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BlueFrog
Guest
How do you guys know that Jesus was real?
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TeenageConvert
Guest
i really don’t know to be quite honest. But I used to doubt him. A lot. But that was before I was Baptized and Confirmed. I really haven’t had as much trouble with doubting God since then
But it’s mainly about trusting in him, even if you’re not sure at first, and letting him work in you and your life, then you see and you wonder how you ever could have doubted lol
But it’s mainly about trusting in him, even if you’re not sure at first, and letting him work in you and your life, then you see and you wonder how you ever could have doubted lol
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EucharisticLove
Guest
Catholics believe that Jesus is really present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus has made His presence in this wonderful Sacrament known to us. Here’s an example!
americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/amazing-video-eucharist-is-our-lord.html
Ask Our Lord to make Himself present and real to you, in a world that is constantly trying to make Him into a false image. And may He bless you!
Jesus has made His presence in this wonderful Sacrament known to us. Here’s an example!
americaneedsfatima.org/Articles/amazing-video-eucharist-is-our-lord.html
Ask Our Lord to make Himself present and real to you, in a world that is constantly trying to make Him into a false image. And may He bless you!
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coolduude
Guest
I used to doubt Him too. If you can, read the book The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. He explains much better than I can the historicity of Jesus. But know that to deny Jesus even existed is now frowned upon in the scholarly community. It is generally accepted that He existed. But from there everyone has their own opinion.
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ready
Guest
Doesn’t St. Padre Pio life give you reason to believe Jesus was real?
The Church says that Jesus was (and is) real and the Church is the voice of God on earth … and God does not lie.
The Church says that Jesus was (and is) real and the Church is the voice of God on earth … and God does not lie.
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Claire_from_DE
Guest
- There is historical evidence that He existed.
- All of His closest followers, the apostles, spent the rest of their lives witnessing to His resurrection from the dead and offering to all people the life of unity with God and each other that He preached. They persisted in doing this despite whippings, stonings, imprisonments, many other hardships and tortures, and finally were put to death for this (except for John, who died a natural death while imprisoned on the island of Patmos).
- Innumerable people throughout the ages since than have been willing to die rather than renounce their faith in Him.
- I have personally experienced His friendship. I wish you the same joy and peace. It makes life worthwhile in good times and in bad. And there’s even better things to look forward to after death!
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EucharisticLove
Guest
I would like to add to my above post that if you were to google ‘Josephus’, ‘Tacitus’, or ‘Pliny the Younger’, they all have documented evidence of Jesus’ life on earth. One of them even documented the darkness which covered the earth at the crucifixion! Also, they weren’t even Jesus’ followers; they were Pagans and Jews!
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SGWessells
Guest
If by “real” you mean “existed in history,” I know Jesus was real the same way I know Napoleon was real, or any other historical figure. Many first century pagan writings document his existence, including Tacitus and Pliny the Younger. Josephus also mentions him, though parts of his comments are probably interpolated. From the first century A.D., the four Gospels have been recognized as accurate and authoritative.
Beyond the documentary evidence, which would be more than sufficient to establish the existence of any other, less controversial, figure, the rise and influence of the Christian Church is simply inexplicable unless Jesus had lived (and lives still). No effect can be greater than its cause, and the Jesus of the Gospels is too real to have been invented.
If you mean “was really God and man,” look at what he claimed to do. He claimed to forgive everybody’s sins (Mat. 9:6),that he would rise from the dead(Mat. 27:63); that he had existed before Abraham (John 8:58: the Jews recognized this as a claim to divinity, since they took up stones to kill him for blasphemy). Besides claiming divine attributes, he did divine deeds; healed the sick, foretold the future (accurately), raised the dead, and so on. The only credible explanation for the resurrection is that it actually happened. No other theory accounts for the post-resurrection appearances and the remarkable transformation in the lives of the apostles, from discouraged and terrified cowards to bold and heroic preachers and martyrs. This is a brief summary of a few good reasons to believe; there are many others, and many excellent books detail them.
Beyond the documentary evidence, which would be more than sufficient to establish the existence of any other, less controversial, figure, the rise and influence of the Christian Church is simply inexplicable unless Jesus had lived (and lives still). No effect can be greater than its cause, and the Jesus of the Gospels is too real to have been invented.
If you mean “was really God and man,” look at what he claimed to do. He claimed to forgive everybody’s sins (Mat. 9:6),that he would rise from the dead(Mat. 27:63); that he had existed before Abraham (John 8:58: the Jews recognized this as a claim to divinity, since they took up stones to kill him for blasphemy). Besides claiming divine attributes, he did divine deeds; healed the sick, foretold the future (accurately), raised the dead, and so on. The only credible explanation for the resurrection is that it actually happened. No other theory accounts for the post-resurrection appearances and the remarkable transformation in the lives of the apostles, from discouraged and terrified cowards to bold and heroic preachers and martyrs. This is a brief summary of a few good reasons to believe; there are many others, and many excellent books detail them.
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YankeeRC
Guest
The positive evidence/witness of people who believed Jesus was real for over 2000 years. I have no problem at all accepting the ‘realness’ of Jesus over, say, Julius Ceaser. Jesus shaped our present world.
If we lived in the year 2011 of Mighty Mouse I would be open for sceptical discussion.
If we lived in the year 2011 of Mighty Mouse I would be open for sceptical discussion.
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midori
Guest
No competent scholar denies Jesus’ historicity. As some of my archaeology teachers used to say, you get your “fringe nutjobs” out there, but your basic academic community accepts Jesus’ existence as historical fact. It’s what you do after it that falls into the realm of religion.
If by “believing in Jesus” you mean “accepting Christ’s divinity”, that’s different. You can look at it in the most basic way— reading the Gospels as four biographies of sorts about his life. Even with your suspension-of-disbelief turned on, you probably come away with the thought that he was a good man. He was a wise teacher. He had profound things to say that people have been mulling over for nearly two thousand years after he said them.
But that same good, wise, profound guy also claimed divinity.
Was he lying? Only if he claimed to be God, but knew he wasn’t.
Was he crazy? Only if he claimed to be God, and sincerely thought he was, but was wrong.
If he was lying, to what profit? Execution by the Romans?
If he was crazy, how much crazier are we for believing him if there wasn’t something to it? With all the great minds that have been Christian-- and all the minds that have been anti-Christian-- don’t you think Christianity would have been toppled by now if our only foundation was the warped mind of a lunatic?
But in essence, the “good, wise, profound teacher” profile really doesn’t match with any of the liars or crazy people I know. I certainly don’t know any thousands of people would sacrifice their lives believing in, or that billions of people would subscribe to as being God.
Of course, there’s the argument that Jesus existed, but didn’t exist as depicted in the NT— but take a look at Paul’s letters, for example. Paul clearly believed in Christ’s divinity, right? What people was he writing to? What time period did he write in? Do you think if there was a difference between the historic Jesus and the mythic, divine Jesus that someone would have called him on it? If the texts were tinkered with at a later date, don’t you think there would be some evidence in the archaeological record of the development of the Christ-myth?
So, yeah. Those are some of the high points to think through. Good luck on your journey.
If by “believing in Jesus” you mean “accepting Christ’s divinity”, that’s different. You can look at it in the most basic way— reading the Gospels as four biographies of sorts about his life. Even with your suspension-of-disbelief turned on, you probably come away with the thought that he was a good man. He was a wise teacher. He had profound things to say that people have been mulling over for nearly two thousand years after he said them.
But that same good, wise, profound guy also claimed divinity.
Was he lying? Only if he claimed to be God, but knew he wasn’t.
Was he crazy? Only if he claimed to be God, and sincerely thought he was, but was wrong.
If he was lying, to what profit? Execution by the Romans?
If he was crazy, how much crazier are we for believing him if there wasn’t something to it? With all the great minds that have been Christian-- and all the minds that have been anti-Christian-- don’t you think Christianity would have been toppled by now if our only foundation was the warped mind of a lunatic?
But in essence, the “good, wise, profound teacher” profile really doesn’t match with any of the liars or crazy people I know. I certainly don’t know any thousands of people would sacrifice their lives believing in, or that billions of people would subscribe to as being God.
Of course, there’s the argument that Jesus existed, but didn’t exist as depicted in the NT— but take a look at Paul’s letters, for example. Paul clearly believed in Christ’s divinity, right? What people was he writing to? What time period did he write in? Do you think if there was a difference between the historic Jesus and the mythic, divine Jesus that someone would have called him on it? If the texts were tinkered with at a later date, don’t you think there would be some evidence in the archaeological record of the development of the Christ-myth?
So, yeah. Those are some of the high points to think through. Good luck on your journey.
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Rolltide
Guest
Just to confirm this, I work as an Associate Professor of History at a private college in the US. I personally know hundreds of colleagues who are professionals in history, archaeology, and ancient literature. NONE of these academics I know would deny the historicity of Jesus. That’s not to say that you won’t find a few scholars out there with divergent opinions, but honestly, the existence of Jesus doesn’t keep most academics (from the liberal to the conservative) up at night in the slightest.No competent scholar denies Jesus’ historicity. As some of my archaeology teachers used to say, you get your “fringe nutjobs” out there, but your basic academic community accepts Jesus’ existence as historical fact. It’s what you do after it that falls into the realm of religion.
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Mark_David
Guest
That’s right. A lot of unbelievers seem unaware of this. Bart Ehrman (of all people) once publicly humiliated an atheist (Infidel Guy) when the latter kept insisting that Jesus was a mythical figure. You can listen to it here.
This argument - crazy, lying, or correct - can also be applied to St. Peter and Paul and all the martyrs. Why be fed to the lions unless one knew Christ is God? If Peter and Paul were insane or deluded, how did they author such brilliant epistles?
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coolduude
Guest
That was brutal. >.<
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fred_conty
Guest
Hi,
I think you meant that He is the Son of God and Saviour of the world.
You really can’t prove it from an intellectual side. Because there is too much that is like Alice in Wonderland viewed from pure logic. If I were a pagan, logically I don’t think I could believe the story. It is just a bit fantastic without faith. Because that is really what Jesus was, fantastically great, far above human logic could ever imagine.
That is what has been said all along, namely that faith is a free gift FROM God. That a person with faith sees things that others without faith do not get to see. And faith is a gift in addition to logic and separate from logic.
So how I know that Jesus is everything He said He was is thru God giving me faith.
If a person wants faith, then the best thing to do is to ask for it over and over and get as many other christians as you can to pray for you. And O yes, read books written by others who found Jesus.
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BlueFrog
Guest
guys thks for the replys i was just having a really off day. i know now that the lord Jesus is with me… Gods peace to you all
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Erethorn
Guest
Just to add my two cents:
I don’t know whether He was real, whether He said and did what the Gospels tell us, whether He was God or not.
However, there is quite a possibility that He existed, and He taught those things, and He was killed in o most atrocious manner because of it.
Therefore, if his teachings resonate within me, and if I believe that the world would be a better place were the people to live by His teachings, then I can honor and respect Him for teaching thus and I can respect and honor Him for going up the Calvary for that.
In doing so, I respect and honor all that I believe is good and just; I honor self sacrifice, I honor selflesness, I honor love.
I can easily do that by chosing to believe that He was God.
I don’t know whether He was real, whether He said and did what the Gospels tell us, whether He was God or not.
However, there is quite a possibility that He existed, and He taught those things, and He was killed in o most atrocious manner because of it.
Therefore, if his teachings resonate within me, and if I believe that the world would be a better place were the people to live by His teachings, then I can honor and respect Him for teaching thus and I can respect and honor Him for going up the Calvary for that.
In doing so, I respect and honor all that I believe is good and just; I honor self sacrifice, I honor selflesness, I honor love.
I can easily do that by chosing to believe that He was God.
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