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How do you know what the nature of the original message was? We have some information that is dubious, unless you dug up an old scroll or something I don't see what you have that we do not.
Neurology has shown that if you ask someone what their God thinks about x and what you think about x the same parts of the brain becomes active. I want you to please consider that. Is it possible that the "true" message is just what you want to be true?
Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry, acted with mercy, and called out religious hypocrites. Whether he was a historic figure, or an allegorical one, those are behaviors to emulate. I don't need some old scroll, or an originalist account. Jesus, as a memetic construct, personifies a collection of admirable behaviors. Historicity is irrelevant to "What would Jesus do?" as a moral hypothetical.
Jesus healed the sick, fed the hungry,
In Mark he healed the lepor after first yelling at him. In Matthew and Luke and Mark he then orders the lepor to go to a Pharisse and repent. In Mark he heals a women's son so she would make him a meal. In Matthew as a demonstration of his power to a Roman leader. Again in Matthew he only heals a woman's son after he grovels at his feet and called herself a racial slur. As for the tradition of feeding the multitudes it is pretty funny how the people who saw it (twice!) couldn't remember it and Jesus has to remind them on the ship.
acted with mercy,
When? Certainly not in John with the Adultress, that was a seventh century forgery. Was it when he ordered the swine to die? Or cursed the fig tree? Or when he told people he talked in parables so they wouldn't understand him and go to hell? Was it when he told people to only divorce in cases of adultery? Or when he told people they had to follow the law stronger than anyone else? Or when he told them to rip their eyes out for being horny? Or all the torture he gets up to in Revelations? Or when he told his followers that they will murder his enemies and cast the bodies in front of him at his feet?
nd called out religious hypocrites.
Cite an example. Because I am turning up blank.
Whether he was a historic figure, or an allegorical one, those are behaviors to emulate.
A con made up but sure why the hell not? If you ignore all the awful stuff and only pick and choose the few verses you like go ahead and do it. Buffet style morality.
Historicity is irrelevant to “What would Jesus do?” as a moral hypothetical.
Tell people that they should abandon their work and family depending on skydaddy to solve their issues for them.
only pick and choose the few verses you like go ahead and do it
You don't see any irony in that statement at all
Nope demonstration of the same logic used on different data as a means of showing a flaw in reasoning is not endorsement, it is demonstration.
To me the Bible is propaganda based on lies. It is only a source of morality/wisdom accidentally.
To me the Bible is propaganda based on lies. It is only a source of morality/wisdom accidentally.
Exactly. And while there are some very basic "good rules," the content of "the message" is much more about maintaining existing power structures, explicitly or subtly oppressing women and other marginalized groups, and suppressing advocates of revolutionary change.
The negatives and the baggage far outweigh the positives, especially since there's absolutely nothing unique or even groundbreaking about the idea of "treat others with kindness"
especially since there’s absolutely nothing unique or even groundbreaking about the idea of
Sidrattha aka the Buddha said the golden rule 5 centuries before Jesus supposedly existed. And there is zero reason to believe that the man wasn't repeating even older thinkers.
All of it comes down to the entire game theory/evolutionary biology fields. Humans didn't invent the idea that being nice to one another is a good idea, we inherited it. We are born with it.