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No Ozzy, the only Hoot around here is you. Well maybe a couple of others.
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Originally Posted by phetaroi
And yet you remain.
I suspect that he is trying to get a hefty come-back so as to be able to play the persecuted martyr censored (1)because we couldn't deal with him. In fact he is not even annoying..just a hoot.
(1) effectively the start a fight/flounce off tactic.
Get help, Ozzy. You're not a bad guy but you say bad things about people simply because their beliefs differ from yours. Find out why you harbour this antipathy towards unbelievers. You may well learn something valuable about yourself that will lead to a happier, more fulfilling life.
Get help, Ozzy. You're not a bad guy but you say bad things about people simply because their beliefs differ from yours. Find out why you harbour this antipathy towards unbelievers. You may well learn something valuable about yourself that will lead to a happier, more fulfilling life.
I have another theory.. Matthew is actually quite late. Not as late as Luke, but late enough to know the Jewish explanation of the empty tomb.
Matthew wants to find a way to counter this argument, so he Invents...why not? He invented a nativity to wangle Jesus the Galilean into a Bethlehem birth because it had been realised that scriptually, he ought to have been - so The Sadducees scuttle off to Pilate On the sabbath, folks! (After the day of preparation, it says 27.62) to ask for a tomb guard..as though they couldn't post a guard themselves and never mind that Pilate had washed his hand of the crucifixion and left it to them! (27.23) or that Pilate seems to tell them to use their own guards.
In any case, by the time the guard arrives at the tomb, the two "disciples" ( ) have had all night to get Jesus out, so the guard is guarding an empty tomb. If I am right in my estimation of how the Other writers would deal with such a story, if they didn't care for it is not that they would omit it-that was NOT what they did - but they would rewrite it to make it work. Luke (for instance - if i was in his place) would have the High priest go to Pilate even before the body was taken down and get Roman soldiers or their own guards put on watch that very night. All the Sabbath and that night - guards changed every 6 or so hours. And the angel descends, rolls the stone away and Jesus emerges and Luke can live that that much of a miracle. After all, the angel has to be there to deliver the message, and the door is open, so where's the problem? It is not feasible, I'd argue, that neither Mark nor Luke, knowing the story, would omit it Totally. It is just Too Good to miss.
All four Gospels are consistent in the story of the empty tomb. All four Gospels consistently indicate that the tomb was empty as a result of the corpse of Jesus returning to life and vacating the tomb. But that is a bit much to swallow, even for people who are naturally inclined to be superstitious. A more realistic and obvious answer is that a living agent moved the body from the tomb. And the disciples of Jesus are the obvious suspects.
And so the author of Gospel Matthew inserted the detail of a guard being placed at the tomb in an attempt to deflect the obvious conclusion that the body was moved. A guard placed at the tomb is a detail which was NOT consistent with the story that was in the process of being spread around at the time the other Gospels were being written. The other Gospel authors purposely and conspicuously excluded the story of the guard at the tomb.
It has been argued that the guard at the tomb may have been a detail which was unknown to the other Gospel authors. First, it's difficult to imagine that such a significant detail would not have been widely known element of the story which was in general circulation, if it were truly a part of the story and not a detail added out of convenience. But there is a further argument to be made, concerning the "unknown to the other Gospel authors" argument. Gospel Mark was the first of the Gospels to have been written. Gospel John was written independently of the other three Gospels. The three "synoptic" Gospels. Gospel Matthew contains nearly the entire Gospel of Mark within its narrative. Gospel Luke contains large sections of BOTH Gospel Mark and Gospel Matthew within its narrative.
The author of Gospel Luke was CLEARLY familiar with Gospel Matthew. And yet the story of the guard at the tomb was excluded from the narrative of Gospel Luke. As was the "Night of the Living Dead" tall tale. This exclusion as clearly done on purpose.
Hi Harry. You have your own reasons for denying God's existence.
Indeed, they are the same reasons you deny the existence of other gods, or deny the existence of circles with four corners. Impossible things do not exist, improbable things most likely do not exist.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
You'd have to plumb the depths of your conscience to find our exactly why you prefer that God does not exist.
So you are not open minded enough to accept I do not believe in any gods? And you'd have to plumb the depths of your conscience to find our exactly why you prefer that all the other gods do not exist.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
Have you committed acts that you prefer not to answer for? So much emotion, so much pride!
Projecting your sick life onto others, are you? What evil have you done not to believe in all the other gods? Me, I simply do not believe in them.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
Obviously you've done some extensive research, but it amazes me how you can be so willfully blind, despite your research efforts. The fact that you would like to doubt that Jesus was an actual person speaks volumes about your powers of 'reason' and about your tendency to gravitate towards information that salves your internal struggle.
It is in your holy book, so you deal with it. There are no clear mentions of a earthly Jesus for 50 to 100 years after the alleged death of Jesus, only a divine being. And one of the earliest texts (Hebrews) says the sacrifice of Jesus was a one time event, in heaven, contradicting the fictional gospels.
The fact that you can not draw a rational conclusion from that, Herr Cherry picker, shows who is willfully blind. And the non-existence of Jesus would not mean 'God' does not exist, so how would that salve my alleged internal struggle? Do not attack the powers of 'reason' of others and then make very stupid arguments of your own, it makes you look foolish.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
You couldn't just walk away from God, though, could you? Not so sure that God does not exist that you can't stop trying to reassure yourself, on a daily basis, that He doesn't. It's like you 'broke up' with God but you just can't move on.
You know the parable about building your hose on sand. It applies to BS as well. Your house has sunk.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
Live what's left of your life to the fullest, Harry!
I do. You should try it instead of watching cherry picked Youtube videos.
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Originally Posted by Iwasmadenew
Stop wasting valuable time trying to convince yourself and others of something you claim to be so sure about. Your ultimate fate will be no different, but at least stop torturing yourself while you're alive. There'll be plenty of time for that after you're dead.
So you support religious terrorism, slavery, remaining stupid, the subjugation of women, usw? No wonder you have a bad conscience.
That you focus on 'inconsistencies' leads me to believe you prefer not to believe. You are another person who seems to have an insatiable need to argue your case and ridicule believers.
Tired of the Nonsense: "we non believers are waiting in ever growing packs to eviscerate the poor foolishly unprepared religious newbies who stumble in to the forum"
You're so eager to pronounce that the verdict is in, and that the religious wars are over. (i.e. "Believers lost BADLY") Ask yourself why.
Me thinketh you protest too much. After all, you already admitted that you believe Jesus was a real man, and that you cannot be absolutely certain to know the truth about God's existence. So how is the 'war' over??
You have reached your conclusions, and I have reached mine. That my conclusions have the appearance of thoroughly invalidating your conclusions is the nature of comparing opposing conclusions. If one set of conclusions has the effect of thoroughly invalidating another set of conclusions, then the stronger set of conclusions naturally prevail.
Discarding conclusions that have proven to be weak and unfounded is the way that knowledge is naturally increased. And then we move on.
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Matthew is actually quite late. Not as late as Luke, but late enough to know the Jewish explanation of the empty tomb. 
