Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

[Mutty]

http://www.atheists-for-jesus.com/feedback.php

I can see where they are coming from and I can't say I disagree with much of their conclusions.

[mountaingal]

Re: Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

i suspect there are many "christians" who are atheist for jesus. can't remember where i read it, but i hear a lot of established church hierarchy believe in the power of christ's teachings, but deep down don't believe in life after death, which is a core tenet of christianiy.

i consider myself an atheist but culturally i'm a christian.

[Mutty]

Re: Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

Even though I don't believe in the Christian god or any god for that matter, unlike many other atheists, I have never ruled out the possibility that a Jesus, whom the New Testament revolves around, existed. I believe he existed and was nothing than a mere man in first century Palestine, walking the countrysides preaching a more intimate form of Judaism to ignorant country folk who believed Jesus' teachings would precede a new kingdom of god. No Jew in their right mind (at that time) believed him to be anything more than an anointed servant of god who was raised up to do god's bidding.

Once the new Jesus movement left its native borders and moved amongst the Gentle world full of its savior gods and sons of gods along mixed with mystical gnosticism and mystery religions, the new religion had to compete and took on elements found in the wider religions of the region. The person many feel set the groundwork for this transition was Paul and in a few short years (relatively speaking), Jesus went from just a reformer in Judaism to a deity worthy of worship. The progression from mere man to god can be seen in the Gospels which were most likely written by others in the name of Jesus' contemporaries and their alleged companions (Mark) years later in order to make their writings credible a popular custom of the day.

[mountaingal]

Re: Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

all that may be true. in the end, for cultural christians who may be atheists, speaking for myself, whether jesus existed as a man or whether he became more an amalgam of different pagan deities doesnt matter much in the end. the philosophy of christianity taps into universal truths that human beings, regardless of whether you're jew or gentile or pagan or unbeliever (all dem terms ppl love use fi categorize ppl) can respond to. perhaps if i'd grown up in india i'd be an atheist hindu.

mutty, seems to me you are still evolving from your christianity. your enduring uncertainty about whether there is a supreme deity says to me your original faith was very deep. i think you want to believe in a supreme power, maybe not jesus because of the illogic it appears you've found in his history and also in the bible.

[Mutty]

Re: Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body">all that may be true. in the end, for cultural christians who may be atheists, speaking for myself, whether jesus existed as a man or whether he became more an amalgam of different pagan deities doesnt matter much in the end. the philosophy of christianity taps into universal truths that human beings, regardless of whether you're jew or gentile or pagan or unbeliever (all dem terms ppl love use fi categorize ppl) can respond to. perhaps if i'd grown up in india i'd be an atheist hindu.</div></div>

I agree.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">mutty, seems to me you are still evolving from your christianity. your enduring uncertainty about whether there is a supreme deity says to me your original faith was very deep. i think <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">you want to beli</span>eve</span> in a supreme power, maybe not jesus because of the illogic it appears you've found in his history and also in the bible.
</div></div>

Not at all, MG. Not at all. I don't <span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">w</span>ant</span> to believe in anything. What I struggle with, however, is the absolute claim made by some atheists that there is NO possibility of a greater power (definition: god) out there. Do they have all knowledge to know this or not in much the same absolute claim made by the believer that there is one? What I can understand is the more conservative approach that it's possible something or someone might be out there spinning the wheels that by one definition can be called god, but I don't know who or what it is, don't really care to know who or what it is and perhaps it does not really care to interact with me or anyone else and that is fine with me. In other words, I don't have full knowledge to make the claim on either side, however, what is often presented as &quot;god&quot; to me fails to qualify in my mind because they all seem to reek of human invention.

I realize the strict definition of atheism means &quot;absence of belief in any god&quot; and in that sense I would fall under that umbrella as I have no belief in ANY known deity being paraded around as god throughout history. This, however, does not mean my personal rejection excludes the possibility of some &quot;force&quot; out there I know nothing about. In my mind it may, but reality may be a different story and reality could also be there is none. I just don't claim to know hence, agnosticism.

[f0rTyLeGz]

Re: Atheists for Jesus??? Interesting

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mutty</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Even though I don't believe in the Christian god or any god for that matter, unlike many other atheists, I have never ruled out the possibility that a Jesus, whom the New Testament revolves around, existed. I believe he existed and was nothing than a mere man in first century Palestine, walking the countrysides preaching a more intimate form of Judaism to ignorant country folk who believed Jesus' teachings would precede a new kingdom of god. No Jew in their right mind (at that time) believed him to be anything more than an anointed servant of god who was raised up to do god's bidding. </div></div>
I too believe that there was probably a Jesus person, who had traveled and was aware of the Tao... or teachings from the East.

When I say I don't believe in magical beings, I mean a one... or a One god, who is an eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, being. But I do believe that it is probable that there are now, and there have been societies that are far advanced than ours in other solar systems...perhaps in our galaxy, but surely in others. They know or knew more about what is going on here, and what makes the universe tick.

And for sure the highest art form would be to create environments, or situations where intelligent (language speaking) beings would emerge over time. Wouldn't it?