We really need to stop these people from trying to live out their delusion. It's not fair to have a group of crazy's ruin life for everyone. We have a good life, a wonderful planet, and nice people. Enjoy it already! And stop trying to make it die!
at first, a polite viewer might think, "mr. carrier, dont be so condescending and snarky". but then one quickly realizes: *yes, these ridiculous and immoral bible stories deserve to be mocked into oblivion*
Richard Lucas - what in the world are you ranting about?? Was the video titled “How Atheists are better than Christians?”. You’re the one who is neither listening nor paying attention.
You only need to mock the stories if they are taken seriously. Which, unfortunately, is the case with the majority of people. I grew up reading stories from many different mythologies, so for me bible stories were just that: Interesting stories. There's really not much difference at the core between biblical mythology stories and Norse or Egyptian or Roman mythology stories. They are all stories of impossible beings doing impossible things, because humans appear to have a great liking for larger than life stories.
@@daogdaog lol naivety is the shield of religious morons. You need to believe in fake disgusting gods to tell you how to live your life. bo ang. youre entire life is a lie. you will die never having lived a single moment of truth.
AurochsReborn if there is no God the Creator, then show me just one hard and verifiable evidence that nature was responsible for the origin of biological life to support your atheism, showing that science is on your side.
baxtar1963 Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to create churches with this type of "sermon". If I were rich I would totally build a bunch of them and hire people like Richard Carrier.
Try watching the atheist experience. It come on every Sunday at 4pm central, and is the closet thing you’ll get to this every Sunday. Check out their RU-vid channel
Why you want to be brainwashed as well. He is a pretender of knowledge. Put him against a good Christian thinker like Ravi Zacharias, or Josh McDowell and he will sink. He seems all knowledgeable that is because he has no competition
AnarchoRepublican Here's the flaw in your logic -- you think that the value of Truth can be monetarily measured in a land not accustomed to that truth. The fact that people will not pay to hear it doesn't mean that it's not nonetheless true and important. It only demonstrates what we know about people -- they're usually slow to change and don't enjoy their deeply-held religious beliefs being challenged....let alone paying someone to do it. Now go back to hell from whence you came. Or better still, try using both hemispheres of your brain in tandem. Or has the lack of use of your holistic processing caused that hemisphere to liquify?
AnarchoRepublican i think carrier's lack of popularity attributes to the fact that the topic he deals with such as historicity of Jesus is such an unpopular topic. In big picture, it doesn't even matter if Jesus existed. Even if Jesus existed his divinity is still under question and this question is one of the many popular debate topics which consequently draws bigger crowds.
AnarchoRepublican _"and payed off the little doctor'$ $20k in college loan$ in the bargain... not exactly unbiasedly funding Research"_ Given the millions of dollars funneled into Christian biblical research that presupposes Jesus, I think we can safely disregard your argument. Carrier could have made more money working at Burger King. He's clearly interested in this issue to the point where he doesn't care about money.
AnarchoRepublican You clearly have no credentials in the history department. Nor have you even listened to Carrier's arguments -- as evidenced by your failure to cite a single one, and preferring instead to use ad hominem and other speculative nonsense which others have already rebutted. The reason that cretins like you can't accept the Bible's stories as MYTH is simply because you cannot divine the meaning behind the myths. You have a clearly boorish and puerile mind, which will likely reveal a boorish and puerile understanding of Jesus. Imagine that...
AnarchoRepublican You are clearly reading someone elses synopsis and can't remember enough of the details because you didn't read it in Carrier's words in the first place. ``[3] I caution strongly against overzealous attempts to link Christianity with prior religions--see my critical comment on "Kersey Graves and The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors" (2003); and for a good comparative study see Hans-Josef Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco-Roman Religions (2000). But I can't deny there are some intriguing parallels, including those between this story of Inanna and the story of the Incarnation of the Lord told in the Ascension of Isaiah. There are many important differences, but it is curious that in the Sumerian story Inanna descends through the seven gates of Hell, with a different encounter at each stage, and her humiliation and crucifixion are at the bottom. Similarly, in the Jewish story the Savior (Jesus) descends through the seven heavens, with a different encounter at each stage, and his humiliation and crucifixion are at the bottom. Jesus also supposedly said he would be "three days and three nights" in the grave (Matthew 12:40), while Inanna herself was dead for three days and three nights. Of course, we are told Jesus was not actually dead for three nights, only at most two, but it is still curious why there would be a tradition of his saying otherwise, a tradition matching that of Inanna. I admit these parallels are worth noting, but they are too little to make much of. For instance, Jonah 1:17 also shares the three-days-and-nights motif (and Matthew 12:40 explicitly draws from it), which, as I explain elsewhere, probably derived from a common ancient concept of death. See Richard Carrier, "Jewish Law, the Burial of Jesus, and the Third Day" (2002). On the Jonah parallel specifically (as a motif for death and resurrection), see Evan Fales, "Taming the Tehom," in Jeff Lowder & Bob Price, eds., The Empty Tomb: Jesus Beyond the Grave (2005). Therefore, the suggestion is not that the Christians "got the idea" of a third-day motif from Inanna cult (directly or by transmission through later religions), but that they "got the idea" from the same cultural concepts governing the construction of the Inanna myth.`` infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/improbable/crucified.html
How come after the flood when all the evil ppl were killed in it evil still exist? You mean god knew beforehand that evil would still exist after he killed every living thing yet he did it anyway?
Yeah I wish it would hurry and come. Obviously you haven't read the book of Revelation. I would not like to live through what is coming. Severe earthquakes, war, plagues, meteors and you reckon that will give you peace.
@@paulbutler7874 ... I bet I've read the bible more times than you... that's what gets me about you assholes, you're so arrogant that you think you're the only ones that can read... you wish it would hurry up and come? so why wait, why don't you just a flying leap and end it all? and do us a favor and take some of your death cult friends with you
Yea, I've done the whole church thing too and once you get "locked" into it based on the bible passages of fear bondage it's hard to get out. It's a religion for the weak and slave mind oriented person😡Smart people need to find their own path or spiritual path and leave abrahamic bible dogma to the weak.
Thanks, Richard Carrier for breaking this all down for us. Surprising we still have to refute absurd beliefs. Why is religion a thing? Adopt some ethical principles to your life if you are lacking human decency but why believe in these tall tales?
Changeless being with ability to see the future and sufficient power to make things turn out however he pleases creates universe, decides he doesn't like how it turned out. It's a shame they couldn't get anyone to proofread this stuff.
+HebaruSan Don't forget it was a loving, omnipotent, and omniscient being. They failed? Hint: Only way such a being can fail is if they PLANNED to fail.. Right? (So it's technically not failing at all.)
Steve really. Either you find your bible to be the true gospel (yes I know it’s a double Positive) then everything he read is in the bible is true. How he reads it is irrelevant. You can talk all you like but if it’s your bible that is your source of all your information than you have a huge problem. It’s a book of tales and has no historical truth. It is a great book of fiction and I did enjoy reading it both times I read it cover to cover.
@@Azozeo Idk I think Steve Wells of the skeptics annotated bible because Carrier stopped at most of the points pointed out in the SAB. Other wise I don't know,
I enjoy watching Richard's lectures and reading his books, both are full of information that are great for usage in the great debate. Thank-you for posting.
Was wondering why all these nutters & their crazy views came to be. No sport, no radio, no TV, no newspapers (couldn't read anyway), nothing much happening, nothing to do - I think it must have been boredom.
AnarchoRepublican I think you'd get a real wake up call if you actually looked into how worthless the historical record of Jesus is. The idea that we have to "deny history" is just laughable - History as a field has nothing to contribute with regards to that question. The only thing that can contribute is a dogmatic assertion that the gospels have a historical core before you start your investigation. Otherwise, you'll end up with a Jesus that develops gradually from a purely spiritual being that has no relationship with anything happening in history and who only reveals himself through scripture and personal revelation - to self declared prophets like Paul.
The apologetics is (wait for it) it did not rain before the flood! As I understand it, everything was watered by mists - yes, mists. How they grew crops I have not heard answered, especially rice
How is it possible for this compendium of ancient borrowings and tinkerings to still have the power to so influence us today? It's uncanny. Maybe the human race will eventually stop reading the stuff, believing the stuff, and get on with the business of living as purposefully as possible given short lives and no proof of immortality. I do wish Carrier sounded more like Hitchens. I love what he has to say but it's too cute and needs to be matured.
but you were much too smart to think that what one person says about something can be used as any evidence whatsoever regarding that thing. of course most everything we think we know has come to us this way. strange race we are - but where would we be if each of us, individually, had to confirm everything we were told? And yet, it is a process of undoing that is at the heart of every spiritual message.
world peace What the flip are you talking about? Are you seriously saying I should look into their claim? Perform an experiment of some kind? My teddy bear told me he puts all the rainbows in the sky. Rainbows exist. My story must be true then, according to you?
Rilian Sharp Is your mind a window onto the world? Do you really think that you live an evidence based life? If you do Id like to see the proof. Self doubt may be a difficult thing to do but it is necessary in the pursuit of truth. And of course to help prevent us making a terrible blunder when it comes to how we treat each other. The interesting thing about being deluded is that the deluded one does not know it - and in order for that to work one must find a logic for what one does believe.
world peace The person who said that rainbows prove the bible true is the one who lacks "self doubt". You seem to be sure of yourself. I'm saying I refrain from believing ridiculous things without evidence. So what the fuck are you even talking about.
Are you saying that rainbows are evidence for the bible? If so, you need to be more skeptical. Rainbows are consistent with the flood story but not evidence for it.
Carrier stated that the Jews went into captivity when the Persian empire arose. He misspoke. The Jews went into captivity when Judah was invaded by the Babylonians and Jehoiakim refused to pay tribute. When the Persians defeated the Babylonians in the late 6th century BCE, Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Judah. Many historians are of the opinion that Ezra composed Genesis while in Babylon, and in so doing converted many Babylonia myths, including the flood myth, into Hebrew myths.
There is one point I don t agree about the suffering servant....It s not about the Messiah but the nation of Israel as a whole. Christians reinterpreted that as the Messiah.
THAT WAS AWESOME! I listened to this on my morning walk and was having many lol’s. Foraging in the looney bins of religion is amusing (in hindsight). This was my first listen and I look forward to more😍✌️
"He took your punishment, He paid your debt" What debt? Who would punish me and why? "Your sin is the cancer and Christ is the one dose pill" Who gave me the 'cancer'? Where is the evidence that the 'pill' exists and that it will work as claimed?
Contains some stuff on Daniel's Seventy Sevens that I've never heard before...and I know quite a bit about it. Carrier is a god...not THE god, but who is?
@@unicyclist97 don't laugh if the rapture happens and all the christians disappear, then hell on earth will appear. Oh you may have 3 1/2 years of fake peace, but that will be short lived.
Nice to hear some thoughts from a historian on ancient history. However, although he is convincing in illustrating the multiple influences on the early Jesus narrative, it's kind of hard to prove that a historical figure is not in the mixture, and he does not. Personally I'll settle for: The Jesus we know is nearly 100% myth. The Jesus that may or may not have lived is someone we will never know much about.
It won't and I won't. Referencing a line in a book of mythology is a pointless exercise. Why don't you get real and enjoy your life instead of waste it wishing for the end of the world.
And now in 2019, a host of rapturists assert that the "rapture" is set for July 17,, 2019...one woman's youtube also sells little stuffed Robert the Rapture Rooster toys to enourage the faithful and "crow" them into wakefulness. You can't make this stuff up.
@@YY4Me133 did anybody not tell you that no one knows the day the Lord will come. So any prediction cannot be true and trusted. Just because people predict and it hasn't come true, doesn't mean it isn't real. We are told in the bible to watch for signs and they will be obvious for those who are watching, who do believe, and who are alert
Any good guesses on what the next would be "bible" will be? In say 1500/2000 years. A Stephen king novel could be the foundation for a new religion. Maybe the dead sea scrolls as this guy mentioned or the script to alien v predator! All ideas welcome, peace.
+wolfie498 Heaven and earth will pass away but the Word of God is forever...The Bible is proven to be a supernatural text that no man could have conspired to produce...Gods Word is an integrated message system that proves it had to be written and Authored by God outside our time and space continuum. Telling the End from the Beginning..
+Mike B What? I mean really, like... what? If god wrote the bible he really screwed up big. If any human where set out a book, so contradictory, looping, shizophrenic and just plain ridiculous they never would get a publishing contract. Telling from the ending is evidence for supernatural influence? Ever seen 'Memento'? Without a doubt a great movie, but hardly divine. Okay, sorry, that was a little impolite, I concede. But one thing you really have to explain: How is the bible 'proven' to be the work of supernatural forces? It is pretty well substantiated that the bible is the work of a few hundred scribes.
"You claim to have a degree in chemistry, yet you're making unsubstantiated claims about biology and seem unable to say anything at all intelligent about bio chemistry." What "unsubstantiated claims about biology" did I make? "Congrats, you fail at science" You are not qualified to be a Judge.
The disappointment and horror will soon be yours and at the vanishing of millions of Christians will be your first hint at the horror the world will soon see. Romans 10:9-10 & 1 Cor 15:1-4
OK Thanks for the insight. I'll use it sparingly. You seem like a courteous & gentle peacemaker, which I admire, as after 35 years of fundy lies & mind control you have the right to be truly pissed off. My exposure to Christian fundamentalism was through my eldest sister who in her early 20s, changed from being a bright & bubbly young lady to ugly, intolerant, bible toting, parent hating, marriage busting, self righteous hypocrite who broke my mums heart to loose her eldest daughter to a cult.
Well done for standing up and taking responsibility for yourself. I like your abbreviated term "xtians" Do you mind if I use it? Dan Dennett had it right when he said "Faith gives one a rolled gold excuse to stop thinking for your self" It's so true, but worse is the cruel hatred, self righteous judgmentalism, scorn, guilt & shame that's pored onto honest folks that's rife in fundi churches. In reality nobody can ever measure up as they are setup to fail so they can never win. Where's the love?
The funniest passage in Bible was Noah ark. Noah put around 4-5 million pair of animals on Ark. Big boat... Then God killed millions of innocent babies, and millions of innocent animals. Some nice dude huh!!!!!
If the Earth were to be covered by a 9 kilometers thick layer of water in just 40 days, the pressure, the speed of the rain would kill everything instantly, hehe. Also the "Noah" dude. That's simple physics. I.e something ancient middle eastern goat-herders knew nothing about. : )
the Lord Jesus will soon return and Richard Carrier will realize that being a proud, stiff necked know it all won't help him on Judgment Day. God gives grace and knowledge to the humble, the one who realizes they are sinful and need to be forgiven. how anyone could reject such a wonderful gift is beyond me. ask God to show you the truth of Jesus and the Holy Spirit will draw you to Him. but if you want to be arrogant and prideful, you are digging your own eternal grave.
You are right. Carrier will be on his knees in front of Jesus , and carrier will say with his own mouth that Jesus is Lord. Whether carrier wants to or not.....he will say it. And so will I.
Oh man that is priceless, really priceless, thanks for the biggest laugh I had for days! Though I did get odd looks from the people on the train. I mean what can anyone say against that? You've presented me with a copper bottomed, cast iron, gilt edged, AAA rated, rock solid argument that utterly destroys the rational evolution argument. Hmm interesting, does each species have its own saviour, (like Terry Pratchett's rat death character)? I wonder "Guinea Pig Jesus"? Do you think?
That's true, we should always inquire and apply skepticism to authority when they make extraordinary claims and ensure they provide extraordinary evidence. It's the best way of separating fact from fiction and to guard us from being lead down dark foggy gullies of confused thinking. Well done. Chemistry was never my strong point during school but I've kept an open mind and learned heaps from people wiser than me. It's always best cross check info from multiple sources before accepting anything.
I asked friend what she thought of the bible and she said "oh the book of crazy!" and then I asked what you think about the the old testament she said "oh the book of real real crazy"
Exellent , and for a better understanding here some notes; Originally the Earth (and heaven) is not created by Elohim/Yahweh through his divine will but by his Dioscuri, the Henchmen of the God of Heavens; Thunder (dark)and Lightning (bright). In Zoroastrian dualistic terms: Michael (dark standing figure, the Angel of Death) and Samael (bright falling figure, the Spirit of Life). Michael the great hero kills the male Sea-dragon and Samael the spirit revives her as female Earth (Gea). The Dragon was divided, parted, crossed, castrated. Earth is also divided in the four points of the compass. The Zodiac (heaven) is also divided in four seasons. So above, so below. The one Samael is allowed by the (supreme) God to Fall. to get Lost, to Arrive as a sacrifice (Magical as a star-sign or Physical in the flesh, this are later interpretations) or to be Delivered to his enemies. Some can argue that it is the character or nature of a Lightning to fall but anyway this is how the bright Lineage is seen. By falling down, ending his own life (being mortal) He brings life (salvation). Examples: Seth, Lot, Jozef, Aaron, Jacob, Joshua, snobnoses. distinct, hously, obedient, wiseguys.They come to fall but are able to survive (revive) by Believe. The other Michael look-a-likes, types are strong heroic figures, disobedient, rebellious, often men of the Wilderness, Hunters, outcasts, extravert impulsive in their behavior, tragic. Examples Adam, Cain, Ismael. Esau, Simeon, Moses. A dark Lineage through the bible. Becoming Immortal through their deeds. Famous sometimes Violent men. They stand but only as long God allows them, understoods them. Note; todays pope, the current Peter, Peter the new Moses. From the dark Lineage, per definition not infapable. Even the Archangels need support to stand by Mercy. Ironically, Samael the Light-bearer (Lucifer) in the Judeo-christian tradition comes to fall deep. His obedience turns into Pride. He will take the place of the supreme God because he thinks he deserves this position. His punishment to be cast out of Heaven. Roles change. Like men are cast out of Paradise. His brightness is taken away from him and now belongs to the Shechina; the Spirit that is God or emanates from God. The Ruach or breath. This is how Satan has developed, evolved, splitt of from the original trinity. On the other hand is there the Promise of a Messiach, an annointed or crossed savior, the new Highpriest who is also the new King. Michael the original Prince (King) also downgraded, no longer part of the trinity but still an archangel close to God. Because Monotheism was evolving, the sons of Elohim were downgraded into demons or Archangels (Sheraphim). Elohim's wifes or Asherah's disappeared and no longer named. Their title goes to the elevated / the Sheraph's (archangels). Original the wifes were seen upon or symbolised as trees or stakes. The tree of Knowledge or the tree of Life presented as a stake elevating/upholding a snake. Now the Law must be seen upon and by Moses it is presented as a Fiery Serpent on a pole. The serpent (dragon) is the earth with her knowledge or temptations who are depicted in the Law, she can condem but also set free. In astro-theology it is Libra (the Balance) what represents this concept of the trees.The modern christmas-tree is an heritage of the Astarte, wife of the Lord (Baal, Bel or El). The stormgod is an active (and Jealous) god. Depicted as an upright figure making a step forward. In the ancient eastern mythology it means he is the son of El (the supreme god). El is depicted as a sitting God (on a throne); the Law-giver. His symbol is the Bull bearing the Sun (Law) between his horns. Baal too has horns because he is the son of El. Sometimes El has triple horns to show he is higher in rank. El is a dying (sun) god which role is taken over by Yahweh. Aries the Ram replacing the Bull. The bull is the dragon, the sacrifice to make rebirth possible. Still to day; ritual slaughting of an animal plays a role in eastern religions. When the god of heaven dies, earth (and mankind) will be reborn. Yahweh is the creator and maintainer. The remaining spiritual leftover part of El. I am what I am remaining. The Holy Spirit emanates from him; So he is two persons. The male father (of his cures, and his creation) and the female Shekina (Sophia). His cures/sons glue together and developes into his only Son; one person. Three equal persons; the doctrine of the Trinity. Sophia also emanates from the Son. Father and Son are One and the same. When God dies there is Hope. What more can an atheist wish for?
Good show. I came here after he referenced this speech when talking about the likely non-existence of Jesus. While I don't agree with Carrier politically, I think we see eye-to-eye on many religious issues. However, I will note that Isaiah 53 is not a prophecy, but rather a lamentation of the past, and as such is not directly connected to Daniel 9, which is clearly an attempt at prophecy.
...I always thought of the rainbow as the vicious Spouse-Beater god's Weak-Sauce 'Apology Bouquet'...and wondered: IF God WAS both Truly REMORSEFUL, All-Knowing And "All-Powerful", (s)he SHOULD'VE restored Life to Every INNOCENT he had JUST Snuffed...
At 7:11-7:39, it was Babylon that conquered Judah. This began in 602 BCE and culminated with the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 586 BCE.(Assyria began its conquest of Israel in 740 BCE and that culminated in 722 BCE) Eventually, in 539 BCE, the Persians conquered the Babylonians.
As interpretation, the "Flood" was materialistic Theism, believed as "Truth" before " in Spirit and in Truth." In addition to this insight, it was Egypt as source for Resurrection, Judgment in underworld, and literally, a "lake of fire"--- all from Egyptian Book of the Dead. Light and Darkness became foundational to Gnosticism.
That which is erroneously being reported as "skull crushing" is actually Idol-smashing, "Dashing the idols of the Nations, which is the 'children' of materialistic Theism--- bashed like pottery upon the rocks. So in effect, some people are mocking the fact that Judaism was always in conflict with Pagan Theism--- whose "tradition" continually breaks First Commandment ! The only Jews who are not A--Theists have been "suckered" by "Babylon"
The Nero persecution of 'Christians' story is highly problematic. Tacitus and Suetonius, decades after the supposed fact, don't agree as to the relationship of this so-called movement to the Great Fire; Tacitus first calls its members Chrestians, followers of a Chrestus, while Suetonius calls them Christians; etc. If such a 'persecution' - or perhaps retribution, if they were indeed guilty of setting the city on fire - occured, it would make more sense if it was just a group of messianic Jews.
I know the god of the OT is a specialist when it comes to the shedding of blood, but what is so special about the shedding of blood? He seems to enjoy it. Could your god not forgive without sacrificing himself to himself? Is there something this god couldn't do? He makes the rules! He knew in advance what would happen. He is responsible and that makes him irresponsible. This amazing sacrifice he made was to fix up his own mess! Fortunately we don't need to worry because it's all fiction.
1 Thessalonians 4 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: & the dead in Christ shall rise first: 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Is this a rapture failure?The failures of this fairy story book and you still think this nonsense with the talking animals and man in a fish story is true?
In Isaiah 19:18 Isaiah says Egyptians will learn the tongue of Canaanites. This language is DEAD. Ezekiel 28:26-24 predicts that Israel will live in peace with its neighbors: Now did you say the middle east was a prediction. In Ezekiel 30:10-11 he further predicts that Nebuchadnezzar will destroy Egypt: As a said, a multiple choice book. Find a vague prediction and go looking for a justification. Ezekiel 30:12 continues with a prediction that the Nile River will run dry. Has that happened?
You mean the one that Jesus myth said was going to happen in his followers lifetime? Keep your candle wicks trimmed he is on the way. 2000 years and he has still not shown up. Better reject your family and treat them as enemies, another shot of wisdom from the Jesus myth. He introduced the concept of hell, what a nice guy!!! If you cannot tell a man made myth then you are not looking.
Not my problem. I don't need to provide a exact transcript of who made up what bullshit. The synchronicity between Greek mystery religions and Judaism, resulting in the creation of a mythic Jesus, is the theory that best accounts for the evidence currently available to us, and falls in line to explain why we're missing other evidence (such as any mention of Jesus in the first century). It's the best current explanation, because it best accounts for all the current evidence. Simple as that.
My Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry deepened my relationship with God, the creator of the universe. LIFE is not an Accident. Can you make life out of amino acids? Mitochondria don't just form out of nothing and then join up with some super friends. Biology,organic,physics, biochemistry, inorganic, differential equations, the calculus,etc-I've studied it and to me, as a scientist, it points to God. Do you go outside much or Talk to people, face to face?
Thanks thingy for your Opinion! Are you professional historian with a degree from an accredited university?... Your brief comment does not explain the exponential rise of Christianity, the fact that thousands of people laid down their life willingly when they could have denounced Christ, or that smart, rational people like Luke the Historian and Saul/Paul were down for Jesus. What is your degree?
Want to know what the in-context part is for the 2 donkeys? Some guys who read the Greek Septuagint, when they decided to write their own fictional story, added 2 donkey bit so as to fulfill a prophecy that they thought was in the Old Testament. Just how hard would it be to make up a story that fulfills the prophecy of a previously written book that you've read? Not fucking hard at all...
Mad or god? Riding on two donkeys (odd or eccentric behaviour) Whipping people who were exchanging money so that people could sacrifice in the temple without putting the emperor's face in there (impulsive, reckless and violent behaviour) Cursing a fig tree for not bearing figs, even though it is out of season (rare delusion of season, but still a delusion) These could suggest divine pedigree, but I'm not entirely sure that's the only option.
It angers me to hear what he did to you and no doubt countless other impressionable young kids. He's probably made a good living too. Lying to kids for a buck is evil. How can they sleep at night? I can understand them being seduced when young but surely not when they mature. I'm sure a lot of old god sellers continue, not because they believe but, because they're too old to change careers to which they are trapped. So the lies just keep on a comin. What would Jesus say about the hypocrites?
Well that shouldn't be too hard. I'll check it out but I don't want to rain your parade. You'll have better knowledge of scriptures than me. I can never remember the passage numbers but I now the gist and now I'm older and wiser, the underlying agendas of the original scribes. The bible is a fascinating window into civilizations early development. A shame it's message can be so toxic, and sometimes deadly, if taken seriously.
I managed to resist it's seduction but sadly my eldest sister poisoned the marriage of sis2 by accusing her good husband, who also didn't buy sis1's bullshit, so sis1 poisoned sis2 and told her to divorce him and join sis1's church. The family was smashed to bits and I lost a great brother in law. Sadly Sis2 married a church no hoper, had a kid then left the church & split up leaving sis2 to bring up a baby on her own. Sis1 married a pastor so she's now financially trapped in the cult.
You said "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." If anyone would utter such a statement today he would be treated with ridicule and contempt and diagnosed insane. "Your sins" & "Get up" I don't need forgiveness for my sins from anyone but me. I take responsibility for them. "Teacher on Adultery" Is an example of the ignorant intolerantly passing self righteous judgments. "Moses & Stoning" Example of stone age barbarism that modern society has grown out of.
Lots of assertions in those gospels with no proof it was actually Jesus or god saying them. The bible contains masses of points of contention dividing communities against each other for centuries, all based on poor evidence from one book laced with circular arguments that essentially says "I am god, this is my book, you must obey me because it says so in my book" If God truly wanted us know him then why through such a badly confused book. Why don't we have a clear and definitive Gospel of Jesus?
Some of the Jesus story provides useful guides but not to the exclusion of other sources of wisdom. My issue with a lot of the biblical Jesus are the contradictions, fanciful miracles, fabrications and omissions that occur the later the gospels where written to the point that the bible is not the reliable and accurate book that people think it is. It's obvious to me that too many people, throughout it's history, have edited it to suit their own political, social, religious agendas.
Yes, I agree. And please read the article "The Convergence of Science and Religion" by Charles H. Townes, Nobel prize winner, Former MIT Physics provost and professor. I've always respected integraters such as Michael Servetus in 1500's and Bruce Lee evolving training methods and creating a foundation for mixed martial arts in the 1960's. But the only true hero is Jesus Christ. His love, claims, and his sacrifice are unique in history. He existed and he is either a mad man or THE son of God.
My qualifications? I don't believe that qualifications are necessary for me to question authority. The reason why I asked of yours is because you were making authoritative statements as though you were a professional in the field you were commenting on. I assumed you were a doctor or something based off the certainty of your declarations. I have a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry.
No I'm not a trained scientist. I've worked in electro mechanical engineering industry which is heavily dependent on scientific discoveries. I remember seeing those experiments. Don't forget in the earths early oxygen starved atmosphere. The current thinking goes something like this: Early single celled self replicating microbes absorbed early forms of bacteria which contained primitive RNA. No doubt the theists will struggle with explanation but I think it's a damn good theory. What do think?
If you can walk to the end of the street (micro), does this mean you can't walk across a continent (macro)? The only difference is time. What you have described IS biological evolution. I recommend that you read "Finding Darwin's God" by Kenneth R. Miller, a biologist and a Christian. My father (a minister) used to read and believe the same erroneous apologist arguments as you do, but reading this book made him realise that evolution is not incompatible with belief in God.
