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[2eclipse]

quetzalcoatl_9's

1) What do you make of the recently rediscovered Gospel of Judas?

i think it is a gnostic gospel and of immense historical value. however, like the other gnostic gospels, i believe that it won't say much about who christ actually was. christian gnosticism is basically a phenomenon of christianity that happened several hundred years after the death of christ. it says more about early christianity and surrounding cultures than it does about christ himself. most of my readings of the gospel of thomas have been sufficiently sexist to turn me off of gnosticism in general. in gnosticism there is a clearly defined separation of the body and the soul. the soul is good, a chip of divinity within us. the body and everything associated with it are bad. consequently, women are also bad, because they give birth to children, enslaving souls in them for a lifetime of suffering and confusion. i believe that bodies are good and that human beings are whole creatures. body and soul are useful terms for discussing the differences between what we feel emotionally and what we feel physically, but i think we ARE a body and a soul, we don't just HAVE a body and a soul.
additionally, gnosticism believes that learning is why we are here on earth. this idea appeals to me, but what about all of the mentally retarded, brain damaged or neurologically under developed people who have no hope of learning the things required to attain unity with god? i have to reject this idea in favor of a god of grace who gives us love regardless of any merit we have and wants our faith and love alone.
I like what this CRI report has to say about gnostic gospels.

2) How do you reconcile many Christians insistence upon relying on the Old Testament as a guide to morality when Jesus said that the old laws no longer applied via the New Covenant? (You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also)
my answer to this one is complicated. in part, i react by being a pacifist. in part, i react by trying very hard to change their minds. in part, i react by trying to live my life in a way that adheres to the love-ethic of God. but mostly i recognize that it is about interpretation. i don't believe that all of the old testament laws were done away with, just some of them. but i believe that most of the laws were about survival in a culture that no longer exists. that had no access to women providing for children by themselves or to readily availabe birth control. i think there are many factors in society today that need to be taken into account when viewing old testament law.
biblicly, there are several passages that offer exceptions to hebrew law. and how much of hebrew law christians are exempt from is one of the many issues that christians argue about. Acts 10:28 is generally interpreted not to mean that homosexuals are clean (although i believe it does mean this), but that gentiles are clean and that we should hang out with them and eat with them and treat them like people - something i also agree with.
it doesn't say much about being able to ignore any other laws. there are some other passages that are relevant though.
matthew 15:10-20 specifically says food laws and hygiene laws may be ignored. matthew upholds the rest of hebrew law. dismissal of hygiene laws is also in luke 11:37-41 and he allows for healing on the sabbath in 13:15-17. as far as i know (and bear with me on this because my gospel parallels book seems to have been lost in the move), these are the only laws that are refuted directly. there are a few others (mainly in luke) may be interpreted to allow for a looser following of the law -luke 12:4-12 - but that is an interpretation and not all christians adhere to it.

3) What do you find personally inspirational?
love between people. books. music. poetry. sunrise. clouds moving across the moon at night. the crispness in the air that autumn brings. EVERY KIND OF THUNDER/LIGHTENING - not only inspirational, but deeply sexy. people being kind to strangers. people visiting old people and prisoners. poor people sharing what they have with people who are even more poor. the electricity between people dancing.

4) Should religion play any role in what is currently secular?

the should part of this question confuses me. i think we can't help it. i think that our morality/ethics are tied deeply to our religious beliefs/atheist beliefs. i think that it effects everything we do, even when we try to separate it. do i think we should live in a theocracy? no. not until the second coming. do i think that our laws should be determined solely on what any one religion says? no. but i think that the laws do and should reflect the people. many people want religion. but i think all people want freedom. i just wish they realized that they want freedom more than they want the kind of security bush offers.

5) What is your favorite kind of music?
i go through phases. the summer you met me it was female jazz vocalists. last summer it was darkwave/EBM. this spring it is trip-hop along the lines of air, emiliana torrini and imogen heap.