Like most that grew up in Giles County, my parents had me in church each Sunday. Starting at a very young age, I was in Sunday school, cantatas, and puppet ministries to support the church. My family is Baptist, “back row Baptist”, as my dad likes to call us. That term doesn’t necessarily carry a positive connotation, but we really did try our best to be supportive in spite of our hectic schedules. Some Christian families push their children to only listen to Christian music, go strictly by the bible, and never ever stray from the word of God. My parents urged my brother and I to follow the bible’s teaching and always do our best to be the best person we possibly could.
Since I entered my teen years, I think my beliefs haven’t really changed much, but they have morphed into the complete idea I need to shape my life. Baptist perspective reminds us that the Bible is the ultimate guide to shaping one’s life. Personally, I don’t take it that seriously; I fully acknowledge the Bible as a guideline, but I keep it at that, a guideline. I think the book was mainly supposed to be used for us as followers to take away lessons instead of being taken so literally. My question of faith has been tested again and again throughout my young adulthood; all being rooted with the church contradicting itself in the teachings of priests varying from passages in the Bible. I’ve always been told that “accepting Jesus as your personal savior” was the key to being saved, and therefore going to heaven. The other vital piece to becoming saved is baptism; which has been made to seem like an option in most churches. In several passages in the Bible you can clearly make the distinction that both baptism and spiritual acceptance go hand in hand to ensure salvation. Peter tells the people in Acts 2:38 to:
The Essay on The Gospels in the Early Church
... for the early church. Matthew 3. 1 states, “In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the ... popular Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the Bible. For all intents and purposes, however, the ... words of Jesus. After all, there was no Bible until Constantine attempted to unify a fractured ... Roman Empire under one religion, commissioning the Bible into existence. The gospels can be supported or ...
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”
He then continues the passage in Acts 2:40:
“And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this perverse generation. Then they who gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls”
These quotes from the Bible show that Peter clearly means that salvation isn’t just belief or baptism, but it requires both in sync with one another. So why should our own religion lead us to wrong assumptions is the question we should be asking ourselves a few questions similar to the one just mentioned had already been brought to my attention when I began to read Dan Brown’s books.
With his 2003 release of the Da Vinci Code, Brown sneaks the idea of a corrupt church into our minds. Yes, we all realize the Catholic Church has had wrongful leaders and followers, but Brown proposed something entirely different. He offers the suggestion that Jesus was married, had children, and the lineage is walking on the Earth today; which brings me to the point of why I continue to question all I’ve been taught. The author brings up the point that in the time of Jesus, it was extremely rare for men of age to remain single. If he was in fact single, why wasn’t it mentioned by one of the five main authors of the Bible? History states that priests were allowed to stay single, but also the higher one’s importance was, the more you were urged to take a spouse. Curious about Jesus’s disciples, it turns out that Paul was the only pupil to be single. Although it was rare for the time period, it was mentioned in 1 Corinthians that Paul did not believe to have had the right to take a wife, and was believed to more efficient without one. If the marital status of all Jesus’s disciples were made clear in the Bible, why wasn’t Christ’s? The reason for the deception according to Brown was that the Church merely wished to cover up the truth of Christ’s life in order to make Christianity more appealing to followers and potential supporters.
The Term Paper on Jesus and Mary
During the last forty years, there has been an increased desire between Catholics and other Christians to discuss the theological positions that have separated us. The Catholic Church’s teachings on Mary have been a crucial element in the discussions that have taken place. There are many hopeful signs of mutual understanding, including a new appreciation for the Scriptural and Patristic ...
Questions I ask myself pertaining to my beliefs are often found to be rooted elsewhere, but have pushed me to look into possibilities of my own. Through much of my research to prove or disprove the questions posed, one of the most intriguing is if Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a daughter. It is said that if the Bible was indeed changed from its original scriptures, and that the two were actually bound in wedlock and were expecting a baby girl. The wedding was so to have occurred just a week before the crucifixion; it is to be widely believed by many scholars that Mary Magdalene was actually three months pregnant at the time of Christ’s sacrifice. I was skeptical at first, and immediately turned to the Gospels to see what it said about September of 33 AD, the time at which is predicted Mary was due. The Book says nothing about that September, but picks up with the Acts of the Apostles. What is mentioned in the exact time period when the child was born, was the event of the Ascension. The Bible reads:
“And when he had spoken these things…he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight.”
A little later in Acts, it is mentioned that the heavens shall contain Jesus until the “time of restitution.” Being that this was the exact time period to end Mary Magdalene’s pregnancy, is there a connection between the two? I believe the connection lies with the virtue of the time of restitution.
Not only were there rules to oversee the Messianic heir’s marriage ceremony; there were also rules to govern the marriage itself. Jesus and Mary Magdalene were said to have been separated just before the child’s birth, and according to the Bible, right before Ascension. Unlike the Jewish normality, the dynastic parent as Jesus and Mary were separated until December, so that all heir births could occur in September, the holiest month of the Jewish calendar. It is stated in history that not only did Mary give birth to a daughter in 33 AD, but she became pregnant again in 37 AD as well as in 44 AD both of which were born in September.
Because of the six year difference between the second two children, we can accurately say that both were male heirs. Keep in mind we are following the book of Acts throughout these events. History shows that the Book of Enoch and the Dead Sea Scrolls go into detail about Christ and his family’s life, particularly following the eldest son, Jesus Justus. Messages described in length by John read that “Jesus increased” among other passages clearly indicate that Jesus had a son; there are two main scriptures including this information, falling conclusively on AD 37 and AD 44.
The Essay on A Brief Summary Of Jesus As A Figure In History And From Jesus To Christ
In the past few decades many changes have occurred in the way scholars approach the study of Jesus. The main idea shifted from undisputable belief type of analysis to critical one, which analyses the person of Christ from the scientific and historical point of view. This popular subject finds its followers in many spheres of our cultural life: books, movies, and even music. During the semester I ...
During the time of Christ, ordained priests were called “fishers,” their helpers named “fisherman,” and the followers were “fishes.” Upon ordainment, the priests received five loaves of bread and two fish for their service for the greater good. Most people would recognize the Biblical story of Jesus feeding five thousand with the little food received after his being ordained. We see it described in the writings of Paul, that after Christ’s ordainment, he was referred to as “Priest Christ” which is translated to “Fisher King.” This name ran through Christ and his sons; eventually emerging in France for the beginning of the Fisher King bloodline, or the Holy Grail bloodline.
I could go on about what history and the Church has tried to shield from our eyes, but that defeats the purpose for this paper. I believe whole heartedly in God. I believe we as humans need a greater deity to maneuver us in the right direction, and to ensure the worthy an eternity in paradise. On the other hand, I also believe in man’s ego as well as the need to be in control, no matter how far away or how great the price. I am not proposing that we completely discard everything the Bible teaches because I try to take lesson from it myself, but in my belief, I am also weary to put full faith in stories that change their value to raise up man’s ego in order to ensure supremacy.
Bibliography
“Why Is the Voynich Manuscript Named in the Bible Codes?” Biblical Times News. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.