[Bananafish] (and then i'll shut up) No need to.

[Yocum, Daniel R Civ 21 CES/CEOE]

Matthew, translation is not enough there is always meaning.  What does
"Christ" mean to Matthew?  What does church mean? Etc.  There are
different contexts in which to lay these tender shoots; native soil and
alien soil.  Or rather which cutting does better, that grafted onto the
trunk of its own species or that grafted onto another species, and which
remains fertile, bearing fruit and which bears thistles?
Daniel

Interesting discussion. 

If one assumes that the current contents of the New Testament are
accurate translatations of their original languages, and that those
translations are similar to the original Biblical texts themselves  --
and also assuming accurate interpretations of these texts (which I think
is a reasonable assumption) -- then why is it necessarily true that
Christianity has moved away from its origins or original intent?  

As you guys list, of course there are many modern (and not-so-modern)
movements which have seemingly twisted the origin Christian message for
their own purposes, but I would also submit that there are many modern
Christian churches and organizations that remain true to the original
intent.  And that they disregard these contemporary perversions as
readily as they would disregard any other heresy (from their
point-of-view).

Matthew 



-----Original Message----- 
From: bananafish-bounces at lists.bway.net
[mailto:bananafish-bounces at lists.bway.net
<mailto:bananafish-bounces at lists.bway.net> ] On Behalf Of Yocum, Daniel
R Civ 21 CES/CEOE

Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:33 AM 
To: bananafish list 
Subject: Re: [Bananafish] (and then i'll shut up) No need to. 

I agree Jim, in general, with your comments with these caveats; First,
the definition of "Christianity" (or rather Christian) has changed
significantly and multiplied over the past 1,700 years. So what most
take to be "christianity" today would be quite alien in the first
century.  Second, it was a little more complicated than "it was a
problem Jewish Christians had with very bad, or at least unkosher,
Gentile Christian habits".  Third, the "deep divisions" didn't occur
until much later when other influences started to enter the church,
particularly in the Diaspora. "but deep divisions between Palestinian
Jews and Hellenic Jews existed in the original Jerusalem church before
the first persecution.  See Acts 6."  There were differences between
Palestinian Jews and Hellenic Jews apart from any church.  Acts 6 is an
example of asserting unity in response to changing conditions, it was
not till later that this unity completely broke down and Christianity
became another beast (species, Order, phylum depending on the christian
derivative in question).  Here is the underlying metaphor, How far off
the foundations do the walls (superstructure) have to move before it is
no longer a structure but a ruin, a catastrophe, a desolation?  (At
least from the perspective of the foundation.)  The further one moves
away from Israel the more meaningless concepts like messiah (Christ)
become.  In fact, today, the term has become so loose and malleable that
Salinger's "messiah" inhabits only porches and never thrones.  And this
is considered the product of a Wise Child, which I do not dispute, the
child being the offspring of a Greek mother and Brahmin father, a match
made in twilight.

Daniel 


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