RE: What were Jesus and early Christians like?
March 4, 2015 at 1:53 pm
(This post was last modified: March 4, 2015 at 2:03 pm by watchamadoodle.)
(March 4, 2015 at 1:31 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote:Don't forget that Christians are capable of amazing mental contortions and cognitive dissonance. (I know that from personal experience.(March 4, 2015 at 9:55 am)watchamadoodle Wrote: Most Christians might accept that the miracles are myths.
Many Christians might accept that the resurrection of Jesus was not physical but only spiritual
Huh? I would think the divinity of Jesus would be an essential component to Christianity.
Paul wrote in what is now canonized in the NT that "without a physical resurrection our faith is in vein" or words to that effect. I'm going to search when I have time...
A Christian who believes in the teachings of Jesus but rejects the supernatural (which to me makes no sense considering that most of his teachings were about the afterlife) is an "Atheist Christian".
![Smile Smile](https://atheistforums.org/images/smilies/smile.gif)
As long as Jesus existed and was crucified, then I think that is sufficient. Christians can believe that the crucifixion of Jesus somehow opened the door to God's mercy without the miracles and the physical resurrection IMO. I don't think the Nicene Creed claims miracles or a physical resurrection. Remember, many Christians have their born again experiences, their speaking in tongues, their answered prayers, etc.
EDIT: Probably even proving the mythical Jesus hypothesis wouldn't kill Christianity. Christianity would focus more on the rituals and the spiritual experiences. So maybe I'm wrong, and it really doesn't matter...