Jesus was Jewish and he saw much wrong with his faith. Greed and corruption were rampant in the temples and Jesus sought reform, not the start of his own religion. He said that he will tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days, but he didn't mean literally. It was a metaphor. All Jesus was trying to do was "tear down" down Temple and rebuild it as it was supposed to be, devoted to Yahweh, and free of corruption and greed. The Bible never actually mentions "Christianity" and for those of you who believe we are a "Christian nation" here in America, please take note of the Roman Empire and how Constantine co-opted and corrupted Christianity for his own purpose of staying in power. It happened then, it will happen again if we let it. Separation of Church and State is meant to protect religion from politics and politics from religion. Those who don't remember/learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. Are we? Agree? Disagree?
2007-04-20 18:12:29 · 20 answers · asked by sellout7s 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Agreed, Christ was and is the fulfillment of the Jewish faith..
nonetheless the actual temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the new (figurative) temple Christ made (Himself as the foundation) rose, or was finished after 3 days...
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill
Luk 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Luk 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
ONE LITTLE exception to your "Christianity" ascertion:
Act 26:28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
1Pe 4:16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
and yes this country is more Roman than Christian....and if we eliminate seperation of church and state, our own destruction will shortly follow.
2007-04-20 18:21:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe you've been deceived somewhere along the way.First of all when Jesus said they would tear down the temple and He would rebuild it in 3 days, He was prophesying that they would destroy His body (the temple of God) and he would raise it up again in three days.Secondly the Bible does mention Christianity. I don't remember exactly where but somewhere I think in the book of Romans it says the followers were first called Christians..... Thirdly there actually is nowhere in the constitution that says "separation of church and state" . What you are referring to was written to protect freedom of worship and has been twisted to do the opposite. This nation is founded upon the Christian religion and there are many many documents to prove it. I recommend watching "Our Christian Heritage" by D. James Kennedy if you really want to know the truth. God Bless!!!
2007-04-21 01:31:27 · answer #2 · answered by BERT 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jesus was teaching truth, His first message was "repent!". Jesus' faith was perfect, it was the Jewish leaders that misunderstood scripture, such as living the law perfectly at least externally would earn our way to heaven. Jesus Taught that God is more that superficial. He knows how we fail to not only live the Law externally, but we fail to live it internally as well. I believe you are misinterpreting the "tear down" scripture you are quoting. It even clarifies it in the Bible, that Jesus was talking about His death and Resurrection. I agree that separation of Church and State was meant to protect the Church, but I don't believe it was meant to keep the Church from influencing politics. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson attended church every Sunday, for several hours a large group of men came together to pray to and worship God and it was called Congress.
2007-04-21 01:28:15 · answer #3 · answered by exodust20 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Jesus said(In the RED letters) to Cephas "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build My Church." So He not only founded a new "Religion" but gave it a person who would be a foundation stone for it.
Jesus did not come to the earth for political reform or to tear down the temple. He loved His people, the Jews. He came to this earth to lay down His life, and through this act release power to restore all of Mankind to fellowship with the Father.
2007-04-21 01:43:59 · answer #4 · answered by Makemeaspark 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Disagree.
Jesus specifically said that He would build a church. He stated that God was about to take the Kingdom from the Jews and give it to a better people. He said many other similar things.
It seems quite obvious that He was something more than a reformer.
I don't "believe we are a Christian nation"...I know it. My Dad fought in WW2, as did my uncle. My grandfather fought in WW1. They believed that they were defending "God and country" in thaat order. I am old enough to remember a time when God was still welcome in schools as well as in public. Sure, there were problems back then, but not on the scale we have them today. Taking God out of school does not seem to have cured racism, for instance...but it has resulted in crazy kids rampaging through our schools shooting people in wholesale slaughters. Teen pregnancy might have happened, but it is true that nice girls were virgins. Nobody bragged about being a $lut, or a bee itch. Girls known to "put out" were laughed at and shunned. Sure, there were still marital problems, but divorce was not just a matter of saying "I changed my mind"...you needed real solild evidence to base a divorce on. When you got married, it was expected to be a real commitment, not a passing affair. Single parent families were not prevalent. Abortion just wasn't an option, so people were more careful about having sex....and nobody really knew how many homosexuals were hiding in the closet...I suspect that there weren't quite as many as seem to have come out. Kids did have more security and more self esteem, cuz they could trust that Dad would still be there in the morning, and they knew that there was a REAL God who REALLY did love them.
And I would like for you to know, evolution was taught in the very same school that had morning prayer over the PA system. Nobody even batted an eyelash. God and science could and did co-exist peacefully.
I guess you had to be there.......
2007-04-21 01:28:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
There was nothing wrong with the faith, but yes, I knew that He was trying to teach people about the spirit of the law and not just the "letter" of the law. And believe in Him so they would have the salvation that the spirit of God brings. I believe the bible to be spiritual and metephorical, physical and literal. (Literal, does not necessarily mean more real). The "temple" for example can mean your body. Or in this case, Yeshua's body... the physical "temple" of the Holy Spirit is a person's body. Yeshua (Jesus) destroyed His body and restored it in 3 days.
2007-04-21 01:16:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In most things, I tend to agree although I am a Christian. Christ did not organize or specify that any particular church was to happen. What he did say however is that all the world was to know what he did on their behalf and it was only through Him that they could be forgiven of their sins.
Unfortunately, many have used Christianity as a means to their own ends...to fulfill their own agendas and have hurt or killed many. However, Christ did not do those things and was very specific that Christians are not to do those things.
A Christian has the moral obligation to attempt to influence their government based on those moral standards established by Christ. I do not believe that religion should be mandated by or denied to anyone by the government. That includes forced prayer in schools or the prevention of prayer in schools etc. People should be allowed to do as they choose to do. If I want to pray, I should be allowed to pray as long as I do not force you to pray or to listen to my prayer. If you decide to hang around on the playground however and happen to overhear it...that is your problem.
2007-04-21 01:21:18 · answer #7 · answered by Poohcat1 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Jesus wasn't trying to start a new religion exactly, just fulfill one. But yes, He was the one who founded 'Christianity' (just a name we give it). You don't believe me?
Read His own words in the Bible and decide for yourself. He said that He was the Son of God, and outlined salvation as defined by the Protestant Christian Church very cleary.
2007-04-21 01:20:49 · answer #8 · answered by Free Ranger 4 · 4⤊ 0⤋
You're wrong, so very wrong, if you think all Jesus wanted to do was reform. He had a new message and He also died for our sins, which was the main reason He came to earth. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He also built the foundation of a church for the Gentiles.
2007-04-21 01:20:57 · answer #9 · answered by expertless 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I completely disagree on every point you made.
What groups/people support the "separation of church and state" agenda? There you will have your answer on whether it is meant to protect "religion." It has nothing to do with protecting the faithful and it has everything to do with getting God out of every fabric of society. Let's be real here. The ungodly and foolish are the provocateurs of this agenda.
2007-04-21 01:21:54 · answer #10 · answered by JohnC 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋