Woody: MW, this question about Paul's authenticity puts the credibility of all the disciples on the line, because they received him. They were scared to receive him because of the persecution he had against christians. But a supernatural Spirit assuaged their doubts and encouraged them to receive Paul. This puts Christ on the line because it says, He being Lord, abandoned his disciples to false doctrine, and there was really no point in Christ coming to earth at all.
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M*W: First, Paul never knew Jesus. Their paths never crossed. Further, Paul didn't know the apostles, however at one time he and Peter were friends. Peter, as you are aware, denied Jesus, or this is at least what Paul stated. They ended up being bitter enemies before they were taken down. Those who knew Paul were leary of him. He lacked credibility in his own day. He was a mentally disturbed man prone to hallucinations caused by his epilepsy. He was a liar, a murderer, and a theif. Paul single-handedly bastardized the teachings of Jesus. Jesus didn't "come to Earth" for the purpose of saving mankind. In fact, when he allegedly died, he was not considered divine. He wasn't designated as divine until around 400 AD, about the same time the idea of the trinity was thought of. Those who believe everything Paul wrote or those he coerced to write are not following Jesus's teachings at all! Paul was an evil man and was an antichrist. To really get to know Jesus and the truth one needs to read the Gnostic Gospels. This is the one main reason I left christianity. It proved to be a lie.
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Woody: Let me take this down to the heart of the matter. If someone believes that the spirit of the God of the bible is an evil spirit, then that person has NO HOPE of going to heaven. the spirit of God will no longer work with them because they commited the unpardonable sin of blasphemy, spoken from Jesus' own lips:
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M*W: I don't believe in a god. I don't believe in a place of heaven or hell. My heaven is right here, right now. The closest I've come to hell was when I was a christian. How can I blaspheme something that doesn't exist? Jesus didn't say that, Paul did. I don't believe anything Paul said. Paul detracted from the teachings of Jesus. He created a mythological character based on earlier pagan myths. That's not who the real Jesus was. Wouldn't that be blasphemy? It's unfortunate that christians worship the mythological Jesus while the real Jesus goes unnoticed by history -- except for the people who knew him and wrote the truth about him. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the other texts that have been discovered in the world is truly the "second coming." Actually, it's really the "first coming" revisited.
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Woody: Jesus took a lot of abuse, and the Father is cursed by man, but there is one thing that man can not do: blasphemy against the holy spirit.
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M*W: Again, I don't believe in a god. That would include the trinity concept. Besides, the "trinity" was stolen from the ancient matriarchial society of the Maiden*Mother*Crone. The "holy spirit" is a name given to the bioelectrical energy that permeates our bodies and through all creation. There is nothing "supernatural" about it -- it's "natural."
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Woody: This is the reason why that person has no hope: When a person becomes convinced that the holy spirit is evil instead of good, there is no way to turn it around.
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M*W: I don't believe the "holy spirit" is evil. I've never said that, but again, I don't believe it is a godly characteristic. It's simply bioenergy, and that's definitely a good thing.
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Woody: By the way, I believe that Judas Iscariot is the real "antichrist." There are only two times in the bible that the "son of perdition" is mentioned.
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M*W: What do you know about Judas Iscariot? Have you studied him? Here's some scholarly work on Judas:
"Another well-born nationalist leader of renown was Judas, who was Chief of the Scribes. The Dead Sea Scrolls were produced under his tutelage and that of his predecessor, the fierce Judas of Galilee, founder of the Zealots. Apart from his academic scholarship, Judas was the head of East Manasseh, and a warlord of Qumran. The Romans had a nickname for him: to them he was Judas Sicarius -- the Assassin, the Hit-man (a 'sica' was a deadly, curved dagger). The Greek form of the nickname was 'Sikariotes' . . . and its corruption to 'Sicariote' was in due course further corrupted to 'Iscariot'."
"Although always placed at the end of the Apostolic lists, Judas Sicariote would have been second in seniority only to Simon Zelotes."
"It had long been a Jewish custom to hold a Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), on which day people might be absolved of their misdeeds. The solemn ritual toook place in the equivalent of September, and the Essene rite was performed by the Father, in the seclusion of the Holy of Holies (inner sanctuary) of the monastery Temple at Mird. (This monastery was referred to as 'the Wilderness'.) To witness the atonement, the Father was allowed the company of one co-celebrant -- a symbolic 'son'. In AD 32 the Father was Simon Zelotes, and his appointed 'son' was his immediate lieutenant Judas Sicariote. Judas's status was as Simon's 'son', but the exact relationship and its priestly significance are not made clear."
"Some time after this, Simon Zelotes fell foul of the civil authroities, having led an unsuccessful revolt against the Governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate. The pretext for the revolt was that Pilate had been using public funds to have his own personal water supply improved. A formal complaint was lodged against him in court, whereupon Pilate's soldiers murdered the known complainants. Armed insurrection immediately ensued, led by the prominet Zealots, Simon Zelotes, Judas Sicariote and Thaddaeus. Perhaps inevitably, the revolt failed, and Simon (called Lightning) was excommunicated by edict of King Herod-Agrippa. Simon's political opponent, Jonathan Annas (called Thunder), was thus enabled to accede to the supreme office of the Father."
"At the second occasion on which Jesus was anointed with spikenard, at Simon Zelotes' house, Judas Sicariote declared his dissatisfaction at the way things were going. He stated his opposition, and thus paved the way for his betrayal of Jesus. Following the failed revolt by the Zealots against Pilate, Judas had become a fugitive. Jesus was of little political use to him, for he carried no influence with the Sanhedrin Council, so Judas decided to throw in his lot with Jesus's uncontroversial brother James, who was actually a member of that Council. Judas thus not only had no interest in seeing Jesus anointed as a Messiah, but his new allegiance to James caused him to resent it once it had happened. But Jesus was adamant about the significance of his anointing by his wife Mary Magdalen."
"There was also disagreement between Jonathan and Jesus over whether baptised male Gentile converts should have to submit to circumcision. Jesus was in favour of allowing the converts a choice in the matter, but Jonathan wanted circumcision made mandatory. Finally, Jonathan rejected the Zealot plan for open warfare against Rome, while Simon -- fiery in word and deed -- promoted the martial view. In this, Jesus was inclined to side with Simon -- not that he particularly sought a military solution, but he did not like Jonathan's complacent attitude."
"Trapped in the middle of of all this was Judas Sicariote, who determined to side with whoever looked to be the most politically valuable. Judas had been denounced as a Zealot leader, and in the light of that his only hope was Jonathan who, as the new Father, could authorize his spiritual reinstatement and negotiate on his behalf with the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate. As for whether Jewish converts should be circumcised, Judas was strongly opposed to Jesus and supported Jonathan. At the same time, Judas could apreciate that Simon was in a weak position: Simon stood to face criminal charges (along with Judas and Thaddaeus) for leading the Zealot revolt. It was even possible that Jesus would be charged with them, if it could be proved that he was an active supporter of the war faction. This provided a likely way out for Judas, for he could betray Jesus's sympathies and make known the whereabouts of Thaddaeus."
"In the course of all this, Jesus and his Apostles made their way to that legendary Upper Room where they were to eat their sacred Last Supper. But there are some questionable features about this. How was it that, at such a time when all the temporary accommodation in the city was full to bursting, the Apostles were so easily able to obtin a room of some considerable size for themselves? How also could the fugitive Zealots, Simon, Judas and Thaddaeus, possibly afford to move openly in Jerusalem, while being sought for leading the recent revolt?"
"The answer to these questions may befound in the Dead Sea Scrolls, wherein it is quite evident that the Last Supper did not take place in Jerusalem at all, but at Qumran. Indeed, Josephus explains in The Antiquities of the Jews that the Essenes did not observe the traditional Jewish festivals in Jerusalem, and did not therefore uphold the ritual of the Paschal Lamb at the Passover."
"When the time came for Communion at the Banquet, Judas left the room, ostensibly to offer alms to the poor. Actually, he went to make the final arrangements for Jesus's betrayal, and Jesus -- who perceived his intention. There was, however still time for the Baptist's prophecy concerning the restoration of the true Christ to be fulfilled -- but the final deadline was that very night, the vernal equinox of 20 March AD 33 Jesus knew that if this passed with no proclamation being made in his favour, then his ambition was over. From that night there would be no hope of satisfying the Messianic prediction, and he would be denounced as a fraud. When Judas left the room the time was already fast approaching midnight."
"Following the Banquet, Jesus and the remaining Apostles went to the old monastery at Qumran, customarily known as the 'Mount of Olives'. There is some disagreement at this point between John's Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels on the precise course of events, but one way or another Jesus foretold his fate and outlined to his companions what their reactions would be. He declared that even Peter 'the Stone' would deny him in the face of the unfulfilled prophecy. While some of Jesus's disciples slept in the monastery garden, Jesus walked among them agonizing that his bid to be recognized as the Saviour Messiah might have failed. Midnight passed. Then Judas Sicariote arrived with the soldiers."
"The ultimate success of Judas's plan relied on retaining favour with the Father, Jonathan Annas. Whether Judas took a calculated gamble or whether he and Jonathan had come to some agreement beforehand is uncertain. But when the moment of seizure came, Jonathan certainly ranged himself alongside Judas. This is not really surprising, for Jonathan's daughter was married to the Pharisee High Priest Caiaphas, and both Jonathan and Judas were politically opposed to Jesus's close friend Simon Zelotes."
"The Gospels also claim that Pilate offered to reprieve Jesus because it was customary for the Governor to release a prisoner at the feast of the Passover. Again this is simply not true -- there never was such a custom."
"This is when Judas reappears. Repenting of his act of betrayal, he brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders . . . And they took counsel, and brought with them the potter's field."
"If both Simon and Judas are implicated in the Gospel accounts of Jesus's arrest and trial, it would appear that Thaddaeus -- the third of the three leading Zealot revolutionaries -- is not mentioned after the Last Supper. But he does actually come into the story at the trial. In Hebrew, the expression 'son of the Father' would incorporate the elements "bar" (son) and abba (father) -- so Thaddaeus might be described as 'Bar-abba'. And a man called Barabbas is intimately concerned with the possibility of Jesus's reprieve by Pontius Pilate."
"At this point, Herod-Antipas of Galilee arrived on the scene. He was no friend of the Annas priests, and it suited his purposes for Jesus to be released, in order to provoke his nephew King Herod-Agrippa. Antipas therefore struck a deal with Pilate to secure the release of Jesus. The pact between Judas Sicariote and Jonathan Annas was thus superseded and overturned without involving either of them, by way of an agreement between the Herodian Tetrarch and the Roman GOvernor. From that moment, Judas lost any chance of a pardon for his Zealot activities, and his days were numbered."
"At that stage things were going well for the Jewish elders: their plan had all but succeeded. The ageing Thaddaeus (Barabbas) may have been released, but both Simon and Jesus were in custody, and so was Judas Sicariote. Undoubtedly, the greatest betrayer was the prevailing Father, Jonathan Annas, the one-time Apostle known as James of Alphaeus (or Nathanael). The three crosses were duly erected in the Place of a Skull, Golgotha, and were set to bear Jesus and the two Zealot guerilla leaders Simon Zelotes and Judas Sicariote."
"On that Friday 20 March AD 33, there was no reason for any of the three men crucified to have died within the day. Nonetheless, Jesus was given some vinegar, and having taken it, he 'gave up the ghost'. Very soon afterwards, he was formally declared dead. At that stage, Judas and the Cyrene were still very much alive, so their legs were broken."
"With Jesus apparently lifeless but actually in a coma, and with the legs of Judas and the Cyrene newly broken, the three were brought down, having been on their respective crosses for less than half a day. The fact that Judas and the Cyrene were also removed from their crosses at the same time was confirmed."
"Initially, the Cyrene and Judas Sicariote -- with their legs broken, but still very much alive -- had been placed in the second chamber of the tomb. Burial alive was a customary old form of execution."
"The key to the Resurrection story lies in the three missing hours (the daytime hours that became night-time hours), for the newly defined start of the Sabbath began three hours before the old twelfth hour. But the Samaritan Magi (of which Simon Zelotes was head) worked on an astronomical time-frame, and did not formally implement the three-hour change until the original twelfth hour. This meant that, without breaking any of the rules against labouring on the Sabbath, Simon had a full three hours in which he could do what he had to do, even while others had begun their sacred period of rest. This was time enough to administer medications to Jesus, and to attend to the bone fractures of the Cyrene. Judas Sicariote was dealt with none to mercifully under the circumstances: he was thrown over a cliff to his death."
From Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed, by Laurence Gardner, The Chevalier Labhran de St. Germain, 1996.
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Woody: The son of perdition is the true antichrist, and he will be resurrected by satan, as confirmed in the book of revelation:
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M*W: Satan is another mythological character. I don't fear myths.
Satan is a symbol for negativity in the world. If the "holy spirit" is a symbol for positive bioenery, then Satan is a symbol for negative bioenergy.
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Woody: There is ample evidence in the bible, that the antichrist "beast" walked on this earth before, and satan will work a miricle by resurrecting this dead person to become the world ruler. It really shapes up to be Judas Iscariot.
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M*W: There have been more evil men in the world besides Judas. Judas was a terrorist, and certainly no friend, but he was no bin Laden. I still question what Paul and his lying puppet gospel writers wrote. There is no proof that Jesus was betrayed by anyone but Peter, and that has been established in the Gnostic Gospels.
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Woody: The beast existed before he comes to earth during the tribulation, and he is in hell right now, waiting to return.
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M*W: The 'beast' is Pauline christianity. It is the Antichrist. It goes against the teachings of Jesus. However, the 'beast' is not returning to Earth, in fact, it's slip sliding away to the hell it created!
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Woody: Please, if you will, answer my question about the Pope praying to the Virgin Mary. Isn't this a common practice among catholics - or is Pope John Paul the exception?
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M*W: Like I told you, praying to the BVM is a personal choice. I have heard JPII prays to Mother Mary. It's the popely thing to do, but no one is required to pray to the BVM. Actually, in my opinion, Mary Magdalen was a woman of greater spiritual efficacy than her mother-in-law. Paul lied about Mary Magdalen and made her into a prostitute, which in that day had a more innocent connotation of 'a woman of independent means' who was NOT considered to be a 'woman who gets paid for sexual favors.' Pauline christianity is misogynistic. It is the foundation of evil in the world, but fortunately it is dying out.
The Catholic Church does have prayers to Mary but only in light of her son Jesus. Without Jesus, there would be no BVM. For example:
"Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with You, Blessed are You among Women, and Blessed is the Fruit of Your Womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us Sinners now and at the Hour of our Death."
Mary is honored because she is the mother of Jesus. She is never prayed to or worshipped independently of Jesus. Catholics pray to God through Jesus, but following a prayer through Jesus, Catholics find it acceptable to ask for Mary's assistance (to put in a few good words) in encouraging Jesus to look favorably upon their prayers. In other words, Catholics don't pray to Mary per se, they ask Mary to pray for them. As for rosary prayers, the 20 events that are prayed for are events about Jesus's birth and childhood, events of his capture and crucifixion, events of the resurrection, and important events in his life. However, I no longer believe in these events, because they were fiction created by Paul.
However, my own personal belief is that Mary (which is a title not a name) conceived Jesus in the good old-fashioned way with a Roman Centurion who either raped her or was her lover which no proper Jewish girl would think of doing with a Roman!
