Originally Posted By mrkthompsn #19. That's close, but in Jesus' own words, why did He come to Earth?
Originally Posted By ecdc >>That's close, but in Jesus' own words, why did He come to Earth?<< This pre-supposes that we know Jesus' words. We don't. We have words that have been attributed to him, but all external evidence suggests they were not his. Even the best case scenario offers serious problems. That Jesus' words were somehow preserved in an oral tradition and passed down for several years until they were recorded in the Gospels. But even with this, there's simply no way to demonstrate how accurate the record was of what was actually said.
Originally Posted By X-san SHHHH! QUIET, ecdc... I think the oompa-loompas are getting ready to sing.............
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP Are you looking for John 18:37? 37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn #24 is the winner. Not only were these words spoken, they were spoken in the court of law. Jesus came to the earth for this primary purpose ... ... to testify to the ~truth~. He is not a liar
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I still think he came to Earth just in time for the annual Girl Scout Cookie Sale. No one can resist those Thin Mints. No why Boy Scouts don't sell cookies? Noboby would eat a cookie with "B.S." stamped on it.
Originally Posted By X-san "I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don't know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten" - Page 6 "all the things that truly matter — beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace — arise from beyond the mind" - Page 14 "Emotion arises at the place where mind and body meet. It is the body's reaction to your mind — or you might say, a reflection of your mind in the body" - Page 20 "Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike a signpost, it points beyond itself" - Page 90 "As far as inner transformation is concerned, there is nothing you can do about it. You cannot transform yourself, and you certainly cannot transform your partner or anybody else. All you can do is create a space for transformation to happen, for grace and love to enter" - Page 131 "Whenever anything negative happens to you, there is a deep lesson concealed within it, although you may not see it at the time" - Page 147 If anyone was "sent by god", it's this guy...NOT Jesus (who was, admittedly, very cool). Welcome to the new age, no lines, no waiting, no pain...and a new awareness for all.
Originally Posted By X-san ***Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.*** Jesus was awesome, and did speak the truth as far as I'm concerned. His words are words to live by, no doubt. Not sure I really dig a god (any god, past or present) that would be lame enough to use a word like "heareth" though. (wow, even my spell checker rejected it!)
Originally Posted By Dabob2 For those of us who believe in Jesus' divinity, the answer is obvious. To those who don't, the answer is equally obvious. And so it goes.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>For those of us who believe in Jesus' divinity, the answer is obvious. To those who don't, the answer is equally obvious. And so it goes.<< Exactly. One can't bring up these kinds of topics and expect everyone to be "rah rah" about it. There's going to be different perspectives, and that's a good thing.
Originally Posted By gadzuux Okay, who here knows the mind of god? I think we've got some volunteers who are just sure of it.
Originally Posted By DAR He comes to the U.S. especially because he realizes that the opportunties are great in this country. Sure he has to sneak through on the Arizona/Mexico to get here. But I can't really blame him for wanting to provide a better life for him and his family.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn Since Jesus has come here to testify to the truth, that means there is indeed a "truth". What is the general definition of "truth"?
Originally Posted By Dabob2 mrkthompsn, you're still starting with a preconceived belief, that Jesus is Lord. I happen to share that belief, but not all do. If a condemned man today, say Joe Jones from Jacksonville, were given his last words and said "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice" it wouldn't mean that that was the case. Just that he said it.
Originally Posted By utahjosh <What is the general definition of "truth"?> Things as they really are.
Originally Posted By mrkthompsn The problem is that Joe Jones did not have thousands of witnesses who saw him perform miracles, nor saw him prosecuted for no crime, nor saw him resurrected after execution, nor heard him prior say "If you see the Lord, you see me". Nor did anyone see a star appear at his birth, nor did anyone predict miracles that he would have performed.
