What is your opinion of Jesus?

[It Aint Necessarily So]

what-is-your-opinion-of-jesus

I'm curious on why people don't believe in Jesus?

I have insufficient reason to believe that a god exists much less any specific one or that it sent a demigod avatar to earth, so I don't believe that.

But two other questions arise regarding opinions about Jesus: [1] How much of the story of Jesus is historical and how much is mythological and [2] whatever Jesus was, what does one think of Jesus' message.

Regarding the first, I have rejected the supernatural claims. Nobody was born of a virgin, was resurrected, walked on water or turned it into wine. How much of the rest is historical is unknown, but also irrelevant if Jesus was not a demigod or god. Maybe much of the rest happened, or maybe none of it did. It's a question that has no answer and as I implied, needs none if one rejects the supernatural claims.

Regarding the second, I find much of Jesus' advice problematic and ethically defective. For example, loving enemies is bad advice. I think we can do better with rational ethics.

 

[Laniakea]

I have insufficient reason to believe that a god exists much less any specific one or that it sent a demigod avatar to earth, so I don't believe that.

But two other questions arise: [1] How much of the story of Jesus is historical and how much is mythological and [2] whatever Jesus was,

Concerning his resurrection alone, there is plenty of evidence. See this: Jesus’ Resurrection: Eyewitness Accounts

 

[Kfox]

I'm curious on why people don't believe in Jesus?

The problem with Jesus is he never wrote anything down, so the only thing we know about him is what other people claimed he said, or accused him of saying. And of those who wrote about him, there are contradictions concerning what he said and did; for example if you believe what the Christians said about Jesus, according to them he claimed to be the son of God; but if you believe what the Muslims said, or even some of the Gnostic gospels said of him, according to those people Jesus never made such claim. So the question becomes who do you want to believe? I would rather believe neither of them.

 

[LuisDantas]

I'm curious on why people don't believe in Jesus?

In my case, I just don't find the idea that the Gospels describe a person that existed in the literal sense convincing.

That Jesus has all the characteristics of a truly fictional character.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Concerning his resurrection alone, there is plenty of evidence. See this: Jesus’ Resurrection: Eyewitness Accounts

Words aren't good enough evidence for resurrection. Some people make mistakes and others lie. Look at how many people have been wrongly convicted on eye-witness testimony, which is usually first-hand and given by the alleged eyewitness to a jury. This is second or third hand. Paul or the Gospel writers say that somebody else said that they saw something which they thought was a resurrection.

 

[sun rise]

I believe the Jesus was an incarnation of the eternal Christ/Avatar who has come again and again in new bodies with different aspects of the Truth.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I'm curious on why people don't believe in Jesus?

Its an interesting and mostly modern situation, but we can find historical examples of this happening as well.

It is because Christians are not unified, probably. According to John chapter 12 Jesus must be lifted up from the earth in the reverse fashion that he says the prince of this world has been cast out. These are somewhat cryptic words, and John is not easy reading for everyone. In this passage it says that Jesus prays that the Father's name will be glorified, and to me this probably means that he wants all people everywhere to join him in unity. Therefore the reason that people don't believe in Jesus is that Jesus own followers are not unified.

Unity is the miracle everyone is waiting for and is also getting in the way of.

 

[Redsilverxx]

I have insufficient reason to believe that a god exists much less any specific one or that it sent a demigod avatar to earth, so I don't believe that.

But two other questions arise regarding opinions about Jesus: [1] How much of the story of Jesus is historical and how much is mythological and [2] whatever Jesus was, what does one think of Jesus' message.

Regarding the first, I have rejected the supernatural claims. Nobody was born of a virgin, was resurrected, walked on water or turned it into wine. How much of the rest is historical is unknown, but also irrelevant if Jesus was not a demigod or god. Maybe much of the rest happened, or maybe none of it did. It's a question that has no answer and as I implied, needs none if one rejects the supernatural claims.

Regarding the second, I find much of Jesus' advice problematic and ethically defective. For example, loving enemies is bad advice. I think we can do better with rational ethics.

Jesus is always a problem to most people the devil wants us to hate him and join the him who I call Satan or Lucifer. He wants to be God. But my god wants to love you and help you threw your journey in life he wants you to download the KJV app and read Proverbs chapter one I'm not a god so I can't do what he can. But the devil already has what he wants your unbelief and your hatred and judgement that's what the devil wants and then after you die he wants your soul because he believes that will give him the power to destroy his creator even though it won't you can't destroy what made you we could kill our own mother's would we? Some people have there's more to this session but how do you feel on my response

 

[Redsilverxx]

There is no water or sunlight in hell just your tormented soul and it all starts by hating jesus

 

[Vinayaka]

I have no opinion. It's irrelevant to my world view.

 

[Dimi95]

And The Word became flesh

 

[Twilight Hue]

I'm curious on why people don't believe in Jesus?

Same reasons why people don't believe in Zeus or Apollo.

I do believe in Thor since I seen him at the Bus Stop.

 

[It Aint Necessarily So]

Jesus is always a problem to most people the devil wants us to hate him and join the him who I call Satan or Lucifer.

You should probably reserve that argument for somebody who agrees with you that there is a devil and a god.

I don't hate Jesus. I just don't believe that a god or demigod named Jesus or anything else existed.

There is no water or sunlight in hell just your tormented soul and it all starts by hating jesus

I also don't believe in hell. That's for the believer to worry about, not the unbeliever.

Pascal suggested that there is no cost in believing in his god even if it doesn't exist. Do you agree? In other words, if this god doesn't exit, has belief in it made your life better, worse, or neither? Has all of the time you've spent reading scripture, praying, and attending church been a good thing for you even if this god doesn't exist? How about the tithes you've contributed? Are you glad to have done that even if it went to support a false religion instead of to discretionary spending (more vacations, more restaurants, etc.) or your heirs?

For my part, I'm glad to have not chosen that path:

"To the philosophy of atheism belongs the credit of robbing death of its horror and its terror. It brought about the abolition of Hell." - Joseph Lewis

 

[Firenze]

How? Would you like to elaborate?

Sure. There is no Messiah without the OT, and when we research what the absolute experts on the Messiah - the Jews that literally wrote the book on the subject - have to say about the attributes of the Messiah, they describe someone that is wholly human, a great leader, a perfect judge - and certainly not someone so incompetent that they would have to have a '2nd Coming' in order to complete what they are to do pursuant to the OT - which is to unite the entire world under Judaism. It's also quite noteworthy what attributes are NOT foretold - a virgin birth, a crucifixion, a resurrection, a birth in Bethlehem, or an origin in Nazareth. Those claims by the NT authors are clearly frauds. - with Is 7:14 being the most egregious. Further, the Messiah is to have no divine attributes - which is why mainstream Judaism rejected him as soon as divinity was ascribed to him.

Jewish eschatology on Messianic attributes are summarized below.

The Messiah - Key beliefs in Judaism - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - AQA - BBC Bitesize

Learn about and revise key Jewish beliefs with BBC Bitesize Religious Studies - AQA.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

I see good and I see evil everywhere but I want to believe in love and for me that's believing in Jesus. We all die but they say the devil is the master manipulator, so where do people get lieing and killing instincts from I say there's a god of evil the devil and love comes from Jesus you want proof? Well look at your surroundings and ask yourself how hate and love began where did the exsistance of love hate and lies come from. Or we were just born to hate and judge because anyone who doesn't believe in Jesus hates or judges

So, okay, you know diddly-squat about human nature. Got it.

But you might start there -- it's a fascinating study.

 

[Left Coast]

***MOVED TO RELIGIOUS DEBATES***

 

[Laniakea]

Words aren't good enough evidence for resurrection. Some people make mistakes and others lie. Look at how many people have been wrongly convicted on eye-witness testimony, which is usually first-hand and given by the alleged eyewitness to a jury. This is second or third hand. Paul or the Gospel writers say that somebody else said that they saw something which they thought was a resurrection.

People numbering in the thousands. That's quite a few eyewitnesses to call liars.

 

[Jimmy]

They don’t know who he is and what he represents.

 

[YoursTrue]

"To the philosophy of atheism belongs the credit of robbing death of its horror and its terror. It brought about the abolition of Hell." - Joseph Lewis

OK, but the usual concept of hell has been upturned by a careful study of the Bible. I didn't believe in torture in hell before I believed in God and now that I do believe in God, I learned from my Bible study that the traditional concept of fire and brimstone in a place called hell does not exist anyway.

 

[Laniakea]

OK, but the usual concept of hell has been upturned by a careful study of the Bible. I didn't believe in torture in hell before I believed in God and now that I do believe in God, I learned from my Bible study that the traditional concept of fire and brimstone in a place called hell does not exist anyway.

Just a lake of fire that Hell is thrown into at the end. It's not there yet.