The idea that Jesus was simply a myth is illogical.
Namaste Friends
I am a Hindu so i hope that it is OK to use Namaste, which means
"let there be a salutation to you." --- and which recognises divinity in all. I have gone through the whole thread and is fascinated by all views. I think that there are three dominant strands running through, and which are parallal and thus possibly cannot unite.
1. The OP, i think, is logical that
"The idea that Jesus was simply a myth is illogical". Which mortal man or a group will have motivation for future and plan so devilishly to dominate the world thought and whatever comes with that -- unless, such a man himself is beyond death?
2. The secular logical angle that "there is no secular proof of Jesus that is contemporary to him" is also logical and beyond defect.
3. The third angle provided by javajo is of pure faith. No one can challenge another's faith. No one can challenge me if i say "I perceive the taste of mango as sweet-sour".
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The above three are parallel strands in a common thread, but the three strands will never unite. But what if, the truth of Jesus is somewhat like the truth of dream?
(As Hindu, I will apriori say that dream truth is as false or as true as the waking truth. We may discuss this further, if there is interest). For example, if one is thirsty in a dream, the thirst must be quenched by dream water only.
The above is also evidenced in the fact that Jesus is the manifestation of the WORD. We call that Ganesha, the offspring of Vak (word), which is rooted in the intellect, which Hindus worship as Goddess -- the Mother of all manifestation. No one crosses over through the barrier of words-intellect, to the other side of the intellect, without first understanding 'Son of God, Ganesha -- the leader of all perceivable categories'.
The strong faiths that the world exhibits for Krishna, Jesus, or Mohammad are not because of myths, but because of much more fundamental reason, IMO -- because intellect shows it this way to the believers. For this there may not be exact material equivalence as proof.
I will add a couple of points for consideration. If there is interest we may discuss further.
1.
Whatever is held to be true is true. Whatever is true in consciousness is true since consciousness is true.
In other words, a man is as his knowledge is.
For example, in waking time, a man is made of bones, flesh and blood and the whole world is also similar. In dreams, the man becomes subtle light (though there is no sunlight there) and the dream world is also made of light and shade. In deep sleep, a man is devoid of body. He exists as infinite homogeneous mass and thus knows no contrast -- no world and no other. This is the origin (called consciousness in Hindu philosophy). Through the intermediate state of dreams, a waking world is created and the true being inhabits these three worlds alternately.
Just as water manifests as ice, vapour, and liquid, but no one knows exactly what water is -- so is the case with a being, whose three abodes are the states of Deep sleep, Dreams, and the Waking. But no one knows the being, because the being knows everything. How the knower will be known? And, who will know the knower?
2.
Regarding Secular proof.
A school of Hindu philosophy differs from the common western stance of what constitutes objective proof. For science, objective proof will have a control. In other words, if two individuals say "Yes, there is Sun", then it is held that the Sun must be truly existing.
But suppose, i say "I see the Sun and as control of this objective truth i provide the evidence of words of my friend Dogsgod." But is this objective proof really an objective proof? I see the Sun and I only see my friend supporting me. There is really no second independent control. This is not to say that the particular school of Hinduism will say the objective truth is false. But we will say that the objective truth is as per the subject.
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m:
We may reflect on the above two points, offered as food for thought, to see if there can be a way to see the one thread which is inside and outside of the three parrallel strands that do not overlap ever.
Om Namah Shivaya
