Who's Your Historical Hero?

[cartridge]

1) Jesus (the most influencial person ever to have lived--the Lord and Saviour. Also, He is not only an "historical" hero, but a present day one as well.)

~Grace~

Also, He is not only an "historical" hero, but a present day one as well.

Prove it using reliable well documanted sources from contempories and from respected historians. I dunno maybe A.J.P. Taylor has writen a piece on Jesus, but I doubt it.

There is no evidence to suggest that jesus even existed, after all the stories about jesus were actually written years after his suppsed death. Any credible historian would instantly dismiss most of the stories of jesus.

 

[the_cheat]

Yes! I wish I could have said it that well!

I would also include:

William Tyndale
Olga of Kiev (St.Olga)
James Ellison (Revolutionary War fighter on the Virginia frontier, and Baptist preacher)
Mad Anne Bailey (another heroic early Virginian)

(Later on tonight I will probably think of others I should have posted.)

Olga rocks my socks. She was one bad mutha.

 

[pegatha]

Olga rocks my socks. She was one bad mutha.

Awesome! I almost never meet anyone who's even heard of her!

 

[the_cheat]

Which is sad, because she's one of the most intersting historical figures. All the more so for the fact that she was a chick, and still kicked everyone else around the block.

 

[pegatha]

There is no evidence to suggest that jesus even existed, after all the stories about jesus were actually written years after his suppsed death. Any credible historian would instantly dismiss most of the stories of jesus.

If you're interested in knowing more about the historicity of the New Testament, you should get hold of a book called Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh MacDowell. I'm also wondering if you know of any specific credentialed historian who rejects the idea that Jesus existed. As I understand it, the debate in secular academia isn't whether He existed or not, but the details surrounding His life, death, & teachings.

Edited to add: On second thought, this would be a more appropriate subject for a thread in the Apologetics section. If you decide to start one there, let me know.

 

[cartridge]

If you're interested in knowing more about the historicity of the New Testament, you should get hold of a book called Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh MacDowell. I'm also wondering if you know of any specific credentialed historian who rejects the idea that Jesus existed. As I understand it, the debate in secular academia isn't whether He existed or not, but the details surrounding His life, death, & teachings.

Edited to add: On second thought, this would be a more appropriate subject for a thread in the Apologetics section. If you decide to start one there, let me know.

IO personally dont doubt the existance of an individual or group of individuals who lead a political movement in this time, but the evidence to suggest that he was in any way great is none existant.

 

[American Gopher]

Major General Lewis Wallace: officer in the United States Army during both the Mexican War and the American Civil War, member of the court of inquiry that tried John Wilkes Booth’s accomplices, governor of New Mexico from 1878 to 1881, foreign minister to Turkey from 1881 to 1885, accomplished inventor, and last but certainly not least, author of Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ

 

[Grace_of_God]

"Prove it"

Take a look around you. There are far more Christians than there are atheists! Jesus continues to be a hero in billions of lives. That is all the proof I need.

 

[cartridge]

"Prove it"

Take a look around you. There are far more Christians than there are atheists! Jesus continues to be a hero in billions of lives. That is all the proof I need.

So what? Majority does not suggest superiority, life and the supernatural are not decided by the will of the masses. The majority of people uesed to believe the world was flat, just because lots of people believed it does not make it true.

 

[Grace_of_God]

My point is that Jesus is still a present day hero because He works in the lives of all those who believe. Whether it be 2 billion or 2 hundred, He is still a present day hero.

 

[cartridge]

My point is that Jesus is still a present day hero because He works in the lives of all those who believe. Whether it be 2 billion or 2 hundred, He is still a present day hero.

Ahh so that makes Hitler a hero because Neo-Nazis worship him?

 

[JeffreyLloyd]

Pope John XXVIII
Saint Martin deSales

 

[xMinionX]

The Greek/Spartan Soldiers of Thermopylae. I've always had great admiration for battling against impossible odds, and they exemplify it.

 

[Nessie]

Well, Jesus and all of his apostles, obviously.

Also Davy Crockett, because he died fighting for what he believed.

And all of the reformers/people who took a stand against the church when they felt something was wrong with it (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Anabaptists, etc.), then worked to make it better. If it weren't for those certain people, we all would still be under state religion... not allowed to pick our own denomination.
Minus Henry VIII... he only make a seperate denomination so he could divorce his wife to marry a hotter looking one.

 

[pieman3141]

Jesus. Pretty much the only person I can completely look up to and admire and wish to imitate.

Battle in the face of defeat is a very human thing. Many cultures exemplify this. Vikings (they made it part of their philosophy), Greeks, Romans (that bridge story), Chinese, Japanese, and everybody else.

Jesus also semi-exemplifies this, with His knowledge of His imminent torture and death. So do the Christian martyrs of past and present (note that Christianity doesn't give a specific reward for martyrdom).

 

[~Wisdom Seeker~]

Who's Your Historical Hero?

Eleanor Roosevelt

 

[theologia crucis]

Who's Your Historical Hero?

I've got two:

Lieutenant Commander (later Admiral) John Smith Thach, USN

Quite possibly the greatest tactical mind ever in regards to aerial combat. He invented what he called the "beam defense position", renamed by Lt. Cmdr. James H. Flatley as "the Thach Weave."

Doctor Martin Luther: few Christians have ever understood "Christ and Him crucified" better than him.

 

[pimorton]

The history of the world is far too vast for one to have a single historic hero.
Obviously Jesus Christ is at the top of the list (and I do hope the discussion of Him moves to the Apolegetics forum).
Next, in no particular order:
King David - yes, he was a philanderer and a murderer to name just two of his sins. But he was a repentent philanderer and a repentent murderer - more than one could say for some other names mentioned in this thread.
Thomas Jefferson - author of the Declaration of Independence, author of the Virginia Bill of Religious Freedom, founder of the University of Virginia (those three he requested be listed on his tombstone, but not the fact he was the third President of the United States, opened up the American West for expansion through the Louisana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark expedition, etc.) He was an architect, inventor, and scientist.
Ronald Reagan - not everyone agreed with his politics, but he was just what America needed at the time he came to office, and he ended the Cold War without making it a hot war.
Thomas Edison
Isaac Newton
John Keats
Julius Caesar
There are many more I could name, and I am sure someone will find something objectionable with each one. That's part of being a hero.

 

[Grace_of_God]

"Ahh so that makes Hitler a hero because Neo-Nazis worship him?"

That doesn't make him a hero to me, but yes he is viewed as a hero by some. Jesus is MY hero and that of COUNTLESS others. You don't have to agree. But you aren't going to change OUR opinions no matter how hard you try.

 

[cartridge]

"Ahh so that makes Hitler a hero because Neo-Nazis worship him?"

That doesn't make him a hero to me, but yes he is viewed as a hero by some. Jesus is MY hero and that of COUNTLESS others. You don't have to agree. But you aren't going to change OUR opinions no matter how hard you try.

Alright, I can accept that, however Jesus is not a historical figure in the same sense as say Nelson or Washington, Jesus would come under classic civilisations, or ancients civilisations. History as a subject is usually only studied up to end of the dark ages, before then its a different subject.