How did the myth of Jesus' resurrection originate?

[xpastor]

I meant to get back to this post, but some minor surgery intervened.

I hope all is well.

Thanks. It's nothing that's going to kill me.

I once put myself through all the mental contortions you engage in, so I know exactly what you are going to say on any point that calls in question the accuracy of the bible.

There is no 'mental contortion' here. I simply looked up the orginal greek word used in the passage. It has various meaning. I chose the one consistant with the context of the passage in which it was found.

Drich, it's interesting. I explained why my choice of translation (people now living) was correct for the context, but I did not actually use the word context. You used the word but but offered no justification for your chosen translation (race or nation). What you really mean is that you chose race because the other translation would show Jesus making a factual error. We know that the world did not end in his time.

I repeat: a prediction or prophecy is meaningless unless it gives some fairly definite time reference. The span of a generation, 30 years or so, will do. The existence of a national group which is an indeterminate span measured in thousands of years will not. On this matter of prophecy of the end times the church has been barking up the wrong tree for most of its existence. Jesus thought the end would come within his generation. Paul thought that he would be alive when the end came. The lunatic named John who wrote Revelation thought the end would come soon. The Bible ends there, but every generation since has treated these prophecies as though they were a mysterious code pointing to their own time. From Tertullian (late 2nd century) down to Harold Camping (21st century) Christians have claimed that the signs of the end have started to appear in their own generation. There is no reason why the original authors would have written down these prophecies in a mysterious code as it would be meaningless to their contemporaries.

The bible was not written in english, so how foolish is it to only look at the english and take it only at face value?

I was quite aware of the Greek word behind the English quotation I used and of the different meanings it can have.

So why doesn't your understanding work? Because that generation died and Christ did not return. However within the defination of Genea the word can also mean a whole people. Now place that into historical context and the passage still reads true. Which means that any commentary that say the genea means a 'generation' as we understand the word is in error because History does not support this understanding or defination.

My understanding works quite well on the simple assumption that Jesus got it wrong. In fact, he got everything wrong on this subject. There is not going to be a divinely-ordained end of the world —ever. He was a man of his time and place when this apocalyptic view was rife.

Mark 9:1 says the Kingdom of God will come before some of those standing here have died.

The Kingdom came in acts 2 with the our pouring of the Holy Spirit.

No. Remember the chapter breaks in the bible were added much later and are often arbitrary. This has nothing to do with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2. Mark 9:1 refers to the preceding verse (8:38) which tells us: "If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." This is definitely about the Last Judgment when the Son of Man is supposed to appear in the sky as a glorious figure accompanied by angels.

He also tells the disciples, "I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." (Matthew 10:23)

Read the whole chapter. It says nothing about a second comming, Christ at that point in His ministry (Just after anointing the 12 apstoles.)Christ Is not speaking of a second comming He is speaking about the hard times a head as a direct follower/Apstole of Christ.

The coming of the Son of Man refers purely and simply to the supposed Last Judgment. It is very difficult to make sense of this chapter on the assumption that Jesus spoke all the words attributed to him. He is represented as saying to the twelve disciples:

16 Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. 17 Watch out, for there will be those who will arrest you and take you to court, and they will whip you in the synagogues. 18 For my sake you will be brought to trial before rulers and kings, to tell the Good News to them and to the Gentiles. 19 When they bring you to trial, do not worry about what you are going to say or how you will say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. 20 For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 People will hand over their own brothers to be put to death, and fathers will do the same to their children; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. 22 Everyone will hate you because of me. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, run away to another one. I assure you that you will not finish your work in all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Now these things did not in fact happen to the twelve disciples as they went through Israel: being brought to court, people handing over brothers and children to be put to death, etc., etc. There is only one way to make sense of it, which I know you will not accept but here it is for the benefit of the open-minded. Verses 16 - 22 were never spoken by Jesus. They describe what happened to Christians decades later: they were persecuted by the Jews (whip you in the synagogues) and arrested by the Roman authorities. It is a passage to encourage people to hang on in the face of persecution. It got stuck in here and then was followed by what probably are authentic words of Jesus, telling his disciples that the Last Judgment would come before they even had a chance to go through all the towns of Israel.