Admittedly Jesus cared for people but do you believe things like the walking on water and healing people with a touch of his hand?
It seems there is only one Jesus whose popularity is huge and never ending, whereas the Pope will be replaced.
I am swaying to your point of view a bit.
What exactly is it that makes Jesus so 'big'?
Actually I think it is the strength and popularity of the "message" he delivered and the following that developed in his wake, not to mention the powerful symbolism of his death. Paul in particular was an incredibly good politician apparently.
Jesus was crucified for blasphemy.
If Jesus was not who he said he was, he was either a liar or a lunatic and not a person to be admired.
Fair enough.
Did his message work?
Jesus wasnt the only person to die on a cross.
Was he crucified for blasphemy??I never knew that.I assume he took his dads name in vain, not his own.
Only his miraculous deeds led us to believe he was the son of God.If he didnt do those deeds he was just a caring man who died like others did at that time.
2000 years after his death billions of people believe he was either a)who he claimed to be, or b) who he was later reported to have claimed to be.
So yeah, I'd say his message worked.
In fact, more people believe in him now than actually existed on the planet during his lifetime.
Ah, the power of advertising.
Im not knocking him or peoples beliefs but what did he actually do?
He was a pacifist, he empowered the weak.
In a nutshell.
Being an atheist I may not be the best person to ask, but then again, maybe I am for that very reason
He got angry once!
Did he empower the weak?Has it lasted 2000 years?
Seems the minorities in the world are considered powerless in certain situations.I dont see them being empowered by the church.
You must have thoughtabout it in order to be an atheist, your still allowed to give your opinion on it.
jesus
How can anyone have a belief in Jesus. Any book (including the bible) that writes about Jesus, does so with an agenda in mind. (control)
It is very tough to really know anything for certain about history, unless there is physical evidence of it today because history is subject to ones own interpretation of events that occurred.
Look at American history for example. There is little taught to school kids about enslavement of African people, but it happened. We learn ultimately, what our teachers, politicians and religious leaders want us to learn of history.
They tell the story the way they want it remembered.
I think the same is true of Jesus.
He is what you want him to be.
material girl wrote:Was he crucified for blasphemy??I never knew that.I assume he took his dads name in vain, not his own.
Only his miraculous deeds led us to believe he was the son of God.If he didnt do those deeds he was just a caring man who died like others did at that time.
He claimed to be the Son of God which is why he was crucified.
No comment other than Jesus if he indeed did exist was not the man the myths make him out to be.
Guys the question was..do you believe he ever existed?
I've gone for ......yes probably. It seems unlikely to me that he did not exist at all.
Exactly who he was and what he did is not fully answerable by anybody.
There were many Jesus in our time during the past 2000 years. The Jesus of the bible never existed. If he performed all those miracles, there would have been more recorded history of those miracles besides one book written some 45 years after his supposed death. Myths usually get expanded upon from mouth to mouth, and writer to writer. You can't have it both ways: it's the word of god, and the errors and contradictions are man-made. Logic must rein.
cicerone imposter wrote:If he performed all those miracles, there would have been more recorded history of those miracles besides one book written some 45 years after his supposed death.
There are dozens of books and letters written by eyewitnesses and secondary sources. 27 of them were eventually put together in a compilation called the New Testament.
How do people know God exsisted before Jesus turned up?
They read the old testament I guess. Or the Torah. Or the Koran.
Eorl wrote:They read the old testament I guess. Or the Torah. Or the Koran.
Historical note: the Koran came a few hundred years
after the time of Jesus. Bibliographic note: The Torah consists of the first five books of the Old Testament.
So how did the people who wrote those books know he exsisted?
Thanks Merry A !
Material Girl, I don't really know except that the Jews are supposed to have remembered the whole story (by whatever means) right back to the start.
Maybe Eve kept a diary...she seems like that kinda girl to me.
There will be plenty of other folks here with much better answers than I !
