[avb3]

Originally Posted by duffy4

And what does "let him die the death" mean Andy? You seem to think it means "he that curseth father or mother let him die or be killed"

Robin, I think I answered part of this in my post 1220

I reckon it means "if one curseth father or mother (and does not repent) let them die the death (that does not lead to eternal life in heaven)"

I take it then that this is a part that you don't take literally, but figuratively.

If you have been following my posts, my concern has been with those that take the bible literally, and if one takes one part literally, then one better, to be consistent, take all of it literally.

If one says that "but this part really means something else", then how can one justify taking any other part literally?

I have said many times, look at the allegory and the metamorphic teachings, and the inner Logos can be inspired in a spiritual way that is much stronger then anything a literal interpretation will give one. Why restrict that spiritual awakening? The spiritual truths have been part of humans much longer then anything that is written in the bible; the bible is just one reflection of those truths that have been known or felt for many 1000's of years before an ancient Jewish scribe started writing things down to make the Jewish tribes be the center of the universe.

By anthropomorphising their Yhweh as the supreme universal force, those scribes restricted that force to a human like quality. It starts right of in Genesis 1:27, and by setting that stage, the rest of the sagas get skewed.

The best way of understanding this is one looks at the Mystery Religions that were competitors in Rome to early Christianity, and see the similarities. Those were adapted from the worship in Persia of Mithras. Interestingly enough, Persia is also the origin of probably the first monotheist religion, Zoroastrianism, which the Mystery Religions borrowed heavily from, as did the Jews and early Christians. Zoroastrianism is still practiced by it's adherents, although, unlike most religions, one has to be born into it as they will not accept converts.

Does this sound familiar?

In Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda is the beginning and the end, the creator of everything that can and cannot be seen, the Eternal, the Pure and the only Truth.

Kind of sounds like elements of the bible, doesn't it. Only Zorasterianism is much older the the Jews of Abraham. The Jews of Babylon certainly would have been familiar with it, and it would have been an easy adaptation.