RE: I still don't understand why anyone would make up a person like the Biblical Christ..
August 9, 2011 at 12:01 am
(August 8, 2011 at 3:43 pm)Rhythm Wrote:(August 8, 2011 at 3:33 pm)coffeeveritas Wrote: Everything we believe about the early church tells us.....(editing mine and bolded)
Yes that is a good point to bring up, history itself is a biased science. Also the our historical data is very incomplete, which means that researchers have to fill in a lot of holes. Which is why you have such wide variances in historical discussions. The best we can offer is the general consensus of historical scholars both Christian and secular, which for some issues is actually the same. So, unless you take the very postmodern perspective that we can know nothing of history, you are left with the facts of history as we know them to the best of our knowledge.
So, secular and Christian sources would say that Greco-Roman culture was heavily shaped by the honor/shame dynamics and being a Christian would have been dishonorable in both Jewish and Roman society. This resulted in the disciples being ostracized from their own people and society at large. Also the only records we have of the original twelve indicate that they were itinerant teachers who were ultimately executed (except for John, and I am keeping in mind that the accounts of some disciples' deaths are somewhat dubious). Basically the disciples were put in a socially undesirable situation by what they taught, and there is no evidence that it benefited them.
As for the scamming televangelists and million pastors, I apologize. That is the complete opposite of the message of the Gospel. Christians should be helping others and enjoying the simple things in life, not scamming people for money. There are much more beautiful and grand things in our universe than just trying to run people over to get cash. These people are just using Christian words while they do whatever they want.
Keep in mind though, there was nothing advantageous about being a Christian until Constantine.
