Comment by Misty: Baytheist Living! on June 21, 2009 at 10:15am

There is a very simple answer to this that is found in the trenches of dogma and enslaved the masses since the beginning of time to present date.
Prior to Martin Luther and the 1522 translation, all masses were done in Latin. It didn't matter that the vast, VAST majority of common folk didn't speak Latin or read Latin. The working class didn't read at all. Priests held the lofty position of being god's translator, and thus securing their necessity to the people. They, The Catholic Church was the only way to the savior, and thus to heaven. You still see remnants of that in today's teachings. Although most adults can read the Bible in their chosen language (give or take a few 'edits') the only way to heaven is by the Throne (church) Although it's not necessary to depend on the hierarchy of the Catholic priesthood for direct translation any longer, you still must have them for spiritual translation, i.e dogma.

Comment by Dave G on June 22, 2009 at 1:07pm

Dead spot on, Misty. One benefit of Latin, which I am sure was brought up a lot, is that being a dead language, it was less subject to change over the ages. But the major benefit was that only the educated could understand it, and thus the people had to take the word of the clergy as to what was and was not permitted by God.

Comment by James C on July 15, 2009 at 12:44am

It's all about knowledge -- what you know and don't know. If you ask a Christian about this, they will refer to a passage (or two) in Romans that implies that for those who never had KNOWLEDGE of Jesus/God, they will be judged by "what is written on their hearts" (or something similar) thus allowing good people to get into heaven.

But I have an ironic twist for you... Adam and Eve were punished/fallen for eating from the tree of knowledge, showing that KNOWLEDGE leads to death. So TELLING people about Jesus leads them to death, because they need to KNOW the message and reject it, to go to hell. If they never knew the message, they would have a much better chance to avoid hell. Thus, the very knowledge of Jesus leads them to death/hell!

Secondly, this is true on a simpler level in modern times.. religious knowledge leads many many people directly to death through war and martyrdom. Without this religious "knowledge" they would have no reason to kill themselves or others.

Comment by James C on July 15, 2009 at 12:48am

Note to self: re-read essay on "Satan has convinced us he is God." The more you read, the more apparent it becomes that everything "God" does is exactly what one would expect Satan to do.

Comment