by punkofnice 139 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
You are funny, EP. I asked for examples of how the article or the book was biased after you said I only posted biased authors. And then you claim that you DID give examples.
Ok, I've said my piece here. Plenty of info posted on this thread for someone to do an examination of the evidence for a historical Jesus, the evidence that oral traditions passed on info accurately, and that EP is a poop face head.
kidding. :-)
*edit - so any discussion of miracles must be discredited as biased. I see.
You are funny, EP. I asked for examples of how the article or the book was biased after you said I only posted biased authors. And then you claim that you DID give examples.
Wrong. I said I gave obvious examples of how the proposition that oral tradition is reliable was false. Do try and keep up.
and that EP is a poop face head.
kidding. :-)
Of course you are. You know better than to stay stuff like that to me.
For some other views of oral traditions, cultures, and their accuracy without a religious context, here are some articles if it so pleases you:
http://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/culture/oral-traditions.html
Here is an article about the changes that occur in oral traditions. It attests that oral tradition is reliable only for a certain amount of time, but also shows that it can be extremely accurate for long periods. It even attests to accuracy of traditions past on for 1000 years before it began to break down. It gives the example of Norse traditions that used mneumonic devices to increase the accuracy of passing down tradition. You may find it interesting. Especially since the oral tradition I'm speaking of is a mere 20 or 30 years after Jesus' death.
http://www.friendsofpast.org/kennewick-man/court/affidavits/oral-tradition-5.html
Really appreciate this topic and references.
I understand why atheists and agnostics would question the miraculous nature of the man Jesus. I don't understand why people want to erase him from the historical record, though. Also, when faced with historical evidence, I've noticed that some will continue to fight passionately against the idea that Jesus ever lived. Why is this? It's more a rhetorical question because there can be a variety of answers and the reasons are personal.
I am not one who believes that Jesus was God. Though we can't really prove that he was not God. And if he was I'm cool with that. I am impacted by the influence his existence has had over the world since the time of his birth, even affecting the western calendars. There are things claimed that he said and did, when taken alone, that are pretty impressive. One example would be the saying, "Live by the sword and you may die by the sword." Another is the Golden Rule. I'm not sure about some of the miracles, but if they happened then I say wow. I've seen some things in my life that were pretty miraculous, though in smaller ways than say walking across the water. I'm not so dead set against the idea that Jesus lived and that he imparted some wisdom and did some miraculous things. I'm not freaked out about the possibility, in other words.
I have always felt like some unscrupulous people have used Jesus to further their causes or to control the behavior of others. I recognize that the Bible is collection of books and not God's communication to humankind, though I am sure there are some truths and wisdom contained within those books. It isn't Jesus' fault that people have misrepresented him. I don't think he is anyone to be so afraid of that when faced with historical evidence that he lived, that one should live in fixed denial.
Perhaps there isn't much (peace to you all!)... because folks are looking for "Jesus/Iesous"? Which really is an error. Of course, I realize that some think I'm the only one who ascribes to that, but that really isn't the case, as a just couple/few websites show:
http://www.eliyah.com/nameson.htm
http://www.hebrewyeshua.com/hebrew_yeshua_book.html
http://www.plim.org/JesusOrigin.htm
Perhaps once those who are looking within the earth for clues allow themselves to understand WHO it is they are looking FOR... they will find WHAT it is they are looking for.
Perhaps not: traditions and customs can be some very (extremely) "strongly entrenched things" and so not easily eradicated. If ever.
Peace!
A slave of Christ, the Holy One of Israel, JAHESHUA, the Chosen One of JAH (MischaJah) and so HIS Christ,
SA
Man, if only all those people writing about Jesus had known that wasn't his real name, that would have been handy...
What name did the historians used at the time?
Very interesting links Shelby. Thanks for those.
Loz x
Doesn't really matter, does it? Maybe there was someone named Jesus or something similar who did some preaching and was executed. Maybe not. Doesn't mean much to me. Just one more religion. Much more interesting to read about DNA and biology and fossils. Maybe there was a historical jesus and he started a religion. One more religion. Whoopee.
