Why Christianity?

[Randy Carson]

Oh. Sorry...I did respond previously and didn't realize I had left anything important untouched. I will try again.

1. This is an old and not uncommon attack on Christianity. Consequently, a lot of scholarship and research has been put into evaluating the validity of the "copy-cat" accusation. The bottom line is that Christians have nothing to fear from those who claim that the disciples simply borrowed ideas from gods that existed prior to Jesus' day. The fact is that while there are a few parallels here and there, there is no ancient god who provided the prototype for Jesus. In point of fact, the claims of dying and rising gods actually appeared in these other religions AFTER Jesus. Gods who died and rose with the seasons or who continued to live on but in another world, etc. are NOT the same as Jesus who died and physically rose to life again ONCE in this world before ascending to heaven.

2. Now, I am well aware of the fact that you may have read books and/or Internet postings that claim the opposite of this, but as Dr. Yamauchi (a legitimate scholar in this area of specialization) has noted, none of these authors have real academic credentials. There are plenty of good books refuting this nonsense which you can read if you are so inclined.



3. Agreed. That's why I proposed that you start with the largest and work your way down the list till you get to something that makes sense to you.

4. Okay, thanks. What has the FSM actually revealed about itself? I ask because apart from any revelation, the FSM would be a deistic god and not a theistic one because if you don't know that it has interacted with creation, you have to conclude that the silence is intentionally deistic.
It also seems reasonable that if we accept that the FSM exists, then it must have certain characteristics that any religion would ascribe to its god(s), and these would form the basis of some theological doctrines however limited they might be.

5. Believe me, there's not going to be enough substantive material in this forum to keep you occupied. If you're an adult who still laughs at fart jokes, however, you may fit right in.

1. I was not claiming that anyone borrowed anything from anyone. All I was pointing out was that you are wrong when you said no god was ever purported to have resurrected before Jesus. Are you claiming that every single god I mentioned did not supposedly resurrect before Jesus? We can go through each one and see if that is true.

Yes. That is what I am claiming. To the best of my knowledge, there was no God who was a prototype of Jesus who:

1. died and then came back to life in his original body on this earth a few days later
2. died one time
3. died as a sacrifice for others
4. died in a manner that is considered a victory and not mourned by his family and followers

There are other significant differences, but we can discuss them specifically as needed. If you believe that the disciples got all these ideas from pagan gods that were in existence before Jesus, what god(s) do you have in mind?

Taking them one at a time would be best. Who is your first candidate?

2. I don't need to read anything except the list I posted earlier to know that you are an idiot.

Opinions vary, but your view is commonly held by many here, so perhaps there is something to it.

3. Since when did my "sense" make things true?

Your sense doesn't make something true. It either is or isn't apart from your opinion. But when something makes sense, you understand and grasp the truth of it.

4. He has revealed many things to me. Would you like me to list a few?

Thank you for the list you provided earlier. Perhaps we can return to it at some point.

5. I haven't encountered any fart jokes yet, but my eyes are peeled.

Me, either, actually. To be more accurate, I should have said that some members seem to have a scatalogical fixation which directs their choice of words and memes, etc. It's truly juvenile behavior, but one forum member is, or so I have been led to believe, older - so there is the distinct possibility that age and infirmity have affected his judgment.

I hope this satisfies your request for a response to your post. Please advise.