Merry Christmas 2019!

Obviously because this one is real and historical. I know that is frustrating to you and you don't want to see it so let's just say Happy Holidays and leave it.

Quote: FrGamble

Obviously because this one is real and historical. I know that is frustrating to you.

I literally laughed out loud,
good one. You don't have a
scintilla of proof it's real
and you know it. It's just as
real as every other mythical
virgin birth. Grasp the facts
tightly, in your world they
seem to be covered in STP
and slip out of yours hands
frequently..

Biblical record, archeological evidence, historical writings, the fact that all those other crucified folks are not heard from again, that His contemporaries gave their lives to share the faith, that it is the largest religion on Earth, that billions have a personal relationship with the Resurrected Lord and you could too, and much more. In what crazy world do you live in that this does not equal a scintilla? You are deluded my friend and should really give up your crusade.

Quote: FrGamble

the fact that all those other crucified folks are not heard from again

Again, no proof Jesus was ever
heard from. All you have is hearsay
recorded decades after his death.
It's proof people love to tell stories,
that's all it's proof of.

Quote:

that billions have a personal relationship with the Resurrected Lord

Without even getting into how
anybody can have a personal
relationship with a dead guy,
even Xtions have problems
with the concept.

"What exactly does it mean to have a personal relationship with Jesus? The concept itself is purely subjective; there is really no way to define it, and there is no way to observe it."

So saying it is just silly and
many Xtions realize it and
refuse to say it and resent others
who do. The scariest part about
Xtionity is not that it exists at
all, but how much believers
vehemently disagree with
each other on the finer points.
When you investigate it just
a little it makes you want to
run fast in the other direction
to where sanity lives.. Some of
these people are truly unhinged.

Quote: Evenbob

Again, no proof Jesus was ever
heard from. All you have is hearsay
recorded decades after his death.
It's proof people love to tell stories,
that's all it's proof of.

Bob you aren't thinking clearly about this. You have recorded documents decades after his death putting into writing the reality that so many knew and shared. It is not proof people tell stories, that is well known. It is proof that this story is real. The question you need to wrestle with is why did this story about Jesus change the world and continues to do so when so many other stories were just that, stories that didn't start the world's largest religion, overcome great persecution, and change the lives and culture of those who heard and accepted the Gospel?

Quote:

So saying it is just silly and
many Xtions realize it and
refuse to say it and resent others
who do. The scariest part about
Xtionity is not that it exists at
all, but how much believers
vehemently disagree with
each other on the finer points.
When you investigate it just
a little it makes you want to
run fast in the other direction
to where sanity lives.. Some of
these people are truly unhinged.

One established fact is that you know and understand little of Christianity much less what Christians think and feel. Maybe your personal experience of Christianity in your own family make you feel this way but trust me you don't speak for Christianity and billions of Christians. Maybe you should just preface your comments with "in my experience" or "in my corruptted and admittedly biased view..."

Quote: FrGamble

It is proof that this story is real.

No it's not, and you know it's not.
You think if you keep saying that,
it somehow makes it true. It doesn't.

Quote:

you know and understand little of Christianity

This is your go-to answer for
everyone who has a different
experience of Xtionity than
you do. My friend the ex priest,
who went to Seminary for 7
years and was an active priest
for 5 years, and found the religion
extremely flawed and dropped out,
your explanation for his behavior
is, why, he wasn't trained properly
in Seminary, he had the wrong
attitude going in, or whatever
excuse you can think of. It's never
EVER the religions fault.

You always jump right to the conclusion,
like you did just now, that it's the
persons fault, if only they knew just
a little more about the REAL Xtionity.
In the meanwhile, you have whole
countries in Europe that have turned
their backs on the religion and
have whole heartedly embraced
secularism. God bless them..

Quote: Evenbob

No it's not, and you know it's not.
You think if you keep saying that,
it somehow makes it true. It doesn't.

Bob I know it is true, I have given you reasons and you have not responded except for the above. Who is just repeating something and thinking by doing so it will be true? I'm just asking you to think, even if you disagree deal with the facts and the argument, don't just ignore it.

Quote:

You always jump right to the conclusion,
like you did just now, that it's the
persons fault, if only they knew just
a little more about the REAL Xtionity.
In the meanwhile, you have whole
countries in Europe that have turned
their backs on the religion and
have whole heartedly embraced
secularism. God bless them..

It is often the main problem. People often have a wrong view of the Church through people who lie and only want to spread falsehoods, or through the media, and especially people holding a 2nd grade understanding of the faith that feel they know it all.

From what you have freely shared about your family and your ex-priest friend I think you would even admit that these things are not characteristic of Christianity as a whole.

By the way how do you think secularism is going in Europe? Have you seen great improvements in culture and society there? How about here? As people become less and less religious how do you think it is impacting our culture and our country?

Quote: FrGamble

Bob I know it is true, I have given you reasons and you have not responded

I've been responding for years. You really
want to go over all that tiresome material
again, we've done it so many times.
We've discussed Bart Ehrman and the
Jesus Seminar into the ground.

Quote:

People often have a wrong view of the Church through people who lie and only want to spread falsehoods,

No, it's more through experience
and observation that people
have moved away from religion.
You see your religion in it's purist
form and seem to ignore the way
it's really practiced. The public
however see's the rampant hypocrisy
and has turned away in droves.

You're the Corvair salesman in the 60's
who loves what he's selling and still
totally believes in his product even
after Unsafe At Any Speed is published.
Take it for a test drive, you tell people,
it's totally safe..