In his epistles to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes that " the fool says in his heart that there is no god". I believe this is a Biblical reference to atheism. Here's an interesting question: is the person who sincerely questions their beliefs that they have no good evidence to hold in the first place who can humbly admit that they don't know for sure of these beliefs being either true or false a fool, or is the man who insists that reason is the "enemy" of faith who rejects the Jewish teachings of the man who inspired his religion the fool? The Apostle Paul seems somewhat foolish to me. I don't think that the early Jewish Christians were too fond of the man and I probably wouldn't have blamed them, even though I might disagree with their beliefs.
Paul persecuted the early Christians before he became one. Why didn't Jesus prevent Paul from persecuting the Christians in the first place, when he learned of what Paul was doing? Paul who was once known as Saul of Tarsus, he was a Pharisee, I think and then he joined Jesus' sect. I think that Paul was probably delusional when he claimed to have visions of the resurrected Jesus. Jesus and Paul never met in real life, but I can't help but wonder if Jesus would have viewed Paul as a fool and as a heretic. Converting Gentiles to Christianity is probably where Paul deviated from Jesus' Jewish teachings the most. I doubt that the historical Jesus would have thought that his teachings would have much appeal in regards to Gentiles. This was an apocalyptic Jewish preacher who had been baptized by John the Baptist and was possibly one of his followers. This was the man who viewed the feeling of lust in one's heart as being equivalent to actually committing "adultery". This was the man who claimed himself to be the Messiah who announced the kingship of Yahweh on earth, the destruction of those who persecuted the Jews, particularly the Romans in Jesus' case and it was Jesus who would lead the Jews to paradise. Jesus mostly would have preached to the poor and slaves in the communities that he preached and his parables were directed towards these kinds of people.
The Bible clearly supports slavery, Jesus probably never condemned this practice because it was so widely accepted at the time. The Bible supports many practices that would not be appropriate for people to literally act on today. Of course, some Christians would claim that there is nothing wrong with any of the Bible's so-called "prohibitions" or promotion of certain beliefs and practices. It is not uncommon to hear fundamentalist Christians give lip service to the passages in the Book of Leviticus that refer to sexual relationships between men as being an "abomination" to Yahweh, a behavior that you shouldn't be engaging in, a behavior for which the Jewish scriptures also describe the death penalty for such acts, although the passage in the 13th verse of the 20th chapter of Leviticus doesn't mention exactly how these men who have sex with other men are to be put to death. In fact, whoever wrote these passages, this person or these persons claimed that the blood of these men who have sex with each other is "upon their own heads". Women who have sex with other women is ignored in the Hebrew scriptures, although there are Jewish writings outside of the Bible that do mention it, and in a negative light, I think. Disobedient children are required to be put to death.
I believe there is a passage about heterosexual women who are suspected of committing adultery have to consume poison given to them by their religious leaders in order to determine whether or not they have actually cheated on their husbands, I think that this prescription may even apply if the women are pregnant. If they survive, then they are not adulteresses, but if they die from having ingested the poison then that means that the women actually did cheat on their husbands. A woman who has been raped has to marry her rapist if she does not cry out for help. A slave master can beat his slave, but will be punished if the slave dies. The Jewish scriptures at some points do seem to endorse polygamy and I believe that the ancient Jews practiced polygamy for a number of years, just like they practiced polytheism for a while before becoming monotheistic. The Jews, if I am correct did not expect the Gentiles around them to abide by the 613 Mosaic 'laws" which most religious Jews and Christians don't literally act upon. These "laws" were strictly for the Hebrew people to set them apart from all other groups on the earth. The historical Jesus never claimed that these "laws" were invalid, why would he if he were such a devout Jew? The Book of Acts which deals with arguments amongst the early Christian communities and of the lives of Jesus' twelve disciples after Jesus' death deal with which Jewish practices that Christians should or should not observe. This is where Christianity as portrayed in the scriptures began to deviate from its Jewish roots if you ask me. What do you think?
Sincerely,
B.W.
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