If there is no God then Jesus was just a man who died long ago. However we have the bible and his teachings are right there. If Jesus was just a man not God how come no one ever came before or after him who had wisdom such as he?
2007-09-29 16:35:17 · 31 answers · asked by mike c 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Muslims have the Qu'ran and the Hindus have the Vedas. I guess that makes their beliefs right too.
2007-09-29 16:38:42 · answer #1 · answered by Pangloss (Ancora Imparo) AFA 7 · 7⤊ 0⤋
I am not an atheist. I am a spiritual person who does not follow any religion. I believe in the innate wisdom and divinity in the soul once all the fear and dogma is stripped away.
I believe that Jesus existed. I believe that he was a healer, a teacher, an enlightened master.
So was Buddha, so was Krishna, so were many other "saints", sages, gurus and philosophers. A modern example would be the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, or even Osho.
The claim that no one who came before or after was as wise as he is truly just a by-product of blind faith in the Bible. That is your opinion as a Christian.
The Bible contains wisdom. So does the Bhagavad Gita, the Koran, the I-Ching and many others. None of them have a lock on absolute truth. Just collections of stories with a moral, written by humans.
2007-09-29 23:47:49 · answer #2 · answered by magicalpossibilities 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I can tell you're not a well-read fundie and you are to blame for that cos you have lapped up as truth whatever the preachers told you.
Jesus was not the first God-man - most god men were born of virgins, at their birth an evil ruler wanted to kill them, they went missing from 10 > 30, performed magic tricks, had lotsa followers, had 12 boyfriends, died violently and 'arose' 40 hours later.
The bible (aka Goat Herders' Guide to the Galaxy) is a collection of stories - the inclusion of each story was voted on by a bunch of bishops in the late 300s - each bishop had an agenda - top most on the agenda was free room and board for life.
Did you ever wonder WHICH stories were NOT included?
Did you ever wonder WHY they were not included?
Tell me of this wisdom he alone had.
You know nothing about anything else out there.
How can you compare?
Read Bhagavad-Gita - that's real wisdom.
Your Bible is just sentimental pap.
2007-09-30 00:16:32 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What about Confucius? He was the first to site the golden rule. And Buddah? He was a very wise man. There were many wise men before and after Jesus, but he was the one the Romans decided to use to control what was left of their empire. So many of the Christian customs were adapted from local pagan customs to placate the people who didn't want to lose their own religious ways.
The thing that upsets me about any organized religion is that they take their own ideas and say that it's in their god's name and some of these things were as bad or worse than what happened in Germany in WWII. Fanaticism in any form is dangerous.
I don't understand why Christians get so upset when they hear atheists say they don't believe in god. It makes me think they have doubts themselves. Why else would it bother them what someone else believes? I don't hurt anyone. I don't burn down, or vandalize churches. I give to charities like the Red Cross and the Humane Society. I've taught my children the difference between right and wrong and they are good because they wish to be kind to others, not in fear of burning in hell.
I think you should do some research about learned teachers of ancient times before you decide that Jesus was the only wise man on Earth.
2007-09-29 23:59:48 · answer #4 · answered by kcpaull 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Many in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, felt that his brother James was the actual messaiah. Before that, John the Baptist. There were hundreds claiming messiahship back then, it was a sort of fad.
I personally don't believe he ever existed, even as a man. The only evidence outside the bible (a biased source at best) was Josephus, and the small blurb he had on Jesus has been shown to be a medieval forgery.
2007-09-29 23:42:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Actually, there have been many philosophers throughout the ages who have had a similar type of "wisdom." Jesus lived in a messianic age, where many people made similar types of claims.
P.S. I tend to think that God doesn't exist, but because I don't really know (and neither does anyone else), I consider myself an agnostic. I'm more interested in how people perceive of God than whether he actually exists or not.
2007-09-29 23:43:33 · answer #6 · answered by Stephen L 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Says who? Are you talking wisdom or just religious wisdom. There have been a lot of very smart people. Maybe before or after they just weren't written about. I sure don't know everything, and I'm not going to say I do because of a book I've read.
2007-09-29 23:41:41 · answer #7 · answered by punch 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Except that he WASN'T just a man who lived long ago.
Modern biblical scholarship makes a very compelling case for the idea that Jesus never existed... that he was, in fact, entirely fictional. Richard Carrier's review of 'The Jesus Puzzle' is probably the best place to start, if you're really interested in investigating this...
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/jesuspuzzle.shtml
The Jesus Puzzle
http://pages.ca.inter.net/%7Eoblio/jhcjp.htm
http://jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/home.htm
.
2007-09-29 23:41:59 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 8⤊ 0⤋
1. The Bible (Even atheists know how to spell it. Why don't you?) is irrelevant. Just because something is in it does not make it actual or true.
2. You assume there has not been anyone as wise before or since.
3. You assume "Jesus", or his authors, was wise. Your opinion only.
2007-09-30 04:17:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What knowledge???? The guy supposedly stood on a mountain and could see the whole Earth. He didn't even know that wasn't possible.
Luke 4:5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
2007-09-29 23:54:32 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
His wisdom was mediocre at best. And, the Bible is the most absurd book ever written. Additionally, people like you who put the two together and come up with truth are simple morons.
2007-09-29 23:46:56 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋