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1. Later Generations of Christians Re-Branded Jesus. Later generations re-branded Jesus, embellishing his story, but sometimes it's contradicts the Christian message. For instance, in Matthew 15:21-28, Jesus's comparison of a gentile woman to a dog and his initial refusal to help her shows this.
2. A Trouble Maker. The bible shows Jesus as a troublemaker as he challenged Israel's rulers by publicly declaring himself as a great figure with the use of apocalyptic symbolism. Instigating disturbances in the Jerusalem Temple heightened tensions, especially as some of his followers carried weapons!
3. The Gospels Resemble Historical Fiction! Some scholars think the gospels are like what Bernard Cornwell has done with his works about Uhtred of Bebbanburg! Jesus Christ did not teach our Christianity, his followers did— scripture writers had the final word!
4. The Failed Messiah Approach. Jesus was seen as a failed messiah because he did not meet everyones expectations of the role.
5. The Biased Writing Angle. E.P. Sanders, a credible biblical scholar, believed that Jesus's arrest and execution was unexpected. He argued that Easter traditions were created retroactively by followers to explain Jesus's fate and rebuild their movement.
6. Bad news for the Jews. Many Jewish people did not benefit from the introduction of Christianity, despite being considered God's 'chosen' people. Centuries of christian-based anti-semitism in Europe caused hardships. It seems the gospel story brought them no benefit, this is not fitting the message of loving your neighbour.
7. It is an Unrealistic Story. The miraculous stories, raising the dead and healing by touch are far fetched. None of us sane minded individuals would believe to similar events today from friends, we quickly dismiss it nonsense. We never see legitimate news reports about real miracle workers, angels or demons, dragons or nephilim.
8. So Much Contradiction! There are numerous scriptural sources about Jesus: The New Testament, The Nag Hammadi Scriptures and The Apocrypha, for starters. Across the internet various sources claim that tens of thousands of denominations exist, which are all like interpretations or expressions (for want of a better description) such as Methodists, Calvinists, Mormons, or Jehovah's Witnesses. They can't all be right, but many can be wrong!
9. It's a Dodgy Deal! If Jesus rose again and walked, the divine trinity went back on its deal of the son dying for the sins of humanity, because, let's face it, death is a permanent arrangement, it is not being alive ever again! There's no consensus on the nature of the risen Jesus either, so we can't explain whether he was a ghost or a spirit, which we commonly associate with death or a physical ressurection which is the deal breaker.
10. Contraception and Sexual Ethics: In 1968, the Catholic Church released a document called 'Humanae Vitae' to continued the ban of artificial birth control such as condoms and the pill. This religious decision led to significant health problems for adherents of the faith, especially in communities afflicted with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases: we all know such protection greatly helps reduce the spread of illness and death.
These ten points are meant to stimulate that detective mindset. If you want to add to the list or have any thoughts, please share them in the comments section!
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