Kelly of the Phoenix
Well-Known Member
The older I got, the more I realized that while I tend to agree with the overall message, he’s a horrible hypocrite.
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Why Did You Reject Jesus?
- Thread starter Rival
- Start date
Kelly of the Phoenix
Well-Known Member
I pray to the Lord. Don’t really care which one answers correctly lol.
Guitar's Cry
Disciple of Pan
I rejected more of the mainstream interpretation and accepted a more mystical, pagan version of Jesus.
EtuMalku
Abn Iblis ابن إبليس
If you look at it logically, if there was a guy called Yeshua from Nazareth, he was one of many heretical jews of the time, but Yeshua would have talked about Love, Morality, Equality, and railed against the evil and oppressive chains of money, power, and corrupt authority.
When you look at Christianity as an institution you find it was founded and promoted by men such as Saul/Paul (who was an avid persecutor of early followers of Jesus and who was never taught by the “master”) and Jesus’ own brother James (who rejected his brother as insane in his own lifetime) we cannot trust that any of the possible left-hand path teachings of Jesus survived intact If Jesus was Lord of the left-hand path, his teachings were at once betrayed by a group of his followers so that now no more of his true doctrines survive than do those of Apollonius of Tyana or Simon Magus.
As for Yeshua the Son of Yahweh, almost all of the evidence points towards that idea as a work of fiction and mythology.
By "package deal," I meant that believing in God is generally seen as a prerequisite for accepting Jesus. I wasn't trying to suggest that everyone who believes in God also believes in Jesus.Well, not really. Jewish belief has no Jesus
Kinda. One could accept certain aspects of him(on the value of his teachings, for example)without 'accepting' him(as savior, as many Christians do).
I don't see any reason why an atheist couldn't accept Jesus(though there's no reason they, or anyone else, has to, of course).
EtuMalku
Abn Iblis ابن إبليس
Accept him (Jesus) as what?
I suppose I should have said accept relevant teachings. One doesn't have to, but because one is atheist doesn't mean the idea the stories of Jesus couldn't hold some kind of allegorical value.
Without God, Jesus is pretty hit-and-miss.
The "feed the poor" stuff is fine, but the "endure suffering, trusting you'll be rewarded in Heaven" stuff just amounts to "let injustice go uncorrected" if there's no God to dole out rewards in an afterlife.
EtuMalku
Abn Iblis ابن إبليس
Sure, atheists can accept fables and allegorical ideas.
I don't think I "reject" Jesus, even on the basis that an historical Jesus existed.
The prevailing story in the four gospels is that God put [his] "son" Jesus on earth to carry out a suicide mission (in the sense that its purpose was Jesus' unnatural death). Thus Jesus says as much in Mark 2:20 (earliest of the gospels) and all four gospel versions of Jesus, knowing that death is threatened, refuse the chance to escape because God doesn't want him to escape.
Thus Jesus is crucified, and as a result in some unexplained sense those who "believe" are "forgiven" their "sins" and qualify for "everlasting life" (a phrase which Paul interprets as putting on an incorruptible and immortal spiritual body, and John perhaps implies means "being one with God" whatever those mean).
Why, once God has sacrificed [his] son to [him]self, you have to believe anything to get the benefit is unexplained and appears to be simply a recruitment bait. It's inconceivable that a god who would do this would at the same time be called "benevolent" and "omnipotent" (and certainly reinforces the formula attributed to Epicurus).
According to all three synoptics, the Son of Man (inferentially but not expressly Jesus) will return in the lifetime of some of Jesus' audience and set up the Kingdom of God on earth. By the time John was written this was looking rather silly, and was dropped; but it was central to the Christian message at its inception. That the world would be better off ruled by one autocrat who can't be removed from office sounds like Donald's Dream to me.
Oh, and Jesus said, or others said on his behalf, that we should love one another, a message that no doubt accounts for the long history of internecine wars between Christian factions and nations, the longer history of murderous Christian antisemitism, the ruthlessness of the colonialism of European nations, and the existence of hundreds if not thousands of sects of Christianity.
So like the pea under the cups, now you see it, now you don't, but you know it's rigged. And that leaves me unclear as to what about Jesus is specific enough to reject.
Just to be clear, I have no argument with moderate Christians; various of my close friends and dear relatives are believers. My suspicion is that if you treat others with decency, respect and inclusion, then it doesn't matter what you believe, and you'll depart this life leaving the world no worse, and maybe better, than you found it.
DNB
Christian
I do agree with your comment, but I'm compelled to believe that the same can be said about any religion or belief system, theist or atheist alike. There are the hypocrites, charlatans, insincere and misguided, in all shapes and sizes, in all facets of any community.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Jesus made no claims.
Other people made any and all claims, as with all ancient mythology out there.
Can't reject what isn't there.
Aupmanyav
Be your own guru
I reject Jesus because of his supposed advocacy for God (One God and why not many Gods and Goddesses?), without advancing any proof.
There is no proof of what Jesus said or did or did not not say or do.
Did he claim existence of One God?
If so, then your statement is not correct.
Last edited:
oldbadger
Skanky Old Mongrel!
I never did reject Jesus but I did reject Christianity after reading the gospels a bit more carefully.
A Vestigial Mote
Well-Known Member
I'm with others who've said they didn't really get a chance to reject Jesus - he's long gone. I rejected the notions presented to me by others who didn't seem to really know what they were talking about, except as pertains to parroting what they have heard from others before them. I wasn't going to parrot... I wanted the goods... the evidence... the demonstrations... the ties to reality. When no one could produce, then I admit, I took a harder line against any claims made about this Jesus character. Still waiting for even a single worthwhile demonstration. Though I have been told it is likely because "I just don't understand."