Atheists love Jesus. Well maybe they love the idea of Jesus. Many Atheists are out to debunk Christianity because Christians are overbearing, judgemental, look down on other type, snobby, money grubbing hypocrites who are extremely defensive.
Let's look at Jesus and his band of thieves, and working class folk who he called his Disciples and friends. He walked around with these red necks and associated himself with sinners, harlots, tax gatherers and other rif raf. He defended the weak and helpless, he touched lepers and had compassion for those who mourned. He comforted the sick, healed the blind and lame.
He was called a drunkard and a glutton, he was accused of treason, of being a lunatic or of demon possesion, he was called a blasphemer by church folk. And finally when he had a chance to defend himself in front of Pilate when he was asked are you the Messiah, he simply said "It is as you say".
So I stand here today in agreement with my Atheists friends and say Jesus is truly the bomb.
Peace out Sour Kraut. feeno
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Jesus was this he was that,rah rah! whoop de doo de, he was one real cool homie!!, and he "came not to send peace, but a sword."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10%3A34&version=KJV
Wooo hooo !
Yeah he was truly the real bomb alright, ka pai feeno :)
I love the fact that Jesus confessed to liking to drink too much, but just once. It seems he wasn't ashamed of it.
ReplyDeleteIn Luke 7: 31-35, Jesus implicitly admits to being a drunkard. He neither denies the accusation of being a glutton and a drunkard, or corrects the statement, but agrees by saying: 35But wisdom is proved right by all her children.
This is old Biblical talk for: If it's true, then it's true. You can consult a Concordance if you don't want to take a nontheist's word for it.
Check out Matthew 11:19 too. Consult the Greek, you might wish to use a Concordance. Or you may choose to read from the New King James or English Standard Version of the Bible, as they are the most accurate (close to source) translations of the Holy Bible.
In the original Vulgate Jesus uses the Greek for "Justified." Saying his actions are justified.
Why does he do this? To separate himself from the Baptists ministry obviously. But this has other sociopolitical implications, and I don't want to bore you with the details of Early and Classical Christian politics.
But if you want a scholarly look at the political tension between the John faction and the Jesus ministry, check out "The Masks of Christ" by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince. They go into details on the John the Baptist issue. There are more books on this particular subject, but start here and follow the references for more insights!
Have a good one!
T Vick
ReplyDeleteFrom Montana to Japan I'd say that is some culture shock. Hell, a boy from Montana in a town with push button telephones gives most of them boys a heart attack?
I appreciate your nice response. I am actually very familar with this passage. I have studied/read and or taught on this several times.
Having said that I still could be wrong? Here is my take on these passages you've brought up.
John The B was a Nazarite, he lived by a strict code of ethics and couldn't/wouldn't eat or drink certain foods etc. Yet the Jews tried to dismiss his teachings by saying he was demon possessed by those very same actions. Jesus comes and is the opposite of J the B. He eats and drinks whatever he feals like with people the religious looked down on.(Btw, I don't think he did either in exsess). Anyways, guess what? They still weren't happy. That's why Jesus compared them to school kids who wouldn't be happy playing a happy game like a wedding or a sad game like a funeral. It is still true today, you just can't please everyone. Verse 35 is Jesus simply calling himself 'wisdom" and he will vindicated by his disciples as to the way the lived their life in spite of Christ being rejected.
P.S. Don't think it goes unnoticed that I see how you always capitilize Jesus' name etc. Good lookin' out. feeno
Who can take the sunrise, and sprinkle it with dew, cover it with chocolate and make all your dreams come true, the Gandy Man, the Gandy man can cause he mixes it with love and makes the world taste good.
ReplyDeleteYa know Big G I can be a bit of a dag.
Peace, feeno
Gandy
ReplyDeleteP.S. I might have just given you the greatest pickup line ever?
Girl says: What's your name?
Gandolph says: Gandy, then break out with the Sammy Davis Jr. impersonation.
If it works you owe me?
feen
Feeno-
ReplyDeleteThat interpretation works if you approach the scripture from a purely devotional point of view. So I can't say you're wrong, because when you read it the way Christians are trained to, then that's the meaning you most often end up with.
But from a historical point of view, there is a lot more going on behind the scenes. Literally, there are things going on in the real world Jewish historical context not talked about in the Bible. We actually have good records on John the Baptist... after all, we know his burial place, where his family tomb is, we know his political interests, we know his religious sect, we know many factual things about him that we just can't know about Jesus of Nazareth.
So I'm not saying your understanding is entirely wrong... but I will go as far as to say it doesn't fit the Jewish historical setting nor is it supported by the actually historical evidence we do have. It's "consistent" with what the Christian "understanding" of that time period entails... but I can't buy into it, because I know about all the other stuff which just makes it impossible for me to read it like you do.
I simply can't just disregard all the information I have accrued, and I write about this some on my blog. I should write more on the "divinity" of Jesus as the Christ, because I don't believe he ever thought himself divine, but Paul certainly did. I think Jesus thought of himself as the messiah, sure, but not the son of God in the sense Christians mean by begotten son. "Son of God" was a common term used among the servant, priests, of YAHWEH, and is specific to Judaism.
And yes, I believe that Yeshua of Nazareth was a real historical figure who was then mythologized and legendized. But so were the Buddha, Plato, Alexander the Great, and so was Pythagoras. All of these men were said to have had virgin births by the way... all of them real historical figures.
Haha--Montana isn't that backwards. I mean, we don't ride horses to work or anything like that. lol. But we do like'em our six shooters and beer. Haha.
You bet, I had a huge culture shock upon my first time to Japan. The second time was much easier. And I haven't been back to the States in over four years. Although now I'm getting sort of homesick. My tenure is up after another year, and I plan to come back and get my PhD... so I'll be gearing up for that.
Peace out!
Yes, Jesus Christ has always appeared before from a virgin birth. Whether he was a Greek, Roman, Egyptian, or Pagan God, we have met him before.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Bible was written, his myth was made into a heated political figure. He was used to promote Anti Semitism. Jewish people posed the largest political threat to the Roman Empire, to the point where they had to be outside of the city limits to conduct business transactions. Heated relations between the Romans and the Jews were contentious, and one thousand years later, they gave Christians more reason to turn their backs on them. The Bible does not place his actions in context, on purpose.
He went to the temple and cast them out. The only place where they could do business, he cast them out. He went to the wailing wall and preached. The biggest eff you to their culture. Constantine used this myth to create politics, and it worked, all too well.
The Romans kept meticulous documentation. Every criminal executed under the guise of the Roman Empire can be historically traced, right down to the names of the jury members who sat there. They have no record of JC, but they do the two other criminals. Interesting. That is because you cannot crucify a mythological figure.