If the body disappeared like in the jedi movies the whole story would be a little more believable. But alas the serial killers always have that nasty mess to clean up.
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Just as words written on paper do not prove that Napoleon was real or Lewis and Clark. We believe the written accounts of their lives. I’ve never set out to verify the physics of flight. I just believe the plane I get on will fly and that the pilots are capable of taking off and landing.
Despite the considerable challenges to belief in Jesus in cultures w other primary religions, there are today an estimated 44 million believers in Christ in China, and 28 million in India. Small percentages of their overall populations but not insignificant numbers.
Which is why I question many of the accounts of history. But we do have a tomb with Napoleon’s body and we do have actual writings from Lewis and Clark. We really can’t identify anything specifically that could be attributed directly to Jesus. Just the stories. Napoleon and Lewis and Clark are relatively recent history. The accounts of their lives don’t include turning people into pillars of salt, they don’t talk about immaculate conception‘s, they don’t talk about unverified places like heaven and hell. Had Lewis and Clark written that they came across 12’ tall fairies that lived near a golden forest which had magical healing powers… I probably wouldn’t believe them or their account either.
I’m sure there are latter-day Saints and Scientologist who live in China as well. Does that validate those religions? I’m just saying that the total world population is about 30% Christian. Its a pretty audacious claim to make that their religion is correct and the other 5 billion people on the planet who believe differently are wrong.
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Yea why didn’t jesus actually write anything down? why were his stories written down well after his sacrifice (of 3 days).
Lol. Thanks for that!
mushrooms, however are VERY real 
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Hey I’m really just having fun and playing the devil’s advocate. No harm ever intended brother.
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How the webb orbits
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[quote=“Lionpile, post:188, topic:13111”]
Really enjoying the friendly debate as well brother. No offense taken at all.
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Matthew, Mark and Luke—were written 20 to 30 years after Jesus’ resurrection. And they were there.
John’s account was penned between 50 and 70 years after the events. Paul’s first letter to the congregation in Corinth can be dated to around 25 years after Jesus’ resurrection. The dates of these records are consistent with being able to speak authoritatively on Christ’s resurrection and death imho….
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well it was also said that a whole bunch of other people resurrected at the same time and wandered the city and the romans didn’t mention this at all, and you would think a whole bunch of zombies wandering around would get a little attention.
Lol - only one lasted! 
One of the perspectives I run with is about the Tower of Babel…. Short story is God split up one global type community into 12 tribes with separate languages to confuse them…. At that moment the only story was the Biblical Flood and all the tribes knew it
But after time and separation , many of these tribes that continued to walk apart from God did twist the story….
And from a singular event, the flood, all other variations you hit on evolved imho
Basically working backwards….
Same with DNA now…. Research is showing we can follow it back to a single couple or family but no further back…. AKA Noah and his family….
The Flood “hosed” all the prior lines of ancestors imo
Interesting observation. I just googled that and came across this post on Quora
Equally likely is that Romulus returned from the dead, after having been killed by the Roman senators. In fact, Mark’s Gospel provides an interesting parallel between the death of Romulus and that of Christ:
- Romulus is king of the Romans;
At his trial (and not before) Jesus is referred to as king of the Jews. - Romulus is assassinated by the Roman senate;
Jesus is crucified by the Roman governor. - Darkness falls at the moment of Romulus’ death;
Darkness falls at the moment of Jesus’ death. - Romulus’ body is missing;
Jesus’ body is missing. - Proculus tells the people that Romulus was taken up to heaven;
The young man tells the women that Jesus is risen.
The author of Luke’s Gospel may have seen these parallels in the earlier gospel
and so continued the parallels:
- Proculus (archaic Latin for ‘Proclaimer’) was travelling on the road when he saw Romulus coming to meet him. Romulus told him that it had been the plan of the gods that he only be on earth a short time and that he would now leave and reside in heaven as a god.
Cleopas (‘Report all’ ) was travelling with one other on the road when Jesus came to meet them. Jesus says his life and death had been prophesied.
- The story of Romulus ends with him caught up in a whirlwind and taken up to heaven.
Luke’s story ends with Jesus taken up to heaven on the road to Bethany.
(Acts of the Apostles has a second ascension forty days later.)
And on a mythology blog:
Interestingly, after relating the story of Romulus’s death and translation, Plutarch raises doubts about its historicity because it appears to parallel similar stories that were told about various Greek men and women who disappeared upon dying, including Alcmene (mother of Heracles), Aristeas of Proconnesus, and Cleomedes of Astypaleia
In other words, because the story was following familiar mythological motifs (28:4-6). The Church father Tertullian also noted that both Romulus and Jesus reportedly were taken up to heaven in a cloud, but argued that this was “far more certain” to have occurred Christ’s case than in that of Romulus (21.23).
well most religions steal from previous things they liked or thought the stories were cool. IIRC the story of noah was stolen from an older religion almost verbatim except for the names of those involved.
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And!! Love you guys
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They weren’t allowed to vote were they?
That’s happening in many of our largest cities today unfortunately. They get little attention and are largely ignored until they’re inconvenient, unless they happen to be a schizophrenic virtuoso violinist as in The Soloist or a messiah.
There’s evidence of a regional flood in Mesopotamia some 7,500 years ago. But no geologic or animal fossil evidence of the Biblical global flood. Plus I don’t think there’s enough water on our planet to cover the earth that deep. I don’t see the harm in Christians considering the story metaphorical
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Hey DD, if you leave this earth before me and you get up to the pearly gates, please let them know that Lionpile was a good dude who was confused. There, now I should be covered.
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