|
1. Do we know that Jesus actually claimed to be the Son of God? Yes the Gospels mention this in places. Many times it is others that say this (ie the Roman soldier --played by John Wayne in The Robe-- at the end of the crucifixion) and you have to remember that the Gospels were written anywhere from 20 to 60 years after his death.
I have to admit that his death for claiming to be the son of god explains a lot though... His silence at his trial for one thing. Any hope of getting off would mean he'd have to keep his yap shut.
2. Why not struggle to keep his message alive? It was a good message. The only difficult part is the ressurection and that had a witness didn't it? It is amazing what you will believe if you want to.
3. Paul. Yes he did transform didn't he... Maybe there is something else we don't know about... i.e. maybe they were making a pretty good living as the disciples of Jesus and Paul wanted in on the action. He saw the Gentiles as a great untapped market and wanted to expand the franchise... Ultimately, when you approach all of this from the point of view that there is no God and Jesus was just a well spoken guy this is all speculation. We just don't know what the truth is...
4. It isn't a lie if you believe in it... If you really believe it is the truth... Millions of Christians can't be wrong... can they?
__________________
"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
|