death2impiety
Maximeee's Husband
I've been trying to "Do right and risk the consequences". This philosophy has caused me to loose quite a few friendships. Though I lament the loss, I know that this is simply the consequence of my desire to live for Truth! On to my point...
I always hear non-believers say that they think Jesus was a great person. I don't understand what it is about him that they find so great if they don't believe that he was the son of God. To a nonbeliever, Jesus can be nothing more than a lying, sneaky, insane individual. But maybe thats what they find so alluring :kookoo:
I recently took it upon myself to bring all my feelings to the surface which amounted in the form of a tiny debate. Unfortunately, (due to sheer ignorance) I have been stumped and left unable to defend my position. Maybe someone can shed some light.
Here is a post that "Kid Stoic" sent me regarding the debate.
"The really sad thing here is that people refuse to see the grace of Christ." -you in the last post
"I like Jesus of Nazareth. I think he was a great and very wise man, but the fact is that I've done my research and I don't believe he was God. I mean, if you look at the earliest written books in the New Testament, the 4 gospels, only the Gospel of John claims Jesus to be God himself. Furthermore, John's Gospel was the last of the gospels to be written (estimated somewhere around 70 A.D., compared to the Gospel of Mark somehwere around the year 40). In Fact, John was writing this in opposition to to other members of his community who were worshipping John the Baptist as the Messiah, to make Jesus look more superior. Similarly, the divine birth found in the later gospels was a common trait among stories of great men of the time. The current Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar's mother was purported to have been impregnated by a snake who had made his way into her you-know-what while she was sleeping. Now again, I'm not trying to knock your beliefs, just pointing out that there's two sides to every story.
Also, I wouldn't claim that truth doesn't exist. Merely, that people have argued since the dawn of civilization over what truth is. For one person to say they know the truth, without being able to prove it is a futile effort. I have an idea what the truth is, I can't prove it, but I have an idea. Since I can't prove it, I don't try to convince anyone of my beliefs.
And finally, just for the record, even if your religion is true I really don't think any of us non-christians are going to Hell. You see, the Jews (whose religion yours is based on) never even believed in Hell in the old days. Nor did they have stories of Satan. Hell was invented around the time of the prophet Daniel, somewhere around 500 B.C. during the Babylonian exile. Quick sidenote: when the Jews were freed by the Persian conqueror Cyrus after he defeated the Babylonians they believed that he was the Messiah for a few centuries. Not that it has anything to do with this convo, i just always thought that was interesting."
Well thats it... I really don't know what to say to him. It seem like his reason for disbelief is relatively circumstantial. If anyone has anything to say, I'd love to hear it. Thanks
B
I always hear non-believers say that they think Jesus was a great person. I don't understand what it is about him that they find so great if they don't believe that he was the son of God. To a nonbeliever, Jesus can be nothing more than a lying, sneaky, insane individual. But maybe thats what they find so alluring :kookoo:
I recently took it upon myself to bring all my feelings to the surface which amounted in the form of a tiny debate. Unfortunately, (due to sheer ignorance) I have been stumped and left unable to defend my position. Maybe someone can shed some light.
Here is a post that "Kid Stoic" sent me regarding the debate.
"The really sad thing here is that people refuse to see the grace of Christ." -you in the last post
"I like Jesus of Nazareth. I think he was a great and very wise man, but the fact is that I've done my research and I don't believe he was God. I mean, if you look at the earliest written books in the New Testament, the 4 gospels, only the Gospel of John claims Jesus to be God himself. Furthermore, John's Gospel was the last of the gospels to be written (estimated somewhere around 70 A.D., compared to the Gospel of Mark somehwere around the year 40). In Fact, John was writing this in opposition to to other members of his community who were worshipping John the Baptist as the Messiah, to make Jesus look more superior. Similarly, the divine birth found in the later gospels was a common trait among stories of great men of the time. The current Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar's mother was purported to have been impregnated by a snake who had made his way into her you-know-what while she was sleeping. Now again, I'm not trying to knock your beliefs, just pointing out that there's two sides to every story.
Also, I wouldn't claim that truth doesn't exist. Merely, that people have argued since the dawn of civilization over what truth is. For one person to say they know the truth, without being able to prove it is a futile effort. I have an idea what the truth is, I can't prove it, but I have an idea. Since I can't prove it, I don't try to convince anyone of my beliefs.
And finally, just for the record, even if your religion is true I really don't think any of us non-christians are going to Hell. You see, the Jews (whose religion yours is based on) never even believed in Hell in the old days. Nor did they have stories of Satan. Hell was invented around the time of the prophet Daniel, somewhere around 500 B.C. during the Babylonian exile. Quick sidenote: when the Jews were freed by the Persian conqueror Cyrus after he defeated the Babylonians they believed that he was the Messiah for a few centuries. Not that it has anything to do with this convo, i just always thought that was interesting."
Well thats it... I really don't know what to say to him. It seem like his reason for disbelief is relatively circumstantial. If anyone has anything to say, I'd love to hear it. Thanks
B