₦airaland Forum

TheArranger:
Yes, they do
https://ffrf.org/legacy/books/lfif/?t=stone

TheArranger:
These people were decades after Jesus.

TheArranger:
No, it wasn't. The 30s CE did not have widespread Christianity. Where is your source on that?

TheArranger:
This is better evidence for Judaism than Christianity, considering they've been persecuted for longer, and even by Christians.

TheArranger:
Also, the followers of David Koresh faced hostility too, because they were certain that he was right. I don't find this to be compelling at all.

ritzyvic1:
I agree with you that a lot of things has changed and the standard of many denominations have been watered down with regards to adherence to teaching of Christ. Yes, it's expected to be so in the last days. All the false prophets and teachers Christ warned his disciples about are currently operating. But the foundation of the Lord still stands sure and Christ still knows those that are His.

Martinez19:
She asked a simple question. Either you have an answer or fvck off. Funny how no single christian is concerned about winning her soul or is soul winning not a serious thing for you guys? Fake ass christian.

NLbully:
Yo nitwit I didn't quote you

Neither did I say am a Christian

Martinez19:
Lol. The artful dodger. Now answer me, are you a christian?

NnennaG6:
No, they don't
http://www.tektonics.org/qt/rezrvw.php

NnennaG6:
And alive during the lifetime of Jesus and/or those who knew him personally and were subjects of the gospel narratives. In other words, contemporary.

NnennaG6:
It was widespread enough that the Jews conspired to kill Christ. And you wouldn’t argue that it grew rapidly over the next few decades despite it being illegal to believe and propagate Christianity, would you?

NnennaG6:
Judaism is mostly true, except one important detail, so I’m with you here. But keep in mind that I’m using that fact as evidence for a particular historical claim, not a religion in general. The point is that millions of people came to believe a remarkable historical claim in a very short time, despite extreme persecution for the very belief in that claim.

NnennaG6:
How much has Branch Davidianism grown since the early 90s? You can’t see how this bolsters my position? You’re making my arguments for me. Persecution against Branch Davidians resulted in exactly what we would expect from a religion based on false claims, and what would have happened to Christianity if Christ hadn’t resurrected. But that kind of persecution did not slow down the growth of Christianity, as it did with the Branch Davidians.

TheArranger:
This wasn't very compelling at all on the issue of why the women went, whether there were two men or one... Luke and John contradict each other on Mary Magdalene and the issue of Jesus's body. They're assuming why the authors left parts out, with no basis that I see— they've got limited ink? Really? They wrote this over the span of years and it's the most important text they had. What's one more year if it got a better, fuller narrative? And there's no evidence that the authors knew they were leaving bits out. I don't find this to be a great answer.

TheArranger:
Prove that. We don't know who the authors were, so where are you getting that?

TheArranger:
As far as I'm aware, no source but the Bible says that the Jews wanted Jesus dead. Got anything there?

TheArranger:
I don't see how this in any way answers my point. Jesus was Jewish. The earliest parts of the New Testament are decades after when he died. So where are you getting that Christianity was widespread by the 30s CE?

TheArranger:
Islam had that too.

TheArranger:
My point that was just because people are persecuted and stay firm doesn't mean that they're correct.

TheArranger:
I've seen this argument for Muhammad, and Islam is a rapidly growing religion in terms of population.

NLbully:
NO

Ihedinobi3:
NnennaG6, excuse my importunity. I did not realize that you are a Christian. Was your thread about the existence of God supposed to be a Christian argument? I thought that perhaps you were making an argument for a new or strange mix of deism and theism.

NnennaG6:
Multiple contemporary accounts are good enough for me, and any historian.

NnennaG6:
Yes, it was

XxSabrinaxX:
Hope I'm not interrupting, Nnenna. But i think you should be careful since the above isn't quite true.
Multiple accounts shouldn't just be contemporary but independent and with that there's still some skepticism. After all, if a dozen of my friends saw a UFO then we're contemporary but not independent. However, if many random people saw the same UFO, it doesn't mean it's true either if you only have eyewitness reports. You'd treat it with a grain of salt where plausible things could be recorded as historical but implausible things wouldn't be... not without additional hard evidence.

Ihedinobi3:
I see. I almost commented because I thought that it might be coming from a flawed Christian perspective but I figured that I was assuming too much, so I refrained.

I admire your effort to be gentle and reasonable in your conversations. But it is my opinion that if a Christian wades into the madness that is philosophical debate, they should do their best to understand the Bible first so that they don't shoot themselves in the foot. I encourage you to consider that approach as well, if I may be so bold.

TheArranger:
Oh, thanks. Mind if I ask— last I read, I'm pretty confident Matthew and Luke borrow from Mark, but do we know how much?

NnennaG6:
Thank you

solite3:
You should believe in Jesus because he offers you salvation free. .

HappyPagan:
Not all free things are useful. And salvation isn't free, it comes at a cost -- your mind.

Your mind is substituted for Christ's, your thinking, attitude, behavior. A new 'you' fashioned in Christ's image.

I don't need salvation.... I fail to see salvation on a cross hanging a dead Jew. Only faith (complete rejection of reality) could make one believe such nonsense.

Martinez19:

XxSabrinaxX:
Good luck getting direct answers from users who are polite. Is this not Nairaland? . All you'll get is answers riddled with hostility and ad hominem. Case in point as I'm sure you must have seen by now....


Nairaland will never disappoint

whitebeard:
really
..! It the truth na everybody has different purpose to play in life, the roles of terrorist, pacifist, president, haters, lovers, joy bringers, the Christians..we all have roles to place and it boils down to our choices..!

tyup:
You can believe what you want ion think anyone is forcing you to Christianity here

NnennaG6:
Its hard for a christian to convert an atheist and vice versa. But sometimes i just love to challenge their ideas

TheArranger:
Oh, thanks. Mind if I ask— last I read, I'm pretty confident Matthew and Luke borrow from Mark, but do we know how much?

XxSabrinaxX:
I've got it now .
Composition of Mark:

Unique to Mark: 3%

Shared between just Mark and Luke: 3%

Shared between just Mark and Matthew: 18%

Shared between all three: 76%

Composition of Matthew:

Unique: 20%

Matthew and Luke: 24%

Matthew and Mark: 10%

All three: 46%

Composition of Luke:

Unique: 35%

Luke and Mark: 1%

Luke and Matthew: 23%

All three: 41%
Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel#/media/File%3ARelationship_between_synoptic_gospels-en.svg
You should make a topic out of this

MhizAngel99:
Why not Islam? Hinduism? Why shouldn't I be a Mormon? Or a Buddhist? Or a Judaist? What convincing evidence is there for Christianity that overwhelms every other religion out there? This is a genuine question. Why should I believe in Christianity?

TATIME:
Because every other religion is about a God that's INVISIBLE and the one representing this God will just say so much but unable to lay unforgettable precedence for followers to emulate!

TheArranger:
Thanks. Although, given the current state of my argument against NnennaG6, I'm afraid I wouldn't do very well here

XxSabrinaxX:
Do it for the lurkers
Edit: Mind if step in for you against NnennaG6?

TheArranger:
Sure. You can step in if you like. As for creating a topic, I'm not educated enough for that, I think. Most of my research so far is OT, and if I can't even convince the one theist I'm debating now, what hope do I have for others?