That's shifting the burden, so I'll skip to why you are confused. You are treating two very different things claimed about Jesus as if they are the same. Firstly, Christians say Jesus was a man who lived on Earth. I can accept that because I have evidence that people live on Earth. But Christians also claim Jesus is a god, did miracles, came back from the dead and is still around as a supernatural being. There is no evidence of that. That's a problem you have in convincing non-believers. Lots of different cultures imagine lots of different supernatural beings called gods, and yet there is no evidence for even one of them.
You say Jesus demonstrated his divine qualities, but let's consider the source. They are the writings of people who WANTED to elevate a human being who might have lived to a supernatural being. (Like the Greeks did with Heracles). The trouble with those writings about Jesus is, 1) they conflict, 2) they include supernatural events that no one else can corroborate such as the dead rising, and 3) a book cannot validate itself. Christians claim the Bible is true and the inspired word of God (both Old and New Testaments), so the Jesus myth is presented in the same book that says a snake can talk and a man was made magically from mud. Resurrection and return are events claimed about other deities as well, so you cannot accept the Jesus story without accepting those others which have an equal amount of evidence (zero). These stories are simply not credible when looked at objectively. And that's important if you want to understand why people question the claim "Jesus is went from man to God and he is still around." Not everyone has been steeped in Christian indoctrination, so not everyone accepts that extraordinary claim.
The only evidence for Jesus or the claim he was divine, in any way, is from the Bible. And, that assumes the Bible is an accurate accounting of Jesus, his words, and his deeds. However, the Roman records and chroniclers in Jerusalem contemporary with Jesus make no mention of him. The 'extra-Biblical' references often cited by Christians were written later, after Christianity had begun to spread and grow. A man who could heal the sick and rise from the dead would be mentioned in contemporary accounts.
So, I don't know Jesus wasn't God. However, I am as confident that Jesus isn't divine as I am that Zeus and Thor aren't gods.
I imagine it has something to do with taking the Bible out of context or the lack of the Spirit.
Just like cults, non-Christian religions and anti-Christian religions all claim that Jesus is not God and never claimed to be. The devil doesn't want the truth out there and is the author of confusion. They claim Jesus isn't God without even stopping to consider that the very reason Jesus was condemned to death was because He claimed to be God and they refused to believe and called Him a liar. He wasn't a liar and to say He isn't God is like condemning Him all over again. He was innocent of the charge of blasphemy, He claimed to be God because He is. It was their own hardness and unbelief that wouldn't listen to His words and He died. It was supposed to happen that way, but Jesus has already died and risen again - and people still claim He isn't God. As the Bible says: What's done will be done again, there is nothing new under the sun.
Same way they know that Odin, who claimed to be God and demonstrated his divine qualities, isn’t God.
You can't prove that gods, fairies, wizards, vampires and leprechauns aren't real, but given the lack of any evidence that the stories told by ignorant and superstitious ancients about them are true, why would you believe in them?
We don't actually know if Jesus demonstrated any divine qualities... we don't even know if the people who wrote about him knew him. We don't have proof, we have hearsay.
How do you know these people are not gods? They claim to be, and some of their followers testified to them having divine qualities: http://www.oddee.com/item_98878.aspx
Are you willing to accept them as Gods because people claim they saw them do amazing things? If not, why do you expect anyone else to just buy your hearsay?
As far as I know, its nothing but a story. I don't know anything. Certainly not a man dead 2000 years now. I have no knowledge of anything he demonstrated. Wasn't alive. The only thing I got is a story.
No evidence. There's also no evidence that he claimed to be god. That seems to be a claim that his followers put on his mouth much later.
Why don't Christians accept the story that hundreds of people witnessed Julius Caesar's ascension into the heavens? Why don't they accept all the stories of miracles attributed to Apollonius?
I think we all would love to know where in the bible did Jesus claim to be God? I've been reading the bible for over 30 years and I have never ever seen that. I would love just one scripture just one where he claimed to be God.
Oh No, not again. Start studying, really studying the Bible and the truth will set you free. Jesus never claimed to be God. The Bible was revised by the early church to support the Trinity after it was fully developed in 381 AD. Do some research on the BIBLE
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That's shifting the burden, so I'll skip to why you are confused. You are treating two very different things claimed about Jesus as if they are the same. Firstly, Christians say Jesus was a man who lived on Earth. I can accept that because I have evidence that people live on Earth. But Christians also claim Jesus is a god, did miracles, came back from the dead and is still around as a supernatural being. There is no evidence of that. That's a problem you have in convincing non-believers. Lots of different cultures imagine lots of different supernatural beings called gods, and yet there is no evidence for even one of them.
You say Jesus demonstrated his divine qualities, but let's consider the source. They are the writings of people who WANTED to elevate a human being who might have lived to a supernatural being. (Like the Greeks did with Heracles). The trouble with those writings about Jesus is, 1) they conflict, 2) they include supernatural events that no one else can corroborate such as the dead rising, and 3) a book cannot validate itself. Christians claim the Bible is true and the inspired word of God (both Old and New Testaments), so the Jesus myth is presented in the same book that says a snake can talk and a man was made magically from mud. Resurrection and return are events claimed about other deities as well, so you cannot accept the Jesus story without accepting those others which have an equal amount of evidence (zero). These stories are simply not credible when looked at objectively. And that's important if you want to understand why people question the claim "Jesus is went from man to God and he is still around." Not everyone has been steeped in Christian indoctrination, so not everyone accepts that extraordinary claim.
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof."
The only evidence for Jesus or the claim he was divine, in any way, is from the Bible. And, that assumes the Bible is an accurate accounting of Jesus, his words, and his deeds. However, the Roman records and chroniclers in Jerusalem contemporary with Jesus make no mention of him. The 'extra-Biblical' references often cited by Christians were written later, after Christianity had begun to spread and grow. A man who could heal the sick and rise from the dead would be mentioned in contemporary accounts.
So, I don't know Jesus wasn't God. However, I am as confident that Jesus isn't divine as I am that Zeus and Thor aren't gods.
I imagine it has something to do with taking the Bible out of context or the lack of the Spirit.
Just like cults, non-Christian religions and anti-Christian religions all claim that Jesus is not God and never claimed to be. The devil doesn't want the truth out there and is the author of confusion. They claim Jesus isn't God without even stopping to consider that the very reason Jesus was condemned to death was because He claimed to be God and they refused to believe and called Him a liar. He wasn't a liar and to say He isn't God is like condemning Him all over again. He was innocent of the charge of blasphemy, He claimed to be God because He is. It was their own hardness and unbelief that wouldn't listen to His words and He died. It was supposed to happen that way, but Jesus has already died and risen again - and people still claim He isn't God. As the Bible says: What's done will be done again, there is nothing new under the sun.
Same way they know that Odin, who claimed to be God and demonstrated his divine qualities, isn’t God.
You can't prove that gods, fairies, wizards, vampires and leprechauns aren't real, but given the lack of any evidence that the stories told by ignorant and superstitious ancients about them are true, why would you believe in them?
Provide proof in this order:
1) Jesus' existence.
2) Jesus claimed to be "God" (from source other than the Bible).
3) Jesus demonstrated divine qualities.
We don't actually know if Jesus demonstrated any divine qualities... we don't even know if the people who wrote about him knew him. We don't have proof, we have hearsay.
How do you know these people are not gods? They claim to be, and some of their followers testified to them having divine qualities: http://www.oddee.com/item_98878.aspx
Are you willing to accept them as Gods because people claim they saw them do amazing things? If not, why do you expect anyone else to just buy your hearsay?
As far as I know, its nothing but a story. I don't know anything. Certainly not a man dead 2000 years now. I have no knowledge of anything he demonstrated. Wasn't alive. The only thing I got is a story.
No evidence. There's also no evidence that he claimed to be god. That seems to be a claim that his followers put on his mouth much later.
Why don't Christians accept the story that hundreds of people witnessed Julius Caesar's ascension into the heavens? Why don't they accept all the stories of miracles attributed to Apollonius?
I think we all would love to know where in the bible did Jesus claim to be God? I've been reading the bible for over 30 years and I have never ever seen that. I would love just one scripture just one where he claimed to be God.
Oh No, not again. Start studying, really studying the Bible and the truth will set you free. Jesus never claimed to be God. The Bible was revised by the early church to support the Trinity after it was fully developed in 381 AD. Do some research on the BIBLE