mountainman

As I see it it is about ancient history.

If Jesus was not an historical figure then obviously a new and revised theory of ancient history covering the period covered by Eusebius's "Church History" and other Constantinuan publications needs to be sketched and explored. Additionally a new and revised theory of ancient history covering the period from the Council of Nicaea onwards, explaining all the so-called heretics and controversies one after another also has to be sketched and explored.

Until such a revisionist alternative ancient history is sketched and explored, the fictional idea of an historical Jesus will not die, and the world cannot move on.

Iskander

Christians and Muslims don’t care, but the rationalists keep begging them for a fight.

Deniers are bolshie

aa5874

Of course, Christians care. You will hardly find a Christian who declares truthfully that it does not matter whether or not Jesus Christ did exist.

Christians are TERRIFIED by just the thought that there was no LORD and Savior who suffered for their SINS.

If there is suffering for past sins then everyone will have to SUFFER for their own past SINS if Jesus was just a man.

Iskander

Religious people have doubts, but the existence of a human Jesus is not one of them. They would most likely doubt the possibility of an entity as ‘grandiose’ as god becoming a man and for centuries this difficulty has produced numerous theological explanations.


Christianity is a very complicated religion; its theology is a nightmare and disagreement among believers inevitable. A religion based on a human-only prophet would have made Christianity easier to live with and healthier for its servants.

judge

I doubt there is anywhere on the web where this topic is discussed more than right here. And its not christians who keep raising the subject.

You yourself, as much as anyone , consistently defend mythicism and mythicists. You must think it's important.

People who follow various christian sects think its important, but they dont really get too involved, about the existence of him.
I think that because various christian sects base their religion on his existence, some have taken the tac to just deny he even existed, as a way to combat this.
I think this approach is short-sighted.

It does give people who want to leave christianity an excuse to do so, but a lot of christians see through the hypocrisy of it all, so it doesn't end up making them more rational necessarily

Toto

Some Christians have kept the subject alive.

I am more concerned with the debate. I defend mythicists when I think they are unfairly attacked. But I don't understand why non-Christians spend their time attacking mythicism.

Toto

I seriously doubt this.

Horatio Parker

Nothing would change. HJ has little or nothing to do with Xtian origins or living the good life. But these realizations are slow in coming.

It's the idea of Jesus that has the power, not the degree to which the gospel stories represent history.

I bring up this point over and over: if your desire is to know God and if Jesus represents an eternally living truth about understanding God, then the history is irrelevant(tempted to hit the key caps there like aa). Jesus is a psychic reality to those open to him. That these realities are not concrete is what everyone has trouble with. Many of the earliest Xtians realized this, but they didn't prevail.

To the Xtian the question should be is Jesus alive, not did he live circa 3BCE-30BCE.

aa5874

I have not heard such blatant nonsense. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the bishops of other Major denominations will laugh in your face.

Billions of Religious people may have doubts that Jesus was NOT God Incarnate.

Jedi Mind Trick

I guess I don't care because even if he is really the god of the universe and exists I'd think there is every reason to think that he is a flawed god and not worth my time to worry about.