AC
two scholars battle it out over the resurrection is but a euphemism for life.

Obviously the Jews were unhappy with the new Jewish sect, Christianity.
Many today are unhappy with a new kid on the block as an off-shoot sect of Christianity called Islam.
The Catholics were very unhappy with a tear away sect called Protestantism.

People are unhappy restless creatures. Show me anywhere there is no discord.

And people disagree with each other for fundamental reasons all over the world on every conceivable topic.

I thought that was a strange statement coming from you AC. Why would Christians above all, not disagree with each other?

Maybe you could expand on your criticism a bit.

Dan

oZSpen
Yes

Sells,

<<oZSpen
Yes>>

You decided to not comment on any other portion of my post than the last question.

It's unusual for you that you are short of words, especially when your world view is exposed for its weaknesses.

Hey diver dan,

"People are unhappy restless creatures. Show me anywhere there is no discord."

Yes that's a fair and reasonable statement;
The opposing argument to that might be this:

'But is your 'religion' not supposed to be something more, something higher than simply a recipe to argue amongst yourselves?'

"And people disagree with each other for fundamental reasons all over the world on every conceivable topic."

Yeah sure, but you'd think that after 2000 years and 100+ generations you might have these smaller 'fine print technicalities' you're in disagreement on ironed out by now, huh?

If not, then why not just admit the fact that your religion (or particular belief system) is in and of itself a cause of constant disagreement - spanning millennia?

The opposite of disagreement is agreement.
Imagine if you had a belief system where you built on things you're in agreement of (like ethics and accomplishment for example) rather than spent millennia going around in circles focused on the things you were in disagreement of?

- That don't really realistically matter too much to anyone's lives anyway?
How is your religious argument going to help someone put food on their table or truly enrich someone's life?

"I thought that was a strange statement coming from you AC. Why would Christians above all, not disagree with each other?"

- Well why would they not just agree instead?

Aren't you all supposed to be on the same team?

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream
http://youtu.be/lUEbWo1uIrg

There's no 'i' in team you know.
Why are you fighting or in disagreement?
Why are you STILL fighting or in disagreement for 2000 years?

OzSpen,
I am disappointed that you resort to personal slur. I assure you that my world view is not under threat. What you fail to understand is that Evangelicalism is a product of modernity. It is a way of thinking that is completely under the control of the current culture the insists on material evidence. It does not represent mainstream theological thought i.e the thought of the Church fathers or the doctors of the church. That Wright produces a book that has to resort to made-up concepts, is fraught with contradictions and as such is unthinkable, demonstrates the basic weakness of this methodology. In other words, this is a prime example of the failure of the Evangelical mind. It is no wonder that our secular society would not be caught dead in a church that insists that our intellect be left at the door. This is why I give you a hard time, because you have mistaken belief for faith and have closed the door to anyone who asks the simplest questions. BTW you still have not given me an answer to the question "where are the bones of Jesus".

Sells,

<<What you fail to understand is that Evangelicalism is a product of modernity. It is a way of thinking that is completely under the control of the current culture the insists on material evidence.>>

False assessment again. Evangelicalism is a product of the Evangel, the Good News: 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst' (1 Timothy 1:15).

It is a direct result of Jesus' command to his disciples: 'Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’ (Matthew 28:18-20). The Book of Acts describes the spread of the Evangel.

Evangelicalism is not a cultural creation but a biblical mandate from Jesus Himself.

<<It does not represent mainstream theological thought i.e. the thought of the Church fathers or the doctors of the church>>.

This is false again. One of the leading Church Fathers, Irenaeus, refuted your statement:

'Such, then, are the first principles of the Gospel: that there is one God, the Maker of this universe; He who was also announced by the prophets, and who by Moses set forth the dispensation of the law, — [principles] which proclaim the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and ignore any other God or Father except Him. So firm is the ground upon which these Gospels rest, that the very heretics themselves bear witness to them, and, starting from these [documents], each one of them endeavours to establish his own peculiar doctrine' (Against Heresies, Bk 2, 11.7), http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103311.htm.

Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (fourth century) wrote: ‘God chose that man should seek salvation by faith rather than by works, lest anyone should glory in his deeds and thereby incur sin’ (In Ps. 43 Enarr. 14, Explanations of Twelve Psalms of David).

Evangelicalism is not a recent invention.

(continued)