> Today, after the Council of Niceae by Constantine 3 centuries after the events, nearly all Christian denominations follow Pauline doctrine. But where is his authority from? How is he any different from, say, Mohammad?
All religions based on books have discrepancies within themselves that allow people to pick whatever they want and adapt it to their personal wants and actions.
Some flavours want people to interpret the scriptures themselves, while other flavours only allow some specific scholars to interpret it and you must follow blindly.
By design, religions have a de facto tendency to control people's behaviours and beliefs and fill the gaps wherever they are.
Cultural contexts shifts can't be addressed quickly as their traditions are rooted in centuries of small interpretations that can't be undone.
I guess that's why so many people have a tendency to leave religion, just by seeing how much of the past can they carry before it starts weighing them down more than it lifts them up.
For the bible, the simple definition of righteous needs interpretation :
James 2:24 : You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 : For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
Everything surrounding Paul could be described as the first interpretation and it's often easier to follow an existing idea than make your own.
All religions based on books have discrepancies within themselves that allow people to pick whatever they want and adapt it to their personal wants and actions.
Some flavours want people to interpret the scriptures themselves, while other flavours only allow some specific scholars to interpret it and you must follow blindly.
By design, religions have a de facto tendency to control people's behaviours and beliefs and fill the gaps wherever they are.
Cultural contexts shifts can't be addressed quickly as their traditions are rooted in centuries of small interpretations that can't be undone.
I guess that's why so many people have a tendency to leave religion, just by seeing how much of the past can they carry before it starts weighing them down more than it lifts them up.
For the bible, the simple definition of righteous needs interpretation :
James 2:24 : You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 : For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
Everything surrounding Paul could be described as the first interpretation and it's often easier to follow an existing idea than make your own.