Christian Readers discussion

Within the first few pages of the Bible, I knew that I was hooked. As I read Genesis1:26, I wondered who God was talking to when He spoke, “Let us come together and create man in our image”. Suddenly, my mind was instantly bombarded with questions such as:
• Was Adam really the first man God created? (The arithmetic does not add up.) or Was Adam the first civilized man created by God? or Was Adam the first Jewish man created by God?
• Who God was asking approval from when He created Adam?
• Was Eve really tempted by a talking snake?
• Who really wrote the Bible? How many different Bibles are there? Which is the true Bible?
• Why the Old Testament was written after the New Testament?
• Who was Enoch and why was he, his life, and prophesies only merely mentioned in the Bible?
• What about other people of the world? It seems as though the Bible is just a history of the Jewish people. How about the inhabitants of the other continents the Americas, Russia, China, India, and Japan?
• Why were other important holy scriptures left out of the Bible?
• If there were eleven Apostles left after Christ’s death, how come the Bible only contains the writings of four of them?
• What story did Mary, the earthly mother of Christ have to say?
• Why did Mary Magdalene, the most loved by Christ, have to say and why were her writings of Christ’s life and teachings not included in the Bible?
• Why was the famous story of Thecla, a woman who pledged herself to Christianity, left out of the Bible?
• What is the true religion?
• Where is Christ’s true church?
• What would be the Bible scriptures of today? What would they say? Who would be our prophet? Billy Graham? The Pope? The President? Who would you say?

These questions and many more intrigued me, aroused my curiosity and prompted me to write this post.

Tommy wrote: "Within the first few pages of the Bible, I knew that I was hooked. As I read Genesis1:26, I wondered who God was talking to when He spoke, “Let us come together and create man in our image”. Sudd..."Tommy, many of your questions could be answered if you would first deal with the major issue the Bible is concerned with. The major issue is sin in one's life. God condemned mankind because of sin, but offered redemption through His only begotten Son Jesus who is called Christ.
Yes, Adam was the first man created. God was speaking to the Holy Spirit when He said, "Let us make mankind in our image. He was not speaking of Adam and Eve as being created in His image. He was speaking of Jesus and the Church as being made in His image.

God is three persons in one - Father, Son and Holy Ghost. He was talking to the other parts of Himself in that verse - like the other poster said - specifically the Holy Spirit.

Yes, Adam was the first man created.

He didn't ask approval from anyone. He said lets do it. He didn't say, "May I?"

As for the serpent, this is not the only place in the Bible where the devil is called one. The animals were seen as symbolic of life, wisdom, and chaos. Genesis is a book of history - not poetry. The reader is expected to understand that this animal is the embodiment of the devil - not just a talking snake. Plus, if you have a problem with a talking serpent - you probably have a big problem with many of the other miracles in the Bible - like the burning bush, Balaam's donkey...

Who really wrote the Bible? God did - through the people who are credited. For example - Moses wrote the first 5 books. There is one Bible, there are several translations of that Bible. According to the latest find of the oldest scrolls just found in a cave, the Bible we have is very accurate. God has protected His Word.

As for The Old Testament not being written after the New - that's just wrong. Most of the books were written about 3000 BCE (hate that new term) and were put in their combined form by about 500-700 BCE - which is well before the New Testament.

The question about Enoch is kind of silly. God can mention anyone he feels is important for whatever reason He finds him/her important - and say as much or as little as He wants to.

The Jewish people were God's chosen people and the ones that played the biggest role in what happened. However, the other nations that were around at the time were mentioned - sometimes with the names of people and places - battles fought and so on. The Americas were not part of the known world at that time, so they were not written about - and you've listed other modern nations as well. In order to read about other nations in the Bible you have to think historically ~ Babylon, Rome, Egypt...

I don't know what other holy scriptures you're talking about. There are other religions, with other beliefs, that have their own Bibles - but the Bible that is in use today was carefully chosen because the books within it were able to be authenticated as accurate, they agreed with the teachings in the rest of the Bible and that kind of thing.

God didn't make everyone a writer - so some of them had other jobs to do.

What makes you think she had a story? Not everyone has one - or is compelled by God to write it. The Bible itself says that if everything that Jesus did was written down there wouldn't be enough books to contain it. I think there was a reason it was limited to what we have - it's what we need. The people who had been called by God to share things we needed to hear for Godly living and worshiping God were included. Does that mean that Mary or any of the other disciples never wrote anyone a letter that might have survived? No. I'm sure they could have. That doesn't mean that any of those automatically need to be in the Bible just because of who they are. God picked the right people to include and those people made the cut. He's powerful enough to make sure that happened.

The true religion? You posted this on a Christian Readers board and ask that? You know that Christians believe about that. The true church is the body of Christ - the believers. It isn't a building or one denomination - it is everyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Bible today is the same Bible the Pilgrims brought over on the Mayflower. There may be some new translations - but no new content. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

A prophet is someone who speaks God's truth in a given situation. A sort of messenger. It used to be linked more to future events, but most of the time it deals more with morality and discernment. People backsliding or those who are doing things that don't line up with Biblical truth. Billy Graham is concerned with winning souls - he's an evangelist. The Pope runs a certain denomination - he's a shepherd of his "congregation" taking care of them. The President... I can't speak for him. I don't know where he stands in his faith but I don't believe he's a prophet of the Christian faith. He seems more inclined towards the Muslim faith.

I can see you are very convinced that God couldn't possibly have spoken thru any other people. Yet you quote, "The Bible itself says that if everything that Jesus did was written down there wouldn't be enough books to contain it." What this tells us is that there is more to tell in the story. As for the true religion, JEsus didn't start Christianity but man took his teachings and wrapped them around Christianity. Jesus came to show us the Christ Mind, the Christ Consciousness or how we see thru the Christ Mind, is the only way to salvation and that is what Jesus taught. However, mainstream religion teaches that Jesus, the man is the only way. Jesus stated it clearly that the kingdom was within and the only way to the Father was thru the Christ mind. Obama is Christian and if you want to believe the lies about him then that is your choice. Just keep in mind that you see thru the indoctrination that you have lived thru. However God needs you to discern and see within what you will see. Use your own mind and question so that your understanding will be able to be built upon. God cannot interfere with Free Will, His law of the Universe and so it could easily be that not all the books of the Bible are in the Bible. It was a free will choice by the leaders of the time. Constantine and the Roman Church dictated by law in order to keep control over the people, which books should be put in. THe truth is Mary Magdalene was a very loved disciple but the men of the day didn't like women and she wasn't given her rightful role with the disciples.

Jesus said "I am the Way the truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me."

I don't know what you mean by a Christ Mind. What Jesus said is good enough for me. He claimed to be the way to salvation. That's where that came from. We accept what He did on the cross.

I believe Constantine was wrong to force Christianity on the people. I believe the Catholic church gave Mary a bum deal - but there are others who would elevate her beyond her status too. Jesus had hundreds of disciples and John was most often called the disciple He loved. There are lots of other female disciples though (males too) there's no reason why she should get extra attention - or a book in the Bible (nor should she be vilified. BTW - She was given her rightful role as a disciple. The only mistake was how the Catholic church wrote her up as a historical figure. A disciple is only a follower of Christ and their only "place" is to serve and obey God in whatever capacity God asks. They usually don't get much glory.

If you pay careful attention to what I said about our President, all I said was that I didn't believe he was a prophet for the Christian church, that I didn't know where he stood, and that I thought he leaned more towards Muslim.

I don't know. He does claim to be Christian - but many people do who aren't. I just look at his actions. The church he attended (Rev Wright) was... controversial? and said many hateful things about the country - after which the President claimed he didn't attend enough to hear any remarks ever before like that. He changed his Americanized name Barry - to Barack. He ordered people in positions like NASA to reach out to Muslim nations and make it their number one priority to make them feel better about their space/science program. He bowed to Muslim/Arab country leaders and apologized for our actions when we were the ones attacked (and still have had a couple attempts). He dressed up in costume as a Somali Elder - which something like 99% are Muslims when he went to visit Kenya... I could go on and on. And yet - I still don't know. Only God knows what is in his heart.

As for adding all these other texts - if they don't agree with the rest of Scripture - then no. I don't believe in wasting my time with them. I think a lot of people were false prophets, people could write anything they wanted to... the churches at the time were having trouble getting people to stay on the straight and narrow path (sort of like we are now)... So there are a lot of teachings and letters out there that are just a total waste of time at best and at worst, misleading and divisive. The Bible we have has stood the test of time and has been a guide for a long time. It's not indoctrination to stand on the truth revealed to us in the Bible and not waver. It's yet another verse Eph 4:14 that talks about not being tossed around by waves, by new doctrines, schemes and tricks by the craftiness of men.

Lee wrote: "Jesus said "I am the Way the truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me."

I don't know what you mean by a Christ Mind. What Jesus said is good enough for me. He claimed to..."

Lee wrote: "Jesus said "I am the Way the truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me."

I don't know what you mean by a Christ Mind. What Jesus said is good enough for me. He claimed to..."

I agree with many things you have stated. Please check out Enoch because Enoch is the most beloved of God who never tasted death. It is a good story. The jews rejected him because, he predicted the coming of a Messiah, Christ and do not mention them. Anyway, I have read over 35 books pertaining to Christianity- I am Catholic and know that many scriptures were changed to please the emperors of Rome. Anyway the other books I have read especially the book of Mary, Christ's earthly mother is so fasinating and wonderful. If you get a chance please read a copy. I love my God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and all the angels and saints. I just want to know more. Don't just say you believe in God-I want to know my God. Anyway Thanks for your comments. God Bless Tommy

How do you interpret where it states that John the Baptist is Elijah come again?
What do you think it means to have the Mind of Christ?
The man born blind, do you think his blindness is because of a sin he committed as many ministers preach?
I am not arguing I am just trying to search for what people feel. It's ok if we are different and I am thankful for your willingness to discuss.
Love, Morning Dove :)

There are two who are supposed to come and these two are the prophets spoken of in the Bible in Revelations that are to be killed and their bodies drug through the streets I have read the two are Enoch and Elijah. I do not know about John the Baptist. You have got to check out Enoch he was the most beloved by God who never tasted death-He was transported into heaven. As far as being the blind mind, these preachers do not know. It could have been his vision that he volunteered to do before entering this life. Sometimes I think that you earn your place on earth because let's say why was I born healthy and blessed instead of in a country of strife and starvation. Just my thoughs. Many preachers teach a lot of things that help preserve their jobs. I think it was Paul who stated that he was not a peddler of Christ during the time when the first evangelists appeared and were appointed by higher ups and paid very well. They mocked Paul. Relgion is a big money maker, my thoughts are to combine all religions into a major meeting hall,forum, where each relgious sect meets at different times and take all the money it takes to run all these churches and donate or distribute it to the needy, the hunger, and the less fortunate-Which will never happen. Also, this would probablly eliminate welfare. Example,Where does your tithing go -to buy a new chorus robe, a pretty picture, etc. As living up as a true Christian your tithing should go to help your fellow man. As Christ stated, Love your neighbor.Just my thoughts

I want to send my appreciation to Lee and Tommy. They have so much love for the Father and His Son Jesus. If anyone comes in to see our discussion remember the love we carry from the Father is based on no conditions. God's love is Unconditional and yet we tend to love each other, thru our religions, based on conditions. This alone tells us we are not in alignment with the Father in what kind of love we give back to others

To Lee, I want to apologize for what I assumed you said about our President. I understand thoroughly why you might feel the way you do, as so many in this country share the same concerns. What I see is that you and many Americans fear for our country, which is the beauty of our union as individuals but all loving the Same Father. So please forgive me, if you will. I think if we can lay our cards on the table, which is our beliefs we carry, then we can understand our differences and potentially all grow to understand more.

The Bible is precious and I hold it dear to my heart. I know the both of you hold it dear to your heart. I also know that the Father who is always transcending and becoming more, is a Father that loves to watch His creation grow in wisdom. God's creation is always showing us that there is something more that we haven't seen before. Just look at the clouds, look at nature and how many species have never been documented as being here, before. Mother Earth has many things waiting to be discovered. We all need to keep an open mind that God longs to teach us that there is more we can understand than what we currently have believed to be all there is to know. The Christ mind is simply a mind that directly links to the Father, it's an open mind, where our beliefs that we carry don't block our view of the truth. In other words if you look thru colored lenses, then you will see everything thru them. The lenses represent your interpretation of the world, of your life, and of the meaning of everything. These lenses color your world thru how you see things. The Mind of Christ is an open door to the Father, which Jesus had and longed for us to have, so we can see as Jesus saw, without anything blocking our view, including our beliefs system. The belief systems we carry are what got us to this point in life and that is ok. IT's not about being right or wrong, as the ego leads you to believe but about being willing to see a bigger picture. If we don't take off the colored lenses we can't begin to see anything different. If we want to understand that God's word is indeed living, then we must first understand that anything living must always become more. The Mind of Christ is a mind that is open, but not ready to shoot anyone down for being different. The Mind of Christ is a mind that needs not to be proved because it is truth from the Father and it is always becoming more. Truth doesn't need to be proved, it just is what it is. Which means no one has the final word, so it's useless arguing who's right. Jesus didn't battle as Christians and all other religions do. Jesus came to bring truth and that was to be open to having the Mind of Christ. What is truth, Pilate asked and Pilate found no fault in him. Pilate saw something within Jesus that was peace beyond this world. We know it is written that "truth shall make us free" "I am the way, the truth, and the life", "Spirit of truth shall guide you into all truth", The "Christ mind" was a level of consciousness and not a person. Take for instance how we view war. We view it thru eyes that feel a threat to our own identity. When we condemn others for wearing certain clothing or living a certain way, it's because in order for our beliefs of everything to be right, we must convince others that we are indeed right and they are wrong. When we take the attitude that there is only one right way and all others are wrong we do this as a way to protect our own identity. It's the carnal way or ego thinking and is the mindset Jesus wanted us to get rid of. IT's black and white thinking. This mindset is what Jesus spoke about as something we had to get rid of, it's the carnal mind that will not allow us to grow. Its the mindset that keeps us believing we can't question anything or we will die and go to hell. Everything we do in fighting to prove we are right is done because we feel threatened and if something did indeed come along that proved we might not have it right, we would loose our sense of identity, we would feel devastated. This is what Paul spoke about in dying daily. Paul knew that it was vital to die to the carnal mind in order to be saved, because when we die to a mindset that keeps us from ever seeing more, we actually have life, we actually become saved from the world, we actually can become teachable. Anything that threatens your belief that you have all there is to know will feel so devastating that you will feel like you are dying. The truth is we must die to our limited beliefs in order to see more.

I had a conversation with a beautiful Christian women the other day. She said she loves God and Jesus so much and yet she can't understand why the teachings of the churches have produced "conditionality" and so much fighting.She said it's almost like a spoiled child that thinks they are right and they are going to make sure they prove their point. She said they will hurt everyone that doesn't see it there way and I can't take it any more. She said she loved all people like God does, without conditions. She said the people that have hurt her the most are the ones I worship with. They are quick to judge and come at me when I don't see anything wrong with questioning. They are quick to judge me if I don't follow the pastors rules. I told her that sometimes we are a product of our beliefs. I then told her that I was once strong in quoting scripture and battling anyone who saw something different. One day I realized that a thought that kept coming to me for many years was one I needed to pay attention to. That thought was, "how would you take it if there was more to the stories written in the scripture, are you open to see more." "What if all that you have believed to be all there is, is only the tip of the iceberg?" Our conversation became incredibly educational. She has had enough of certain things and she is open to consider, "consider" that there might be something missing. This is what happened when Jesus talked to the Pharisees and Sadducees and all the people he ministered to in that day. They knew there lives were struggling and yet, like Tommy says, "we didn't come here to fail". Jesus presented to them an avenue in which they could change how they saw their world and know what was within to be the kingdom. He wanted them to see the power in themselves so that they could get a direct relationship and understanding from the Father. Jesus died on the cross of calvary to hold our sins until we could resolve the reason why we committed them. He knew that if we knew better we would do better. He knew we were capable of doing the same as he did, that is why he also said you will do greater things than me. Calvary was an opportunity to transcend not only our understanding of ourselves and the power we have within, but also an opportunity for Jesus to show his love for us. His love was that he would hold the burden of our sins as we saw they burdened us. He wanted to give us breathing room so he took on himself the sins of the world so that we could have enough strength to walk a little further and believe we are worthy to become the sons and daughers of the living God. Jesus didn't die to cripple our ability to take control over our lives. But our "belief" that we can do nothing for ourselves, by how we interpret the reason he died, is what cripples us. Tommy stands to believe that we didn't come here to fail and he is right. He knows our Father created us in His image and likeness and what that means is we also can become like Jesus. It's about putting all the pieces together to form a greater understanding so that we can be empowered and we can be authors of our own destiny.

Jesus came to help the Father help us. What we have understood about his mission was interpreted by the men chosen to write the truth down. They interpreted it the way they saw their world. Just think of how our children see differently life than we do. Are we open to know that God has more to reveal to us? I know I am. Asking questions and accepting that what we have believed to be the truth is all there is, is the best we could do given the general teachings in religion, opens a door that we can be saved if we indeed look for a greater understanding. If we can agree to disagree, then we can begin to help each other.

I have read the Book of Mary and I agree it is beautiful. I also have learned that Mary, the mother of Jesus, the one we worship in certain religions believed in the religion of the time, called the Essenses. They believed with all their heart that reincarnation was part of God's will. What do you think of that?

You'll have to forgive me as I'm in the middle of moving, I have a hurt arm and cannot type a lot at one time === and started answering this morning and did not see all these new comments. I will let the comments go as they were and possibly add a little on to the end.

Morning wrote: "How do you interpret where it states that John the Baptist is Elijah come again?
What do you think it means to have the Mind of Christ?
The man born blind, do you think his blindness is because of ..."

Elijah had been prophesied to come as a forerunner to Christ. Gabriel in Luke said that John would come in the spirit and power of Elijah. Jesus was confirming that this was the Elijah God was talking about through the angel Gabriel and the prophesy. The Son of God - my Savior - and part of the trinity explained it with total clarity.

When the Bible says to have the mind of Christ I believe it means to try and think like He would, to make His priorities mine. To study the Bible and make it your guide.

As for the man born blind, the ministers you're talking about must not be reading the Bible at all - or using just one verse out of context. If you keep reading Jesus himself answers that neither he nor his parents had sinned but that it was done so God's glory could be shone (when Jesus heals him).

I think many of the questions you have are answered by the Word itself.

I never "just" say I believe in God. Believing in God and following Him is what defines me and the choices I make.

I am kind of insulted that just because I reject the extra books (and this isn't without prior thought on my part - I had a class on the accuracy and history of the Bible that covered most if not all of these issues a few years ago) that you would imply that I somehow love God less or want to know Him less. That just isn't true.

It's true that the Catholic Church had some trouble with authenticity in the past - but the Bible of today has been compared with scrolls that were only just recently recovered from caves in the Holy Land and it was found to be nearly identical. It's true that some translations are better than others, but on the whole you can fully trust the major translations to be accurate. If there had been major changes then they wouldn't line up with those scrolls that were just discovered.

There are many people who would like to re-write history. You can see evidence of it in our textbooks, museums and even on some of our monuments. Lots of books are inaccurate - they don't tell you things the way they really were. I was always taught and I still believe, "Read all the books you can, but the only one you can totally trust is the Word of God. If the person talking to you or the book you're reading contradicts the Bible, then that person or book is the one that is wrong." The Bible is the standard. Men all fallible, over and over again God's Word has been proven to be accurate and trustworthy against every attack.

The Bible says that in the end the elect will fall away. They will listen to false prophets - people with empty words. We're seeing churches now suddenly changing their policies, embracing one world religions, ignoring certain/all moral parts of the Bible, the re-writing of the Bible... That's why I hold on to it so tightly. I find the more you study it, the more accurate and full of truth it is.

It's sort of ironic that way. I love microscopes and magnifying glasses. They're fun to use. Some things look perfect when you look at them with your naked eye, but the closer you examine them, the more you see the cracks, imperfections and that sort of thing. With God, His Word and His creation - the closer you examine it - the more astounding and perfect it is. You dig deeper and find even more meaning - more correlations.

I'm no expert, but I don't intend to stop learning.

As for some of your new comments and thoughts ~

God's Word is alive and that means a couple of things. One is that God is the Word. It is one of the things Jesus is called (John 1). The other idea behind this is that it is only through the Holy Spirit that we can have understanding of the Scriptures. All of 1 Cor 2 talks about how it is through the Spirit of God that our understanding of Scripture is derived - otherwise it all seems like foolishness and doesn't make sense. Sometimes that meaning is special to us for certain times. I cannot even count how many times I've opened the Bible and read a passage I've read so many times before - and yet had it speak to me in a brand new way that fit perfectly because of where I was at in my life or a situation I was facing. The essential truth hadn't changed... but I was ready to learn something more from it and God led me deeper to find it. That's how alive the Bible is. No matter how many times I go trough it - it never gets boring or stops being a challenge to me.

Reincarnation is against what is taught in the rest of the Bible. Since the rest of the Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow - we can trust that unless he promises to redeem us (like the covenant change to redeem Adam's sin) God's nature and those kinds of things are going to stay the same. He made us eternal beings who live one life with these mortal bodies - and then one life after judgment wherever we end up. That's it. There's no marriage in heaven... and all kinds of other things - all written out in Revelation. Unlike our politicians, God is not a flip flopper. He has a position and keeps it. It doesn't matter what a group of people believe with all their heart. Some people believe with all their heart that the human race was started by aliens. Some believe that they can fly if they just concentrate hard enough... Some believe that the world would be a better place if there were only Muslims in it. People's logic is flawed. God's is not. No matter how good our intentions - or how smart we are, none of us compare with God. He is God.

I can admire a beautiful poem, a great piece of art, a lovely song... I can even debate philosophy and think a person has wonderful ideas and see their point of view (believe it or not - even if it differs from my own). And I admire and have friends whose morals and beliefs are far different from my own - but that doesn't mean I think they're right - or that their art or ideas are equal to God. People and God just aren't equal.

Jesus picked the disciples and God inspired the Bible. The books included have stood the test of time and don't contradict each other, have been verified to be authentic, line up with the scrolls just found, were the ones that had content that builds the church. The language used was consistent and many times they quoted from one another. It wasn't one person who decided how to put the Bible together - and lots of people have looked at it over the years - not just the original group.

I also don't believe being a follower of Christ is not about being the author of your own destiny. It's about submitting to God and letting Him be the author and Lord of your life. When I accepted Christ, I didn't buy fire insurance, I started a relationship with my LORD and Savior. He's in charge now.

The Bible says over and over again that the Holy Spirit gave them the Words to write in the Bible. If all those people truly wrote it on their own - without any guidance from God - it would be a discordant mess. Instead it flows beautifully and has been one of the bestselling books for as long as they keep records I think. It does have each person's unique perspective, but God designed it that way on purpose so we could benefit from what each had to tell us. That doesn't mean it wasn't his hand directing the pen.

I know I've felt His Spirit give me ideas when I didn't know what to say - or when I couldn't find something - when I was scared or needed to comfort someone and a verse would just come to me or some idea that I knew wasn't mine. The Holy Spirit does that. However - He has never told me anything that would contradict what is in the Bible. If I ever heard any voice like that I would know it for the enemy.

I also think asking questions is fantastic! Just make sure that the place you go for answers is someplace trustworthy. I think you both have been kind and courteous. I was taken aback by the one comment that indicated I may not love God enough because I didn't read these books (and I have read parts of them) - but I respect your search for knowledge. I just think you may want to give the actual Bible more of a chance before you dismiss it.

I have walked with God for 54 years. I love God and His word. I can see that you are hurt. I have seen something that not only compliments God but becomes a force in which we can do as Jesus wished would happen, You can do greater things than I, he said. 2,000 years ago the world was a different place. The technology, the use of words for describing, and the understanding of life was seen thru eyes of a different mindset. God's word is living and so it becomes more and more as we read it. This also means we can't just hang onto words as if they still mean the same. The Christ mind is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that mind is an open mind that allows God to freely teach new understandings because like a child doesn't understand everything right away, we also don't understand everything right away. The Christ mind allows God to teach things that aren't seen as they were 2,000 years ago simply because we are now ready to receive a higher understanding. That is a gift to us. When we become united with Christ, God wants us to become sons and daughters and not just put Him in charge. God loves to watch us create. We can see things thru the eyes in which we have studied them but I believe that God has more to show us and what we need is to accept that we are capable of not just living word for word but internalizing the words and making them our own.
I respect that you have been deeply hurt and I apologize with a deep love for you. I would never want to hurt you. You are my spiritual sister. We are different in how we see things and that is because God created all people to be individualizations of Him. We are in His image and likeness in that we can create and help God in the spiritual realm. But we are unique God flames and have unique abilities to give God's love to the world. I have come to certain understandings after years of prayer and guidance from the Father. Religion has taught the Biblical words into a scenario that has confused many over the years. Countless people are not as sure as you are. Many can see the inconsistencies and this is not God's doing. It's ok that we see it different and I love you and appreciate what you have shared. The Mind of Christ is what Jesus came to bring to us. It is, like you said to think as Christ. It is a level of understanding that comes to us when we can put off the carnal ways. Part of the carnal ways is the need to be right and others to be wrong. The Christ Mind is about transcending or rising above the need to always be the right one. It is an open door for a higher understanding. It comes to us when we do as Paul said, to die to ourselves and that means to let the ego die or the carnal die. It can be confusing and I wish I could explain it better to you. I apologize if it isn't clear. The blind man from birth was an opportunity to heal and bring glory to God but the fact he was blind and the disciples asking the question if it was a sin he committed means that they knew that it was possible because of something he did in a past life. Jesus spoke to the disciples on higher teachings often and they knew this to be a possibility. John the Baptist was Elijah come again to help Jesus in his mission. Mother Mary and Joseph belonged to the Essenses religion and this is a known historical fact. THis religion believe emphatically of reincarnation. Keep in mind that the men who wrote the Bible were many and only a few books made it in. Many of the other books found have better accounts of many of Jesus's teachings. They also spoke much on spirituality and reincarnation. The books were chosen by the leaders of the time. I believe that God's word has so much beauty in it but what I also believe is that God hasn't stopped talking to us to day. There is much more to learn. It says that if everything were written the world couldn't contain the books, something like that. This tells me there is more and we can receive it from God himself. An open mind, a path where God's light can flow thru us, is having the Christ mind. This is necessary so that we can learn more of what God longs for us to know.

I am not really sure that John the Baptist is Elijah or somewhat the version of Elijah during Jesus' time but such mysteries, I think, will be unveiled in the end.