After Jesus Christ, What?

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

There is very little documentation, but even so, I want to know more about what happened after. There is a fairly strong theory that Mary lived out her live in Scotland,

I don't know here "strong" info or theory that she moved to Scotland. I think she remained to care for her Mother-in-law, Mary the mother of Jesus (if they were married) and Mary the mother of Jesus should have remained with John the believed to whom Christ entrusted her, while he hung on the cross.

[EllenMaksoud]

Regarding your reference to the apostate catholic church maybe you should google Curtis R Porritt and read his paper on the Apostate LDS Church. BTW he is a practising Mormon not an anti, but has serious concerns about the state of the present day LDS church in the light of past wrintings of church leaders and LDS scriptures, this paper was written in 1999, who knows how much worse he would view the situation now.

I have only been Mormon since January of 2012, so have little point of reference. From my own perspective, and in comparison to Evangelical Churches and Islam, the LDS church is much more in conformance to the will of Heavenly Father than others I have experienced.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

I personally think Blake was inspired!! One of my favorite poets!!

Great poem and writing but that would have been very difficult for Christ to make such a trip in his short life. After his resurrection I think he went many places...after all the world was his.

[Bill “Papa” Lee]

And this is the cue for a little Emerson, Lake and Palmer!

Well it must be true.

[EllenMaksoud]

That reminds me, Ellen, that on Saturday I heard a rebroadcast on public radio of a 2006 interview of Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson (the interviewer Steve Paulson published that and other interviews in his Atoms to Eden: Conversations on Religion & Science [Oxford Univ. Press, 2010]). I heard Wilson opine that perhaps an entity (not the Judeo-Christian God) had created Earthlife and then wandered on out to the edge of the universe and watched things unfold. See Wilson's book, The Creation (2006/2007).

I am just now re-reading Asimov's "Foundation Trilogy". From my scientific side, I think his take on creation is extremely plausible with one caveat and that is it was all driven by Heavenly Father.

[EllenMaksoud]

That reminds me, Ellen, that on Saturday I heard a rebroadcast on public radio of a 2006 interview of Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson (the interviewer Steve Paulson published that and other interviews in his Atoms to Eden: Conversations on Religion & Science [Oxford Univ. Press, 2010]). I heard Wilson opine that perhaps an entity (not the Judeo-Christian God) had created Earthlife and then wandered on out to the edge of the universe and watched things unfold. See Wilson's book, The Creation (2006/2007).

I would be interested in reading your thoughts on the salient points where you think that the church has erred. Is it erred, or improved? The LDS contention that the original Christian Church went apostate in a very few hundred years seems reasonable. I also think that Islam strayed from the true path within 100 years of its founding, or basically almost as soon as the prophet Muhammad PBUH died. How soon we stray.

[EllenMaksoud]

I don't know here "strong" info or theory that she moved to Scotland. I think she remained to care for her Mother-in-law, Mary the mother of Jesus (if they were married) and Mary the mother of Jesus should have remained with John the believed to whom Christ entrusted her, while he hung on the cross.

Can we talk about this? I think your theory is as plausible as any. John was eventually exiled to the isle of Patmos, right? I wonder what happened to the women after that? It makes me cranky that history was written by mysogynists, so we know very little of the fate of women. And to add insult to injury, some said that Mary was a prostitute!

[Nathair/|\]

Can we talk about this? I think your theory is as plausible as any. John was eventually exiled to the isle of Patmos, right? I wonder what happened to the women after that? It makes me cranky that history was written by mysogynists, so we know very little of the fate of women. And to add insult to injury, some said that Mary was a prostitute!

The idea that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute was created by Pope Gregory (He of the most common western calendar) to serve as an example of redemption. If she could turn from her former lifestyle and become a holy saint, so could others.

[CASteinman]

I think you may be referring Mary, mother of Jesus.

Yeah... That is who I thought you were talking about... apparently I misread something. Sorry!

Edited March 31, 2013 by CASteinman

[Robert F. Smith]

I would be interested in reading your thoughts on the salient points where you think that the church has erred. Is it erred, or improved? The LDS contention that the original Christian Church went apostate in a very few hundred years seems reasonable. I also think that Islam strayed from the true path within 100 years of its founding, or basically almost as soon as the prophet Muhammad PBUH died. How soon we stray.

That depends on which church you are talking about:

If you are speaking about early Jewish-Christianity as it spread and gathered gentiles from every corner of the Roman Empire (and beyond). It had a powerfully infectious quality, and the 4 gospels were crafted to speak to the need for coherent accounts of the life of this extraordinary character named Jesus. Not only was he a dying-and-rising-god (there were plenty of those in the ancient Mediterranean world), but he seemed far more than mythic. As C. S. Lewis used to say, Christian writings were insidiously persuasive. After all, they convinced him to give up atheism.

Early Christianity did what most religions do, it became an institution, and then became respectable and professional. Both rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity sought respectability in Hellenization. Judaism had done this to an even greater extent long before the time of Christ, but civil war between the Maccabees and the Hellenizers scotched that tendency for awhile. Finally, however, the dogma of both Christianty and Judaism became philosophically Hellenized: This meant rejection of the anthropomorphic God of the OT, definition of God as a prime mover or uncaused cause (the only one necessary being), who created the universe and life from nothing (creatio ex nihilo). In the Greek philosophical view, only such a God could be worthy of worship and awe. Etc. (there are some on this board who frankly state that as their belief)

Despite these fundamental doctrines, the masses were more interested in the powerful narratives of the life of Christ and of his promise of salvation -- which were displayed in dramatic form for the illiterate -- and so Christianity continued to grow in a swift and virile manner, which has only abated in our time for the mainstream sectors of Christianity.

The Restoration led by Joseph Smith was both a rejection of all of institutional Christianity as fraudulent, as well as a bringing back of authentic biblical religion and power (namely priesthood). As Joseph Smith himself pointed out, this does not call into question the good intentions of many members and clerics of other religions, nor does it mean that there are no true principles or good done by them. But it does suggest that the scattered fragments of true religion which remained were not adequate to the task of preparing for the last days. For that, a formal restoration of the priesthood was required, a priesthood which operates in both heaven and on Earth.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Robert F. Smith

[rpn]

I do not believe Christ had children, though I do believe He was married to Mary Magdalene. The reason is that He would have transferred to children the divinity part, and that would have prevented them from experiencing mortality in the way all of us but Him need to do.

ETA, I suspect Mary would have been married to His mortal brother after His death, as was jewish custom.

I'm told that in the Nag Ham....... scrolls there is a book called the Book of Mary, that some people believe was written by Mary Magdalene. I'll be interested to read it sometime to see how it stacks up with what we know from more reliable sources.

Edited April 1, 2013 by rpn