lystn

Can you pontificate a bit on the various schools of thought on dating New Testament literature and the Apostolic Fathers? Is there a translation that you can recommend for a first time Bible reader? Was there a Paul in history; how and why did these writings get attached to his name? Has the Bible itself become an idol? What percentage of Paul’s "authentic" letters would you estimate to be first person fiction? I recently read 1 Enoch, and I have some questions about the angelic beings it features known as the Watchers. It occurred to me that, although I've long known the story of their descent to earth and their fornication with, and corruption of, us mortals, I don't think I've ever heard an explanation of where they got the name Watchers. My first thought was that watching/witnessing, and hence the ability to stand in judgement over those being observed, are functions often associated with deities. So the idea of angelic "watchers" could derive from this association. When we combine this theory with the idea of the stars as God's "heavenly host" - ie. his angel subordinates - could it be that the Watchers refer specifically to those stars which, being close to the Pole star, are always visible at night above the horizon? By never slipping out of view even during the shorter summer nights, these stars could be thought of as especially "wakeful", perpetually watching us throughout the year, and so be marked out as a special class of angel. Why do you think the name of "Watchers" got attached to the story in Genesis 6:1-4, as opposed to just calling them fallen angels, or sticking with Genesis' generic "sons of God", or some other designation? I'd like to know what you think of less popular, or perhaps more heavily editorialized volumes like the New World Translation. Do you think there are places where these convey an author's intended meaning more accurately than the mainstream, accepted versions of the Bible?