What is your belief about jesus christ?

What makes the Gospels "religious texts"?

danwallacefan

I believe he did exist but people were exaggerating about him having supernatural powers.

Let's think it through logically. We know through historical proofs and historians that a popular man named Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. He was crucified, then the rest gets sketchy historically speaking.

Now we could say maybe he was just crazy. If he was crazy why did so many people follow him. He would have shown signs of being crazy and people would not have given up their lives to follow and believe in him.

Now we could say he was a liar. Why kind of person is a good enough liar to put on a 3 year ruse that ends in one of the most excruciating tortures, and deaths. would he have stood by his beliefs after all he had to go through.

So logically he was telling the truth, there is a small chance that one of the other things could have been a possibility but it's small.

ferrari2001

a few things are wrong with that thinking....first of all how people perceived crazy back then is completely different from today..so for all anyone living today knows, he could have been crazy to us today..look at Jim Jones and David Koresh..everyone thought they were crazy except for their followers..now if they lived back in Jesus' days they more than likely would have had many more followers..

second, yes someone could carry out a lie like that for even more than 3 years..why is that so out of reach as a possibility? many did it before him and after...some a lot longer than 3 years..you saying they told the truth too?..and in other religions people do hold true to their faith even in the face of death...reminds me of the Buddhist monk who lit himself on fire on national TV (during some war/conflict..I forget)...he barely flinched while he is completely consumed in flames..look at all the suicide bombers who believe they are going to heaven (or whatever) after they blow themselves up and take as many people as they can with them...a person's belief (if strong enough) can be very powerful...so I don't see anything wrong with Jesus being able to get lashed half to death before being pinned up on a cross, and not denounce his faith..if anything it probably made it stronger..

so I disagree with your logic...it seems more logical to me that he may have been lying..whether or not he knew he was lying (meaning that he may have believed himself, so he thought he was speaking the truth)..no one will probably ever know..

[QUOTE="danwallacefan"] Yes, Christians use them as a source of dogma and ritual (well, actually, most details about christian ritual come from the church fathers), but that doesnt matter. If you're gonna try to discredit an author, you need to give us information about THE AUTHOR, not the audience.

foxhound_fox

The writer's of the New Testiment were alive during "Jesus' Time" although not all of them knew him in person.

irrelevant. You said that religious texts dont give us history, the Gospels are "religious texts", and therefore the Bible and the Gospels have negligiblehistorical value. What makes the Gospels "religious texts"?

danwallacefan

He is real.

I believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God and died for us. I believe in and follow His teachings.

stepnkev

a nice and good man who's legend has been given the mythical treatment

Well, I believe he was a man that existed, and if he did preach to be a better person and what not, then it was people who followed him and his teachings afterwards which made up all of the miracle stories and such to attract more people and so on.

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"]

[QUOTE="danwallacefan"] Yes, Christians use them as a source of dogma and ritual (well, actually, most details about christian ritual come from the church fathers), but that doesnt matter. If you're gonna try to discredit an author, you need to give us information about THE AUTHOR, not the audience.

danwallacefan

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

[QUOTE="chessmaster1989"]

[QUOTE="ferrari2001"]

Let's think it through logically. We know through historical proofs and historians that a popular man named Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. He was crucified, then the rest gets sketchy historically speaking.

Now we could say maybe he was just crazy. If he was crazy why did so many people follow him. He would have shown signs of being crazy and people would not have given up their lives to follow and believe in him.

Now we could say he was a liar. Why kind of person is a good enough liar to put on a 3 year ruse that ends in one of the most excruciating tortures, and deaths. would he have stood by his beliefs after all he had to go through.

So logically he was telling the truth, there is a small chance that one of the other things could have been a possibility but it's small.

Anonymous_2

You know, the problem with your discussion of whether or not he was crazy (and, for that matter, basically your entire "argument") is it could be applied to other alleged prophets of major religions. >_>

Jesus most likely existed and was a good man with good teachings, but nothing more.

Interesting argument but it kinda falls flat when the Quran claims to be the absolute moral guidance and yet allows sex with slaves...

Nope, there you're running into a problem of asserting your own personal moral beliefs are superior to those of the Qur'an, which, if the Qur'an is the word of Allah and has absolute moral guidance, is false. ;)

I believe Jesus was, as he said, the Son of God. Just because more people are blind nowerdays doesn't make that any less true. I think the reason most people are afraid of Him is because, to believe in Him, you must change.

[QUOTE="chessmaster1989"]

Nope, there you're running into a problem of asserting your own personal moral beliefs are superior to those of the Qur'an, which, if the Qur'an is the word of Allah and has absolute moral guidance, is false. ;)

Anonymous_2

Yup, and the exact same thing can be said of The Bible. ;)

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

Shad0ki11

Probably did exist and was a regular man, no more special than any of us.MrPraline

I see there are questions on here to Muhammed and to Jesus. If you read the Bible, there are references to Muhammed, Abraham, and of course Jesus. How could the Bible attest to so many truths and be of a lie in ref to Jesus? I believe he existed and he is the Son of GOD, the Son of Man, andhe died on the crossfor our sins.

I alsobelieve thatjust as with any story that doesn't want to be revealed that many have tried to coverup his existence.

How can those of you that say he don't exist prove your theory?

[QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

ThGy007

Probably existed, but just a normal dude.

i believe hes my savior and i do worship this strong black man

Think about it. If he did have divine power and everything about him is true, then don't you think it's better safe than sorry? If it was a lie then you die and it doesn't really matter that you believed or not. Just think about how long eternity is... and how high the stakes are.ThGy007

i believe hes my savior and i do worship this strong black man

YoungGun13

Option A.

He probably didn't exist, but regardless he had a good message although I don't agree with a lot of it. But that message has since been perverted by a bunch of high class, self rightoues tyrants (I'm NOT neccessarily talking about every christian mind you, just certain ones). I respect Jesus, but I take issues with his fan base. Also in case any of you are wondering I'm an agnostic.

[QUOTE="butterlou"]

I see there are questions on here to Muhammed and to Jesus. If you read the Bible, there are references to Muhammed, Abraham, and of course Jesus. How could the Bible attest to so many truths and be of a lie in ref to Jesus? I believe he existed and he is the Son of GOD, the Son of Man, andhe died on the crossfor our sins.

I alsobelieve thatjust as with any story that doesn't want to be revealed that many have tried to coverup his existence.

How can those of you that say he don't exist prove your theory?

And secondly dont even talk about how incredibly vague that verse is which mentions muhammad in the bible..

[QUOTE="ThGy007"][QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

BumFluff122

[QUOTE="ThGy007"][QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

BumFluff122

[QUOTE="BumFluff122"]

[QUOTE="ThGy007"] Think about it. If he did have divine power and everything about him is true, then don't you think it's better safe than sorry? If it was a lie then you die and it doesn't really matter that you believed or not. Just think about how long eternity is... and how high the stakes are.ThGy007

God can do anything he wants. Why can't he come down as a man?

Let's think it through logically. We know through historical proofs and historians that a popular man named Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. He was crucified, then the rest gets sketchy historically speaking.

Now we could say maybe he was just crazy. If he was crazy why did so many people follow him. He would have shown signs of being crazy and people would not have given up their lives to follow and believe in him.

Now we could say he was a liar. Why kind of person is a good enough liar to put on a 3 year ruse that ends in one of the most excruciating tortures, and deaths. would he have stood by his beliefs after all he had to go through.

So logically he was telling the truth, there is a small chance that one of the other things could have been a possibility but it's small.

ferrari2001

Occams razor in action.

Secondly prophet muhammad said that jesus is NOT the son of God but only a prophet just like himself and moses. He declared associating anything with God as a fatal sin. You cannot simultaneously be a christian and believe in prophet muhammad.:|

Anonymous_2

Lol I feel bad for you. That Ahmadiyya sect of Islam is messed up. Idoltary is not a fatal sin, though it is a great sin indeed.

The options are too polarised in the poll, but I'll go with liar I guess.

I believe a man called Jesus existed and was crucified. I also believe that there is no god and therefore Jesus had no relation to god.
He was probably a man killed for spreading his beliefs which opposed religious/cultural views of the time which is heracy or something. (I've never studied Christianity so I don't know his story fully)

Let's think it through logically. We know through historical proofs and historians that a popular man named Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist. He was crucified, then the rest gets sketchy historically speaking.

Now we could say maybe he was just crazy. If he was crazy why did so many people follow him. He would have shown signs of being crazy and people would not have given up their lives to follow and believe in him.

Now we could say he was a liar. Why kind of person is a good enough liar to put on a 3 year ruse that ends in one of the most excruciating tortures, and deaths. would he have stood by his beliefs after all he had to go through.

So logically he was telling the truth, there is a small chance that one of the other things could have been a possibility but it's small.

ferrari2001

Have you ever heard of Marshall Applewhite and the Heaven's Gate suicide, it fits your crazy and willing to give up life examples and this happened a few years ago.

[QUOTE="ghoklebutter"]

[QUOTE="Anonymous_2"]

Secondly prophet muhammad said that jesus is NOT the son of God but only a prophet just like himself and moses. He declared associating anything with God as a fatal sin. You cannot simultaneously be a christian and believe in prophet muhammad.:|

Anonymous_2

Lol I feel bad for you. That Ahmadiyya sect of Islam is messed up. Idoltary is not a fatal sin, though it is a great sin indeed.

You said a while ago you were an Ahmadiyyan Muslim. From what I've heard, the Ahmadiyyan sect is very extremist sect of Islam. Many of the punishments for sins like Idoltary involve death. I could be wrong though.

[QUOTE="butterlou"][QUOTE="Anonymous_2"]lol wut? So you present that bible knew about muhammad and you also believe that he is the son of god? You do know that muhammad declared jesus to be just a prophet of God, nothing more....

And secondly dont even talk about how incredibly vague that verse is which mentions muhammad in the bible..

Secondly prophet muhammad said that jesus is NOT the son of God but only a prophet just like himself and moses. He declared associating anything with God as a fatal sin. You cannot simultaneously be a christian and believe in prophet muhammad.:|

[QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

I believe he existed, but whether or not he had divine powers is still a question. He may or may not have had divine powers. I don't think I'll ever really know for sure, so I'm going to stay neutral on this one.

For the question asked in a topic title, it would have been wise to include at least an "other" option in your poll, TC.

ThGy007

Where does that verse say anything about muhammad?:?

Anonymous_2

Perhaps if you read the verse and tried to interpret it in a different way than how you normally would read it, you might see that the word prophet could be referring to Muhammad.

Where does that verse say anything about muhammad?:?