What makes you think you know anything about Jesus?

Question

1. He did not personally write down and preserve any ideas or correspondence (nor did Jehovah write anything personally, as is the idea with the 10 Commandments.)
2. The stories were not written during his lifetime, and huge chunks of biography are missing (teen years, twenties.)
3. There were many story versions (see the Gnostics) and only a few of them were arbitrarily chosen as canonical by a bunch of "bishops" some 250 years later.
4. The stories were transcribed by hand for 1300 years, resulting in different versions (such as lines added to the end of "Mark.")
5. Who ever came up with the idea the stories were inspired? That's silly because in the earliest years, they were merely considered an "expression" of spirituality. The stories themselves don't claim inspiration.

There are major flaws with religion, so people need to calm down and get more rational before the world has a nuclear war.

Answer 1

The bible is reliable and accurate.

http://watchtower.org/e/t13/
http://watchtower.org/e/pr/index.htm?article=article_03.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/dg/index.htm?article=article_04.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_03.htm

Answer 2

1.Jesus didn't write anything himself, but others did. There are many figures in history who have no self-written record of their doings. Jesus isn't unique in this.

2.We have no contemporary written record of some of the Kings of Britain; still we have some idea that they did exist. Other evidence points to support the oral tradition. As far as the teen years of Christ, some extra-biblical writings do describe these years.

3. The transcription process isn't what results in different "versions" of the gospels. Transcribers only copied what was given them; any error resulted in the entire document being destroyed. This was a sacred task, and nothing was added or deleted in the process. Transcribers were not editors or writers. Different "versions" may have come from different levels of completeness of the found document fragments, or different sources, but this is not ascribed to transcription errors.

5. The idea of inspiration is an invention of the church. In order to claim the ultimate authority of the Bible, it had to be originally inspired, translated with inspiration, the canon chosen with inspiration, and some go so far as to say that readers must be inspired with the Holy Spirit. There is much disagreement in this section, with some only claiming that the original documents were inspired.

In any event, I'm not a Christian, but I've studied it somewhat.

Answer 3

I used to say the same things as you before I was a Christian. Then I learned the facts.

1-Jesus told his disciples that the holy spirit would help them remember all
2-The "stories' were written down soon after his death. Just because it wasn't during his life time does not make it Un-true. His early childhood and his teen years were not important per se. His ministry was and his death and Resurrection was.
3-You say the gospels were "arbitrarily chosen"? The letters of the New test. were being copied and passed around to churches all over the known world. All of the Gnostics gospels were NOT chosen for good reason. Most were written hundreds of years after Jesus and after much prayer were rejected. Don't you think God got into his book what he wanted?
4-We have over 5000 cataloged manuscript of the bible. I have studied this. We have a portion of the gospel of John dating 90-100 AD and he wrote it orginally in 90 ad. Could this be original? The vatican just bought 2 gospels dating around 100 Ad, luke and I think John. All of these documents, even ones in different languages are the same as our bibles today! The men's sole jobs as Scribes were to copy the bible. They had methods of accuracy. The end of the book of Mark is argued over yes, but this does not make the entire books of the NT false.
5-The NT WAS inspired. Jesus told them they would remember via the holy spirit. God inspired or in the Greek it's written, "God breathed" the new test!

There is much info on what I have told you. Please, if you are interested in the truth search it out. Unless your have already made your decision.

Answer 4

What makes you think YOU do? Your points may be true, but what do they have to do with the authenticity of the writings. I am not speaking of physical proof. I agree with you of the flaws in religion - as there are MANY. But I do not agree that scripture was not inspired. Spirituality and logic do not belong in the same environment, and only a fool thinks they do. Spiritual entities do not work on the same levels we do as humans, so to try and conclude anything based on logic, history, and human nature would be limiting the scriptures to a human level. How can we dissect anything or anyone that created us? That entity was here first. How can we question the creator? As arrogant as it is, we do it. And when we do it, we use the guidelines WE set and not the ones given to us in this "book of uninspired scripture". There is one way to get your answer tho, ask Him yourself. He does have an open-door policy you know. And he is willing to clear some time on His schedule to make room for your questions. And, if you are a good boy and be patient, He might even answer you so you can see the answer and not just hear it. There are many questions we have that are designed to make us go to a Higher Entity for the answer. These would be some of those questions. Try it. It can't hurt.

Answer 5

I don't take the Bible literally; I look for the spirit of the message not the actual words (Jesus used parables after all to get a point across - we aren't to take those literally!). I think Jesus did exist, and I think he was tapped into the Truth; I think he was just trying to get us to understand something, not present himself as a savior (that was Paul's idea). I find a lot of what he said useful, and I also find the idea of Jesus as a compassionate guide comforting. I do talk to him sometimes when I have a problem and I get an answer. In the end, it's all about what he means to me personally, and I don't really care if anyone else feels the same way or not.

Answer 6

Interesting comments.
Some are inaccurate, but interesting nonetheless.
Would you put greater credence in things IF Jesus had written it personally?
Doubters doubt no matter who the writer, no?
The expression "not written during his lifetime" gives the impression they were written centuries later.
The book of Matthew was written 8 years after Jesus died.
Is that too long?
The book of Mark was written 22 years after the fact.
That's not exceptional.
And BTW:
Where does this idea about a bunch of bishops, 250 years later, putting things together .....come from?
This is obviously erroneous and easily proved.
Although I do appreciate your final comment.

Answer 7

All I know is that he must have been here - and he must have been really close to God - because there is a LOT of attention paid to this guy. I think he did a lot of good stuff - and had some nice teachings. Other than that - I don't know much at all.

My religion - Religious Science - was founded in the 30's. We know just what our founder, Ernest Holmes, said and did. A lot of his teachings are based on things from the Bible - but we also embrace the good of ALL religions.

You make some really good points. And I agree - as soon as we all calm down - and start to accept and understand each others religions (which are nothing more than your tools to get closer to God and be a better person) - there will be less war.

Namaste!

Answer 8

People only repeat what they have been taught from childhood, and no one is in any position to say anything about what they themselves do not know about. For all you know, jesus could have kept records of some of his ideas and daily lives that have either not yet been discovered, or have eroded away in the 2,000 since he died.

Yes, there are flaws with religion, but there are flaws with everything in life, and nothing is or can ever be perfect.

Answer 9

I know he was a very intelligent guy.
Unfortunately he's not with us anymore, so we can all have a laugh at the unexpected outcome of his words.

Answer 10

1. HE hand-picked HIS Disciples who became the Apostles. GOD inspired the writing of the BIBLE thru the Holy Spirit.

2. Nothing i9s missing that is needed by Christians. The only ones who seem to be missing those years are NON-Christians like yourself who are looking to disprove the Bible as our manual of worship. If they had been important then GOD would have given inspiration of their writing also.

3. The Gnostic writings are very unbelievable because they are not inspired of GOD and in many cases completly disagree with one another. The Bible does NOT have any errors or distortions that have been found in it.

4. I know nothing of the so-called lines that were supposedly "added to the Book of Mark". Was this taken from one of your versions that inadvertantly did not correctly transcribe the original text properly??

5. The original text DOES CLAIM INSPIRATION of GOD. You certainly need to read, study, and obey our FATHER's writings while there is still time.

To become a real Christian, we are told that we must HEAR the WORD in John 6:45, Jesus said, “It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught by God. Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” We are also told so in Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. We are told the we must BELIEVE in Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We are also told so in Mark 16:16, Jesus said “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” and in John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. We are told that we must REPENT (or turn from sin) in Luke 13:3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Also in Acts 17:30 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. We are told to CONFESS CHRIST in Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We are also told in 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. We are to be BAPTIZED according to Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” and Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. We are to CONTINUE to be FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH according to Revelation 2:10c Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. We also know that Paul wrote in Romans 14:12 each of us shall give account of himself to God. It is important that we not ignore what is written, change what is written, or add to what is written in the New Testament which is our Christian Guide. Have a great day!
Eds

Answer 11

You are a smart guy. Why dont you run for world boss and solve this.