"Did Jesus not start a new religion?"

The shortest possible answer is yes, but there are many strings attached to that answer. Please understand that a Christian's political beliefs are formed by his/her religious beliefs. The same can be said for Moslems and Jews. Also, please understand that a Protestant Christian is very different from a Catholic.

Jesus said, "I come not to condemn the [Mosaic/Jewish] Law but to fulfill it." Jesus Christ had a Jewish lineage that could be traced all the way back to Abraham, was brought up in a Jewish home, and practiced Judaism all of His life, all the way up to His death on the cross. Where the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus' day parted company was on theological issues such as resurrection from the dead, working and healing on the Sabbath, etc. Jesus would do stuff and the religious leaders would argue with Him. He'd say, "You're the ones who have got it wrong," and the religious leaders would get mad at Him and try to destroy His ministry.

The Jewish religious leaders of that day could not see that Jesus fulfilled every single prophecy in the Jewish Talmud and other Jewish religious writngs (which make up the Christian Old Testament)about the coming Messiah. Their idea of the Messiah was that He would be a great miltary leader who would overthrow the oppressive Roman government and restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory days. They just couldn't grasp a Messiah who was a servant leader- meek, gentle, quiet, compassionate. So the Jews, as a religion, rejected Him and had Him crucified as a blasphemer. The Jews, to this day, Propolis, are waiting for their promised Messiah.

Now, if you're not a believer, you would never believe this next part. But if you're a Christian, you do believe this: after having been dead for three days, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, showed Himself to several of the disciples, and ascended into heaven. He is the Messiah- the Son of God, the One God sent to save each of us from our sins so that we could live eternally with God in heaven forever.

One of the disciples, Peter, was the man Jesus asked to start the Christian church. The Catholics say Peter was the first Pope; the Baptists say he was the first apostle (church planter)- no matter, we both agree Peter was the first.

Now Peter was very much Jewish. He thought only born-into-the-race Jews could be Christians. However, along comes Paul, who was also Jewish, with a message from Jesus, that he is supposed to spread the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles (non-Jews). There is some arguing among the apostles, then Peter has a dream in which God shows Peter clearly that the gospel is for all people, not just the Jews. Peter lets the issue go, and Paul does a great job of spreading the gospel to the Greeks and Romans.

Next I would have to get into how the Emperor Constantine mixed pagan religions with pure Christianity to get Catholicism, but that is not the question you asked.

Christians believe that Jesus is going to come back a second time. We believe that the Jews are going to recognize Him this time as their Messiah. We are all excited about the day when the Jews receive Christ as their Messiah/Savior. It is prophesied about in both our New Testament and their Talmud. Right now, the Jews think it's going to be somebody else. We think it's Jesus.

So since Jesus was Jewish, and God said Israel has a special place in His heart (more on that later), and since the Bible says that Jesus will return to Earth in Israel at the Second Coming/revelation of the Messiah, we Christians feel a moral responsibility to protect the safety of Israel against her enemies. Again, it is a religious belief, one we can't waver from. "Peace be on Israel, now and forever more." God's Word, the Bible says it, and we have to obey it if we're true Christians.

I'll have to explain Israel's most-favored-nation status later.

Many blessings,
-Donna

I'm right with you on the border stuff, Icky. We've got all this extra security going on in NYC, other large cities, airports, etc, and the Texas/New Mexico border is a ('scuze my slang) freakin' sieve. Lots I could say, but won't.

Blessings,
-Donna

on the debate stage in 2000 along side al gore, aired nationally if not globally, it came to that time in the pageant when certain staged softball questions are asked, not unlike the intellectual omnipotence offered up by bikini-clad "what would YOU do if you were elected miss usa?" fame. The answer - "when I'm elected president, I intend to change the tone in washington d.c., I'm a uniter, not a divider"

Less than 12 months later, the same intellectual icon stood before a similar globally broadcast pulpit informing the world "you are either with us, or you are against us". So, yes, I see it just a tiny bit inconsistent that someone campaigns on the warm and fuzzy notion of bringing people together, then less than a year later literally draws a line in the sand and tells the world that anyone on the other side of the line is within his crosshairs; and please, don't use the all-too-convenient explanation that the campaign was before the stage of 911, and that afterwards all bets were off because it was the president's doing a fine job of his sworn duty in trying to herd us all together on his side of the sand.

I dont imagine it can get any more revolting then a republican christian texan the school of ya'lls make great presidents! there nazional pride is enough to gag a longhorn, they love thier state, they love their religion, they love thier politics they love???????????? themselves! Why is it the most obnoxious is always the biggest braggards? Funny thing about these southern republican states , they use to be democrats but there bigotry and hate for blacks turned em all into republi cans, so their politics is hardly enlightening fact is it s down right dismal!

You just saved everyone a whole bunch of time by providing this excellent website.

Now I think we can pull this up full circle. I stated who I am and what I believe. Those who choose to lambast those beliefs have had ample opportunity to do so. I state again that I am brand new to the Conspiracy theories presented here on this forum. I am interested. I want to learn. Some, such as 0407, have said to study history- a favorite suject of mine. Others, such as 2tuff, set up a website with vasts amounts of information. Still others, such as Icky, have stated that they were once like me but have changed their beliefs after much study.

I don't want to be controlled by any new world order any more than you do, Uncus.

Shall we move on?

Blessings,
-Donna