what's your religion?

[SirZap]

for dated the new testament is followed.
example:
in OT eating pork is forbidden.
"And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase." - Deuteronomy 14:8

but in the NT

Acts 10:9-16
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

as for figuratively or literal its a bit tricky because sometimes you need to know the how Hebrews/Jews speak and their customs. you may also consider how the Bible translator picks a word.

Example:

"Adam lay with his wife Eve" (Genesis 4:1)
or even Set "Knew" his wife.

it means they had sexual intercourse.

some are easy to determine that it is figurative.

example:

Mark 9
43“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44[where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 45“If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46[where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 47“If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

simply to say you don't really have to literally cut off you hand or pluck your eyes but to imply avoid those things that causes you to sin.

[choy]

@Vinch... I see you can quote most of the books from the Bible... I'd just like to ask if you have ever read other literature that leans towards Christianity such as Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas Aquinas (or just the quinque viae of it) or The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri...

hindi ko pa nabasa yang mga yan. i add ko yan sa mga to-read list ko.

duduguin ilong mo. St. Aquinas has a genius level mind.

[choy]

Guys, may tanong ako. What does the Bible or the Christian faith has to say on Death Penalty?

Simple curiosity.

The Catholic Church teaches that we shouldn't resort to it, but at the same time leaves the possibility for it should it serve the greater good of mankind. For example, its not okay to kill one rapist, but its probably okay to kill someone like Hitler.

[choy]

I have a question for believers: When reading the Bible, how do you know which ones are written figuratively or literally? Which ones are "dated" or "eternal"?

The problem here is we are not the keepers of knowledge. We do not know by ourselves. The folly of many modern protestant faiths is they think we by ourselves can discern the Bible. It is absolutely not true. Never in the history of the people of God that they took it upon themselves to interpret scripture by themselves. The Jews never did it, the early Christians never did it, why all of a sudden we are doing it today?

The knowledge is passed from one generation to the next. It is important to submit ourselves to our teachers. Many people in the Church, the monks, dedicate their entire lives to learning, retaining, then passing along the knowledge. Remember, Jesus himself established discipleship. He didn't hand the Apostles the Bible and told them to figure it out themselves. He sat and talked with them and taught them. Then the Apostles took upon their own disciples (Mark, Luke, etc.) whom they passed the faith down to. And it goes on and on to today.

So the question about understanding the Bible, should be directed to those who has received this knowledge. Our priests of today. They are the modern day apostles, the bishops are the modern day disciples.

[VincH]

^i agree to a certain extent. yung vocabulary kasi nung unang panahon eh limited at yung pagka translate iba ang pagkaintindi nila from the original hebrew words. nagtataka nga ako bakit yung iba naghahanap ng mga bagong terms sa bible eh 2-3k years ago pa naisulat yun.

duduguin ilong mo. St. Aquinas has a genius level mind.

ganun ba? hindi ko na lang babasahin

[VincH]

may napanood akong replay ng debate about Eli Soriano and an atheist sa tv 2 days ago. hinanap ko sa youtube kung may naka upload. meron nga kaso di kumpleto.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXI59foy ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyy-HvwD ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSVqMbKr ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6GQf79R ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra8N6v4o ... re=related

totoo ba yung claim ng atheist na 90% ng mga scientists eh atheists? base sa research ko eh sa american society of science lang yun pero overall hindi.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8916982/

totoo din ba na ang theory of evolution ay fact na?

[SirZap]

oo, nakalamutan ko yung article, may copy pa nga ako nung Watchtower, magazine ng mga Jehova's witness, 90's pa. they included that article there to inform their members. kaso tinapon ko na kasi nakatambak lang sa kwarto ko. may kaibigan akong kasali sa religion na yun. still they are creationists.

[choy]

may napanood akong replay ng debate about Eli Soriano and an atheist sa tv 2 days ago. hinanap ko sa youtube kung may naka upload. meron nga kaso di kumpleto.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXI59foy ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyy-HvwD ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSVqMbKr ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6GQf79R ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra8N6v4o ... re=related

totoo ba yung claim ng atheist na 90% ng mga scientists eh atheists? base sa research ko eh sa american society of science lang yun pero overall hindi.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8916982/

totoo din ba na ang theory of evolution ay fact na?

May kasama ako sa church na Mathematician siya, does that count? May deboto pa kesa sa akin.

Malamang planted yang debate ni Soriano.

[choy]

^i agree to a certain extent. yung vocabulary kasi nung unang panahon eh limited at yung pagka translate iba ang pagkaintindi nila from the original hebrew words. nagtataka nga ako bakit yung iba naghahanap ng mga bagong terms sa bible eh 2-3k years ago pa naisulat yun.

duduguin ilong mo. St. Aquinas has a genius level mind.

ganun ba? hindi ko na lang babasahin

hindi lang sa translation eh. words can be very limiting. puwede ako mag sabi ng isang sentence dito sa pinoyps, at may 100 people na magkakaroon ng 100 different interpretations kung ano talaga gusto ko sabihin. halimbawa yung paborito kong hirit na "hype lang yan". ano ba talaga ibig sabihin nun? siyempre ako lang makaka pag explain kung ano ibig ko sabihin, at kung sino lang sabihan ko siya lang makakaintindi. dapat yung pinagsabihan ko, sasabihin din sa iba. yung mga hindi nakatanggap ng paliwanag ko, hindi nila alam kung ano talaga gusto ko sabihin. chambahan na lang kung may makatama

[VincH]

i think mathematicians should count. mathematics is the most precise branch of science di ba?

[VincH]

hindi lang sa translation eh. words can be very limiting. puwede ako mag sabi ng isang sentence dito sa pinoyps, at may 100 people na magkakaroon ng 100 different interpretations kung ano talaga gusto ko sabihin. halimbawa yung paborito kong hirit na "hype lang yan". ano ba talaga ibig sabihin nun? siyempre ako lang makaka pag explain kung ano ibig ko sabihin, at kung sino lang sabihan ko siya lang makakaintindi. dapat yung pinagsabihan ko, sasabihin din sa iba. yung mga hindi nakatanggap ng paliwanag ko, hindi nila alam kung ano talaga gusto ko sabihin. chambahan na lang kung may makatama

tama, parang sa issue din ng slavery yan sa bible, minamasama ng iba pero walang masama doon and i can explain that.

iba kasi ang level ng utak ng Diyos. kumbaga parang nagusap ang ordinaryong tao sa isang scientist or abugado. hindi agad maiintindihan ng ordinaryong tao kung ano ang ibig sabihin ng sinabi ng isang scientist or abugado.

[VincH]

newly found christian artifact?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... an-history

[zmed_08]

newly found christian artifact?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... an-history

Ahhh... so they found the book that might be the one mentioned in Revelations...
If it is the mentioned book, this would lead to more speculation/fear about/or 2012...
But I am interested in these codices...

[VincH]

i dont think it has something to do w/ the 2012 or "end of the world" thingy.

an atheist i i met in the internet texted me saying he is very very close to becoming a believer. thanks God!

[choy]

newly found christian artifact?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookou ... an-history

Ahhh... so they found the book that might be the one mentioned in Revelations...
If it is the mentioned book, this would lead to more speculation/fear about/or 2012...
But I am interested in these codices...

why are we looking more towards these things? hindi pa ba tayo kuntento sa sinasabi ng Simbahan sa atin?

[zmed_08]

why are we looking more towards these things? hindi pa ba tayo kuntento sa sinasabi ng Simbahan sa atin?

I'm not... I want to learn more about my religion since there are a lot of information out there that I do not know about...

and the teachings inside the church, are kinda repetitive and they don't really tackle what I want to know about Christianity...

[choy]

why are we looking more towards these things? hindi pa ba tayo kuntento sa sinasabi ng Simbahan sa atin?

I'm not... I want to learn more about my religion since there are a lot of information out there that I do not know about...

and the teachings inside the church, are kinda repetitive and they don't really tackle what I want to know about Christianity...

ang problema, all the teachings outside the Church are not reliable. Christ taught everything we need to know to the Apostles and formed the Church on them, primarily on Peter. hindi natin kelangan ng source maliban sa Simbahan.

magugulat ka kung gano kalalim ang kaalaman na nasa Simbahan. yung mga monk eh naka dedicate buong buhay nila sa pagaaral nito, kulang pa rin para sa isang tao ma-tackle lahat. baka hindi ka lang tumitingin sa tamang lugar kaya hindi mo mahanap ang kaalaman na hinahanap mo. pero andiyan yan.

[zmed_08]

ang problema, all the teachings outside the Church are not reliable. Christ taught everything we need to know to the Apostles and formed the Church on them, primarily on Peter. hindi natin kelangan ng source maliban sa Simbahan.

magugulat ka kung gano kalalim ang kaalaman na nasa Simbahan. yung mga monk eh naka dedicate buong buhay nila sa pagaaral nito, kulang pa rin para sa isang tao ma-tackle lahat. baka hindi ka lang tumitingin sa tamang lugar kaya hindi mo mahanap ang kaalaman na hinahanap mo. pero andiyan yan.

Saying all teachings outside of the Church aren't reliable is a bit too much, isn't it? but if you mean teachings (ways on how we should act as Christians) about Christianity then I agree... but discoveries like this may help the religion in certain ways... I mean, was discovering the Shroud of Turin not reliable in supporting John's (gospel) words (mostly to non-believers) about the strips of cloth Peter wrapped Jesus with? or what about the Dead Sea Scrolls contribution to the contents of the Bible today? Like the Genesis Apocryphon...

The Church and its people have provided me with the content of the Bible, beatitudes, commandments, brief history ,etc and I do practice them (well, most of the time at least) but there are still certain questions going through my mind about its history... For example, where did Arius come up with the idea of Jesus as a Logos and not part of the Holy Trinity? or what were the qualifications of the books to be part of the Bible? What were the books that were rejected to be in the Bible? or why did the Pope withheld the information when Lucia (3 secrets of Fatima) insisted that it be released in 1960 because the Blessed Virgin told her? If information like that are kept in secret until the Pope declares it so, can there be more information that are kept hidden from public eyes by the Church?

With that kind of attitude, I surely won't learn all of the information I want... Haha! Well I believe I'm on the right track towards my goal but I believe with just the teachings of my church and its priests, my thirst for knowledge would not be satisfied...

[choy]

Saying all teachings outside of the Church aren't reliable is a bit too much, isn't it? but if you mean teachings (ways on how we should act as Christians) about Christianity then I agree... but discoveries like this may help the religion in certain ways... I mean, was discovering the Shroud of Turin not reliable in supporting John's (gospel) words (mostly to non-believers) about the strips of cloth Peter wrapped Jesus with? or what about the Dead Sea Scrolls contribution to the contents of the Bible today? Like the Genesis Apocryphon...

no its not. Jesus entrusted the fullness of the faith to the Apostles and this knowledge is carried through the Church. there is nothing outside of the Church that can add to the truth. most of what are found today are the heretical writings of the past that were defeated and suppressed.

The Church and its people have provided me with the content of the Bible, beatitudes, commandments, brief history ,etc and I do practice them (well, most of the time at least) but there are still certain questions going through my mind about its history... For example, where did Arius come up with the idea of Jesus as a Logos and not part of the Holy Trinity? or what were the qualifications of the books to be part of the Bible? What were the books that were rejected to be in the Bible? or why did the Pope withheld the information when Lucia (3 secrets of Fatima) insisted that it be released in 1960 because the Blessed Virgin told her? If information like that are kept in secret until the Pope declares it so, can there be more information that are kept hidden from public eyes by the Church?

all that information is available today. maybe your not just looking at the right books.

With that kind of attitude, I surely won't learn all of the information I want... Haha! Well I believe I'm on the right track towards my goal but I believe with just the teachings of my church and its priests, my thirst for knowledge would not be satisfied...

if you mean by "teaching of the priests" that all these will be taught within the confines of the Mass, then you are correct. you really have to do something extra. what the priests will teach during Homily are what people need for practical purposes in their daily lives. most people wouldn't need knowledge about certain decisions in Ecumenical Councils that are no longer in effect today. but all these information is available. you can enroll in a course that deals with Church history. sometimes these subjects are not tackled in the Philippines. may pari kami dito sa Vancouver dati na nag punta pa sa Europe para mag aral ng Gospel of John, which includes all historical aspects of the Gospel. ang lalim niya mag salita basta Gospel of John pinaguusapan. pero yun nga, sa Europe pa siya ng 2 years for that.

[zmed_08]

no its not. Jesus entrusted the fullness of the faith to the Apostles and this knowledge is carried through the Church. there is nothing outside of the Church that can add to the truth. most of what are found today are the heretical writings of the past that were defeated and suppressed.

Ok first I'd like to say that Jesus Christ's teachings are absolute and that is what I believe with no doubt. If this "truth" you're saying is referring only to Jesus Christ's teachings, then I agree.

Now about the Dead Sea scrolls, their existence furthers strengthens the reliability of the Old Testament that were found earlier from the Hebrew Bible since they were the same content. The Genesis Apocryphon just gives an extra text on what Lamech and Noah were talking about but in reading them, one must know that they are not considered "canon" by some denominations (Roman Catholic Church) The scrolls also tell us that the denomination that used them didn't consider the book of Esther before... Though you consider these writings heretical, it gives us a view of early Christianity in those times so they do cover the history of Christianity...

all that information is available today. maybe your not just looking at the right books.

1.) Well for Arius, I just found he used references from the Bible, but where did that idea sparked from?
2.) From all the info I read, they mostly agree that they were just picked out from what councils deemed heretical (since at those times, heretics were beginning to move through their writing) but I still have no idea of what they think is heretical for them...
3.) I only know 1 or 3 of them, since I think the books were burnt down already so my curiosity still yearns for those pages...
4.) Well Pope Benedict XVI gave a statement to why it wasn't released yet what I'm really after is the answer of Pope Pius XI, Pope John XXIII, or Pope Paul VI since they were the popes that had reigned when Lucia had written down the secret and when Lucia asked the secret to be revealed to the world...
5.) This is more of a question that can only be answered, which I will deem to be acceptable, by a one-on-one with a pope... yet if he answers yes to it, it will just raise more questions in my mind...

so if you think you know where I can get those answers I'm looking for then by all means, please do lead me to them...

if you mean by "teaching of the priests" that all these will be taught within the confines of the Mass, then you are correct. you really have to do something extra. what the priests will teach during Homily are what people need for practical purposes in their daily lives. most people wouldn't need knowledge about certain decisions in Ecumenical Councils that are no longer in effect today. but all these information is available. you can enroll in a course that deals with Church history. sometimes these subjects are not tackled in the Philippines. may pari kami dito sa Vancouver dati na nag punta pa sa Europe para mag aral ng Gospel of John, which includes all historical aspects of the Gospel. ang lalim niya mag salita basta Gospel of John pinaguusapan. pero yun nga, sa Europe pa siya ng 2 years for that.

Yes those are what I mean since the only reliable information I can get here in the Philippines is through them...
I'm just lucky one of my professors here shared what he knew from researching...
Interesting but the way you make him sound to me is that I would not be able to understand him... so how will I be able to learn from him? Haha!
Well someday I plan to go to the Vatican library to do research from the books and spend some time with the priests there...