"So we already passed the 2000th anniversary of his birth."
First of all, the original Anonymous Coward never claimed nor alluded to the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was born exactly 2000 years ago. You are stereotyping Christians by assuming that we all believe Christ was born 2000 years ago.
"...historians are in universal agreement that Jesus of Nazereth was NOT born 2000 years ago...but somewhere between 2002 and 2006 years ago."
You are correct when you say that Christ was born during the reign of Herod but be careful when you reference "historians" and in particular when you say that they are in "universal agreement". I'm willing to bet that they are not in "universal agreement". These historians of yours, were they secular Generalists or did any specialize in Bible History? How unbiased were these historians (either secular or non-secular) in presenting their arguments? Also, you might want to consider the evidence offered by Biblical Archaeologists (not specifically to the Birth of Christ, but in support of Bible history in general)
"Christians like yourself have such a Christian-centric view of the world that they have lost their ability to think rationally"
Hmmm...seemed like Anonymous Coward was thinking fairly rationally to me...I may not agree with all of his statements but he provided his hypothesis and supported it to the best of his ability. Seems rational. Are you sure that you did not mean to say "Christians do not think like I do so they must not be thinking rationally." Also...as often as you may say that I, or any other Christian for that matter, may have a Christ-centered view I can say that you have a Non-Christ-centered view. Of course, as a Christian, my viewpoint, and the viewpoint of Anonymous Coward, is Christ-centered. The worldview of any individual who holds to a system of belief (or unbelief) is going to be molded by that faith. Its called a Paradigm...
"Hell....half the Christians I know think it's blasphemy to say that Jesus was a non-white Jew"
Well...maybe you are talking to the wrong Christians? Not only that, but, and I mean no offense to my Christian brothers and sisters out there...but not all of us are right. The Bible tells us that "Many will be called, few will be chosen". The best answer I can give you is to read your Bible with an open-mind and an open-heart and see what you find there (I, for one, know that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, a Jew of the lineage of Abraham, Father of the Israelites and David, King of Israel -- his lineage is layed out at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew)
Christians are not infallible. We don't claim to be...in fact, as a Christian I admit that I fail too often and it is for that reason that I cling to Christ as my Savior. I'm not so egotistic as to assume that I have all the answers...so, on that, I would ask you the question: What if you are wrong?
Our Bible tells us that we are living in the Last Days but it does not tell us from whose perspective those Last Days are. From the perspective of an immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God, a few millenium is NOTHING...so over the last two thousand years maybe all of us have been right. Our Bible also tells us that Christ will return at a time that we know not... He'll come back when we least expect him and are not really looking for him (just the way he came -- that's why the Jews did not and do not (with the exception, I think, of the Messianic Jews) consider Jesus to have been their Messiah). Could be this year...could be next...could be 1000 years from now...we don't know.
"...you are a flaky religious nut who has been looking for signs of the apocalypse ever since the day you were 'born-again'."
And you, sir, with all due respect, are a religious bigot who should not throw about opinion as if it were fact! Remember, sir, that the Theory of Evolution.... is just a theory.
My goal is not to incite a flame war here...just to express a point of view and to challenge readers to provide constructive, supported responses or to at least point individuals in the right direction.
Constructive responses are always welcomed. Flames will be summarily trashed.
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First of all, the original Anonymous Coward never claimed nor alluded to the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was born exactly 2000 years ago. You are stereotyping Christians by assuming that we all believe Christ was born 2000 years ago.
"...historians are in universal agreement that Jesus of Nazereth was NOT born 2000 years ago...but somewhere between 2002 and 2006 years ago."You are correct when you say that Christ was born during the reign of Herod but be careful when you reference "historians" and in particular when you say that they are in "universal agreement". I'm willing to bet that they are not in "universal agreement". These historians of yours, were they secular Generalists or did any specialize in Bible History? How unbiased were these historians (either secular or non-secular) in presenting their arguments? Also, you might want to consider the evidence offered by Biblical Archaeologists (not specifically to the Birth of Christ, but in support of Bible history in general)
"Christians like yourself have such a Christian-centric view of the world that they have lost their ability to think rationally"Hmmm...seemed like Anonymous Coward was thinking fairly rationally to me...I may not agree with all of his statements but he provided his hypothesis and supported it to the best of his ability. Seems rational. Are you sure that you did not mean to say "Christians do not think like I do so they must not be thinking rationally." Also...as often as you may say that I, or any other Christian for that matter, may have a Christ-centered view I can say that you have a Non-Christ-centered view. Of course, as a Christian, my viewpoint, and the viewpoint of Anonymous Coward, is Christ-centered. The worldview of any individual who holds to a system of belief (or unbelief) is going to be molded by that faith. Its called a Paradigm...
"Hell....half the Christians I know think it's blasphemy to say that Jesus was a non-white Jew"Well...maybe you are talking to the wrong Christians? Not only that, but, and I mean no offense to my Christian brothers and sisters out there...but not all of us are right. The Bible tells us that "Many will be called, few will be chosen". The best answer I can give you is to read your Bible with an open-mind and an open-heart and see what you find there (I, for one, know that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, a Jew of the lineage of Abraham, Father of the Israelites and David, King of Israel -- his lineage is layed out at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew)
Christians are not infallible. We don't claim to be...in fact, as a Christian I admit that I fail too often and it is for that reason that I cling to Christ as my Savior. I'm not so egotistic as to assume that I have all the answers...so, on that, I would ask you the question: What if you are wrong?
Our Bible tells us that we are living in the Last Days but it does not tell us from whose perspective those Last Days are. From the perspective of an immortal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God, a few millenium is NOTHING...so over the last two thousand years maybe all of us have been right. Our Bible also tells us that Christ will return at a time that we know not... He'll come back when we least expect him and are not really looking for him (just the way he came -- that's why the Jews did not and do not (with the exception, I think, of the Messianic Jews) consider Jesus to have been their Messiah). Could be this year...could be next...could be 1000 years from now...we don't know.
"...you are a flaky religious nut who has been looking for signs of the apocalypse ever since the day you were 'born-again'."And you, sir, with all due respect, are a religious bigot who should not throw about opinion as if it were fact! Remember, sir, that the Theory of Evolution.... is just a theory.
My goal is not to incite a flame war here...just to express a point of view and to challenge readers to provide constructive, supported responses or to at least point individuals in the right direction.
Constructive responses are always welcomed. Flames will be summarily trashed.