I'm sick and tired of this.. please be advised: the following is a rant!

[CoolBoy]

Well, of course christians didn't know/believe that all that was a lie, like you said. They died for what they believed, and that's there business, eh?

The thing to remember is that Jesus had only a small number of followers at that time. A lot more people would have dismissed him as a lunatic than followed him.

My point is that say 1 in 10,000 people would have believed Jesus for example and become a follower. If he met 1,000,000 people then he would get 100 followers.

It's not cos he's special. Its just math and probability.

[Minimalist]

My point is that say 1 in 10,000 people would have believed Jesus for example and become a follower. If he met 1,000,000 people then he would get 100 followers.

All of which assumes that there was any such person.

[Anomalocaris]

My point is that say 1 in 10,000 people would have believed Jesus for example and become a follower. If he met 1,000,000 people then he would get 100 followers.

All of which assumes that there was any such person.

Marshal Applewhite probably met fewer than 0.1% of 1,000,000 people before he found 39 followers who believed in him strongly enough to take their own lives at his prompting. And Jesus and his groupies lived during a time when most people were illiterate, sand uperstition and belief in holymen was far more prevalent.

[thesummerqueen]

This thread got a lot more interesting after a couple glasses of sauvignon blanc.

It's a shame Gilligan doesn't feel the need to defend his position anymore: let's try a comparison with a more recent fellow. George Washington. Lots of people knew him. Lots of people followed him. There's PLENTY of historical evidence about him. He also had a kick ass house.

Then some pastor decides to write a biography of Georgie and fabricates the now oft-repeated tale about the cherry tree and his sainted honesty. Completely made up. About a figure people knew in person and adored, and could have refuted. And what made it into kid's books?

Gilligan (if you ever get back on here) did you ever play the telephone game as a child? And did you ever notice in eye witness accounts that two people at the same event can tell vastly different stories? Let's pretend Jesus lived: it would not take a bunch of people witnessing the events described in the later written Bible to make it true. People don't care if it's true. People care about a good story. People WANT something to believe in. It's why Mulder was so identifiable to us. It's why Mr. Wuhl was right in his "Assume the Position" show when he quoted The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." Soon, all people are repeating is the legend, not the fact. Soon, an earthly event becomes an unearthly one and a religion is spawned.

[Spectrum]

This rant reminds of a recent, appealing speech by my teacher (which is rare in an of itself) concerning nature & connections. Towards the end he threw in god and his ever-gleaming majesty, but I suppose it fit considering everyone in there believes in god......right? Nothing sweetens up a prolific speech like good ol' godtalk. I believe I was the only one who didn't nod my head. In all probability I wore a sour look on my pale features instead. He even mixed science with the godtalk -__- These southern, christians are fortunate that I'm so damn tolerant of their.....I don't even know what to call it anymore. Nouns such as negligence and ignorance seem all too meager.