Was Jesus God?

Quote: FrGamble

Believing in something does not make it true. .

It certainly doesn't make it true in the
world, but it does make it true for
the believer. That's why so many
religions exist, obviously. You believe
just as fervently in your delusion as
the Muslim riding the bus with intent
to harm people believes in his. As much as those
followers of Jim Jones who drank
the Kool Aid. Belief can be reality, it
depends on the believer.

Quote: Evenbob

So smug, so seflrighteous. I would expect
nothing less.

I'm flabbergasted that you of all people would say this!?! Often in responding to you I try to match your snarkiness, but to be honest I often just can't bring myself to be as mean and condescending as you are to me. I do expect more from you!

Quote: FrGamble

I'm flabbergasted that you of all people would say this!?!

Why? It's what you religious types always
do. You say that you're not overlooking
your many faults, so that gives you license to
point out ours. Sorry, smug and sanctimonious.

You should really listen to yourself sometimes.
You are NOT the moral arbiter, no matter what
your cronies have told you. Not anymore, the
world has stripped you of that duty. You
overstepped your bounds one too many times.

Reason is starting to rule, the sun is setting your
church.

Quote: Evenbob

Why someone
would latch onto the Jesus myth and
run their lives with it bothers me. I always
think something is wrong with them,
I would never do that to myself.

I am confused how a belief in a deity ruins your life. Please explain.

Quote: boymimbo

I am confused how a belief in a deity ruins your life. Please explain.

Christianity is not just a belief in a deity.
It has all kinds of rules and regulations
and things you can and cannot do. Even
thought you're not supposed to think.

My friend the ex priest says 95% of what
he heard in confession was what he calls
'religious thought crimes'. And most of
them involved sex. It ruins your life if you
have to feel guilty every time you think
in a so called 'sinful way' about a person
of the opposite sex you're not married to.

Why would you do that to yourself, put
yourself in such an awful position.

Quote: Evenbob

It certainly doesn't make it true in the
world, but it does make it true for
the believer. That's why so many
religions exist, obviously. You believe
just as fervently in your delusion as
the Muslim riding the bus with intent
to harm people believes in his. As much as those
followers of Jim Jones who drank
the Kool Aid. Belief can be reality, it
depends on the believer.

There is no such thing as reality, only what we interpret in our brains. I've had close encounters with schizophrenia. The mind is extremely powerful and can bend reality fairly easily. In minor ways, in the way we view self and others are curbed by experiences. In major ways, the mind can be fooled into false beliefs.

But I would agree with you that people of faith believe they are right. For me, I believe I am right, but I have no proof except via a circular reference in the bible backed up by some collaberation with non-biblical texts. It is conclusive? No! If it were we would have 7 billion Christians and no athiests.

Quote: Evenbob

Christianity is not just a belief in a deity.
It has all kinds of rules and regulations
and things you can and cannot do. Even
thought you're not supposed to think.

My friend the ex priest says 95% of what
he heard in confession was what he calls
'religious thought crimes'. And most of
them involved sex. It ruins your life if you
have to feel guilty every time you think
in a so called 'sinful way' about a person
of the opposite sex you're not married to.

Why would you do that to yourself, put
yourself in such an awful position.

All faiths have rules and regulations and things you can and cannot do. The United States, your state, and your municipality have laws as well. We also have societal norms which are not laws but we are expected to follows (don't bud in line, don't have sex with your 1st cousin, take care of your parents when they are elderly etc). Belief in a deity involves incorporating yourself into its belief system as well and imposing (in Christianity's case) a set of moral standards and ethics to behave. The motivation to do this is manyfold -- acceptance by the community (wrong reason), rewards by God on earth (not true), but most of all, the motivation is to want to serve Him. With this motivation, a belief in a afterlife and an positive existence greater than oneself can be extremely beneficial to the believer, even if completely untrue. The benefits that one feels that the experience through the belief is far better than the guilt or repentance they feel when they act contrary to the teachings of their deity and that guilt and repentance becomes part of the experience.

Quote: boymimbo

There is no such thing as reality, only what we interpret in our brains.

There is a certain reality we all share.
If you jump off the barn roof, you'll
get hurt. A hot stove is a hot stove.
But we do create a lot of our subliminal
reality.

Quote:

But I would agree with you that people of faith believe they are right.

It has nothing to do with any of it
being true, because most of it isn't.
Believers want to believe as they
do, and desire is a powerful intoxicant.
It makes you act in ways to keep your
beliefs sensible to you.

Quote: Evenbob

Reason is starting to rule,...

Oh how I wish this was true! It is reason that will lead us to truth, and a truth that is not made up by what we want to believe or what we don't want to believe, but objective real truth.

"Jesus answered, 'You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." (Jn. 18:37)

Quote: FrGamble

Oh how I wish this was true!

Oh, but it is true! Your 'truth' is 2000
years out of date. The sun is setting on
your church full of deviants and misfits
and under the rug sweepers. Your church
has made the world miserable for quite
long enough, thank you. Time for reason
and truth to prevail. The future is in front of
us, not 2000 years ago. Jesus is dead,
long dead, about time to move on.