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before I begin
#34
Peace and blessings, Nimrod.

To be equally blunt, I did not like the tone of your last message. But I understand that my skepticism is making you emotional, so I forgive you. I only want, indeed, that you and yours find bounty whithersoever your eye turns.

First, the article does not reference either the COE or the Syriac Orthodox Church. Instead, it refers to the Syriac tradition in the midst of Islamic rule. I invite you to reread the entire article before you suggest that I am ignorant.

Secondly, you???ve gotten besides yourself by referring to my life. But since you bring it up, let me clear any misconceptions about who I am. My name is Kevin. I am twenty-four years old. Ethnically, I am an African-American, although culturally, I am cosmopolitan. I am a bibliophile. I have other 1700 books in my library collection, all of which reflect my eclecticism. My books range from religion, the classics, ancient erotic literature, philosophy, psychology, poetry, and magic. You will find atheistic literature alongside theistic arguments. My fiance is a direct heir to the Ottoman throne, through Murad's line. I love her because there is no other way to know her.

I am a Muslim. But once, I, too, believed what the elders taught me in church. I believed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. I believed that he is the son of God. I believed in the sacred rites. I, too, wanted his everlasting favor. But at the age of sixteen, due to constant self-reflection, I lost my faith in these principles because they no longer made sense. By definition of ???God,??? it is beneath Him to have a son because this, by default, gives Him a likeness to that of his creatures. It is beneath Him to manifest in three forms because it denotes the inability of governing as one in essence and nature. It is beneath Him, the most merciful, to need blood in exchange for forgiveness because there are few among His creatures that are capable of expunging mankind's sins, if they had the power to do so, without the shedding of blood. It is beneath Him to take flesh, for not even the mountains could withstand His glory when He revealed Himself to Moses. It is beneath Him to eat, drink, and defecate, for this was even beneath the angels who visited Abraham.

Taking Jesus into account, we find him naked, despised, crucified, and dead. How do we account for a god, all-powerful in essence, who is able to acquire so many weaknesses? How do we worship one who can be sacrificed? If one were to say that he is God in flesh, then Adam is also such, for God blew his spirit into him. If one were to say that he is less than God Himself, then he is infinitely less, as we are, for God is infinite. Apart from this reasoning, there is nothing in the Gospel that indicates that he is God, for he did nothing without God's permission (as any other creature)

Thus was my reasoning.

Then I considered the early formation of the Christian Church. I considered how the authors of the Gospels are varied and unknown, how clergymen altered their books, creating and imposing theologies that has nothing to do with the historical Jesus.

My conclusions came from a willingness to follow the evidence where it leads. It came from a willingness to consider other possibilities at the expense of my current beliefs, values, and disposition. It is very painful to accept something contrary to that which one is accustomed to, but it is more painful to deny something in the face of overwhelming evidence. It is very painful to seriously consider the argument of an opposing view, but it is more painful to be self-imprisoned.

Try it, Nimrod.

Truth is harder to absorb than light.
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Messages In This Thread
before I begin - by Kara - 02-22-2010, 09:51 PM
Re: before I begin - by Nimrod Warda - 02-22-2010, 10:56 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 02-25-2010, 01:26 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 02-25-2010, 03:12 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 02-25-2010, 07:40 PM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 02-26-2010, 12:40 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 02-26-2010, 01:26 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 02-26-2010, 12:26 PM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 02-26-2010, 12:43 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 02-26-2010, 06:05 PM
Re: before I begin - by Nimrod Warda - 02-26-2010, 07:03 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 02-26-2010, 07:55 PM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 02-26-2010, 08:59 PM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 02-26-2010, 09:05 PM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-04-2010, 09:43 PM
Re: before I begin - by ograabe - 03-05-2010, 03:42 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-05-2010, 03:46 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-05-2010, 04:02 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-05-2010, 04:47 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-06-2010, 01:05 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-07-2010, 11:06 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-08-2010, 07:34 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-09-2010, 06:03 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-10-2010, 01:09 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-10-2010, 02:08 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-10-2010, 05:23 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-10-2010, 07:24 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-10-2010, 07:44 AM
Re: before I begin - by Nimrod Warda - 03-10-2010, 02:09 PM
Re: before I begin - by Phil - 03-10-2010, 03:25 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-10-2010, 06:27 PM
Re: before I begin - by Nimrod Warda - 03-10-2010, 08:14 PM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-10-2010, 10:57 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-11-2010, 01:14 AM
Re: before I begin - by Stephen Silver - 03-11-2010, 01:57 AM
Re: before I begin - by judge - 03-11-2010, 03:52 AM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-11-2010, 04:40 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-11-2010, 05:45 AM
Re: before I begin - by Burning one - 03-11-2010, 06:07 AM
Re: before I begin - by Nimrod Warda - 03-11-2010, 03:35 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-11-2010, 05:28 PM
Re: before I begin - by Kara - 03-11-2010, 11:36 PM

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