Paul?

[Reid]

Did Paul visit the place where Jesus was burried?
Did Paul ever preach about the Prophet Jesus or did he always talk about the Heavenly Father?

I have ran into this new argument that I believe in a creator, I even believe there was a Paul, but Jesus seems to be no different in His teachings than the Budha.

Why are the biblical stories so closely tied to the themes of the Oddesy? To the one that questions Christianity they claim all of these stories are just myths and they are no different than all the stories written in the Oddesy and so many other “non inspired” gospels.

I need help addressing these issues.

 

[FuzzyBunny116]

What parallels are there to the Oddesy? I don’t know any themese. If s/he means goodness and trying and all that jazz, thats in tons of literature. Two ancient sources with similar themes don’t make them copycats.

Jesus differed from Buddha because he said he was GOD and those that follow him and keep his commandments will achieve Heaven. Buddha said not to grow attached to things to achieve Nirvana, a state of mind of happiness and peace. I don’t really see many similarities.

Besides, I imagine Jews didn’t come into contact with Greeks much. They fiercly tried to maintian their identity as God’s own people without mingling with other cultures (yes, I know they fell away often). I don’t even know if the Greeks accepted the Oddesy and The Illiad as real stories, or just myths.

Remember also, that unlike many of the myths of religion, Christians can trace their story to a time-33 AD-with people that outside history notes, such as Jesus, with accounts written at the time.

If he did visit or if he didn’t visit, does it matter? Why would he go to see an empty tomb after he and seen the risen Christ?

I don’t understand what you mean preaching about the “prophet” Jesus and Heavenly Father.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Reid:

Did Paul visit the place where Jesus was burried?

Probably not. Remember, Jesus wasn’t buried there for very long (and certinally not by the time Paul converted).

Did Paul ever preach about the Prophet Jesus or did he always talk about the Heavenly Father?

Well, Paul thought of Jesus as more than just a prophet. And he talked quite a lot about both.

I have ran into this new argument that I believe in a creator, I even believe there was a Paul, but Jesus seems to be no different in His teachings than the Budha.

BUDHA? C’mon - you can’t be serious. You’re gonna have to back that one up with a more concrete example other than “they were both men of peace.” (although Budha, of course, had lived a life of brutal killing before he came to that realization).

Of course, there are elements of Truth in Budha’s teachings. The same could be said for Muhammad or even Joseph Smith. Jesus IS Truth, so He will be present in some capacity anywhere that Truth is proclaimed.

Why are the biblical stories so closely tied to the themes of the Oddesy? To the one that questions Christianity they claim all of these stories are just myths and they are no different than all the stories written in the Oddesy and so many other “non inspired” gospels.

I’d love to hear more about this relationship. Other than a few very broad concepts (the “gods” play a role in mortal life, good triumphs over evil, etc) I find very few similarities between the vengeful Homer and the peaceful Jesus (or Budha for that matter).

 

[Andrew_11]

Buddah might have had some good teachings that were similar to some of the teachings of Christ, but Buddah is no Jesus. Buddah never claimed to be the son of God, he did not rise from the dead, or raise other people from the dead. He didn’t multiply loaves of bread and fish, or heal paralyzed people, or drive out demons.

The Odyssey is entirly a work of fiction. There are four gosples written independently of each other that give the same basic story. There is also historical and archeological evidence that backs the gosples, so to say they are just like any other story is false.