We talked in class today about the power of a story (such as Santa Clause) and how that can inspire people or affect their lives. But, I have a different question. Would someone die for their belief in Santa Clause
It is apparent that the very early Christian communities were persecuted to some extent in the Roman Empire. Why, then, would they believe in stories of a man who they didn't believe to be God and the messiah? Was Jesus' simple message of "do unto others as they do unto you" worth dying for? Many of Jesus' lessons can be found in many cultures since they're apparent to humanity. However, maybe they died for something more.
I would argue that the gospel writers must have believed that a good portion of their writings were actually true, or at least tried to convince others they were.
Perhaps these early followers did actually believe Jesus to be an actual savior worth dying for. I don't know about the rest of you, but I wouldn't be martyred in the name of an illiterate Jewish peasant who taught some good moral lessons.
You raise a really interesting argument. But, whether the gospels are true or not, the effect that Jesus had on his followers was obviously strong enough that it inspired what they wrote. From a sort of Crossan point of view, I would argue that it didn't matter whether or not Jesus was the Messiah,but rather the impact that Jesus had as a man. After all, the virgin birth is really the only thing that we have discredited at this point; the author is not dismissing everything that Catholics claim about Jesus.
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ReplyDeleteYou may be conflating two rather different things: taking something seriously, and taking it literally. By analogy, I have a number of Jewish friends who are observant, in the sense that they take many rituals, and God, very seriously. Their attitude toward God, however, more closely resembles my attitude toward a major literary figure like Don Quixote or Ahab. That is, God is for them an especially rich literary character, endlessly complex and potent to be sure, and in certain ways much more important than flesh-and-blood people, but not to be confused with some guy down the street.
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