tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post1779669663698322697..comments2023-05-12T11:24:30.091-04:00Comments on The Imaginary Philosophy: "Jesus, Interrupted", ReviewedTom Stelenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13460571529579448952noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-65621666919793503412012-04-26T10:07:12.921-04:002012-04-26T10:07:12.921-04:00Perhaps the leaders of so called religious movemen...Perhaps the leaders of so called religious movement are not themselves religious but use the devout ignorance of the masses to sway their agenda. Wolves in sheep's cloth.<br /><br />Oppressors will use what ever means necessary to accomplish their goals; be it faith patriotism or even science, look at the green movement. If they find the niche they will exploit it to the best of their ability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-59719681645376367202010-11-24T00:49:38.459-05:002010-11-24T00:49:38.459-05:00Hello, I do not agree with the previous commentato...Hello, I do not agree with the previous commentator - not so simplecialishttp://www.agir-galiza.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-25614783314144265702009-12-29T08:44:41.510-05:002009-12-29T08:44:41.510-05:00I completely agree that Christians beliefs are har...I completely agree that Christians beliefs are harmful, even deadly as soldiers of yore under Constantine's reign tore into Great Britain and other places under the banner of Christianity. What a bloody beginning of evangelical Christianity, eh? And yes they are dangerous today. Live in the Bible Belt for a good deal of one's life and one will see and experience that at some point. Look at the possibly harmful resurgence of the KKK spouting their version of Christianity. And can any of the right wing Christians be as dangerous as Al Queda? I'd say so. Bomb an abortion clinic and there are worse things I'm sure they could come up with given the right circumstances.JBP, Marylandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-44123019578253823252009-05-22T21:15:22.233-04:002009-05-22T21:15:22.233-04:00Their wrong beliefs are necessarily harmful. This ...Their wrong beliefs are necessarily harmful. This is a religion that held back progress for centuries. False belief-systems when accepted and acted on have bad consequences.<br /><br />I have to disagree with your last claim - and that is what my point is related to. They do uphold their bible as authoritiaive on how to live one's life and what to believe. The problem for them is that their bible has all the flaws men can make. Their 'Word of God' has forgeries in it. It has misattributed and misdated texts. It has alterations. There never was a stable, fixed text of the Bible. Many of their beliefs about their God and Jesus are not supported by the Biblical texts: they simply assume they are biblically-grounded, or they project those beliefs onto the Bible when they are not to be found in it. Then they say we should accept the authority of the Bible! If they actually took that advice and applied it to themselves, they'd have to discard many of their 'Christian' beliefs as un-Christian! And even if Christians did not "fire their biblical weapons to prove the other guys wrong" that does not mean that rational people who take ideas seriously should do likewise.<br /><br />In short, my point is that if the Bible undermines and even contradicts widely-held Christian beleifs, then what does support them? Well, nothing does - other than their mere say-so. So the lesson for us all to learn is: let's dispense with religious beliefs based on arbitrary assertions and form ideas and principles that are rationally demonstrable and valid. We'll all be better off then.Tom Stelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13460571529579448952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-71087186481259812922009-05-22T14:21:37.138-04:002009-05-22T14:21:37.138-04:00I just have to wonder though, why you think we nee...I just have to wonder though, why you think we need ammo against christians? I mean, if what they believe is wrong, how is it harming you? I know a lot of christians who are forthcoming about their beliefs, but when they come accross an agnmostic, an athiest, a muslim, a mormon or a jew, they don't fire their biblical weapons to prove the other guys wrongmarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-27385252377209761702009-04-01T19:44:00.000-04:002009-04-01T19:44:00.000-04:00After reading this book I understand why Muslims c...After reading this book I understand why Muslims consider Jesus to be only a prophet.<BR/><BR/>I cannot agree that the Quran is without flaws and contradictions, even if it were that does not lend it credibility because it is still based on supernaturalism - and that contradicts reality.<BR/><BR/>Just to clarify, I did not write that because Christianity has these flaws and contradictions, so must other religions. that would be a fallaciuos argument. I have studied other religions and am no more impressed with them than with Christianity.<BR/><BR/>A relevant example: I read some chapters in Ibn Warraq's book, "Why I am not a Muslim," that were about the Quran, hadith, and Islam's origins and the story there is pretty much the same as in Christianity. Western scholars have discovered that the Islamic texts are actually forgeries from up to two-hundred years after Mohammad allegedly lived. The original Muslims were actually a sect of Jews expecting the world's end and made up Islam as they went along, modeling Mohammad and the religion after the Old Testament Moses story. It was very revealing as are biblical criticism and biblical archaeology.Tom Stelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13460571529579448952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-10529437485454757162009-04-01T00:01:00.000-04:002009-04-01T00:01:00.000-04:00The book definitely seems interesting and I wanted...The book definitely seems interesting and I wanted to forward it to all my Christian friends. I'm actually a Muslim and many of the controversies that Biblical scholars have been studying are taught to us in Sunday school as children and we're made aware of some of the contradictions via the Quran. Muslims honor and venerate Jesus, while the Quran clearly denies the divinity of Jesus. People assume just because Christianity has flaws and contradictions, ALL religions must also have these same flaws (in reference to Tom's critique). However, if you pick up the Quran and read it (which many are afraid to do) you will see that there are no flaws nor contradictions and the Quran describes God as being the One God to Whom everyone should turn to (not turning to those whom He sent). . .everyone is accountable for their actions (no dying for sins of man), and of course many other topics that apply to daily life. If the Quran wasn't revealed, the last major testament would have been the man-altered Bible that we have today filled with confusion, contradiction, and worst of all, the worshipping of other than the One who actually created us, created the skies, the earth, the individuality of our fingertips (all of which are mentioned in the Quran). Jesus never claimed to be the Creator nor did he say to worship him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-58264593168081188332009-03-28T11:59:00.000-04:002009-03-28T11:59:00.000-04:00Nice post. I'll definitely add Jesus, Interrupted ...Nice post. I'll definitely add Jesus, Interrupted to my "to read" list.mathyoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13969636014840275570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-91742925825070140412009-03-23T22:12:00.000-04:002009-03-23T22:12:00.000-04:00I tried to post a comment but it said, "your comme...I tried to post a comment but it said, "your comment cannot be processed."<BR/><BR/>Thanks. Duhnearenoughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14485494861515111473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-84123722732175824222009-03-12T20:57:00.000-04:002009-03-12T20:57:00.000-04:00My immense pleasure, Jenn!Thanks, Madmax. I think ...My immense pleasure, Jenn!<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Madmax. I think the mystical Christ theory is plausible, so is the scholarly consensus that he was just a prophet who was elevated to God's status over time in a culture thoroughly superstitious and ignorant. We'll probably never know for sure, though.Tom Stelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13460571529579448952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-85889880782047063382009-03-12T18:03:00.000-04:002009-03-12T18:03:00.000-04:00Tom,Great post and great subject. Let me introduce...Tom,<BR/><BR/>Great post and great subject. Let me introduce you, if you don't know of it already, to the blog of Dawson Bethrick:<BR/><BR/>http://bahnsenburner.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>Dawson is an Objectivist who blogs solely on atheism and the Historicity of Jesus. His blog is a treasure trove if you are interested in this stuff. If you search his archives you will find many posts on the arguments over the historicity of Jesus. Dawson, like myself, is a believer in the Mythical Christ theory; ie that there was no historical Jesus Christ but that Christianity started as a decentralized faith movement which in time came to attribute its founding stories to one individual preacher. <BR/><BR/>This approach is based on the works of some of the best critical scholars in the field of New Testament scholarship; namely Robert Price, G.A. Wells and Earl Doherty. Dawson writes about the works of these men frequently. If I had to recommend one book on this subject (and I have read many), I would recommend "The Jesus Puzzle" by Earl Doherty. That one book alone will show how Christianity is entirely the product of religious syncretism, as you would say: entirely man-made. <BR/><BR/>Do go over to Dawson's sight and look around. I discovered it about a year and a half ago and have since read the better parts of 6 or 7 books on the subject of Christianity's origins. <BR/><BR/>Here is a link to Dawson's posts on Christianity's legends:<BR/><BR/>http://bahnsenburner.blogspot.com/search/label/Christian%20Legends<BR/><BR/>MadmaxAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-417191996089121232009-03-12T17:45:00.000-04:002009-03-12T17:45:00.000-04:00Thanks for contributing to the carnival this week!...Thanks for contributing to the carnival this week!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-86406123875085133122009-03-12T11:12:00.000-04:002009-03-12T11:12:00.000-04:00Yes, I have both books and they are great. He also...Yes, I have both books and they are great. He also has a good 6-hour course available from the Teaching Company called 'The History of the Bible.'Tom Stelenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13460571529579448952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1187572289151836731.post-11357719359910442122009-03-12T10:34:00.000-04:002009-03-12T10:34:00.000-04:00A very good review of the Prof. Bart Erhman’s new ...A very good review of the Prof. Bart Erhman’s new book “Jesus, Interrupted” and I agree with you entirely. Just to add some more background, this book is building on top of his previous books which are mentioned in the chapter notes. The first book is “Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew” which goes into more details on the various groups of Christians, each with very different views, all vying for converts. To quote from Prof. Erhman “The early Christian church was a chaos of contending beliefs. Some groups of Christians claimed that there was not one God but two or twelve or thirty. Some believed that the world has not been created by God but by a lesser, ignorant deity. Certain sects maintained that Jesus was human but not divine, while others said he was divine but not human”. The second book is “Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why” which covers the fact while the various groups of Christians were competing with each other; they also intentionally rewrote parts of their scriptures to prove their points. See the fascinating chapter 6 titled “Theologically motivated alterations of the Text”. The winning group used the power of the state to suppress dissenting groups and rewrite the History of Christianity (see Constantine and Eusebius).Prometheushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16415882691993927347noreply@blogger.com