Why do people reject Jesus Christ?

ananda · Oct 23, 2018

RayJeena said:
Over in the General Theology forum, a thread was posted asking the question, "Why do people reject Jesus Christ?".

I thought it would be helpful if this question was also presented in an area of the forum where those who have rejected Jesus (in whatever way that means to them) can actually answer it, given that the original thread is in an area of CF where they can't respond, leaving those who haven't rejected him to only speculate as to why that might happen.

So, for those who would like to weigh in and share, first-hand, the reasons why they reject Jesus Christ, here's your chance to assist in answering that question.

I realized that Christianity - and by extension, Jesus Christ (along with other faith-based religions & claimants) - offered no proof for its/his claims ... and, "evidence" was not proof.

ViaCrucis · Oct 23, 2018

Occams Barber said:
Thanks for the clarification. Your posts are usually the model for clarity and clear thinking so this one had me a little confused.
Is there a maxim in there somewhere?:

All gods are mutually exclusive

If there is one it'd be rather tautological, mutually exclusive faith claims are mutually exclusive. After all one could believe in Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite together. But as a Christian a core tenet is monotheism, there is only one God. Note also that I have mentioned Islam, a religion which professes belief in the same one God that I do--the God of Abraham. Muslims profess belief in the same God that I do, so this isn't strictly about "which god(s) exist" but rather beliefs more broadly. Though both Christianity and Islam profess belief in the God of Abraham, and though both mention the same figures such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, the particular beliefs of the two religion over, for example, the figure of Jesus are drastically incompatible. After all, in my religion I confess:

"I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God. Begotten, not made. Of one Being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was made incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made human; He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered, was buried, and the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father. From whence He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead. Whose kingdom shall have no end."

… in the absence of empirical evidence.

Note that since God is said to regularly interfere in the workings of the material world (answering prayers, performing miracles, healing, communing with the faithful etc.) then empirical evidence should be easy to come by.
OB

Even presuming regular Divine intervention, how would one identify a healing (for example) as being a work of God, as opposed to simply an unexplained phenomenon or even mundane healing? Even as a Christian I don't believe all the claims of miracles that I hear about via hearsay or out in the aether of the internet.

-CryptoLutheran

Occams Barber · Oct 23, 2018

ViaCrucis said:
If there is one it'd be rather tautological, mutually exclusive faith claims are mutually exclusive.

You are, of course, quite correct. I have erred on the side of sloppy in an attempt to manufacture a memorable maxim.

ViaCrucis said:
Even presuming regular Divine intervention, how would one identify a healing (for example) as being a work of God, as opposed to simply an unexplained phenomenon or even mundane healing?

I'm tempted to run the 'God hates amputees' line but the weather here is far too nice and I'm feeling far too lazy for disputation.
(Spring is sprung. I encountered the first snake-in-my-backyard for the season yesterday. A juvenile Python, Oh Joy!)

OB

Jane_the_Bane · Oct 24, 2018

Occams Barber said:
(Spring is sprung. I encountered the first snake-in-my-backyard for the season yesterday. A juvenile Python, Oh Joy!)
OB

Australia is clearly a continent not meant for human habitation. (Unless you are aboriginal, and thus have adapted to the land over more than thirty thousand years right down to your anatomy.)

Zoii · Oct 24, 2018

I'm more in the basket where some of the bible is unlikely or conflicting. There are also principles I cannot accept. The obsession that sex is dirty and horribly sinful if it occurs outside of sex - the obsession over homosexuality. The obsession that women are lower class and cannot lead or be a priest.

For me, I do not even think it critical I have to accept that Jesus as the son of God. Maybe that makes me more of a Jew or theist because I do accept that there is a God, just not the type of God that goes around with a shopping list of prayers from people, and then working out which one he will fill.

Occams Barber · Oct 24, 2018

Jane_the_Bane said:
Australia is clearly a continent not meant for human habitation. (Unless you are aboriginal, and thus have adapted to the land over more than thirty thousand years right down to your anatomy.)

Indigenous occupation has now been pushed back to 60,000 years but, unfortunately there is no adaptive immunity to the wildlife. An indigenous ranger was taken by a crocodile a few weeks ago.

If you live in a city the biggest risk is the odd spider or angry possum. In a rural area (like where I live) it's still safe but it's easy to exaggerate the risks.

In the last few weeks:

Several people were injured in a kangaroo attack (no I'm not kidding)
A 14 year old girl had a leg amputated following a shark attack and a 50 year old body surfer was stitched up after bumping into a shark
A 4 metre (13 foot) python was pulled off a 22 month old kid by his grandfather. The only way to shift the python was by stabbing it.
The abovementioned indigenous ranger was killed by a crocodile

It all sounds very melodramatic but, in real terms, we're more likely to be harmed in a car accident than in an encounter with the wildlife.
OB
Edit:
I forgot the tourist/worker on a boat fishing off the far north coast. He was killed by a sea snake caught up in the fishing net.

ViaCrucis · Oct 24, 2018

Completely and unapologetically off topic:

plex-laz1023-there-are-roughly-40-million-kangaroos-worldwide-and-37147052.png

-CryptoLutheran

smaneck · Oct 27, 2018

JohnB445 said:
From my observation, it seems people reject because of a lack of knowledge.

If they read the Bible they will believe, because how on Earth does a book fulfill prophecies consistently and accurately. By chance, like the existence of humans, and a random explosion out of nothing? I don't think so.

I've read the Bible quite thoroughly but I've never found the so-called fulfillment of prophecies all that persuasive. In fact it seems to me that prophecies get twisted to fit their 'fulfillment.' I believed in Jesus because the Person presented to me in the NT was persuasive. It was by that same evidence that I later came to believe in the Bab and Baha'u'llah.

Berl · Oct 31, 2018

RayJeena said:
Over in the General Theology forum, a thread was posted asking the question, "Why do people reject Jesus Christ?".

I thought it would be helpful if this question was also presented in an area of the forum where those who have rejected Jesus (in whatever way that means to them) can actually answer it, given that the original thread is in an area of CF where they can't respond, leaving those who haven't rejected him to only speculate as to why that might happen.

So, for those who would like to weigh in and share, first-hand, the reasons why they reject Jesus Christ, here's your chance to assist in answering that question.

Which Christ ? The one of history born of physical virgin or the birth/awakening of Christ in male and female alike, I no longer except the historical version is factual or the need for it, (Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required) other than typology for the divine nature lying dormant in mans heart until its appointed time to be aroused from the dead, Therefore it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you, from the inside out. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all! The virgin birth takes place in the conscience of man and women to be renewed in our mind.

Jane_the_Bane · Oct 31, 2018

JohnB445 said:
From my observation, it seems people reject because of a lack of knowledge.

Reading the Bible is what caused me to turn away from Christianity, the religion I grew up with. The more I studied it, the clearer it became to me that it is no different from any other supposedly "holy" book.

By chance, like the existence of humans, and a random explosion out of nothing? I don't think so.

Ummm, that lack of knowledge you cited...

dlamberth · Oct 31, 2018

JohnB445 said:
From my observation, it seems people reject because of a lack of knowledge.

I rejected the image of Christ that is ruled by law rather than Love.

jayem · Nov 1, 2018

I don't reject the existence of a Rabbi Yeshua who lived in Palestine during the Roman occupation. He taught a modified version of Judaism, and he had enough charisma to attract a following among the local Jewish population. But his unorthodox teachings got him in trouble with the established religious and civil authorities. And he was executed in the Roman manner by crucifixion. He left no known writings of his own during his lifetime. Everything we know about him was written by others decades after his death. It's possible he could be a composite. But I reject that Jesus (or any others whom he embodies) was in any way supernatural. The virgin birth, the miracles, and the resurrection from the dead are all embellishments fabricated by the gospel writers to make the narrative more compelling. Also, I reject the idea that faith in Jesus results in any kind of eternal life after death. I don't believe in anything supernatural, or that any such afterlife exists for anyone. Though I don't reject all of his moral teachings. Some are still good and valid. Some are not. But there's nothing really that unique about his moral instruction. You can find much the same in the teachings of the Buddha and Socrates. Who lived over 500 and 400 years respectively before Jesus was on the scene.

Jane_the_Bane · Nov 2, 2018

jayem said:
I don't reject the existence of a Rabbi Yeshua who lived in Palestine during the Roman occupation. He taught a modified version of Judaism, and he had enough charisma to attract a following among the local Jewish population. But his unorthodox teachings got him in trouble with the established religious and civil authorities. And he was executed in the Roman manner by crucifixion. He left no known writings of his own during his lifetime. Everything we know about him was written by others decades after his death. It's possible he could be a composite. But I reject that Jesus (or any others whom he embodies) was in any way supernatural. The virgin birth, the miracles, and the resurrection from the dead are all embellishments fabricated by the gospel writers to make the narrative more compelling. Also, I reject the idea that faith in Jesus results in any kind of eternal life after death. I don't believe in anything supernatural, or that any such afterlife exists for anyone. Though I don't reject all of his moral teachings. Some are still good and valid. Some are not. But there's nothing really that unique about his moral instruction. You can find much the same in the teachings of the Buddha and Socrates. Who lived over 500 and 400 years respectively before Jesus was on the scene.

This, basically. To me, "supernatural" is just a word we use to describe natural phenomena we do not understand (yet). At one point, earthquakes, lightning and even monetary inflation were all regarded as inexplicable, supernatural phenomena.
I'm open to the notion that there are still pretty awesome, awe-inspiring phenomena out there that completely elude our grasp, but not that people who thought that the best way to stop a flood or a plague was to sacrifice a goat to a supposedly offended deity had MORE (let alone better) answers than we do now.
And looking at afterlife concepts, I have to say I find them all rather silly, and deeply steeped in almost childish wish fulfillment.

Why do people reject Jesus Christ?

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