THE WORD

 

A look at the Bible and other holy books

 

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also the Quran and Book of Moron

 

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www.bibleorigins.net/index.html

 

This site presents Walter Reinhold Warttig Mattfeld's research, from an Anthropological and "RATIONALIST-HUMANIST VIEWPOINT", on the Bible (the Old and New Testaments).

 

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Biblical Critiques and Debates with Inerrancy Advocates

The Secular Web hosts the online version of past issues of the printed version of The Skeptical Review (www.infidels.org/library/magazines/tsr/index.shtml) but is not responsible for editing its content. If you have questions or criticisms regarding specific contents of this periodical, please join the Errancy email list to discuss it, or write a letter to the editor. And please note that subsequent to the November/December 2002 issue, the Skeptical Review will be published in an online version, only, at www.theskepticalreview.com

The issues raised in Biblical Errancy represent a challenge to Bible inerrantists, and religion in general.

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What Do You Really Know About The Bible?

The bible is the "best seller" that is rarely read. How much do you actually know about the so-called "Good Book"?

Answer all 50 questions, then hit "Submit" for your score and full biblical documentation of all the answers.

Quiz Link: http://www.ffrf.org/bquiz.html

 

 

 

1. What is the last of the Ten Commandments?

  1. Don't steal.
  2. Don't covet your neighbor's wife and property.
  3. Don't boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
  4. Love your neighbor as yourself.

2. What is the penalty for working on the Sabbath?

  1. You will be stoned to death.
  2. Neither you nor your offspring to the 5th generation can enter the tabernacle.
  3. You should sacrifice two unblemished she goats.
  4. You will be disinherited from the kingdom.

3. What is God's name?

  1. Jealous.
  2. Righteous.
  3. Holy.
  4. Jehovah.

4. How should parents treat a stubborn and rebellious son?

  1. He should be beaten seven times with a whip made of horsehair.
  2. He should be stripped and humiliated at the gate of the city.
  3. He should be expelled from the family.
  4. He should be stoned to death.

5. What happens if you are not a virgin on your wedding night?

  1. Your father must pay 100 shekels of silver to your husband.
  2. You can never approach the altar.
  3. You must dress in black and leave your husband for one year.
  4. You will be stoned to death.

6. What does the bible say about witches?

  1. Witches should be killed.
  2. Witches are people possessed by demons and they are forever damned.
  3. Witches can be saved if they are exorcised.
  4. Witches are part of the mythology of idolatrous tribes.

7. Which of these foods does the bible expressly permit you to eat? (The others are "abominations.")

  1. Pork.
  2. Shellfish.
  3. Locust.
  4. Rabbit.

8. When the Israelites conquered the Midianites, what part of the spoils of war was given to the priest as "the Lord's tribute"?

  1. 500 sheep.
  2. 30,000 asses.
  3. 32,000 cows.
  4. 32 virgins.

9. What is the origin of the "mighty men" giants known as nephilim?

  1. They were the offspring of God's angels and young women.
  2. They were the result of an earlier, botched creation.
  3. They were monsters from the evil nation of Nephi.
  4. They were part of the "blessing of Abraham" that ensured military victory to God's chosen people.

10. What happened to Korah and his family, Israelites who thought they could deal directly with God without a human intermediary?

  1. They became priests.
  2. They were expelled from the nation of Israel.
  3. The earth opened and swallowed them up.
  4. They were stripped of all their belongings, houses, and livestock.

11. According to the bible, who created evil?

  1. Adam.
  2. Eve.
  3. God.
  4. Satan.

12. According to the bible, what is God not able to do?

  1. Save the very worst sinners from hell.
  2. Make a rock so huge he can't lift it.
  3. Repel chariots of iron.
  4. Make people tell lies.

13. According to the bible, where does God live?

  1. On a throne in the seventh heaven.
  2. In darkness.
  3. Above the clouds.
  4. On a planet between the sun and the stars.

14. According to biblical biology, what is a bat?

  1. A bird.
  2. A mammal.
  3. An insect.
  4. A mythical creature.

15. According to biblical anatomy, where does thinking happen?

  1. In the heart.
  2. In the brain.
  3. In the kidneys.
  4. In the lungs.

16. How did Gideon demonstrate his family values?

  1. He lived with a young boy named Jether.
  2. He and his wife Ophrah had three sons who became spiritual leaders.
  3. He fathered 71 sons through his "many wives" and a mistress in Shechem.
  4. He remained single, becoming the inspiration for St. Paul.

17. After Jephthah was victorious in battle, what sacrifice did he burn on the altar, as he had vowed to the Lord?

  1. Himself.
  2. His livestock.
  3. Two unspotted lambs.
  4. His virgin daughter.

18. What price did David pay King Saul for his first wife?

  1. 500 cattle.
  2. The heads of 100 Philistines.
  3. The foreskins of 200 Philistines.
  4. The swords, shields and horses of 300 Philistines.

19. How many sexual partners did King Solomon have?

  1. One wife and 300 concubines.
  2. One wife. (The concubines were servants.)
  3. 300 wives.
  4. One thousand sexual partners.

20. What happened to 42 little children who teased God's prophet Elisha for being bald and he cursed them in the name of the Lord?

  1. They were whipped by their parents.
  2. They and their descendants to five generations were forbidden to enter the tabernacle.
  3. Two bears came out of the forest and killed them all.
  4. They were forced to work seven years for the Levites as child slaves.

21. What reason did God give for tormenting Job?

  1. "Job was a sinner. He deserved it."
  2. "I didn't torment Job. Satan did it."
  3. "Satan dared me, so I destroyed Job for no reason at all."
  4. "I wanted to see how far a man would bend before breaking."

22. According to the bible, what does Satan look like?

  1. A skinny red man with horns and a pointed tail.
  2. A red dragon with 7 heads and 10 horns.
  3. A garden snake.
  4. An angel in a black robe.

23. How does the biblical god treat haughty women?

  1. He makes them barren.
  2. He puts scabs on their heads and uncovers their private parts.
  3. He takes away their gold and expensive clothing.
  4. The Holy Spirit causes them to feel shame for their arrogance.

24. In dollars (shekels), how much is a woman worth?

  1. Half a male.
  2. The same as a male.
  3. Twice as much as a male.
  4. Irrelevant. The bible does not put a financial value on human life.

25. What happens if a man rapes an engaged virgin in the city, and no one hears anything?

  1. The man should pay her father 100 shekels of silver.
  2. The man is stoned to death.
  3. The woman is stoned to death.
  4. They are both stoned to death.

26. What is the Mosaic Law punishment for being handicapped?

  1. You will be stoned to death.
  2. You must sacrifice two additional doves on the altar.
  3. You are not allowed in church.
  4. You must bathe for two months before entering the tabernacle.

27. According to the bible, when may a husband have sex with his wife?

  1. As often as he likes. She is his property.
  2. Not during her menstrual period.
  3. As often as he likes until the first son is born, then by mutual agreement.
  4. As often as the wife allows it.

28. How should you feel when you dash babies against the rocks?

  1. Happy.
  2. Ashamed.
  3. It depends if the babies were guilty or innocent.
  4. Nothing. It is all in God's hands.

29. How many human generations were there before Jesus?

  1. "More numerous than the stars."
  2. 144,000.
  3. 412.
  4. 62.

30. What Christmas tradition is expressly forbidden in the bible?

  1. Singing carols house-to-house.
  2. Exchanging gifts.
  3. Christmas trees.
  4. Kissing under the mistletoe.

31. According to Jesus, what must you do to have eternal life?

  1. Obey the law and keep all the sacraments.
  2. Sell everything you have and give all the money to the poor.
  3. Attend church regularly and tithe ten percent of your income to God.
  4. Confess your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart.

32. According to Jesus, how should Christian disciples treat their parents?

  1. Parents should be loved, honored and cared for.
  2. Parents should be taken care of by the church community.
  3. Parents should be hated.
  4. Parents should be ignored--"Let the dead bury the dead"--because when you are born again, God becomes your true parent.

33. According to Jesus, how should slaves be treated?

  1. They should be beaten daily to keep them in line.
  2. They should be beaten for disobedience, but not more severely than they deserve.
  3. They should be treated humanely, as members of the family.
  4. They should be set free because slavery is wrong.

34. What did Jesus say about peace?

  1. "Peace on earth, good will toward men."
  2. "Don't think that I came for peace on earth. I came to start wars."
  3. "Each person makes their own peace, according to their faith and how they treat others."
  4. "There is no peace apart from God."

35. Which one of these phrases did Jesus not say about witnessing?

  1. "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
  2. "God is my witness."
  3. "If I bear witness of myself, it is true."
  4. "If I bear witness of myself, it is not true."

36. What personal sacrifice for "the kingdom of heaven" was Jesus talking about when he told his disciples, "He that is able to receive it, let him receive it"?

  1. Leave your family.
  2. Pluck out your eyes.
  3. Become poor.
  4. Castrate yourself.

37. According to New Testament medical advice, what should you do if you are sick?

  1. Seek medical help from doctors ordained by God.
  2. Ask the church elders to apply oil to your skin and pray for you.
  3. Ask Jesus or the elders to exorcise the evil spirits from your body.
  4. Kneel down before a brass serpent wrapped around a pole.

38. What does Paul prohibit a woman from wearing in church?

  1. A hat, or any head covering.
  2. Gold.
  3. Necklaces, bracelets or anklets.
  4. Men's clothing.

39. According to Paul, what is the role of women in the church?

  1. Women are equal to men in all respects.
  2. Women do the praying, singing and testifying, while men handle the preaching and finances.
  3. Women must keep silent. They should learn from their husbands at home.
  4. Women are not allowed in church except on high holidays.

40. What does Paul say about marriage?

  1. "I wish everyone were single like me."
  2. "Celibacy is a pagan practice."
  3. "Elders and deacons may have more than one wife."
  4. "If your feelings are only sexual, then don't get married."

41. Paul forbids divorce, but Jesus allows it under one circumstance. What is that circumstance?

  1. If the husband has sex outside of marriage.
  2. If the wife has sex outside of marriage.
  3. If either has sex outside of marriage.
  4. If the wife fails to produce a son.

42. What group of people will make it into the heavenly choir?

  1. Those who are "poor in spirit."
  2. Those who confess their sins and accept Jesus as their savior.
  3. God's chosen people, the Jews.
  4. 144,000 male virgins who have not been defiled with women.

43. Which one of these words is in the bible?

  1. Trinity.
  2. Liberal.
  3. Christmas.
  4. Rapture.

44. Where does the bible say that all men are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights?

  1. The laws of Moses.
  2. Jesus's Sermon on the Mount.
  3. The Book of Revelation.
  4. Nowhere.

45. Should Christians allow nonbelievers into their homes?

Yes. No.

46. Should Christian men kiss each other?

Yes. No.

47. Should Christians always give what they have to anyone who asks for it?

Yes. No.

48. Do the Ten Commandments prohibit incest or rape?

Yes. No.

49. If you lose a lawsuit, should you pay exactly what the court decides?

Yes. No.

50. Can Christians ask their boss for a raise?

Yes. No.

(Unanswered questions will be counted wrong.)

NOTE If the "Submit" button doesn't work, see Bible Quiz Answers (minus your score).

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No Morality Without the Bible?

FARRELL TILL

 

(Farrell Till was a Minister for The Church of Christ for twelve years and five of those were spent doing missionary work http://vanallens.com/exchristian/fartil.htm . He is the editor and frequent contributor to his magazine The Skeptical Review.)

 

Of all the arguments that fundamentalists resort to in their defense of the Bible, none is more ridiculous than their claim that the Bible is necessary for people to know how to live moral lives. They arrive at this conclusion through a series of assumptions. Their first assumption is that God exists, and onto this assumption, they pile another one: morality (and they even make it an absolute morality) emanates from the nature of God. Then, of course, they assume that their God, in verbally inspiring the Bible, revealed absolute morality to mankind. Hence, man must rely on the Bible to know what is moral and immoral. They envision life without the Bible as a moral chaos reminiscent of ancient Israel before the time of its kings when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).

The whole superstructure of this argument is built upon another assumption that is incredibly cynical on the part of a group that delights in condemning the pessimism of philosophies that question the existence of God. This assumption is that man is incapable of making moral decisions without divine guidance. In other words, man must have God's help or else he just can't determine for sure what is right and what is wrong.

Were it not for the seriousness of fundamentalist attempts to impose this belief on society in general, it would be too ridiculous to deserve comment. We have used human intelligence to cure diseases, split the atom, and invent a technology that has us reaching for the stars, yet Christian fundamentalists would have us believe that we are too stupid to discover that lying, stealing, and killing are harmful enough to the general welfare to be considered morally wrong. That view of life is about as pessimistic as any that can be imagined, infinitely more pessimistic than the mental action of a skeptic who questions the existence of an afterlife for which he can see no verifiable evidence.

This foundation belief of Bible fundamentalism is of course erroneous. It is even contradicted by the Bible itself. In Romans 2:14, the Apostle Paul said that the Gentiles, who had not received the law [of Moses] or, in other words, a revelation from God, had nevertheless sometimes done "by nature the things of the law" and were therefore "a law unto themselves." If this doesn't mean that Paul believed that the Gentiles who had no divine revelation had discovered morality on their own, then pray tell what does it mean? So even if the existence of the biblical god could undeniably be proven, how could bibliolaters, in the face of this statement from their much revered apostle to the Gentiles, justify their claim that man must have direct guidance from God in order to live morally?

The fact is that no one can prove the existence of God. Volumes have been written on the subject, but no theist has yet advanced an argument for God's existence that has not been adequately answered. Anyone who doubts this should read the information available on the subject, and a good place to begin would be with George H. Smith's Atheism: the Case Against God. In this book, one will find logical refutations of all the major theistic arguments.

What this means is that the fundamentalist claim that there can be no morality without a god to reveal it to us is just an empty shell. It begins with an unprovable assumption and ends with a conclusion that even the Bible contradicts. What kind of argument is that?

The fallacy of the argument is obvious from its flagrant appeal to wishful thinking. It is certainly appealing to think that we will live in another world after we die in this one, and so wishful thinkers spend their lives believing in religions that offer them the hope of gods and saviors who promise them eternal life in a great beyond. Few of these wishful thinkers ever bother to subject their otherworldly beliefs to rational examination. They want it, so they assume that they will get it just on the basis of their wanting it. Nothing could be more irrational than belief based on a premise no more substantial than this, yet this is exactly how many theists reason. "I want it, and so I know that I will get it."

If there is no God, fundamentalists are fond of saying, then there can be no standard of objective or absolute morality. Well, so what? What kind of argument is that? If there isn't, then there just isn't. What the fundamental- ists are really saying is that it would certainly be nice if everything on the subject of morality was already decided for us and neatly laid out in categories of black and white. This is right, and this is wrong, period, end of the discus- sion. But if it isn't that way, then it just isn't that way, and no amount of wishful thinking or praying or hoping will ever change the fact that it isn't that way. We (mankind) are just in the world on our own and will have to get by the best that we can.

The thought of that terrifies most theists, but it shouldn't. God wasn't much help to us in discovering how to cure or prevent smallpox, diphtheria, typhoid, whooping cough, polio, measles, and dozens of other diseases. We had to do it on our own. God wasn't much help to us in making the scientific discoveries that led to the technology that now makes life so comfortable for us. We had to do it on our own. So if we did all these things without God, surely we can make the moral discoveries that are necessary for society to function in an orderly, beneficial way.

To the fundamentalists, of course, this is all outrageous heresy. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God. It just is, and no amount of rational argumentation will remove them from their fantasy world in which everything is either black or white. There is one thing, however, that they cannot do. They cannot open their Bibles and demonstrate just how anyone can know what absolute morality is. They will say that the Bible provides us with a guide to absolute morality, but they can't show us exactly what absolute morality is.

Is it, for example, morally right for blood to be transfused from one person to another? Most religions permit it, but the Jehovah's Witnesses argue that biblical principles properly understood condemn it. Who is right? When the Bible was being written, the technology for transfusing blood didn't exist, so the Bible did not directly address this problem. The same is true of numerous other technologies now available to us. The transplantation of body organs (including even cross-species transplants), artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, genetic mapping, gene splicing--these are all technologies that were developed after the Bible was written, so what is the "correct"" moral position to take on these issues? Through processes of in vitro fertilization and embryo transplantations, a woman in South Dakota gave birth to her own grandchildren. Was it morally right for her to do this? What does the Bible say? Well, of course, the Bible doesn't say anything about this or any of the other technological procedures mentioned above. If we asked a hundred theologians to take their Bibles and resolve the moral dilemmas posed by these technologies, we would find ourselves hopelessly trapped in a maze of confusion when all of their answers were in.

Last summer, when the story about the Lakeberg twins first appeared in the newspapers, the article was clipped and mailed to several fundamentalist preachers known to believe in absolute morality. An accompanying letter asked them to explain what the Bible had to say about the dilemma that the parents of those twins were facing. The twins were joined at the chest and shared a common heart. Surgery would mean that one of the twins would have to die, and subsequently this was the decision that the parents made. The absolute moralists who received that letter were asked to state what their god of absolute morality has revealed to us in this matter.

Not a one of these preachers has yet answered that letter. Their silence shouts the inconsistency of their position. The Bible gives us a guide to absolute morality, so they say, yet they cannot tell us what absolute morality has to say about the difficult moral dilemmas that we must confront in our modern society.

Elsewhere in this issue, a debate on biblical morality begins. Before it is over, maybe Lindell Mitchell, the spokesman for the fundamentalist position, will try to explain to us how the Bible can be an absolute moral guide in problems that didn't even exist in biblical times. If he doesn't attempt to explain it, some of us just may suspect that he isn't nearly as sure of his position as he would like us to believe.

 

also see: http://religion.aynrand.org/
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 JESUS CHRIST IS THE ANSWER?

DEAR BELIEVER.  You ask me to accept Jesus as my personal Saviour; yet his behavior and teachings often expose one who should be escaped, not sought.  I only ask that you read what follows in the spirit of open-mindedness taught in Prov. 15:10 NIV [New International Versison] ("he who hates correction will die") and Prov. 12:1 NASB ("he who hates reproof is stupid") because I seek to "Prove all things" (1 Ths 5:21).

   (1) While on the Cross Jesus said, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me" (Mark 15:34).  

How could Jesus be our savior when he couldn't even save himself?  Those aren't the words of a man voluntarily dying for our sins; those are the words of a man who can think of a hundred places he would rather be.

   (2) Jesus said, "whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire" (Matt. 5:22).  yet, he himself did so repeatedly as Matt. 23:17,19 and Luke 11:40 and 12:20 show.  

Shouldn't he be in danger of hell too?

   (3) Except for those of biased Christian writers, there isn't one writing outside the bible in all of ancient history that clearly refers to Jesus of Nazareth.

   (4) Isn't Jesus a false prophet since he wrongly predicted in Matt. 12:40 that he would be buried 3 days and 3 nights as Jonah was in the whale 3 days and 3 nights?  

Friday afternoon to early Sunday morning is only 1 1/2 days.

   (5) Another prophecy by Jesus in John 13:38 ("The cock shall not crow, TILL THOU (Peter) HAST DENIED ME 3 TIMES") is false because Mark 14:66-68 shows the cock actually crowed after the first denial, not the third.

   (6) How could Jesus be our model of sinless perfection when he denies his moral perfection in Matt. 19:17 ("And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is God?).

   (7) In 1 Cor. 1:17 ("For christ sent me (Paul--Ed.) NOT TO BAPTIZE, but to preach the gospel") Paul said Jesus was wrong when he said in Matt. 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING them..."

So how could Jesus be the fountain of wisdom?

   (8) How could Jesus, whom the NT repeatedly refers to as the son of man, be our saviour when this is clearly forestalled by Psalm 146:3 ("Put not your trust in princes, nor in THE SON OF MAN in whom there is no help") and Job 25:6 ("How much less man, that is a worm?  and THE SON OF MAN, which is a worm")?

   (9) How could Jesus be god when he repeatedly said he was not God's equal; he wasn't god.  Obvious examples are: John 14:28 ("...for my Father is greater than I"), John 20:17 ("I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and TO MY GOD, and your God), and John 7:16 ("My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me").

   (10) While on the Cross Jesus said, "Forgive them Father they know not what they do."  To whom was he speaking?  They say, "God."  But I thought he was God?  How can God speak to God if there is only one God? That's two gods.

   (11) Jesus told us to "honor thy father and mother" (Matt. 15:4) but contradicted his own teaching in Luke 14:26 ("If any man come to me and hate not his father and mother...he cannot be my disciple").

   (12) In John 3:13 ("And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man....")  Jesus erred because 2 Kings 2:11 ("...Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven") shows Elijah went earlier.

   (13) In Matt. 16:28 Jesus said, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."  Yet, they all died and he never came.

   (14) Jesus told us to "Love your enemies; bless them that curse you" but ignored his own advice by repeatedly denouncing his opposition. Matt. 23:17 ("Ye fools and blind"), Matt. 12:34 ("O generation of vipers"), and Matt. 23:27 ("...hypocrites...ye are like unto whited sepulchers....") are excellent examples of hypocrisy in action.

   (15) Even many of the staunchest defenders of Jesus admit that his comment in Matt. 10:34 ("I came not to send peace but a sword") contradicts verses such as Matt. 26:52 ("Put up again thy sword into his place: FOR ALL THAT TAKE THE SWORD SHALL PERISH WITH THE SWORD").

   (16) The Messiah must be a physical descendant of David (Rom 1:3, Acts 2:30).  Yet, how could Jesus meet the requirement since his genealogies in Matt. 1 and Luke 3 show he descended from David THROUGH JOSEPH who was not his natural father (The Virgin Birth).

   (17) Jesus told a man in Mark 8:34 that "whosoever will come after me let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me."  What cross?  He hadn't died on the cross yet.  There was nothing to take up.  That man would have had no idea what he was talking about.

   (18) In Mark 10:19 Jesus told a man to follow the commandments.  Yet, one of those listed by Jesus was "defraud not" which isn't even an Old Testament commandment.

   (19) In Luke 12:4 Jesus told his followers to "Be not afraid of them that kill the body, " but Matt. 12:14-16, John 7:1, 8:59, 10:39, 11:53-54, and Mark 1:45 show that he hid, escaped, and slinked around on numerous occasions.

   (20) In Luke 23:43 Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."  But how could they have been together in paradise that day if Jesus lay in the tomb 3 days?

   (21) For Jesus to be executed for our sins makes about as much sense as my son telling a judge that he would accept execution for my crimes. Although a nice gesture it has nothing to do with justice.  What judge would agree?

   (22) And lastly, in Matt. 15:24 Jesus said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" but later told his followers to "Go ye therefore, and teach ALL nations" (Matt. 28:19).  To whom, then, are they to go?  Only to the Jews or everyone.

    These examples expose only a few of the many reasons I can't accept Jesus as a Saviour.  A far greater number can be found in the monthly publication, BIBLICAL ERRANCY, a national periodical focusing on biblical errors, contradictions, and fallacies, while providing a hearing for apologists.  

also see http://vanallens.com/exchristian/2002_08_25_archive.php

 

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WAS THERE NO HISTORICAL JESUS? http://pages.ca.inter.net/~oblio/jesus.html

 

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Christian Councils: A Timeline of Christian History

http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blchron_xian_council.htmBelow is chronology of Councils during the history of Christianity, from the very beginning until today. Included with each, where possible, is in formation on the doctrinal decisions made there. Not all councils are "ecumenical" - i.e., accepted by all Christians denominations.

Words in red are linked to our glossary - so clicking on them will take you to much more information than can be included in brief chronology like this.

 

Christian Councils
325 First Ecumenical Council of Nicea was convened by emperor Constantine: established the Nicene Creed as the fundamental statement of Christian faith.
c. 364 The Church Council of Laodicea ordered that religious observances were to be conducted on Sunday, not Saturday. Sunday became the new Sabbath:
Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, but shall work on that day.
381 First Council of Constantinople. Convened by Theodosius I, then emperor of the East and a recent convert, to confirm the victory over Arianism, the council drew up a dogmatic statement on the Trinity and defined Holy Spirit as having the same divinity expressed for the Son by the Council of Nicaea 56 years earlier.
394 Council of Carthage - first council to uphold doctrines of prayers for the dead and purgatory.
431 Ecumenical Council of Ephesus denounced the teachings of Nestorius (d. 451), who argued that Christ had completely separate human and divine natures.
451 Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon> voted that Christ is simultaneously "truly man and truly God."

A little known statement of the Council was Canon #15 (1):
No woman under 40 years of age is to be ordained a deacon, and then only after close scrutiny.
This is appears to have been the last time in church history that the ordination of women was mentioned as a routine practice in any form, and certainly establishes that women did hold, at one time, important church offices.
553 Second Council of Constantinople, convened by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I to settle the dispute known as the Three Chapters. In an attempt to reconcile moderate Monophysite parties to orthodoxy, Justinian had issued (544) a declaration of faith. The last three chapters anathematized the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyrus, and Ibas of Edessa for Nestorianism.

While the charge was true of their writings to a certain extent, the Council of Chalcedon had cleared those men of any personal heresy. Justinian's edict slighted the council and encouraged Monophysitism; it was deeply resented in the West. Pope Vigilius, resisted at first, but eventually was forced to support the edict.

Under pressure from the Western bishops he then reversed himself. In retaliation, Justinian called a council at Constantinople; it was attended by only six Western bishops, boycotted by Vigilius, and dominated by Justinian and the Eastern bishops. The council approved the imperial edict and seems to have censured Vigilius. The pope was forced to ratify the council's work the following year. The West, in general, was slow in recognizing it as an ecumenical council, but ultimately it was accepted - mainly because of the orthodoxy of its pronouncements.
680-81 Third Council of Constantinople. It was convoked by Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV to deal with Monotheletism.
787 The Second Nicean Council met - this was the last of the seven church councils commonly accepted as authoritative by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Council voted to allow the veneration but not the worship of icons.
869-70 Fourth Coucil of Constantinople. It has never been accepted by the Orthodox Church, which instead recognizes the council of 880 that supported Photius. The council of 869 was convened at the suggestion of Basil I, the new Byzantine emperor, to confirm the restoration of St. Ignatius of Constantinople to the see that Photius had resigned.

Photius had already been condemned, without a hearing, at a Roman synod. At Constantinople his defense was cut short, and when he refused to sign his own condemnation, he was excommunicated. The result of these councils was to intensify the bitterness between East and West.
1085 At the Council of Clermont, the First Crusade (out of a total of eight official crusades) was called by Pope Urban II (c. 1035 - 1099) against Muslims in the Holy Lands.
1123 First Lateran Council. Summoned by Pope Calistus II to signal the end of the investiture controversy by confirming the Concordat of Worms (1122), it was held in the Lateran Palace, Rome, making it the first council to be held in Western Europe. Many of the council's decrees became part of the evolving corpus of canon law.
1139 Second Lateran Council. Convened at the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Pope Innocent II, the council attempted to heal the wounds left by the schism of the antipope Anacletus II (d. 1138) and condemned the theories of Arnold of Brescia.
1179 Third Lateran Council. Convened at the Lateran Palace, Rome, by Pope Alexander III after the Peace of Venice (1178) had reconciled him with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, it included an envoy from the Orthodox Greeks. The most important legislation was the first canon, which confirmed that the election of the pope was to be in the hands of the cardinals alone, two thirds being necessary for election.
1215 Pope Innocent III organized the Fourth Lateran Council in Rome in order to discuss and define central dogmas of Christianity. It was one of the most important councils ever held, and its canons sum up Innocent's ideas for the church. It recognizes the necessity of the Eucharist and penance as sacraments for salvation.
1408 Council of Oxford prohibited translations of the Scriptures into the vernacular unless and until they were fully approved by Church authority, a decision sparked by the publication of the Wycliffite Bible.
1409 Council of Pisa ended the Great Schism by declaring both rival popes deposed and electing a third: Pope Martin V.
1417 The Council of Constance, largest Church meeting in medieval history, officially ended the Great Schism.

It replaced a papal monarchy with a conciliar government, which recognized a council of prelates as the pope's authority and mandated the frequent meeting of councils. This new period was known as the Italian territorial papacy and lasted until 1517 CE.

John Hus traveled to the Council of Constance to propose his reforms for the Church. Upon his arrival at the Council, Hus was tried for heresy and burned. His death encouraged futher revolt by his followers.
1545-1563 Council of Trent, Catholic Reformation, or counter-reformation, met Protestant challenge by clearly defining an official theology
1869-1870 First Vatican Council, 20th ecumenical, affirmed doctrine of papal infallibility (ie. when a pope speaks ex cathedra on faith or morals he does so with the supreme apostolic authority, which no Catholic may question or reject).
1962-1965 Second Vatican Council, 21st ecumenical, announced by Pope John XXIII in 1959, produced 16 documents which became official after approval by the Pope, purpose to renew "ourselves and the flocks committed to us" (Pope John XXIII).

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Gospel Errors in Timing

http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blchron_xian_gospels.htm

 

If a prophet is having a vision one might expect the sequence of events to be jumbled up - much like a dream. However if an historical narrative is being given the sequence of events should be in proper order. The Gospel of John is written from a different perspective than the synoptic gospels so it might be expected that it would differ in chronologicial order from the other gospels. The interesting thing is that even among the synoptic gospels there is considerable difference in the order of events.

 

Matthew Mark Luke John
leper is healed Peter's mother-in-law is healed

 

 
centurion's servant is healed leper is healed leper is healed moneychangers are evicted
Peter's mother-in-law healed paralytic is healed paralytic is healed paralytic is healed
waters are stilled tax collector is called shrivelled hand is healed

 
exorcism to pigs shrivelled hand is healed centurion's servant is healed

 
paralytic is healed waters stilled waters are stilled

 
tax collector is called exorcism to pigs exorcism to pigs feeding the 5,000 occurs
shrivelled hand is healed feeding the 5,000 occurs feeding the 5,000 occurs Jesus is annointed
Jesus rides a donkey Jesus rides a donkey Jesus rides a donkey Jesus rides a donkey
moneychangers are evicted fig tree is cursed

 

 
fig tree is cursed moneychangers are evicted

 

 

 

 Jesus is annointed

 

 

You can see above that the sequences of events differ. What are the ramifications of this?