The 10 Commandments and the laws of Western Society

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Precisely.

Personally, I believe that the vast majority of Christians miss the point altogether when it comes to who Jesus was and what he accomplished. Jesus was never about establishing a new religion. He was a Jew, and only ever engaged with fellow Jews, so all of his own teachings were limited to what happens within Judaism.

"Christianity" was essentially invented by Paul and the Apostolic fathers out of their devotion to Jesus. Jesus himself probably cared less about whether one practiced Christianity, or Judaism, or any of the Greek and Roman cults. While we really do not have any evidence for this, it is quite interesting that in his parable about the Good Samaritan, he contrasts different forms of religious observance and tradition—his conclusion has NOTHING to do with religious belief and observance, but everything to do with right conduct. Perhaps with the benefit of several centuries, this parable could be re-written to feature a Christian, an Orthodox Jew, and a Shi`ite Muslim. Would Jesus conclusions be any different?

Its always so wonderful to have logic introduced from your viewpoint...you are a man that could change things for the better...get with it!!

As to Jesus the Good samaritan...I agree...IF there was a Jesus then this is the most likely story and the one that should be told. It should also be told that there were countless other good samaritans, who had great messages of love and peace long before...and long after JC.

[flamesfever]

Thank you for your thoughts Textcritic. I would also like to get on the list for that book.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Cheese

As to Jesus the Good samaritan...I agree...IF there was a Jesus then this is the most likely story and the one that should be told. It should also be told that there were countless other good samaritans, who had great messages of love and peace long before...and long after JC.

Jesus certainly never claimed to be the original paragon of virtue. In fact, in the story retold by the author of Mark in 10.17–23, Jesus corrects the Pharisee for calling him "Good Teacher", and says that only God is good. His point? That he was nothing special, but that his message of self-sacrifice was at the heart of his proclamation that the Kingdom of God had arrived.

An interesting footnote to this story: Notice that as part of his reply, Jesus directs the Pharisee to keeping "the commandments." He delimits these quite specifically as follows: "You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother." The really interesting thing in his response is that not a single one of the commandments he cites is cultic or religious: nothing about proper worship, or the exclusivity of YHWH, and nothing about keeping the Sabbath.

This brought to mind the evangelistic formula made popular by Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort of Living Waters Ministries on the popular Christian TV Show, The Way of the Master. Comfort's whole message is based upon the premise that the Ten Commandments as presented in Exodus 19 is the basic standard by which God will judge humankind, and he widely claims that this is the standard that Jesus adhered to in his own ministry. Yet, it would seem from this scenario that the only commandments Jesus found binding were those of general good conduct that would be endorsed by virtually every charitable organization. Again, this only serves to strengthen my conviction that Jesus was most concerned about right motives and right conduct than ANYTHING else, including religious belief and practice.

[Cheese]

Heres a beautiful story from yesterday that includes adultery, deception, and possibly even incest!! How many of the 10 commandments were broken by the archbishop?

The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch has been charged with lying under oath, court documents show. A warrant for the arrest of Archbishop Earl Paulk, co-founder of Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church, was issued Monday, according to court documents. Paulk was making arrangements Monday night to turn himself in to authorities, WAGA-TV reported.

Paulk's attorneys did not immediately return calls from The Associated Press for comment.

Former church employee Mona Brewer is suing Paulk, his brother, Don, and the church for allegedly manipulating her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer.

But the results of a court-ordered paternity test revealed in October that Paulk is the biological father of his brother's son, D.E. Paulk, who is now head pastor at the family's church. As part of Brewer's lawsuit, eight women have given sworn depositions that they were coerced into sexual relationships with Earl Paulk.

A judge ordered the paternity test at the request of the Cobb County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which were investigating Paulk.

Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head declined comment when reached at his home Monday night.

Paulk and his brother, Don, have been hit with multiple lawsuits from former members alleging they were coerced into sexual affairs, but this is the first time criminal charges have been filed against the archbishop.

Megachurch leader charged