I don’t know. If I swallow the OP wholesale maybe there is some issues. I dunno. But reading the whole OP leaves me with the distinct impression that there is more to the story. (like her perspective for example) It looks like the OP has an ax to grind of some sort, and I’m left more than a little suspicious.
The pittee in this thread really reminds me of this woman.
Does she claim to be a christian warrior?
(watch the whole thing, it’s worth it for the end)
kalhoun, I just hope people don’t go to hell for stealing jokes…
Get your ass to church.
Naaaaah…it’s not stealing…it’s a tribute!
Wrong.
In the early days of Christianity, one had to be a Jew before they could be a Christian. If somebody who was a Mithraite, or follower of Zeus wanted to convert to Christianity, they had to convert to Judaism (including a circumcision) first. It wasn’t until one of the big council meetings (I don’t remember the name) that it was decided that people could convert directly to Christianity without needing to be Jewish.
Huh. I really had no idea. When did it change?
WRONG!
We have red ones too 
Nicene council? Apostolic council? I don’t remember.
What sort of twit would ruin a friend’s party by not introducing themselves and by ranting about religion.
You’d be surprised. Here’s a no shit true story. I went to a Japanese restaurant one time. I had the table all to myself. Way cool. Then, the owners asked if I would mind if I share my table with someone else. No problem. But then Reverend Bubba decided him and his whole passel o’ kinfolk were gonna have a good ol’ prayer meetin’ and save my soul. I ate real fast and left even faster. There are plenty of these twits running loose.
I fucked up - when Bubba first asked if I was a christian, I should have glared, and said I serve He Who Sleeps In The Deep (or whatever that Cthulhu phrase is). Anyone who starts conversations with THAT really turns me off now.
SteveG1 I have two sets of standard responses for Christian missionaries. The first set is for those who have not seen my yarmulke, or any other sign that I am Jewish. These responses are mildly amusing, somewhat disrespectful and intended to discourage further overtures. EG “I found Jesus. He was under the couch. I also found my remote, my spare keys, and a ten dollar bill! So, I’m going to the kwik e mart to buy nachos for me and the J man.”
The second set of responses is for people who have every reason to know that I am Jewish. They are profoundly disrespectful, and often obscene. They tend to freeze the missionary on the spot. I will not give an example.
Peter’s vision in the book of Acts, almost universally attributed to dietary matters, (which it was not) was really about Peter being shown by God that henceforth non-Jews would no longer be considered “unclean”; that the preaching about the Christ was not to be brought to Gentiles, and converts among Gentiles were now welcomed.
Previously, not only was the Messiah a Jew-only affair, for centuries Jews did not associate, eat with, inter-marry etc. The Jewish society was highly insular; a situation dictated by God himself, so the story goes.
Rubystreak has been told that Jesus did in fact favor the Jews, his own people; that he came to the Jews and it did in fact matter what religion you belonged to. (as DocCathode points out) He doesn’t seem to want to accept that.
In the aftermath of Peter’s vision (and the abrogation of the Mosaic law) there was more than one dispute about the new Gentile converts and how they fit in to Christian Judaism.
Even then, while the Gentile was welcome, his religion was not. Gentile converts were expected to become Christians and no allowance was made for interfaith, or importing pagan religions into the nascent Christian movement.
That didn’t change. Paul, chosen by Jesus himself to be the leader of the Christian movement, was unwavering in his words that there was no communion between Christianity and other religions. They were not to intermingle with other religions at all.
So the notion that Jesus came to everyone, and preached to everyone is not true. He came to the Jews exclusively.
The notion that he was unconcerned with religions is not true. In fact, he strongly favored Judaism.
While later Gentiles were allowed into Christian Judaism, it is not true that Jesus or the Apostles after his death favored a view that it didn’t matter what religion you were. The new truth was, your nationality no longer mattered, and obviously you can’t change your nationality. You can change your religion. Gentiles were welcome, their religions were not.
I have only one complaint about the ending
They didn’t allocate a measley $10 for a pack of Tarot cards
First of all, Rubystreak is a she. Second, I told DocCathode that I did not know that piece of information, not that I didn’t believe him nor was I denying it. Don’t go looking for an argument I’m not having with you or DocCathode.
This aspect of Jesus’ ministry is certainly not advertised nor discussed by Catholics, I don’t know about other denominations. We are always taught, as kids, that Christianity embraces everyon who accepts Jesus as his savior. The historical Jesus did not. Fine. I stand corrected. And I don’t feel as warm and fuzzy toward Jesus anymore. Happy now?
Sorry… I will remember you are a “she.”
Sorry…I didn’t mean to imply you’re trying to pick a fight; nor am I.
Sorry…If I wasn’t 100% clear. Jesus did come for the Jews. But, as noted, he was kind to non-Jews—in fact he was kind and loving to everyone. In fact, in the bible record the very first person he revealed himself to as the Messiah was ‘the Samaritan woman at the well’; a non-Jew. And Christianity in the aftermath of Christ’s death accepted converts of all stripes—something clearly Jesus directed through Paul. So it is clear that Jesus does in fact accept “people of all nations.” There is no indication that Jesus held other people (non-Jews) in contempt or that he didn’t care about all people, simply it means that his mission, his assignment was to come as the promised Jewish Messiah.
You what !!??
Paul never met Jesus, AFAIK.
Well…
It would appear that Paul did meet Jesus on the road to Damascus, where he was specifically chosen by Jesus to be a “vessel to the nations”; and became the leading ‘spokesman’ for both Jesus and Christianity in the years that followed.
Further, it is inconceivable that Paul, who wrote something along the lines of 14 books of the bible IIRC, wasn’t receiving divine instruction, through prayers, visions etc.
Given that Paul casted the longest shadow in the early Christian church, and the fact he was chosen by Jesus himself, it is inconceivable that the messages he preached and the ‘policies’ he espoused weren’t either given directly by Christ, or in complete agreement by him.
One other thing…
The line you clipped from dealt with the question as to whether Jesus, through Paul, directed the change that gentiles were now welcome.
That change came through a vision to Peter, after Christ’s death, and is said to have come from God.
Paul maintained this and was never in conflict with the change from that vision.
There are too many instances to count in the bible that indicate that God’s servants received instruction and direction without a face to face sit down.
“You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” [/Inigo Montoya]
To someone who does not believe, it’s inconceivable that anyone communicated with Jesus after his death.