Yes, I believe he existed. God on the other hand, I’m not so sure.
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I do think he existed, in that he was a real man, with a real following. A bit different, a bit of a rebel etc etc who gained a following and was essentially given mythic status because of the nature of his death.
I don't believe he was the son of God. He might have, the 'virgin' birth could be explained in modern times as we know it is possible (unusual certainly) without having full penetrative sex - would a young girl 2000 years ago have known that? Unlikely, so he might have even been raised to think he was a 'miracle' baby, despite actually having a normal human dad.
I would be interested to know if the historical Jesus had siblings? A wife? Children?
Siblings especially interest me, there's no mention obviously but it seems unlikely that his parents wouldn't have had 'their own' kids. Imagine growing up being told your brother was the son of God. I bet they hid his dreidel.
I don't believe he was the son of God. He might have, the 'virgin' birth could be explained in modern times as we know it is possible (unusual certainly) without having full penetrative sex - would a young girl 2000 years ago have known that? Unlikely, so he might have even been raised to think he was a 'miracle' baby, despite actually having a normal human dad.
I would be interested to know if the historical Jesus had siblings? A wife? Children?
Siblings especially interest me, there's no mention obviously but it seems unlikely that his parents wouldn't have had 'their own' kids. Imagine growing up being told your brother was the son of God. I bet they hid his dreidel.
The bible mentions that Jesus had siblings. The first ‘miracle’ of his that is stated is turning water into wine at a wedding. Imagine if your older brother could do that.
What interests me the most - partly because I don't suppose we'll ever know - is the exact sequence of events between his death and then his disciples claiming the resurrection happened, and just how that starting spreading in those first days / weeks / months.
It was Paul who essentially created the Christianity we know today. The early followers of Jesus after his death were still Jewish and believed he was their messiah (albeit only a minority of them). Paul got rid of a lot of the customs of Judaism for mass appeal.
Indeed. The thing is, how did it get to Paul, and what happened in between. That's what's interesting.
I believe what the majority of people who’ve answered believe- that he was a real guy (there is evidence that some bloke called Jesus was cutting about at that time) who had a following and was a bit of a radical but no more than that. I don’t believe in god or any of the ‘magicky’ bits. A few people have mentioned Life of Brian and I reckon Brian’s story is probably pretty close to Jesus’s, in that Brian wasn’t in any way divine, but people believed he was, and he therefore had a religious following around his revolutionary activities when he was really just a man trying to overthrow the system.
I think Jesus existed in that there was some man wandering around spreading his message and gathering followers to spread his word but that it was no more than a cult and I don't think any of the miracles that were mentioned in the bible happened.
I don't believe that there is a god or that God was his father though. I think Mary got caught pregnant and just said she was carrying the son of god so that her parents didn't kick off at her for getting up the stick at a young age.
Don't know how the god myth happened but I think it is nothing more than a fairy story and to be honest I find Disney more entertaining.
I don't believe that there is a god or that God was his father though. I think Mary got caught pregnant and just said she was carrying the son of god so that her parents didn't kick off at her for getting up the stick at a young age.
Don't know how the god myth happened but I think it is nothing more than a fairy story and to be honest I find Disney more entertaining.
There's a book that has recently been released around how Christianity as we know it today came to be:
Heresy by Catherine Nixey review – book of revelations
From Herod as the Messiah to a virginity test for Mary – the Christian story, but not as you know it
www.theguardian.com
I doubt it covers exactly what happened but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a similar situation where anything that wasn't accepted was called heresy
Yeah it's an interesting period - I think I've read about it and watched documentaries before but it was years ago so might try seek some out again. I just remember there was lots brutal deaths involved!
As a believer in Jesus and God I find comparative religion fascinating.
How a lot of religions have the same basic ideas at heart. Even the ones that at first glance seem different. It is interesting to think how these ideas started, thousands of miles apart.
How a lot of religions have the same basic ideas at heart. Even the ones that at first glance seem different. It is interesting to think how these ideas started, thousands of miles apart.
It's fascinating, isn't it? The Indigenous population of Australia all have very similar creation legends despite being mostly cut off from one another, sometimes separated by sea.
As for the topic I'm a former Atheistic Satanist turned agnostic. I believe Jesus was a real person but I do struggle with belief in a Creator as such.
I think Jesus was real, and also mentally ill.
Religious delusions are common so I do believe that to be a possibility. People with mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar often have delusions and hallucinations and the belief that they are the next coming of Jesus. This was way before any medicine or understanding of these illnesses so people were probably more inclined to believe it. He got a cult-like following and it stemmed from there. Indoctrinating others as we see with religious cults today, and these people genuinely believed it.
This thread is so interesting, I love reading what others think about this. My opinion isn't to discredit anyone's faith, I do believe we were put here by something/someone, not necessarily the Christian view of god, because the fact we even exist is incomprehensible otherwise. The Big Bang is just a theory, so a God/higher power could potentially exist, but I can only believe in what I see with my own eyes.
I agree @mochibean, my opinion is that Jesus was a man with a mental illness who genuinely believed he was the son of God. In this day and age he would be ridiculed and possibly sectioned, but I can fully appreciate why he and other prophets/religions developed a following before science gave us a lot of explanations.
Despite not believing in God myself, I understand why people do still believe even now - it is hard to get your head around how our planet is a perfect distance from our sun for life to exist.
I'm like you @RaveChampion - I'm envious of those who have faith, of any religion. To put your trust in a higher power to see you through the bad times and to be thankful to for the good times must be so settling and calming.
I love threads like this where a differences of opinion are embraced and not berated
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Despite not believing in God myself, I understand why people do still believe even now - it is hard to get your head around how our planet is a perfect distance from our sun for life to exist.
I'm like you @RaveChampion - I'm envious of those who have faith, of any religion. To put your trust in a higher power to see you through the bad times and to be thankful to for the good times must be so settling and calming.
I love threads like this where a differences of opinion are embraced and not berated
.I am a believer in Jesus and God (but also the gods outside of Christianity - it's all the same thing to me) and don't think your interesting views are discrediting in any way. It's all just opinion.
I'm a believer because I just am and I can't explain it in a sensible or logical way at all. It makes no sense.
Arguments for and against here are very interesting and respectful.
No, I think the Jesus figure is an amalgam of various myths. From what I remember, there are lots of older stories about rising from the dead and miracle-working from various cultures, and it just seems like a variation on this kind of tradition.
Aw I love master and margarita, one of my favourite books!
Such a hard book to describe but I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audible read by Julian Rhind Tutt and he read it very well.
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I hadn’t thought of the angle that Jesus was mentally ill, this thread is really making me think! Sorry to relate this question to another part of modern culture but has anyone listened to ‘Heaven On Their Mind’ from Jesus Christ Superstar? It’s from the viewpoint of Judas and (apart from being a great song!) it talks about how Jesus has potentially become bigger than what he actually is and even though he (Judas) is an admirer of Jesus he has become cynical of him but also worried.
If you want to listen can I suggest Carl Anderson’s version? Nothing beats it for me.