Communication is considered successful if you can grasp the main themes that the author, or speaker, or artist, or whatever, was trying to portray.

Bingo. Xtians know the mind of God from the Bible, presumably God likes what it says about Him or there would be hell to pay.

You misunderstand. Jesus' objective was to get people to heaven. If He could make you introspect why die on a cross, why bother?

For most of the history of Xtianity the only interpretation of the faith was by the RC church and the Eastern Orthodox churches. Plus a few small groups in the ME, such as the Coptics.

So, by your logic, since these groups were not wiped out by lightning bolts, they therefore got it right?

You are making some good arguments for atheism there Shrek.

What is the point him going up on the cross (assuming he did at all, Muslims believe someone else went in his place)?
For him? To be martyred lie so many suicide bomber do now, same reasons and same fanaticism. How better to cement your committment to anything? Does that mean he was under divine inspiration? Nope. Not in the slightest. It does mean he believed what he believed enough to cement it. But then many people suffer from conditions that can now be medicated and understood, who believe THEY are acting on behest of God.
If someone in today's contemporary culture were to declare openly taht they were the son of God and that they were acting under divine dictate, they would be far from embraced by society.
They aren't and part of the reason is knowledge of such conditions and such but there is a much bigger reason of course.
He was simply the right man, the right kind of man and in the right place and at the right time.
Apollonius of Tyana COULD have been the man and the similarities are close. But perhaps Jesus had more of the showman and magician in his character to make him appealing and with the bigger an dmore fervent following could not overshadow Jesus. Also his patrons were of slightly the wrong classes. Also Simon Magus was much like Jesus, a showman and magician but had not the religious side of his character and whilst what Jesus did was essentially the same thing as Jesus he was branded a sorcerer and jesus a miracle worker.
A bit of fiddling with the stories of Jesus and they have jim set up as born in the right place and right way and doing the right things to have him hold a better claim than others.
Simon ben Kosiba (Simon bar Kokhba) could well have usurped the ideology of the messiah come to free the Jewish people but due to 12 legions ( about 40% of the roman army engaging the Jewish dissedents), Simon lost the war and thus could not claim that mantle.
So why were there so many people trying to gain this mantle and for what purpose in supporting and perpetuating this? People needed it. The Jewish people were occupied and vulnerable and downtrodden. If their warrior instincts of the bible and all their religious beliefs were not enough, they needed a superman. A man who was identified by them and for them as a force for the Jewish people. They needed a brand, an idea and a bit of hope. Jesus was all of that.
Why die on the cross? Because at a time where they needed someone to give hope and stir belief in a time of abject misery, then martrydom is something with cements and captured an individual in time, long after they cease to be.
Maybe Jesus understood that, maybe he was a complete nutcase and didn't, maybe he did not exist.

By that logic, then God must be happy with how I interpret the Bible too: love more, judge less....

This post was last modified: 05-31-2012 03:51 AM by awiddershinlife.

Theres many ways of looking at actually...

Jesus must take His time waiting for the world to hear the word

In the mean time, those who have not heard through no fault of their own are still doomed to eternal suffering.  The only way to save them is for the Christianity machine to bulldoze their traditions and gobble their community up.  Slurp them up like soup.

The question is not did they hear or did you hear, the question is whatyou are going to do about it. Pass I suppose.

If there is a Christian God that is the only thing that matters

Presumably their religions are not the way. Dont you find it unique among world religions that Protestantism does not say do good or do better, it says get saved because you cant do good enough?

Like the scene in Challenge of the Superfriends Descent into Darkness when Black Vulcan cant escape the event horizon of the black hole but following Superman/Green Lantern the three of them get out?

To think the animation of Superman/GL was done with primitive technology

Still a little unknown to me...

That's exactly my point.  Christianity is a machine, constructed by those who needed a fresh perspective on divine governorship to inspire obedience in the masses.  If you stress the missionary element, it's a free-of-charge secret police force that will do your work for you.  The wise prince seems to all a Christian, but is unencumbered by Christianity.  

But there isn't.

You seem to be a very presumptive fellow sometimes.

I do not find it unique at all.  It's a very common cop-out for people who don't wish to take responsibility for their actions.  I can do no better.  I can't quit smoking.  I can't get out to vote.  I can't make it to jury duty.  I can't do good enough.  I can't cut back on my energy use.  I can't carry my groceries without a bag.  I can't drive less.  I can't give money to the poor.  I can't do any better.  I'm not good enough to do good things.  

It's a load of crap.  Catholicism at least admits that some sort of code of conduct is necessary.

This post was last modified: 05-31-2012 09:01 AM by Lang.