Theories about Jesus?

[Silver]

Nice witch hunt you have going on there, Catty.

[Bad Writer]

How does attempting to point out the supposed assumptions of others at all excuse your own?

[Captain Colostomy]

Either express your thoughts in big boy terms, bottomfeeder, or put a sock in it. You are coming across like an obstinate little cuss...

[Angrboda]

It sounds to me like some people followed a charismatic who made lots of promises, who was then done away with by the authorities of the time for being a bit of an inconvenience.

The followers can't admit they were wrong, so they concoct a cock and bull story to justify their stupid faith in someone who fed them a load of bollocks that they swallowed.

I have seen interviews with survivors of the Waco disaster doing exactly this about David koresh.

When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group That Predicted the Destruction of the World is a classic work of social psychology by Leon Festinger, Henry Riecken, and Stanley Schachter which studied a small UFO cult called the Seekers that believed in an imminent Apocalypse and its coping mechanisms after the event did not occur. Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance can account for the psychological consequences of disconfirmed expectations. One of the first published cases of dissonance was reported in this book.

---

Festinger and his associates read an interesting item in their local newspaper headlined "Prophecy from planet Clarion call to city: flee that flood."

The prophecy came from Dorothy Martin (1900–1992), a Chicago housewife who experimented with automatic writing. (In order to protect her privacy, the study gave her the alias of "Marian Keech" and relocated her group to Michigan.) She had previously been involved with L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics movement, and her cult incorporated ideas from what was to become Scientology.

The group of believers, headed by Keech, had taken strong behavioral steps to indicate their degree of commitment to the belief. They had left jobs, college, and spouses, and had given away money and possessions to prepare for their departure on a flying saucer which was to rescue the group of true believers. She claimed to have received a message from a fictional planet named Clarion. These messages revealed that the world would end in a great flood before dawn on December 21, 1954.

After the failure of the prediction, she left Chicago after being threatened with arrest and involuntary commitment. She later founded the Association of Sananda and Sanat Kumara. Under the name Sister Thedra, she continued to practice channeling and to participate in contactee groups until her death in 1992. The Association is active to this day.

See the book by Leon Festinger for more on this classic study in social psychology.

[Bad Wolf]

Right, give up and ignore your incorrect assumptions. Typical...

So the assumption that all Christians believe Jesus is the son of God and/or God is wrong?
What do you call these people then? How can you be a Christian and not believe this crucial part of the doctrine?
Im asking you because for the entire thread, you have made yourself seem as though you have knowledge that we do not on the subject. Care to share?

[Minimalist]

He was executed by the Romans for being a nuisance.

When the Romans killed someone for being a nuisance they stuck their sorry asses in the arena for the amusement of the mob.

Crucifixion was a somewhat labor intensive operation and only employed on rebels or slaves when they wanted to make a point.

[FifthElement]

How could Jesus have so much pump after 2000 years, unless He indeed rose from the dead. I don't believe anyone has pulled that stunt yet!

How could Aesop's fables have so much pump after 2560 years ?

Well, not as much as Jesus fable, Aesop's stories were not enforced by the sword

[downbeatplumb]

He was executed by the Romans for being a nuisance.

When the Romans killed someone for being a nuisance they stuck their sorry asses in the arena for the amusement of the mob.

Crucifixion was a somewhat labor intensive operation and only employed on rebels or slaves when they wanted to make a point.

I stand corrected.

[catfish]

Right, give up and ignore your incorrect assumptions. Typical...

So the assumption that all Christians believe Jesus is the son of God and/or God is wrong?
What do you call these people then? How can you be a Christian and not believe this crucial part of the doctrine?
Im asking you because for the entire thread, you have made yourself seem as though you have knowledge that we do not on the subject. Care to share?

I thought you had admited to assuming too much so the words above were for the ones who run away when their bare assertions are challenged, sorry if you took it the wrong way.

Regarding your questions:
1. Yes, the assumption is wrong.
2. I usually don't label people, except as idiots and/or crybabies. (and sometimes as dumbasses)
3. How can I not be a Christian? This is the challenge I made towards smax. That "doctrine" is not a requirement. Do you have evidence to convince me that it is?

[Bad Writer]

So the assumption that all Christians believe Jesus is the son of God and/or God is wrong?
What do you call these people then? How can you be a Christian and not believe this crucial part of the doctrine?
Im asking you because for the entire thread, you have made yourself seem as though you have knowledge that we do not on the subject. Care to share?

I thought you had admited to assuming too much so the words above were for the ones who run away when their bare assertions are challenged, sorry if you took it the wrong way.

Regarding your questions:
1. Yes, the assumption is wrong.
2. I usually don't label people, except as idiots and/or crybabies. (and sometimes as dumbasses)
3. How can I not be a Christian? This is the challenge I made towards smax. That "doctrine" is not a requirement. Do you have evidence to convince me that it is?

1. You're obviously ignorant of what Christianity is usually considered to be, or you're being intentionally abrasive.
2. Using ad homs wastes time, but make yourself look like a giant douche for us all. We enjoy it.
3. Why did you challenge smax? He's not going to prove your christianity, and neither am I. Whether or not you're a Christian is up to you. It seems very silly that you even challenged him, and it became something very petty, a fact that many people in this thread pointed out to you.

No one is going to give you evidence to prove that you're a christian, as that's your claim. Shifting the burden of proof isn't taken lightly around here, and you've been here long enough that you should've realized that by now.

Catty, the only thing that I asserted is that Christians use the Bible as their source, but if you don't, then that is your prerogative, and I frankly don't give a damn if you were to call yourself christian, buddhist, or pastafarian. I didn't run away; I walked away from your petty bullshit. If you have a personal beef with me, then you and I can settle that in PM. Lay into me there. Let me know all the reasons why you hate me. I'll be glad to address any concerns you might have.