March 23, 2008
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Jesus
If you were Jesus, would you have died for the sins of the whole world or would you just make everyone fend for themselves?
If you were Jesus, would you have died for the sins of the whole world or would you just make everyone fend for themselves?
Comments (147)
I would not have died for everyone’s sins. That is what separates perfect love from the type I demonstrate.
Obvious. Unfortunately.
That’s why only Jesus could do it.
And I’m grateful, in a weird, trying-to-really-get-the-impact-of-it kind of way.
im with stilllooking2find. jesus was god a fallen man couldnt die for our sins
I don’t think I could. :/ xo.
Depends on if I knew I could, you know, wake up three days later.
In that case, sure.
if i was jesus, i would do it, because that was his job. If i was myself in jesus’s place, i don’t think i could.
Being that I am not Jesus, no I would not die for the sins of the world. I might (mind you, I said MIGHT) manage to die for my family but I would never be able to have the courage to do it for the world. Only God´s Son could have done that
Hugs,
Bonnie
I volunteered for the Army. I would have laid my life down for freedom. But, I honestly don’t know if I could do what Jesus did.
Every man/woman for themselves. I’m not Jesus.
Probably the latter, I’m ashamed to say.
@BonnieJene - Never seen you around Dan’s site before, Bonnie! Hi! Happy Easter!
That is a repulsive question. No mere person could do what Jesus did. The whole “if you were Jesus” thing is stupid and irrelevant, no one is Him but Him.
If I was Jesus, I would not have had to die to forgive people. Hell no.
If I was Jesus and knew that with god’s help I could beat down Satan, I would have challenged him to a free-for-all fight in the middle of Jerusalem. Give him two months to allow people from all over the world to come (Basically, Europe, considering the time period) and use all the money from ticket sales to go towards Charity (Leper houses? I don’t know, something).
Once that was over with, I would go around and heal people and do all of those nice, awesome things that Jesus did.
I mean, seriously. Why did Jesus have to die? Because he told everyone around him that god told him that he had to?
Hi, this is kind of a weird question which can’t really be answered, cause we don’t even think the same way Jesus does because our minds are so warped by sin.
so saying “if you were Jesus” is impossible for us to truly understand.
Of course not. That is why Jesus was God. God is the only one who could do it.
But let’s say it was just me, ordinary 16 year old boy. I would do it, if it was either death or life in prison (I’m just assuming that would be my choices). And guess what? If I did that, told everyone that god told me that it was my duty to die for everyone else, one of two things would happen: either no one would care, or everyone would laud me as the savior.
And you know what? That’s exactly what happened in that time period. There were a thousand men who died and were forgotten, and there was one people called Jesus who was lauded as the savior.
There’s an awful lot of sin to die for these days. Probably. I’m pretty altruistic.
Though I’d like to skip the nails through the hands on the cross bit. A nice bullet to the head, or some hanging will do.
It would have been impossible form me to die for the sins of the world as I’m a sinner myself! You can’t pay a debt when you are in debt yourself.
i agree with stilllooking2find…unfortunately i think i would be too much of a coward to do that…especially when you think about how many people hated Jesus, yet he loved them enough to die for them…thats neverending love
Honestly, only Jesus can do that. We can’t. We don’t understand what its like.
if i was jesus,the hardest thing to do is let things happen , itwould be easy to die , beause your born again in hevan , but the hardest thing for me to live with is the everyday scenario.
Well… if I were Jesus… I’d be JESUS so I’d die…
I’d just do a reboot.
And boot satan out of here.
Sheesh.
Jesus didn’t have a choice.
This is a crazy question. It immediately leads onto the bullshit of “original sin”.
saving the world=awesome.
i’m agnostic though, so i’d at least try…i mean he came back to life and partied it up after a few days.
I’m a Jew so I can’t really go there.
If I were offered death in the fashion he was given, I can guarantee that’d be a no.
Most likely – and honestly?
Option B
I’m with DMV.
I dont know. I suppose so…
I’d continue on just like I am and expect all to fend for themselves….just like I do.
I don’t think he had a choice… right?
But if it came down to it, I would- No doubt about it-
Well – it depends on what exactly you are asking. If you are asking me as if I was the person of Jesus (body, mind, and spirit) then of course I would. Why wouldn’t I?
However, the question could also be interpreted as “if you (as yourself) had the opportunity to do what Jesus did, would you?” In that case, no. What can I say? I’m a selfish bitch.
I’m torn on an answer, honestly. On the one hand, no… the person I am does not love the way God does. If, my ‘being Jesus’ meant I was perfect as He is and loved perfectly as He does, then my answer would undoubtedly change to reflect that.
@Drakonskyr - If I understand your meaning, you raise an interesting point. If “you being Jesus” means we were perfect as He is, then the question changes vastly in scope. It certainly affects the way one answers the question.
I’m too much like Simon Peter.
Thankfully, I will likely never have to make that decision. Jesus already died for everyone, and that is a beautiful, if tragic thing.
I know that I don’t possess the strength and great love that Jesus had in order to do what He did for us.
@Eternalimplosion - I wasn’t thinking “If I were Jesus” when I answered, I was thinking “If I were in Jesus’ place”. I’m assuming that was the spirit of the question. I’m assuming that anyone who answers “No, I couldn’t” also means that. I understand what you’re saying, but please, I don’t think anyone means any harm. We don’t really think we could be Jesus. We know better. Anyone should.
ryc: I think the zombie reference comes from the fact that Christ rose from the dead, much like a zombie. The comcis and jokes on this matter aren’t new, I’ve just seen so much of them this past week that it finaly just got to me.
If the first option made any goddamn sense, maybe.
No. God only intended for Jesus to die for our sins, no one else.
@ryoma136 - To prove how much God loved us.
Of course I wouldn’t die so that I could forgive people of the things that I said weren’t right to do in the first place.
That’s what the Jesus myth is in essence.
Well, considering I’m a sinner, -like everyone else- I would probably have backed down. I mean, I don’t have the heart full of love that Christ has. And I’m not perfect, I couldn’t have taken the world’s sins upon myself.
That’s why Christ did it for me, and for you.
The irony of that question is that most people don’t really believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, he only died for those who 1) believe in him; 2) are born again; 3) don’t follow that apostate Pope; 4) aren’t homosexual; 5) are some of the elect; and/or 6) don’t go to that evil church down the street.
Their beliefs are that if you’re not one of us, you’re fending for yourself.
Dan, Dan, Dan…
I like the responses you’re getting.
If I was Jesus, I would just do away with all that and give everyone a get out of jail free card – except for the ones who refused to change their evil ways. They would have to burn eternally in the lake of fire with Satan who I would just tell to go to hell. Then I would make peace on earth for everyone.
I’d also wipe out suffering, hunger, and disease…and hurricanes.
and traffic…
and pollution…
and I’d explain evolution so everyone would stop arguing about it…and abortion…and…I’d declare myself king over everything so we wouldn’t have to worry about any more presidential elections…
and instantly put everyone together with their soul mate so they would have to look so hard. Hm…Oh and I’d make everyone stop aging at around age 20 and never die…
I’m not sure how I would solve the population problem that this would cause, but then, I’m not Jesus.
I’m sure He would know…for sure.
If I were Jesus I’d be an atheist and recognize myself to be no more than a charismatic religious leader and philosopher.
@Ancient_Scribe - What about the other men who were just like Jesus who died? What have they gotten? How is Jesus better than nay of the other “Heretics” of the time?
@bigd8622 - Jesus was a man and God’s only son, who died for our sins
No, I would not have done that. This is why God sent Jesus to do this mission. It was beyond any man’s ability.
I wouldn’t, which is why I’m not the Savior of the world. Thank God Jesus did it, because otherwise we’d be doomed….
@ryoma136 - There was no other man like Jesus, because He was the Son of God. This claim made a lot of people angry! I also think that one of the reasons so many people hated Him and eventually had Him crucified was because He spoke the truth about many things, and the truth upset people. The idea that the whole world could be God’s chosen people, or that He was the Messiah but wasn’t about to stage a rebellion against the occupying Romans but wanted instead for the people to pray for them and love them REALLY put people off.
If there were other men like Jesus, good and holy men telling people about God and who were killed for it, well, then they probably received God’s love and mercy! Like Jesus told His followers when they became concerned about other men performing great works in Jesus’ name, “Whoever is not against us is for us.” Mark 9: 38-41
So, again, the only thing that makes Jesus “better” (although it really isn’t about who is better or worse) is that He was the Son of God. Instead of a very good and holy man deciding that He is going to save everyone in the world from sin, God sent His ONLY Son to become a human being. He was born like us, grew up like us, got sick and hungry like us, and eventually began to reveal to us the nature of God and His love for us, and also taught us how to love God back. Then when He was done, Christ fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies and promises made about the Messiah and handed His life over, though He was completely innocent of any wrongdoing ever.
Not to belittle the value of human life (made even more valuable by the fact God was one of us!), but what is more relevant, precious and amazing? A human man, a sinner, who takes on such a heroic endeavor, or the only child of God putting aside His own divine power and then becoming a man so that we might have a chance at realizing how loved we are by God, His very being among us as one of us proof in itself?
I hope this helps to answer your questions. If not, ask away!
Wow… sorry for so long a comment!
@Ancient_Scribe - You are saying that Jesus was better than those men because you do not worship them. You do not worship them because Jesus had a more widely read book that said that he said that he was the son of god/god himself (Which is it?)
I don’t see a god who becomes something lesser than himself, suffering in that lesser form with pain that would mean nothing to him because he is so great that we cannot comprehend him, is the most loving being ever.
Basically, explain to me why his scenario is better than mine? It’s the same end.
@Drakonskyr - i second that sentiment
I wrote something like that on my site today. Come by and see.
this is an odd question REALLLLY! But Lets say it like this..I am willing to go & do whatever He ask me to do including Die for Him rather than dennounce(sp?) Him. The ppl here who have no clue about Jesus are just that…they have not opened their hearts to God…You can’t use the brain to Know,… that you know …its a senseless arguement…it’s better to put them on your prayer list…
I also would like to remind ppl that the lukewarm water was distasteful to God….so LIVE IT LIKE YOU MEAN THE 1st 2 Great Commandments =) Peace
@Ancient_Scribe - the book says noah was a perfect man too…
@huginn - well lets be glad you were’nt him…for all our sakes
@la_faerie_joyeuse - Jesus was only echoing moral laws that had been taught since moses era and before then. i guess its wrong to teach people not to steal and kill huh? who is jesus to tell people not to perform such noble actions!?
lmaao you know whats FUNNY to me. allllll of you christians who say you would never do what Jesus did when you are all called to be his disciples, picking up your own cross and following after his footsteps. He said in the gospels from his own lips that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend/brother. And then he told the tax collector that in order to gain eternal life you must do the law: love God with all your mind heart blah blah blah then love your neighbor as yourself. what kind of christian are you if you’re not willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING even your own life for his sake and for the sake of propogating his teachings which last time i checked christians equated it with “the truth”.
@Endowedbythecreator - =P
good question dan, it made manifest all those proclaimed christians who lack understanding of their own book
I’m sure glad Drak has the whole issue figured out. *sighs and rolls eyes*
@Endowedbythecreator - Way to say it! you said it the way I meant to…
”you know whats FUNNY to me. allllll of you christians who say you would never do what Jesus did when you are all called to be his disciples, picking up your own cross and following after his footsteps. He said in the gospels from his own lips that there is no greater love than to lay down your life for a friend/brother. And then he told the tax collector that in order to gain eternal life you must do the law: love God with all your mind heart blah blah blah then love your neighbor as yourself. what kind of christian are you if you’re not willing to sacrifice EVERYTHING even your own life for his sake and for the sake of propogating his teachings which last time i checked christians equated it with “the truth”. “
me: I really feel sad for alot of ppl if you call your self Christian you really should challenge yourself to MEAN it ! There are too many ppl who call themselves christian who are not really! They parroted some prayer at some point but Never gave their hearts or lives to God making Jesus the LORD of their lives. Either that others non & Christian alike need to recognize a baby christian & give them a hand up not a knock down….
I agree that Jesus didn’t have a choice, I think it’ll be better to rephrase to, would you be Jesus?
And to that, I would~ But that’s probably because I don’t value human life very much.
So if I was God in human form, would I sacrifice myself, knowing that I would shortly rise from the dead and go back to heaven shortly in order for the beings I created to be able to spend eternity with me without having to make anymore idiotic animal sacrifices?
Ummm, yes.
I might have tried to think of a way to prevent the people who never knew about my appearance in man form and my sacrifice for them from being banished from my presence for eternity though. That really seems like a rotten deal.
@RdKingClassic03 -
“Jesus was a man and God’s only son, who died for our sins”
Jesus was man, as well as God- according to Christian doctrine. That’s what the First Council of Nicaea agreed on (“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God”), and I haven’t heard to many denominations that disagree with that assessment.
@Endowedbythecreator -
“Jesus was only echoing moral laws that had been taught since moses era
and before then. i guess its wrong to teach people not to steal and
kill huh? who is jesus to tell people not to perform such noble
actions!?”
Jesus was only echoing moral laws that had been taught since moses’ era? Not quite. He was telling people that thinking sinful actions was the same as committing them. He told people to turn the other cheek, and basically do whatever you can do both for your friend and your enemy. A little different from the old testament view of “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.”
@Endowedbythecreator -
“the book says noah was a perfect man too…”
Genesis 10:9 says Noah was “a just man and perfect in his generations.” Very few preachers, rabbis, theologians, etc, have taken this to mean Noah was actually perfect and without sin, but righteous compared to his generation. And that level of righteousness is actually disagreed on, mostly between rabbis who view Noah was only righteous compared to his generation, and not too righteous compared to future generations, and rabbis who think he would have been labeled as a very righteous man, no matter his generation.
Hell no.
Fend for yourselves.
I’d let them fend for themselves.
@fullmetalbunny -
I understood the spirit of the question and what Dan was getting at….however the question does say “if you were Jesus”. I wasn’t judging how people answered the question, i was simply trying to convey that i think the question itself is incredibly irreverent. Most people already know they could never do what Jesus did, and i understand that. I didn’t mean to come off as malicious.
I would LOVE to say that I would die on the cross and bear the world’s sins just as Jesus did for us…but it is so much easier said then done. Which is why I am so greatful that we had a wonderful Savior take the punishment for us. What a great god, huh?
@Endowedbythecreator - he may have been good and blameless as a man, but he wasn’t the Son of God. Otherwise, why would God and all the prophets hint at His coming?
@Made2sing4Jesus - I think you miss the point. I know how far short of Christ’s love I fall. I’m willing to admit that. I know I have not grown into the type of love that would die for people who hate me. I know that I have not grown into the type of love that would give my son to die for people that hate me and him. That is the point that the Christians here are trying to make, in my opinion. It is not that we have not made Him Lord of our lives. It is simply that we are admitting that we have not “arrived” yet. Make sense?
@ryoma136 -
I don’t just believe in Jesus Christ because he is the main character of history’s best seller! That would be such a shallow reason! I believe because I have seen what faith in him can do, and I have felt his love and the love of his Father. I believe in the testimony of thousands of saints, and I value the testimony of thousands of martyrs. Why would I be willing to surrender all of my wealth, any chance at marriage and children, and any choice of a career or future if I thought that this Christ character was just the Harry Potter of the ancient world?
And if God is the most loving being ever, loving to a point beyond our comprehension, it seems pretty incomprehensible that he would deign to become one of us, even lower than us, humbling himself at OUR feet so we might finally get the point that he loves us. And he became completely human; how else could he die? He became completely human; he didn’t just wear a human disguise, and as a human, any pain he experienced, whether it was the pain of Peter’s denials or the pain of his passion and death, it meant a great deal to him. It is completely absurd, too good to be true, that God would do such a thing. But you said it yourself; God is beyond comprehension. It makes complete sense to me that he would love us in a manner that we can’t quite grasp, and becoming one of us and forsaking himself is certainly within the realm of God’s ability. But God doesn’t ask us or expect us to understand him; he wants us to love him. We cannot comprehend God and his ways; that is where faith comes in.
sorry but there is no way that i can compare myself to Jesus
If I were Jesus, I would do it, but I would also plead like Jesus for any other alternative to redeeming the world if it were possible. Going to your death by being hung with your arms and bleeding and asphyxiating while being cut off from everything that you knew in those last moments…..that’s hard. To be able to bear that pain of separation and also willing to sacrifice your life in order to save everyone else….that is true strength.
It takes a real man to do something like that.
No. If you can’t depend on yourself alone, you are worthless.
@whataboutbahb - “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” –Jesus
The foundation of Jesus teachings was “the law” given by moses. It was the base upon which he taught what he taught. He didn’t change anything, he was reaching up into the minds and the thinking of the people because before they only obeyed the law out of fear of punishment without a genuine change internally. The reason the hypocrites thought he was changing the law is because they didn’t understand that he was expounding on it. When the rich man questioned jesus in matthew and asked him how to attain eternal life jesus told him “keep the commandments”. Throughout the gospels Jesus continually emphasized the observance of the commandments. Eye for an eye was not the law, the law was the ten commandments. Teachings such as “an eye for an eye” were for that specific people in the mosaic dispensation of time.
@whataboutbahb - might i suggest a book such as parallel sayings of Jesus and Buddha to empahsize how Jesus only echoed moral teachings that Zoroaster and others taught before him
@whataboutbahb - the prophets of God are held as sinless not due to their own merit but because of God’s holy presence with them. that is why it is said that Noah was perfect, and others (such as Job). But i was talking to someone else when i made that statement to make the point that Jesus being sinless was not due to his own merit, but because of the indwelling spirit of God. in matthew 5 it reads Therefore you shall be perfect just as your father in heaven is perfect. I wanted him to understand why its imprudent to downplay Jesus’ humanity because in turn he downplays all of our ability to be like unto jesus. That is why jesus said he who believes in me, the works i do he shall do and greater works shall he do
@Endowedbythecreator -
Yes, but his message was still not the same old message that had been taught by OT prophets.
By expounding on the laws, he is teaching a different lesson then was taught in the past. Take for example: Matthew 5:21-30. He is teaching basic lessons about murder and adultery, but also adding to the lesson about the importance of what you are thinking and feeling in your heart. Plus there is the whole idea of the New Covenant that modern Christian belief accepts that He brought, in comparison with the Old Covenant with Moses (Judaism has a somewhat different perspective, but I am talking about the Christian perspective).
“might i suggest a book such as parallel sayings of Jesus and Buddha to
empahsize how Jesus only echoed moral teachings that Zoroaster and
others taught before him”
I am not attempting to make an arguement that the OT or the NT is not merely rehashing or reshaping past moral codes or laws. I was saying that Christian belief recognizes a distinct difference between the teachings and laws of the OT in comparison to what Jesus was teaching in the NT. Of course I think the 10 commandments looks strikingly familiar to the Code of Hammurabi, but for this topic I was purposefully limiting myself to what current Christian views on the OT, NT, and Jesus are.
“- the prophets of God are held as sinless not due to their own merit
but because of God’s holy presence with them. that is why it is said
that Noah was perfect, and others (such as Job).”
You would be representing a minority of opinion in the Christian theological world by holding the view that men can be sinless.
“I wanted him to understand why its imprudent to downplay Jesus’
humanity because in turn he downplays all of our ability to be like
unto jesus.”
Holding the view that we all have the potential to be essentially “christ-like” starts to drift outside of the realm of current Christian beliefs and to something else completely (well not something else completely, but more along the lines of a blend of monotheism and eastern mysticism).
@Ancient_Scribe - You have a point. I’m not saying that Noah was greater than Jesus because clearly Jesus was the greatest of God’s prophets as the bible and holy qur’an bear witness that he is the messiah. however, as i told another gentleman, i made the comment about noah to show that perfection does not come from one’s own merit as the christians say all the time, but through the mercy and spirit of God, the same is true with Jesus. If he was a man that lived as we lived, grew up from childhood as we did, struggled like we struggle, faced temptations like we face them then how could he be perfect except God’s presence with him? Christians have put Jesus on a pedestal that can’t be reached through their misunderstanding of how and why he was proclaimed the son of God. The flesh does not make you the son of God, it is the spirit. That is why God told David in the 2nd book of Samuel that his seed after him would build a house in His name and “i will be his father and he shall be my SON” in reference to Solomon. God’s spirit with Solomon made him a “son” of God. the bible further bears witness to this in the book of Romans where it states that jesus was DECLARED to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness and in Galatians it reads “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”.
@whataboutbahb - lol well i am not a christian so it would make sense that my opinons “drift” from standard christian thought. And what i meant by being “held sinless” is not that they never committed sin(david, moses and other prophets had indeed sinned) but that they were held AS sinless because of God’s presence with them..that is why despite Noah getting drunk he still was considered perfect in his generations
Well Jesus WAS God, so He died for us because of how much He loved the people He had created, and because He didn’t want even the worst of sinners to suffer. I would definiately die so that other people didn’t have to suffer, and even more so if I had as much love for the people of the world as Jesus did.
@angi1972 - Agreed!
@Ancient_Scribe - If you can’t comprehend him, how is he not lying to you?
@Endowedbythecreator -
Ah, would muslim be a closer guess then? I assumed you were trying to make the point that we could all attain a certain god-like status from your earlier posts with comparing everyone to Jesus, but would it be more accurate you just recognize Jesus as a great man and a prophet and nothing more? Then what you were saying early would make alot more sense, assuming you are arguing from an Islamic point-of-view and not more of a Eastern religious viewpoint I was assuming you were coming from. I wish I could continue the discussion from an Islamic mindset, but I have not studied the Qur’an or the religion itself enough to make any poignant or in-depth points.
Only Jesus could have done it.
just amazed and glad he could. So sorry he did not find faith on earth, and very concerned that we./ME will have the courage to support the Christ at the second coming.
But also point is; it had to be someone prepared; someone sinless…..and then, they had to respond….as he did.
I don’t think he is God – but he is one in heart with God; Jesus said “don’t you know you are all gods” and he wants us to go on the path to perfection – the path he opened up. If one is one with God – then it most certainly is as if they are God. The distinction is however relating to his humanity-which in no way diminishes his divinity.
I also think that he could have forsaken his mission at any time. What wondrous love…..and he also helped relieve God’s pain….”Father, forgive them….” amazing. Grateful.
Even when he died…for our sins…
The whole world is STILL sinful..
Just like when Noah had to build an ark for the flood…and After the flood
THe Whole world was still sinful…
This question is what Germans might call a “Fang frage”.
If I were Jesus, I would be perfect; I would be God; so yes I would die for the sins of the world.
If I were, however, in Jesus’ PLACE, no. I don’t believe I would have. I may tell myself I want to have done that; and if we try to be like the Apostle Paul at ALL, and share his love for the unbelievers (he states if he could go to hell in their stead, he would do so), then we would say “so be it” and die for their sins. But I don’t know if I could actually do it.
-Cryssie Leah
Don’t we kinda have to fend for ourselves anyway? I mean, what’s the point of Jesus “dying for our sins” if our sins still take us to Hell anyway?
i’ve been thinking about this myself. i’m sorry but off of first instinct here i would left everyone to fend for themselves. i honestly don’t think i could do what Jesus did.
@whataboutbahb - well the messiah is more than just a prophet and a messenger. The Holy Qur’an says that the messiah would be taught the book, the injeel, and the tauraut – the qu’ran, the gospel, and the torah. It says he would be able to open the eyes of the blind, and raise the dead to life by Allah’s permission. He was HUMAN yes, but specifically chosen by God to act as Messiah.
Since it is appointed for every man to die, I don’t see that Jesus had a choice. Besides that, his death was of no effect since he was resurrected/born again into spiritual life, and did not change the fact that it is still appointed for every man to die.
Jesus didn’t have a choice if wants to die or not. He and the other criminals was hung on the cross left to die. At least Jesus got a proper burial meanwhile, the other bodies was left on the ground to decomposed. Very tragic event. What, I saw this on the history channel.
I don’t believe in Easter at all.
@sarahtsang123 - good point, so what did Jesus’ death change?
Such a sacrifice seems in vain to me. Because even today folks are pretty persistant on their continual plan to suck. Well, not all of them… people need to quit playing martyr themselves and make real changes in their lives.
@mightymarce - well the christian perspective is if you ask him to be your lord and savior then your sins are forgiven because of his “work” on the cross. Notice i said the christian perspective and not the biblical.
@Endowedbythecreator -
“well the messiah is more than just a prophet and a messenger.”
Well, the use of the term messiah might make this conversation a bit confusing since Christians, Jews, and Arabs all have a different view on what the role of the messiah is.
@ryoma136 - Lying is the intentional disguising of the truth; lying is a sin. Why would God sin? Why would God lie? The inability to comprehend is not an indication that lying is afoot; it merely means that the ability to understand something is not present in us, that whatever we perceive to be incomprehensible is coming from a source that we cannot grasp with our limited abilities. But faith does not require a high IQ or even a great deal of wisdom. It takes fidelity and trust.
@whataboutbahb - actually the jewish concept of the messiah is near the islamic concept,, the christian concept is shaped by persian mythology and other pagan religious influences. and im sure when you said arab you meant muslim, as not all muslims are arab and not all arabs are muslims.
@Endowedbythecreator -
Completely boneheaded mistake. Was thinking muslim in my head when I wrote it and I ended up typing arab, and I have a bad habit of not checking my posts for typos. I have to read for a class but I’ll type a post on the similarities and differences when I get back from class later tonight.
@Ancient_Scribe - Why would he lie? Because he can. I never said he was lying because you couldn’t comprehend him, but that he could if he wanted.
Sin? Didn’t he create it? What is it to him?
I would definetly just let everyone fend for themselves. That’s why Jesus is so amazing. He didn’t.
@ryoma136 - What would lying gain him? And he did not create sin; sin is disobedience to God. We human beings chose to sin by disobeying him, and continuing to do so. Sin breaks God’s heart, and every time we sin he weeps for us, because it separates us further from him. And not because he withdraws from us, but because sin is the result of choices WE make, and he loves us and respects OUR choices, it is WE who withdraw from him and cause the distance to widen. Really, the only reason sin and evil and all manner of terrible things still exist is because God loves us. He has given us and promised us free will, and we continue to freely choose war, sin, drugs, murder, adultery, and every evil thing you can think of. It is not God causing these things or allowing them- it is all of us choosing them despite what God would want us to choose. But the moment he says, “Poof! All problems solved!” well, what about the people who WANT to go to war and who WANT to do evil things? They have the gift of free will also, and they also have the love of God, for who could possibly continue to exist if God did not love them? He even keeps his promise of free will to those who use it for evil. God loves us with his whole being, with all his heart; he would never, ever deliberately create something that would separate us from him. Only if we chose to distance ourselves from him would he be more distant, but his love never leaves us.
If I were in Jesus’ place and knew I’d come back or for the people I loved, but otherwise…
@ryoma136 - Brilliant. I’d buy tickets to that. Call the charity “Alms for the Poor” or something equally unoriginal.
@Drakonskyr - True, but he didn’t specifically say “original sin”… that’s a whole other question for Dan to ask the fundies about. Because what people answer is truth!
O.T. is full of the evidence of man offering blood in hope of the sinless Son to come. Of course my blood would not atone for anyone’s sin, being I am indeed a sinner. I guess IF I were sinless then I could possibly die for the world. It is impossible to actually think like this, since we are sinners in need of reconcilation to God. There was but the One Way One Truth One Light and that was and is Jesus Christ Who has power to save.
@Drakonskyr -
O.T. is full of the evidence of man offering blood in hope of the sinless Son to come. Of course my blood would not atone for anyone’s sin, being I am indeed a sinner. I guess IF I were sinless then I could possibly die for the world. It is impossible to actually think like this, since we are sinners in need of reconcilation to God. There was but the One Way One Truth One Light and that was and is Jesus Christ Who has power to save.
opps! there are two of these sorry ’bout that
No. I could say yes now, but in reality that’s something only Jesus could do.
I feel fortunate, and honored, that I have never had to make that decission
I can not presume to put myself in that position for to do so would be sacrilage.
@ryoma136 - Jesus was lauded as the Saviour because he fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah. I can understand you being critical of religion, but don’t forget that things actually fit for it to be true, regardless of whether or not you believe the prophecies. In response to why he had to die, I honestly don’t know entirely. But if he had kicked Satan’s butt, what would there be for us to do? I’m not sure. I don’t know how it all works. Maybe someday we’ll all find out… hopefully.
@The_Palantiri - He didn’t fulfill every prophecy set forth in the Old Testament. Here are the prophecies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Messiah#Scriptural_Requirements
@ryoma136 - I am aware that he didn’t fulfill EVERY prophecy. And I didn’t claim he did, I was just informing that he did fulfill prophecies. And quite a few at that.
@The_Palantiri - A few? Many people have been claimed to do that. But if he is the true son of god, in fact god himself, why would he let most of his own people not believe in his new direction for his teachings?
@ryoma136 -
I said “quite a few” meaning “a lot” not “a few.” Anyway, regardless of full amounts, I believe he didn’t fulfill the other prophecies because they were no longer necessary. Also, it’s kind of hard to argue with me about this since I am not a theologian, and I’m not well informed on the subject.
@The_Palantiri - You admitted a weakness. Then why did you start it?
Either way, doesn’t matter. I just like hearing other people’s ideas. Good day :]
I wouldn’t die for them.
I think mankind has proved themselves unworthy of Jesus’s sacrifice.
Well, even if I did try to die for the sins of the whole world, it wouldn’t do a dang thing, because a human isn’t capable of making up for the offences against God and bring humans back into reunion with God. That’s why Jesus, God made Man, came down to take our burden on His shoulders. Since he was God made Man, he was able to take upon our sin and do what no mere human could do– offer a perfect sacrifice in order to build back the bridge to God, over sin, that had been broken since the fall of Adam and Eve. Before Jesus, no one could get into Heaven. But now, through Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, there is a way to get to Heaven.
I only wish I could feel that much love for the world.
Pscychology and Christians
The issue is not whether Christians experience emotional difficulties, but what God’s remedy is. He created and redeemed us and the Bible is his instruction manual for living. Believers throughout the ages have found God’s word and his remedies sufficient in every situation. Why turn to pitiful, and destructive theories invented by humanists who can’t even help themselves?
Psychiatrists have the highest percentage of any profession under the care of Psychiatrists, commit suicide, divorce, and on prescription medication. Consulting them is like asking directions from someone, who is himself, hopelessly lost.
taken from Berean Call web site 10/15/2006
Don’t know if I could.!
@Eternalimplosion - You were the only one who answered the question with respectful reverence. This question was so unnessary.
@Sesslerite - Jesus most “definitely” had a choice. The difference is that He remained “faithful” to God’s will.
@iloveallmahfriends - Jesus tell us, “no greater LOVE hath a man than to lay his life down for his friends.” The US military are doing just that!
@GrapiesWordsofWisdom -
Ha. Are you insinuating that God’s will isn’t absolute?
It wasn’t his choice. It was his duty. His purpose, one might say. God knew from the day Jesus was born that he would die on the cross for our sins. No questions about it.
Such is God’s love. He created a part of himself to be killed for us.
But hey, I’m just a kid. What do I know?
Sins, you say? It’s natural human behavior.
I guess I’d die… now that I know him… =)
There is a Huge Shake up coming. You see Gray now but watch it turn to Black and white.
I am just a human being.
I was actually born on Christmas. that being said: I would do what Jesus did and more. people, people please learn to use your imagination and not to think I am being bogus. I am not,I am merely using my imagination,unlike the way that you use yours. thank you and good night.
I can barely even go to the dentist, much less endure the suffering that he went through.
Yes, but I think trying to remain sinless up until the deed was done would be more torture then the actual crucification itself.
Coincidently, this is why I believe so many people give up believing in Christianity, if not all religion. They have no self control so the just give up.
Humans are so funny.
The “for” part is a misinterpretation fostered by the Council of Constantine, the pagan. He didn’t die for them…he died because of them.
@lovelyingenue - Pain need not be experienced, even by a neophyte adept. You better believe, if Jesus was the Christ, He didn’t feel anything He didn’t want to.
@neofalsegod - Which one? The actual day of the anniversary, or the one set up and continued by pagans and money changers?
@Sesslerite - If any part of God can be “killed” it is mortal and not God, thereby. If Jesus is truly the Son of God, he lives as a dynamic today, never having been mortal.
@jbarouch32 - The Bible, while still containing the actual word of God, is not itself the work of God. It was the result of the Council of Constantine in an effort to diminish the message of Christ and empower the false church that opposes Him.
@Silver_Doe - One can only feel Christ like LOVE when they forsake faith.
i don’t value my life at all, but i value other’s so yes i would. without a second thought. i mean not only is it everyone in the world, but everyone that will be and ever was. thats alot of people to turn down.
haha, at first glance, I thought you were giving me some conversion nonsense.
yah accha hai.