Who Would Jesus Endorse?

[helderheid]

[TahitiNut]

1. Who's the female? All the GOP wannabe's are male.

They're still two apostles short of a Last Cannibalism.

[helderheid]

3. I don't think they are candidates - just Republicans

[Mark_Pogue]

12. Oh...that's Peter!!!

[DavidDvorkin]

2. Since he's a mythological creatur

The question is as empty as Republican rhetoric.

[rasputin1952]

9. It has been well established that Jesus of Nazareth lived...

it may be open to discussion as to his divinity, but one cannot say he was a "mythological creature". If that were the case, everyone who has ever lived would be a "mythological creature", and that is a good case for another philosphical discussion...:)

[wuushew]

10. Really? Historical texts speak to his life in Roman Judea?

Two lines from Josephus does not history make. We know more about minor generals and architects from antiquity then we do about the supposed founder of one pre-eminent religions of world history.

Make your case, I will listen.

[rasputin1952]

13. I'll have to look for the link, but several years ago, records from

the time were unearthed, and in two of them, there were brief mentions of Jesus being executed by orders from Pilate. It had been an area of contention because the Romans kept some pretty definitive records of just about everything that happened, and there was no mention of this crucifixion previously.

there are also Roman documents found that showed Pilate was "relieved of duty" in Judea for what would essentially be considered "mismanagement" of the area, and creating too much of a "problem" in the area. One of the charges brought against him was allowing the movement, "The Way" to divide Jews and create hostility between several sects.

THere are many areas of contention that can be brought up about religious aspects, but his life on this earth, is pretty well ascertained. A broad-brush statement that he never existed is a bit OTT IMO. No great leap of faith necessary to understand that someone named Jesus that a lot of people followed, is necessary either. Even if there were not some documents, I have to figure that soemone was around that had a great impact on the region...Jesus, Fred, Joe...someone had to be the core of such a change. To allude that this just generated spontaneously is a bit of a stretch.

[Nikki Stone1]

14. If you find the links, let me know, too, rasputin1952.

I am into this stuff. Thanks. :)

[rasputin1952]

19. I'll have to scrounge around, there were bookmarks on a ...

previous computer I had. History International did short report on it as well, but I can't recall the program name, it was one of the Naked Science episodes. The show goes into some detail about how things did/could have/might have happened. Most of them are excellent, and while rarely is there anything definitive, there are always situations where circumstantial evidence is pretty hefty.

In one episode, they were looking for Sodom and Gomorrah, they are thinking they might have found at least one of them. There is evidence of a very local cataclysm that had destroyed an area the size of a small city by fire, but there was no evidence of the fire going beyond the city. Said fire was intense and relatively brief. The contention was that "something" had happened, but there was no way to know if was Sodom, Gomorrah, or some other city/town...like he said, they didn't unearth a sign saying, "Welcome to Sodom: population 10,035" What they did find was a small city that was apparently destroyed by fire, it was anyone's guess as to what happened there long ago, but they were looking for clues.

Who can tell how many times things were lost in translation or just left out/added in to the Bible, the Koran, The Torah, etc? But occasionally, little pieces of evidence crop up that were long overlooked. The library at Alexandria was used as kindling for the fires that heated Roman baths, ow much ancient knowledge was lost for the comfort of the conquerors? Wars, cataclysms and many other things, natural and man-made have destroyed incredible amounts of stored knowledge, some of which we are now just re-learning, these small pieces of evidence showed that a man known as Jesus of Nazareth lived, and was crucified just outside of Jerusalem under the orders of Pilate. There was nothing more, as one would expect about a routine execution of a "criminal". The difference is, that THIS "criminal" had a message that would change the world over time. Whether he was divine is up for discussion, but the message he delivered has stood the test of time, just as that of the Buddha, Confucius, and many other philosophers.

I can't produce a birth certificate, nor a film, and I'm pretty sure that Jesus said a hell of lot more than what is presented in the New Testament. What I do know, is that the message is one of hope, love, compassion, understanding, equality and forgiveness...I don't think those are bad things at all...:)

[Annces]

15. I was just reading about this in a book by Albert Schweitzer

How it is hard to prove Jesus lived because he is not mentioned by Jewish, Greek or Latin literature.

From his book-
"The first pagan witness to His existence is Tacitus, who, during the reign of Trajan in the second decade of the second century A.D., reports in his Annals (XV.44) that the founder of the "Christian" sect (which Nero accused of causing the great fire at Rome) was executed under the government of Tiberius by the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.

[DavidDvorkin]

20. Nope. Sorry.

It has been well established that the Medieval church created fake records indicating that he existed. And that's it.

There is no contemporary evidence for the existence of Jesus. Given that the mythology about him so closely mirrors older mythologies, there's certainly reason to dismiss the whole story.

For a nice summary, see here: http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm

[rasputin1952]

21. Believe what you may....I did not yet cite any link, and yet you

seem o think it is fine to supply a link from an atheist site that essentially says what you want to believe. I have no problem with that, but I can cite innumerable religious sites, that's not what I want to do, I 'm looking at what appears to be archaeological evidence, not a site specifically designed to debunk all aspects.

The link you provided gave me this, look a the date:

Did a historical Jesus exist?

by Jim Walker

originated: 12 June 1997 / additions: 05 Dec. 2006

******************************************************************************************************

The origin is 10 years old, and the additions are some 6 months old. Since then, bits and pieces have emerged and there have been Roman writings of such an individual, although they are sparse.

You can believe what you want, that is fine, that is not my problem. But I know what I saw, I know what I heard, and I know what I read. If I can find the link, I will post it, but seeing as how I am having to install a previous hard drive, this may take a while. In the mean time, I can link to a million writings that go either way, however, I am not predisposed to just choose any of them out here, because they may, as in the case of your link, be errant because of the predisposition of the writer.

While there certainly have been instances where writing have been forged, that is not a valid reason to say every scrap of evidence is a forgery. To do that is to flip off archeology and science at the same time. The purpose of seeking, si to seek the truth, if one is predisposed to find fault, as opposed to truth, fault will trump truth every time. Take Noah's Ark, or the Grand Canyon; fundy's say they both are part of the same event, to me, a global Great Flood is absurd. There may have been a big local flood, but if there was a boat, it's long gone. As for the GC being carved out in a mere 40 days by a flood, that is ridiculous, and any thinking person would know that.

Until relatively recently there appeared to be no contemporary evidence of a man named Jesus of Nazareth, that appears to have changed by 2 separate, apparently contemporary writings. We should know for sure, soon enough, but the evidence has been presented. You can accept it or not, it's no skin off my nose.

[and-justice-for-all]

23. I disagree...

Out of the 40 historians that lived before, during and after the supposed time which Jesus lived: Not one of them ever mentions Jesus.

You would think that a man-god wonder who was born of a virgin and did miraculous acts would warrant some notation in their writings. Combined, all of their writings would fill a small library and yet there isnt even a scratch to attest to Jesus's existence. There is no record out side of the bible, that professes to his exisitence.

[DavidDvorkin]

26. Apparently that doesn't matter

All those historians were probably just atheists, anyway, and that was just their opinion. Or something like that.

[Webster Green]

4. Gore/Clark

J.C. told me so himself!

Praise be!

[Ghost in the Machine]

5. Dennis Kucinich & John Edwards

Truth Speakers. Toss out the false prophets!

[amandabeech]

25. What you do to the least of my bretheren, you do unto me,

or something to that effect.

Kucinich and Edwards are very interested in doing good to the least of our bretheren.

[Annces]

6. Kucinich

I am the resurrection and the life. Believe in me, and though you die, yet shall you live.


http://imgred.com/

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. Anyone who would work for the poor, of course

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

8. He'd probably not say

because of "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's"--I think he would believe it very important for the head of a religion or religious institution NOT to endorse anyone.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Given his radical ideas, he'd have to the endorsing from Gitmo.

[treestar]

16. Dennis Kucinich

And no Republican has a prayer of being the one.

[MasonJar]

17. I believe Jesus was undeniably one of the great teacher/philosophers

of human history. Whether he was a god is a matter of faith, but his ideals and lessons, like those of a few other great men of the human past, are above reproof. His teachings, as demonstrated by his Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, and his disapproval of the Saducees, making money in the temple, and his parables of such magnificent wisdom, as the Good Samaritan, and his surrounding himself with the undesirable and finding worth in them, as the tax collector and the prostitute, and his magnanimous generosity in ministering to the weak and the despised, as the lepers, prove his inestimable worth as a model for all mankind. Is it relevant whether he was the son of God? If we lived by his example, we would indeed by ethereal too.

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Right on, MasonJar....

I couldn't agree with you more.

[Jonathan50]

22. Kucinich, Clark

[WinkyDink]

24. Kucinich, Edwards