JESUS <3

[Jenny A]

I have another question, since it seems the majority of you don't think Jesus was any type of real person, does it bother you that much of the world uses His (supposed) birth to tell time?

I'm talking about the fact that we're in the year 2015... and anything before that is referred to as Before Christ? (BC)

For better or worse the Christian era is a turning point in Western History.  But you will notice that BCE (before common era) and  CE (common era) or in use among scholars.

[Catholic_Lady]

Thanks for the answers, everyone.

I am curious about something. Do yall have any theories as to who actually began spreading the Christian faith, if not Jesus? And do you believe this happened 2000 years ago?

You'll have to define what you mean by xtianity.

The basic belief that the God of Abraham made Himself man, this Man was named Jesus, He performed miracles, was crucified to save humanity, and rose from the dead.

[Catholic_Lady]

I have another question, since it seems the majority of you don't think Jesus was any type of real person, does it bother you that much of the world uses His (supposed) birth to tell time?

I'm talking about the fact that we're in the year 2015... and anything before that is referred to as Before Christ? (BC)

For better or worse the Christian era is a turning point in Western History.  But you will notice that BCE (before common era) and  CE (common era) or in use among scholars.

Ah I see. Never seen it before.

This next question is going to sound like I'm trying to convince you of something, but I promise I am not lol: How do you feel about a new religion spreading so quickly that it actually created a "turning point" in History? So much so that we use it to tell time? Do you think that's odd, or perfectly reasonable?

[Simon Moon]

I think that a historical person that the Jesus character in the Bible is based on, probably did exist. 

There were no shortage of itinerant Jewish apocalyptic preachers around at the time and place that the stories allegedly took place. The existence of one of these could have really easily had supernatural legend grow around him. To the people of  the time, everything had supernatural significance. 

Although, I don't think his historical existence is as much of a slam dunk as most Christians believe it is.

I will add, that the existence of a historical Jesus does not add a bit of evidence for any of the  alleged supernatural claims attributed to him.

[Minimalist]

You'll have to define what you mean by xtianity.

The basic belief that the God of Abraham made Himself man, this Man was named Jesus, He performed miracles, was crucified to save humanity, and rose from the dead.

Then the answer to your original question is, at swordpoint, from the late 4th century on.

[Jenny A]

Ah I see. Never seen it before.

This next question is going to sound like I'm trying to convince you of something, but I promise I am not lol: How do you feel about a new religion spreading so quickly that it actually created a "turning point" in History? So much so that we use it to tell time? Do you think that's odd, or perfectly reasonable?

How do you feel about the spread of Islam?  It was a turning point in history and spread even faster than Christianity?

Seriously, take a look at this video and ask yourself if spreading quickly isn't a fairly common thing?  Notice also where Christianity spread, because Jerusalem is not the epicenter one one expect if that's where people really witnessed a resurrection.

http://www.businessinsider.com/map-shows...uffer?r=UK

[Simon Moon]

I have another question, since it seems the majority of you don't think Jesus was any type of real person, does it bother you that much of the world uses His (supposed) birth to tell time?

I'm talking about the fact that we're in the year 2015... and anything before that is referred to as Before Christ? (BC)

Not at all.

The current calendar was not immediately adopted by the western world as many believe.

England and the US did not even adopt it until 1752. Sweden in 1753.  

Most of the rest of Europe adopted it in the 16th century.

Most Protestant countries believed it was a Catholic conspiracy. 


Does it bother you that some of the months of the year are named after Roman gods? 

March = Mars
May = Maia
June = Juno
January = Janus

Or that the days of the week are named after the Norse gods? 

Thursday = Thor
Wednesday = Wotan
Friday = Freria
Saturday = Saturn

[Simon Moon]

For better or worse the Christian era is a turning point in Western History.  But you will notice that BCE (before common era) and  CE (common era) or in use among scholars.

Ah I see. Never seen it before.

This next question is going to sound like I'm trying to convince you of something, but I promise I am not lol: How do you feel about a new religion spreading so quickly that it actually created a "turning point" in History? So much so that we use it to tell time? Do you think that's odd, or perfectly reasonable?

The earliest adopter of the calendar that dates the birth of Jesus as a "turning point" was Venice in 1582.

So, your alleged 'quickly spreading region' was so influential, that it took 1549 years to change the calendar, in commemoration of this momentous event. 


Count me as unimpressed.

[paulpablo]

Worrrrrrd to the heathens!!  

So, do you think Jesus was a real person? I'm not asking if you think Jesus was divine, or if He performed miracles, or if He was crucified, died, and came back.

I'm simply asking if you think there was a man 2000ish years ago named Jesus who brought forth these new "ideas" that we now call Christianity.

 

I tend to think the character of Jesus was based on someone real.

I imagine you take around 1000 people who are a bit of a Charles manson, david Koresh, Jim Jones, Joseph Smith, David blaine type characters. 
 Mix them in a civilization with no internet, not a very good education system, a relatively gullible population.
Then you fast forward 2000 years and just like how evolution works, these groups and religions these people started will have either evolved or been made extinct and you will be left with something that pretty much looks like the biblical writings of Jesus.  A collaboration of exaggerated accounts of what some people were fooled into believing.

Many of Jesus's teachings definitely sound like cult leader rhetoric, give away your possessions, leave your loved ones, leave your homes, follow me.

Many of Jesus's miracles sound within the realms of things so called prophets can do these days.  I mean Jesus isn't flying through the air and punching a dragon to death in the bible, he's doing things that magicians and religious prophets are still faking these days.

He's healing the sick, easily faked, going for long periods without food or water (didn't david blaine do that?) feeding 5000 people with some loafs and turning water into wine.  I mean if you look at the list of what Jesus did it looks less like Hercules and more like a pen and teller show, or David blaine or Derren brown.

And as for some of the more extreme things he did, like coming back from the dead, you can easily put that down to exaggeration and Chinese whispers.

But just to add, I think you did word the question a bit wrong, the guys name wasn't Jesus that's just some translation, Hebrew and Greek combined (something like that) and I doubt that cult leaders were a new idea at the time of Jesus, maybe he could have been a pioneer of peaceful protest and been quite uniquely pacifistic, but I'd say nearly certainly that his ideas weren't entirely new.

But I'd say yes to the bottom line of the question of was there a man who the idea of Jesus in the bible is based on.

[ignoramus]

Cath, are you implying that something divine forced man to reset the year/time?
I don't think you mean that.
This was settled and accomplished after the fact...by humans...