No matter whether you think he was the son of God, just some prophet, or just some guy, you cannot argue his significance in history. He is clearly one of the most popular (popular meaning well known) people in history, if not the most popular.
That being said, how do you explain him having such a profound influence on thousands of years of history if he is not who the Bible claims he is?
2006-09-05 13:48:58 · 28 answers · asked by Marcello 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hey Willow, your ignorance is showing. I merely posed a question. You want to know what I believe, then at least take the time to read my other questions with comments in the religion section.
Amusing how many people who answered suggested I was making an argument. It is a mere question that I wanted to hear other's opinion of...that's all.
2006-09-05 14:08:15 · update #1
The is an excellent question. As a freethinker I would consider a number of theories.
He is a simple concept, considered good, and was heavily promoted by English kings.
At this point he is simply a hand me down. Parents teach the myth early and aggressively.
2006-09-05 13:52:22 · answer #1 · answered by Mere Mortal 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If you do something that gets someone to write about you, particularly back in a time when written accounts and documents are so far and between that historians go into a tizzy if anything new is discovered, you're bound to be well known.
Alexander the Great, too, has influenced the world by bringing many great things (and quite a few Alexandrias) into circulation with the rest of the world--including the favorite crucifixition.
Socrates thinking has shaped most analytical discussions, the Egyptians helped to give an insight to early human life, the remains of Rome and Greek show a great insight into their religious beliefs and what each city-state held dear.
2006-09-05 21:10:50 · answer #2 · answered by Belie 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
People in the old times did not care if jesus was a fool or something like that. Jesus gave them hope in a world where someone did not really know his place.
I mean at the time there was so much stuff that was unexplained...The church gave the people a reason to live(going to heaven)and such...
Personally I do not believe he had special powers but I dont care because he did good with or without the help of god
2006-09-05 20:59:12 · answer #3 · answered by CitoyenPatriote 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because people were really gullible and wanted something to believe that would make them feel good. Whether or not he actually existed and was actually the son of God (and I don't believe either), Jesus provided that very effectively. Through the centuries between then and now people have found christianity to be very attractive emotionally, so they have converted to it and taught it to their kids.
Face it, just because a whole lot of people believe in something doesn't make it true. A whole lot of people used to believe that the Earth was flat and that everything was composed of earth, fire water or air. Those both got proved wrong. Why shouldn't the same thing happen to christianity?
2006-09-05 20:50:48 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The top selling book in histroy is the Bible. The second best selling book is Chairman Mao's Communist Manifesto. Both were propagated through sevwere violence. Take that with the reluctance of humans to move out of a comfort zone (unless threatened with injury) and you have your "influence". Once converted, people settle.
2006-09-05 21:45:25 · answer #5 · answered by neil s 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
4 gospels in the bible were the version of Jesus' message that had been popularized/mythologized. That version of Jesus' message strongly supports the ego thought system where we live forever as a separate self (soul) and people are judged with some being saved and others not. This appeals so strongly to our common human/ego thought system that its popularity was dramatic. The institution of the church grew and grew, became more powerful, and spread far and wide.
2006-09-05 20:54:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Did Jesus historically exist, outside of Biblical texts?
The Roman Empire kept very accurate, very detailed historical records throughout its long existence. It is curious to see, then, that there is NO histroy of a prophet providing teachings to Roman citizens, and subsequently, being executed by crucifiction. Would it be merely convenient then for the Roman Empire to have a huge amount of recorded information from around Jesus' historical time period, without Christ being mentioned anywhere, by anyone?
2006-09-05 20:55:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Propaganda. His status was elevated by a religious organization who wanted power and money and told people to join them or burn in eternal damnation. So they released the texts known as the Bible to spread the threat, er, message. Look, Jesus would've been a great guy, just trying to do good in the world, but seriously, the church he established isn't a very nice organization.
2006-09-05 20:52:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
First of all get your facts straight. Christianity is a minority religion, we are out numbered by many other religions. Secondly, there were many others that have had just as much influence in the world as Christ, Buddha for one. Hitler had an influence too, so what does that mean?
2006-09-05 20:54:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
There is little to no evidence to substantiate Jesus's existence as a real living person. Historical documents (non-biblical) devoted to journaling the events of during his supposed lifetime fail to describe his activities.
There are however volumes upon volumes upon volumes devoted to the activities of the Gentiles who declared themselves his followers centuries later.
2006-09-05 21:12:14 · answer #10 · answered by February Rain 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋