Why Didn't Jesus Write?

[Divinity]

Depends on what he wrote, I suppose.

I mean he writes "Here's how you cure cancer" and it works, it'd be hard not to find it more trustworthy. He writes "Treat people with love and compassion" and left it at that? Fuck yeah, totally more trustworthy. Maybe he'd explain the whole sacrificing himself to himself to save us all from what he's going to do to us if we don't believe in him. I mean if Jesus were god... why the fuck did he leave it up to his followers to write it for us? I mean one fuck up and everyone goes to hell in this hypothetical.

[Fake Messiah]

Isn't the reason why he didn't write was because (of course if he existed) he was just a guy that was announcing the end of the world? If you read the gospels you can see that he said his vengeful second coming would occur before the death of most the people who were living at that time. It was the basis of a good deal of His "moral" teaching. Like "Take no thought for the morrow," and things of that sort, it was very largely because He thought the second coming was going to be very soon, and that all ordinary mundane affairs did not count.
So why write? Why make anything permanent when all will be destroyed anyway very soon? It's not like it was for generations after them.

But you know how it is with "end of the world stories" they became popular and started spreading and may have died down if there wasn't brutal dictator and Roman emperor Constantine, who who used Christianity for his own self-aggrandizing means.

You must understand that the ruling class saw Roman Empire in 300s as a mess: there were too many people following too many religions speaking too many languages. Culturally, politically, religiously and in every other way, hardly anything brought unity to the empire. The confusion was so intense that it was not unusual for multiple people to claim the title of emperor at the same time. Civil wars were a norm. So Constantine decided to use religion so that his citizens became loyal to him. To create myths that will give them a sense of identity with him and each other. Especially since monotheism preached the need for all to worship a single source of authority, so it would be the easiest way to ax multiculturalism in Rome.

[Pat Mustard]

According to the Bible Jesus could write, because he wrote something in the sand at some point.  Then again maybe he couldn't because we don't learn what he wrote, so maybe it was illegible.  They just assumed it was angelic writing, so they were like "He Wrote In The Sand!"

Maybe he was drawing naughty pictures and the bible writers, in a fit of embarrasment, changed the line.

[Crossless2.0]

I mean if Jesus were god... why the fuck did he leave it up to his followers to write it for us?  I mean one fuck up and everyone goes to hell in this hypothetical.

Oh, but they were 'inspired' by the Holy Spirit, or some such twaddle. What could possibly go wrong? Just believe them! 

[AceBoogie]

Even in my era, grade school learnin' was summarized as the 3 'Rs',  readin', ritin', and rithmetic.

Reading and writing, while taught at the same time to our children, are separate skills, and 'back in the day' being able to read was absolutely no guaranty that someone had the ability to write.

In Jesus time, men who could write (who would waste time teaching a girl to write?) made big bucks from their skills.  Then as now, contracts and business needs were pressing, and being able to write stuff down  was a prized ability.


BTW, Jesus probably wasn't a carpenter, the actual words translated to 'carpenter' from the old writings don't really mean 'carpenter'.  The probable true occupation of Jesus was most likely just being someone who worked with his hands.  Like moving stuff around, or a helper to someone with some actual skills, like plumbing, stone work, or even carpentry.

IIRC, the carpenter thing regarding Jesus is more likely a theological assertion being a parallel between working with wood as he worked with people.  Also, there is the obvious tie between carpentry and being crucified on a wooden cross.

So Jesus couldn't write, and he probably wasn't a carpenter.

I suppose if one were to sincerely believe incorrectly either of those false assertions, it could be concluded that individual was not in fact worshipping or believing in The One True Jesus, and was or will be damned to eternal torment upon their death . . .

This is assuming that Jesus was even a real person.

[rado84]

I don't understand why Jesus didn't just write the information himself.

May be he didn't pay his internet bill and for this reason he couldn't write it himself.

[Tonus]

The writing in the sand Jesus is recorded doing by John content   wasn't recorded in the Bible, and I'd wonder if any of the witnesses to it were literate to the extent to be able to discern mere  'doodles' from Jesus noodling out the Pythagorean theorem for example.

Or perhaps he was etching the equivalent of "PHARISEES SUCK LOL" and a stick figure sucking on a huge penis. If you're going to be beaten and crucified, you might at well earn it.

---

I mean he writes "Here's how you cure cancer" and it works, it'd be hard not to find it more trustworthy.

On the other hand, if it was anything like "here's how you cure leprosy" I wouldn't be optimistic.

[vorlon13]

Even in my era, grade school learnin' was summarized as the 3 'Rs',  readin', ritin', and rithmetic.

Reading and writing, while taught at the same time to our children, are separate skills, and 'back in the day' being able to read was absolutely no guaranty that someone had the ability to write.

In Jesus time, men who could write (who would waste time teaching a girl to write?) made big bucks from their skills.  Then as now, contracts and business needs were pressing, and being able to write stuff down  was a prized ability.


BTW, Jesus probably wasn't a carpenter, the actual words translated to 'carpenter' from the old writings don't really mean 'carpenter'.  The probable true occupation of Jesus was most likely just being someone who worked with his hands.  Like moving stuff around, or a helper to someone with some actual skills, like plumbing, stone work, or even carpentry.

IIRC, the carpenter thing regarding Jesus is more likely a theological assertion being a parallel between working with wood as he worked with people.  Also, there is the obvious tie between carpentry and being crucified on a wooden cross.

So Jesus couldn't write, and he probably wasn't a carpenter.

I suppose if one were to sincerely believe incorrectly either of those false assertions, it could be concluded that individual was not in fact worshipping or believing in The One True Jesus, and was or will be damned to eternal torment upon their death . . .

This is assuming that Jesus was even a real person.

Indeed, from our perspective,

-however-

for tuning a reply to a Christer audience, we can throw them a 'bone' so to speak, and let Jesus stand, and note it doesn't help their endless and eternal (and fruitless) quest for proof of their faith either a jot or a tittle because of all the other cock ups, screw ups, folderol, contradictions, errors, and tomfoolery inerrantly recorded in their own Holy Book.

(it's more fun winning this way)

[Minimalist]

That particular passage in "john" is in the pericope adulterae.  It is a much later forgery which does not appear in the earliest copies of the so-called gospel.

That doesn't make it any less legit than the rest of the Gospel!

Actually, it does.  The fact that the passage in question does not appear in either the Codex Vaticanus or the Codex Sinaiticus is definitive evidence that "john" was amended to include that particular bullshit story sometime after 350.  We do not usually get such precise dating for bible bullshit stories which makes the Pericope Adulterae Exhibit "A" for later xtian tampering with their so-called holy horseshit.

---

What scholars point out and which jesus freaks ignore freely is that the various gospel scribblings were written in Greek by well-educated and highly sophisticated Greek speakers living in different places and different times.  The notion that this was some sort of "peasant movement" is preposterous on its face.  Ignorant peasants ekeing out a subsistence living would have had no time for jesus' bullshit.  They'd have been too busy trying not to starve.

To be honest, a group of poor, miserable peasants sounds like the group that a messiah figure would appeal to.

Does it?  Remember what the "jewish" messiah was supposed to do:

The mashiach will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people by bringing us back to Israel and restoring Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5).
He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1).
He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18).
He will restore the religious court system of Israel and establish Jewish law as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15).

"Jesus" like a piss-poor batter went 0 for 4 on those.  But ask yourself the question "cui bono?"  Who benefits?  Certainly not the peasants whose lives would be miserable no matter who was running the show.  No, those "prophesies" benefit the ruling classes and they were the ones with the delusions of glory not the poor bastards with sheep shit between their toes.

One last point, take a look at those conditions above.  At the time that later xtians chose to set their godboy in history ( c 6-36 AD) the Temple was rebuilt and the animal sacrificial system of worship was in full swing. ( #3 )  The gospel accounts insist that the religious court system had been re-established and was operating because the godboy was allegedly tried in front of them.  (#4)

Taken together #'s 1, 3 and 4 suggest they were written during the so-called exile period which in itself is probably just folklore concocted during the Persian period.

So, no.  Jesus was a savior cult god just like all the other savior cult gods being worshiped around the Roman Empire in the first century AD.  He was nothing special and he was no more real than any of the rest of them.

[ukatheist]

If jeebus was son of god, how come he didn't know that the world, in fact, wasn't about to end? Or, did he know but simply lied to attract followers desperate to win god approval before it ended? Liar for daddy?

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