' ... Actual authors of the Bible saw Jesus after the resurrection. ..."
No, they did not. The Gospels of the New Testament were written by Greek Christians, in Greek, more than 70 years after Jesus died. Dr. Bart Ehrman, a noted New Testament historian and scholar, explains this in the following video.
His videos are very interesting.
FWIW.
L.W.
This is interesting....
Of a different note, my research shows that the first one to see Jesus after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene, just as it says (Mark 16:9). Then the others saw Him afterward.
' ... Actual authors of the Bible saw Jesus after the resurrection. ..."
No, they did not. The Gospels of the New Testament were written by Greek Christians, in Greek, more than 70 years after Jesus died. Dr. Bart Ehrman, a noted New Testament historian and scholar, explains this in the following video.
His videos are very interesting.
FWIW.
L.W.
Sheesh... Matthew was a disciple, Mark was a disciple, John was a disciple and wrote 5 books of the NT. 3 of the 4 Gospels was written by these men. Peter was a disciple, James was his half brother. Jude may have been a disciple or a half brother as well. Paul who wrote the rest of the NT certainly had a powerful encounter with Jesus after his resurrection. 500 people witnessed Christ being alive after His resurrection.
“No one in hell can ever say I went to Christ and He rejected me.
' ... Actual authors of the Bible saw Jesus after the resurrection. ..."
No, they did not. The Gospels of the New Testament were written by Greek Christians, in Greek, more than 70 years after Jesus died. Dr. Bart Ehrman, a noted New Testament historian and scholar, explains this in the following video.
His videos are very interesting.
FWIW.
L.W.
Bart Ehrman is a wolf in sheep's clothing. His statements do not line up with the Bible.
“No one in hell can ever say I went to Christ and He rejected me.
Don't have time to look at that right now, will try to do so later. Someone with more detailed knowledge than I may have something to say about it in the meantime. I'll just say that while we may only have later manuscripts to go by, that doesn't mean that the words don't belong to who they are attributed to. Lots of books have been translated into languages other than that in which they were originally penned, the translation being done by someone other than the original author. The copy of The Gulag Archipelago I read was, I believe, printed, in English, after the death of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who wrote it in Russian. I don't know if an original manuscript signed by Solzhenitsyn exists; even if it did, who can say it was he who signed it? I still consider Solzhenitsyn to be the author. If you want to doubt or disbelieve, you can find reasons to do so.
The biggest problem our country has is not systemic racism, it's systemic stupidity.
Some books of the Bible were written by someone other than the author, like celebrities today have ghost writers for their autobiographies. Paul for instance, when he was in prison. Doesn't mean Paul didn't control the contents, just means he didn't press pen to paper for everything attributed to him.
Until the second coming, I doubt that there will ever be absolute proof of Jesus resurrection nor His virgin birth. I believe that this is God’s intent. It will always be a matter of a personal decision - what do you choose to believe? It requires faith. Faith cannot be self produced; it is a gift from God.
Similarly, how does anyone know that their spouse truly loves them? It is a decision to believe that the spouse is giving love with pure, unselfish, sacrificial intent. There is no proof. Only interpretation of personal experience.
Even though it is Jesus’ desire that everyone be saved, many will choose not to believe. If we were to apply the parable of the four souls, only 1 out of 4 people who hear the gospel will truly believe.
There is a bigger question: what does it mean to believe in Jesus? It is more than intellectual belief. The gospels tell of demons acknowledging that Jesus was the Son of God and knew of His purpose and plan. For me, it took decades to realize that “belief” means that I believe in the Bible so much that I try to live my life according to its message.
Adventure is the only thing you buy that makes you richer
Some books of the Bible were written by someone other than the author, like celebrities today have ghost writers for their autobiographies. Paul for instance, when he was in prison. Doesn't mean Paul didn't control the contents, just means he didn't press pen to paper for everything attributed to him.
That's right but only because of his eyesight which he states at the end of one of his books.
“No one in hell can ever say I went to Christ and He rejected me.
Here's something to keep in mind regarding this discussion: Jesus’ most devout first century followers never owned the Bible, never read the Bible, likely couldn’t have read the Bible if there was the Bible because most of em’ likely couldn’t read and there was no ‘the Bible’ to read. But these devout first century followers of Jesus turned the world upside down and they’re the reason that there are Christians worshipping Jesus today. And they never held the Bible because there was no ‘the Bible’ until the fourth century. So what happened…? What did they believe…? What did they know that many nowadays don’t know…? Why is it that people nowadays are so quick to walk away and/or deny the faith of Christianity because of a book that didn’t even exist when Christianity first began…?
Just curious how you came to that conclusion that His followers couldn't read? The OT had been completed for a centuries. The disciples at the very least were very familiar with the OT and often quoted it as well as secular books. Luke was a physician and Mathew was a tax collector, they both had to know how to read and write to do their jobs. John was told "to write these things down" in Revelation. True that they did turn the world upside down but not because of their own efforts but because of the pre-determined plan of God.
“No one in hell can ever say I went to Christ and He rejected me.
Why do you men think people are leaving it nowadays…? What are some of the reasons that you men think people simply don’t believe it anymore, or no longer find it attractive…?
Because there is too much Bible Thumping. Is that the what you want to hear?
Like everything in life, there must be a balance. Obviously one can't thump the Bible but walk depart from it and expect their ministry to be effective. But neither should one depart from scripture. How wayward man would soon be.
If early Christians were literate and had access to the Bible, would they have used it? And if so, would they have been as effective? Would God's plan still have played out according to his design? Or would the Bible have screwed everything up?
Many people…maybe most people…were raised on a version of the Christian faith that relied on the Bible as the foundation of the Christian faith ~ a version that many people…maybe most people…see as having been dismantled by academia and/or the realities of life. The faith of Jesus’ most devoted first century followers relied on the event of the resurrection of Jesus as its foundation ~ as they all made crystal clear in the historical documents that they wrote. Maybe people nowadays should consider ‘that’ version as well. If people give up on the faith of Christianity because of something about or in the Bible, maybe they’re giving up on it unnecessarily.
' ... Actual authors of the Bible saw Jesus after the resurrection. ..."
No, they did not. The Gospels of the New Testament were written by Greek Christians, in Greek, more than 70 years after Jesus died. Dr. Bart Ehrman, a noted New Testament historian and scholar, explains this in the following video.
Many people…maybe most people…were raised on a version of the Christian faith that relied on the Bible as the foundation of the Christian faith ~ a version that many people…maybe most people…see as having been dismantled by academia and/or the realities of life. The faith of Jesus’ most devoted first century followers relied on the event of the resurrection of Jesus as its foundation ~ as they all made crystal clear in the historical documents that they wrote. Maybe people nowadays should consider ‘that’ version as well. If people give up on the faith of Christianity because of something about or in the Bible, maybe they’re giving up on it unnecessarily.
I don't disagree with any of this, but need to clarify that because people BELIEVE the Bible has been dismantled by academia and/or the realities of life doesn't mean that it has been. Also, Biblical truths can be, and are, troubling, often requiring years of prayer, if not a lifetime, to work through. If one gives up after much prayer and consideration, well thats between them and the Father. In no case do I believe Truths are negotiable.
We should not expect Christianity to be an easy sell. Early Christians, without a Bible, obviously knew this too. What happened to Jesus and all but one of the Disciples? Try to sell that. I agree whole heartly that focus should be on the resurrection and the new birth.
Also, Christians will never be in the majority. In Jesus' first documented Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, he made this scary clear. Therefore, if Christians ever appear to be in the majority, know that its in appearance alone. We are being deceived.
Of a different note, my research shows that the first one to see Jesus after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene, just as it says (Mark 16:9). Then the others saw Him afterward.
I wonder if Mary Magdalene may have in fact been Jesus' wife. I don't think you could be a Jewish Rabbi in that day and time if you were not married. She certainly was close to Jesus and her marital status could have easily been edited out.
There are Arabic versions of scripture that avow that Jesus was born with a twin. Maybe Thomas? He was someone's twin.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Jesus: "Take heed that no man deceive you." Hebrew Roots Judaizer
