A question for non-religous and Athiests,

Do you guys believe religous figures such as Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Abraham even existed?

It was something i was thinking about earlier as i was talking to my Athiest friend and he was telling me how he doesnt even believe said people existed. Im not talking in the way of "I believe there was a man living called Jesus at the time" but if the actual person said in the scriptures existed, regardless of miracles etc.

And to further extend the point, do you believe things such as the man Jesus was crucified by the Romans and similar things? (Im not asking about big things like Moses parting an ocean etc).

Yes, but I have trouble believing they were divine.

most likely.

Ya I belive they existed, I just don't believe in a divine creator.

Good question.

I think Jesus probably did exist; and that he was a very holy man who gained a large following in a short amount of time. He tought some things that the rulers resented. I also think that Muhammad probably existed. I see him as a charlatan who used religion to try to justify his hatred for jews and pagans. He knew that everyone would think of him as a psycho if he was straightforward in presenting his anti-semitism, so I think he lied about seeing the archangel Gabriel and his supposed calling to present Islam.

I don't believe that Abraham or Moses existed because I have yet to see a reason to.

It's most certainly possible.

Yes, I believe they existed.

no i really dont think they were real. back then people could make up stories and no one would be able to prove they were false. i think its a possibility that they were real, but chances are they were just stories written by man to try to help people live their lives in a correct way.

with that said things have changed and the bible doesnt hold up to todays standard. things like rape were legal in those times where as today its not even a question that rape is horrible.

I believe they existed.

Yeah, I belive they existed, and I generally belive them to have been both wise and good leaders (those who were), Pretty much the only thing I have a bit of an iffy with, is the notion of them being divine the way they are described in the holy texts.

So: Great visionaries, Wise and big personalities in thier time.

Moses and Abraham? Not so sure.

Jesus and Muhammed? They did exist, I'm sure, but were they divine? No. Jesus was most likley a great man, a great philosopher, but It seems like his followers did a hyperbole.

I believe Jesus existed and said a lot of beautiful things, but i don't believe he did you know, water into wine and stuff.

Maybe. We'll probably never know for sure.

Jesus and Mohammed have been discovered by historians already. The other two... I don't know.

Good question.

I think Jesus probably did exist; and that he was a very holy man who gained a large following in a short amount of time. He tought some things that the rulers resented. I also think that Muhammad probably existed. I see him as a charlatan who used religion to try to justify his hatred for jews and pagans. He knew that everyone would think of him as a psycho if he was straightforward in presenting his anti-semitism, so I think he lied about seeing the archangel Gabriel and his supposed calling to present Islam.

I don't believe that Abraham or Moses existed because I have yet to see a reason to.

I think it's quite possible they did exists, as many legends/fables/religious stories are born out of some exaggerated truth. As far as miracles and the like go? Not a chance.

Do you guys believe religous figures such as Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Abraham even existed?

Indifferent, they probably did from a historical standpoint..

It was something i was thinking about earlier as i was talking to my Athiest friend and he was telling me how he doesnt even believe said people existed. Im not talking in the way of "I believe there was a man living called Jesus at the time" but if the actual person said in the scriptures existed, regardless of miracles etc.

And to further extend the point, do you believe things such as the man Jesus was crucified by the Romans and similar things? (Im not asking about big things like Moses parting an ocean etc).

I don't see why not.. Jesus wasn't the first person crucified.. It was a favorite punishment of the Romans.... The rebellion of Spartacus is a good example of that, where tens of thousands were crucified from Rome to the coast line..

No one really questions if Jesus was crucified or not, people question is supposed resurrection.

Oonga

I can't say they did or didn't, so I can't believe on word of mouth. I have no proof to justify the belief just like I have no proof that there was a person living in North America ,before "recorded history" came along, that was a prophet of sorts or the son of God.

If they did exist I'm sure they were good people passing on a good message that got out of hand.

Good question.

I think Jesus probably did exist; and that he was a very holy man who gained a large following in a short amount of time. He tought some things that the rulers resented. I also think that Muhammad probably existed. I see him as a charlatan who used religion to try to justify his hatred for jews and pagans. He knew that everyone would think of him as a psycho if he was straightforward in presenting his anti-semitism, so I think he lied about seeing the archangel Gabriel and his supposed calling to present Islam.

I don't believe that Abraham or Moses existed because I have yet to see a reason to.

dracula_16

If he were anti semetic he would hate his own people as well.. The arabic people are a semetic people as well :roll:.. And Just about every religion out there hated Pagens and what not..

I honestly have no idea. I can see it as possible, but it's also possible that it was made up somewhere along the way.

I really dont care, but its a possiblity that they all existed.

How can people believe they went to Hogwarts tho, is beyond me.

Well with most stories, it's pretty much 50/50 whether teh characters involved we're based on fact, or perhaps based on a character that was well loved and perhaps souped up a little but. Or just made up to make a certain religion sound better.

I do believe that Jesus and Muhammed exists as there are non-Christian/Muslim records of both of them. But I do not think of them as divine figures but rather as revolutionary preachers and historical personalities.

Probably.

Or maybe they were made up and inserted into history and culture by the Illuminati. Whatevs.

Do you guys believe religous figures such as Jesus, Mohammed, Moses and Abraham even existed?

It was something i was thinking about earlier as i was talking to my Athiest friend and he was telling me how he doesnt even believe said people existed. Im not talking in the way of "I believe there was a man living called Jesus at the time" but if the actual person said in the scriptures existed, regardless of miracles etc.

And to further extend the point, do you believe things such as the man Jesus was crucified by the Romans and similar things? (Im not asking about big things like Moses parting an ocean etc).

Yeah, Jesus and Mohammed used to hang out together down at the local pub, ordering rounds of water for the whole bar. Apparently things went sour between them, though, the day that Jesus pulled out a camera.

I kinda of see it the same way I see cast away w/ Tom Hanks... yea that really happened to a dude, but the story is totally dramatized for entertainment value.

I really don't believe these people were anything like how they are depicted in books. Most of the argument against them being real is kinda mundane. Most of the evidence they existed come from the same source, but with really old texts of non-important people that tends to be the case.

Now writing this I found out cast away was completely fictional... so what does that say about Jesus?

*looks at sig*

:)

Jesus and Muhammed- likely existed

Moses- maybe

Abraham- probably not

The reason I think Moses might have existed is because he is the traditional writer of the Pentateuch. Everyone character before him was passed down by oral tradition alone basically...which is much less reliable.

An an atheist I'll give you a very quick answer, feel free to ask if you want me to go in to more depth. Jesus: Most likly did exist. Mohammed: No, I do not believe he ever existed (VERY common name back then). Moses: Not really sure. Abraham: Yeah, I bet he did.SpookySpaceShip

the name has nothing to do whether in fact they existed or not, but rather their accomplishments, amount of followers they gained, and a historical mention of them.

Yeah, they probably did. It's just that their stories have been warped and inflated with superstition to the point where I find it laughable to take it seriously.