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Weebster

Weebster

Everyone is alone. Everyone is empty.
Mar 11, 2022
1,683
Christians like to cite Isaiah 53 but Isaiah 53 is about Israel (the nation) spoken about as a man. The prophecies listed in the book of Matthew such as, and I'm paraphrasing, "And Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fled to Egypt before returning home for Herod was killing the young. Thus fulfilling what God said, 'Out of Egypt, I called my son.'"

That verse is again about Israel (the nation) and it's referring to the Exodus.

I'd return to Christianity to give my life meaning, but Christianity is demonstrably untrue. Also, there are a lot of anachronisms in the Hebrew Bible that lead to doubt about when those supposed events took place. Islam and Mormonism fall apart if Judaism and Christianity do (which I think they do).
 
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J

JustAFriendlyGuy

Member
Jun 23, 2021
42
Christians like to cite Isaiah 53 but Isaiah 53 is about Israel (the nation) spoken about as a man. The prophecies listed in the book of Matthew such as, and I'm paraphrasing, "And Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fled to Egypt before returning home for Herod was killing the young. Thus fulfilling what God said, 'Out of Egypt, I called my son.'"

That verse is again about Israel (the nation) and it's referring to the Exodus.

I'd return to Christianity to give my life meaning, but Christianity is demonstrably untrue. Also, there are a lot of anachronisms in the Hebrew Bible that lead to doubt about when those supposed events took place. Islam and Mormonism fall apart if Judaism and Christianity do (which I think they do).
It's a huge subject and i am by no means an expert but from what i have researched, i can say the following about christianity:

It has, like the other abrahamic religions at it's core what i would call "mystic" or supernatural experiences. All of the doctrine and the belief system we solely pay attention to, is build around Jesus and the mystical experiences/divine nature associated with him. And we do not pay a lot of attention to these experiences themselves, because the vast majority of people believe that those were reserved for him, which is why we just have to follow the doctrine. And it is in the doctrine, in the "outer part" of christianity, that contains differences to the other abrahamic religions.

But there is also a branch which is very different, it emphasizes experience rather than doctrine, the practise described in this branches is often called "mysticism". It's aim is essentially to experience the truth for yourself, through mystic experiences by following the doctrine and practising different methods, that were developed for millenia.

There are dozens of different schools in Christianity but when referring to mysticism in christianity I mostly encountered the term "Christian mysticism".

Here comes the interesting part, Judaism has several mystical schools as well, they are called "Kabbalah".

Now if you compare the accounts and experiences from dozens of mystics from christianity and judaism you will find that they are incredible similar, sometimes identical.

That is to say, the "experience part" the core of both religions seems to be identical, the further you distance yourself from these experiences and go into doctrine/belief systems, the more differences you will find.

Some prominent christian mystics:

Marguerite Porete(christian mystic)


Meister Eckert(christian mystic)



So if you are interested in Christianity, i recommend having a look at Christian mysticism.
 
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Weebster

Weebster

Everyone is alone. Everyone is empty.
Mar 11, 2022
1,683
It's a huge subject and i am by no means an expert but from what i have researched, i can say the following about christianity:

It has, like the other abrahamic religions at it's core what i would call "mystic" or supernatural experiences. All of the doctrine and the belief system we solely pay attention to, is build around Jesus and the mystical experiences/divine nature associated with him. And we do not pay a lot of attention to these experiences themselves, because the vast majority of people believe that those were reserved for him, which is why we just have to follow the doctrine. And it is in the doctrine, in the "outer part" of christianity, that contains differences to the other abrahamic religions.

But there is also a branch which is very different, it emphasizes experience rather than doctrine, the practise described in this branches is often called "mysticism". It's aim is essentially to experience the truth for yourself, through mystic experiences by following the doctrine and practising different methods, that were developed for millenia.

There are dozens of different schools in Christianity but when referring to mysticism in christianity I mostly encountered the term "Christian mysticism".

Here comes the interesting part, Judaism has several mystical schools as well, they are called "Kabbalah".

Now if you compare the accounts and experiences from dozens of mystics from christianity and judaism you will find that they are incredible similar, sometimes identical.

That is to say, the "experience part" the core of both religions seems to be identical, the further you distance yourself from these experiences and go into doctrine/belief systems, the more differences you will find.

Some prominent christian mystics:

Marguerite Porete(christian mystic)


Meister Eckert(christian mystic)



So if you are interested in Christianity, i recommend having a look at Christian mysticism.

But I've never had a mystical experience
 
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J

JustAFriendlyGuy

Member
Jun 23, 2021
42
But I've never had a mystical experience
If you had one you wouldn't have the need to study anything about religion really.
It's supposed to be the goal of a practitioner, not a prerequisite.
 
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K

Kullervo

-
Feb 1, 2024
6
I'm also no expert, but I believe most christians believe that the first covenant of the old testament is voided and to tl;dr it, provides context for the new testament and new covenant and Jesus' ministry on earth.
 
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