RE: Alpha episode 2: Is there more to life than this? Join the Alpha Course for a share of the SBD from this series of posts
Hi @happyme, thanks for your contribution to the discussion once again.
I agree with you that Jesus was NOT in fact born on Christmas Day.
With relation to your other points, here's just some of my thoughts on the matters you raised:
(1) What has the number of copies of a manuscript have to do with authenticity? If 2,000 years from now historians find 300 copies of Harry Potter, does that indicate it is a true account of what actually happened in real life here on Earth?
You are correct in pointing out that the number of copies of a manuscript does not prove anything about the truth of the document. However, the number of copies of the manuscript does strengthen the historical reliability of the document. When all these copies are almost exactly the same, then we can be reasonably confident about the preservation of the original text. And the fact that two of the Gospels, Matthew and John were written by eye witnesses to Jesus' life and resurrection, then I believe it gives more credibility to the truth of what is written.
(2) Jesus said, "If you see me, you have seen God." But Jesus is claimed to be the SON of God, so if you are inclined to believe you see God when you look upon Jesus, then you should also accept that when you see me, you also see God... because God is within us all.
I don't fully understand your point here. Can you please elaborate? Why do you think God is in us all?
Yes Jesus made many similar claims which his Jewish audience at the time all understood. He was claiming to be God through his statements such as "If you see me, you have seen God.", or his claim to be the Son of God, or "I and the Father are one." This is exactly why they killed him, because he claimed to be God.
The death and resurrection of Jesus is supposed to be the ultimate proof, yet we know that death can easily be simulated with drugs. I have seen someone who can (simply using his mind) lower his heart rate and breathing to the point that they would be considered dead by any average person. It would have been very easy to fake a death at that time in history. Even if the death was not deliberately faked, it could have been that Jesus was in a state that looked like dead, but when cared for, he managed to live a while longer and people were able to see him before he perished.
Jesus was crucified. Not sure if you looked into the details of crucifixion, but anyone who was crucified definitely didn't survive. He would have definitely bled to death if he didn't die at the cross. After Jesus resurrected, he appeared to his disciples 40 days before ascending.
The video then goes on to claim as evidence, the 2.3 Billion Christians who likely manifested Jesus through self-hypnosis because they desired an encounter so much. We all know the tricks our minds are capable of playing on us.
The problem with the theory of hypnosis, self-hypnosis or hallucinations, is the fact that so many people came to the same realization, and more importantly the fact that so many of these Christians were killed, tortured and suffered because of their faith, all the while staying faithful to what they believe. Why would so many people do that if they know it wasn't true? In particular, the thing that shook my previous beliefs while I was half way through university was the fact that almost all of his remaining 11 disciples deserted him when he was arrested and crucified, but after the alleged resurrection, they had a complete turn around. They were no longer cowards and afraid, but instead they all became courageous and almost all of them were martyred for their faith. So in my opinion, I can't see anything else that may have occurred to explain the change that happened to his closest disciples except the fact that he really did rise from the dead. We can discuss more about evidence for the resurrection when we get to it in one of the future videos.
Sorry about the lengthy response. Once again thank you for taking the time to view the video and make some really meaningful points to the discussion.
Once again, thanks for offering these discussions. I am learning a lot here.
In response to your question:
There are a number of situational experiences that I have been told about or have personally experienced in my lifetime that lead me to this conclusion. I can't say for sure if the idea is my own or if it was planted into my head by God. It just suddenly dawned upon me that God exists in all of us because God is ubiquitous. Each plant, animal, bacteria, individual cell is a miracle. With no brain, plants can sense things and react to the sensation. Cells and bacteria can communicate without vocal chords and without making a sound. Try and define what God is and you may come to the same conclusion. God is not human-like. God is everywhere at the same time. AND we possess some pretty awesome powers! The power of belief is way more powerful than most people realize. I will give you one example:
While visiting relatives in Greece, I noticed that many (if not most) women wore jewelry that contain blue-stone. It is believed that this stone helps to ward off the evil eye. I didn't believe in this 'crap' and laughed it off. One day, my sisters and I were out in Athens and I began to feel very lethargic and had a head-ache. When we returned to my aunt's home I told her I needed to lie down because I was feeling quite worn out and ill. She suggested I might have the evil eye and offered to cure me. I scoffed at her, but was just too weak to argue, so in order to appease her, I allowed her to do her thing. Within seconds, she told me I had the evil eye and that she was getting my head-ache and she began to yawn. In under 5 minutes, we were both fine! This made me question my current belief and all of a sudden what I thought was 'crap' started to become real. I asked her if she could teach me how to do this healing and she taught me. Some time later, while on a tour bus, a friend of my aunt asked my aunt to see if she may have been 'eyed'. Here was my opportunity to test my new skill. I performed the ritual and took her head-ache and began to yawn. In a few minutes, we were both fine. Then comes the interesting part...
Back in Canada, my sister tells me that it was her that gave me the evil eye when we were in Athens. She also attempted to see if she could do it again, but failed. This led me to conclude that my sister was not strong enough on her own to affect my health, but when in among other believers, she was able to harness the energy from others and make me sick. In Canada, there just aren't enough believers close enough to summon their energy.
If it were a matter of using God's energy or even the devil's energy, then why would distance be a factor? It had to be that each of us have an energy that radiates out from our bodies and diminishes in strength with distance. Just as bacteria in our guts can communicate directly with our brains, we are also able to communicate with the energy of others and borrow some or focus it at something or someone.
If we all have this energy that can be used for good or for evil and it is based simply on belief, then it seems reasonable to conclude that God is a manifestation of our combined belief and that the Devil is also manifested by those who think evil thoughts. Thus it is stated in the Bible that one day the Devil will be vanquished. That day will be when nobody thinks evil thoughts and we all learn to love one another and think only good thoughts! This can only happen when we all understand that we are just a small part of a wonderful living world and that we must all cooperate so that we all succeed.
Nope! I believe it is irrelevant in the overall picture. As others here are still arguing the facts, it seems pointless to try to prove or disprove the details. I wasn't there to witness it and study it, so I can't say for sure either way. What I do know is that even today, we argue about climate change and who is at fault. I read so many statements and watched videos that argue corruption and ego to blame for telling lies and manipulating data. It's just not possible to know who is telling the truth and who is not. So again, I derive my own conclusions and that is to say that this global warming is caused by natural phenomenon that we have no control over. The changing tilt of the Earth's axis will slightly alter how ocean currents move and we know that the ocean is a large factor in weather patterns. Sun spots and solar flares will also affect our weather. We may be contributors, but we are not the major cause.
They were believers, so they believed it WAS true. Just look at all the magic shows and the spectacular tricks they perform. Tell me how those tricks were done. If you can't, you will be forced to BELIEVE the magic really happened. Under pressure, you would still be unable to change your opinion. "I saw it with my own eyes," is the best answer you could give.
No need to apologize for long responses. This is a topic that can't be properly discussed in a few words.
Hi @happyme, thanks once again for responding. I’m really enjoying our discussion here too.
Thanks for your detailed explanation and examples. I understand what you are saying now. That’s really fascinating experiences you had. I trust these experiences must have been powerful for you. I totally believe in supernatural experiences and miracles. I believe there is God and other spiritual forces in the world in the form of angels and fallen angels (evil spirits). I have witnessed many supernatural occurances and miracles too after becoming a Christian half way through university. Actually a couple of the videos later on in this series looks more indepth into these supernatural topics relating to the Holy Spirit, miracles and healing, so we could discuss more about this then if you’d like.
Thanks again for your reply. Look forward to discussing more throughout future videos.
Life is often full of surprises. I look forward to having a few more surprises, and to seeing what the other videos have to say. The responses to the videos are also very interesting.