I meet think I'm a 15 year old child so the chances of a guy my own age asking me out is fairly slim... Such is life: there are pros an cons to everything. It use to infuriate me that people couldn't see that and that they were making assumptions about me. But the fact of the matter is, people will be people. That's what they do: assume and talk to hear themselves talk. There's no use in losing sleep over something so insignificant.

Next time you find yourself angry, breathe, and think about it a while. Is it really that serious? Are they harming you physically? Will their comment stop you from doing what you want to do (ie a bank saying "I won't lend you money because...." vs. a regular person saying "I don't like you because...")? Sometimes it takes an effort to be happy, the start is cutting out the foolishness. Life is so much easier when you don't let every little things offended you.

The Keys to Success: Outlook is Everything

The summer I turned 17, I was working at a water park. One day at work a couple of us were discussing senior year, life after high school, and all the typical things that come with that time in a teenager's life. During this conversation came the first "shock" and what I consider the starting point on my current attitude towards life. At some point, probably during the conversation about life after high school, we started talking about moving--what city, what state, etc. One of the girls brought an exceptional amount of negativity to the conversation when she asserted that the likelihood of any of us moving from our parents houses, let alone the state, was very slim. Now, up until this point it had never occurred to me that when I turned 18, I wouldn't leave home. I wasn't sure where I'd go or what I'd be doing, but I had no intention of staying with my parents.