What If You Didn't Believe What You Believe?
Have you been wondering what Christianity and the church would look like if the intellectual battles of the first and second centuries had gone a different way? What would you believe about who Jesus is? How would you describe your faith if the Marcionites, the Gnostics, or the Ebionites had come out on top in these arguments?
Tom Ehrman explores these issues and others in his book, Lost Christianities. On beliefnet, Deborah Caldwell has an interesting interview with Ehrman on these questions and his book that might make for some interesting conversation. Check out the interview.
posted by baldpreacher @ 11:07 AM
3 Comments:
This discussion of canon and the debate that led to our Bible makes me wonder about what drives human behavior. Would we behave differently if the Gnostics had prevailed in the debate? If a belief system plays some major role in directing our behavior, what kind of system would lead to peaceful coexistence?
During our Disciples Sunday School class this past week, we discussed these ideas, especially as they relate to individual behavior, as influenced by our beliefs. There was apparent agreement that beliefs do indeed influence behavior; our hope is that it is most often in a positive way.
My hope is the same as your's birdman, that our beliefs do influence our behavior in a positive way. I would add to that though that our actions, or behaviors depending upon your defintions, illustrate what we really believe. Too often we can say one thing and do something contrary.
Our actions are the practice of our beliefs.
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