How do you "know" that Jesus/Christianity is not just a crazy story?
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Anonymous
| All religions are based on crazy stories, it's just a matter of when they gain the critical mass needed to move them from "cult" to "religion" |
Anonymous
| Honestly, if you believe any of this nonsense about Noah's Ark and Virgin Births past the age of 12 then there is something wrong with you. |
Anonymous
| This thread won't end well. |
Anonymous
OP here -- I knew that it would likely take an ugly direction as so many do in DCUM... but, as I said, I don't feel like I can ask this question to friends without making them feel like I'm attacking their beliefs as baseless or irrational....yet, I really do wonder if the smart folks who genuinely believe the whole John 3:16 are aware of facts that I'm not aware of. Yes, I get the concept of "faith" but do those with "faith" have BLIND faith? I'm giving them credit for having "faith" based on something convincing... but I'm not sure what it is that convinces the smart, analytical people who have faith. |
Anonymous
party on Wayne! |
Anonymous
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OP, this is the basic argument:
#1 Jesus was either Lord, liar, lunatic, guru or myth. #2 Jesus could not possibly be liar, lunatic, guru, or myth. #3 Therefore, Jesus is Lord. For a full exposition of this argument, I suggest Handbook of Christian Apologetics, by Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli. Take it out from the library. There are separate chapters on the divinity of Christ and the Resurrection (as well as other topics). It is a marvelous, clear, logical treatment of vast amounts of centuries of philosophy and theology. A good start, if you are not a troll and are honestly seeking to clarify your beliefs. Discussing the details here is fruitless, because, well, it's DCUM. |
Anonymous
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I'm an atheist and am puzzled by OP's question. It's faith, to an extent. There's also an element of history.
All of us have the exact same information available to us. We just have a slightly different take on it. |
Anonymous
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Actually, OP, here is a slightly expanded argument:
I. Jesus claimed divinity A. He meant it literally 1. It is true......Lord 2. It is false a. He knew it was false......Liar b. He didn't know it was false.......Lunatic B. He meant it nonliterally, mystically.......Guru II. Jesus never claimed divinity.......Myth There is nothing "blind" about this faith. "Smart, analytical" people around the world have worked their way through the evidence for centuries and concluded "Jesus is Lord." |
Anonymous
| ^^^sorry, my indentations did not work for some reason |
Anonymous
Thank you for this reference. I will check it out. |
Anonymous
| That book is not in my county's library system... do you have a similar title? |
Anonymous
I'm not the PP you were talking with, but can't you specifically ask the library to get it for you? I have done this in the past with books I want. Apparently they can borrow it from another county? I'm also intrigued by the description of the book, and a friend of mine swears by that guy, Peter Kreeft, although she has never recommended a specific book of his to me. Anyway, I think I will try to get it, too. |
Anonymous
Hmm...Kreeft's Fundamentals of the Faith is a collection of short essays on each of the topics in the Handbook, and Kreeft's Yes or No is a dialogue version, but neither of these other books is as comprehensive as the Handbook. Perhaps you can do an interlibrary loan? My library system definitely has copies of it. Hope it helps! |
Anonymous
Well said PP! |
Anonymous
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