For non-religious followers, do you believe that JESUS had a positive impact on society?

Question

Notice I said JESUS -- not His followers.

Answer 1

Yes, I do believe Jesus has a very positive influence. I'm glad you made the distinction between Jesus and his followers. If it weren't for some of his followers, I would probably still be a Christian.

Answer 2

There is no evidence whatsoever for the existence of a historical Jesus of Nazareth, whether son of God or just rabble-rouser. The Romans kept meticulous records of trials and punishments, and there is no record of a trial, under Pontius Pilate, of Jesus as described in the gospels. And, although many people were writing about conditions in Judea at that time, nobody recorded miracles, nobody wrote about the slaughter of the innocents (and if this had happened, it would have been widely noted), the story about Joseph having to travel to be taxed does not square with any accounts of Roman taxation. It's all fiction.

Answer 3

ABSOLUTELY, and here are some positive comments from persons you might not expect:

*** gt The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived ***

>>The historian H. G. Wells said that a man’s greatness can be measured by ‘what he leaves to grow, and whether he started others to think along fresh lines with a vigor that persisted after him.’ Wells, although not claiming to be a Christian, acknowledged: “By this test Jesus stands first.”
>>Napoleon is reported to have said: “Jesus Christ has influenced and commanded His subjects without His visible bodily presence.”
>>As one writer aptly expressed it: “All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully.”
>>The respected historian Will Durant argued: “That a few simple men should in one generation have invented so powerful and appealing a personality, so lofty an ethic and so inspiring a vision of human brotherhood, would be a miracle far more incredible than any recorded in the Gospels.”
>>The reference work The Historians’ History of the World observed: “The historical result of [Jesus’] activities was more momentous, even from a strictly secular standpoint, than the deeds of any other character of history. A new era, recognised by the chief civilisations of the world, dates from his birth."
>>The New Encyclopædia Britannica thus concludes: “These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus, which was disputed for the first time and on inadequate grounds at the end of the 18th, during the 19th, and at the beginning of the 20th centuries.”

Answer 4

The concept was to instill blind obeisance in the people and give them guidelines to follow whether or not he existed is irrelevant . In the time at which the bible was written I would have to agree that it did help to bring things together however what do you define as better ? Is the organization achieved worth the cost ? Everyone has to decide that for them-self . Centuries of war , murder , torture and lack of progress in science balanced against a temporarily unified Europe { and not well unified at that } . You decide .

Answer 5

No.

Christianity is a hybrid of the trinitarian God of the neo-Platonic monotheism of Greece, the savior deity of the Roman cult of Mithra, the Hebrew scriptures, and the personal delusions of Paul.

Any historical figure named Jesus has been completely erased and forgotten.

Answer 6

No, because Jesus's impact IS his followers, plain and simple.

Answer 7

I think he did have a positive impact in introducing Buddhist ideas to a Western theater....whether or not they actually adhered to the principles of love and peace that he preached about...

Answer 8

Non-religious followers? What is that?

Answer 9

Prove me Jesus existed first.

Answer 10

never, how many crusades were fought in the name of him?