by Newborn 70 Replies latest jw friends
I doubt that the Jesus decribed in the gospels ever existed.
...in other words, there may have been a "Clark Kent," but there was no "SUPERMAN."
Iff he lived, when he died, he died. There is no "Jesus the Friendly Ghost." There is no invisible Super-Friend or Eternal King of New Jerusalem.
He may have left a bloodline in France, but if he did, even that is irrelevant today.
Well, if the people of that time were gonna invent someone, they coudlhave done a better job than Jesus, some guy from a crap hole with questional parentage, who did a few miracles for people that ended up killing him and the only witnesses to hsi ressurection was a tart and a blatant liar.
Hmmm, yep, that's the way I would have gone to create a religion that lasted 2 thousand years and has almost 2 billion followers around the whole world.
People can choose to believe that he was or wasn't whatever they choose to believe, it doesn't matter to those that have faith in him as it doesn't matter to those that don't.
I also lean toward the idea that there was no historical Jesus, as such, after reading a book call The Jesus Puzzle. One of the most important pieces of evidence was the astonishing lack of any details about the life of Jesus to be found outside the gospels, either inside or outside of the New Testament. There is precious little indication of an earthly Jesus to be found in the letters from Paul in particular.
Most of the gospels consist of stories cobbled together from interpretations of Old Testament prophecies, and reworkings of Old Testament figures such as Moses. There were certainly people like Jesus around in the first century, and the gospels will have taken inspiration from one or more such characters, but it seems to me that so little if any of what the gospels say can be relied upon as referring to a single person that it is meaningless to talk about the details of the life of a real historical person on that basis.
Jesus existed, as a matter of fact they have proof now in the form of an ancient religiois icon discovered in Palastine thathas been dated to about the time of Jesus's death !
Well, then PSacremento, you must also accept the existence of Buddha, Mithra and Ahura-Mazda, each of whom "existed" before Jesus and each of whom had followings as large in their time as Christianity today.
Religion is simply a popularity contest, kinda like American Idol, but a bit more supernatural, and with murder.
By the way, since there are more Muslims in the world today than Christians, you believe in Allahu akbar, I suppose.
Most people believe whatever they believe because of influences of their time, their place, and their culture, not because what they believe is in anyway "provable" or objectively TRUE, even if they call it "The Truth™".
Natahan,
Do I believe in Allah (God)?
Of course I believe in God, I am a Christian, but I never confuse what God is compared to what some want God to be or say he is.
That is MY way, my Tao is you will.
Your milage may vary.
If he existed, he was just a human being (albeit with a lot of charisma). I'll suspend judgment if and until archaeologists can come up with better evidence than they have now.
Parakeet,
Better than the proof I posted above?
:)
Here's an actually photo of Jolly Jesus telling a story, surrounded by children looking forward to his presence, er, presents.
PERV!! He's stroking her thigh and her legs are dangling between his!
villabolo
