MoeMan, may I ask a few questions? If Islam is the correct religion, why does it fly in the face of everything Christ (Jesus) ever taught?
I mean Jesus said, "Turn the other cheek". He taught, "the greatest love is a man giving his life for one of his friends".
Muhammad forced his religion by the sword. He utterly destroyed those who opposed him. In the Koran and Hadith, he is recorded as telling Muslims to kill the Jews and Christians. Heck, the man even died in battle.
The Koran and Hadith record Muhammad as marrying many, many women, including a six year old girl.
Muhammad himself is recorded as questioning with his wife that he might be demon possessed...
Muhammad has a lot to gain from what he did. He gained thousands and thousands of followers, became incredibly rich, and ruled a growing empire.
Jesus gained death on a cross.
Muhammad taught that submission to God and the following of his commands and the good deeds that you performed was the way to get into heaven.
Jesus taught that no man could work his way into heaven, but God loved them enough that he sent himself to die on a cross for all men who would accept the gift.
So I ask you, which religion seems inspired by man, and which religion seems inspired by God?
The fact that in under 300 years, a persecuted religion glorifying the son of a Jewish carpenter that died on a Jewish cross became the religion of the pagan Roman empire is evidence enough. Think about it, the Jews hated Christianity, the Romans hated it. Jesus is a much less unattractive figure than let's say Jupiter or Saturn. The Romans had much more powerful gods, why choose a God from a nation which the Romans were disgusted by?
I think Christ's very words and actions are witness enough. You will not find a story in the history of man which shows more grace, intelligence, and love. To say that this incredible story was written by liars is incredible.....
Then again, there are very good witnesses for us these days. For example, a carving in Judea dating to the time period which says, "Pontius Pilate, procurator of the Jews". Pilate existed, who says Christ didn't?
The very fact that it spread at all is incredible. The claims put forth by the Bible about Christ were all easily verifiable. A lot of the events happened with Jerusalem, a 1 mile stretch of area. Surely the Jews wouldn't believe in this absolute lie that is so easy to check? You'll notice that the Jews of the era do not even deny the existence of Jesus, they simply claim that he was a sorcerer, and a bastard. They claim he is illegitamate, the disgrace him, but not once do they deny him. You'd think they'd know better than us, wouldn't they?
Check your sources, please. He didn't dress like a woman, he dressed like any man did in their day. Some men wear earrings. Do you dress like a woman because you wear earrings? No. It's appropriate in our culture, while it may not have been in the past, and may not be in the future.
I don't deny that at all. I agree that it happened. It's not wrong, though. You will find that any man, woman, or children put to death in the OT were put to death for their sins, and they were put to death because God warned them and they continued sinning, and he warned them again, and still they continued to sin, so finally, he did what he had to.
It was the case of any of the nations Israel displaced. These people sacrificed their sons and daughters in fires and worshipped sick, sick dieties. They were warned over and over but did not stop. Thus God gave them what they wanted.
I think that shows a lot of grace and justice. He gave them plenty of warning, and gave them more than a few chances to change. They didn't so he did what he had to. Does God not have the right to correct someone if they are wrong?
Is your real reason that you couldn't find scientific reason to believe, so you stopped believing, or is your real reason that you found moral objections to what you wanted to do, and found the scienfitic validity to not believe?
I'm just as logical and scientific as you, and I sure as heck wasn't gonna believe unless something was proven to me, but heck, I did my research, and I can honestly say, the evidence is there that God exists, and this evidence was further verified by God acting in my life. It is the due process of faith. God could come down and slap you in the face and it isn't proof that he exists, it's all what you believe based on the evidence....
Very well said, Silent, I"m not sure I could've said it better myself. It's interesting to note that while 6 millions Jews died in Nazi Germany, 3 million Christians of all races and nations died by German hands, and no one seems to make a big deal about that.....
Oh, and a funny story, kinda going along with pepsik's gardener. I have this friend named Rutul who is a really cool guy, and he is Indian, and his family is Hindu. Really Rutul doesn't believe in the Hindu traditions, heck, he doesn't really know what to believe, but by family he is one.
Anyway, one day I sat down with him to try and explain to him who Jesus was. The only thing around was this really old, nasty Bible with a bunch of pictures in it. So, I pick it up, and I"m leafing through it, and Rutul notices the picture on one of the front pages.
"Oh, I know who he is!" he says. "He works by the vending machines at Six Flags"... 
Yes, Rutul, while he works at Six Flags, and he may work in gardens across the nation, Jesus is also the name of a man I believe to be God..... 
That's a lot like the time I was debating with some people on some message boards and someone dead serious brought up the point that since Jesus and Mary were Hispanic names, the Bible couldn't be real....after all, how could these Mexican names be in the Bible? 
I guess they might have a point there......(I might have to look into that  ) |
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Topic: Who Is Jesus To You? (Read 754 times)