It seems very unlikely that the bible was written for no purpose at all. But the lack of historical evidence, the similarities with stories written before Jesus's time, the contradictions, they all make it very hard to beleive that this man existed. I hear many people talk about the bible with pure hate. They say its all lies, and then start on about the crusades and all that. But I rarely hear a non-believer discussing the purpose of the story. Think about what would happen if someone were to write something like that it today's world. There had to have been something to make it accepted by so many. Maybe it was some sort of scheme for power, maybe it is the truth, maybe people were just really gullible, I doubt we will ever know, but I think there was a deeper reason. I think Jesus could just be a metaphor for every human. We are god (the father), ourselves (the son), and our soul (the holy spirit). We are all that exists, our entire reality exists inside an object slightly bigger then a softball. By saying that we are God, I mean that we literally created EVERYTHING ourselves(in our perceptions). Our soul is how we get in touch with our inner God, much like jesus communicated with god through the holy spirit. The way we do this is through forms of meditation. Jesus did it through prayer. When I started reading the new testament with this theory in mind, it just seemed to fit very well. "john relates this with the aim of showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit for the purpose of granting the Spirit to his followers, uniting them with himself, and in himself also uniting them with the Father" "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.' I John 4:4” "Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. Love others as well as you love yourself" “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." "Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" ^Those are just quotes off of one google search, I've read ones that relate much better but don't have the time to go back and find them now. Anyone else have any thoughts on the purpose of the Jesus story?
im not entirley sure, what to make of the jesus story itself. while theres little proof to his existance i still think there is a possibility he existed. the bible itself was just written to control the people. the plan for power started before the bible so it would make sense that the purpotraters wrote many of the plans in it but made it look like its 'gods plan'. this would explain the prophecies and all that in there. i think everything in revelations will more or less manifest, but only because the people think its supposed to happen. the only way to stop it is for people to be aware. PS. zeitgeists comparisons with jesus to other gods was wrong...just throwin that out there EDIT: while i dont think there will be a messiah, but if jesus existed he was a christ. everyone has potential to achieve christ consiousness....hopefully by 2012...
Jesus, along with any and every character in literature, IS a metaphor for every human (including 'Gods')
I don't refer to the bible as lies, but as mythology. That means of course, there may have been some truth in there, but it is now too polluted with afterthoughts, and so embellished, it has come to the point that it is no longer any different from the Iliad, which has some nice points to make also. There's lots of morality plays out there. I like 'To Kill A Mockingbird', but I don't pray to Atticus Finch. I love the character of Tom Joad, but he was no saint. You don't have to have immunity from hell to be interesting and have a moral message is what I'm saying.
here's my reply: <embed id="VideoPlayback" style="width:400px;height:326px" flashvars="" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-8545585184878490822&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"> </embed> so let that be a lesson to those in the prison. you can get out of the prison and still keep the same religion but with a new fuller interpretation.
The Kingdom (of Heaven) is inside you and it is outside you" Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see GOD. (the heart has been related to the soul throughout history in literature) ~ I believe in person to person. Every person is Christ for me, and since there is only one Jesus, that person is the one person in the world at that moment. ~ -Mother Teresa It just seems to make sense to me, maybe Im just too high, but if you live life how jesus lived, if you get to know your inner being through prayer to god(and god is yourself, so prayer is meditation), then you will lead a full, content, peaceful and happy life, and if larger amounts of people lived like that, it would be a truely peaceful world.
I agree with someone above me(I don't know who), that it was created to control people, but i also think that there has to be some truth to the story, people back then were not all bad, but the bible was the only way the could see to convince all the stupid people that they had in there control, Im saying that ever since Humans existed and language has been spoken...Sorry more to say but no time to say it BBL
This goes well with my personal philosophy. God, not the Christian God, but the maker of all was the energy in the big bang. God is in every planet, every star, every fabric of space and time. God is in every atom and every substance. God is in all of us, and we are all a part of God. God can be better experienced through harmony of the human mind, body, soul, and spirit with other humans and all of creation.
whoa, man. i've always been one to believe in the mind-expanding capabilities of certain plants, but.. yeah. one time i smoked salvia and had this amazing revelation that god was in my head. kinda existential.
the way i imagine it is we are all jesus, who lives in us as present moment. remember that story about jesus calming the sea? well i look at it as the sea is our mind of thought. the ego, that little voice in your head that just won't shut up sometimes, is the storm. when jesus calms the storm, he calms the mind and frees us to be fully present. which to me sounds a lot like heaven on earth. then again, who knows
Alright well I listened to the first 30 minutes of that video^ and it's interesting and all, but it doesn't mention Jesus at all haha. I'm assuming I just didn't listen long enough. Back to the OP, I don't think there's any way to prove if Jesus really existed or not. Historians seem to overwhelmingly agree that he was a real person. Personally, I'm an atheist I guess. I don't like the idea of organized religion because historically religions have caused so much conflict and prejudice. But I don't think it should matter if he was a real person or not. If he was, then the dude was probably a great guy who did what he could to help those around him, and I respect that. If he wasn't, then he's still a potential model that we could all follow to live more peacefully and improve the quality of life for everyone we encounter.
Well, you will find there is quite the discussion about the historicity of Jesus. It won't come as a surprise that most to near all biblical scholars support the idea of a Jesus rooted in reality. And on the other hand most to near all mythologists find the idea ridiculous, seeing as the Jesus story got all the markers of a hero-myth of which plenty exist that is near identical. And preceeded the Jesus myth. Historians without a christian/islam faith however are more prone to not take side either way. Those that do, venture on very shaky ground, for exactly the reason you mention dr dro. It can't be proven either way. Personally I think it is all myth. I can't prove it, but I can make it plausible by pointing to other similar and earlier myths. Not to mention how the symbology links into astrotheology. That is, obfuscated astrology.
Jesus has been everyone from a radical jew, to David Caresh, to a guy claiming to be jesus down at the general store a mile down my road (and I aint shitting you) who says he was waiting on a ride from Ted Nugent. A metaphor his purpose is, indeed, though.
i'm sure the bible was written for at least as many reasons as it had writers i see jesus as a half true, half myth example of a good person that people became obsessed with - and all sorts of politcal ideologies decided they'd use that obsession to rule the world other than that most of u are completely correct - if you correct your interaction with and attitude toward the earth it will become a paradise - god is within you - outside of you - other than god you are only the ego and sense recieving intellect that straddles the gap. it you changed your ego to be in harmony with what is inside and out of you - you would feel no pressure.
The views being expressed are a combination of eastern philosophy, gnostic mysticism, and new age spirituality. It's just another form of self worship and me-awareness-spirituality. Mankind hasn't created anything except pollution, misery, hate, and war. This universe and everything in it was created by a God who is beyond our comprehension and intelligence. Science is barely scratching the surface of just how complex this whole thing really is. Jesus is the link that enable us to know Him and spend eternity with Him. That's the purpose of this life; to choose where we will spend eternity. The NT is a collection of letters written by eyewitnesses to the Savior of mankind. Jesus wasn't preaching some "you are god" message. He was proclaiming Himself as the promised Messiah who paid the price of our sins by dieing in our place. In order to be a partaker of this sacrifice one must acknowledge Christ and receive His Spirit to be born again. The writers of the NT never controlled people but rather were on the run while spreading the gospel and starting new home based churches until their capture and execution. In fact, the early churches were under persecution for the first 300 years under the pressure of 9 Roman emperors. Hardly a plan for successful gain or benefit of any kind. I encourage people to read it for yourself again. Don't read about it from websites. But read it again and consider the real possibility that Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be. The Son of God who came to seek and save that which is lost. John 5:37-40 (NKJV) <sup>37 </sup>And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. <sup>38 </sup>But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. <sup>39 </sup>You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. <sup>40 </sup>But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. John 10:24-30 (NKJV) <sup>24 </sup>Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." <sup>25 </sup>Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. <sup>26 </sup>But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. <sup>27 </sup>My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. <sup>28 </sup>And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. <sup>29 </sup>My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. <sup>30 </sup>I and My Father are one."
well has the Doobie Brothers would say "I dont care what they may say Jesus is just alright, oh yeah"
The Bible was written for the purpose of power and control. Why else would so many more "liberal" books be excluded from the Bible? To control the masses into believing in a uniform system that appeals to certain peoples advantages.