Why Did You Reject Jesus?

[F1fan]

Why would you reject Jesus' message and choose not to be a Christian.

Christianity isn't so much about his message as it is about believers saving their own *** from damnation. How many times have i heard that I'm going to hell for not believing in Jesus as lord and savior. What I rejected was the bad religion.

It seems a religious hierarchy is using Jesus as a puppet to get more adherents, which is profitable. For them to do this suggests even these religious leaders don't believe. If they really believed in God and feared hell they would bend over backwards following Jesus' teachings. They don't.

 

[F1fan]

But what can "reject Jesus' message" possibly mean, to someone that has never been told what the message is in the first place?

From what I gather it means being a Republican.

 

[F1fan]

But what can "reject Jesus' message" possibly mean, to someone that has never been told what the message is in the first place?

By the way, what is Jesus' message, in your view? He had quite a lot of things to say, it seems to me. I'm not sure I have taken them all in.

If what you mean is "Why did you decide against being a Christian?" that is a reasonable question, which avoids the manipulative, question-begging language that I hate so much (as you can tell ).

Christianity is a theological buffet. It has something for everyone. It can work for bleeding heart liberals who want equality and justice all the way to white supremacists who hate brown people like Jesus, and everyone in between. So, confusing.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I wasted a lot of time in my life crying out to Jesus and his cold, unfeeling father. Never once did I get an answer, even in my darkest times.

That was my childhood and about half my teens.

 

[firedragon]

Inspired by @Link's thread.

Why did you, if you did, reject Jesus? Why did you disagree with his claims and/or the claims made for him?

The problem is there are no good sources to know "what he said or claimed". From an Islamic point of view, the Bible is not considered a valid source or reliable. From a naturalists point of view also it is the same.

From that position, a Muslim would rely on the Qur'an and what it says believing it is divine revelation.

So a Muslim does not really reject Jesus, or disagree with his claims. They embrace him and everything he claimed. Just that the epistemology is very different.

 

[firedragon]

I rejected other's ideas about him; mainly that he's the son of God. This claim doesn't seem valid. I'm not sure he himself claimed this.

Son of God is a Title JG. There were many people called by that phrase. That does not mean a biological son. It is like a responsible person attributed to represent God on earth kind of thing. E.g. Ephraim. In the Bible he is called prototokos, which means the eldest or first born. A senior title to Jesus. If they are actual, begotten children of GOd, then Ephraim has to be Jesus's older brother.

Hope you understand.

 

[JustGeorge]

Son of God is a Title JG. There were many people called by that phrase. That does not mean a biological son. It is like a responsible person attributed to represent God on earth kind of thing. E.g. Ephraim. In the Bible he is called prototokos, which means the eldest or first born. A senior title to Jesus. If they are actual, begotten children of GOd, then Ephraim has to be Jesus's older brother.

Hope you understand.

Who's Ephraim?

 

[Subduction Zone]

The problem is there are no good sources to know "what he said or claimed". From an Islamic point of view, the Bible is not considered a valid source or reliable. From a naturalists point of view also it is the same.

From that position, a Muslim would rely on the Qur'an and what it says believing it is divine revelation.

So a Muslim does not really reject Jesus, or disagree with his claims. They embrace him and everything he claimed. Just that the epistemology is very different.

Hey! I agree. Not agreeing with the Bible's version cannot be claimed to be "rejecting Jesus".

 

[firedragon]

Who's Ephraim?

Ephraim is in the Tanakh. Check Jeremiah 31.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Inspired by @Link's thread.

Why did you, if you did, reject Jesus? Why did you disagree with his claims and/or the claims made for him?

I reject the Jesus as depicted in Christianity purely on the basis of probabilities (so not the Son of God) - as to textual material being honest, accurate, impartial, or having any veracity as to describing this person. And this in addition affected by the existence of so much other religious material, the likelihood for deception and agenda propagation, some knowledge of human thinking and behaviour, and of the knowledge and abilities of the times when such material was produced. Plus of course, I do have a firm belief that what science tells us about human history is mostly a better description of what occurred in the past than anything attempting to do so - especially the more fanciful ones. So whatever Jesus was, it wasn't as depicted (for me), hence no belief in Christianity apart from where anything coincides with what I tend to believe anyway - as to morals, for example.

I have nothing against any message(s) associated with Jesus Christ, or any other such figure, but the factual stuff regarding the existence I just can't accept. And this then propagates into miracles, angels, etc., as being part of some religious doctrine but not in evidence - as much of the Bible isn't for me.

 

[exchemist]

From what I gather it means being a Republican.

That's not what the pope would say, though. But then he lives outside the politically dysfunctional USA.

Personally, I find the association between Christianity and the Right in the USA utterly bizarre. In much of the world it is associated with the liberal left. My suspicion is that the shift to the Right is due mainly to sexual politics: the opposition in traditional Christian teaching to same sex relationships, abortion, etc. Which is no doubt why the current pope downplays all that **** - and rightly.

 

[Subduction Zone]

That's not what the pope would say, though. But then he lives outside the politically dysfunctional USA.

Personally, I find the association between Christianity and the Right in the USA utterly bizarre. In much of the world it is associated with the liberal left. My suspicion is that the shift to the Right is due mainly to sexual politics: the opposition in traditional Christian teaching to same sex relationships, abortion, etc. Which is no doubt why the current pope downplays all that sh** - and rightly.

It is odd how the right managed to hijack Christianity in the US. And it is not numbers so much as noise that did it. The more vocal sects, many of which may qualify as cults are the anti abortion sex is bad extremists. The Christians that loudly support everything in the Bible except for the teachings of Jesus himself. How that works is still a mystery.

 

[exchemist]

It is odd how the right managed to hijack Christianity in the US. And it is not numbers so much as noise that did it. The more vocal sects, many of which may qualify as cults are the anti abortion sex is bad extremists. The Christians that loudly support everything in the Bible except for the teachings of Jesus himself. How that works is still a mystery.

Seems to be the old quote-mining game: searching through the bible for odd sentences that support your existing prejudices, rather than reading with honesty, and with historical and cultural context in mind, for the underlying messages. The Dutch Reformed Church in S. Africa played that game to justify apartheid, for example (Ham, Shem and Japheth). I've no doubt that apologists for the Inquisition will have done the same, in their time, too.

What particularly shocks me in the the US is that even some senior figures in the US Catholic church, which after all is international in outlook, seem to have taken sides tribally with the Right. So it's not just wacky Baptists in the Bible Belt.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Seems to be the old quote-mining game: searching through the bible for odd sentences that support your existing prejudices, rather than reading with honesty, and with historical and cultural context in mind, for the underlying messages. The Dutch Reformed Church in S. Africa played that game to justify apartheid, for example (Ham, Shem and Japheth). I've no doubt that apologists for the Inquisition will have done the same, in their time, too.

What particularly shocks me in the the US is that even some senior figures in the US Catholic church, which after all is international in outlook, seem to have taken sides tribally with the Right. So it's not just wacky Baptists in the Bible Belt.

The current right wing found a stable base by appealing to several single issue voters. Two of the most faithful are gun rights people and the antiabortion crowd. Those two do not care what else is voted on besides those two issues. Add in the tax cuts no matter what people and you can do whatever you want with other ideas. The current right does not care what is good for the country in the long run or even what proper morals should have them do.

 

[blü 2]

He didn't have a vagina.

How do you know?

 

[stvdv]

He didn't have a vagina.

Don't believe everything you see on google

 

[KWED]

Inspired by @Link's thread.

Why did you, if you did, reject Jesus? Why did you disagree with his claims and/or the claims made for him?

I have no more rejected Jesus than I have rejected Thor or Isis or Quetzalcoatl or Mars, or Aphrodite. The default position is lack of belief in any of them, until their existence has been demonstrated.

 

[F1fan]

It is odd how the right managed to hijack Christianity in the US. And it is not numbers so much as noise that did it. The more vocal sects, many of which may qualify as cults are the anti abortion sex is bad extremists. The Christians that loudly support everything in the Bible except for the teachings of Jesus himself. How that works is still a mystery.

Indeed. After decades of debating these right wing, evangelical Christians I came to realize THEY are the anti-Christs. And it's not because they are opposed to Christianity, it's that they are opposed to the moral values that Jesus taught.

 

[Spiderman]

I reject the part about torturing people forever for not eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the son of man, or the stuff about tossing people into lakes of fire and darkness, where there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth".

Christianity , like Islam, are very bigoted Religions that portray the epitome of hatred for infidels/heretics/pagans/unbelievers etc. (At least , total hatred for them if they die in that state without converting).

It's just wrong and goes against my conscience!

 

[Shadow Wolf]

It is odd how the right managed to hijack Christianity in the US. And it is not numbers so much as noise that did it. The more vocal sects, many of which may qualify as cults are the anti abortion sex is bad extremists. The Christians that loudly support everything in the Bible except for the teachings of Jesus himself. How that works is still a mystery.

My former church largely does meet the definition of a cult, especially as insular as it was and eagerness to condemn the world.