Okay, history lesson time. Nothing about the Christian Bible was arbitrary. Have you actually read these Apocrypha? Completely riddled with holes and just plain weird stuff that clearly does not flow with the rest of the Bible. That does not make it completely clear why they are not in your hotel night stand nowadays though. They really are just not that good of a source.
See, you have it reversed. The best corroborating evidence suggests that the four gospels and the Pauline epistles were written between 30-80 years of Jesus' ascension, i.e during the lifetime of witnesses. That is CENTURIES before even the now famous Gospel of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Peter (which Peter couldn't have written) you mention. To put it bluntly, any scholar would laugh at the thought that the Bible was orchestrated by Constantine.
Also, the 'Harrowing' of hell (when Jesus descends after his crucifixion) is still very much a part of the Catholic tradition. The church's reall beef with the Apocryphal gospels is that they were not written by anyone with direct connection or experience with Jesus. Those that claim to be written by famous apostles or Mary don't show up until well after they would have died, making them unreliable. The gospels that exist in the canon now are the same gospels that spread across the world 2000 years ago - very soon after Jesus left. Not to mention the fact that the writers were pretty much unknown and decidedly not famous. Matthew - a former tax collector (cheated people out of their money). Luke - a physician, but not an apostle or anything. What I am trying to convey is that serious thought and research has gone into corroborating the authenticity of the gospels and also Revelations. While Revelations was one of the last books accepted by the church, it was not an arbitrary or manipulative inclusion.
As for widespread RFID adoption, it can be interpreted as many things. I think it is interesting about the burns when exposed to EMP. But above all right now, I think that being tracked and watched and monitored is going to become a big problem for Christians and everyone else. Well, except Wal-Mart and the Feds.
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Okay, history lesson time. Nothing about the Christian Bible was arbitrary. Have you actually read these Apocrypha? Completely riddled with holes and just plain weird stuff that clearly does not flow with the rest of the Bible. That does not make it completely clear why they are not in your hotel night stand nowadays though. They really are just not that good of a source.
See, you have it reversed. The best corroborating evidence suggests that the four gospels and the Pauline epistles were written between 30-80 years of Jesus' ascension, i.e during the lifetime of witnesses. That is CENTURIES before even the now famous Gospel of Thomas and the Apocalypse of Peter (which Peter couldn't have written) you mention. To put it bluntly, any scholar would laugh at the thought that the Bible was orchestrated by Constantine.
Also, the 'Harrowing' of hell (when Jesus descends after his crucifixion) is still very much a part of the Catholic tradition. The church's reall beef with the Apocryphal gospels is that they were not written by anyone with direct connection or experience with Jesus. Those that claim to be written by famous apostles or Mary don't show up until well after they would have died, making them unreliable. The gospels that exist in the canon now are the same gospels that spread across the world 2000 years ago - very soon after Jesus left. Not to mention the fact that the writers were pretty much unknown and decidedly not famous. Matthew - a former tax collector (cheated people out of their money). Luke - a physician, but not an apostle or anything. What I am trying to convey is that serious thought and research has gone into corroborating the authenticity of the gospels and also Revelations. While Revelations was one of the last books accepted by the church, it was not an arbitrary or manipulative inclusion.
As for widespread RFID adoption, it can be interpreted as many things. I think it is interesting about the burns when exposed to EMP. But above all right now, I think that being tracked and watched and monitored is going to become a big problem for Christians and everyone else. Well, except Wal-Mart and the Feds.