Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are documented accounts of Jesus as early as the first century. Scholars at the time did not debate his existence. But I suppose if you’re an atheist on here no answer is good enough so it’s an easy way to pile it on.

I have no issue with research that Jesus was a historical person. That does appear to be fairly well accepted by scholars. But obviously, that he likely existed says nothing at all about anything else.

I do. There are no first-hand reports and many sources are sketchy.

Do you believe Socrates was a real person?

There are multiple independent historical accounts of Socrates' existence from his contemporaries. These accounts come from people in different professions (other philosophers, poets, playwrights, etc) and range from favorable to openly hostile.

Anonymous wrote:This is mostly an Indian Hindu thing but they are surprised if religion comes up that Jesus was a person.

For instance someone who is s Jewish does not believe Jesus was son of God. My Jewish friends like to joke he is just a nice Jewish Boy who went into the family business.

Christians believe he is Son of God.

Most Indians/Hindus when they say they don't believe in Jesus it is almost like a Tooth Fairy or Easter Bunny thing. Granted I don't talk religion much but found it amazing that none thought he was a person who lived on Earth. In fact one or two utterly confused how could a regular man be considered a God.

Has anyone else got this reaction?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you need to back off this idea of being a "religious mentor" in the workplace.

1. You can bring up conflicts about holidays - Yom Kippur, Easter, MLK Day, in DC - Emancipation Day, neutrally when discussing scheduling.
2. There is no reason for you to test people's knowledge on non-work related matters.
3. Unless they staff are actually being disrespectful, you have no need to discuss Jesus, historical or religious with them. Not knowing or believing what you do isn't a sign of disrespect.
4. Learn boundaries.

OP - I actual stopped awhile back. BTW All staff is disrespectful and self involved. It is just how society is. I recall my very first job out of School a tip I got to getting ahead is to find out what football teams my boss likes, watch some games so I can chat, women or guys who did not like football at least watch superbowl so you can chat on Monday and not be let out. Find what school boss went to, etc. Common sense. I like to find religion too if I could so I could now to wish folks Merry Christmas or not. Know if is a Passover greeting, etc. The person touch.

I worked at two Majority owned Jewish firms and been to tons of Temple activities, worked for a department that was all Jamaican except me. In IT had tons of Hindus working for me and over career was promoted by a Black Man, Jewish Man, Gay Man, WASP women, Muslim Man and a Hindu Man. No White Straight Christian Man ever promoted me in my life. I learn about their cultures and religions so I can relate. But that is ancient history.

My last boss told me he gave up on mentoring unless they come to him. Cube Dwellers he called them, are happy in their Cubes punching the clock we need them to run stuff so unless they want advice leave them be. He was a big promoter until he got around 50 and gave up. Todays folks already "know it all" If they want to think Jesus is a cartoon character and similar to Santa Claus and Easter Bunny so be it.

I mean ... what is it that you want them to believe? Do you want them to think Jesus is God? Or just to have the cultural literacy to know that Christians generally believe that Jesus was a real person? Or do you want them to actually believe that Jesus was a real historical figure? Because in my mind (as an ex-Catholic) Jesus basically is the same thing as the Easter Bunny. He may or may not have actually existed; but Jesus basically functions as a mythical character in Christianity. Just like every other diety in every other world religion ...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you need to back off this idea of being a "religious mentor" in the workplace.

1. You can bring up conflicts about holidays - Yom Kippur, Easter, MLK Day, in DC - Emancipation Day, neutrally when discussing scheduling.
2. There is no reason for you to test people's knowledge on non-work related matters.
3. Unless they staff are actually being disrespectful, you have no need to discuss Jesus, historical or religious with them. Not knowing or believing what you do isn't a sign of disrespect.
4. Learn boundaries.

OP - I actual stopped awhile back. BTW All staff is disrespectful and self involved. It is just how society is. I recall my very first job out of School a tip I got to getting ahead is to find out what football teams my boss likes, watch some games so I can chat, women or guys who did not like football at least watch superbowl so you can chat on Monday and not be let out. Find what school boss went to, etc. Common sense. I like to find religion too if I could so I could now to wish folks Merry Christmas or not. Know if is a Passover greeting, etc. The person touch.

I worked at two Majority owned Jewish firms and been to tons of Temple activities, worked for a department that was all Jamaican except me. In IT had tons of Hindus working for me and over career was promoted by a Black Man, Jewish Man, Gay Man, WASP women, Muslim Man and a Hindu Man. No White Straight Christian Man ever promoted me in my life. I learn about their cultures and religions so I can relate. But that is ancient history.

My last boss told me he gave up on mentoring unless they come to him. Cube Dwellers he called them, are happy in their Cubes punching the clock we need them to run stuff so unless they want advice leave them be. He was a big promoter until he got around 50 and gave up. Todays folks already "know it all" If they want to think Jesus is a cartoon character and similar to Santa Claus and Easter Bunny so be it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an agnostic, then baptized as an adult. What convinced me about Jesus is that there are too many coincidental things that have happened in my life for there not to be a greater power behind it. I also cannot believe that if the whole thing was a myth, so many people would forward the story through history. Jesus is arguably the most significant person who ever lived. It is beyond me to think there is not at least some truth to his story.

Then why aren’t there any first-hand historical accounts if he was so significant?

Certainly his “story” is significant, but the man?

Why is the Gospel of John not a first-hand historical account? Or Peter's letters? Or Luke's account, which is nothing if not a contemporary account?

Oh, I know! If it's in the Bible, it doesn't count.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are documented accounts of Jesus as early as the first century. Scholars at the time did not debate his existence. But I suppose if you’re an atheist on here no answer is good enough so it’s an easy way to pile it on.

I have no issue with research that Jesus was a historical person. That does appear to be fairly well accepted by scholars. But obviously, that he likely existed says nothing at all about anything else.

I do. There are no first-hand reports and many sources are sketchy.

Do you believe Socrates was a real person?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you need to back off this idea of being a "religious mentor" in the workplace.

1. You can bring up conflicts about holidays - Yom Kippur, Easter, MLK Day, in DC - Emancipation Day, neutrally when discussing scheduling.
2. There is no reason for you to test people's knowledge on non-work related matters.
3. Unless they staff are actually being disrespectful, you have no need to discuss Jesus, historical or religious with them. Not knowing or believing what you do isn't a sign of disrespect.
4. Learn boundaries.

OP - I actual stopped awhile back. BTW All staff is disrespectful and self involved. It is just how society is. I recall my very first job out of School a tip I got to getting ahead is to find out what football teams my boss likes, watch some games so I can chat, women or guys who did not like football at least watch superbowl so you can chat on Monday and not be let out. Find what school boss went to, etc. Common sense. I like to find religion too if I could so I could now to wish folks Merry Christmas or not. Know if is a Passover greeting, etc. The person touch.

I worked at two Majority owned Jewish firms and been to tons of Temple activities, worked for a department that was all Jamaican except me. In IT had tons of Hindus working for me and over career was promoted by a Black Man, Jewish Man, Gay Man, WASP women, Muslim Man and a Hindu Man. No White Straight Christian Man ever promoted me in my life. I learn about their cultures and religions so I can relate. But that is ancient history.

My last boss told me he gave up on mentoring unless they come to him. Cube Dwellers he called them, are happy in their Cubes punching the clock we need them to run stuff so unless they want advice leave them be. He was a big promoter until he got around 50 and gave up. Todays folks already "know it all" If they want to think Jesus is a cartoon character and similar to Santa Claus and Easter Bunny so be it.

Anonymous wrote:OP - Jesus no matter what you think was an amazing person. Lets take the Sermon on the Mount where he fed thousands but yet brought no food. Was it a miracle? The other theory is back at that time period people had very limited resources on a journey they brought what they had and was very little and did not share as had barely enough for themselves.

Some would have a loaf of bread, some would have a knife to cut, some would have wive or water etc. etc. But each one would never share for fear of being robbed and left with nothing.

Perhaps Jesus was the greatest motivational speaker who ever lived. He convinced the crowd everyone in crowd was honest, all would share, working together and sharing food could be a feast.

Perhaps when he walked on water, stones were just below.

Maybe when he survived in Desert he knew survival techniques.

Maybe he knew the climatic event of being Crucified in a public setting and to time it at exact time of a Total Eclipse so skies would darken when he was killed would be a huge ending. Then all he had to do was have his followers the next few days, drug a roman guard at entrance of tomb and then somehow roll a massive rock that would take several men, steal the body and put the burial wrappings back as if he just rose up. Then pretend after his death he told his 12 apostles God himself sent them out to spread the work.

It is fascinating as all is possible. It is not like Hindu or Greek Gods or Old Estimate where the Gods did impossible tasks to recreated.


But what was the end game? If he was a regular person. And if he was a regular person I would say even more impressive.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you need to back off this idea of being a "religious mentor" in the workplace.

1. You can bring up conflicts about holidays - Yom Kippur, Easter, MLK Day, in DC - Emancipation Day, neutrally when discussing scheduling.
2. There is no reason for you to test people's knowledge on non-work related matters.
3. Unless they staff are actually being disrespectful, you have no need to discuss Jesus, historical or religious with them. Not knowing or believing what you do isn't a sign of disrespect.
4. Learn boundaries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are documented accounts of Jesus as early as the first century. Scholars at the time did not debate his existence. But I suppose if you’re an atheist on here no answer is good enough so it’s an easy way to pile it on.

I have no issue with research that Jesus was a historical person. That does appear to be fairly well accepted by scholars. But obviously, that he likely existed says nothing at all about anything else.

I do. There are no first-hand reports and many sources are sketchy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an agnostic, then baptized as an adult. What convinced me about Jesus is that there are too many coincidental things that have happened in my life for there not to be a greater power behind it. I also cannot believe that if the whole thing was a myth, so many people would forward the story through history. Jesus is arguably the most significant person who ever lived. It is beyond me to think there is not at least some truth to his story.

Then why aren’t there any first-hand historical accounts if he was so significant?

Certainly his “story” is significant, but the man?

Why is the Gospel of John not a first-hand historical account? Or Peter's letters? Or Luke's account, which is nothing if not a contemporary account?

Oh, I know! If it's in the Bible, it doesn't count.

Because they aren’t independent historical accounts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an agnostic, then baptized as an adult. What convinced me about Jesus is that there are too many coincidental things that have happened in my life for there not to be a greater power behind it. I also cannot believe that if the whole thing was a myth, so many people would forward the story through history. Jesus is arguably the most significant person who ever lived. It is beyond me to think there is not at least some truth to his story.

Then why aren’t there any first-hand historical accounts if he was so significant?

Certainly his “story” is significant, but the man?

Why is the Gospel of John not a first-hand historical account? Or Peter's letters? Or Luke's account, which is nothing if not a contemporary account?

Oh, I know! If it's in the Bible, it doesn't count.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an agnostic, then baptized as an adult. What convinced me about Jesus is that there are too many coincidental things that have happened in my life for there not to be a greater power behind it. I also cannot believe that if the whole thing was a myth, so many people would forward the story through history. Jesus is arguably the most significant person who ever lived. It is beyond me to think there is not at least some truth to his story.

Then why aren’t there any first-hand historical accounts if he was so significant?

Certainly his “story” is significant, but the man?

Anonymous wrote:OP - Jesus no matter what you think was an amazing person. Lets take the Sermon on the Mount where he fed thousands but yet brought no food. Was it a miracle? The other theory is back at that time period people had very limited resources on a journey they brought what they had and was very little and did not share as had barely enough for themselves.

Some would have a loaf of bread, some would have a knife to cut, some would have wive or water etc. etc. But each one would never share for fear of being robbed and left with nothing.

Perhaps Jesus was the greatest motivational speaker who ever lived. He convinced the crowd everyone in crowd was honest, all would share, working together and sharing food could be a feast.

Perhaps when he walked on water, stones were just below.

Maybe when he survived in Desert he knew survival techniques.

Maybe he knew the climatic event of being Crucified in a public setting and to time it at exact time of a Total Eclipse so skies would darken when he was killed would be a huge ending. Then all he had to do was have his followers the next few days, drug a roman guard at entrance of tomb and then somehow roll a massive rock that would take several men, steal the body and put the burial wrappings back as if he just rose up. Then pretend after his death he told his 12 apostles God himself sent them out to spread the work.

It is fascinating as all is possible. It is not like Hindu or Greek Gods or Old Estimate where the Gods did impossible tasks to recreated.


But what was the end game? If he was a regular person. And if he was a regular person I would say even more impressive.