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Originally posted by Superman
Either you believe Jesus is the world's most hilarious hoax......or you believe Jesus is who He said He is. Either a lunatic......or the Son of God. Pretty wide range there, but there is no middle ground. You seem to reject the assertion that Jesus is the Son of God.
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Actually, there is substantial middle ground. It is not a choice between “liar, lunatic or lord” as some would say.
Take a look at these links. (You might want to browse this whole site as well, I find it to be unbiased, well written, honest, accurate and balanced. Pay special attention to the articles on the history of Christianity. It wasn’t always what it is today.) These articles point to a different Jesus than “liar, lunatic or lord.”
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcsi1.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jckr.htm
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa5.htm
There is a lot of info in these articles (and many more articles about this on that web site), but these quotes stand out in my mind:
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[Jesus was] An observant Jew who had a special relationship with God -- a kinship so close that Jesus referred to God by the familiar term "Abba."
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Jewish Christians circa 30 CE appear to have believed that he was a Jewish reformer, teacher, prophet, and native healer, but not a deity.
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I get the impression that he was a profound and wise religious philosopher. His belief in god was so substantial that he used this term “Abba.” You won’t like this analogy (don’t take it too literally), but in my mind, it’s kind of like being so close to your football coach that you say “he is like a father to me,” or something along those lines. His followers either mistakenly took his usage of the term Abba literally or the message got “transformed” by the time it got written down.