Religious scholar Reza Aslan destroys ‘charlatan’ Joel Osteen: Jesus hated wealth

[Brettongarcia]

42. Most Christians feel Jesus and the New Testament, its spirituality, are a revelation. But?

Last edited Thu Aug 7, 2014, 04:39 AM - Edit history (1)

But as it turns out, there are problems with spirituality in turn.

First 1) If the God of the Old Testament was rather materialistic, if he made the entire physical universe and said it was "good"? Then if Jesus is very, very anti-materialistic, then he is anti-God. (As the Church knew, when it condemned Gnosticism, Marcionism, etc.).

That's a bit of a problem. Since Jesus constantly defers to God in dozens of his sayings. Is Jesus a liar?

Second 2) even the New Testament began to note problems, even in spirituality. Including "false spirits" (1 John 4.1 ff; etc.).

3) Then the apostle James began to note that any spiritual religion that gives us primarily only kind words, sentiments, "spirit," but not the material food we need to live, like literal food, is an evil false religion. One that leaves us literally starving to death. For lack of the material things we need, like material food (James 2.14-26).

At first to be sure, the "spirituality" of the New Testament seems like a revelation; a release from the Old Testament at last. But as it turns out, even liberal, spiritual Christianty, the New Testament, has some very considerable problems on its own.