| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"James" |
| Date: |
19 Nov 2006 11:28:03 AM |
| Object: |
Re: Simple Question (8) |
"Nosterill" <fladgate@hotmail.com>
Re: Simple Question
Precision wrote:
"Gilbertus Albans" <primemenstat@world.net> wrote in message
news:y_AZg.3646$4T6.1070@trnddc02...
How do you identify a false religion?
The answer to your question is eloquently stated in this citation from the
American Bible Society: The Holy Bible : The Good News Translation. 2nd ed.
New York : American Bible Society, 1992, as quoted from the book of Saint
Matthew 23:13-36 in the Holy Bible as follows.
Jesus taught his followers how to identify false religion:
"Jesus Condemns Their Hypocrisy (Mark 12.40; Luke 11.39-42, 44, 52; Luke
20.47)"
This all makes the huge assumption that Christianity isn't itself a
false religion and that Jesus - if he existed at all - wasn't a false
prophet.
Hello,
First of all, not all religions professing to be 'Christian' are
really such. Jesus made this this clear at Lu 6:46,
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (NIV)
So the true Christian religion must obey Jesus' commands such as at Mt
5:44 to "love your enemies" etc. Thus any religions that support the
wars of this world that 'kill' the enemy, cannot be part of Jesus'
true religion, because 'killing' a person in battle is not obeying
Jesus' command to show him or her "love".
You brought up a point that Jesus might not have existed at all.
History has already shown that he has. Notice some of the evidence. If
you disagree with the evidence, please say which ones, and show why
they would not be true. Please note, that you would have to dispute
each and every listing below in order to support a mythological Jesus.
If just one listing below is valid, then Jesus would have been a real
historical person.
The first century non-Christian historian Josephus (37-100 A.D) wrote,
"Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to
call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of
such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both
many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And
when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had
condemned him to the cross, (9) those that loved him at the first did
not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day;
(10) as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other
wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named
from him, are not extinct at this day." (Antiquities of the Jews, Book
XVIII, Chap. III, par. 3.)
Justin Martyr, writing in the middle of the second century, wrote in
reference to the death of Jesus:
"That these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of
Pontius Pilate."
In addition, according to Justin Martyr, these same records mentioned
Jesus' miracles, regarding which he says:
"That He did those things, you can learn from the Acts of Pontius
Pilate."
True, these "Acts," or official records, no longer exist. But they
evidently did exist in the second century, and Justin Martyr
confidently challenged his readers to check them to verify the truth
of what he said. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, Chap. III, par.
3)
"German historian and archaeologist Hans Einsle writes that Jewish
historian Flavius Josephus, Roman writers Suetonius and Pliny, and
especially Roman historian Tacitus "all confirm the historicity of
Jesus and the main facts of his life."" (1988 Watchtower, 7/15, p. 4.)
Some other first-century pagan Roman writers who made mention of
Christ and his followers were the poet Juvenal, and the stoic
philosopher Lucius Seneca, who was a contemporary of Jesus and the
leading intellectual figure in Rome in the middle of the first
century.
Concerning those early non-Christian writers, the Encyclopaedia
Britannica states:
"These independent accounts prove that in ancient times even the
opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus."
(1980 edition, vol. 10, p. 145.)
Concerning the Roman historian Suetonius, (69-140 A.D.) in his
history, The Twelve Caesars, stated regarding the emperor Claudius:
"Because the Jews at Rome caused continuous disturbances at the
instigation of Chrestus [Christ], he expelled them from the city."
This occurred about the year 52 C.E. (Compare Acts 18:1, 2.) Note that
Suetonius expresses no doubt about the existence of Christ.
Even the well-known skeptic, the mission doctor Albert Schweitzer,
admitted:
"We have to avow that there are not many of the personalities of
antiquity of whom so many indubitable historical facts and of whom so
many statements have been preserved as in the case of Jesus."
Historian Will Durant said,
"Is the life story of the founder of Christianity the product of human
sorrow, imagination, and hope-a myth comparable to the legends of
Krishna, Osiris, Attis, Adonis, Dionysus, and Mithras?"
He answers that in the first century, to deny that Christ had ever
existed
"seems never to have occurred even to the bitterest gentile or Jewish
opponents of nascent Christianity." (The Story of Civilization,: Part
III, "Caesar and Christ.")
This encyclopedia states:
"THE HISTORICAL JESUS
The Christ-myth school of the early 20th century held that Jesus never
lived but was invented as a peg on which to hang the myth of a dying
and rising God. Yet the evidence for the historical existence of
Jesus is good.
Non-Christian Sources
Among Roman historians, TACITUS (Annals 15.44) records that the
Christian movement began with Jesus, who was sentenced to death by
Pontius Pilate. SUETONIUS (Claudius 25.4) refers to the expulsion of
the Jews from Rome because of a riot instigated by one "Chrestus" in
AD c.48, and this is usually taken to be a confused reference to the
Christians and their founder. PLINY THE YOUNGER (Epistles 10.96),
writing to Emperor Trajan, says that the early Christians sang a hymn
to Christ as God. Most of the Jewish evidence is late and
anti-Christian propaganda, but an early reference in the Babylonian
Talmud says that Jeshu ha-Nocri was a false prophet who was hanged on
the eve of the Passover for sorcery and false teaching. The evidence
from the historian JOSEPHUS is problematical. He recounts
(Antiquities 20.9.1) the martyrdom of JAMES, "the brother of Jesus
called the Christ," in AD 62. Another passage in the Antiquities
(18.3.3) gives an extended account of Jesus and his career, but some
features of it are clearly Christian interpolations. Whether this
passage has an authentic nucleus is debated.
Thus the Roman sources show a vague awareness that Jesus was a
historical figure as well as the object of a cult; the reliable
Jewish sources tell us that he was a Jewish teacher who was put to
death for sorcery and false prophecy and that he had a brother named
James. The Jewish evidence is especially valuable because of the
hostility between Jews and Christians at the time: it would have been
easy for the Jewish side to question the existence of Jesus, but this
they never did." (The Software Toolworks Multimedia Encyclopedia, 1992
Edition, pp. 3,4.)
"A unique work of the second century was Tatian's "Diatessaron,"
meaning "of the four." This was an early harmony, weaving together
into one narrative the various sections of the four canonical Gospels.
This again indicates the acceptance of the four as a collection and
testifies to their undisputed authority as the authentic record of
Jesus' life and words." (1963 Watchtower, p. 269 )
Yes, there is evidence outside the Bible testifying to the existence
of the man Jesus Christ. But to lovers of God, the most important
testimony is from the Bible itself, since it says it is inspired of
God. (2 Ti 3:16)
As the Bible itself testifies to the historicity of Jesus,
"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were
eyewitnesses of his majesty. (RSV, 2 Pe 1:16)
Sincerely, James
***********************************
Want a FREE home Bible study?
Have Jehovah's Witnesses questions?
Go to the authorized source:
http://www.watchtower.org
***********************************
.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
|
| Title: Re: Simple Question (8) |
19 Nov 2006 05:23:57 PM |
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On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 12:28:03 -0500, James <bireda@allvantage.com>
wrote:
"Nosterill" <fladgate@hotmail.com>
Re: Simple Question
This all makes the huge assumption that Christianity isn't itself a
false religion and that Jesus - if he existed at all - wasn't a false
prophet.
First of all, not all religions professing to be 'Christian' are
really such.
Bagpipe music drowns out the remainder of the post in which it's
found.
--
rukbat at optonline dot net
"I've heard the call. I believe God wants me to run for president."
- George W. Bush, quoted in George Magazine, September, 2000
"God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith,
deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by
God to save Germany."
- Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
.
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