Tuamke, tuwaamshe mizimu wetu, katika nyakati za hatari watusaidie

Tuamke, tuwaamshe mizimu wetu, katika nyakati za hatari watusaidie

Did Saint Paul, native of Tarsus and Roman citizen as he claimed, really make the journeys ascribed to him – or are they just a frame upon which to hang his seminal epistles? Did this erstwhile Rabbi Saul, student of Gamaliel and Pharisaic Jew, really sally forth over sea and mountain – or could the story of his travels have been concocted precisely to framework missives of orthodoxy aimed at recalcitrant synagogues of the Jewish diaspora? A century of archaeology appears to confirm a few circumstantial details mentioned in his letters and yet the biblical account gives one cause to wonder.
 
Son of Gamba said:
Mkuu Ufalme wa MUNGU utahubiriwa kila mahali, haukwepeki, siku zinakuja mpaka Malaika watakuja dunia kuhubiri Ufalme wa MUNGU.
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Thibitisha Mungu yupokwanzakabla ya stories nyingi.

Mahubiri kilakichaa anawezakuhubiri anavyotaka, na anaruhusiwa.Hayo hayana mjadala.

Ila ukisema Mungu yupo, thibitisha.
 
Kiranga said:
Wewe hata huelewimaana yaupagani, upagani ni jina walilopewa watu walioaminimiungu tofauti na dini za wazungu, hususan Wakristo.

Kwahiyo hawa wazungu waliwaita babu zetu walioamini miungu ya dini zaoza asili kuwa ni wapagani.

Mtu ambaye haamini Mungu wa aina yoyote si mpagani, kwa sababu ili kuwa Mpaganiinabidi uamini Mungu wa aina fulani.

Jifunze maana ya maneno unayotumia, kabla ya kuanika utupu wako.

Zaidi, hujathibitisha Mungu yupo.
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Hilo ni neno la kibantu mkuu
 
kauga JR said:
Hilo ni neno la kibantu mkuu
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Hiki nacho kibantu?

Tatizounaassume sana, kabla ya kuchunguza.

the definition of pagan

pagan
[pey-guh n]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (no longer in technical use) one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as theancient Romans and Greeks.
  2. a member of a religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on the worship of nature or the earth; aneopagan.
  3. Disparaging and Offensive.
    1. (in historical contexts) a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim; a heathen.
    2. an irreligious or hedonistic person.
    3. an uncivilized or unenlightened person.
 
Son of Gamba said:
Wewe unayetegemea "mizimu" huna tofauti na wale wanaopinga uwepo wa MUNGU, wote mnaingia kwenye kapu moja tu; Wapagani.
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Did Saint Paul, native of Tarsus and Roman citizen as he claimed, really make the journeys ascribed to him – or are they just a frame upon which to hang his seminal epistles? Did this erstwhile Rabbi Saul, student of Gamaliel and Pharisaic Jew, really sally forth over sea and mountain – or could the story of his travels have been concocted precisely to framework missives of orthodoxy aimed at recalcitrant synagogues of the Jewish diaspora? A century of archaeology appears to confirm a few circumstantial details mentioned in his letters and yet the biblical account gives one cause to wonder.



On the Island of Love

What better way to begin the mythology of Christian triumph in the Gentile world than a spectacular conversion? For Paul's first adventure on the missionary path the chosen venue was Cyprus, a strategically placed island ruled by the Ptolemies of Egypt until annexed by Rome in 58 BC. Many of the vast number of rock-cut tombs on the island follow the peristyle fashion of Egypt. Mark Antony gave the island to Cleopatra as a wedding gift but it was restored as a Roman province after the Battle of Actium (31 BC).

Economically prized for its copper mines (half of which were awarded to Herod the Great by Augustus), in 22 BC the island became a senatorial province, under the rule of a propraetor (although granted the honorary rank of proconsul). Aside from a severe earthquake in 77 AD and a violent Jewish insurrection in 115/6, the peaceful, prosperous island barely figured in Roman histories.

But it seems that Paul's co-worker, Barnabas, was a Jew from Cyprus, so what better place to start the grand missionary tour than Barney's homeland? (Well, actually, a more obvious choice would have been the cities of the Decapolis – thoroughly Gentile and far more accessible). Paul's first journey, so it is said, began about the year 46 AD, after the apostle had passed more than 10 years in retirement at Tarsus, performing no evident work for the Lord or even maintaining contact with the brethren. Yet Paul is chosen by the church in Antioch (or rather, by the Holy Spirit) to carry the good news to Cyprus and Asia Minor. (Not that he was really the first – Acts 11.19 tells of unnamed "scattered" brethren already there, preaching to the "Jews alone". The aside is very important, as we will see).

After a stopover at Salamis the apostles "go through" the island (the cities of Citium, Amathus and Curium don't get a mention) and make straight for the Governor in Paphos, who conveniently has sent word that he wants to hear them. (Why, one wonders? Did they cause such a commotion at the other end of the island? And if so why do we not know of it?) All it takes is the spiteful blinding of a rival magician (curiously named "Bar Jesus") and Sergius Paulus, Roman aristocrat and doubtless the richest, as well as the most powerful, man on the island, is enrolled among the ranks of the Christians. "By tradition" Cyprus becomes the first country governed by a Christian, though oddly we never hear of Sergius again, and nor is there any evidence of early Christianity on the island. Hereafter, Rabbi Saul is known by his latin name Paulus (which just happens to be the name of the Governor).
 
The curious route of St Paul's first mission

paul-journey-1.jpg

In the 1st century, Cyprus was most noted for its copper and devotion to the goddess Aphrodite. Sacred marriage, orgiastic ritual and temple prostitution were aspects of her cult, but the goddess was also a protector of marriage, children and seafarers.

Perhaps the cult (rather than the copper) attracted Paul's attention. The most obvious route from Antioch to the cities of Lycaonia and Pisidia was overland through the Cilician Gates, the route favoured for his 2nd and 3rd journeys.

Having already got as far as Derbe, Paul could easily have crossed the Cilician plain to reach his home town. Yet we are told he retraced his steps and took a voyage back from Attalia instead.
 
Fatima binti hemedi said:
na wewe tuthibitishie ya kuwa, Ni Mungu, na sio wayahudi walioandika biblia.....ila usije ukafika mahali ukatuambia Mungu ni myahudi
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Nani kakuambia Biblia imeandikwa na MUNGU?

Biblia haijaandikwa na MUNGU kwa mkono wake, isipokuwa kilichoandikwa ni NENO la MUNGU. MUNGU aliongea na Manabii na akawaagiza waandike na wao wakaandika yale waliyoyasikia kutoka kwa MUNGU. Na vitabu vingine kwenye Biblia ni historia, lakini ni historia yenye kufundisha NENO la MUNGU. Biblia imegawanyika, kuna Unabii, historia, na INJILI.
 
one good yarn deserves another

Not only was Paul a soar away success with proconsul Sergius – he also got given a thrashing by him! Sounds a little contradictory? Well, it is another "Church tradition" so all things are possible. But for this yarn, remarkably, there is physical evidence – a remnant of the very column about which Paul was whipped! Apparently, the faithful can reconcile the two ideas by insisting Paul first was thrashed by and then converted the governor to Christianity (it will only take you a moment to dream up the movie script – speak to Mel Gibson).

The miraculous upshot of all this is that a stump of marble selected at random in modern times provides "proof" for the missionary activity of Paul and, ipso facto, "evidence for Jesus." If you can believe this, you probably believed there were WMDs in Iraq and your government would not lie to you.



paul-flogged-here.jpg

If it makes you happier, you can believe that St Paul was "scourged 39 times" against this innocuous stump of a pillar before converting his tormentor Sergius Paulus.



Rather more acceptable evidence (of Sergius Paulus, that is, not St Paul) is an engraved stone found at the site of ancient Soli (Kyrenia) in northern Cyprus, at the end of the 19th century.

About the same time, a boundary stone was found in Rome from the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54) recording the name of a Sergius Paulus appointed a curator "of the banks and the channel of the River Tiber." Was it the same man? Paul's "epistle to the Romans" fails to greet him, which suggests it was not.

paulus.jpg



Reality Check

"Paul's first missionary journey under the auspices of Antioch is narrated only by Luke ... A close analysis of this account brings to light so many improbabilities that it becomesimpossible to accord it any real confidence."

– Murphy O'Connor, Paul, His Story, p44.


In reality, the Cyprian story falls apart for a number of reasons, not least because the Governor's palace, even today, is a visible celebration of a vibrant paganism, spanning centuries of Roman occupation. The huge palace complex, measuring 120 x 90 metres, includes the normal panoply of public and state rooms, gardens and bath houses. Exquisite mosaic floors feature the major Roman-Hellenic gods – and all without a Christian icon in sight! Ancient Paphos had its theatre, agora and evenAsklepion, the shrine-cum-hospital of the ever-popular healing god Asclepius, until his overthrow by Jesus. We might also reasonably suspect a fraudster's work because of a curious similarity (yet again) between the work of "Luke" (the purported author of Acts) and the history of Josephus written in the 90s.



villa-of-Theseus.jpg



Aerial view of the proconsul's residence, Paphos.

Did Paul make it past the front door?
 
Son of Gamba said:
Nani kakuambia Biblia imeandikwa na MUNGU?

Biblia haijaandikwa na MUNGU kwa mkono wake, isipokuwa kilichoandikwa ni NENO la MUNGU. MUNGU aliongea na Manabii na akawaagiza waandike na wao wakaandika yale waliyoyasikia kutoka kwa MUNGU. Na vitabu vingine kwenye Biblia ni historia, lakini ni historia yenye kufundisha NENO la MUNGU. Biblia imegawanyika, kuna Unabii, historia, na INJILI.
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Nonsense, ngano mseto mwigo kutoka, ugiriki, india na Africa, angalia kusulubiwa kwa yesu, na kuuliwa kwa socrates, angalia paulo na plato
 
Son of Gamba said:
Nani kakuambia Biblia imeandikwa na MUNGU?

Biblia haijaandikwa na MUNGU kwa mkono wake, isipokuwa kilichoandikwa ni NENO la MUNGU. MUNGU aliongea na Manabii na akawaagiza waandike na wao wakaandika yale waliyoyasikia kutoka kwa MUNGU. Na vitabu vingine kwenye Biblia ni historia, lakini ni historia yenye kufundisha NENO la MUNGU. Biblia imegawanyika, kuna Unabii, historia, na INJILI.
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ndio yale ya mtuhumiwa asiyeonekana, basi sisi tutakunyonga wewe sasa
 
Where did they get their ideas from?
Josephus (Antiquities 20.7.2) Acts 13, 4-8
'Jewish Cypriot magician, pal of Roman governor, works a dirty deed.' 'Jewish Cypriot magician, pal of Roman governor, attempts to work a dirty deed.'
"While Felix was procurator of Judea, he saw this Drusilla, and fell in love with her; ... He sent to her a person whose name was Simon*,one of his friends; a Jew he was, and by birth a Cypriot, and one who pretended to be a magician, and endeavoured to persuade her to forsake her present husband, and marry him."
"... They sailed to Cyprus ... And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus: Which was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas* the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith."

* But according to some manuscripts the name given by Josephus is "Atomos", itself possibly a corruption of Hetoimos (Elymas?) or a Greek word for small (as indeed is Paulus in Latin). In no way is Elymas a translation or even an equivalent of Bar-Jesus.
Not to waste a useful bit of story, Felix and his "adulterous" bride Drusilla show up later in Acts – when Paul, it seems, gave them a dressing down!
"And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." (Acts 24.24,25)

Acts 13, 9-12
By a malicious act of cruelty, St Paul blinds his rival – and so impresses the governor that he immediately becomes a Christian.
Our noble St Paul sets the tone for two thousand years of vicious curses. The author of Acts continues his demonising of "the Jews".

The colourful spell is composed of words and phrases drawn from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of Jewish scripture).

"Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said,

O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."
 
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