The definition of a christian

[gsj68]

I can only speak for myself, but what if someone told you all your loved ones are full of crap liars? If someone wanted to know my opinion it would not start as an insult.
Whether Jesus was god, the son of god, or anything other than a regular human can easily be debated, but saying Jesus did not exist is simply ignoring the facts.

sorry,now i admit not to being interested in religion but i do like my history but 2000 years ago is just too recent,everything is well documented so i like to go farther and when you do you start finding this type of stuff
http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-c...re-date-jesus/

and then you add that theres only a couple of the period non biblical references to a christ,a common word then,and what conclusion should i make?

[37jetson]

thats my 100% honest belief,why do christians/religion take so much offence to non-believers?

why did you think it was "challenge"?

Many Christians can handle the non belief just fine, but when directly attacked/mocked for their beliefs they often respond in kind.

[gsj68]

Many Christians can handle the non belief just fine, but when directly attacked/mocked for their beliefs they often respond in kind.

if stating facts is considered mocking/attacking then they have bigger problems than me

the truth is from the creation stories to monotheism to jesus there are much earlier stories that match almost exactly,the bible is nothing more then rehashing older stories with of the period names added in

im just following where the facts lead me

[shrewsbury]

sorry,now i admit not to being interested in religion but i do like my history but 2000 years ago is just too recent,everything is well documented so i like to go farther and when you do you start finding this type of stuff
http://listverse.com/2009/04/13/10-c...re-date-jesus/

and then you add that theres only a couple of the period non biblical references to a christ,a common word then,and what conclusion should i make?

There are fragments of the new testament from 100 and 200 ad. a following grew and exploded in the same time period based on a person they called Jesus.
documentation of a single person that held little political or military importance would be rare to find. only a small group of people were with Jesus, their teacher.
we also know in 64 ad christians are mentioned, in fact Nero blamed them for the fire that consumed Rome, which would date to only a few decades after the death of Jesus.

In my opinion, Jesus' teachings were expanded upon and limited by various groups. because of the vast amount of christians, political influence was inevitable, and more changes were made to Christianity to blend with non christians, politics, and culture for that era.

groups that held certain beliefs more important splintered away and eventually many forms of Christianity arose.

[gsj68]

There are fragments of the new testament from 100 and 200 ad. a following grew and exploded in the same time period based on a person they called Jesus.
documentation of a single person that held little political or military importance would be rare to find. only a small group of people were with Jesus, their teacher.
we also know in 64 ad christians are mentioned, in fact Nero blamed them for the fire that consumed Rome, which would date to only a few decades after the death of Jesus.

In my opinion, Jesus' teachings were expanded upon and limited by various groups. because of the vast amount of christians, political influence was inevitable, and more changes were made to Christianity to blend with non christians, politics, and culture for that era.

groups that held certain beliefs more important splintered away and eventually many forms of Christianity arose.

yes,christ and christians are mentioned,but which ones?

A correspondence of Emperor Hadrian refers to Alexandrian worshippers of Serapis calling themselves Bishops of Christ:
'Egypt, which you commended to me, my dearest Servianus, I have found to be wholly fickle and inconsistent, and continually wafted about by every breath of fame. The worshipers of Serapis (here) are called Christians, and those who are devoted to the god Serapis (I find), call themselves Bishops of Christ.'

Hadrian to Servianus, 134A.D. (Quoted by Giles, ii p86)
In fact, it appears that some followers of Serapis were eventually expelled from Rome when, in 19 AD, Tiberius also expelled the Jews.
Nevertheless, how great confusion between Serapis and Christ could have existed is really somewhat questionable. In 68 AD, a mob of pagans is said to have formed at the Serapis Temple in Alexandria, who then descended on the Christians who were celebrating Easter at Baucalis. There, they sized St. Mark, dragging him through the streets, before throwing him in prison. Clearly those worshippers of Serapis and Christ were aware of each other and the differences within their religions, though perhaps at a later date, some amongst the worshippers of either may have chosen to cover all of their options.
On the other hand, some have pointed out that Chrestus (Christus) was another name for the Egyptian god, Serapis. Chrestus may be translated as "Messiah", though the term need not apply to any specific Messiah, such as Jesus. It therefore could have simply been applied to "Lord Serapis", so that in fact, there was never any connection at all between the early Christians and the worshippers of Serapis.


Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestor...#ixzz3K9mTWpCu

[37jetson]

if stating facts is considered mocking/attacking then they have bigger problems than me

the truth is from the creation stories to monotheism to jesus there are much earlier stories that match almost exactly,the bible is nothing more then rehashing older stories with of the period names added in

im just following where the facts lead me

The "facts" are not going to be agreed upon between Christians and Atheists. The funny thing is that neither side can prove their position conclusively. Discussions about religion around here and other places rarely end in a civil manner so it is mocking/attacking in many cases and very little discussion of "facts".

If somebody wants to worship to the urinal at the local truck stop that is fine with me, but if they want to directly attack me and my beliefs they should not expect me to be nice in their eyes.

[shrewsbury]

[QUOTE]yes,christ and christians are mentioned,but which ones?[QUOTE]

I would suggest a few college based religion courses, research linguistics, and religious experts.

The easiest way to trace the teachings of Jesus is through the new testament age and the church itself.

[gsj68]

[QUOTE=shrewsbury;13636484][QUOTE]yes,christ and christians are mentioned,but which ones?

I would suggest a few college based religion courses, research linguistics, and religious experts.

The easiest way to trace the teachings of Jesus is through the new testament age and the church itself.

thanks but it just doesnt interest me im in to ancient and pre history technology like the minoan water/sewer works that used the vacuum to draw away the gasses and ancient china piping in natural gas stuff like that

[shrewsbury]

thanks but it just doesnt interest me im in to ancient and pre history technology like the minoan water/sewer works that used the vacuum to draw away the gasses and ancient china piping in natural gas stuff like that

That's cool, I can appreciate and respect that. The ancient world amazes me too.

[GroundSupport]

That's cool, I can appreciate and respect that. The ancient world amazes me too.

There is some real funky stuff when it comes to the ancient world. Ever watch Ancient Aliens? Some of the things done, could never be even duplicated to this day.