Lord_Vivec posted:The newness or sources of his message are irrelevant to the character himself. Think of it, even if someone else before Jesus had this message, how would Jesus have known? Multiple people can come up with ideas independently of each other.
Wylding posted:Jesus was hardly exemplary. His teachings were ripped off from much richer (spiritually) sources. Hinduism, Buddhism and other eastern traditions, like the various types of yoga, were making their way through trade routes to the middle east. In fact, there are sources that state Jesus went and studied in the far east with the eastern masters. I believe he was called Buddha Issa or referenced in conjunction with Buddha Issa....I forget which. Regardless, his teachings were mediocre in comparison to some of the more advanced spiritual teachings coming out of the east at that time. Hinduism itself dates back around 5000 BCE and it's concepts of Karma are inherent in the bible. One example is "You reap what you sew." This is just a kindergarten version of the concept of Karma. In the Vedas, the Mahabharata, and Ramayana you will find more refined spiritual concepts than Christ could ever (plagiarize) give to his poor masses. Don't get me wrong...to the illiterate, poor, and uneducated masses of the middle east they were truly groundbreaking. However, if these same people had been more educated and more aware of the collective gestalt of their time; I daresay we wouldn't have Christianity now. Exemplary...no...new to that area of the world...perhaps.
Darth_Yuthura posted:Lord_Vivec posted:The newness or sources of his message are irrelevant to the character himself. Think of it, even if someone else before Jesus had this message, how would Jesus have known? Multiple people can come up with ideas independently of each other. There is some validity to what you say, but the problem I have is that if 'Jesus' had taken an already-existent spiritual code and made it his own... where does God come in? It sounds more to me like a con by someone who wanted to be worshipped. Obviously saying you're this ONE GOD would fail to convince anyone, but to say you're the son of this all-mighty being... you don't have to meet the standards needed to prove your true power. If 'Jesus' sought to spread a sense of values and spiritual codes, then why make up something about an all-powerful being who no one can comprehend?
SuperWatto posted:I've figured it out guys. Many of you may already know this but I found it so fascinating I thought I'd share it with you. Sunday School With SuperWatto Abraham is our man. He had two wives, both of whom had kids - Arabs believe they're from one mother (Hagar), Jews believe they're from the other (Sarah); Christians do too but they're not sure about the Arabs and the Jews. God made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants that the land of the Canaanites would be theirs. Now here's the problem: God never told the other people. Not the Canaanites or the Egyptians or the Hittites or the Amorites or the people from Sodom and Gomorra; there's not a hint that God even communicated with them. Which, of course, makes the Abrahamic god a simple tribal god.
Darth_Yuthura posted:Although I don't believe in a God, I do believe their is what would qualify as a 'higher power.' However I believe it's beyond our ability to comprehend.