evolution of christianity

[push]

so i posted this in another thread but then realised this was probably a more appropriate place for it.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=6762471

if anyone was willing to read at least the first page and preferably the whole thing itd be massively appreciated, especially the posts by that ruhanv guy.

cant wait to hear some responses because i am confused haha

[Cross.eyed]

Flimsy. No resources listed, and the reference to secular universities for christian history is a hoot.

"Matpal" made a good post for that type of forum, but he wasn't thorough enough.

There are some here who can find rebuttals for this stuff, and if I get the chance, I'll see what I can find.

[Leprechaun]

When I was twelve (maybe 11 I can't remember....but around then but not any later than twelve) I happened to read a book on the history of the world and it is interesting to note how most of the aspects of the Bible are similar to cultures which predate them (and NO I did not read this on a website or anything I read a book and then came to the conclusion myself and NO the book was purely historical and it encompassed world history from the origins of man (eg homo habilis etc.) up to the EU. The book only gave around a page for each ancient culture but the similarites struck me immediatley despite my young age especially that of Zoroastrianism which I believe is still practiced in parts of Iran.

[Jac3510]

Just laugh at him for watching Zeitgeist. Here's a link where a guy actually took the time to put together some cites that deal with some of the issues.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread290269/pg1

What absolutely flabergasts me is that people seriously think that, after 2,000 years, someone is going to come up with the perfect 45 minute clip to disprove the whole of Christianity. I mean, really. We've had some of the most brilliant minds in all of history spend their entire lives exploring and examining every aspect of Christianity in all its details. People REALLY think that "HAR HAR JEBUS IZ SIMILR 2 ODER GODTYPEPPL HE NVR EXISTD!!11!!" has any weight. All I can say is

Here's the benefit for you, push. Use this as an excuse to look at a few areas of Christianity you'd have never thought to examine, but by no means let this have any impact on your personal faith. When you find the answers, and if look and ask, you will, you'll have some extra knowledge you didn't before.

God bless

[Cross.eyed]

The Apologetics Study Bible

Frequently the complaint is made that biblical miracles, especially those of Jesus, were motivated or even inspired by pagan accounts from the ancient world. We are told that healings, demon possession, virgin births, and resurrections were all common fare in ancient times. Perhaps Christians even plagiarized other accounts.

While it is true that a myriad of miracle stories adorned the ancient world, it does not follow that Scripture duplicated them. Although promoted in some popular circles, this assumption is mistaken on several levels.

It is true some scholars emphasize the similarities between pagan and biblical accounts. But we must also accent the more common (and profound) differences. For example, there is usually an immense philosophical gulf between the pagan and biblical backgrounds for their respective miracle accounts. The pagan mindset most commonly incorporated cyclical, repetitive patterns in nature, marked by the seasonal cycles. In contrast, the Jewish philosophy of history moved in linear patterns from one event to the next, culminating in God's grand climax.

Further, these pagan stories often concern persons who never even lived in history, such as Hercules of ancient Greek mythology, while Jesus and other biblical miracle workers undoubtedly did. Moreover, scholars note that these pagan stories were never influential in Palestine, where a far different outlook prevailed.

Surprisingly, virtually no miracle stories in the ancient world are even candidates for inspiring Jesus' miracles. Few of these tales both predate the NT and closely approximate Jesus' miracles. So it is difficult to prove a parallel.



Regarding Jesus' resurrection, the inadequacy of this proposed solution grows even more apparent. Writings clearly claiming that prominate pagan heroes were resurrected postdate the NT accounts. Scholars know that some ancient religious teachings copied from Christianity and Jesus' resurrection may be an example of what was copied!

So there are many reasons why the NT accounts were not derived from pagan texts. The most crucial response, stated simply, is that we have many reasons for believing that Jesus actually performed miracles during His ministry. Indeed, virtually all contemporary scholars agree that Jesus performed many acts tha might be termed "miracles" or "exorcisms".

Most of all, there is an incredible amount of evidence arguing tha Jesus was really raised from the dead. For instance,we have reliable reports from various authors regarding many who thought that they had actually seen the risen Jesus. The most crucial witness is Paul, an eyewitness who provided very early testimony. So we must not miss the clear point that a number of early, credible witnesses (including previous skeptics Paul and James) were proclaiming their conviction that they had seen the risen Jesus, for which they were willing to die. Far from being inspired by faraway tales, many died for their honest belief that they had really seen the risen Jesus. Pagan stories do not explain this conviction.

by Gary R. Habermas

[ageofknowledge]

When I was twelve (maybe 11 I can't remember....but around then but not any later than twelve) I happened to read a book on the history of the world and it is interesting to note how most of the aspects of the Bible are similar to cultures which predate them (and NO I did not read this on a website or anything I read a book and then came to the conclusion myself and NO the book was purely historical and it encompassed world history from the origins of man (eg homo habilis etc.) up to the EU. The book only gave around a page for each ancient culture but the similarites struck me immediatley despite my young age especially that of Zoroastrianism which I believe is still practiced in parts of Iran.

That's actually a growing area in apologetics today. The battle was won amonst scholars in the middle of the 20th century decidedly in favor of Christianity not being a rip off of mystery pagan religions and the Old Testament not being a rip off of surrounding religious myths but due to the rise of neo-paganism in recent years the topic is being reraised by fringe scholars and revisionists. Here's a good book on the subject to get you started: Nash, R. H. (2003). The Gospel and the Greeks: Did the New Testament Borrow from Pagan Thought? Be sure to check out the extensive 'For Further Reading' section.