The intent of this thread is to discuss topics of interest in Christianity--Bible versions, latest archeology findings, differences and similarities among denominations, different views on doctrines, Christ, and so forth.

It is _not_ a thread for discussing atheism vs. Christianity. Any posts on the atheism vs. theism discussion will be edited/deleted, and the poster will be directed to one of the several threads already open on that subject.

People who have other faiths are welcome to start threads for their faiths as well. Atheists are welcome to start a thread on their non-faith.

Just to start off the discussion....
Easter just passed--how does everyone celebrate it? What does it mean to you? How does your church handle the topic of the resurrection?

Good man. If you ever want to have an excellent bible, get the Ryrie study bible with thumb tabs. What is your opinion that they think they found Jesus' bones. I think that is the biggest load of poppycock I have ever heard. The Roman government couldn't find it after he rose from the dead so the scientists and Dan Brown most certainly can't

The bone thing was generally regarded as fraud. Dan Brown is a novelist--his Da Vinci Code book is not meant to be viewed as non-fiction.

We have a couple different translations at our house--KJV, NASB, and mostly NIV since that's the most scholarly translation. I picked up the Greek/Hebrew Key Word study Bible and the Archeology Study Bible (both also NIV). Both are quite useful for background info on various Bible passages.

In terms of the archaeological finds like the famous ossuary that supposedly contains the remains of James the Lesser (Jesus' brother), I would like to believe that they are the real deal. Still I do have some skepticism and would prefer to see the dating test results and the like. What would even be better is if archaeologists remember that environmental conditions were totally different 3,000+ years ago than they are today. That news clip I saw about the possible burial remains of Jesus' family, that is something that I would approach with extreme caution because even the concept of Jesus having a family is met with opposition. How fierce it is I can't say. I am aware that there is only so far we can go before admitting that maybe things aren't fake. I don't know if it is a blessing or a curse to be able to function in a world ruled by science to a degree and still have faith. It can be exhausting at times.

1) How does The Trinity exactly work?

2) Why did Jesus died for our sins if he could just forgive us?

Sorry if these are considered attacks on Christianty, they are not. I want to know what a christian view on this issue, and then that's it. Since I am not familar with Christianty, those two questions bother me.

The Jewish tradition stated there had to be a sacrifice for sin, and they utilized animals. Christ came to serve as the ultimate sacrifice for us.

The Trinity--it's God the Father, Christ as the human manifestation (called 'God the Son') and the Holy Spirit, or the spirit aspect of God. The best analogy I've come up with is to make a bow with some string. The Trinity is different aspects of God, just like the knot, the loop, and the end of the string are all aspects of the same string.

@JM12--the frenzy over whether Christ's bones are in the ossuary is because if those are indeed Christ's bones, then He did not rise from the dead in bodily form. If he did not rise from the dead, then the entire basis for Christianity is shot since it rests on Christ's life, death, and resurrection. There's no way to prove those are Christ's bones, and the names on the ossuary were pretty common at that time--it could have been any number of people in the box.

Jae: I know that like Mary's name is very common. I guess what I am trying to emphasize is that this can be one of those things that shoots off a flame war if you get my meaning. After the controversy established by The DaVinci Code which is fiction, anything goes.

SilentScope001: As to point 2 that you made where Jesus dies to save us, there is one verse that is favored by a lot of people. It is found in John and goes :For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that He may die for our sins." That coupled with Jae's explanation should help.

@Jae: I believe (although my knowledge on the subject is not that good) that the KJV, and indeed Tyndale-based translations, are thought to be quite inaccurate. For example, the Comma Iohanneorum is thought to have been a later alteration, not appearing before the KJV...

@topic: As a Catholic, I celebrated Easter with the Easter Vigil, a mass held where we mark the resurrection of Christ with the lighting of the Paschal Candle, renew our baptismal vows, and also hear numerous readings, leading up to the New Testament, and an account of the finding of the empty tomb.

Easter for me is about spiritual renewal. As Christ rises from the dead, so we, I think, also find our faith renewed, our conviction strengthened. That's what I find, anyway.

The Catholic Church holds that Christ rose from the dead on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures.

Generally, I go by the New Jerusalem Bible, which has some uncomfortable bits - the prodigal son 'feeling the pinch', etc, but is generally quite accurate, and has useful footnotes, but is also quite readable.

@SS: The Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (In Johannine terms, 'The Word'), are perhaps best described as three coequal, but distinct beings of the same Divine substance. That is, Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all manifestations of God. They are each part of God. All are God, none are separate from God or distinct from God, but they are not one another. To quote Irenaeus of Lyons, "the Father is God, and the Son is God, for whatever is begotten of God is God." Is this making any sense?

Wow.

It's less confusing than I thought it would be. :)

Thanks.

Wow.

It's less confusing than I thought it would be. :)

Thanks.
Sorry, I made a mistake. >.< Serves me right for posting late at night.

In Johannine terms, the Son is the Word. Apologies for the confusion there, and you're welcome :)

The verse JM12 is quoting is John 3:16 in case anyone wants to check it out.

@DI--I don't use the KJV for study in particular, but it does have a poetic way about it. Psalm 23 just doesn't sound quite the same in any other translation. :)