Jesus...A Walk Down the Sands of Time
Let's preface this by saying that outside of Christian Scripture and the followers of the Christian faith...there is no supporting evidence of Jesus that I am aware of to date...that doesn't mean that somewhere down the line some archeologist won't make some discovery that will prove his existence...just that as of today, this moment, there is no ' other ' evidence to support the claim that Jesus existed.
Now...normally...that really doesn't mean much...because there is a lot of people who lived that we have no supporting evidence to prove their existence either.
But...this is not a normal cirmeepstance is it...
after all we are talking about a man who was claimed to have performed miracles, raised the dead, healed the ill and crippled, a god among men...if not a god, at least god-like...
now...Romans and Greeks were very fond of theatre...they loved to be entertained...when Socrates was about the Greeks mocked him in the comedies...surely a man much greater than Socrates, a man of miracles, would have caught their attention...a man capable of feeding thousands, or raising the dead, would have sparked wondrous expectations of entertainment among these two societies that thrived on it...
but no...nothing...not even a word about this man of miracles...
no letters requesting anyone to find him, no letters between them about him, no mention of this man at all...
even when Marcus recounts his distaste for punishing Christians he never even mentions the name of Jesus...doesn't mention a leader of the Christians at all...
even the three primary Jewish historians of the period do not mention his name ( we will exclude the reference in Josephus because it is an interpolation of a later date )...
nor are there any records from local governments or institutions other than those written by Christians themselves...
not only are the Romans and Greeks seemingly oblivious to this man...but also the Egyptians, Samaritans, Phoenicians, etc...do not have record or letter or decree concerning this man of miracles...
no letters from one Pharisee to another...
nothing...not one single mention...
now as I said that does not mean there never will be...only a small fraction of the past has been dug up and analyzed...
and this isn't any proof that he did not exist...because there are millions of people from that time that we have no records of...
but it is an indication that the events surrounding his life may have been exaggerated...perhaps to promote a new movement...
he probably did live...he probably did help the sick, and care for the needy...he probably did die a noble death for a righteous cause...he probably was a great man...a teacher of wisdom...a man we all should respect and admire...
but the evidence that exists today...at this moment in time...suggests that he was a man...a man that no one took much notice of...a man no one other than Christians felt the need to record...or talk about...or write about...or give any consideration or notice at all...
a man that even Scripture says was so plain and ordinary that when the soldiers went to arrest him they couldn't figure out which one he was...Judas had to point him out to them...
in conclusion...
we can assume that he lived...but we cannot based upon the evidence assume that the stories that abound about him, other than the pious ones, are anything more than fabrications of a movement in desperate need of a leader...a Messiah.
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Nov16 '08
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So how come the romans didn't just crucify all 12 or 13 of them? It seems like that would be the more typical solution to the problem. It is what the US would have done. Why bother with which one was the prophet and which were his core campaign management team? Round 'em all up. Guilt by association. Then hang that Judas guy too just to be safe.
Instead they let them go, and those remaining built a worldwide powerhouse of fanatics and money and crusades and inquisitions and born-again presidents. Surely even 2000 years ago the shrewd and ruthless roman despots could have forseen this?
Nov16 '08
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whoa...seriously...blowing my...mind
Nov16 '08
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Jesus was a race car driver
Nov16 '08
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fart
Nov16 '08
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it's like...there's no record of...jesus...
except...you know...all those meeping written accounts they find in...caves
Nov16 '08
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The proof of Jesus' existence is in the miracles he performs on my lawn every week.
HIS grace expressed by the gentle clipping of St. Augustine beget by HIS use of an old-fashioned reel lawnmower, running only by HIS will HIS power.
Nay, the love of Jesus leaves not ragged brown edges on the blades of grass - HIS touch is a gentle clip leaving a crisp green cut as though each blade individually and carefully pruned.
Following the winds HE conjures to remove the dross and dust of past sins, HE consecrates the space with cow meep and water, changing the green to brown, then green again eventually.
You want proof of Jesus? Come see my lawn.
Nov17 '08
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You're not the only one to ask the question. There's a lot of literature about this, not to mention college and post graduate courses in Christian history. If you're seriously curious, you should do some more research. It's fascinating.
Nov17 '08
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My Jesus turned water into KY.