 |
|
|
|
|
March 15th, 2014
11:23 AM ET
Five things you didn't know about Jesus
(CNN) - With Easter approaching, and the movie “Son of God” playing in wide release, you’re going to hear a lot about Jesus these days. You may hear revelations from new books that purport to tell the “real story” about Jesus, opinions from friends who have discovered a “secret” on the Web about the son of God, and airtight arguments from co-workers who can prove he never existed. Beware of most of these revelations; many are based on pure speculation and wishful thinking. Much of what we know about Jesus has been known for the last 2,000 years. Still, even for devout Christian there are surprises to be found hidden within the Gospels, and thanks to advances in historical research and archaeological discoveries, more is known about his life and times. With that in mind, here are five things you probably didn't know about Jesus. 1.) Jesus came from a nowhere little town. Nearly all modern-day archaeologists agree the town of Nazareth had only 200 to 400 people. Jesus’ hometown is mentioned nowhere in either the Old Testament or the Talmud, which notes dozens of other towns in the area. In fact, in the New Testament it is literally a joke. In the Gospel of John, when a man named Nathanael hears the messiah is “Jesus of Nazareth,” he asks, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” He’s dissing Jesus’ crummy backwater town. 2.) Jesus probably didn’t know everything. This is a thorny theological question. If Jesus is divine, wouldn’t he know all things? (Indeed, on several occasions Jesus predicts his death and resurrection.) On the other hand, if he had a human consciousness, he needed to be taught something before he could know it. The Gospel of Luke says that when Jesus was a young man he “progressed” in wisdom. That means he learned things. (Otherwise how would he “progress”?) In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus initially refuses to heal the daughter of a non-Jewish woman, saying rather sharply, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But when she replies that even the dogs get the crumbs from the table, Jesus softens, and he heals her daughter. He seems to be learning that his ministry extends beyond the Jewish people. 3.) Jesus was tough. From age 12 to 30, Jesus worked in Nazareth as a carpenter. “Is not this the carpenter?” say the astonished crowds when he begins to preach. The word used for Jesus’ profession in the original Greek is tekton. The traditional translation is “carpenter.” But most contemporary scholars say it’s more likely a general craftsman; some even translate it as “day laborer.” A tekton would have made doors, tables, lamp stands and plows. But he probably also built stone walls and helped with house construction. It was tough work that meant lugging tools, wood and stones all over Galilee. Jesus doesn’t simply stride onto the world stage after having dreamily examined a piece of wood when the mood suited him. For 18 years, he worked—and worked hard. 4.) Jesus needed “me time.” The Gospels frequently speak of Jesus’ need to “withdraw” from the crowds, and even his disciples. Today by the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus carried out much of his ministry, you can see how close the towns were, and how natural it would have been for the enthusiastic crowds to “press” in on him, as the Gospels describe. There’s even a cave on the shoreline, not far from Capernaum, his base of operations, where he may have prayed. It’s called the “Eremos Cave,” from the word for “desolate” or “solitary,” from which we get the word “hermit.” Even though Jesus was the son of God, he needed time alone in prayer with the father. 5.) Jesus didn’t want to die. As he approaches his death, and prays hard in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says, “Remove this cup.” It’s a blunt prayer addressed to the father, whom he affectionately calls Abba. He doesn’t want to die. Unlike the way some Christians portray Jesus as courting death, and even desiring it, like any human being, the idea of death is terrifying. “My soul is sorrowful even unto death,” he says. In other words, “I’m so sad that it feels like I’m going to die.” But once Jesus realizes that this is somehow the will of the father, he assents to death, even on a cross. It’s natural to want to know as much as we can about Jesus; that’s one reason I wrote my new book. But beware of the more outlandish claims about the son of God (he fathered children, he was married to Mary Magdalene, he spent time in India and so on.) Many of these claims tend to project our own desires on a man who will always remain somewhat elusive, hard to fully understand and impossible to pin down. In the end, as theologians like to say, Jesus is not so much a problem to be solved as a mystery to be pondered. The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest, editor of America magazine and author of the new book "Jesus: A Pilgrimage" (HarperOne). The views expressed in this column belong to Martin.
Next entry »Westboro Baptist Church founder near death
« Previous entry$600,000 stolen from Joel Osteen's megachurch
|
  About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
|
|
|
Opinion by the Rev. James Martin, special to CNN
“When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?”
― John Maynard Keynes
Everything about religion / Christianity has been debunked. Time to move on.
Most humans that have walked the earth have already been given proof of the existence of heaven and hell. No one is an atheist after the die.
Not sure what you mean by "proof".
You are correct though that the dead are not Atheists because they likely don't exist.
Proof means you will directly observe your new home, hell.
Souls are never destroyed. Atheists will no longer be atheists due to overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
So you claim, but why should I believe you?
Wilbur,
I would not send my worst enemy to hell, so that makes me more moral, ethical and loving than your god.
I wouldn't worship your god if he did exist, you worship a psychopath.
wilburw7
We might still be atheists. Hell would not be proof of any all-loving God. All hell would prove is that some very powerful being unworthy of any veneration, or worship is bit_chy enough to punish people for using their brains.
"Blessed are the Cheesemakers." So would you get up on a cross and die to stop others from going to hell? No. You would not even accept such a gift let alone give such a gift. But Jesus Christ did because he loves you. Yet you mock him still. He gave you away to avoid hell that requires almost nothing from you and a great cost to himself and still you think of yourself as morally superior to him even though all hell is, is you paying for your sins that you decided to bring on yourself. Amazing.
kudlak, You are right that hell is not proof of an all loving God; but the cross is proof of an all loving God. Hell is proof of a just God. Every sin will be paid for.
wilburw7
No, Hell would not even be proof of a just God, just an autocratic, despotic one. There is no justice when one is being judged by someone who considers themselves above and apart of us as socially, and God would be an alien judging us as an inferior life form.
How is the cross is proof of an all-loving God? He supposedly uses it to divide people into those who kowtow to him and those of us who do not? An all-loving God would have just removed hell altogether and skipped having someone sacrificed altogether. But no, God doesn't love all of us. Any human father who loved his children would continue to love them, and protect them from harm even if he disagreed with the things they did, or believed, right? Why won't your god do that?
please provide this evidence wilbur
What evidence? The video below shows a direct eyewitness of hell. That was not good enough. Nothing I can give you will convince you at all. The word of God is the only possible thing that can change your mind. Not one piece of evidence is going to exceed you reading the Bible. You are making a decision on the direction of your eternity.
"The video below shows a direct eyewitness of hell"
No. That cannot be confirmed. What you have is someone CLAIMING it was hell. But it is the same as his remembering a dream. Likely his mind made up the experience the same as it would a dream.
If that's all you have, du hast nicht.
wilburw7
Here's a video about the "scientific" proof of reincarnation. YouTube has lots of videos "proving" all sorts of things, but does that make them all true?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbWMEWubrk0
kudlak, Why are talking about a video proving something. I said many times you will not receive any proof. So why do you think I am trying to "prove" something. Once again: No proof, death, then judgment.
wilburw7
You pointed to a video that was supposed to convince us about Hell, and I showed you that videos can be dug up to "prove" just about anything you want.
Do you believe in just anything without proof, the very definition of gullibility, or are you just making a special exception in this case, which would be intellectual dishonesty?
"The video below shows a direct eyewitness of hell."
L---O---L, oh -I almost spit a whole manhattan on my monitor – LOLLLLLLLL.
Oh my – you know really, Mr. Ed was right about you Wilburrrrrrrr.
"Most humans that have walked the earth have already been given proof of the existence of heaven and hell."
No they haven't.
What "proof" do you have?
Why do you keep asking for proof? I already clearly stated many time you will not be given any proof before you die.
Why am I asking for proof? YOU claimed that there was proof...where is it?
" I already clearly stated many time you will not be given any proof before you die."
Then why exactly are you claiming to have the answers??? If no-one knows until they are deceased, then you obviously don't know either. Why should we accept your version of god over the numerous others??? Your belief system is not the first to make claims such as an afterlife; it is not the first to make claims of virgin birth...give us valid evidence to support your claims, until you can do that even you must admit to not knowing!
wilburw7
Would you buy a product that went with the slogan "You'll know if it works after you use it, but no refunds!"
Well, that's what your Christianity claims, isn't it? No refunds if you die after believing in something false for most of your life, putting a lot of your time and money into it, and allowing it to rule your life.
Some of us are just more careful consumers. We won't buy anything that doesn't offer a "or your money back if not satisfied."
Ok, even though I know you won't answer....how do you know what happens to an atheist after he or she...dies?
Divine revelation.
Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
Wilbur, why should I believe that??
wilbur: Do you sing he children's song "Jesus Loves Me" over and over again when the tough questions are asked? It seems that the brainwashing tune written by your cult is about your speed.
Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
----------------------------–
Divine "revelation" ? Or maybe a statement made up by a human to support their new cult.
What did you THINK the members of the new cult would say about him ? Duh.
How would you know, do you have mental powers others do not possess?
You sure have a funny definition of "proof", wilburrrrr
You will NOT be given any proof before you die. You proof that hell exist will be looking around in hell after you are judge. It will be too late. If the only way for you to believe in Jesus Christ is to see Jesus Christ then you will end up in hell.
No one is a believer when they die either.
All the processes and requirements that go into your brain affirming for yourself you believe something STOP when you die.
There is no mechanism for post-mortem preservation of identi'ty or personal thought patterns.
I don't know if you are a Chrisitan or not but if you wish to preach the Word of God on the Internet, just remember that when Jesus' reception to a town or city was met with contempt, he left. Only people that are willing to hear the Gospel openly are going to get "proof." Jesus said that this generation looks for a sign but won't receive one. I've seen creationist counters to all the evolutionist claims and vice versa. The accepted proof is in the relationship with God, not the the Earth and not the stars, even though I would argue there is proof of God's existence there as well. Take it from me, Internet preaching is a tough business and isn't very effective, but don't be discouraged when people openly disagree with you. It is the Internet after all 🙂
"Only people that are willing to hear the Gospel openly are going to get "proof.""
Baloney. Many of the non believers here were once sincere believers. Of course, they must not have believed right, or believed hard enough, or prayed right, or read the bible right, or, or, or....
Well, you're not wrong. Jesus taught a specific way to pray, and if you don't just read the Bible, but also study it, and yes there is a difference, then you won't understand it. As for believing "right/hard enough", you really just believe or you don't. I believe God is real just like I believe the keyboard I'm using to type is real. If the point you're trying to make is that you once believed and now don't, this doesn't make my statement invalid. I was brought up a Christian, but only kept my faith because I did my own research and weighed the evidence, and then allowed God to change my life. Just because a vast number of people get discouraged and give up faith in God, doesn't mean they're right. It means they didn't give God a real chance to work in their life.
" It means they didn’t give God a real chance to work in their life."
In other words, they did something wrong. And that's exactly the kind of arrogant statement I meant. What makes you think I got discouraged and gave up? What makes you think I just read and didn't study and, yes, I know there's a difference. What makes you think I didn't do my own research?
Again, you prove the arrogance of Christians who tell people who were once believers that it's their own fault – they didn't do enough, study enough, believe enough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2X5uAB692A
When science discovers hell I will worry about it.
No. You will be given proof of hell after you are judged and you are stuck in hell forever.
Where is hell wilburw7? Please answer, I want to compare your answer to that of a 5 year old and see who wins.
Oooh, and you can't wait to sing and dance and laugh while you listen to the screams and smell the burning flesh, because you're sooooo special and god loves you sooooo much.
What a sadistic, violent religion.
Threats are not very convincing.
If by the slimmest of chances you are right and we are wrong, I would accept hell over your heaven. I'd rather be dancing with the greats-John Lennon, Christopher Hitchens, etc then to spend one second with your vindictive god who was such a coward that instead of stopping the questioning mind, it left it to man kind and in turn created great conflict and horrific acts in the world it apparently loves.
Your belief system is crazy!
fvck you and your vindictive pr1ck god, pen-day-ho
Near death is NOT death. Near death experiences have NOTHING to do with death. Like NEARLY falling off a cliff, and falling off a cliff. Vastly different experiences. DO not try to shwo any correlation with NEAR death and death. They are two wholly seperate things.
When one is near death, the brain is still functioning, there are still chemicals being relaesed by the body and being interpretted by the brain. That all ends at death. Actual death, not I was dead three times and they brought me back...no you NEARLY dies three timers and they kept you from dying for now.
How many people have been dead for days, and then came back?
Phil Coulson...died for a week and then they brought him back to life, and this was witnessed by millions of people.
Then several religious stories of it, but none that can be verified.
Otherwise zero. There have been many cases where people were thought to be dead, but weren't.
“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” Luke 16:31
The book is true, see, here, it says so right in the book. LMAO.
So what? your book says a lot of self affirming stuff, just like any good propoganda...again, nothing that can be verified.
Wilburw7
What happened to all the others in the Gospel of Matthew who rose from the dead ?
You actually think if there was a zombie invasion of Jerusalem as it says there was, that NOT ONE ancient historian, or other gospel writer would mention all the dead people walking around ?
There is no hell in the Bible. Sheol was not "hell". The religion Jesus belonged to did not believe in hell.
The Hebrews did not believe in personal immortality, nor did St. Paul, (except for the "saved").
Wilbur, maybe someday you will actually take a class in your cult.
Matthew 25:46
"And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
You are the one that decided to sin. You will not be given proof of God, you will one day die, and then you will be judged. It will then be too late to accept the free gift of redemption through Jesus Christ so you will be sent to hell where sinners belong. You have been told exactly how to avoid it. Saying I sound like a 5 year old is not going to change your fate. Only accepting Jesus Christ will pay for your enormous sin debt.
That is definitely not fair to Jesus. It is a good thing I don't believe in sin or Jesus would really be hosed. Present some credible, verifiable proof in heaven and hell and jesus and all that and then we will have an actual conversation. 5 years old? How about 2 years old.
You will not be given proof of God, you will one day die, and then you will be judged.
No, I won't be judged.
Prove it wilbur.
Until you do, your statement has the same value as "The moon is made of green cheese".
"Judged" as somehow guilty for not believing in something blindly?
Why would a God who supposedly created us with the intellect to be skeptical of things without evidence punish us for using that intellect? It just doesn't make any sense!
Now if only you could provide evidence to back your claims. Outside of your bible what evidence to do have to support that heaven, hell, god, sin, souls...exist?
"You are the one that decided to sin."
That's not true. According to the bible, I was born with sin. I didn't have a choice.
I have repeatedly said to people like you that I stand by the life I have lived, and if your god happens to be real and he happens to not think that was good enough, I wouldn't want to spend an eternity with him.
Praise God! Jesus is in my heart, and gives me happiness and hope in this life, and for the afterlife as well. To my fellow Christians, just ignore the atheists who like to flood any article on religion with useless and hateful comments. Keep God and Jesus in your heart, and know he loves you. Amen.
Good gullible child!! Keep it up, trying to suppress Atheists as christians like to do and have done for far too many years. Why do we frighten you so much? Is your belief that weak that you must constantly push back?
Suck it up, this is a belief blog and most of us know your bible better than you do...if you actually knew it, you would not longer be christian...the greatest path to disbelief is a read of the book with an open mind.
TP: The more I personally read and study Scripture, the more I learn! Also doesn't mean I know and understand everything. Don't have too. So what you said is not true for everyone. Understanding comes with help from the Holy Spirit and is done with time.
Actually it is true. We can show that scripture is very fallacious and your personal experience doesn't validate the claim of your god.
TP: If? I read your comment correctly... you said that if one reads the Bible with an open mind, you would not longer be Christian.
–I'm still a Christian, and it started with an open mind. (I got saved at home while reading the book of JOHN many years ago.)
I know there are things written that don't jive with one another and for the life of me, I don't know what to tell you. Some things you can't know -NOW- so I don't worry about it. Maybe? understanding of it will come later. If not, I'm okay with that. My belief has not been shattered.
Mostly, the Bible has life lessons. Good things and bad things happen to all of us.
No, I can't physically prove to anybody that God is, and I don't have too –because I can't! : ) That is the wonderment of Faith.
If you read it with an open mind, you would see it for the horror story it truly is.
TP: ...You have no idea.
Why do you think Messengers do what they do?
Amen.
God bless you.
Which god??
Which you??
The One that said this:"I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."
wilbur: Which god again? As far as any evidence goes, no god imagined by man has ever spoken!
willie
In the10 commandments your god recognised the compet!tion, thou shall have no other gods, so to back off and say he is the only god, how arrogant, total Christian BS.
Wow, Vic.....posting "Amen" after that drivel sure gives it more validity
pwc1970
Straight from Sunday School to the belief blog, what miracle did you learn about today?
My invisible pink unicorn is praying that you get a clue.
I love Sunday mornings when the thumpers come in all pumped up from their pep rallies.
You better hope Jebus ain't "in your heart". You'd need an angioplasty maybe, and an .... um.... Jebusectomy to get him out.
“By all means let's be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
― Richard Dawkins
"I have a fundamental belief in the Bible as the Word of God, written by those who were inspired. I study the Bible daily."– Isaac Newton
Your reply is to quote a man's delusional opinion. Great.
“God existed before there were human beings on Earth, He holds the entire world, believers and non-believers, in His omnipotent hand for eternity." - Max Planck (Founder of Quantum Mechanics)
Funny how you felt the need to explain who Max Planck is. Does he have proof? A man like that would surely insist on it. Please tell me the great proof that will turn my life around.
Any proof please. Anything at all.
gosh wilber, you quote the OPINIONS of believers who also happen to be scientists.
How exactly do their OPINIONS validate the belief? How does that lend any credibility to the belief?
@igaftr, You will not be given any validations, nor any proof.
Well THAT I already know. Thanks for nothing. There is no validation or proof available so how could I receive any?
Of course I won't be given any proof...that'll happen when it isn't reality.
Wow. The "creation stories" in Genesis are found in Babylonian writings that pre-date Genesis by a thousand years or more. The Enuma Elish contains many of the Ten Commandments. Except for the "God Commandments", many earlier societies had similar rules because they made sense for maintaining a civil society. Then there's where did Cain find a wife? The flood legend appears in writings that predate Genesis. It is known that after the Babylonian Captivity, the conquering Persians release the Jews back to Israel. However, there was a condition. They had to establish a common set of laws to satisfy the "priestly class" and the "farming/laboring class". The Babylonians had a large number of gods. The Jewish Captives would have known about them and their legends. In a fit of "nationalistic pride" they placed their god (Yahweh, a local god of the mountain) at above all other gods. The Gospels were written 40-60 years after Jesus death , so the accounts are not first hand and were probably second or third hand stories that started out "my father (or grandfather) did encounter Jesus in the flesh. Here's what they passed down".
And don't rely on the translation(s) being accurate. Anyone who knows Hebrew will tell you the the phrase in the creation story "And it was good" is a mistranslation. The Hebrew word used is "tov" as in Mazel Tov, Tov does not mean good. It translates to "as God intended." While the Elohim are almost universally good, the phrase "it was good" is an incorrect translation. And then there's the opinion that Elohim is plural, as in more than one of them. Elohim was the term used by the priestly class" and Yahweh was the term used by the "common folk". Are they the same? Scholars differ on that one.
It would be fun to put a moratorium on “Jesus talk” for a week and make the Bible thumpers discuss other belief topics, as if they could. Let me throw on out there:
If the ancient Aztecs believed they were appeasing their gods with blood sacrifice, and to disobey would mean disaster as the gods retaliated upon their people…are were the Aztecs wrong or just frightened and doing what they felt was best for the whole?
You sound like you are under the delusion that you have infinite intelligence and no possibility as gotten past your superior intelligence. You think your logic is without flaw and you know better. You don't. But all you will think about for eternity, is "How could I not listen to the Christians? They were right!" You do not understand that Christians do not conclude God exist with reasoning or brainwashing. It is a divine revelation from God.
You sound like you are under the delusion that you have evidence for all that pertains to god...silly child, imaginary friends are for the weak minded and children...time to grow up little one!
Proof please. And a black coffee.
You might wish to order a shot of Baileys in that...wilbur's delusions are certain to drive one to drinking.
Yes, people like Wilbur could almost drive me to drinking.
Spacetime is a part of THIS universe only.
Wilbur, I challenge you to explain how one "thinks" (a process) "for all eternity" (requires time) in the absence of space time.
Take your time.
wilburw7, you are boring because you don't answer questions.
Jesus, Satan, Heaven and Hell exists. You should be more concerned about the proof that you sinned than about proof that God exists. You have no way to prove that God does not exist. Is it impossible to prove that you did things that were wrong? Yes. So at best you have no way to know if you will be judged. If you are, then you are going to hell.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Thanks for the recap of Pascals Wager. By the way, it is a logical fallacy.
By the way, Hell is real and there is only one way to avoid it.
Oh this should be cheaply entertaining; please explain to us how you know this exactly? Share your evidence!!!
wil...
You come across like the twelve year old kid at bible camp that is so brainwashed that he has totally lost touch with reality. Men made the gods, not the other way around.
"By the way, Hell is real and there is only one way to avoid it."
Really?...where is your proof. You claim it to be real, show your proof, or acknowledge you have no idea if such a place exists and possibly gain a little credibility.
You claim I can avoid hell... a place your god created and now threatens me with...how is that any different than any schoolyard bully. If not for your god creating hell in the first place, he would have nothing to threaten me with.
Like a school bully...he requires you give him your lunch money or he will HAVE to make you punch yourself in the face....see...if not for the bully creating the threat, there would be no need to be saved from it.
By the way, why do you hate Jesus so much that you would allow him to take your just punishment? You have the choice to allow another to suffer YOUR punishment or not, right? So why do you CHOOSE to dodge your own justice, and allow one you claim to love to pay for YOU?
@ wilburw7: OOHHHHH!!!! SCARY!!!!!!!
Is that it? Silly, childish threats of the bogeyman? How old are you? Five?
Pascal's wager yet again. For a loving god he sure doesn't seem to give a sh!t about the 5 billion people that don't give a damn about your particular version of god. Get over yourself, no gods exist.
Your statement is illogical. You have no way to know that God does not exist. Yet you make the claim.
Burden of proof does not lie on the one saying 'show me the evidence', it lies on the one making the claim that a god exists...now get to it boy-we want to see your evidence!!
wil...
If your all loving, all powerful god exists why did he only manage to get 2 of 7 of his creations to believe in him? Willie my boy, if you believe in BS, I feel sorry for you.
"You have no way to know that God does not exist"
And you have no way of knowing if your particular version of god exists, yet you make the claim, and furthermore claim any who don't buy your particular propoganda is going to hell, which you have no idea if it exists or not.
One thing is obvious, you have learned nothing from your Jesus character.
Wilber, and I mean this with all respect in the interest of a give and take dialogue. Please "prove" that Zeus does not exist. You really do not see the need, because you would accurately say, there is no evidence, which is the same standard that we apply to your god. Does it take any "faith" on your part to not believe in other gods and their claims? Same with us
"Jesus, Satan, Heaven and Hell exists."
I don't believe you.
wlburw7, what is the real difference between heaven and hell? Fire? Is that it?
Follow up question, why does god allow satan to be mean to us? What is wrong with rehabilitation?
“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.”
― Frank Zappa
Next up: 5 things you didn't know about the tooth fairy
As long as all we do is talk about Jesus around here, let me ask the bible thumpers a question:
If you were born in India and followed the practices of Hinduism, would you be a Christian?
Was Jesus in North America? Why is it that most Americans are Christians if Jesus was so far away during his life? Most people in Israel, where Jesus lived, are not Christians.
You do understand that Christianity came over with the Europeans right? And that Judaism predates Christianity in Isreal...
Now that you've shown us how to tap dance, could you answer the question?
What?? If jesus existed, he was a mere man...nothing special. As for why many American's are christians...valid question but it's not a good thing as is well noted by the kids coming up...some of the least educated on our planet. It's sad when approximately 60% of a population think that a silly story like Noahs Ark and a global flood is real. That's okay though, this type of crazy can't and won't last forever...soon christianity will be history and the world will know peace. So you can either join reality and the 21st century or you'll be left a mess when your belief system no longer matters.
I find it very disappointing that this blog blathers on and on about Christianity when there is so much more to “belief” than on fictional character. Would it not be more interesting to compare and contrast Eastern religions with Western religions? Would it not be more fun to exam the Buddha and his teaching from time to time? Why is this blog always about popes and saviors?
I will start one off:
“The instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.”
Is this really a quote or was it made up by someone else and attributed to the Buddha?
nmatney and Vic, you are just presenting the standard Christian sales con. The core premise of your foul Christian religion, the Jesus-sacrifice-redemption thing, is actually complete nonsense. How is it again that your omnipotent being couldn't do his saving bit without the whole silly Jesus hoopla? And how was Jesus' death a "sacrifice", when an omnipotent being could just pop up a replacement son any time with less than a snap of his fingers? Pretty pathetic "god" that you've made for yourself there.
And then there is the matter of the really vicious stuff in your horrid Christian book of nasty AKA the bible, in which your murderous sky fairy places horrid demands on you such as these, just to list a few examples:
Numbers 31:17-18
17 Now kiII all the boys. And kiII every woman who has slept with a man,
18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
Deuteronomy 13:6 – “If your brother, your mother’s son or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul entice you secretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods … you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death”
Revelation 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Leviticus 25
44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
Note that the bible is also very clear that you should sacrifice and burn an animal today because the smell makes sicko Christian sky fairy happy. No, you don't get to use the parts for food. You burn them, a complete waste of the poor animal.
Yes, the bible really says that, everyone. Yes, it's in Leviticus, look it up. Yes, Jesus purportedly said that the OT commands still apply. No exceptions. But even if you think the OT was god's mistaken first go around, you have to ask why a perfect, loving enti-ty would ever put such horrid instructions in there. If you think rationally at all, that is.
And then, if you disagree with my interpretation, ask yourself how it is that your "god" couldn't come up with a better way to communicate than a book that is so readily subject to so many interpretations and to being taken "out of context", and has so many mistakes in it. Pretty pathetic god that you've made for yourself.
So get out your sacrificial knife or your nasty sky creature will torture you eternally. Or just take a closer look at your foolish supersti-tions, understand that they are just silly, and toss them into the dustbin with all the rest of the gods that man has created.
Ask the questions. Break the chains. Join the movement.
Be free of Christianity and other superstitions.
http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/
Many of you are deluded into thinking that God sacrificed a human for others and that this event is considered evil. You people fail to realize that Jesus is God incarnate. When you begin to understand the trinity than you will understand that God basically sacrificed himself for the salvation of mankind.
This is by far one of the greatest "goods" any of us could even thinking about doing. Heck, most of us wouldn't even sacrifice ourselves for a family member.
" Heck, most of us wouldn't even sacrifice ourselves for a family member."
Arrogant presumption.
Then it was no sacrifice at all. Utter drivel.
Prove Jesus existed and then we can talk about the particulars of your fantasy.
You will not be given proof, you will one day die, and then you will be judged. It will be too late to accept the free gift of redemption through Jesus Christ so you will be sent to hell where you belong. .
God loves you so much that if you don't love him back, he'll hurt you bad forever.
But I am a good person. Why should I go to hell? That is not fair.
And you will never get into Valhalla unless you die in gloriuos battle.
By the wey, Zeus is a jealous god, so I wouldn't talk too much about "christ" when you face Zeus. He hates that.
Judgement is a hoax, d-bag
So god required himself to sacrifice himself to get around a rule he created himself....got it.
Of course, because sin was brought into the world by a woman, made from a rib, who was tricked into eating a piece of fruit by a talking snake. see, it all makes sense now.
"Many of you are deluded into thinking that God sacrificed a human for others and that this event is considered evil."
Who are you referring to?
So, God sent a tiny piece of himself to Earth in human form – Jesus – knowing in advance exactly what would happen: Jesus would live, be killed, rise from the dead 3 days later, then ascend to Heaven to rejoin himself.
That's less of a sacrifice than me lending you one electron from one atom of my body: I don't know if I'm going to get that electron back, and I can't willingly create another one. God, being all-knowing and all-powerful, knows there is no loss and suffers no loss.
So where's this great, grand, ultimate "sacrifice" that an entire religion is based on? Where?
You must not have a son. I have watched my son suffer. I would do anything in my power to make it stop. For God to witness his son suffering for sinners must have been a terribly painful experiance and I know He loves me very much.
Oh, baloney. God watches his "creation", his "children", suffer all day every day. He even drowned all of his beloved "children", including infants and fetuses, because he "regretted" creating them. God loves watching his "children" suffer, and what's more, if you don't love him back, he'll hurt you real bad for all of eternity.
What, exactly, did God or Jesus sacrifice? He spent 3 days dead. (In hell?) but, all the while knowing it was temporary. If I was in the situation where I would have to spend 3 days in torment, but for a good purpose such as saving another purpose, I would, and so would any sane person. So, what sacrifice? Further, it was God's stupid rule to begin with. He first makes the rule that someone has to be tormented for "sin", and then says "I'll do it myself". That almost makes it seem like he wanted to do it. He's God, he could have made the rule anything he wanted. So, the fact that he (allegedly) made a rule, and then put him self in the center of that rule, is hardly some great sacrifice. So, once again, what, exactly, did God or Jesus sacrifice? NOTHING.
Jesus was without sin. Pure. His blood shed to wash away our sin. He sacrificed so that we might live.
If Jesus was without "sin", then he wasn't a human being, according to your bible.
So your god split off a part of himself in order to temporarily kill that part of himself so that humans don't have to be responsible for the sins that your god invented? Your religion is extremely silly.
how is tha better, nmatney? seems an awful lot to go throught when "god" could have just said, "hey you aren't perfect, but so what?"
The trinity is an idea taken from the misunderstanding of Pagan triple deities and applied incorrectly to a supposedly monotheistic religion.
It is still evil to allow another to pay for my crime. It is still evil to demand blood sacrifice for forgiveness. It is still evil to torment anyone for eternity for crimes committed in a single lifetime.
I see diversified thoughts on Jesus Christ on this particular blog more than others, so here is the thing:
Christianity is the only belief system that proclaims "Time Dispensation" and "Redemption/Salvation by Grace." Other belief systems proclaim 'merit-based redemption' that leads you into a state of constant contemplation of keeping scores and self-righteousness. Salvation by the Grace of God in Christianity puts Jesus Christ center stage and leads the believer into a state of constant reverence for and personal relationship with God. Jesus Christ is our focus.
Here is a nice previously shared by other posters short video demonstrating the matter:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNa6tLWrqk
The character "Jesus" may or may not have actually existed. That is all we know.
Indeed!
Vic,
this was great, thanks for sharing!
The OT is Jesus Hidden; The NT is Jesus Revealed.
It's not about you, it's all about Him, and when you're all about Him, you will realize that He's always been all about You.
Blessings!
I see, you understand the writing of the Jews better than their own scholars. I guess Christianity requires arrogance on all levels
And I don't see why that makes it true or even better...
Vic, the core premise of your foul Christian religion, the Jesus-sacrifice-redemption thing, is complete nonsense. How is it again that your omnipotent being couldn't do his saving bit without the whole silly Jesus hoopla? And how was Jesus' death a "sacrifice", when an omnipotent being could just pop up a replacement son any time with less than a snap of his fingers? Pretty pathetic "god" that you've made for yourself there.
And then there is the matter of the really vicious stuff in your horrid Christian book of nasty AKA the bible, in which your murderous sky fairy places horrid demands on you such as these, just to list a few examples:
Numbers 31:17-18
17 Now kiII all the boys. And kiII every woman who has slept with a man,
18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
Deuteronomy 13:6 – “If your brother, your mother’s son or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul entice you secretly, saying, let us go and serve other gods … you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death”
Revelation 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Leviticus 25
44 “‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.
45 You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.
46 You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.
Note that the bible is also very clear that you should sacrifice and burn an animal today because the smell makes sicko Christian sky fairy happy. No, you don't get to use the parts for food. You burn them, a complete waste of the poor animal.
Yes, the bible really says that, everyone. Yes, it's in Leviticus, look it up. Yes, Jesus purportedly said that the OT commands still apply. No exceptions. But even if you think the OT was god's mistaken first go around, you have to ask why a perfect, loving enti-ty would ever put such horrid instructions in there. If you think rationally at all, that is.
And then, if you disagree with my interpretation, ask yourself how it is that your "god" couldn't come up with a better way to communicate than a book that is so readily subject to so many interpretations and to being taken "out of context", and has so many mistakes in it. Pretty pathetic god that you've made for yourself.
So get out your sacrificial knife or your nasty sky creature will torture you eternally. Or just take a closer look at your foolish supersti-tions, understand that they are just silly, and toss them into the dustbin with all the rest of the gods that man has created.
Ask the questions. Break the chains. Join the movement.
Be free of Christianity and other superstitions.
http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/
So what, Vic? Does that make it any more truthful?
Of course, it is the only one that teaches that salvation is required as well.
They forgot a few things such as
1... Jesus' name was not "Jesus"
The name of the messiah is Yeshua.... a Hebrew word that literally means a cry for help....Christ means "the anointed"
2. Yeshua was a Shaman who practiced and preached Kabbalah. Christ used cannabis flowers (not calamus) in the anointing oil as per the original recipe given in Exodus. John the baptist was also a shamanic figure who resided in the wilderness and lived off of wild locusts and honey. His baptism technique was not sanctioned by the Pharisees and it involved taking you out into a river and then pouring potent trans-dermal cannabis infused olive oil over your head. (Yes it works and you may see the light if you try it... ::)
3. Christ is alive and well at this very moment and anyone can speak directly to him at any time. There is infinitely more to reality than what normally trickles through the filters of ordinary everyday perception.
There is an old saying that goes something like.......... "The white man goes to church to talk of Christ but the Native American goes into his tee-pee and speaks TO Christ.
-Shalom
How insulting to say that Native Americans speak to Christ....they didn't even know the myths until long after their beliefs had been established.
Yes, you can speak to Christ, whether or not there is anyone ever there listening or not is the next question, but you can speak, just like I can speak to ihgbwofk...a god I just made up.
Actually the Native American church (NAC) teaches the words of Christ. The Santo Daime church in south america (Ayahuasca church) also is very heavily Christ orientated.
It is my opinion and the opinion of many others that Christ has enjoyed many incarnations previous to his being born into
this world as Yeshua and there were many ancient cultures who had interactions with this being...
for igaftr say that people who claim to have a mystical experience are only imagining it is a pretty egotistical response in my mind.
As if they had any idea of what human awareness is capable of when modern science is only beginning to understand.
From encyclopedia Britannica's website about the Native American Church:
"The various forms of peyotist beliefs combine Indian and Christian elements in differing degrees. Among the Teton, for example, the Cross Fire group uses the Bible and sermons, which are rejected by the Half Moon followers, who, however, teach a similar Christian morality. In general, peyotist doctrine consists of belief in one supreme God (the Great Spirit), who deals with men through various spirits, which include the traditional waterbird or thunderbird spirits that carry prayers to God. "
-Peace
"It is my opinion and the opinion of many others that Christ has enjoyed many incarnations previous to his being born into
this world"
If there is one thing Christianity has done really well, from Pagan myths, to Norse myths and now Native American religion, they assimulate the opposition whenever possible. They are the Borg of religion...."resistance is futile".
cop22
"for igaftr say that people who claim to have a mystical experience are only imagining it is a pretty egotistical response in my mind."
When did I say that?
You originally calimed Native Americans, you did not specify a christian church that identifies as christian.
Most native americans do not share your christianity, and 500 years ago, they never heard of it.
"There is an old saying that goes something like.......... "The white man goes to church to talk of Christ but the Native American goes into his tee-pee and speaks TO Christ."
What an arrogant piece of garbage. Native Americans were forced at gunpoint to "talk to Christ".
I believe that your thinking of the blue eyed republican GOP "Jesus" and that is not the real Christ. I would wager most conservative evangelical Christians would not know the real Christ even if they met him in person face to face.
"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" -Isaiah 29:13
No, I am thinking of the Christian Jesus that was forced on the Native Americans at gunpoint.
Nice dodge though.
I'm sure the NA's were very grateful for the pox-ridden blankets and the proselytizing by bullet.
Two other quotes that say it as it is:
"First we had the land and they had the Bibles, now we have the Bibles and they have the land" – Chief Dan George
"They came with a Bible and their religion – stole our land, crushed our spirit – and now tell us we should be thankful to the ‘Lord’ for being saved." – Chief Pontiac
Quran says (Islamic Scripture)
“The example of Jesus, as far as GOD is concerned, is the same as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, "Be," and he was.” Quran [3:59]
“It does not befit God that He begets a son, be He glorified. To have anything done, He simply says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” [19:35]
“No soul can carry the sins of another soul. If a soul that is loaded with sins implores another to bear part of its load, no other soul can carry any part of it, even if they were related. ... [35:18]
“They even attribute to Him sons and daughters, without any knowledge. Be He glorified. He is the Most High, far above their claims.” Quran [6:100]
“Recall that your Lord said to the angels, "I am placing a representative on Earth." They said, "Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we sing Your praises, glorify You, and uphold Your absolute authority?" He said, "I know what you do not know." [2:30]
“They say , "We live only this life; we will not be resurrected. If you could only see them when they stand before their Lord! He would say, "Is this not the truth?" They would say, "Yes, by our Lord." He would say, "You have incurred the retribution by your disbelief." [6:30]
“We have honored the children of Adam, and provided them with rides on land and in the sea. We provided for them good provisions, and we gave them greater advantages than many of our creatures.” Quran [17:70]
“O children of Adam, when messengers come to you from among you, and recite My revelations to you, those who take heed and lead a righteous life, will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve.” Quran [7:35]
“O children of Adam, do not let the devil dupe you as he did when he caused the eviction of your parents from Paradise, and the removal of their garments to expose their bodies. He and his tribe see you, while you do not see them. We appoint the devils as companions of those who do not believe.” Quran [7:27]
“Losers indeed are those who disbelieve in meeting God, until the Hour comes to them suddenly, then say, "We deeply regret wasting our lives in this world." They will carry loads of their sins on their backs; what a miserable load! [6:31]
Thanks for taking time to read my post. Please take a moment to visit whyIslam org website.
Islam, like christianity, is only a religion of peace to fellow members. Islam many times in your man made book , calls for the destruction of infidels.
Just like christianity, belief in these baseless beliefs is used to justify bloodshed and violence, oppresion and suppression of basic freedoms.
Can you quote something from Quran that supports your claims?
If you read it, it should be obvious to you. Try reading the silly thing.
No need to read it. I have it memorized. I was asking you to cite an example you are AWARE of in the Quran in which it teaches the destruction of the infidels (of course aside from what you hear in the media, movies, etc...). IF I were to claim something, I would make sure that I know the evidence behind my claim.. Can you share that with us here? Also, it behooves you to look at the evidence instead of copying stuff off the internet.
here is some of your foul book:
2:191 And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And fight not with them at the Inviolable Place of Worship until they first attack you there, but if they attack you (there) then slay them. Such is the reward of disbelievers.
2:193 And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah.
2:216 Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.
2:244 Fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearer, Knower.
5:33 The only reward of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off, or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom.
Over 100 times your book mentions killing or destroying infidels, basically calling on the "spirits" or "angels" to kill any who don't believe the words of a lunatic pedophile named Mohamed.
Islam is the disaster, not answer.
Sorry for starting a new thread, for some reason I was unable to post a response to the original post. This is in response to a video posted by realbuckyball in which he contended that I couldn't refute ONE of the claims made by Robert Spencer in a video that he posted in the first page of the comments of this article (you can watch the video by going to the first comment page). I took the time to refute ALL of the claims..
"islamistheanswer"
What's the question?
Life is the question!
Yeah – well and I took the time to change my underwear this morning, but can you tell?
It is unfortunate that my posts are not being published for whatever reason (some much for freedom of speech 🙁 )
well obviously some of them are coming through. I would have to guess you're not getting by the bad word filter.
Two things :
1. You are in all likelihood running afoul of the WordPress word filter.
2. There are NO 1st Amendment issues involved when commenting on a private corporation's website.
Do you have a copy of the list of hints about the forbidden word-within-word fragments?
not at all. no foul words (obvious for a Muslim :)) I am not sure why it doesn't post the paragraph that I paste in the reply section. Has been happening since this morning.
I have seen muslims use foul language...made by muslim men while drinking at a bar, referncing an attractive woman.. It is not obvious that all muslims do not use foul language.
Many of the "banned" words are ones you would not expect, such as t!t, as in const!tution...must modify the way you write it.
islamis,
Really, "Allah" should have provided this list to you, but since 'he' doesn't exist, I guess it's up to us.
--------------------------------------
Bad letter combinations / words to avoid if you want to get past the CNN Belief Blog/WordPress automatic filter:
Many, if not most, are buried within other words, so use your imagination.
You can use dashes, spaces, or other characters or some html tricks to modify the "offending" letter combinations.
-
ar-se.....as in ar-senic, coa.rse, etc.
Ch-ardonnay
co-ck.....as in co-ckatiel, co-ckatrice, co-ckleshell, co-ckles, etc.
co-on.....as in racc-oon, coc-oon, etc.
crac-ker…
cu-m......as in doc-ument, accu-mulate, circu-mnavigate, circu-mstances, cu-mbersome, cuc-umber, etc.
ef-fing...as in ef-fing filter
ft-w......as in soft-ware, delft-ware, swift-water, drift-wood, etc.
ho-mo.....as in ho-mo sapiens or ho-mose-xual, ho-mogenous, sopho-more, etc.
ho-oters…as in sho-oters
ho-rny....as in tho-rny, etc.
inf-orms us…
hu-mp… as in th-ump, th-umper, th-umping
jacka-ss...yet "ass" is allowed by itself.....
ja-p......as in j-apanese, ja-pan, j-ape, etc.
koo-ch....as in koo-chie koo..!
ni-gra…as in deni-grate
nip-ple
o-rgy….as in po-rgy, zo-rgy, etc.
pi-s......as in pi-stol, lapi-s, pi-ssed, therapi-st, etc.
p-oon… as in sp-oon, lamp-oon, harp-oon
p-orn… as in p-ornography
pr-ick....as in pri-ckling, pri-ckles, etc.
que-er
ra-pe.....as in scra-pe, tra-peze, gr-ape, thera-peutic, sara-pe, etc.
se-x......as in Ess-ex, s-exual, etc.
sl-ut
sm-ut…..as in transm-utation
sn-atch
sp-ank
sp-ic.....as in desp-icable, hosp-ice, consp-icuous, susp-icious, sp-icule, sp-ice, etc.
sp-ook… as in sp-ooky, sp-ooked
strip-per
ti-t......as in const-itution, att-itude, t-itle, ent-ity, alt-itude, beat-itude, etc.
tw-at.....as in wristw-atch, nightw-atchman, salt-water, etc.
va-g......as in extrava-gant, va-gina, va-grant, va-gue, sava-ge, etc.
who-re....as in who're you kidding / don't forget to put in that apostrophe!
wt-f....also!!!!!!!
x-xx…
There's another phrase that someone found, "wo-nderful us" (have no idea what sets that one off).
–
There are more, some of them considered "racist", so do not assume that this list is complete.
How is that obvious for a Muslim? Are we to assume that Muslims never use a naughty word?
Did I say Muslims were perfect? As a Muslim, I shouldn't use anything that is not GOOD. This includes the language that I use and the words I select in my speech 🙂 Are there Muslims (perhaps including myself) who use something other than the ideal aforementioned? Of Course!
"Did I say Muslims were perfect?"
Please point out where anyone said you did.
"no foul words (obvious for a Muslim :)) "
You did say that, as if we should all assume you would never, ever use a naughty word.
Foul words are not necessary – it can be word fragments. Do you retract the freedom of speech claim ?
I had put together a long post in response to a video that was posted. That post won't go through. I tried to post it in smaller pieces, it still wouldn't post it. After I click the Post button, the page refreshes and the post doesn't show up!
That is irrelevant to the question of 1st Amendment issues. There are none involved here.
Thank you for providing evidence of my conspiracy theory post below.
Which one?
My posts are being blocked therefore CNN is censoring me violating my freedom of speech.
Got you. I learned it the hard way. For those posts that tend to be a bit lengthy, I tend to use a notepad app to write the post instead of relying on CNN to block and forever delete my posts. Unfortunate indeed.
Quick starting the educational process:
from the studies of Armstrong, Rushdie, Hirsi Ali, Richardson and Bayhaqi--
The Five Steps To Deprogram 1400 Years of Islamic Myths:
( –The Steps take less than two minutes to finish- simply amazing, two minutes to bring peace and rationality to over one billion lost souls- Priceless!!!)
Are you ready?
Using "The 77 Branches of Islamic "faith" a collection compiled by Imam Bayhaqi as a starting point. In it, he explains the essential virtues that reflect true "faith" (iman) through related Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings." i.e. a nice summary of the Koran and Islamic beliefs.
The First Five of the 77 Branches:
"1. Belief in Allah"
aka as God, Yahweh, Zeus, Jehovah, Mother Nature, etc. should be added to your self-cleansing neurons.
"2. To believe that everything other than Allah was non-existent. Thereafter, Allah Most High created these things and subsequently they came into existence."
Evolution and the Big Bang or the "Gi-b G-nab" (when the universe starts to recycle) are more plausible and the "akas" for Allah should be included if you continue to be a "crea-tionist".
"3. To believe in the existence of angels."
A major item for neuron cleansing. Angels/de-vils are the mythical creations of ancient civilizations, e.g. Hitt-ites, to explain/define natural events, contacts with their gods, big birds, sudden winds, protectors during the dark nights, etc. No "pretty/ug-ly wingy thingies" ever visited or talked to Mohammed, Jesus, Mary or Joseph or Joe Smith. Today we would classify angels as f–airies and "tin–ker be-lls". Modern de-vils are classified as the de-mons of the de-mented.
"4. To believe that all the heavenly books that were sent to the different prophets are true. However, apart from the Quran, all other books are not valid anymore."
Another major item to delete. There are no books written in the spirit state of Heaven (if there is one) just as there are no angels to write/publish/distribute them. The Koran, OT, NT etc. are simply books written by humans for humans.
Prophets were invented by ancient scribes typically to keep the un-educated masses in line. Today we call them for-tune tellers.
Prophecies are also invali-dated by the natural/God/Allah gifts of Free Will and Future.
"5. To believe that all the prophets are true. However, we are commanded to follow the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) alone."
Mohammed spent thirty days "fasting" (the Ramadan legend) in a hot cave before his first contact with Allah aka God etc. via a "pretty wingy thingy". Common sense demands a neuron deletion of #5. #5 is also the major source of Islamic vi-olence i.e. turning Mohammed's "fast, hunger-driven" hallu-cinations into horrible reality for unbelievers.
Walk these Five Steps and we guarantee a complete recovery from your Islamic ways!!!!
Unfortunately, there are not many Muslim commentators/readers on this blog so the "two-minute" cure is not getting to those who need it. If you have a Muslim friend, send him a copy and help save the world.
Analogous steps are available at your request for deprogramming the myths of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Paganism..
Reality, your name really is not reflected in your posts 🙂 Which world do you live in? The world of just writing rubbish and nonsense? If you are up to it, just present a single point or issue that you have against Islam and it will be evident and clear to you and the audience here how ignorant and ill-informed you are about Islam.. Try it!
So refute it instead of insults and emoticons.
Refute what exactly? There is nothing to refute in the first place. I have asked for a single item/issue that could be presented with detail and referenced to be worthy to refute.. The usual thing is , none will come up because the majority of folks that have similar perceptions don't have the knowledge themselves and they either heard it somewhere else or copied it off an internet site without equipping themselves with the necessary knowledge or background to debate such an argument.
So, with that being said, any takers? Please try to go over my posts since yesterday noon to get an idea of where Islam stands and what it is all about instead of echoing opinions of those who themselves are ill-informed about Islam. If your standard in judging Islam and Muslims is the media and what is propagated therein and the few who have distorted the image of this fine religion, then too bad for you for following such a methodology to judge an entire faith. If I were you, I would educate myself about Islam not for the sake of converting but rather for the sake of knowing what this religion is all about (Disclaimer: a large percentage who take that challenge end up converting to Islam by the will of Allah.. Those who are willing to look at the evidence and the facts face value). Enjoy!
So where would you have people learn about it if not the internet? From Islam apologists? Would that be any different from learning about Christianity from Christian apologists? Anyway, I have Muslim friends. I don't need your brand of rah-rahing. Anything I need to know, I'll just walk 2 doors down and ask them.
FWIW, I don't take Reality very seriously, because he is prone to c/p. there's a reason nobody answers him. We're used to seeing his posts.
Akira, the best place to always learn about any religion, creed or anything for that matter would be to tap from the source itself! This could be in the form of a book that discusses the subject matter as the Source sees it to get a first account of what it is and what it is intended to be used as. The internet has massive amounts of information and unfortunately it is very hard to decipher that information and validate the authenticity of such reporting (Reality's posts are an example of that). I apologize if I came across as having a distinct brand in sharing with you and others about Islam.
Thank you very much for the heads up regarding Reality. It was obvious that one would get nothing discussing anything with him/her.. I have asked for a single concise topic to discuss and what you get is a flood of quotes from the internet.. Kudos!
Only for the eyes of "islamistheanswer".
I looked for the "niceties" of Islam and this is what I found:
The terror and aggression via a Partial and Recent and Not So Recent Body Count
As the koranic/mosque driven acts of terror and horror continue:
The Muslim Conquest of India – 11th to 18th century
■"The likely death toll is somewhere between 2 million and 80 million. The geometric mean of those two limits is 12.7 million. "
and the 19 million killed in the Mideast Slave Trade 7C-19C by Muslims.
and more recently
1a) 179 killed in Mumbai/Bombay, 290 injured
1b) Assassination of Benazir Bhutto and Theo Van Gogh
2) 9/11, 3000 mostly US citizens, 1000’s injured
3) The 24/7 Sunni-Shiite centuries-old blood feud currently being carried out in Iraq, US troops killed in action, 3,480 and 928 in non combat roles. Iraqi civilians killed as of 05/10/2013/, 113,249-123,978 mostly due to suicide bombers, land mines and bombs of various types, http://www.iraqbodycount.org/ and http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf
4) Kenya- In Nairobi, about 212 people were killed and an estimated 4000 injured; in Dar es Salaam, the attack killed at least 11 and wounded 85.[2]
5) Bali-in 2002-killing 202 people, 164 of whom were foreign nationals, and 38 Indonesian citizens. A further 209 people were injured.
6) Bali in 2005- Twenty people were killed, and 129 people were injured by three bombers who killed themselves in the attacks.
7) Spain in 2004- killing 191 people and wounding 2,050.
8. UK in 2005- The bombings killed 52 commuters and the four radical Islamic suicide bombers, injured 700.
9) The execution of an eloping couple in Afghanistan on 04/15/2009 by the Taliban.
10) – Afghanistan: US troops 1,385 killed in action, 273 killed in non-combat situations as of 09/15/2011. Over 40,000 Afghan civilians killed due to the dark-age, koranic-driven Taliban acts of horror
11) The killing of 13 citizen soldiers at Ft. Hood by a follower of the koran.
12) 38 Russian citizens killed on March 29, 2010 by Muslim women suicide bombers.
13) The May 28, 2010 attack on a Islamic religious minority in Pakistan, which have left 98 dead,
14) Lockerbie is known internationally as the site where, on 21 December 1988, the wreckage of Pan Am Flight 103 crashed as a result of a terrorist bomb. In the United Kingdom the event is referred to as the Lockerbie disaster, the Lockerbie bombing, or simply Lockerbie. Eleven townspeople were killed in Sherwood Crescent, where the plane's wings and fuel tanks plummeted in a fiery explosion, destroying several houses and leaving a huge crater, with debris causing damage to a number of buildings nearby. The 270 fatalities (259 on the plane, 11 in Lockerbie) were citizens of 21 nations.
15 The daily suicide and/or roadside and/or mosque bombings in the terror world of Islam.
16) Bombs sent from Yemen by followers of the koran which fortunately were discovered before the bombs were detonated.
17) The killing of 58 Christians in a Catholic church in one of the latest acts of horror and terror in Iraq.
18) Moscow airport suicide bombing: 35 dead, 130 injured. January 25, 2011.
19) A Pakistani minister, who had said he was getting death threats because of his stance against the country's controversial blasphemy law, was shot and killed Wednesday, 3/2/2011
20) two American troops killed in Germany by a recently radicalized Muslim, 3/3/2011
21) the kidnapping and apparent killing of a follower of Zoraster in the dark world of Islamic Pakistan.
22) Shariatpur, Bangladesh (CNN 3/30/2011) – Hena Akhter's last words to her mother proclaimed her innocence. But it was too late to save the 14-year-old girl. Her fellow villagers in Bangladesh's Shariatpur district had already passed harsh judgment on her. Guilty, they said, of having an affair with a married man. The imam from the local mosque ordered the fatwa, or religious ruling, and the punishment: 101 lashes delivered swiftly, deliberately in public. Hena dropped after 70 and died a week later.
23) "October 4, 2011, 100 die as a truck loaded with drums of fuel exploded Tuesday at the gate of compound housing several government ministries on a busy Mogadishu street. It was the deadliest single bombing carried out by the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia since their insurgency began. "
o 24) Mon Jun 4, 2012 10:18am EDT
o
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – A suicide bomber detonated an explosive-packed car outside a Shi'ite Muslim office in central Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 26 people and wounding more than 190 in an attack bearing the hallmarks of Iraq's al Qaeda affiliate.
The bombing on a Shi'ite religious office comes at a sensitive time, with the country's fractious Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs locked in a crisis that threatens to unravel their power-sharing deal and spill into sectarian tensions."
25) BURGAS, Bulgaria | Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:27am EDT
(Reuters) – A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame.
26 ) September 12, 2012
U.S. AMBASSADOR KILLED
Envoy to Libya dies in rocket blast
27) Boston Marathon horror – April 2013, four dead, hundreds injured and maimed for life.
Continued below:
Other elements of our War on Terror and Aggression:
-Operation Iraqi Freedom- The 24/7 Sunni-Shiite centuries-old blood feud currently being carried out in Iraq, US Troops killed in action, 3,480 and 928 in non combat roles as of 09/15/2011/, 102,522 – 112,049 Iraqi civilians killed as of 9/16/2011/, mostly due http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf
– Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan: US troops 1,385 killed in action, 273 killed in non-combat situations as of 09/15/2011. Over 40,000 Afghan civilians killed mostly due to the dark-age, koranic-driven Taliban acts of horror,
– Sa-dd-am, his sons and major he-nchmen have been deleted. Sa-dd-am's bravado about WMD was one of his major mistakes. Kuwait was saved.
– Iran is being been contained. (beside containing the Sunni-Shiite civil war in Baghdad, that is the main reason we are in Iraq. And yes, essential oil continues to flow from the region.)
– North Korea is still u-ncivil but is contained.
– Northern Ireland is finally at peace.
– The Jews and Palestinians are being separated by walls. Hopefully the walls will follow the 1948 UN accords. Unfortunately the Annapolis Peace Conference was not successful. And unfortunately the recent events in Gaza has put this situation back to “squ-are one”. And this significant stupidity is driven by the mythical foundations of both religions!!!
– – Fa-na–tical Islam has basically been contained to the Middle East but a wall between India and Pakistan would be a plus for world peace. Ditto for a wall between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
– Timothy McVeigh was exe-cuted. Terry Nichols escaped the death penalty twice because of deadlocked juries. He was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole,[3][7] and is incarcerated in ADX Florence, a super maximum security prison near Florence, Colorado. He shares a cellblock that is commonly referred to as "Bombers Row" with Ramzi Yousef and Ted Kaczynski
– Eric Ru-dolph is spending three life terms in pri-son with no par-ole.
– Jim Jones, David Koresh, Kaczynski, the "nuns" from Rwanda, and the KKK were all dealt with and either eliminated themselves or are being punished.
– Islamic Sudan, Dar-fur and So-malia are still terror hot spots.
– The terror and tor-ture of Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo and Kuwait were ended by the proper application of the military forces of the USA and her freedom-loving friends. Ra-dovan Karadzic was finally captured on 7/23/08 and is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and violations of the law of war – charges related to the 1992-1995 civil war that followed Bosnia-Herzegovina's secession from Yugoslavia.
The capture of Ratko Mladić: (Serbian Cyrillic: Ратко Младић, pronounced [râtkɔ mlǎːditɕ], born 12 March 1943[1][2]) is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).[3] His trial began on 3 June 2011.
– the bloody terror brought about by the Ja-panese, Na-zis and Co-mmunists was with great difficulty eliminated by the good guys.
– Bin Laden was executed for crimes against humanity on May 1, 2011
– Ditto for Anwar al-Awlaki on September 30, 2011
–
– Ditto for Abu Yahya al-Libi on June 5, 2012
– The capture of Abu Anas al-Libi on October 7, 2013
And that Is why Reality normally adds "only for the new members". Said provision was not added this time since it was assumed "islamistheanswer" is a new member.
Thanks for the warm welcome Reality. What are you suggesting by your statistical post in which you list all the heinous acts that were carried out by Muslims? IF what you are trying to say is that Islam instigates those folks, you are right.. It only DOES to those fools who read verses out of context and decide to interpret them the way they wish. The holy book was revealed not as a story telling like many think of it but rather was revealed at different times throughout the life of the Prophet addressing the different issues and inst-i-tu-ing the way of life that Muslims adopted. So, when you read a verse in the Quran, what should come to your mind (I don't expect you to know this but I am sharing it with you so next time you know how to read the verses within their intended verses) is what context was that verse revealed and where it is applicable.
To Muslims, the knowledge of when each verse was revealed and its
a-p-p-l-i-c-a-b-i-l-i-t-y
is well known and hence the ignor-ant Muslim who doesn't po s-s- es-s the knowledge and decide to read those vers-es out of context is to blame for his or her own actions – not the religion.
Also, if you are an atheist and would like to suggest that Religion is behind all suffering and killing, then think again. The largest recorded casualty in human history took place not long ago (World war in which 25+ million people lost their lives) and obviously that was not due to religion as you are well aware of.. In conclusion, human behavior could be a result of one's beliefs and convictions but those convictions could be as deviant as one could imagine from the religion that this individual follows... Read my friend and learn about Islam as you might be surprised at what you would learn! One site I suggested was talkislam.com.au
You can find my response in my blog at http://islamistheanswer.wordpress.com/
Is stealing advertising space for your blog from CNN allowed in the Muslim religion?
doobzz,
In fairness, it's just his WordPress private blog - just like one that anyone who registered here can set up.
Well, have at it then.
doobzz, I don't have anything is my blog except for two posts. I apologize for directing the traffic there. I have been trying to post my response but it has been blocked so I opted to post it in my blog and posting the link here.
As for the Muslim countries, there is no need to be sarcastic 🙂 Muslim countries and civilization was on the top in the middle ages and were in the forefront of research, innovation and prosperity in case you are not aware. The fact that they are lagging behind is not a precursor for those who are not informed to be as sarcastic and judgmental. OK to answer your question, we don't do that in Muslim countries (the illiterate and backward we are, we don't even know what blogging means 🙂 )
I simply asked if stealing ad space is okay. I didn't say anything about your country, your civilization, your culture, or your education, so don't put words into my mouth.
no thanks, we don't' want to listed with HSD for visiting your sites.
♰ ♰ ♰ Jesus Christ Is Lord ♰ ♰ ♰
This is what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ6kQCrPBmo
The Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ
Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for the Gift Of Salvation for we are helpless.
Did Jesus know he was God when he was on the cross?
WHy do you keep posting this?
It is torture p0rn.
Human sacrifice to appease a deity is abhorrant. Glorying in the bloodletting is beyond comprehension.
Disgusting. Why do Christians worship the suffering? There are millions living right now who are suffering and have suffered far more than this pansy fraud who had a bad weekend before being whisked away to paradise.
Apparently, you have never heard how atrocious it is to die on a cross. It is probably one of the worst ways to die and definitely exceeds any modern day method of death in terms of pain.
So what about the thousands of others tortured to death throughout history (often in the name of religion)? Jesus = just another guy.
While we're debating horrific ways to torture a human being, let's not forget these classics:
The rack
The stocks
Water torture
The heretic's fork
The pear
The branks
The wheel
The breast ripper
The hanging cages
The head crusher
The garrote
Burning at the stake
The strappado
The boots
Judas' cradle
These were all used by Christians to torture and kill non Christians.
"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved – the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced! With the rational respect that is due to it, knavish priests have added prostitutions of it, that fill or might fill the blackest and bloodiest pages of human history."
John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson
Allowing another to pay the penalty for my crime is abhorrent.
Sacrifice that costs the penitent nothing is not sacrifice.
Any god that demands human sacrifice in order to enter his presence is evil. Any god who punishes for finite sins with infinite suffering is evil.
How exactly do you know what evil really is? Is it based on your meaningless ideas? Good and evil is quite different from what we know it to be when looking at it in a non-human perception or deity perception. Instead of whining about how you can't follow something like God, start doing something else with your life like exercise.
" Good and evil is quite different from what we know it to be when looking at it in a non-human perception or deity perception."
And you know this how?
Nmatey-the Insult Proselytizer.
"Good and evil is quite different from what we know it to be when looking at it in a non-human perception"
This has to be one of the most absurd and hilarious lines I have seen today....how do you as a "human" look at something from a "non-human" perception?
I replied to this once, but it seems to have disappeared (even though it said it was successful), so I apologize if another response pops up.
How exactly do you know what evil really is? Is it based on your meaningless ideas?
"Meaningless ideas"? Is this how you open up with meaningful dialog? By insulting me? Not the most auspicious beginning.
Good and evil is quite different from what we know it to be when looking at it in a non-human perception or deity perception.
And you know this how? How do you judge what is good or evil? Do you base it on what a book says? Do you base it on your own experience?
The notion of evil is problematic, and I don't use the word lightly. I judge it based on motivation of the person committing the act, on the results and affects of the act, on the methods used....many criteria. And yes, one of them, when evaluating a god, is "would I judge a human being who commits this act as evil"...because I expect my god to behave better than an average human being.
Instead of whining about how you can't follow something like God, start doing something else with your life like exercise.
And right back to being insulting and throwing in a little condescension as well. Does it make you feel better to be-little someone you've never met?
Not that you deserve to know anything about me, but for what it's worth, here's what I do with my life: I work a great job 40-60 hours per week, I crochet & knit scarves, hats and blankets for battered women's shelters and the homeless, I volunteer for several charities and community groups, I help support two children that are not mine, donate to several charities that focus on poverty issues, minister to those approaching death, take in pregnant teenagers, counsel those who have been the victim of spiritual trauma. Outside of my regular job, I am also a writer with a recently published book and a photographer. I travel extensively.
And, I do all that with agoraphobia and chronic pain issues. I have a bad back from an injury when I was 13 (playing touch football in the gym, I got slammed into a wall and slipped a disk in my lower back, then walked around on it for 6 weeks until I couldn't stand the pain) and a bad knee from an injury in my late teens. I also have nerve damage in both arms (wrists, elbows and shoulders) from repetitive motion injuries. I still manage to get to the gym 3 times a week and walk as much as I can, usually about a mile a day, though some days I can't do the whole mile, and some days I need to use a cane.
Now then, what was it you were saying about me doing something with my life?
"How exactly do you know what evil really is? Is it based on your meaningless ideas?"
Back atcha
What gift ? According to the story he is just lifting the curse he put on Adam and Eve and the rest of mankind. And that is only if you worship him. If you don't worship him, he will torture forever. Fortunately, it's only a myth.
What a morbid god! It has been said that if your god were real, he'd be in prison for his crimes against humanity.
Cheese: That's how folks like Vic get off. They spill their seed watching that ripped, tanned body being tortured
Skepticism. We all have it, but we apply it differently.
Some people are skeptical about the intent of Government people. They form all sorts of conspiracy theories that match their ideas about the intent of these people in Government. Some people take their religious beliefs as fact and apply skepticism to scientific facts that conflict with their beliefs. Scientists are aware of these biases and designed the scientific method to apply skepticism to their own work. They must get independent peer review, independent tests to validate, and a culture where debunking of false science is as revered as discovery of new science.
So we know how to use skepticism in a disciplined way, but most people don't. They apply skepticism to reinforce their unvalidated beliefs. They cherry pick elements that reinforce their ideas, and apply unjustified skepticism to elements that contradict their ideas. All people do it, atheists and religious.
We can emulate science and step out of the box and look back in. We can agree to differentiate objective and subjective evidence. We can agree that we are all biased and can't trust personal witness. We can trust validated peer reviewed evidence.
...and things you would never prove about Jesus: "Jesus softens, and he heals her daughter........"
after comparing them to 'dogs'.
Which, according to Salero21, is Jesus's code word for 'homosexuals.'
I saw that yesterday and laughed my butt off.