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What is your opinion of Jesus?

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
You said the writings of Baha'i is what you believed, but then said that things written in a "book that says something happened is not proof that it ever happened. Anyone can write a book with stories that says there were eyewitnesses but that does not mean the stories are true stories."

I'm asking how Baha'i writings are something you believe is proof, but not the writings in the Bible.
Proof means something is a proven fact.
There is no proof that anything in any religious scriptures is true, since there is no way to prove that God exists.

I believe that the Baha'i Writings are true because they were written in the pen of Baha'u'llah, who I believe was a Messenger of God.
By contrast, Jesus did not write the Bible. The Bible was written by various authors, none of whom knew Jesus personally.
 

InChrist

Free4ever
Yes, the first followers of Jesus were Jews - they recognized Jesus as the Messiah but they continued to observe the Jewish Law. After Jesus' death they were probably disappointed because their Messiah candidate failed...

First Christian writings were by Paul and Gentile Christians. There are no eyewitness accounts. Nothing contemporary from Jerusalem or Galilee.
It doesn’t appear that they were disappointed after His death once they saw Jesus alive and resurrected from the dead. On the contrary, they became emboldened with joy in sharing the good news about Jesus, dispute threats of persecution or death to themselves.
 

InChrist

Free4ever
Nothing you posted negates the fact that if you believe you have everlasting life, and if you don’t, you’re condemned. Condemned to what? A week in Fiji?
Condemned to self-destruction, everlasting separation from God the Creator and only Source of life, light, love, goodness, beauty, joy, peace, etc.
 

Ajax

Active Member
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in Iraq, he first announced his claim to a revelation from God....
Thank you for the text but.... we have had thousands if not millions of people claiming to have revelations (all unproven) from God.
Take care.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Nothing you posted negates the fact that if you believe you have everlasting life, and if you don’t, you’re condemned. Condemned to what? A week in Fiji?
Eternal life is a state of the soul that is close to God. Nobody is condemned by God. That is Christian dogma.

Those who do not have eternal life are separated from God, but there is always a chance that they can come close to God in the afterlife, by God's mercy. God can accept into His heaven, which is really nearness to Him, anyone He pleases. We always have the hope of receiving His mercy if we reach out for it.

When Jesus referred to eternal life, He was not referring to physical life of the body. He was referring a quality of life, spiritual life, loving God and being close to God.

The soul is eternal, the body perishes. That is why Jesus said:
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life

All the verses below refer to eternal life of the soul, not life of the physical body.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.


All souls will continue to exist in the spiritual world after the body dies but not all souls will have eternal life (everlasting life).
Eternal life refers to a “quality” of life, nearness to God which, according to Jesus, comes from believing in Him.
 

Redsilverxx

New Member
"Believe in" in what respect?

I mean, I'm open to the idea that there was a real historical figure at the core of the Gospel Jesus who a bunch of myth has been glommed onto.

If you mean Jesus as presented in the Gospels... the story comes across as implausible to the point of being ridiculous.

It also doesn't help that if you look at the dates the Gospels were written, Jesus becomes more and more fantastic the later the book was written.

Close to Jesus's death, the authors make excuses for why Jesus's miracles wouldn't have been widely known... but then you get to John and suddenly he's feeding multitudes magically out in the open and we have the dead popping up out of the ground, wandering into Jerusalem in great numbers, and talking with people.

On the one hand, this is good for the claim that Jesus was real because it suggests there was a historical truth that the early authors expected to be judged against, but it's also bad because true stories don't snowball this way.
The only response I have is what do you believe in yourself? Will you save you? I'm not saying I go to Jesus because I feel lost or confused I'm saying my belief came from my very own death and what I saw isent explainable. Your entitled to your own beliefs and your own desires and that's your choice but I lived something you never even came close to experiencing.
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.

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
I lived something your far from ever experiencing it is real or an atheist like me would t be on a waste of time form
I agree, there’s no Messiah without the OT. Yes, the Jewish scribes wrote the OT books. That doesn’t mean some, even many Jewish religious leaders missed realizing Jesus Christ fulfilled prophecy. At the time Jesus lived many Jews were looking for a Messiah/political leader to deliver them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire and restore the nation of Israel… though maybe that wasn’t God’s plan or timing, at that point. Nevertheless, ALL the first followers and believers in Jesus Christ as the prophesied Messiah were Jewish.

“Isaiah 53 is a classic chapter portraying the life, death, and resurrection of Messiah. He would be despised by many (53:3), He would give his life for us and take our sins upon Himself (53:7), He would suffer (53:10) and be resurrected (53:10-12). Many Jewish people, when reading Isaiah 53 for the first time, have thought that these words must be from the New Testament, since they paint such a clear portrait of Yeshua. It is astonishing that these verses are in fact from the Hebrew Bible; they were written by Isaiah over 700 years before Yeshua was born!”

It's not about scribes or prophets I can't respond to you all but since you put so much effort into your post there was only one perfect man who ever walked the earth named Jesus Christ and he set an example about love and being humble not what the world is doing now
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
we have had thousands if not millions of people claiming to have revelations (all unproven) from God.
We have had thousands if not millions of people claiming to have revelations from God, but we do not have anyone except Baha'u'llah who fulfilled the prophecies for the return of Christ as depicted in the book Thief in the Night by William Sears.

How do you think anyone could ever prove that he/she got a revelation from God, given that the existence of God can never be proven?
All religious belief is based upon faith and evidence, not proof.
 

Redsilverxx

New Member
Thank you for the text but.... we have had thousands if not millions of people claiming to have revelations (all unproven) from God.
Take care.
I'm not here to prove anything to you there was one perfect man who set an example for us and we are not good people on our own our intentions are to destroy other people's lives that's what the devil wants us to feel so you pick a side and you choose god gave you free will he didn't force you to believe
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
there was only one perfect man who ever walked the earth named Jesus Christ and he set an example about love and being humble not what the world is doing now
That is a matter of belief, not a matter of fact.
Although I believe that Jesus was a perfect man, I don't believe that Jesus was the only perfect man who ever walked the earth.
 

InChrist

Free4ever
Criteria for Messiah.

1. He must be a Jew (Deut 17:15, Num 24:17) - The only condition fulfilled by Jesus.
2. He must be a direct descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1) through King Solomon (I Proverbs 22:8-10), only if Solomon kept his faith in God Yahweh (II Chronicles 7 :19) which, however, did not keep finally (1 Kings 11:4).
3. The Great Sanhedrin (Great Council) will be restored (Isaiah 1:26)
4. Once he is king, the leaders of other nations will look to him for guidance. (Isaiah 2:4)
5. All the world will worship the One God of Israel (Isaiah 2:17)
6. The Messiah will be a man of the world, an observant Jew with the "fear of God." He won't be devine. (Isaiah 11:2)
7. Evil and tyranny will not be able to stand before his leadership. (Isaiah 11:4)
8. The knowledge of God will fill the world. (Isaiah 11:9)
9. It will attract people from all cultures and nations. (Isaiah 11:10)
10. All the Israelites will return to their homeland. (Isaiah 11:12)
11. There will be no more famine or disease, and death will end. (Isaiah 25:8)
12. All the dead will rise. (Isaiah 26:19)
13. The Jewish people will experience eternal joy and rejoicing. (Isaiah 51:11)
14. He will be a messenger of peace. (Isaiah 52:7)
15. The nations will recognize the mistakes they made in Israel. (Isaiah 52:13-53:5)
16. The peoples of the world will turn to the Jews for spiritual guidance. (Zechariah 8:23)
17. The ruined cities of Israel will be restored. (Ezekiel 16:55)
18. The weapons of war will be destroyed. (Ezekiel 39:9)
19. The Temple will be rebuilt. (Ezekiel 40)
20. The whole world will serve God together. (Zephaniah 3:9)
21. The Jews will know the Torah (Testament), without study. (Jeremiah 31:33)
22. He will take barren land and make it fruitful and abundant. (Isaiah 51:3, Amos 9:13-15, Ezekiel 36:29-30, Isaiah 11:6-9).
23. Universal worldwide acceptance of the Jewish God and the Jewish religion (Isaiah 2:3 11:10 66:23 Micah 4:2-3 Zechariah 14:9) Zechariah 8:23 "Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you”.
Especially in the latter, it seems that Jesus (as God) told the prophets Zechariah, Micah and Isaiah to write that the Jewish religion is the only true religion.
If he fails in one of these, then he cannot be the Messiah.

The criteria for Messiah are too many and too harsh. That's why the Jewish people are still waiting for one, who will never come.
I don’t see the criteria for the Messiah as too many or too much. I believe Jesus has or will fulfill all prophetic prophecy referring to Messiah.
 

InChrist

Free4ever
It's not about scribes or prophets I can't respond to you all but since you put so much effort into your post there was only one perfect man who ever walked the earth named Jesus Christ and he set an example about love and being humble not what the world is doing now
I agree, Jesus was the only perfect man who ever walked the earth and who demonstrated His love for humanity by laying down His life in payment for the sins of the world. Therefore, from my perspective He is the only Savior and worthy of my love forever.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
I don’t see the criteria for the Messiah as too many or too much. I believe Jesus has or will fulfill all prophetic prophecy referring to Messiah.
How will Jesus fulfilled what has not been yet fulfilled if He is no more in the world?

Jesus never promised to return to earth, not once in the New Testament. Jesus said His work was finished here and He was no more in the world. Jesus was a Messiah, but since Jesus is not going to return that means that the Messiah of the latter days has to be another Person.

John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
 

InChrist

Free4ever
How will Jesus fulfilled what has not been yet fulfilled if He is no more in the world?

Jesus never promised to return to earth, not once in the New Testament. Jesus said His work was finished here and He was no more in the world. Jesus was a Messiah, but since Jesus is not going to return that means that the Messiah of the latter days has to be another Person.

John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

John 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Right, the world sees Jesus no more as in limited human form. The scriptures are are clear though that He returns in power and in His glorified form to rule and reign upon the earth from Jerusalem.

For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:27

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:27

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Matthew 25:31

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, theBeginning and the End,” says the [Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, theAlmighty.”
Revelation 1:7-8
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
Right, the world sees Jesus no more as in limited human form. The scriptures are are clear though that He returns in power and in His glorified form to rule and reign upon the earth from Jerusalem.
That is not what the verses say. There are no verses that say that Jesus will returns in power and in His glorified form to rule and reign upon the earth from Jerusalem. There are no verses tat say the same man Jesus is going to return, period. There are only verses where Jesus says that he is no more in the world and His work is finished here. (John 14:19, John 16:10, John 17:4, John 17:11, John 19:30)
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:27

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:27

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Matthew 25:31
Who is the Son of man who will come in the clouds of heaven?
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
I have my own interpretation of that verse.

Son of man coming with the clouds means that the return of Christ will appear in the form of another human being. The term “clouds” as used in the Bible means those things that are contrary to the ways and desires of men. Just like the physical clouds prevent the eyes of men from beholding the sun, these things hindered men from recognizing the return of Christ.

In other words, the judgment of most people was clouded when Christ returned and it is still clouded for most people.

One thing that clouds the judgment of Christians is their desire for the same Jesus to return to earth.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the [Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:7-8
Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The Lord God is the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus is not the Lord God. Jesus was a Manifestation of God, a Messenger of God, and a Prophet of God.
 

Firenze

Active Member
Premium Member
I don’t dispute that Isaiah 53 has application to the nation of Israel. Nevertheless, I think there are many OT passages which have dual application, especially in reference to the Messiah, that were or will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
And no, not all Jewish expert scholars disagree….

“There have been many great rabbis among the Jews who came to faith in Jesus. But you have probably never heard of them, since the Jewish community casts them out and slanders them as soon as it comes to light that they believe in Jesus. When these rabbis were a part of the Jewish community, they were considered righteous and well-respected, but as soon as their faith in Jesus the Messiah became known, they were despised and considered traitors; sinners, fools and gentiles. Here are just a few of them – if you thought that there are no rabbis who believe in Jesus, you are in for a surprise!
Have you, for example, ever heard of Rabbi Dr. Daniel Zion, Chief Rabbi of the Bulgarian Jewish community during the Holocaust? He took part in rescuing hundreds of Jews from the death camps, and helped them get to Israel and settle there after the war. But today, his name is almost unknown among Jews. Why?
The answer is simple, because Daniel Zion was a Rabbi who came to faith in Jesus the Messiah. In 1954 he was offered a very important position as a judge in the Rabbinic Court of Jerusalem, but it was under the condition that he keep his faith secret and not speak about it with anyone. Rabbi Zion documented his response: “I am willing to give up any type of worldly honor for my Messiah.” As soon as he said that, he was no longer considered a rabbi, but a gentile and a traitor. However, the Bulgarian Jewish community in Jaffa continued to accept him as the leader of their synagogue. Rabbi Daniel Zion died in 1979, at age 96, while standing strong in his faith and loyalty to Jesus.

If you had a chance to study modern history of the Far East, you might have heard of Schereschewsky. Schereschewsky founded a University in Shanghai, and translated the Old Testament into Chinese. You probably had no idea that his full name was Samuel Isaac Joseph Schereschewsky, and that he was born to an Jewish Orthodox family. He successfully completed his studies in the University of Breslau, and came to the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah.
And what about Rabbi Stern, who was a rabbinic scholar, known for his sharp knowledge of the Talmud?”

And more…
Your information is anecdotal at best. With only some 350.000 Messianic Jews in a population of almost 16 million Jews, they are clearly a fringe group of less than 3%. And as much as it serves your agenda to demonize mainstream Jews for logically having a problem with this fringe group that spits on the primary teachings of Judaism, it's a pretty weak argument. They're like to Westboro Baptist Church. Do you support their fringe doctrines as well? Do you support their claim that “God’s hatred is one of His holy attributes” - just because they use the bible to support it? Or is it possible that THEY are the ones that have misinterpreted?

And your claim of 'dual application' of prophesy reminds me of the most recent apologetics I get when Christians cannot refute the fact that Isaiah 7:14 and its spurious claim to be both Messianic and about a virgin birth are a fraud - "Oh, you're not looking at the HIDDEN meaning in that scripture!" Yikes. Where was this 'hidden meaning' 50 years ago when I started engaging Christians and clergy on this subject? Not one priest, pastor, parson, or minister ever made this claim. They simply walked away muttering about how I was 'taking it out of context'......
 

Firenze

Active Member
Premium Member
Condemned to self-destruction, everlasting separation from God the Creator and only Source of life, light, love, goodness, beauty, joy, peace, etc.
Exactly - the new age Christian definition of hell. So we essentially agree on the main message - "Worship me or suffer!" The verses contain both the Bribe, and the Threat.
 

Firenze

Active Member
Premium Member
It doesn’t appear that they were disappointed after His death once they saw Jesus alive and resurrected from the dead. On the contrary, they became emboldened with joy in sharing the good news about Jesus, dispute threats of persecution or death to themselves.
And yet.... how many years or decades was it before any of them were moved enough to write one single word down about this Greatest Story Ever Told? How long would you have waited to put pen to papyrus?
 
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