Jesus Christ

[mfewell]

Here are some options:

1) Never existed, all a hoax (but see Josephus, Luke)

2) Existed, said and did a few good things, died somewhere in India or France.

3) Existed, got crucified, died, buried, end of story (why did no-one produce the body?)

4) Existed, got crucifed, died, buried, disciples stole the body and proceeded to invent a religion - Why ?

5) Existed, got crucified, pulled down from the cross, revived (a bit wrecked probably), then inspired his disciples to die in his name. Again, Why ?

6) Existed, got crucified, buried, rose from the dead on the third day, in the process, as God for once and for all come down to earth, bore all the 'sins' of man and reconciled man to God.

Add other options as desired. I am not expecting this thread to go far, but it is a fundamental question some might want to think about.

[dealer246]

i cant believe that your wasting time on an old chestnut like this . does it matter

[jno]

I think it's only fundamental if you already believe. For atheists the whole thing is completely meaningless, of no more significance than whether you believe in flying saucers.

[Cetti]

jno is absolutely right, there is nothing to think about - you either believe or you don't. I have no doubt whatsoever  that God came down from heaven in the person of Jesus, was crucified and rose from the dead and now reigns for evermore. I cannot prove or disprove it, but neither can anyone else and that is the meaning of faith*

* Being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

[mfewell]

Dear dealer246, sorry to have wasted your time. The answer to your own question is: yes.

jno: atheists still have to cope with a good degree of historicity.

By the way, I posted this after an invitation on another thread from a serious debater to discuss the whole Christianity issue. It's never going away.

[mullein1]

their is no such thing as god..and the bible is a book of fairy tales..the only god i worship is the earth..those that want to believe are entitled to do so..whatever makes them happy..religion to me is the root of all evil..

[georgit79]

..was actually called Frank.

[woofgang]

no it sin't a fundamental question. Fundamental questions are things like "what's for dinner?"

[jno]

I don't think atheists have to 'cope with' historicity except in the most literal sense. For them, whether Christ lived or not is only as important as whether Robin Hood lived or not: interesting perhaps but not important.

No doubt it would help them to know something of religion so they know what their fellow citizens are thinking - but 'atheist' doesn't just mean 'not believing in Jesus', it means not believing in any god; so atheists in Saudi Arabia have a similar problem. But this doesn't mean that the question of Christ's existence is fundamental to them; it isn't. It's fundamental only to Christians, and nobody else.

[nedflanders]

2)

[FP]

To me Jesus Christ was genuinely a good person who lived by the standards he preached.  I do believe he was tortured and crucified for his beliefs and left behind him a good legacy for the way we should live. I believe the story of Jesus Christ was handed down through generations and his story became more and more glamourised and the stories were documented.   I do not believe he was the son of God because I do not believe in such a concept of a 'God'. 

In other words (2) above is nearest to what I believe.

[El D]

An old book with a few very debatable historical facts in it - watertight.

[jimmer]

did Odysseus exist? or for that matter, did Homer exist? I once worked with a guy in spain called Jesus Santiago.

 

jim

[nect4r]

7) We don't know, and there is no way of conclusively proving that he ever existed.
That's why I'm an Agnostic. The ultimate sitting on the fence - and for me, the most logical choice.