EXCAVATING the empty TOMB (youtube series)

[Darkprophet232]

The parts that are actually testable.

Are there any that don't test to be false? The one that immediately springs to my mind is when Jacob engineered the color of his sheep by placing different colored tree limbs near them while they mated (Gen 30 37:40). We now know that genetics don't work this way.

 

[Noth]

In other words, why not take Jesus as simply an influential Rabbi whose ideas might sometimes inspire you and take any supernatural story surrounding him with a grain of salt since they don't matter to the overall picture?

1 Corinthians 15 addresses this.

Corinthians does not comment on the gospels, though, as all four date later than Paul's writings. Sure, stories that would eventually be incorporated into the four gospels would likely have had some form already (death on the cross and ressurection etc), but Paul most likely did not know all of these stories and would not have been in a position to judge their legitimacy.

When you excise the supernatural elements, what's left of Christianity?

Aye Though that's not an issue for me. The point for early Christians, I guess, would have been that they did not seem to care if 90% of the supernatural elements were simply analogies or served to help convert a particular audience.

 

[Metalgod]

I dont believe that the wise men who came from the east to honor Christ when he was born, were jews.

Are there people who think that then? :facepalm:

I guess so. Or else they would have to admit that in ancient times people who were not jews were able to have an accurate understanding of God. Which is why Christianity exists in the first place, no? So why would Christians be surprised if there are actually similairites between the Judeo-Christian faith and greek mythology?

What's interesting is that early Christians did not care much about the actual validity of the 3 kings/wise men or the shepherds (both are in different gospels) but saw them as simple analogies suggesting Jesus was an important person. Whether either really happened did not actually matter to them. The worrying about specific details and the insistence that everything must have taken place literally is a much later invention.

This is probably an accurate statement. How early do you mean by "early"?

Probably many people today who say they are Christians dont believe anything that is in the Bible.

What I understand about this way of thinking, though, is that if you are comfortable accepting that some stories were just analogies and there to appease the various social/cultural and political crowds that the early Christians were proselytising to, it becomes hard to judge what to actually take as having happened literally. In other words, why not take Jesus as simply an influential Rabbi whose ideas might sometimes inspire you and take any supernatural story surrounding him with a grain of salt since they don't matter to the overall picture?

This is what Maddonna(sp?) says she teaches her kids. You know who Im talking about. That old slutty woman who kissed I think Brittany Spears?

 

[Noth]

So why would Christians be surprised if there are actually similairites between the Judeo-Christian faith and greek mythology?

Because if the validity of events in the bible is important to your belief system it will be questioned if it turns out there are earlier versions of these biblical events in other mythologies. Plus it chips away at the uniqueness of the biblical stories.

This is probably an accurate statement. How early do you mean by "early"?

From the top of my head roughly the first two to three centuries CE. The first council of Nicea did a lot to initiate getting their beliefs reasonably on one track, but even then there were still groups of Christians who believed differently.

Probably many people today who say they are Christians dont believe anything that is in the Bible.

What are the essentials of Christianity to you, if I may ask? In other words, does it matter to you if 90% of all supernatural claims in the bible were made with the understanding that they did not need to be 100% factual, so long as they conveyed the proper message?

This is what Maddonna(sp?) says she teaches her kids.

I don't know (or, frankly, care ) what Madonna teaches her children. Regardless, it is not her character that matters, but rather the validity of what she, or other Christians, claim as being true.

 

[Metalgod]

So why would Christians be surprised if there are actually similairites between the Judeo-Christian faith and greek mythology?

Because if the validity of events in the bible is important to your belief system it will be questioned if it turns out there are earlier versions of these biblical events in other mythologies.

What would earlier myths which describe later biblical events be evidence of?

Plus it chips away at the uniqueness of the biblical stories

. Not really, the bible is a pretty big book.

This is probably an accurate statement. How early do you mean by "early"?

From the top of my head roughly the first two to three centuries CE. The first council of Nicea did a lot to initiate getting their beliefs reasonably on one track, but even then there were still groups of Christians who believed differently.

Im sure you know more about the history of the Christian Church than I do.

Probably many people today who say they are Christians dont believe anything that is in the Bible.

What are the essentials of Christianity to you, if I may ask? In other words, does it matter to you if 90% of all supernatural claims in the bible were made with the understanding that they did not need to be 100% factual, so long as they conveyed the proper message?

Good question. But really I dont think that the majority of supernatural events in the bible were ment to convey a message. I'll thin
k about it and answer back soon.

 

[Vivre]

A worthwhile review in the context of this thread

AronRa's lecture on the origins of Biblical fables : the Evolution of Genesis

 

[Metalgod]

Oh God please, not this guy again.

 

[australopithecus]

Such a stunning rebuttal.

 

[Metalgod]

What are the essentials of Christianity to you, if I may ask?

Repentance first comes to mind.

In other words, does it matter to you if 90% of all supernatural claims in the bible were made with the understanding that they did not need be 100% factual, so long as they conveyed the proper message?

With "supernatural claims" you are referring to miracles in the Bible? If so, than I am sad to tell you that your question does not make much sense to me.

Just off the top of my head I would estimate that less than 10% of all miracles recorded in the bible conveyed any message to hardly anyone at all.