Why do I keep seeing people saying Jesus thought this, or did this, or said that?

Question

Were you there to witness these events or hear these things said? Do you know how his mind worked and what he would think about this or that or the next thing in your dailiy life? All you have is hearsay evidence passed down through a telephone game system. So, please do not pretend to believe you know Jesus' mind or his works or his views on the world. You really have no clue.

No, I wouldn't walk around going. Oh my, George Washington would disapprove of that...

Uhhh... Question 1 ... there is a picture.

So spike would have us believe nothing... smart.

And Levi is a crazy lunatic. You can't use an example like the one you used. A farfetched example to support something and say "This is real because I just said this in an outlandish way"

Answer 1

because they read it in a book written by people who never met him

Answer 2

The telephone game is where one person whispers something one time into the ear of the person next to them, then it gets passed along until the end where it is (sometimes) a different message than the one that started.

We know what Jesus said because John and others wrote it down for us. We don't have to rely on the telephone game.

The New Testament was written by those who saw Christ first-hand. Matthew, Mark, John, and Paul all witnessed Him. They wrote the majority of the NT, and they all wrote down what they saw and heard for themselves.

The New Testament is a written document. It can be copied, re-read, compared to the copy, and verified as to its accuracy.

Even IF a word got misspelled or even a whole sentence left out, the story would still be the same and matches what the rest of the Bible says. In fact, you can pick a book of the Bible and remove it--any book--and the Bible's message would still be consistent and true. There may be less information, and we might have more questions, but it would still say: Jesus is Lord, He came to earth, He performed miracles, He died and was resurrected.

Answer 3

How do I know you asked this question? We accept a lot on faith; on the word of others - the alternative is to only accept that which we absolutely know for certain ourselves, which would take up so little space in the brain it would make you wonder what the rest of it is for.

No, humans have the capacity to learn from other generations, through sayings passed down in an oral tradition (especially useful when many people couldn't read or write), or through the written word, or in paintings (some so amazingly accurate that present day doctors can use them to tell what medical conditions the subject had), or in modern times, through radio, television, Internet, etc.

It's not all true of course so you have to make your own mind up on what to trust. You're right to have a critical mind - especially since we are bombarded with information from so many sources, but, since we cannot experience everything ourselves it is useful to have a working model of the universe (as we know it) to inform us. This can change as we learn more, or accept more from the discoveries of others, but it's unlikely ever to be complete.

When it comes to Jesus we have several accounts of a small part of his life and relatively few words - but the witness of several people supporting something is usually acceptable (in a court of law for instance).

Make your own mind up, but respect that others do the same and come to different conclusions.

Answer 4

Show me your credentials that makes you a theological expert. Whoever listens to you has only what you write. I don't believe in you. You're just a computer generated facsimile of a real person. I also believe that you've been programmed to send out sublimial messages to help the phone company take over the world. You, in all actuality, exist as real in your own mind. You are nothing more than an internet telemarketer and that's all you'll ever be!
I feel sorry for you.
Enough with the double standards!

Answer 5

The new testament was written by witnesses of the events of Jesus. His Disciples.
If we went by your theory, we'd have to throw out every guilty verdict that was ever handed down to a murderer because the cases are usually based on circumstantial evidence where there is no witnesses.
The Bible is a written account from those who were there.

Answer 6

How do people know what their great-grandmother thought, did, and said? There is evidence. Like, your parents are evidence that they had parents and that their parents had parents, etc. The way your mother sews may very well be the way her great-grandmother sewed. Your father's values about child-rearing may very well have been formed by his father's father's father's values about child-rearing.

Another question: How do you know what the founding fathers of the U.S.A. thought, did, and said?

History. Documents left behind. Plus the manifestation of their thoughts, actions, and words is the nation of the United States of America.

One can "know" people who lived long ago by what they left behind. How do we "know" Homer, for example? How do we "know" Marcus Aurelius? Because of what they left behind them after they lived.

You could say it's all hearsay if you like. But then you need to discount the entire sum of human history as being hearsay.

UPDATE

Re: Selnyk's email to me: "Subject: documents and history

"Message: There is LOTS of documentation and history recorded for what the founding fathers did and said. There is one source for what Jesus did and said. The bible. Now, here we have a ton of evidence supporting one thing, and incredibly little supporting the other. Yet you try and compare them and say they're equally believable? Give me a break."

My response: "I am not trying to say they are 'equally believable.' I am trying to answer your question given the terms of your question.

"You ask if I was there to witness what Jesus said and did. I ask if you were there to witness what the founding fathers said and did. Simple comparison.

"If that is too recent a moment in history for you, fine. Were you there to witness what Marcus Aurelius said and did? He was born in 121 and died in 180. Just another example. Few people ask me how I know who he was even though I wasn't there to see and hear him. I know him through what he wrote and what others wrote about him. That is, through history.

"The Bible is one source, true. But it is a collected source of many different people's accounts. It may be scanty history, but it is history nonetheless. 'History' being defined, in part, as 'written accounts of what people perceived.'

"The farther you go back in time, the scantier the historical documents. People in general either weren't avid recordkeepers or else their records were destroyed and/or decayed over a span of time.

"These were the terms of your argument. I was answering within the framework of those terms."

Answer 7

Well, now if the bible is, say, a biography then I think people should have a pretty good idea of the kind of man he was and how he would react and what he would think. Most of his reactions to events in his life were recorded in the bible,such as, how he reacted to people selling tithing's in the synogogue...smashing and overturning tables, screaming that they've turned his father's house into a den of theives.
Unfortunately, most people say those things to get others to believe in what they say or to get them do what they want them to do.

Answer 8

I agree with your statement, but not sure your comments really serve much purpose. You are of course allowed your opinion, but why incite responses that are obviously only going to cause debate, unless of course that is your intention.

I simply believe in 'live and let live' unless something is so radical it is disturbing or disrupting my family life.

Christians come in all shapes, sizes, and intensities....many are good people but some take it too far. If you can't agree with them, maybe avoiding them would just be better.

Peace.

Answer 9

I think if there were really an all knowing God or Saviour, they would look at the human race and throw up all over us because of all the hatred and stupidity committited in Their names. I also think people who claim to have special messages sent to them are just about but Not quite as valid as folks who claim to see Elvis or be abducted by UFOs. I have to go now, one of my past lives is trying to contact me and I don't have call waiting.

Answer 10

I have first hand knowledge because the spirit of God lives within me. He has answered prayers and he gives me peace even in this world.Where people perish for a lack of knowledge. I have his word to live by and that keeps me on the right path. I know because I've lived the other way.and I know what it brings.

Answer 11

did you know George Washington then how can you believe he was the first president of the united states how can you be sure what he did in his life time if you were not there? because of history if you look up history of the events of the bible you will see they are true and not made up by people!