- NEW!
by ryanwareham on April 30th, 2008
Jesus was a man. he simply had ideas of how people should treat each other, and that message stuck with a lot of people. over time he became elevated to son-of-god status.
personally i like to compare myself to jesus. i have ideas on how things could be better, i've got 10 or 12 people who will listen to me, and i've got a beard.
i'm also joking on that last part, so anybody who got their panties tied up in a bunch calm down.
by Cowboy-Matter of Fact on February 21st, 2009
No.
by Tallyman on February 3rd, 2009
Jesus is the Son of God.
~"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." ~John 14:6
There is more evidence that Jesus lived than there is for Julius Caesar.
"After approximately 400 years of scriptural silence, Jesus arrived on the scene in about 4 BC. Throughout His teaching, Jesus often quotes the Old Testament, declaring that He did not come to destroy the Jewish Scriptures, but to fulfill them. In Luke 24:44-45, Jesus proclaims to his disciples, “All things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Starting in about 40 AD and continuing to about 90 AD, the eye-witnesses to the life of Jesus Christ, including Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter and Jude write the Gospels, letters and books that later become the New Testament. These authors quote from 31 books of the Old Testament, and widely circulate their material so that by about 150 AD, early Christians were referring to the set of writings as the New Covenant. During the 200s AD, the writings were translated into Latin, Coptic (Egypt) and Syriac (Syria) and widely disseminated. At this time, at least 21 of the writings were considered canonical. Thereafter, in 397 AD, the current 27 books of the New Testament were formally confirmed and canonized in the Synod of Carthage.
Like the Old Testament, we now have significant evidence that the New Testament we read today is remarkably accurate as compared to the original manuscripts. Of the thousands of copies made by hand before the printing press, we have approximately 24,000 manuscripts, including more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts from the New Testament alone. The Bible is better preserved, by far, than accepted writings of Homer, Plato and Aristotle. Of course, as the Bible was carried from country to country, it was translated into languages that don’t necessarily mirror the original languages of Greek and Hebrew. However, other than grammatical and cultural differences, God’s Word has been remarkably preserved and translated over the years. The Bible now gives inspiration to hundreds of millions throughout the world – that’s because the Bible is truly the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21)."
~ http://www.allabouttruth.org/holy-bible.htm
Napoleon's opinion of Jesus:
"Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyound the sope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ."
by Special K on February 3rd, 2009
Who cares- the man is dead- leave him alone- no one ever bring up the name jesus again ok? he's just some dead jewish person- whats the big deal?
by Dmitri on February 3rd, 2009
He is more than a legend. He was and is God Himself. Mythology began when the faith of the Jews was perverted by the Greeks.
Zeus likely came about because of a misinterpretation of Moses being equated with God on Mt. Sinai, for during the time of the giving of the Ten Commandments, there were thunderings and lightnings.
Secondly, Hercules is a perversion of Jesus Christ. Greeks took liberty with at least the early portions of the Bible, and while Jesus was 100% man and 100% God, the Greeks made Hercules but half God and in need of finding his way back to heaven, er, olympus.
Lastly, Hades is the Greek perversion of Satan. Satan does not rule hell, but is to be subjected to the unfathomable torments for eternity when all is said and done in the Biblical sense.
by Melissa on May 21st, 2008
A historical figure. He was an actual man who walked the earth. Whether you want to believe he was the son of God or just a nice guy is up to you, but the man existed.
by Hellaphunt's Skynet on April 29th, 2008
A notion.
by buttman on February 21st, 2009
If the following is purely coincidence, then it must be
a coincidence of an untecedent and extraordinary
proportion ever known in the history of mankind. But
the [belief] in the return of a Christ, which has
prevailed throughout the Christian era, is just the
decendant of this old belief that the "savior-God would
return to earth". However, this return of the "Savior"
was associated by the Babylonians and the Egytians in
relation to the Sun. Comparative Hierologists have discovered records of about thirty(30) Savior-God religions. These cults spread over all the world in very remote times but they show [evidence] of common origin. Here's a list of the similarities shared among the various Savior-Gods:
1) They were born on or near Christmas.
2) Their mothers were virgins.
3) They were born in a cave or stable.
4) They worked for the salvation of humanity.
5) They were called "Saviors", "Mediators", "Healers", etc.
6) They were overcome by evil powers.
7) After being slain they arose from death and ascended
to Heaven at Easter.
8) They were commemorated by "Eucharistic" type of rites.
9) Many of these "Saviors" were believed to make a second coming to the world.
The term "Christ" means the "anointed one". The word the Greeks used was Christos and Chrestos in use prior
to the Christian era. There is in the British Museum an
ancient table from Babylon dating back to about 2000 B.C. This document is a description of a "Passion" play
relating to the god "Bel"--also known as "Baal" among ancient Hebrews.
by Stormarm on February 20th, 2009
No, though not all the details reported in the Gospels should be regarded as absolutely historical.
The Synoptic Gospels belong to the genre of "Near Eastern Sacred Stories." These would take real individuals and their story, and present them in a dramatized way, adding fictional details and vignettes that would illuminate the significance of the person’s life and/or the events around it. Because of this, it is impossible to determine the historicity of certain particulars: it's unclear where fact ends and poetic license begins. HOWEVER, the core structure of every "sacred story" in all its variants and retellings had to correspond to the historical events themselves.
John's Gospel is presented as the testimony of eyewitness (and if it's not, it's utterly blasphemous) but it is orchestrated around theological themes, and is evidently the product of a lifetime of sermonic material: it is a kind of ballad - a very talky one - consisting of 7 discourses occasioned by 7 signs - so the author clearly enjoyed a lot of editorial license as well, and is more interested in communicating theological truth than either a motivating story or an historical account.
Understanding all this, and using all extra-Biblical references and allusions as well, historians are pretty much agreed on certain basic facts of Jesus' life:
1) he lived in Judea and Galilee in the first third of the first century;
2) he was born under a stigma of illegitimacy;
3) he was baptized by John the Baptist;
4) he was an itinerant rabbi, mystic & apocalyptic/millenarian (“The end of the world is near - so repent before it's too late!”) preacher;
5) in his own lifetime he had a reputation as a healer and wonder-worker (even the 2nd & 3rd century pagan and Jewish apologists acknowledge this and try to explain it away by attributing it to sorcery and demons);
6) he called/appointed 12 apostles;
7) he rejected much of the oral law;
8) he amended the written Law on his own authority;
9) he called God “Abba” (‘Pappa’), which was absolutely unique and scandalous at the time;
10) he forbade divorce;
11) he associated with the unclean and social outcasts;
12) he had women among his disciples;
13) he claimed to be both the apocalyptic "Son of Man" (the world-judge of the end-times who sits on the Throne of God) and "the Bridegroom of Israel" (a Jewish circumlocution for the God of Israel); he also consistently raised messianic hopes about himself and refused to dispel them;
14) he drove the moneychangers out of the Temple;
15) he instituted the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper/Holy Communion (though what exactly he meant by it, is still a mystery to historians and a bone of contention among Christian denominations)
16) the High Priest and his cronies had Jesus arrested, condemned him for blasphemy, and petitioned Pilate to execute him;
17) he was crucified by order of Pilate on the 16th of Nisan in either 30 or 33 CE, and the execution worked: Jesus died.
18) the following Sunday his tomb was empty and no one could produce the body
19) his disciples and his family claimed that he had been resurrected into a glorious and incorruptible (and strangely tangible) body, and that they had ongoing contact with him over several weeks.
This is as far as proper historical method can take us at the moment.
by DudeLer 2 on February 3rd, 2009
If you would spend some serious time examing and reading the bible and seek Jesus through the Holy Spirit, you would come to an understanding that something real is available to you through prayer.
Jesus exists in the spirit realm and he wants to be your friend. He is like an invisible Friend. We share our day with Him, our problems, our success. We keep an attitude of gratitude and we listen for his voice...and you will hear him speak to you if you take the time and are filled with expectation.
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Jesus is not a myth or a legend. He is real.
by Big B on February 3rd, 2009
Jesus was an actual person, the myth is the Christian religion...
by DudeLer on May 21st, 2008
it doesnt matter. jesus is about humans having spiritual contact their heavenly father.
by Allen09130 on February 21st, 2009
There are many non-biblical books written by un-inspired men of the first century who relay first hand knowledge of Jesus and that he performed many wonders. Some of the records are even hostile toward Him and the gospel but they have unwittingly bolstered proof of his existence. There is more proof of Jesus existance than there is of George Washington.
by bolwerk on February 20th, 2009
Obviously there are myths and legends about him (clues are when impossible things happen in tales about him, such as feeding thousands of people with a few loaves of bread), but he's certainly a historical figure.
by dngcal1 on February 9th, 2011
Dimitri is wrong about Satan. HA SATAN as its stated in TANAKH means The EVIL which refers to Yitzer RA which is the evil doings of ourselves. According to the Hebrew Bible which is the source...HA SATAN is our evil ways and not some being. When JOB is tormented he is filled with guilt as there is not a physical being called Satan or the devil.
The Myth of Jesus takes pagan ideas from Noridic ideas and creates this being with a similar past as Osiris or Mithras. Both had 12 apostles, a mother called Mary a father called Joseph, he was born again, walked the earth after his resurrection after crucified on wood. This is more than just coincidence. Christians can believe this story line but history shows us he NEVER LIVED. if you have any historical proof = documents from the 1st century from a valid historian than he did not exist. We have historians who speak of Rabbi Hillel who lived 40 years BEFORE! the time of Jesus but they do not speak of Jesus....WHY?
by formichinoo on February 9th, 2011
He possibly did exist. but has probably been "bigged" up over the years. Who knows in another 2000 years folk may be worshiping another revolutionary, Che Guevara!
by dngcal1 on February 9th, 2011
Also, If I wrote about the time of George Washington and said I was there...of course this would be a lie and silly. People who wrote about the 1st century in the 3rd century were not there. They had manuscripts and no real research centers. There were 158 historians in the 1st and 2nd century. NOT ONE wrote about jesus. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
by Chuquilson on February 21st, 2009
Wasn't he a carpenter
by Allen09130 on February 21st, 2009
I found 13 sources last night on a google search, I can't find the website today as I can't remeber how I worded my google search but I did just find this.
( Julius Africanus, writing around 221 AD, found a reference in the writings of Thallus, who wrote a history of the Eastern Mediterranean around 52 AD, which dealt with the darkness that covered the land during Jesus's crucifixion:
"Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away the darkness as an eclipse of the sun--unreasonably, as it seems to me." [A solar eclipse could not take place during a full moon, as was the case during Passover season.])
Although it isn't an account of Jesus it does confirm the mysterious darkness associated with the crucifixion of Jesus as mentioned in the gospels.
by dngcal1 on February 9th, 2011
Jesus was indeed a myth. Tallyman takes his knowledge from the NT which was written in 325 at the council of Nicea 300 years after the time of Jesus. High School history books do not include anything about Jesus in the 1st century. Jesus the Rabbi wrote not one word even though a Rabbi is to write his "Mishnah" or understanding of Torah, get married and have children. Jesus did none of these things though they are part of the 613 commandments Jews should follow.
Christianity is based on the unique belief that Jesus was God's Son, born of a virgin, sacrificed for the Salvation of man. In reality, as sacrificed virgin-born Savior Son of God, Jesus was not unique. Not even close. The Jesus mythos simply followed the traditional model of the ancient pagan savior-gods.
At the time of Jesus of Nazareth, as for centuries before, the Mediterranean world roiled with a happy diversity of creeds and rituals. Details varied according to location and culture, but the general outlines of these faiths were astonishingly similar. Roughly speaking the ancients' gods:
* Were born on or very near our Christmas Day
* Were born of a Virgin-Mother
* Were born in a Cave or Underground Chamber
* Led a life of toil for Mankind
* Were called by the names of Light-bringer, Healer, Mediator, Savior, Deliverer
* Were however vanquished by the Powers of Darkness
* And descended into Hell or the Underworld
* Rose again from the dead, and became the pioneers of mankind to the Heavenly world
* Founded Communions of Saints, and Churches into which disciples were received by Baptism
* Were commemorated by Eucharistic meals
Krishna was born of the virgin Devaki; the Savior Dionysus was born of the virgin Semele. Buddha too was born of a virgin, as were the Egyptian Horus and Osiris. The old Teutonic goddess Hertha was a virgin impregnated by the heavenly Spirit and bore a son. Scandinavian Frigga was impregnated by the All-Father Odin and bore Balder, the healer and savior of mankind.
Mithras was born in a cave, on December 25th, of a virgin mother. He came from heaven to be born as a man, to redeem men from their sin. He was know as "Savior," "Son of God," "Redeemer," and "Lamb of God." With twelve disciples he traveled far and wide as a teacher and illuminator of men. He was buried in a tomb from which he rose again from the dead -- an event celebrated yearly with much rejoicing. His followers kept the Sabbath holy, holding sacramental feasts in remembrance of Him. The sacred meal of bread and water, or bread and wine, was symbolic of the body and blood of the sacred bull.
The celebration of Christmas on December 25 was originally the pagan birthday of Mithras, the sun god, whose day of the week is still known as "Sunday." The halo of light which is usually shown surrounding the face of Jesus and Christian saints, is another concept taken from the sun god. The theme of temptation by a devil-like creature was also found in pagan mythology. In particular, the story of Jesus's temptation by Satan resembles the temptation of Osiris by the devil-god Set in Egyptian mythology.
The JEWISH MESSIAH must:
* Oversee the rebuilding of Jerusalem, including the Third Temple, in the event that it has not yet been rebuilt (Michah 4:1 and Ezekiel 40-45)
* Gather the Jewish people from all over the world and bring them home to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 11:12; 27:12-13)
* Influence every individual of every nation to abandon and be ashamed of their former beliefs (or non-beliefs) and acknowledge and serve only the One True God of Israel (Isaiah 11:9-10; 40:5 and Zephaniah 3:9)
* Bring about global peace throughout the world (Isaiah 2:4; 11:5-9 and Michah 4:3-4).
Jesus did none of the above. Jesus is a creation, a myth that was used by Constantine to unify the empire. Before Constantine, Emp. Diocletian burned all manuscripts in the Romans library and fed Christians to the lions. All Christian manuscriots had to be reedited so by the 4th century the 200 manuscripts that were used to make the semi-final version of the NT were from that era. In other words, the apostles had nothing to do with the text of the NT we know today.
* Numbers 23:19: God is not a man, that He should be deceitful, nor the son of man, that He should repent. Would He say and not do, or speak and not confirm?
* Psalms 146:3: Do not rely on princes nor in the son of man, for he holds no salvation.
Even the New Testament concurs that Jesus, in fact, is not the Messiah:
* Matthew 20:28: Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.
by Kierafaye on February 21st, 2009
Jesus is flat out history, it happened, no doubt
Jesus 'Christ' however, that's up for debate
if you had a genie, what 3 wishes would you wish for?
by ☆italian chick☆ Amadora :D on October 8th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
Which has the most lives: a zombie or a vampire?
by keithold is a prodigal bagger on December 14th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
what does the word "chaos" mean in Greek mythology
by Rakhitha91 on December 30th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
If you could have any mythical creature as a companion, which one would it be and why?
by dredgegolgari on November 8th, 2010
| 5 people like this
are there real vampires? my fiance told me a pretty convincing story about them yesterday :-/
by sillysammie on January 3rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
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Comments
Gee Brain, what are we going to do tonight?
by Rufus_T_Firefly on February 3rd, 2009
In terms of historical evidence, there is vastly more evidence that Jesus presented himself as God-incarnate than there is that he offered any moral teachings at all. (The emperor Julian the Apostate even wrote (around 355 AD) that all the moral teachings of Christianity came from Paul, who added them just to make Jesus' personality cult look respectable. Go figure.)
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The "Jesus-the-great-moral-teacher theory", aka, "the Liberal Jesus", was debunked over a century ago by Schweitzer, and historians and NT scholars are still convinced "the liberal Jesus" was just the product of the wishful thinking of 19th Century liberal Protestants attempting to recreate Jesus in their own image.
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But you're at least correct that Jesus really did exist.
by Stormarm on February 21st, 2009
I think we'll find that IF Jesus could ever make another public appearance, it'll be just like every other over-hyped movie that has been released. All of the true stuff will have been painted over and anything of real substance will have been left out of the screenplay in favor of stuff that appeals to those who buy religious action figures and sequel tickets. In other words, the best parts of the movie were already in the TV trailer and the facts which could have made it interesting and which made it a true human-interest story will have been left out in order to sell more bibles and DVD's. Sadly the book is almost always better than the movie.
by Rufus_T_Firefly on February 21st, 2009