Thread: Christmas poll

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Perhaps I did not spell it out correctly in my opening post. The question was not "was there a person named "Jesus" born ~2,000 years ago, but rather was the person that we all have come to know as Jesus, a rather singular figure in history, born ~2,000 years ago?

No, you spelled it out correctly in your first post.

I voted yes, the historical figure we now know as Jesus did (and does ) exist.

I haven't gone through all of the previous posts so if this is redundant I apologize. Independent historians of the time such as Josephus mention him. No doubt about the existence of Yeshua.

I believe that historical evidence suggests that the birth of the man now known as Jesus did actually occur. Beyond that, it becomes simply a matter of faith.

Originally Posted by sffone

Beyond that, it becomes simply a matter of faith.

Beyond that, there's also historical evidence of what happened afterwards, some people just don't want to accept it.

I voted yes. But I bet Jesus was well-annoyed that his birthday was on Christmas!! They *say* you get double the presents, but it never really works out that way...


James.

In my travels I have not seen evidence that I would consider adequate to convince me that Jesus (the character from the Bible) ever actually existed.
Flavius Josephus wasn't born by the time Jesus died, so his very few (and contreversial) mentionings of Jesus are very, very suspect. The same is true of Pliny the Younger - not born until long after Jesus was gone. Written commentary by a person who had first person contact with Jesus does not exist outside of the Bible. The Bible was not written until 40 years after the supposed ascension. Written discourse amongst the Pharisees or any of Jesus' enemies are completely absent.

In short, no contemporaneous evidence exists that would indicate the existence of Jesus. And this is a guy who did miracles in front of thousands of people. He allegedly brought people back from the dead, but nothing was written about it until 40 years later - and one would figure that would be pretty big news. Just correspondence based on the healings alone should have been documented, if even pretty sparsely, by doctors or priests of the day (who would check people for leprosy to determine if they were spiritually "clean").

Jesus, had he existed, should have been nothing short of a phenomenon that could in no way have escaped from the annals of history. He should have been the most documented human being in the history of the world - at least in ancient times.
Because he is not, and because he is so similar to the celebrated pagan dieties in that area at that time in history such as Mithras, Dionisys, Horus, Osiris, and others... I have my doubts about him.

Dear Margaret. I miss you ever so much. Went to a funeral today. Jesus brought the guest of honor (if you get my drift) back to life. Seemed dismissive when I suggested he practice medicine. Something about how everyone who lives with his parents being in perfect health. A little holier-than-thou if you ask me. Give my best to your parents.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I voted yes. But I bet Jesus was well-annoyed that his birthday was on Christmas!! They *say* you get double the presents, but it never really works out that way...


James.

Originally Posted by ZMKA

In my travels I have not seen evidence that I would consider adequate to convince me that Jesus (the character from the Bible) ever actually existed.
Flavius Josephus wasn't born by the time Jesus died, so his very few (and contreversial) mentionings of Jesus are very, very suspect. The same is true of Pliny the Younger - not born until long after Jesus was gone. Written commentary by a person who had first person contact with Jesus does not exist outside of the Bible. The Bible was not written until 40 years after the supposed ascension. Written discourse amongst the Pharisees or any of Jesus' enemies are completely absent.

In short, no contemporaneous evidence exists that would indicate the existence of Jesus. And this is a guy who did miracles in front of thousands of people. He allegedly brought people back from the dead, but nothing was written about it until 40 years later - and one would figure that would be pretty big news. Just correspondence based on the healings alone should have been documented, if even pretty sparsely, by doctors or priests of the day (who would check people for leprosy to determine if they were spiritually "clean").

Jesus, had he existed, should have been nothing short of a phenomenon that could in no way have escaped from the annals of history. He should have been the most documented human being in the history of the world - at least in ancient times.
Because he is not, and because he is so similar to the celebrated pagan dieties in that area at that time in history such as Mithras, Dionisys, Horus, Osiris, and others... I have my doubts about him.

I would say that he has certainly attained that status.


Not many people could read or write back in those days, so I would say that is the reason for the dearth of written info on the subject at the time.

YouTube - Rowan Atkinson Amazing Jesus