RE: Am I AN Anarchist, A Christian Or Both ? Can They Coexist In One Person ?I
Here's how the Apostle Paul put it, writing during a time when Nero was emperor of Rome:
"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." - Romans 13:1-7
I stand corrected, though I must point out that the Bible has been completely rewritten to suit the will of the Catholic church, which would of course cover subservience.
No, it hasn't. We have 5600 manuscripts, some dating back to within a generation of the authors. The Catholic church evolved several hundred years later. By then there is no way anyone could track down all those manuscripts and change them. Incredibly, they all match although they have been collected from all around Europe and the Middle East.
Further, the Dead Sea Scrolls date to 200 BC and were discovered in caves in 1947 and were no different from modern copies of the Old Testament over 2200 years.
You can compare the King James and 24 other translations, most from the original Greek and Hebrew at this convenient website: http://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm. While the choice of synonyms varies slightly, they generally match in meaning well enough to leave no doubt about who Jesus and his apostles were and what they did and said.
We also have the writings of the early church fathers, quoting those scriptures. Those quotes match the Bible we have today remarkably well and collectively they provide independent checks on almost all of it.
None of them leave any doubt about the fundamental message of Christianity.
These manuscripts you refer to have been brought under strict lock and key IMMEDIATELY by the Papacy. Sure, they may release some of what they have, but the archives that they hold are unimaginable.
They feed us what they want us to eat as they have the only source of food in this manner.
And what have you to say of the King James Bible? Was that a part of the original manuscripts? And how about of the Book of Enoch? Was that not a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls?
This is not exactly accurate. Bart Ehrman is the leading expert on the NT. You might consider watching some of his debates as well to see how the Christian historians all agree with the findings but they disagree that it should have any effect on a Christian after hearing the NT has been altered an innumerable amount of times.
This information is taught in seminaries and they have known it for over 300 years.
I believe the 5,600 manuscripts are all from around 800AD and forward and no two of them are identical. Out of 5,600 you cannot find two that are identical.
We have no original manuscripts of the NT. We have no original letters of the NT either. The oldest are very small sections, some the size of a credit card.