I'm a PhD student in biblical studies. Ask me whatever you want about the Bible/early Christianity. If it matters...

tell me more about the ascended Elijah's lifes and legacy

Scholars are divided, but there are a few theories. What is certain is that archaeological evidence points towards no global flood. There is the possibility that the flood mentioned in the Noah narrative was regional and interpreted on a global scale to prove a point. Some liberal perspectives argue that the different animals on the ark are metaphors to families saved in the flood. So when we read of various animals, the text is actually illustrating the perseverence of multiple family lines by Noah and the ark. Again, the ark widely is suspect. See the epic of Gilgamesh.
Certainly. See the epic of Gilgamesh for a good example. Most scholars argue that the Noah narrative used established myth and literature to say something about their God. Many people thought that a global flood was a part of the story of the world's creation, and so the ancient authors of the penteteuch used the literature familiar to their context in order to draw contrasts between YHWH and other regional gods. Where Gilgamesh establishes gods in conflict that created the world, YHWH establishes the world through dedication to his creation. At least, that is the argument.

What specifically do you want to know about Elijah? The topic isn't necessarily quaint enough to summarize entirely. I can try if you want, though.

not op. my understanding is the flood was the result of an overwhelming evil and sinful world deeming of a global catastrophe in order to set back Satan so say.

His Ascension specifically

Not my type of music, but I respect your opinion. Worthless, though? Many institutions were created in the name of Christianity. See the number of hospitals established as a service to the Christian message.

Why would you waste you or your parents money getting a fucking PhD in such a useless worthless topic?

I'm not sure who to be angrier at; higher education for actually peddling this shit or you for falling for it.

what proof exists? any credible historians back then who documented jesus’s life? oh none and i should just believe in him or im going to eternal damnation? oh ok

My PhD was fully paid for by the institution that accepted me.

Op, I have a few questions first, Can you sin in Heaven? Second, Why is circumcision practiced(i know thats jewish, but the Torah is just old testament iirc)? Third, Why is Homosexuality so hot button considering most of the texts its referenced in are considered unnecessary by most Christians?

bad get. more specifically why he was worthy of it

Not many historians documented Jesus's life because of proximity mainly, but the majority of scholars certainly agree that Jesus was a historical figure. The next step is whether you believe that Jesus was in fact a magician on earth working on account of an overlord God of the world.

Is christianity a jew scheme to subvert white people

Basic question: who is Cephas?

MFW edgy atheists trying to sound smarter.

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Atheists who push atheism are just as foolish as evangelicals

Is he white?

If Paul had not proselytized, and Constantine had not legitimized Christianity, what do you think would be the dominant religion in western culture based on what was popular at the time?

I don't understand this gay gif.

1. The consensus is no, there is no sin in heaven. This is why you hear of heaven as a "new Eden," in that it is perfectly apart from sin, but without the potential for sin to creep in as in Genesis. 2. Circumcision actually has practical implications. One reason proposed for circumcision is that it is a visible marker of belonging to the Jews. Many Greek practices of men included being naked, including participation in athletic competition and training. A Greek person would clearly see a mangled penis and know the other person was Jewish. Circumcision isn't only symbolic, it is a physical marker that allows the rest of the world to pass judgment. This way Jews were directly set as different to the surrounding world, which in the biblical narrative, they were. 3. The thought of Christianity changing scares a lot of people. Christians like to think that they know everything about God and the bible. The bible talks much more about divorce than homosexuality, however culture has determined that divorce is more acceptable than homosexuality. I'd bet in 50 years we won't have the conversations we have now about homosexuality. You're also right to acknowledge that texts dealing with homosexuality have become easily explained away as a sign of cultural context.

No. He was brown. Middle Eastern.

Where cult based on similiar things like virgin birth and resurection after 3 days real?

Serious question OP.

Do you believe in god? Also, since the Bible has been white washed by the British to infinity, do you think there is any truth/originality in it left since it’s been made to fit their narrative?

This is hard to say because few other ANE religions actually had any impetus to evangelize. I'd say Zoroastrianism because I'd think it would be palpable to the hellenistic world, but thats pretty much speculation. It would more realistically be dominated by whatever religion was percieved to give authority the most power and influence over their people.

OP what do you think about occultism? What are your true views?

That smell, son.
You will not confuse it with anything.
Smell of christfag's butthurt.
I love this smell on my mornings.

Thank you

Third question.

Since Greeks had Greek mythology and Norse had Norse mythology and there are so many different Religions out there it’s kinda retarded to say that one is 100% true and the others are wrong. Do you think people are just afraid of saying “I just don’t know what is right or wrong and I don’t know where everything originated from”?

1. Not the God of the modern church. I think it is completely valid to believe in some sort of creator god, but the god of the Bible is a creation based on cultural influences and precedents. 2. Many direct quotations and narratives have ancient sources, so I'd say that there is some sense of originality. The compilation of books chronicle ancient beliefs and practices, so they are valid. Whether they have any truth is another question. There is truth in the book certainly because it was believed as truth by ancient readers. What is true about the Bible is that it was true for the people who wrote the narratives. Nowadays, the truth of the ancient authors has been twisted to conform to our reality, which is naive and unhelpful.

No it was about a Hybrid race of beings Gheber like Goliath that were a serious threat to the survival of the Hebrew people.

No Hebrews no messiah...

See Genesis 6:4 for the source of the Gheber.

Yeh, that's what I thought. The cosmology is similar, and all you would need is the Zoroastrian equivalent of Paul to spread it around. Thanks.

I wasn't going to knock you until you typed up this arrogant comment... different user here btw.
Brother, you make 80k... with a PHD. You're getting paid peanuts for the amount of time you've spent acquiring your degree.
I don't know what constitutes a "real" degree in your eyes, but if you mean someone with a STEM degree, I promise you they make the same if not more (over time) than you do.

Like I said, I wasn't going to condemn you for your path in life. But you're a fucking PhD candidate, buddy. Have some restraint. Let things slide off like water.

Of course people are afraid to say that. Imagine basing your entire life and practices on something you are 50/50 on. Most people wouldn't take their chances. Many ANE religions were created in order to differentiate themselves from surrounding religions. There was a battle of mythology at the time; everybody wanted to worship a god that was more powerful than the god of their surrounding cultures. For me, I don't know where everything originated from, and I think that anybody who says they know is either full of shit or trying to push an agenda.

I'm also a graduate student in a similar topic(continental philosophy) Even though for practical reasons much of my time and research goes to logic and perception, most of my research(and hopefully my dissertation) is devoted towards theology and the evolution and interpretation of it in the 18th century. If you don't mind i'd like a few questions if you are familiar with the topics:

1.) How do you feel about gnosticism? You may be more familiar with Marcion of Sinope. Is there a non herectical but valid view of it?
2.) Followup, Bruno Bauer published and advocated that Christianity owes more to greek and roman tradition(stoicism) than judaism? Is there validity behind that statement from your persepctive or was it just the anti-semitism of the age

anyhow, same user here. One of my wishes in life is to obtain a PhD in philosophy. What was your journey as a PhD student like? Practically speaking.
I can't continue my education until I build a financial foundation for myself and my family.
I'm completely fine with putting myself through struggle for my studies, but it'd be selfish to drag my family with me.

Its Yea Forums, I'm going to get knocked for one reason or another. I'm making 80k during my PhD program. Of course I'd like to make more when I graduate, but that remains to be seen. For STEM degrees, I'd hope they make more than me. They provide real solutions to the world, and I work in a world of fanciful imagination. If I went into this for the money, I'd be an idiot. I'm lucky to find somebody that thinks this realm is worth paying somebody anywhere near to 80k.

I don't believe anyone is truly even 50/50. You all have to know deep down that it is nonsense. As much as I've wanted to believe at times I cannot fool myself.

Different user here. Please speak on the gnostics. I recently found out about them and I'm highly intrigued

Why do so many churches teach the rapture even though that's not what is going to take place? Paul explains it point blank in 1st and 2nd Thes. and John points it out too in Revelations, yet most churches teach we are just going to float away.

OP here. There are questions that I haven't got to because they made me think harder than the others and I've been drinking so my clarity isn;t great. Talking about you occultism question and Elijah. I'll try to get to them.

Peter, Yea Forumsro

Not to sandbag you, but in your first reply, you mention no evidence for a great flood, but I've read where there has been some evidence or notions towards a rise in sea water some ~13k years ago, specifically regarding an archaic human settlement on some islands off the coast of California (its late and i dont have my sources, am on mobile) however, this would also coincide with other antidiluvian flood myths, like the one from the indiginous people of Pacific Northwest US. Either way, if scientists are still upin the air about a legit flood beyond the influence of the ancient near east, i do remember reading about a large volcanic eruption around the same tineframe as the 13k BC year mark, which would probably explain the population decline and stories of the wicked being washed away. My info is scattered and while its been years, i think theres some sort of coorelation in it all.

What are your thoughts on the book of Enoch. Why do you think it has come from popular to kind of forgotten.

Just consider how complex are thy own mysteries then only dare to wonder about the origins of byblon

oh man.....

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Christianity is an immigrant middle eastern religion that destroys native cultures and teaches Hebrew worship. Excuse me while I puke.

Because they do not love the truth they are given over to the lie.

You do understand the vast majority of those who claim to be Christians are not?

By their fruit you shall know them.

Once you get accepted to a program, its not bad at all. Before that, its a bunch of the normal application processes, like acting like you actually have something worth the money that a program would pay you. Once I got accepted, its a lot of the same, with more pressure to put out content that makes a difference. The biggest difference for me (Idk about the realm of philosophy when it comes to doctoral research) was that in my masters degree, professors were more concerned with comprehension of material. Once I got accepted into my PhD program, professors didn't give a shit if I knew what I was reading if I couldn't write something that provided anything to the conversation. I'd say that is a good place to start. Read up in modern journals about the topics that scholars are arguing and start to think about how you'd respond in a way that advances the conversation. Nobody cares what you have to say unless you disagree with somebody or come out with something groundbreaking. This is true until you have built a resume that makes your name worth listening to on antiquated discussions.

excuse me while I SKATEBOARD

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John 1:42

what did Jesus say about skateboarding?

Sorry, I didn't mean to reply to you with that John passage. At least in the ANE, the evidence points towards no flood. I'm not sure with evidence in other areas of the world, sorry.

Unfortunately it is a bit out of my expertise,but in the Christian tradition there are a lot of theories. I will focus on the ones of the Hegelians in the 1800's because that is all im qualified to about but:
Essentially the Judeo-Christian "tradition." Is not a thing. Several prominent german philosophered argued for a gnosticism that means: There is one God but other lower divine beings under Him. Bruno Bauer advocated that the god of the Old testament(Yahweh) was but a lower,emotional tribal god,and that is why the jews did so many horrible things. Christ was sent as the son of the highest being. A lot of it was based on difference in jewish and christian values. The tldr is there are multiple divine beings but God is the highest.

>John 1:42
Mark 16: 6

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Good answer.
Most Christians ate complacent with being ignorant and living on the milk instead of the meat.

A fictitious book that has created Western culture and spurred/justified numerous wars and atrocities as well as millions of acts of kindness.

God or no, the book is very important.

Pay your taxes and worship the jews or something.

So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone

>wish my cross had wheels

You sound like some one who has heard Pastor Arnold Murray before he passed away?

Its fine user, i dont mean to be contrary, i appreciate the time. Thanks.

From what I know, Enoch seems to utilize Jewish midrash (interpretation) of older texts, and therefore was thought of as human coneption rather than divine inspiration. The book was utilized by ancient authors (see Jude) but when the canon was being concieved, the thought was that the text was of the human mind rather than the divine. I don't have much familiarity with the text more than this unfortunately.

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You're totally fine. I just realized it was an awkward response lol. Best to you

kek

OP here, I wasn't the earlier responses. I think the thought of floating away is comforting to many. To think that all of their devotion will be worth it when Jesus comes and their "fuck you" to the world will be honored. Many passages have become about making us feel good about our devotion to God, and I think the rapture gives us some sense of an us versus them phenomenon where we will be floating away laughing at all those who didn't believe.

there is a phd in that? noway pics, stamp and pics faggot

...

Assuming you're not trolling, what do you want a picture of? Alternatively you can use google and search for PhD biblical studies, you'll find the majority of the divinity schools offer one.

When you preach to the chior you should expect to be humbled

Yep. I grew up on it. My dad would study along with his program airing I've C-band satellite back in the day. Murray made sense which is a lot more than I can say for every other minister I ever heard out there (except for Murray's son).

Occultism, according to my understanding, is the attempt to draw and control meaning inherent in the world. For this reason, I find occultism futile. If you're looking for some supernatural way of interpreting and controling the world, I think you should reevaluate your priorities.

Which leads me to another question. Do you guys avoid apocryphas writings? are they even considered during a normal cycle of study in your field?

No

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What do you think of the claims John Allegro made about early christianity being based around aminita muscaria mushrooms?

Damn that sucks. The part with the sheeps in the book of Enoch is pretty hilarious. I almost went mad reading it.

Would you mind sharing it with us?

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Google "No True scotsman" groups have been denying their asshole members for millennia. Doesn't work for Christianity, though. If you want to take a bow for Mother Theresa, you have to own Westburo Baptist. It's all Christendom and you are not the arbiter of who is or is not a Christian.

1. Gnosticism, as I understand it, is a logical response to the Christian God. Particularly when seen in a Greek context, the worldview of many gods just fits with the populace. As for Marcion, the Christian consensus, as I'm sure you know, denies any validity. Otherwise, I'd say it is a valid argument. The world is fucked- it makes more sense to me to say that humanity is fucked and if there was a God out there he would need to send somebody completely "other" to save it. Of course, this doesn't fit within the Jewish or Christian framework. But it does mesh with greek thought of divine beings interceding on behalf of humanity in some divine tension. 2. I can't comfortably say that Christianity owes more to greek tradition than the Jewish on the premise that Christianity has Judaism as the precident. What I would say is that the Christianity that emerges in Acts was largely a response to the Greek world at the time. The early church had already decided they were believing in something other than Judaism, and while they were trying to figure it out, they were constructing their worldview in the context of greek and roman mythology. I guess you could chop this up to a coin toss or matter of opinion, whether the inclusion of the OT has more or less weight than the influence of greece and rome on the growing church.

somewhere around 89.10 - good luck going thru though

youtu.be/qw8HhTnot0w?t=8696

>So the women left the tomb and ran away, trembling and bewildered. And in their fear they did not say a word to anyone

and all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.

He was very fair skinned with blue eyes, just like the Buhda. That is why the Jews did not spare him when Pilot offered mercy.

OP here. In my PhD program, you'd be laughed out of the room if you proposed a paper in biblical studies that didn't include extra-biblical sources. The Bible argues for itself and with itself. Texts that speak about the events and characters of the bible that have fallen from grace are extremely valuable.

Unfortunately Allegro stands alone. His proposal is intriguing, but the foundation is weak. He would have done well to seek for material other than the dead sea scrolls to advocate his position.

>No True scotsman

Obviously you have been a Yea Forumstard for quite some time.

I quoted the verse exactly. (Matthew 7:15)
Those fruits of the spirit are:
Love (Greek: agape, Latin: caritas)
Joy (Greek: chara, Latin: gaudium)
Peace (Greek: eirene, Latin: pax)
Patience(Greek:makrothumia, Latin:longanimitas)
Kindness (Greek: chrestotes, Latin: benignitas)
Goodness (Greek: agathosune, Latin: bonitas)
Faithfulness (Greek: pistis, Latin: fides)
Gentleness (Greek: prautes, Latin: modestia)
Self-control (Greek: egkrateia, Latin: continentia)

Regardless I would be one of the first (and I was) to rebuke Fred Phelps if he were still alive.

No one has the right to close the gates of Heaven which Christ threw wide open.

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Are you familiar with hermeticism? As a gnostic, I've found that it has everything I've seeked from christianity, while also being far more empowering.

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Why did you get a PhD in bible studies?

thanks for nothing

Has there ever been a good argument as to why bad shit happens to devout christians, apart from the "mysterious ways" bullshit? I mean, in other theologies it makes sense. If the volcano explodes and kills everyone, they pissed off the volcano God somehow. But if Jesus controls everything, and loves everyone, why did the volcano explode?

Our place is in Heaven with God.
Death is not a punishment is is an invitation home.

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I assumed the "problem of evil" would come up eventually. People have written on this extensively. Many argue that since sin entered the world, God's victory is in Christ and not in his intercession in the world. AKA he gave us Jesus, he doesn't need to stop a volcano.

A credible institution thought it was worth paying me to get.

He was crucified so quickly after his minor crime that none of his many followers or influential political allies even heard of his indictment

The reason the Jews did not choose to spare Jesus is because mercy was offered as part of Roman recognition of the Jews' sabbath, whence they would be allowed to choose one criminal to spare from his crimes
They were expected to spare Jesus, which is why he was brought before the court so quickly
but they did not
instead they chose Barnabus

Alright faggots, OP here. I'm going to bed. Feel free to keep commenting amongst yourselves, but I'll be off. Best of luck to you in the world.

mel gibson was right?

Yes it's all explained by the prophet Jeremiah when he describes his relationship with God and their communication with each other during the Babylonian exile

Do you believe in ancient aliens?

Yep, Christ threw the gate open, and you don't get to close it. You can rebuke Phelps all you want, but he's still your brother in Christ, so you own him, own his behavior, and explain why Phelps found much justification for his work in your "good book".

Don't you?

Nice strawman, btw. Never saw the fallacy in English, Greek and Latin before.

perhaps you would like to make a fool of yourself by trying to explain the story of Christ without them?

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Why did Christians quit using magick? It's like they've watered down the best part of Gods gift.

It all began when they came to take Jesus's blood

So, if you murder a christian, you're doing him a favor? That's a weird little death-cult you've got there. :D

Hahaaaaa! Tricked!

Guards! Seize this man!

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He IS my brother in Christ so are you.
That does not mean I condone his behavior.

My rebuke of him is intended to educate him not to determine if he goes to heaven or hell.

There can be found in the Bible justification and condemnation (usually both) for almost any topic you can imagine.
It is meant to humble each of us.
And is best used to limit ourselves not others.
I normally only make exception to that when I am correcting some one who claims to be a Priest or Pastor. (Them I hold to a far higher standard then the average joe in the pew.

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That's correct

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Excuse me, I was asking the PhD, not the dim-witted evangelist.

I'm a priest and a scholar, so I have more authority than him, actually

if you kill a child at birth will he go to heaven

I will take OP's refusal to answer this question as a victory.
Read the Hermetic Corpus, anons. It's shorter than the bible, and will explain the world around you better.
That's probably why much of the work on it was destroyed by barbaric Christians in the burning of the Great library at Alexandria.

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yes

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Him? Yes. Yourself? No.

That is the thing about God he lets evil be evil and yet the end result will be good.

Evil folks will dig the hole for themselves.

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I am not familiar with hermeticism, but I do know that Jesus was praised and even worshiped by scholars and sorcerers when he was a child

>it was destroyed by barbaric Christians in the burning of the Great library at Alexandria.

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Well good, you realize Phelps was your fellow Christian. Now you can stop saying people "aren't real Christians" when they act like assholes. Of course they're Christians. There just Christian assholes.

He can.
It is up to God.

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Pic or it's bullshit

Remember the goal of Christianity

Lol a priest on Yea Forums. Figures. Find any good shota yet?

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well can you expand on this explanation by Jeremiah

Yes I have met celebrities

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John 8:44. That is totally Jesus decalring all jews, for all time, that don't accept him to be lying, murdering children of the devil, right?

Lol OP didn't answer you because he knows you are neither a gnostic or a hermit, you're just another antisocial Yea Forumstard.

They lowered him waist-deep into the filth at the bottom of a cistern in order to torture him (end result: he became poisoned, and resembled a ghoulish figure when he returned to Jerusalem) however, he allegedly had one of the best times of his life there

I told you what the Bible and Christ said.
I consider you and the Pope to be far less authoritative on the Topic.

But in Revelation 2 and 3 7 Church types are described of those seven only 2 find favor with God.

I will stick with what I said before and further clarify. He is not qualified to be a Shepherd of men he should have been locked in a cell with a Bible to read and never speak to another human again. Fred Phelps was not a disciple much less an apostle of Christ.

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My spouse makes more.

Do you think catholic priests use religion as a scapegoat to seek out their predatory fantasies? or do you think some are introduced to the world of pedophilia after joining the church?

Because of this, old saints would often stand waist-deep in freezing water for many hours in order to make communion with the holy spirit

I think most are introduced to pedophilia after they become priests

looks like someone has been drinking too much TV

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You would send sinners to Sheol, where Christ cannot find them ?

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You tried your best, yet you failed in the end.

Why don't you just send them to high school instead

youtube.com/watch?v=rk6mzf240Ew

a picture of your cert and a timeztamp you are not bright

so lets kill all the kids who is with me

also thx my dude had that question for a long time

Just the kids? While the rest must remain among the accurst...
Oh Lord, have pitty on the bleeding mothers.......

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Again, you are not the arbiter of who is or is not qualified to be a disciple or apostle of Christ. In fact, Phelps offered far more biblical justification for his position than you have for yours. And you know as well as I do that you need only confess and believe to be a Christian:
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
That means Phelps is currently sitting at the right hand of God. So you Christians can start owning all of the assholes now.

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They're closet cases, struggling with their faggotry. They hope celibacy will cure them. They're wrong.

why do you use a white picture of Isa even though if he existed, which almost all serious schoolar deny, he was a half nigger?

Trolling?

I suspect Phelps spot is a bit closer to the fireplace.

Being that your goal is to defame Christians? I would say your not a very good choice for arbitration either.

Neither the Levites or the Jews were "black"
Prophecy said he would be of those two tribes, and he was.

Thus Hebrew and not of the Ethnos.

Essentially you have a PhD in a human lie created to control the masses.
For fucks sake. The fact that there is a King James version of a bible tells you right there that it's all a fucking lie. For real. Most royalty were a bunch of inbred Arkansas fucks who were deemed the closest things to gods on earth and for many years had control over what did and didnt go into the bible. At this point, instead of taking pilgrimages to any holy sites, you should all be taking pilgrimages to Arkansas to find the most inbred person there and ask him/her about God.
Also, itll probably help if you give said inbred person the same psychedelics jesus was on to see a talking burning bush. Then you really will be the closest to God that you have ever been... unless you just skip all that and take the psychedelics yourself.

>jesus was on to see a talking burning bush.

Your level of ignorance about the Bible is remarkable considering the opinion you have of it.

Abraham was the one who spoke with God via a burning bush.

I'm not defaming Christians, I just want you to own the assholes in your group. The notion that all Christians strive to be Christ-like is demonstrably absurd.

Lol, it was Moses, you're both illiterate retards.

You just sound angry and opinionated.

And you sound like you're forgetting one of the first sentences you see getting on Yea Forums.

"The stories and information posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."

so no then hehe im HI