Hollywood intends to re-write history but one only needs to research for themselves the validity of the claims. For example the quality of the New Testament documents can be validated outside of the Bible through the research of Josephus Flavius, Tacitus, Caesar's Gallic Wars, Herodotus, and Thucydides. In fact there are 5366 documents discovered so far to validate that the Bible we have today is 99.5% as accurate as it was way back then. For example:
The first-century Jewish historian Josephus referred to the stoning of ?James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.? (The Jewish Antiquities, Josephus, Book XX, sec. 200) A direct and very favorable reference to Jesus, found in Book XVIII, sections 63, 64, has been challenged by some who claim that it must have been either added later or embellished by Christians; but it is acknowledged that the vocabulary and the style are basically those of Josephus, and the passage is found in all available manuscripts.
Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived during the latter part of the first century C.E., wrote: ?Christus [Latin for ?Christ?], from whom the name [Christian] had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.??The Complete Works of Tacitus (New York, 1942), ?The Annals,? Book 15, par. 44.
With reference to early non-Christian historical references to Jesus, The New Encyclop?dia Britannica states: ?These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds by several authors at the end of the 18Th, during the 19Th, and at the beginning of the 20Th centuries.??(1976), Macrop?dia, Vol. 10, p. 145.
Internal evidence is pretty clear as well. 2 Peter 3:15-16 clearly states that the canon was already in the process of being collected for what we have today in the Bible. There were gnostic books but they were not accepted because they were written by Hellenistic writers that intended to change the original message of the Greek translation to imply that Jesus was not the Son of God.
See the sources below for addition research.
Source(s):
"Exploring the Da Vinci Code"
"Breaking the Da Vinci Code"
"Is the New Testament Documents Reliable?"
"The Gospel Code"
"Hidden Gospels - How the Search for Jesus Lost the Way"
You can figure that out yourself reading the Bible... The Bible God is a puny little Heathen God dressed up differently from all other Gods around...
ON THE POWER OF GOD THE FATHER?
"... with God all things are possible." -- Matthew 19:26
Judges 1:19 - New Int'l Version
THE LORD WAS WITH THE MEN OF JUDAH. They took possession of the hill country, but they were UNABLE to drive the people from the plains, BECAUSE THEY HAD IRON CHARIOTS.
We all understand... Iron chariots were a new technology in those days and God was not prepared to meet that challenge so GOD AND THE JEWS HAD TO RUN AWAY FOR COVER!
God the Son Jesus Christ was teaching ?War Strategy 101? to his disciples along the same lines? ?If the enemy is stronger than you are, you better surrender!? (Luke 14:31).
Psalm 137: 8-9 - O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us- he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.
The Bible teaches that the enemies of God ought to be killed in their infancy when it is easier to get rid of them!
SATAN ACTUALLY DEFEATED GOD!
God the Father HELPED Saint Paul to continue his missionary work.
1 Thessalonians 2:2 (NIV) We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but WITH THE HELP OF OUR GOD we dared to tell you his gospel IN SPITE OF STRONG OPPOSITION.
But 16 verses later in the same chapter Satan defeated God!!!
1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NIV) For we wanted to come to you?certainly I, Paul, did, again and again?BUT SATAN STOPPED US.
The Christians who depend on God?s help ought to know that God is not as strong as the preachers and the clergy claim! Satan beats God in the Bible all the time! All that poor God keeps telling the Devil is, ?I?m gonna get you!? But the record in the Bible looks like it is the way around? It is a real lousy script...
There are numerous and profound differences between Judaism and Christianity, so I don't see how Christianity could be a combination of Judaism and anything, in all honesty.
The differences, for anyone interested, are outlined clearly here:
http://www.whatjewsbelieve.org/
AGAIN I get two thumbs down for STATING OBJECTIVE FACT.
Is it the same two idiots doing it every time, then?
If Christianity is a heresy, what religion is it heretical of? I think, as per usual, the writer of the book you've named doesn't know what he's talking about.
Christianity has its roots in Judaism, of course, but not in gnosticism. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, gnosticism post-dates Christianity.
Christianity isn't gnostic, though like Judaism it places great value in wisdom. Christianity teaches that enlightenment comes as a gift from God. It cannot be achieved by the believer on his own, by his own will or efforts. In fact, the soul (not the intellect) is enlightened by the gift of the indwelling Trinity at baptism.
Perhaps all religions besides Hinduism are heresies of Hinduism, the most ancient of all major world religions. Or perhaps Hinduism too is a heresy of its original version, which is primordial and lost.
Either way, the word "heresy" is unhelpful and counterproductive. The word stems from the ancient Greek, meaning "to choose" and evolved in Latin as a concept meaning to "freely choose doctrines as opposed to submission to authority"
Nevertheless, I think it is good to see that what is known as orthodox Christianity today was once a sect among many competing sects that fortuitously emerged victorious after the conversion of Emperor Constantine.
Actually there is nothing Jewish at all about Christianity. Christianity is more a mix of Greek and Egyptian paganism as well as Mithra...........with Jewish names.
Is christianity an heretical combination of Gnosticism and Judaism as suggested by Mi
