
Here are some quotes posted by Mariano on his Atheism is Dead blog that should get one thinking.
Atheism is Dead: Atheist Quotes / Atheism Quotes
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This is a great quote!!!!
Here is part 7 of Mariano's 7 part post discussing Jewish conception of what the Messiah is and how Jesus fits.



Cooper put the hard news on hold this week to dedicate two minutes to eviscerating Montag and her performance, starting off his rant with the following: "I don't really know who this person is, nor why she is pretending to be a singer nor why anyone should listen to her, but apparently she's famous."
He continued, saying that Montag is "so famous she actually Twitters.... And she Twittered to congratulate herself. She tweeted she had so much fun, and she also thanked God. I don't think God had anything to do with this production."
After a quick back-and-forth with a CNN contributor, Cooper hypothesized that "If God has the time to work on this production and that's the best God can do, we're all in trouble." When Cooper continued, saying he wasn't sure who Heidi even was, his counterpart informed him that "she's married that annoying Spencer Pratt." Ouch.


This is an awesome lecture. Consider moral relativism utterly refuted!
Assuming there was ever a historic Jesus and that the Gospels were even loosely based on actual events (which I greatly doubt), I think there is a much simpler explanation. Maybe it wasn't him at all! Maybe the disciples didn't recognize him because it wasn't the same dude! Maybe they wanted so much to believe that he had risen, that they voted in a new Messiah.
"Sure, he looks different and walks with a limp, but he knows all the scriptures and what a great story this will make! He rose from the dead! Praise the Lord!"
What do you think?
Image via Wikipedia
John 20:14 And when she [Mary Magdalene] had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Mark 16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
Luke 24:16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
Jesus Appears to the Disciples
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.
He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms."
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."
They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." - Acts 1:10,11
"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
" 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet." '
"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
By The Book Comics: A hopefully humorous look at the Bible

"Biblical Insights into the Problem of Suffering"
Bart D. Ehrman
Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes biblical scholar Bart Ehrman for a discussion of his intellectual odyssey with a focus on how the Bible explains the problem of human suffering. The conversation includes a discussion of the challenges of biblical interpretation when confronting this age old problem of the human condition. Included are topics such as the contribution of the prophets, a comparison of the old and new testaments, the book of Job, and the emergence of apocalyptic writers.
Recorded April 17, 2008

Jesus: Well, you see I had these 12 guys I was hanging out with when I was there. I thought they had learned my teachings well enough to put it on paper myself. We didn't plan on them inserting their thoughts and miscalculations into the Word of God. We still let these guys into heaven when they died, but they don't get full privileges here.
Me: Rumor has it that when you were here last time that you cured the sick and raised people from the dead. How much did you profit from doing that?
Jesus: You don't make a profit for that sort of thing. A true Christian wants to hang out with healthy people and help those who aren't healthy back to health. Christians want to take care of each other and not profit off the misfortunes of others.
Me: We have an entire industry here dedicated to profiting off of the misfortunes of others though. What do you think of that?
Jesus: We have a special place for them when they pass on. Let's just say they'll never need a winter coat and leave it like that.
When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:11-13
At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." Luke 7:21-23Here is the quotes from the post equating the imaginary "death panels" with final judgement in heaven.
Me: We've been debating health care reform down here lately. We've got loony tunes on the right lying and deceiving the public about it. We've got politicians talking about imaginary death panels, scaring our older citizens. Any thoughts on that?Jesus: Just one. There is definitely a death panel. Make no mistake about that. And when these lying, deceiving, and pathetic scare mongers do die I'm at the head of the death panel. I decide on everlasting life, and you can count them out.Me: So have you seen those domestic terrorists carrying guns around town hall meetings trying to intimidate people on health care reform?Jesus: Definitely. Honestly, you've got to put a halt to those things. You've got the right party in control now, just get it done. What you people don't understand is how angry my Dad got the first time he saw a spawn of Satan armed at one of those. It took all of my persuasive power to talk him out of sending a bolt of lightening down there to tickle that idiot's ass. I try now to keep Dad preoccupied with other matters whenever a town hall is scheduled now.Me: So, another example of people who don't need to pack for cold weather when they die, huh?Jesus: No, definitely going to be plenty warm where people like that are heading. Listen, I have to run. I'm about ready to convene another death panel here myself and it looks like there's quite a crowd to judge today. We'll chat again some day.
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. - Romans 3:22-26
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." - John 14:5-7
A Muslim part-time model will become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia after pleading guilty to drinking beer, a prosecutor said today.
An Islamic court ordered that Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, be lashed six times with a rattan cane after she was caught drinking alcohol in a raid on a hotel night club in eastern Pahang state last year.
Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi said Kartika will be the first woman to be caned under Islamic law after she chose not to appeal the sentence.
He said: 'This is the first case in Malaysia. ... It is a good punishment because under Islamic law a person who drinks commits a serious offense.'
Yesterday the court set a one-week period starting next Monday for the sentence to be carried out in a woman's prison, Saiful said. Prison authorities will decide when to cane her during that period.
He said Kartika will remain in prison during that time and will be released 'as soon as possible' after the caning is carried out.
Saiful said the rattan cane to be used on Kartika would be lighter than the one used on men, and its purpose was to 'educate' rather than punish.
Caning, administered on the buttocks, breaks the skin and leaves permanent scars. Kartika said earlier that she wanted authorities to cane her as soon as possible so she can resume her life with her husband and children.
Some politicians and women's rights activists have criticized the penalty as too harsh.
Muslims, who make up about two-thirds of Malaysia's 28 million people, are governed by Islamic courts in all civilian and Islamic matters.
Most alcohol offenders are fined, but the crime also carries a three-year prison term and caning.
Non-Muslims are governed by civil courts, which also impose caning for offenses such as rape and corruption. Men over 50, women and children are exempt under civil law.
A Muslim man and woman were also arrested during a series of raids in Cherating, a beach town in Pahang state, on the night when Kartika was arrested.
Both were also sentenced to caning, but have appealed.
Malaysian clubs and lounges typically serve alcohol and are not legally required to check if customers are Muslims before serving them.
Skeptics sometimes cite Kersey Graves in Sixteen Crucified Saviors or Godfrey Higgins' Anacalypsis (which Graves drew from) in asserting that Krishna was a crucified deity. No such event occurred in the Gita or in any recognized Hindu scripture. Given the pronounced syncretic tendency of Hinduism, it is safe to assume that any odd tales of Krishna's being crucified arose only after the existence of Christian proselytism, in imitation of the Christian narrative. It is neither authentic to Hinduism nor is Hinduism the source of that portion of the Christian narrative. The same may be said for most of the purported nativity stories. In my opinion, both Higgins and Graves are highly unreliable sources and should be ignored.

My brother-in-Christ, Mariano, sent me the accompanying cartoon. He is right. It most definitely captures the anthropocentric cosmological argument perfectly. The argument is that the universe is balanced and optimized for human life. I however take the view that the universe is designed according to God's purposes and desires. We just happen to be part of those purposes.
Image via Wikipedia
http://www.kingdavid8.com/Copycat/JesusQuetzalcoatl.html
http://text.farmsresearch.com/publications/jbms/?vol=11&num=1&id=298
http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/id1067.html

Here is part 6 of Mariano's 7 part post discussing Jewish conception of what the Messiah is and how Jesus fits.




