Larsen80 wrote:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ or just Jesus of Nazareth?
I think Thomas Paine said it best:
Thomas Paine wrote:
That such a person as Jesus Christ existed, and that he was crucified, which was the mode of execution at that day, are historical relations strictly within the limits of probability. He preached most excellent morality and the equality of man; but he preached also against the corruptions and avarice of the Jewish priests, and this brought upon him the hatred and vengeance of the whole order of priesthood. The accusation which those priests brought against him was that of sedition and conspiracy against the Roman government, to which the Jews were then subject and tributary; and it is not improbable that the Roman government might have some secret apprehensions of the effects of his doctrine, as well as the Jewish priests; neither is it improbable that Jesus Christ had in contemplation the delivery of the Jewish nation from the bondage of the Romans. Between the two, however, this virtuous reformer and revolutionist lost his life. It is upon this plain narrative of facts ... that the Christian Mythologists, calling themselves the Christian Church, have erected their fable, which, for absurdity and extravagance, is not exceeded by anything that is to be found in the mythology of the ancients.
This excerpt is from his essay, "Age of Reason", which Thomas Paine wrote in 1794.
Jesus
the man most surely existed as an itinerant preacher of morality and ethics against the religious leaders of the day, for which the Sadducess and Pharisees framed him for High Crimes Against Rome, and for which he was executed. Whether or not he was of divine parentage is a matter of faith.
It seems that all of the Bible written before the Gospel of Mark was mere preamble, and all that was written after was mere embellishment and commentary, with each successive account adding miracles to the story, culminating in the Book of the Revelation.
All those letters that Saul/Paul wrote seem to be his own attempts to fill in the gaps of Jesus' teachings with his own misogyny and prejudices in an effort to make the early Christian church over into his own image.
There is no place in the Bible that speaks out against slavery, the subjugation of women, or conquest by genocide.
31 Jan 2014, 5:19 pm
. Look what happens he gets there, then goes nuts in the temple. He got crucified, today the sufferers of this syndrome get medicated.
