Harry Potter and God

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, No Limberger <no.limberger at ...> wrote:

Geoff:
> >But many people who reject religion - or
> >specifically Christianity - have changed their views with
> >experience and become believers...

No.Limberger:
> There are also many atheists and followers of other
> religions who were once Christian, but rejected it
> and its beliefs.

Geoff:
>From my experience I have known many people who claim 
to be atheists or agnostics or whatever but who avoid 
seriously tackling the question of what Christian faith 
is really about and use red herrings as diversionary 
tactics in discussion so as not to have to consider 
faith in real depth. With apologies to the Bard, 
"Methinks they do protest too much".

Geoff (earlier):
> >...St.Paul was one of the most notable early examples.

No.Limberger responds:
> The claims made about Paul's vision in the bible are
> unsubstantiated, but his letters and activities in the
> first century C.E. had far more influence on the development
> of Christianity than the man believed to be the founder.  In
> fact, Paul's letters had been written long before any of the gospels
> contained in the bible were.

Geoff:
I think the fact that Paul makes references to his 
experiences ought to substantiate the facts.

The fact that Paul's writings pre-date the gospels is 
not really relevant to the above. Paul was writing fairly 
soon after Jesus was on earth when there were many people 
around, including the disciples, who could speak of their 
own experiences. Hence, his letters generally tended to 
contain advice and support to the churches he had visited 
and helped to start while on his great missionary journeys.

On the other hand, the information about the time Jesus
was on earth had been passed down orally until a point 
in time arrived when many of those who had actually heard 
or seen him were dying. Thus, it was thought necessary 
that the accounts of the time Jesus was with them should 
be more formally recorded. The gospels and Paul's writings complemented each other to give a more complete record.