glassjester
Well-known member
Those words hardly resemble the English word "priest."
What's your source?
But Paul was not married while a leader of the early Church.
Is there a true church?
- Thread starter glassjester
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Those words hardly resemble the English word "priest."
What's your source?
But Paul was not married while a leader of the early Church.
HisServant
New member
Strong's concordance.
You do not know that.
But even so, he was an Apostle, not a priest...an Apostle chosen by Jesus himself.
Which cannot be said of any Roman Catholic 'Apostle' ever.
glassjester
Well-known member
That doesn't tell us how or from where the English word "priest" was derived. What's its origin, its etymology?
Many ancient words may approximate in meaning, to what we now would call priests. But how did the actual word "priest" come to be?
Certainly we can't say "and in ancient times, those performing sacrifices were called "hiereus," and that's where the word "priest" comes from!"
That's utter nonsense.
Was Paul lying when he said it is better, for those who can, to remain unmarried?
Prizebeatz1
New member
You are entitled to your opinion. I didn't say people were not martyred and crucified on metaphor. I'm saying the parts of the scriptures that have no basis in reality are not literal. If we are honest with ourselves we know we do not believe that a man can actually physically ascend into the sky for example. Tell me what is your interpretation of Jesus saying one must eat his flesh and drink his blood? Do you take that literally too? How is that possible without pretending?
glassjester
Well-known member
Do you believe that God exists?
Prizebeatz1
New member
Yes. What about you?
HisServant
New member
maybe you should look to the Old Testament for those answers, since they were written by Jews... same as the New Testament.
And no, Paul was not lying. It is better to remain unmarried to be able to serve the lord... but that doesn't mean serve the lord as church leadership.
Paul was very measured in what he said and it all makes sense if you understand who is driving everything and the type of community of believers he was trying to put together.
FYI, Pauls inspired vision of the church is very anti-catholic.
glassjester
Well-known member
Definitely.
Do you believe that God is a person, not in the human sense, but in the sense that He has a will and an intellect?
Prizebeatz1
New member
That is Paul's interpretation of the story of Jesus which misses the point by a large margin: we are one with God because of the soul. Go back and read the 4 gospels by themselves and you will see that dying for our sins is not a big theme in Jesus' message. It was amplified by Paul who put his spin on it with a twist of Jewish sacrifice. The books of the NT were placed directly after th gospels as a tactic to emphasize what should me one else thought was important about the story of Jesus. The main message has been misinterpreted, misunderstood and distorted through the centuries.
Prizebeatz1
New member
Maybe, maybe not. I think we run the risk of making God in our own image instead of the other way around.
glassjester
Well-known member
Do you think God is capable, if He wanted, to enter into His own creation?
Sort of like a playwright writing himself, as a character, into his own play.
Prizebeatz1
New member
I think the message is that it's already happening through us. We are a part of his creation, a part of the universe, a part of reality, a part of the truth. We are inseparable from Him. Notice how badly the personality is willing to come up with all kinds of beliefs to avoid this fact. It unconsciously resists and is deluded in its belief of separation. There's nothing wrong with being one with God. That is a good thing. Somehow on an unconscious level we have agreed this to be bad and we avoid it like the plague. We need to put down the forbidden fruit of judgement and come to our senses. The soul is nothing but the natural organic truth.
glassjester
Well-known member
But could He do it, Himself? Is He capable of that?
Tempting man to believe that he can be "as God," is one of the lies used to get us to eat the forbidden fruit.
Prizebeatz1
New member
Why wouldn't he be able? I believe a more accurate interpretation is that man was tempted to make a god out of himself. That is what we have in the personality. It believes it can control things. It believes it can judge things. It believes reaching an ideal makes it worthy (the golden calf). All of these are desires that subtly reject what IS here and now in this exact instant. The personality rejects itself in the process.
glassjester
Well-known member
I think we agree.
You say that God is capable of entering into His own creation. The main claim put forth by the gospel stories is that He actually did that.
That He walked the actual Earth, bodily. He lived in an actual place. He lived in an actual time. He met, taught, fed, and healed actual people.
Now which of these would be impossible for God?
Prizebeatz1
New member
I think it's more probable that the story of Jesus is an extended metaphor to indicate that we are one with God because of the soul. The literal translation leaves this out and that is why we can never feel good enough about ourselves. We have to depend on hanging on to a belief for self-worth. We feel good if we adhere to the belief and bad if we don't. Our self esteem fluctuates according to circumstances and situations and we think it's normal. In contrast true self-worth is unconditional, steady, everywhere present because it reflects its source. Like father like son. This is fundamental.
glassjester
Well-known member
What evidence could convince you that God actually did enter His creation?
Prizebeatz1
New member
We ARE the evidence. God is in us in the form of the soul. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity...(John 17:23)." All you have to do is close your eyes and you get the same space, silence and stillness that you find in outer space. We are a part of what is infinite and eternal and it is a part of us. To really confirm this we need let go of the personality in its entirety. It could take a lifetime. "Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."(Matthew 19:21). The selling of our possessions includes giving up our personality too. In addition, if we take things back to basics, we are taught that God is everywhere. For some reason as we get older we take it to mean God is everywhere except within us. When, exactly, did this switch occur?
glassjester
Well-known member
I mean this:
What evidence would convince you that this literally happened?
Prizebeatz1
New member
Perhaps the more accurate question would be what evidence would convince us that this DID NOT literally happen?