metrognome
as we seem to have strayed from the original thread, I will join the sinners and jump in again.
It seems to me that it is entirely possible to be a ‘Christian’ without subscribing to any particular denomination or sect. All one has to do is believe in the basic philosophy attributed to the historical figure known as Jesus Christ. This philosophy, the tenets of which are not unique to Christianity, is contained in the writings widely referred to as the New Testament. The pieces of this ‘document’ were passed down by word of mouth before being written down in Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic by numerous scribes. To be a Christian, one does not need to accept that these words are the literal words of god, esp. when read in English without the proper understanding of the historical context of the allegories.
Biblical scholars place numerous conditions on what is called the Bible, esp. the Old Testament:
1) parts are clearly missing and some accepted parts clearly don’t belong;
2) shockingly, the Bible was not written in English; in fact, much of it was not written down for ages. Passing stories accurately by word of mouth is pretty much impossible. Translating from ancient languages is fraught with difficult contextual decisions in every sentence. Try reading the historical figure known as Shakespeare’s original manuscripts and see how much you understand. Heck, we can’t even agree on who wrote which ‘Shakespearean’ play. Ask any ten witnesses to a crime what they saw and you’ll get fifteen answers that change day by day.
3) ‘Organized religion’ has manipulated the Bible and its believers over the years to increase their personal and institutional power and financial position over the centuries. Classic example is Christmas, which was ginned up to pre-empt pagans from celebrating Saturnalia and Solstice.
Speaking of differences in beliefs, I find it odd that Catholics are referred to as Christians these days. Back in nineteen and ought six when I was being schooled by nuns, we were taught that Christians looked down on Catholics because we did not accept JC as our personal lord and savior. In those days, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit held equal sway. Seems to me that the current co-mingling of Christianity and Catholicism is a temporary truce that came about for political reasons.
Bless me father for I have sinned …