What to tell the kids?

[MickinEngland]

I never married or had kids but no way would I ever force religion on them (or anybody else for that matter)
But kids ask questions so my advice would be to give them short simple one-line answers, eg -
Q - "Is there a God"
A - "Jesus said there is"

Q - "But why should we believe him?"
A - "Because God was his dad"

Q - "Was he a phoney?"
A - "He did lots of mind-blowing miracles and stuff"

Q - "But does that mean he's the Son of God?"
A - "Why would he lie?"

Q - "Perhaps he lied to become rich and famous?"
A - "Saying he was the son of God got him the death penalty, not fame and fortune"

Q - "Did he really exist?"
A - "The whole nation of Israel and the occupying Roman army saw him"

 

[Terry]

Q - "Is there a God"
A - "Jesus said there is"

Q - "But why should we believe him?"
A - "Because God was his dad"

a tad circular, isn't it?

 

[Zygar]

"The Bible is the Word of God because it says it is."

Yes, circular reasoning is all Christianity has going for them. They just hope you "believe" before you get around the circle and realize you are right back where you started.

 

[fuelair]

A tad circular??!!!!! It's Jesus on a jet propelled Merry-go-round! AND an overfull load.

 

[MickinEngland]

Ah, but if Jesus was just a run-of-the-mill guru we'd possibly be quite justified in telling him - "on yer bike mate, 'oppit!", but the fact is he did one or two little things that indicate we should maybe listen to him..
Wouldn't that be logical Mr. Spock?
"Yes I'm all ears Mick"

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/jmrcls.html
Bringing little girl back to life
Bringing widows son back to life
Bringing Lazarus back to life
Stilling the storm
Feeding 5000
Walking on sea
Feeding 4000
Coin in fishes mouth
Withering fig tree
Big catch of fish
Water into wine
Another big fish catch
Healing leper
Healing Centurions servant
Healing Peters mother-in-law
Healing sick at evening
Healing paralysed man
Healing haemorraging woman
Healing two blind men
Healing mans withered hand
Healing Canaanite womans daughter
Healing boy with seizures
Healing blind man
Healing deaf and dumb man
Healing another blind man
Healing crippled woman
Healing man with dropsy
Healing 10 lepers
Restoring a cut-off ear
Healing noblemans sons fever
Healing crippled man at Bethesda
Healing a born-blind man
Casting out demons into pigs
Curing a mute lunatic
Casting out dirty spirit
Curing a possessed blind-dumb man
Appeared to his followers after his death
----------------------------------------

 

[fuelair]

Yeah, right - and who says so: that source of trooth, that good book of raging silliness, that third rate collection of (mostly boring) stories - The Bibble. Sorry, proof needed. (See Dawkins. See scientific method. See research.)

And , no, Mick - Spock (assuming real,of course, )would say "Nope!" and I 'spects Leonard Nimoy, for a mildly different reason, would say "Nope!" also.

 

[qayak]

I'm sorry but Jesus isn't impressive at all. Benny Hinn does more than this before coffee break on any given Sunday.

Ah, but if Jesus was just a run-of-the-mill guru we'd possibly be quite justified in telling him -. . . (GENERAL SNIPPING OF BS)

 

[MickinEngland]

I'm sorry but Jesus isn't impressive at all. Benny Hinn does more than this before coffee break on any given Sunday.

Ah, so can we look forward to Hinn claiming the million-buck prize soon?
Sure, Hinn appeals to little old ladies and starstruck sycophants, but most true christians regard him as just another shallow showbizzy TV Evangelist who's not to be taken seriously..
He said once that Jesus will physically appear on stage with him.
Hmm.. that should boost ticket sales and ratings nicely..

 

[Kopji]

Happy Holidays to everyone who got a new computer for Christmas.

Mick's biblical reasoning is really about as good as it gets, and he deserves some thanks for not resorting to overly wordy posts and elaborate arguments.

 

[MickinEngland]

The Bibble. Sorry, proof needed. (See Dawkins. See scientific method. See research.)

Speaking of Dawkins, I had a short snail-mail correspondence with him a few years ago and we got on alright, he was a bit wary at first but softened when I said - "God wrote the Creation/Evolution program, then snapped his fingers to start it, THAT was the Big Bang, so of course I believe in evolution, it's God's handiwork!"

 

[Ducky]

I never married or had kids but no way would I ever force religion on them (or anybody else for that matter)
But kids ask questions so my advice would be to give them short simple one-line answers, eg -
Q - "Is there a God"
A - "Jesus said there is"

Q - "But why should we believe him?"
A - "Because God was his dad"

Q - "Was he a phoney?"
A - "He did lots of mind-blowing miracles and stuff"

Q - "But does that mean he's the Son of God?"
A - "Why would he lie?"

Q - "Perhaps he lied to become rich and famous?"
A - "Saying he was the son of God got him the death penalty, not fame and fortune"

Q - "Did he really exist?"
A - "The whole nation of Israel and the occupying Roman army saw him"

Why do you want to lie to the child? I bet you would lie about the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus too.

Why do you enjoy lying to children?

 

[I less than three logic]

Ah, but if Jesus was just a run-of-the-mill guru we'd possibly be quite justified in telling him - "on yer bike mate, 'oppit!", but the fact is he did one or two little things that indicate we should maybe listen to him..
Wouldn't that be logical Mr. Spock?
"Yes I'm all ears Mick"

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/jmrcls.html
Bringing little girl back to life
Bringing widows son back to life
Bringing Lazarus back to life
Stilling the storm
Feeding 5000
Walking on sea
Feeding 4000
Coin in fishes mouth
Withering fig tree
Big catch of fish
Water into wine
Another big fish catch
Healing leper
Healing Centurions servant
Healing Peters mother-in-law
Healing sick at evening
Healing paralysed man
Healing haemorraging woman
Healing two blind men
Healing mans withered hand
Healing Canaanite womans daughter
Healing boy with seizures
Healing blind man
Healing deaf and dumb man
Healing another blind man
Healing crippled woman
Healing man with dropsy
Healing 10 lepers
Restoring a cut-off ear
Healing noblemans sons fever
Healing crippled man at Bethesda
Healing a born-blind man
Casting out demons into pigs
Curing a mute lunatic
Casting out dirty spirit
Curing a possessed blind-dumb man
Appeared to his followers after his death
----------------------------------------

What a nice collection of unsubstantiated anecdotal claims.

 

[MickinEngland]

I'm sorry but Jesus isn't impressive at all..

Tell him when you meet him and see who blinks first..
"Pray that you will be able to stand before me" (Luke 21:36)

 

[Ducky]

Tell him when you meet him and see who blinks first..
"Pray that you will be able to stand before me" (Luke 21:36)

[qimg]http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpg[/qimg]

OH, thanks for clearing that up. I was almost certain anglicanized facial features were non-existant in Jesus' homeland at his time of life. Good to know that the belief he was a white european guy still persists.

 

[Spindrift]

Ah, but if Jesus was just a run-of-the-mill guru we'd possibly be quite justified in telling him - "on yer bike mate, 'oppit!", but the fact is he did one or two little things that indicate we should maybe listen to him..
Wouldn't that be logical Mr. Spock?
"Yes I'm all ears Mick"

http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/jmrcls.html
Bringing little girl back to life
Bringing widows son back to life
Bringing Lazarus back to life
Stilling the storm
Feeding 5000
Walking on sea
Feeding 4000
Coin in fishes mouth
Withering fig tree
Big catch of fish
Water into wine
Another big fish catch
Healing leper
Healing Centurions servant
Healing Peters mother-in-law
Healing sick at evening
Healing paralysed man
Healing haemorraging woman
Healing two blind men
Healing mans withered hand
Healing Canaanite womans daughter
Healing boy with seizures
Healing blind man
Healing deaf and dumb man
Healing another blind man
Healing crippled woman
Healing man with dropsy
Healing 10 lepers
Restoring a cut-off ear
Healing noblemans sons fever
Healing crippled man at Bethesda
Healing a born-blind man
Casting out demons into pigs
Curing a mute lunatic
Casting out dirty spirit
Curing a possessed blind-dumb man
Appeared to his followers after his death
----------------------------------------

And your primary sources for these are what?

Remember the gospel is a secondary source having been written long after the events and therefore are suspect as to accuracy.

How about this Q&A:
Q - "Is there a god"
A - No, I've never seen one. (excluding Eric Clapton, of course).

Q - "Shouldn't we believe in one?"
A - "No, some people feel the need to, but there has never been any real proof that a god, if it exists, really cares one way or the other if we believe in them."

Q - "Are gods phoney?"
A - "Yes"

Q - "Is Jesus the Son of god?"
A - "No"

Q - "Perhaps he lied to become rich and famous?"
A - "He may not have lied but his followers probably did."

Q - "Did he really exist?"
A - "Possibly but just because a person existed doesn't make them a god."

 

[Tricky]

Tell him when you meet him and see who blinks first..
"Pray that you will be able to stand before me" (Luke 21:36)

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpghttp://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpghttp://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpghttp://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpghttp://img246.imageshack.us/img246/2310/jesus2ra5.jpg

I've led a good and upright life and I have little to be ashamed of. If I meet Jesus and he tells me I have sinned because I was misled by the lack of evidence for his divinity, and because he and Dad did a p**s-poor job of delivering their message, then I'll not only look him in the eye, I'll spit in his eye.

Sic semper tyrannis.

 

[MickinEngland]

What a nice collection of unsubstantiated anecdotal claims.

But if you dismiss the Bible, you'd also logically have to dismiss
Confucius's 'The Analects', the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita and Upanishads, the Taoist Tao-te-Ching,the Buddhist Tripitaka,the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta etc etc.
I mean, why single out the bible?

 

[Ducky]

But if you dismiss the Bible, you'd also logically have to dismiss
Confucius's 'The Analects', the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita and Upanishads, the Taoist Tao-te-Ching,the Buddhist Tripitaka,the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta etc etc.
I mean, why single out the bible?

You didn't answer my question.

Why do you enjoy lying to children?

 

[MickinEngland]

Remember the gospel is a secondary source having been written long after the events and therefore are suspect as to accuracy."

Nah we know enough about the gospel-writers to be able to do a "This is Your Life" TV show about them..

Matthew the disciple, formerly Levi (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27) son of Alpheus, was formerly a tax collector (Luke 5:29-30) one of the 12 apostles handpicked by Jesus (Matthew 9:9), he wrote his gospel between c.60 and 80 AD after Mark wrote his first.

Mark (Latin, "Marcus") also called John, Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), a disciple of Peter (1 Peter 5:13) a helpful co-worker of Paul (2 Timothy 4:11), wrote his gospel c.60AD not long after some Apostolic Letters were written: i.e., James, Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Romans. His mother was one of the Marys (Acts 12:12) from an influential and probably wealthy family, and so some speculated that the last supper was held in their home and that he was the young man in Mark 14:51-52 which is not in the other accounts.

Luke, a doctor (2 Tim. 4:11) and a gentile convert (Luke 1:2) probably by Paul who became his traveling companion (Acts 17:1; 20:5, 6-21:18 ). He wrote his gospel c.65 AD; and

John the disciple, (John 13:23) son of Zebedee, the brother of James the "greater" (Matthew 4:21; 10:2; Mark 1:19; 3:17; 10:35) wrote his gospel c.95AD, the last to be written before Revelation. Also from a wealthy family (Mark 1:20; Luke 5:3; John 19:27). His mother was probably Salome (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40). He was one of the closest disciples to Jesus among the twelve (Matthew 17:1; 26:37; Mark 5:37; 13:3). He was zealous (Matthew 20:20-24; Mark 3:17; 10:35-41; Luke 9:49, 54). He became one the leaders of the Jerusalem Church (Acts 15:6; Galatians 2:9) and of the seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:11). He was banished to the island of Patmos where he wrote Revelation.

 

[brodski]

But if you dismiss the Bible, you'd also logically have to dismiss
Confucius's 'The Analects', the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita and Upanishads, the Taoist Tao-te-Ching,the Buddhist Tripitaka,the Zoroastrian Zend-Avesta etc etc.
I mean, why single out the bible?

we do dismiss all of the above, (well the non Buddhist atheists, agnostics and deists here do).

It is you who singles out the bible as being proof of something, whilst these other texts are not.