Astreja

Yes, parthenogenesis is a reality -- Recently a Komodo dragon gave birth without male input.

But when you consider that a human mother generally has only X chromosomes, human parthenogenesis would result in female offspring.

LogDog

Do tell.

cajela

All praise the holy turkey baster??

Queen of Swords

Is the notion that the words almah and bethulah were confused impossible? Think about it, or better yet, do some research.

Gawen

gracebkr, I don't know you at all, but I would make the wager that you don not do most of the items I listed. And I have my guesses why. But those were some of the things to do that would save you. Here are a few more.

Matthew 23: 1-4: Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3: So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4: They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31: “So whatever you wish that people would do to you, do so to them”

Jesus himself often did not follow these rules. Although he taught that people should love their enemies, he accorded much less than that to people who simply disagreed with him. He displayed barely concealed contempt for his gentile neighbors, equating them with “dogs” (Mark 7:27), and once instructing his disciples to “Go nowhere among the gentiles” (Matthew 10:5). He even refused to heal a gentile child until the child’s mother came up with a clever saying (Matthew 15:21-28).

Mark 11:12-14: The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13: Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14: Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it. Mark 11:15-16: On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16: and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

Are these the kinds of behaviour you expect from a thoughtful, rational, loving adult Son of God? No, it is the behaviour of a bigot and a racist. It was common practice for the priests to exchange money for Jews that came from other lands. The doves were purchased for sacrifice upon the alter in the temple. Jesus, being a Jew knew this. Surely the all-powerful son of God could come up with a better plan than knocking over tables in a one-time outburst. At any rate, the entire story makes no sense whatsoever.

At first glance, the rule appears justified. Who wouldn't want to receive treatment the way we wish? And who wouldn't want to give the same treatment to others? However, upon further reflection we quickly come upon problems. Who says that the receiving person wishes to always get treated the way "we" wish? Would most people like to get treated like a masochist from a masochist? Would an atheist like to get treated like a Christian? Would a Christian like to get treated as an atheist?

Clearly, the Golden rule can cause severe incompatibilities with the other person involved. The Golden Rule only seems commendable because we impart our own individual concepts without realizing that "doing unto others" has various meanings to other people. The Golden Rule reflects upon selfish motives instead of incorporating a system that can work for a diverse society. Therefore, when Jesus uses this incomplete and illusory command, he deceives the believer into a false sense of morality. Consider that in some cases, treating people the way they would like to get treated works better than the way you would like to get treated. Think about it.

Gawen

So...Jesus saves...

What must one do to be "saved"? My friends, watch many Christians twist the bible into their own words. Watch as they squirm to interpret their own manual of life. Just watch.

There is a lot more to getting saved than they think.

In our quest we will discover certain requirements for salvation as taught to the disciples, which in turn taught to others. Remember that these teachings and adherence to them are the ways to gain everlasting life in the soon to come Kingdom of God.
Deny yourself
How does one “deny” himself? One way is to not accumulate wealth.
Matt.6: 19-20, 24-25: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, 20: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal….24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

John 3:30: "He must increase but I must decrease." The dubious Old Testament concept of declaring the entire human population as depraved and sinful goes far to insure an inferiority complex, but this verse takes it to a lower level. To decrease one's earthly life for promoting an increase of a superstitious idea, in effect, declares humans as unworthy and valueless. Belief in universal sin and increasing the myth of Jesus above all human concerns must put this kind of worship as among the most insidious and depraved forms of human thought known to man.

If you have already accumulated some wealth, Jesus says to get rid of it.
A rich man asks Jesus in:
Luke 18-25: (and Matt.19, Mark 10) 18: And a ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 19: And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20: You know the commandments: `Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" 21: And he said, "All these I have observed from my youth." 22: And when Jesus heard it, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 23: But when he heard this he became sad, for he was very rich. 24: Jesus looking at him said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25: For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Matthew 5:43: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."
In context, this verse is not meant for siblings or fellow human beings, but only insofar that your siblings and fellow human beings are either Jewish/Hebrew (as in Leviticus) or of a follower of Jesus (as in Matthew 5:43).

But here is another requirement:
Luke 10:25-28: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

But there is an additional requirement of salvation:

John 6:53-58: Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever"

Little children
Matthew 18:3-4-3: And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
How, exactly, does one "become like little children?" Little children are ignorant. They have not the capability for critical thinking skills or reasoning ability. For example, many little children frequently believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy through blind faith. They are taking the word of their parents or loved ones in the existence of fairy tales we adults know to be false. Are we, as adults, supposed to take on this quality? Jesus does not really say, making this requirement extremely nebulous, but one may make their own conclusions.

So, if we become as ignorant as children, are we then able to see the Kingdom of Heaven? Well, not really. The Great Teacher has one more requirement:
John 3:3-8: In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4: "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5: Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6: Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
That is about as clear as mud. But this is what Jesus says, and it contradicts all other scripture. But let's ignore the contradiction for a moment. Is this true? If we become like little children... in fact, if we regress all the way to infants by being "born again" of water and the Spirit, do we get to go to heaven?

Matthew 5:19: Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20: For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
This is getting absurd, isn't it? Pharisees and scribes are adults, not children. But that is what Jesus says. Forget the "born again" stuff and becoming like children – you must become better than those that teach you. Our righteousness, and our adherence to the laws of the Old Testament, must exceed that of the Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Regarding Family
Your true family is your fellow believers and your earthly family is to be abandoned.
Matthew chapter 8: 21-21: Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 22: But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead."
A very similar passage is:
Luke 9: 59-62: To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60: But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61: Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62: Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Matthew 10: 34-38: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35: For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36: and a man's foes will be those of his own household. 37: He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38: and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Matthew 12: 46-49: (also Mark chapter 3, and Luke chapter 8) While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47: But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 48: And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 49: For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Matthew 19: 29: (also Mark chapter 10) And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.

A possible exception to this is your spouse, if you already have one. In Mark and Luke, Jesus does not allow remarriage for any reason, ever. In Matthew 19 he allows divorce only for "unchastity". It is not stated whether you can divorce without remarrying, or abandon your spouse without divorce. His disciples say "if such is the case, it is not expedient to marry", and Jesus tells them that those who are able to make themselves eunuchs should do so. "He who is able to receive this, let him receive it." How many Christian men are married? How many are members of the elite club "Eunuchs for Christ"? How many Christian men have divorced only for 'chastity' issues?

Making yourself a eunuch sounds extreme, but Jesus says you should do whatever it takes to live a sinless life, even cut off body parts that tempt you to sin.
Matthew 5: 27-30: "You have heard that it was said, `You shall not commit adultery.' 28: But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30: And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

There is one body part in particular that might tempt you to sin, and it is NOT what you would expect, so I will therefore go with what Jesus speaks of---the eye and hand. We know verses 29-30 are ridiculous on several levels. A hand cannot "cause you to sin" -- your brain causes "sin." Therefore, gouging your eye out or cutting your hand off may be useless. If you have a problem with "sin" and you are going to amputate something to solve it, you would need to cut out your heart, since that is the organ where all "sin" originated and believed in ancient times. But he seems to really mean it when he speaks of making one a eunuch for the kingdom of Heaven's sake. Of course, one can imagine an omniscient being to know of these things, but this is one case where Jesus sounds ignorant and rather emotional instead of thoughtful. One, however, can be thankful women do not come under the eunuch rule.

The dreaded Law
Living a sinless life involves, among other things following the entire 613 Laws of Moses. The subject of Mosaic Law is for another paper, it must be briefly touched upon here.
Matthew 5:17-20: "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18: For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19: Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20: For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 16: 16-17: "The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17: It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

In fact he goes further; we should not only follow the Law, we should over-fulfill it, seeking to follow the spirit of it as well as the letter.
Matthew 5 explains this clearly.

As it stands, I know of NO Christian that will make it into Heaven.

Ah...what's that squirming over there in the corner?

spamandham

No, it isn't impossible, but neither is it an OT prophecy.

dog of man

But there allegedly was one that was allowed to tell him step aside so he didn't hide the sun from him. The man was called a dog went under the name Diogenes of Sinope.

dog of man

Only because you say so?
Egotism or what?

There seem to be a slight confusion on exaktly when this alleged calendar shaping god would have been bourn though. About ten years does various canonical gospels differ on when this christ figure where actually born.
Was it four or more years before or time measurment began. Because it was about then that the jewish ruler Herod died. According to an other gospel head counting (census) witch could only have happened about ten years after Herod died.
The birth could of course not have happened on year zero. Because the time measuring system created after the alleged halfgod doesn't even have a year zero.

That's right. There's a year missing just at the center of our chronology.
Giving us problem about calculating years around the beginning of same chronology.
This missing year makes it that a hundred years after year 50 BEC is not year 50 CE.
It is year 51 CE because of the missing year in the middle.

Surely an omniscient god would have constructed a more consistent chronology that worked even in an age of more scientific demandments and way of thinking.
Wouldn't an omniscient god have figured something out that was even better than scientists or a rational thinking individuals would have to correct for only about 2000 years later and even less?

Goathead

Welcome to IIDB, now let us begin.

Why would these people lie? well they wouldnt, which is a rel problem, because why would the bramins lie, or the jews or the maoists? can we all say it together "MONEY".

Thats right, it was financially, emotionally and psychologically empowering to be in contact with this level of reality, and it came in handy for asserting dominance too.