Learning About Jesus' Teachings

[ReginaDyle]

Oh my. Thanks so much everyone for your responses. I don't know what to say. I am going to have to read everything in detail and do all the readings before I ask questions. I have some wonderful work ahead of me. Too bad I don't work this hard at school lol. Your help is amazing Thanks friends!

 

[ReginaDyle]

Hey! I'm glad you've found Jesus and started reading the gospels. It's a good way to start your life as a christian and I hope you keep on reading the Bible all through your life... It always gives you something new! I also hope you read it prayerfully; then the Holy Spirit will be there with you and opens up the things you need. You've apparently found a good way around. Anyways, you in your first post mentioned that you'd like to find some friends to share your faith with and to grow together. It's also an important part in christianity: Jesus told us to congregate regularly. CF is a good place for fellowship and here are a lot of wise christians. This one is good for questions, but there are also forums for sharing devotionals and discussing different things in the Bible. However I think it is important for every christian to have an offline, local christian community as well where you can meet other christians on a regular basis, pray and read the Bible with them and worship together. That'll help you grow tremendously and you'll know that you always have someone trustworthy to ask your difficult questions. That's why I strongly recommend seeking a local church; why not ask the person who introduced you to christianity for example where he goes? Anyways, choose your church with a lot of prayer and find one where you feel that God is leading you to go!

Thanks so much Aino. I sure will.

 

[ReginaDyle]

What questions did you have?

Oh yeah another question. In my Bible, not the Bible part but like the introduction there is something that talks about there being different versions of the Bible. Is that true? Mine says it is new American Bible Revised Addition saint Joseph edition. It says it is by catholic book publishing corporation. Is there a Catholic Bible and a Baptist Bible and a Lutheran Bible? I know there is a different Mormon Bible. We aren't Catholic, we were never anything. I found it in a box and my Mom said it was a gift from someone and that I could have it if I wanted. Are the different Bibles very different?

 

[Radagast]

Oh yeah another question. In my Bible, not the Bible part but like the introduction there is something that talks about there being different versions of the Bible. Is that true? Mine says it is new American Bible Revised Addition saint Joseph edition. It says it is by catholic book publishing corporation. Is there a Catholic Bible and a Baptist Bible and a Lutheran Bible? I know there is a different Mormon Bible. We aren't Catholic, we were never anything. I found it in a box and my Mom said it was a gift from someone and that I could have it if I wanted. Are the different Bibles very different?

Three issues here. First, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles contain some extra Old Testament books that were not part of the Hebrew Scriptures used by the Jews (although they were part of a very ancient Greek translation). Protestants don't believe these extra books should be part of the Bible. The extra books are:

* Tobit
* Judith
* Parts of Esther
* The Wisdom of Solomon
* Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
* Baruch
* Parts of Daniel (Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon)
* 1 Maccabees
* 2 Maccabees

Second, there are some slight differences in which ancient texts are followed.

For example, in the King James Version (KJV), Luke 17:35-37 reads:

35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

In the English Standard Version (ESV) it reads:

35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

A footnote explains that most of the oldest versions of the Greek New Testament don't have verse 36. Many people believe that verse 36 was added by someone long ago to match up with Matthew 24:40. There are a few other examples like this.

Third, different translations use different English wording. For example, for John 1:

ESV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made...

KJV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made...

NIV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made...

NLT: In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him...

Most English versions of the Bible are Protestant versions. It's not a Baptist/Presbyterian/Methodist/whatever thing; it's just that different people prefer different versions.

By the way, as a general thing, I would strongly recommend reading the book Mere Christianity for a kind of overview of what Christianity is about.

 

[Emmy]

Dear ReginaDyle. In Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34-40, Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is: Love thy neighbour as thyself." Then Jesus points out a great truth: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Love is the important ingredient, we need in our character, freely given and no conditions tagged on.
Jesus will give us His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will give us His Love and Joy, also. Jesus told us: " Ask and ye will receive," then we thank God, and share all with our neighbour. ( All we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) God will see our sincere efforts, and God will approve and bless us. We might stumble and forget often, but we ask God to forgive us, and God will forgive us, as we will forgive others. ( Jesus taught us in His Prayer: " Forgive us our sins, as we will forgive those, who sin against us." We will just carry on loving and caring, for our neighbour: being kind and friendly, a helping hand,(when needed) and showing that we are God`s representatives, in this imperfect world. God will know that we love Him: How? because we are loving, and caring for our neighbour. God made us all in His image, and God is Love. God loves us and wants loving children/sons and daughters.
Love is a Christian`s strong weapon, love overcomes all, and love changes all for the better. It might take a bit longer to work, but nothing is more lasting and durable than selfless love and care, Regina. Another great advantage that Love has, Love also changes men and women, we will enjoy being loving in all our deeds and dealings, we will let love guide, and lead us on. Love makes all the difference between life abundant, (as Jesus told us) and life with all its ups and down. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Oh yeah another question. In my Bible, not the Bible part but like the introduction there is something that talks about there being different versions of the Bible. Is that true? Mine says it is new American Bible Revised Addition saint Joseph edition. It says it is by catholic book publishing corporation. Is there a Catholic Bible and a Baptist Bible and a Lutheran Bible? I know there is a different Mormon Bible. We aren't Catholic, we were never anything. I found it in a box and my Mom said it was a gift from someone and that I could have it if I wanted. Are the different Bibles very different?

Protestants and Catholics have a slightly different Canon. In simplest terms, Catholic Bibles contain a few books not found in Protestant Bibles.

The word "Canon" comes from the Greek, and means "standard", the development of a biblical canon refers to the consensus and compiling of books into a standardized collection of Scripture (a "Bible").

This process too hundreds of years in the history of Christianity, and by the time of the Protestant Reformation there were still people asking questions.

The reason Protestants have less books is because Martin Luther questioned the inspiration of a very specific selection of books known as the "Deuterocanonicals". This selection of books have almost always been part of the Christian Old Testament because these books were included in Greek copies of the Old Testament, most importantly the Septuagint (a translation into Greek of the Jewish Scriptures around 300 years before Christ). It was well known in later centuries that the Jews themselves did not accept these books in their own Bibles (exactly how and when they discarded these books is a matter of historical inquiry and debate); but some Christian leadership had at various points questioned whether these books were on par with the rest of Scripture.

By the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, Luther came down on the position that they were uninspired "but good to read", so rather than removing them from the Bible altogether he placed them in their own separate section between the Old and New Testament.

It remained this way in Protestant Bibles until the 18th or 19th century when some Protestant Bible publishers in Britain and the US started publishing Bibles without the "Apocrypha" as it was called. That time period saw a lot of angry anti-Catholic sentiment among some Protestants and also it was cheaper to publish Bibles without the Apocrypha than with; so appealing to the anti-Catholic demographic and cutting paper and ink costs were likely two factors that contributed to their ultimate removal from Protestant Bibles.

One can still easily find Protestant Bibles with the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha, but most Protestant Bibles don't have it at all.

Catholic Bibles retain those books as traditionally received, integrated into the rest of the Old Testament.

Again, it's only a small selection of books, Catholic and Protestant Bibles are the same otherwise.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ReginaDyle]

Three issues here. First, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles contain some extra Old Testament books that were not part of the Hebrew Scriptures used by the Jews (although they were part of a very ancient Greek translation). Protestants don't believe these extra books should be part of the Bible. The extra books are:

* Tobit
* Judith
* Parts of Esther
* The Wisdom of Solomon
* Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
* Baruch
* Parts of Daniel (Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon)
* 1 Maccabees
* 2 Maccabees

Second, there are some slight differences in which ancient texts are followed.

For example, in the King James Version (KJV), Luke 17:35-37 reads:

35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

In the English Standard Version (ESV) it reads:

35 There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left." 37 And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."

A footnote explains that most of the oldest versions of the Greek New Testament don't have verse 36. Many people believe that verse 36 was added by someone long ago to match up with Matthew 24:40. There are a few other examples like this.

Third, different translations use different English wording. For example, for John 1:

ESV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made...

KJV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made...

NIV: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made...

NLT: In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him...

Most English versions of the Bible are Protestant versions. It's not a Baptist/Presbyterian/Methodist/whatever thing; it's just that different people prefer different versions.

By the way, as a general thing, I would strongly recommend reading the book for a kind of overview of what Christianity is about.

Thank you so much. I will check out that book.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Dear ReginaDyle. In Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34-40, Jesus tells a Lawyer: " The first and great Commandment is: Love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. The second is: Love thy neighbour as thyself." Then Jesus points out a great truth: " On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Love is the important ingredient, we need in our character, freely given and no conditions tagged on.
Jesus will give us His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will give us His Love and Joy, also. Jesus told us: " Ask and ye will receive," then we thank God, and share all with our neighbour. ( All we know and all we meet, friends and not friends) God will see our sincere efforts, and God will approve and bless us. We might stumble and forget often, but we ask God to forgive us, and God will forgive us, as we will forgive others. ( Jesus taught us in His Prayer: " Forgive us our sins, as we will forgive those, who sin against us." We will just carry on loving and caring, for our neighbour: being kind and friendly, a helping hand,(when needed) and showing that we are God`s representatives, in this imperfect world. God will know that we love Him: How? because we are loving, and caring for our neighbour. God made us all in His image, and God is Love. God loves us and wants loving children/sons and daughters.
Love is a Christian`s strong weapon, love overcomes all, and love changes all for the better. It might take a bit longer to work, but nothing is more lasting and durable than selfless love and care, Regina. Another great advantage that Love has, Love also changes men and women, we will enjoy being loving in all our deeds and dealings, we will let love guide, and lead us on. Love makes all the difference between life abundant, (as Jesus told us) and life with all its ups and down. I say this with love. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

So beautiful. Thank you so much Emmy.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Protestants and Catholics have a slightly different Canon. In simplest terms, Catholic Bibles contain a few books not found in Protestant Bibles.

The word "Canon" comes from the Greek, and means "standard", the development of a biblical canon refers to the consensus and compiling of books into a standardized collection of Scripture (a "Bible").

This process too hundreds of years in the history of Christianity, and by the time of the Protestant Reformation there were still people asking questions.

The reason Protestants have less books is because Martin Luther questioned the inspiration of a very specific selection of books known as the "Deuterocanonicals". This selection of books have almost always been part of the Christian Old Testament because these books were included in Greek copies of the Old Testament, most importantly the Septuagint (a translation into Greek of the Jewish Scriptures around 300 years before Christ). It was well known in later centuries that the Jews themselves did not accept these books in their own Bibles (exactly how and when they discarded these books is a matter of historical inquiry and debate); but some Christian leadership had at various points questioned whether these books were on par with the rest of Scripture.

By the time of the Reformation in the 16th century, Luther came down on the position that they were uninspired "but good to read", so rather than removing them from the Bible altogether he placed them in their own separate section between the Old and New Testament.

It remained this way in Protestant Bibles until the 18th or 19th century when some Protestant Bible publishers in Britain and the US started publishing Bibles without the "Apocrypha" as it was called. That time period saw a lot of angry anti-Catholic sentiment among some Protestants and also it was cheaper to publish Bibles without the Apocrypha than with; so appealing to the anti-Catholic demographic and cutting paper and ink costs were likely two factors that contributed to their ultimate removal from Protestant Bibles.

One can still easily find Protestant Bibles with the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha, but most Protestant Bibles don't have it at all.

Catholic Bibles retain those books as traditionally received, integrated into the rest of the Old Testament.

Again, it's only a small selection of books, Catholic and Protestant Bibles are the same otherwise.

-CryptoLutheran

That makes sense. Thanks for the. So I will just keep using this one. Sounds like its all good for where I'm at.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Finally have some time today to look over the suggested readings. So busy during the week ugh. Wish I lived in a place where we studied this stuff all the time, no religious people where I live which makes it difficult. Someday I hope.

 

[razeontherock]

I guess what I was getting at was that the death and rising are proof that Jesus and his teachings were from God. But once you decide to follow him that doesn't seem to matter anymore. The important things are Jesus teachings. You don't need the proof once you have decided it is true.

Hi Regina, welcome to CF!

I would say the teachings matter, but our own intellect and effort do not save us. The core of the teaching is our Union with God, through Christ; and that is only possible through His Incarnation, suffering, death, burial, and Resurrection. With next Sunday's celebration of that being THE most significant Holiday of the year!

And for all of that, none of it took effect w/o the Ascension, which is an aspect so often neglected ...

At any rate, let Him lead you, as He sees fit!

 

[Emmy]

Dear ReginaDyle. Jesus died that we might live. We, Mankind, had been sinning for a very long time, and there was nobody left without sin or wrongdoings, BUT God`s Holy Law demanded a sacrifice without sin or guilt. Someone`s blood which was absolutely free from pollution, or we would all have become Satan`s victims.
But God our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that He, (God) thought of the only way, to redeem us. It was Jesus God Son, Spirit of God`s Spirit, who became our Saviour. God had chosen a worthy Virgin as the Vessel to bring forth Jesus, human as we are human, but His Blood was innocent of any wrongdoings. For ca. 30 years Jesus lived amongst us, and showed us God as He really is: our loving Heavenly Father, who wants us back again.
In Matthews 22, verses 34-40, Jesus gives us the two Commandments, on which hang all the Law and the Prophets. 1) Love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds. 2) Love our neighbour as ourselves. God wants our love: freely given and no conditions tagged on.
All we say, or do, or teach about, must be from Love/Agape. We always do to others, as we would like others do to us, we treat all we know and all we meet, (friends or not friends) as we would love to be treated: With love and kindness, friendly words and encouraging smiles, and helping hands, (where needed). God will see our sincere efforts, and God will approve and bless us. Love is a Christian`s strong weapon, love will change us into the children/sons and daughters, which God wants. Jesus will help and guide us, the Holy Spirit, also. Jesus told us: " Ask and ye will receive," then we thank God, and share all Love and Joy with all around us. (our neighbour.) I say this with love, Regina. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

 

[CGL1023]

ri

Hi all,

I'm new here and new to Learning about Jesus. My family or neighbors aren't religious but at a party a neighbor's uncle who is a Minister talked to me about it and I have been reading the Gospels since. I would like to find other people that want to talk about His Kingdom. I don't know a lot and have a lot to learn. Thanks

I would say to be patient with yourself and your progress. Read or listen and meditate. As you repeat the scriptural areas you have been to before, you will add new revelation and insight to add to what you already have.

One promise of your success is in Joshua 1:8 but I'll include Joshua 1:6-9 for context. Notice the repetition of the phrase, 'be strong and courageous'.

6“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Declare, in faith, that this Word, and others you would choose, is for you and you possess it now.

 

[seeingeyes]

Well from what I have read the most important idea with following Jesus is creating the Kingdom of Heaven. so we have to always remember God and love one another unconditionally to create a world of love that God can speak to us through. Is that about right?

Mark 12:28-34:
"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."


You are not far from the kingdom of God.

 

[razeontherock]

A lot of what He says becomes much clearer after He lives again. The cross reveals the answer to quite a few mysteries.

Jesus is way more than a good teacher. He is our Redeemer. We are not just listening to Him. We're worshiping Him.

Oh that is good!

 

[ReginaDyle]

Dear ReginaDyle. Jesus died that we might live. We, Mankind, had been sinning for a very long time, and there was nobody left without sin or wrongdoings, BUT God`s Holy Law demanded a sacrifice without sin or guilt. Someone`s blood which was absolutely free from pollution, or we would all have become Satan`s victims.
But God our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that He, (God) thought of the only way, to redeem us. It was Jesus God Son, Spirit of God`s Spirit, who became our Saviour. God had chosen a worthy Virgin as the Vessel to bring forth Jesus, human as we are human, but His Blood was innocent of any wrongdoings. For ca. 30 years Jesus lived amongst us, and showed us God as He really is: our loving Heavenly Father, who wants us back again.
In Matthews 22, verses 34-40, Jesus gives us the two Commandments, on which hang all the Law and the Prophets. 1) Love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our minds. 2) Love our neighbour as ourselves. God wants our love: freely given and no conditions tagged on.
All we say, or do, or teach about, must be from Love/Agape. We always do to others, as we would like others do to us, we treat all we know and all we meet, (friends or not friends) as we would love to be treated: With love and kindness, friendly words and encouraging smiles, and helping hands, (where needed). God will see our sincere efforts, and God will approve and bless us. Love is a Christian`s strong weapon, love will change us into the children/sons and daughters, which God wants. Jesus will help and guide us, the Holy Spirit, also. Jesus told us: " Ask and ye will receive," then we thank God, and share all Love and Joy with all around us. (our neighbour.) I say this with love, Regina. Greetings from Emmy, your sister in Christ.

Thanks so much Emmy. The verses from Matthew you quoted really says it all. It is the basic thing I know. "Love God, love your neighbor" is the prayer I walk with every day. I say it when I'm walking around and especially when I feel scared or bad about myself. Puts everything into perspective.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Hi Regina, welcome to CF!

I would say the teachings matter, but our own intellect and effort do not save us. The core of the teaching is our Union with God, through Christ; and that is only possible through His Incarnation, suffering, death, burial, and Resurrection. With next Sunday's celebration of that being THE most significant Holiday of the year!

And for all of that, none of it took effect w/o the Ascension, which is an aspect so often neglected ...

At any rate, let Him lead you, as He sees fit!

Thanks razeontherock.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Mark 12:28-34:
"One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions."

You are not far from the kingdom of God.

love that in Mark. Thanks.

 

[ReginaDyle]

Oh that is good!

Everyone is so helpful.