Okay. But all the pastors I ever listened to in church, whom preached behind the pulpit, as well as apologists, like WLC for instance, attempt to demonstrate a physical resurrection. Which makes sense. Why? You have verses in the Bible which lead readers to conclude the resurrection was an actual physical event.
Quite frankly, even as a current non-believer to the claim, I find it a difficult pill to swallow, to 'assume' that the 'resurrection' was nothing more than a metaphorical claim.
Nobody is "assuming" anything about the resurrection. Everybody comes to their own conclusions after thoughtful contemplation. A Christian who is able to believe the resurrection was a physical one is no more Christian than a Christian who is unable to. Believing in a physical resurrection is not what defines Christianity.
And no, I myself would not be interested in researching the claims of "Bishop Shelby Spong." Why? Because I do not accept/believe the claim, either way -- (actual or 'symbolic').
And I myself do not believe the moon is made of cheese, but you asked me how I could go about making myself believe if I
wanted to. Therefore your argument is not that you do not accept/believe the claim, it's that you do not
want to accept/believe the claim. You keep requesting claims to follow but when given specific resources, you say no thank you?
But you did not address my point.... Your aforementioned documents make no assertions of a supernatural being. But the Bible does. Hence, to mention them, in the same 'category' as the Bible, seems quite a bit askew....
Two of the greatest 20th-century archaeologists, William F. Albright and Nelson Glueck, both lauded the Bible (even though they were non-Christian and secular in their training and personal beliefs) as being the
single most accurate source document from history. Over and over again, the Bible has been found to be accurate in its places, dates, and records of events. No other religious document comes close (
1). So yes, I consider the Bible fitting as a historical document, even more so than the aforementioned documents.
Depends upon your standards...? As stated prior, corroborated eyewitness attestation might be the only way to account for a one-time past event? And since it seems clear that we may not have as such, it would be somewhat illogical to outright believe the claim anyways?
Once again, the purpose of the gospel accounts is not to ensure people
believe the correct claims. They are about moving people to realize the fullness of their humanity. Why do you think Jesus always taught in parables? He was absolutely unconcerned about how religiously correct people were. What he actually cared about was how people practiced humanity by loving one another (Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself.") The Bible, although historically accurate, is more so a moral story.
- Please give me your definition of 'faith'? And why is faith a 'good' method for believing in such a claim, in spite of an apparent lack in evidence?
- (Paraphrasing)... When Christians use the eyewitness defense, and once this does not go their way, they often turn to 'martyrdom' as their next viable defense Not you, per say...
I've given you my definition of faith multiple times now. Per my last post,
"Faith is the process of creating those opportunities." Per post #712
Faith is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Per post #679
Faith is how you choose to see the world, which affects how you live in the world and this is a continual process.
Faith is a practice, and everybody believes in something. What you believe affects the way you live, and if believing in Jesus can make you a better, more hopeful, generous, forgiving person, why is faith not a good method of living one's life?
Also, still not sure what point you are trying to make. The eyewitness defense and martyrdom defense are essentially the same thing? People who witnessed the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus ultimately had a change of heart because of his martyrdom.
Sure you do. What if the author(s) had an agenda, unbeknownst to you? Of course you can read what the text says, and infer that the writer is trying to persuade a specific conclusion. However, you do not know who wrote it, what was their source(s), and why? All we have are later copies of copies. Which the first full manuscripts started cropping up somewhere around ~200-300 years or so later.
Many authors prefer to write under pseudonyms. Knowing a writer's biography is unnecessary to dissect the grounds of their work. Does it matter if the epistles were actually
not written by a man named Paul? It doesn't change anything. The letters say what they say.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
I'm curious to see how you spin this verse? Looks as though the assertion here is clear... Baptism gets one closer, or further away from, God's sanctioned condemnation. Thus, it would appear that a person, whom is baptized, is more-so on the path of salvation, verses one whom is not baptized...
Baptism is a proclamation of one's faith, a declaration of one's salvation, not a
means by which you reach salvation. It's comparable to marriage. You get married to
proclaim/declare you love someone, but not being married does little to change how much or how little you love someone. That's why it doesn't say "whoever is not baptized will be condemned".
Disagree. If you do not know of Jesus, what He supposedly did for us, and proclaim to be a follower of Him, you are likely not granted into His Kingdom. These are (some) of the 'right' things... And yet, in the same Book, He seems to have placed events in there, for which we are to dismiss as metaphorical, event though God references such assertions as much so as others?
Jesus says not all those who say "Lord Lord" can enter into the Kingdom, but only the one who does the
will of the Father. What is the will of the father? (Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself.") In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus explains that a Samaritan man (who was, surprise, a nonbeliever) is more in God's favor than the priest because of his kindness and mercy, not because of his correct ideologies.
Disagree. Have you ever heard of John 3:16-18? Seems as though anyone whom does not accept Jesus's free gift, is deemed condemned. The Jews do not view Jesus as the Messiah. Believing correctly is of the absolute most important, according to the provided verses.
What does it mean to "believe in the son"? I will give you a hint... it is not about believing the correct facts about a man named Jesus. What was Jesus' purpose in the world? If what matters most to God is that we all believe the right things, then I'm afraid Jesus has failed.
Well then, when you get to the part in the Bible, about the 'empty tomb', how do you spin that exactly? Was the tomb 'metaphorically' empty?
Just to be clear.... I
do believe in a bodily resurrection of Christ because I do believe in an afterlife, and I do believe that one day we will all be resurrected and live together with Christ. My point is that there exists Christians who do
not believe in a bodily resurrection. If you see an empty grave your first thought is not that the person has resurrected from the dead, your first thought is somebody must have moved the body. So there is really nothing to spin.
Right here...
Post #778"Original manuscripts were written over a span of 1500 years by a number of different authors, yet there is enough consistency to call it one book."
Furthermore....
Post #790 "The Gospels are eye-witness attestations to such said miracles but for some reason they are unacceptable forms of evidence to you."
Again...
We don't have the original manuscripts for the NT. Hence, we hardly have what would be considered eyewitness attestations with corroboration. We only have copies of copies.
Furthermore, you have already reconciled that a flood and a creation myth are likely false.... Hence, the OT is of little relevance either. Even if we have the originals...
We do not have to have the actual original manuscripts to know when they were originally written. You are right that you cannot prove the gospels are eye-witness accounts. But you also cannot prove they are not, as you have stated.. we do not know who wrote them.
Once again, the point of both the NT and OT is not to convince you something did or did not happen. The point of the creation myth is not to convince you God actually created the world in seven days. The point of the flood narrative is not to convince you there was a boat with every animal. They were written to
counter already existing creation/flood myths in
other religions. The point was to reveal something
new and
different about the Hebrew God.
I honestly cannot fathom how you are attempting to correlate Christianity to Hinduism? I'm still baffled? See below....
AT BEST, all you will demonstrate here, is that there exists as much confusion in other religions, as with your own
Christianity vs Hinduism - Difference and Comparison | Diffen
The devil is the divider, whose name literally means "the one who divides". I do not surrender to his lies that human beings are disparate. I focus on what unites us and connects us, not what separates us.
Take humans away, and the universe still functions all-the-same. And sense it would appear that only sentient agents have the ability to feel emotion, which includes love, this would mean that if the human race were to disappear, the universe would not change. Hence, I doubt " 'love' is the most power force in the universe"
Why do you need to eradicate the human race in order to counter my statement? The Goldilocks principle proves that human beings evolved as
part of the universe, not some separate entity that just happens to be here. Human beings exist as part of the universe, and a universe exists inside every human being, the two are interconnected.
You continue to miss the point of my very directed responses. Let me rephrase a bit...
- Again, we likely have less free will than we think.
- [You] mentioned free will, not me. I merely pointed out that going to an ice cream parlor likely demonstrates a little more freedom or 'free will', than the likes of taxes, the criminal justice system, or even Christianity.
- Mentioning 'free will', in line with Christianity, is arbitrary. Why? God already knows all your choices. Hence, it would be like you watching a sports re-run. Sure, these agents have 'free will', per say, but you already know what they will choose. But more importantly, this God states that ALL will ultimately come to Him, in the end. Hence, all your wrong prior choices act as nothing more than a delay to the inevitable.
But to address [your] concern, the concept of 'free will' exists upon it's own endeavor. Meaning, if 'free will' involves the ability to make a choice, without fear of constraint, then I guess humans possess some 'free will', at some times...? And yes, when you die, that is likely it.
I think you are confusing foreknowledge with determinism. God knows what choices you will make but
you make the choice. God looks at our decisions outside of time. We know what's happened in the past, yet it doesn't mean that people back then did not act freely. More importantly, God states ALL ultimately die. Hence, why aren't all of our right/wrong choices anything more than to delay the inevitable outcome? Why bother wearing a seat belt if
we all die anyway?
It seems that maybe you are 're-purposing' God's assertion? The point of the Commandment, is to reserve an entire day to worship Him. This really has little/nothing to do with less human struggle?
The Bible literally defines the Sabbath day as the "day of rest", in connection to how God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh. It mentions nothing about worshiping God.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places."
As I've told you, more than once, we can choose or attempt to protect a current belief. But sometimes, new information is given to us, regardless. And if this new information is comprehended, then you may have NO choice but to alter your current belief.
My entire point is that you cannot merely will a belief change. And yet, it seems as though, if many Christians are correct, God's decree for salvation rests solely upon an attribute that humans cannot control - (belief). ---- For many atheists, they have explored all claims from Christians, and render these claims insufficient.
For atheists, I think a better word for belief would be 'trust'. Often we imagine faith and belief to look like security in your ideologies--- but that's not how Jesus defines it. Jesus told two different women "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." If faith really meant believing correctly, then these stories should reveal women who demonstrate perfect knowledge of God, but that's not what we find. Instead, we read about women acting brazen and bold, women who
trusted that transformation was possible.
Going back to your favorite moon-made-of-cheese analogy,
faith does not begin the moment I believe the moon is made of cheese. Faith begins the moment I commit to believing change is possible. Attempting to protect a current belief is a
lack of faith, a lack of trust-- meaning no amount of new information can successfully change your mind until you adopt faith/trust
first.