JoeBrooklyn
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Ok, good because your previous posts seem to say that. As for minimal amount of contemporary sources of His actions you are correct; but that's where we must introduce the Gospels. I know you want to dismiss them; but a Dean Of Law named Simon Greenleaf wrote something called "The Testimony Of The Four Evangelists". His arguments are still used today in actual case law. The work operates on the idea of The Testimony of the witness is considered to be valid until proven otherwise in a court of law. Therefore; to disprove it you have to disprove the authenticity of the Gospels/manuscripts that still exist. I would recommend that you read a book called "I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist". It's a good read.Ok, Please note, I am not saying Jesus didnt exist, all I am saying is that there is a minimal amount of contemporary sources of his actions. Additionally, there are just as many for the many other Messiahs of the same time (i.e.Simon of Paraea, Simon bar Kokhba, and even the Emperor Vespasian)
My point is, that to assume that the story of Jesus is accurate is quite short sighted imo. Jesus is a conglomeration of many pagan stories, myths, etc... all tied into one in an effort for the Romans to unify a fledgling empire.
I dont know if you have ever read the other gospels, but I would recommend it. They were tossed out until Hippo in 393
Yes, I agree that it is short sighted to just assume that the Jesus story is accurate; but that's where faith comes in. As I got older and was confronted with the types of arguments you have presented I was forced to do what Paul had said in the NT which was prepare to give a reason for your faith. I struggled with many things in the Bible, beginning with alcohol. My Grand Father was an alcoholic and I was raised as a Catholic and told that alcohol was bad. So when I read in the OT that alcohol was good to drink after a meal I was incredulous. A few years later scientists confirmed that some wine helps with digestion. That was just the beginning, after that there were many other things I doubted like the 7 day creation, evolution, as I studied my doubts were resolved, not 100% but then again, what's a 100% in life. I'm looking to buy an apartment building for investment purposes and I'm terrified. I am doing research about each building and I can make an intelligent decision but regardless of how much information I gather I will never be 100% of the outcome of my investment.
I don't know what other gospels you are referring to but if they are the ones I think you are referring to they were not tossed out at Hippo but in Nicea. Further, the doctrines laid forth in Hippo, in my opinion was the Proto-Catholic Church. I was raised Catholic but left when I was 15 and became a Baptist simply by redaing the Bible. So if you expect me to defend the Catholics you have reached a dead end.