Who is/was Jesus?

Except for the fact that there's no proof for any of that.

[Tyrant]

I will definitely look into this "Hiram Key" that you speak of. As far as Thomas being Jesus' twin brother, I've never heard of that. Which sect is this?

However, that would prove to be quite an interesting lesson about the effects of what Christianity calls "humanity's inherent sin nature," in reference to not even his mortal twin brother having the faith to assume that his brother, Yahweh incarnate, was able to rise from the dead. Just a thought.

Apparently, some people assumed I meant that other religions and historians see Jesus, as in, Jesus the Son of God. Other religions view him as a mere prophet, or, as has already been suggested, an enlightened man. Romans recorded his historical actions as a heretic and a Palestinian patriot fighting with the Zealots against the power of Rome. They did not accept his claims that he was the son of God - the very claims that crucified him.

Just a random thought: I remember speaking with a Christian youth pastor concerning the claims of Jesus. And he said that historians narrow the nature of Jesus by saying: "He was either a liar, a lunatic, or the son of God. It is our faith as Christians that he was indeed the son of God." Christian philosophy seems to keep getting caught in a vacuum of insistence: I could replace the kernel of their philosophy - God or Jesus - with any other object or entity, animate or otherwise, and use the same logic to deify said entity and demonize those who oppose it, and have its effectiveness remain just as devout and adamant.

quote:Originally posted by Tyrant:

I will definitely look into this "Hiram Key" that you speak of. As far as Thomas being Jesus' twin brother, I've never heard of that. Which sect is this?

That particular claim is, I believe, native to several strains of Gnosticism. You might try looking for the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, it deals with Thomas and an alleged journey to the Indian subcontinent. Historically indefensible, but still quite fascinating. And I think you'll thoroughly enjoy "The Hiram Key." It's actually the result of research by a couple of freemasons, looking for historical proof of their founder, Hiram Abif.

[punkrawkerstonershit]

[q]Jesus is something which Christians talk to in their heads... an imaginary friend, to some extent. No-one in any current generation can possibly know if the stories about the son of god are true, though many people will tell you that they know for a fact that they are true/false.[/q]

This little thing is called faith.

I think jesus was the son of god. I'm keeping short and sweet.

[miss_nomad]

Jesus was a Jewish apocalyptic prophet, like John the Baptist and many other Jews of various sects in 1st century Palestine. He also, as Armed & Dangerous pointed out, had quite a few ideological ties to the community at Qumran that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.

[Jungle_bunny]

Jesus was almost certainly a Buddhist.His teaching was radically different from the popular beliefs of that era.The parables are similar to the Koansin Buddhism.Also some of his quotes are Buddhist in philosophy:eg

"I and the father are one"

"The kingdom of heaven is within you"

"Forgive your brother seventy times seventy"

"It is easier for a camel to pass through an eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven."(Materialism and spiritualsm do'nt mix.)

[JayMark]

One thing you can't argue is it's living. Jesus really existed and it was scientificly prooved (for the most sceptical ones). You can on the other side argue on the fact that he was God's child. But since I am a Christian, I won't post my oppinion as we pretty much all have the same.

[zorro420]

quote:Originally posted by LwaysTired:

Who was/is Jesus? Why not try reading the bible sometime. They talk a lot about him in it

The Bible is not a reliable source. I hold it to the same standards as any other source of information, and it simply doesn't measure up. There's nothing to support it. It's just a bunch of stories. I do agree that most of them have good morals, however.

---

As for who I think Jesus was... I'm not sure. I don't really have enough evidence on the matter.

He was a man, and nothing more. He may well have been the son of a virgin, but it wasn't immaculate conception. Joseph probably just dry humped Mary and blew his load all over her twat. Not likely to cause pregnancy, but certainly has often enough in our time.

He may have been (and VERY probably was) a very wise, very intelligent man. Most of his teachings make a great deal of sense, even today. Those that don't made a lot of sense for the time.

He also may have been a mentally ill, claiming he was the son of God. Delusional, at any rate, whether it's a delusion born of insanity or he just convinced himself so hard that he believed it.

Or he may just have wanted a way to make people listen.

As for how his body disappeared, there are numerous explanations. Supposedly there were Roman soldiers guarding his corpse. These soldiers could easily have been bribed, as they probably weren't terribly rich, and the only witnesses would be their army buddies who also got bribes. The soldiers may not have done their duty as they claimed. Scavengers may have eaten his body (scavenging dogs were known to eat the feet of the crucified, the feet being all they could reach).

All of this is pure speculation, of course, but so is the idea of him ascending to heaven, and that idea has a lot less basis in reality and established fact than the idea of some perfectly ordinary occurence.

[zorro420]

quote:Originally posted by Armed&Angry:

Except for the fact that there's no proof for any of that.

THANK YOU!

*Tips his hat*

My pleasure, good sir.