nomosendero,
As to your first paragraph. You believe what you want to believe, but the truth is there if you want to research it. There was no way at that time in history to guarantee stories being passed down to be completely accurate considering most were passed orally or on tablets and scrolls that been discovered in parts and pieces.
About Constantine and using Pagans holidays I doubt he was dumb enough to actually lay out in the bible his plan of deception. Christmas and Easter were created to allow the Pagans to keep their holiday traditions AFTER Christianity became the religion of Constantine’s empire. There are many parallels to Pagans holidays and what Christians accept today as holy days.
"This religion, cloaked in mystery and secrecy, has captivated the imaginations of scholars for generations. Many facts discovered sheds vital light on the cultural dynamics that led to the rise of Christianity. The National Geographic Society’s book “Great Religions of the World,” page 309 writes; “By Jesus’ time, East and West had mingled here for three centuries. Down columns of boulevards walked Roman soldiers loyal to the Persian god Mithras.” Mithras was a Persian deity. He was also the most widely venerated god in the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus. The Catholic Encyclopedia as well as the early Church Fathers found this religion of Mithras very disturbing, as there are so many similarities between the two religions, as follows:
1) Hundreds of years before Jesus, according to the Mithraic religion, three Wise Men of Persia came to visit the baby savior-god Mithra, bring him gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense.
2) Mithra was born on December 25 as told in the “Great Religions of the World”, page 330; “…it was the winter solstice celebrated by ancients as the birthday of Mithraism’s sun god”.
3) According to Mithraism, before Mithra died on a cross, he celebrated a “Last Supper with his twelve disciples, who represented the twelve signs of the zodiac.
4) After the death of Mithra, his body was laid to rest in a rock tomb.
5) Mithra had a celibate priesthood.
6) Mithra ascended into heaven during the spring (Passover) equinox (the time when the sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length).
As you can now see, Christianity derived many of its essential elements from the ancient religion of Mithraism. Mithraism became intertwined with the cult of Jesus to form what is known today as “Christianity.” Although literary sources on this religion are sparse, an abundance of material evidence exists in the many Mithraic temples and artifacts that archaeologists have found scattered throughout the Roman Empire, from England in the north and west to Palestine in the south and east. The temples were usually built underground in caves, which are filled with an extremely elaborate iconography (illustrating by pictures, figures and images). There were many hundreds of Mithraic temples in the Roman Empire, the greatest concentrations have been found in the city of Rome itself."
http://jdstone.org/cr/files/mithraschristianity.htmlA Good read can be found here but the page loads a little slow.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa1.htmAs to scripture not in the bible, here are a few As for B-Z follow the link below.
"We have compiled a list of over 500 books that have been associated with the Bible either through archeological research or historical documentation. There is no guarantee that the books listed here are inspired works, or genuine books actually included in original versions of writings used by, and considered true by the Early Christian Church. We do not list any books believed to be written after the corruption of doctrine by the Universal Church established by the Emperor Constantine in the Fourth Century AD."
A
Abdias
Abercius, Inscription of
Abgarus, King of Edessa and the Epistle of Jesus Christ
Abraham, Book of
Abraham, Testament of
Acts of A King
Adam, The Book of
Adam, The Apocalypse of, (Revelation of)
Adam and Eve, The Books of, The Latin Translation
Adam and Eve, Life of, The Slavonic Translation
Adam and Eve, Life of, the Greek Translation
Adam and Eve, The First Book of
Adam and Eve, The Second Book of
Adam and Eve, An Electronic Edition
Addeus the Apostle, The Teachings of
Against the Heresies
Ages of The World, The
Aggeus
Ahikar, Grand Vizier of Assyria, The Story of
Allogenes
Andrew, Acts and Martyrdom of the Holy Apostle
Andrew, Gospel of
Andrew and Matthew, The Acts of
Andrew and Matthias, Acts of
Andrew, Other Books
Anointing, On the
Apelles, Gospel of
Apocalypsis Mosis
Apollonius
Apollonius, Acts of
Apostles, Acts of the 2
Apostles, The Teachings of the
Apostles, The Epistle of the
Apostrophe to Zion
Archangel Michael And King Zedekiah, The
Archons, The Hypostasis of the
Aristeas, The Letter of
Aristides, Apology of
Aristo of Pella
Aristobulus
Artapanus
Asclepius
Assorted Manuscripts
Athenagoras of Athens
Athanasius: On the Incarnation
Athenagoras of Athens, A Plea For the Christians
Athenagoras of Athens, On The Resurrection of the Dead
Augustine, The Writings of
Authoritative Teaching
http://www.thelostbooks.com/list.htm" God wants us to obey his word, something you can't do if no one in the World has access to it."
Well if the Catholic Church ever releases all of the documents, scrolls, tablets, and evidence that they have then the truth could possibly be known. Why is it that a church hides documents to protect the base of its belief system? It makes no sense.
Heather
