Jesus was catapulted to deific status by the willingness of people at the time to believe in the supernatural, largely due to a lack of advanced scientific understanding. Thus powerful rhetoric and maybe a few simple stunts could suitably impress a number of people, who would then spread rumours, each time the stories becoming more amazing until he's idolised, seen as an insurgent, and immortalised through his death as a revolutionary.

This just wouldn't cut it today. Science has made us more rationing, calculating individuals, we would question any claim of godliness and whoever made it would be ridiculed and labelled insane. Che Guevera has become something of an icon for disillusioned youth. If he had claimed he was the son of God would he have been believed? Of course not. Derren Brown achieves amazing effects through psychological manipulation, but if he claimed he was the messiah, he would be laughed at, and probably egged.

The concept of a messiah is ridiculous today, as no proof will ever be sufficient. Why, therefore do people continue to believe the poorly accounted stories of over two millenia ago without any solid proof? I'm not bashing christianity here, I just don't understand this way of thinking.

Just to solidify my point; I am the messiah, I'll turn water into wine to prove it. Now start worshipping me.

Also, (and correct me if I'm wrong) doesn't the world need to have 1/3 of it's population to be "true Christians", the ones that get raptured, before the Rapture itself can commence?

Last I checked the world was about 20-25% Christian, and I doubt all of them are "truely" Christian as the bible would require.

The second coming has nothing to do with jesus.

the second coming will be the precise moment when the divine will inherent in existence exercises its might effortlessly to revolutionize the mind of the world.

[This message has been edited by Eil (edited 02-24-2005).]

I wonder if in a few millenia Neil Armstrong will be looked at as the space god.... or Marilin Manson as the devil.... or Hitler as the god of war....

It would be quite fun to go into the future and see who/what is classified as religion

Ok, sorry about the second coming muddling, I meant it as if a messiah figure were to return. The main point was that the concept wouldn't stand up to today's scrutiny, yet strangely, a 2000 year old myth does. I just don't get it.

The point about today's icons is intersting. In a thousand years will Che Guevara be the symbol of the main religion of the western world? The iconic potential is all there, there just needs to be some clouding of the facts to make him seem more godly. Although I think with the vast amount of information available on all iconic figures to day, the blowing out of proportion of these people won't be able to happen.

[This message has been edited by Rav (edited 02-24-2005).]

According to my studies, Jesus is already here.

There is also literature of a 'Christ Consciousness'.

Maybe the second coming is in accordance with the planetary shift in consciousness, which many sources from my studies indicate.

This shift has apparently been upon us since the early 80s.

I would also like to mention that ancient scriptures should perhaps not be taken literally but as symbolic.

Symbols are how 'we' can 'speak' to eachother without the mess of specific meanings, like words, and their different impact on different people.

Symbols allow an individualization of the percieved context, though ultimately the achieved meaning is the same deep within each individual.

...Or so my studies lead me to believe at this point in time.

What the fuck are your 'studies'?

Why can't you all just stop living to die, start living to live. If that makes any sense. Quit living the way 'god' wants you to, so you can go to 'heaven,' and start doing something useful with your lives--like advancing technology, or science, or the human race, somehow.

Many smart people stunt the growth of humanity by allowing such petty things as religion get in the way of such scientific possibilities as stem cell research. I say all of the religious zombies take a look at what they're doing... Stem cells could be studied and eventually used to save millions of lives. Possibly at the cost of a few zygotes... boo hoo.

The second coming, when looked at metophorically, may not even have antying to do with christianity but an end to an age of piousness and ridiculous rules. I can definatley see (and stand) an end to an age of credit cards and currency in general. That definatley has the mark of the beast on it. You have to have a social security number to exist in this society, to go to school, to get a job, to even get a-fucking-rrested, you have to have a social security number. If anything was the mark of the beast, THIS is it. The Irony being that the one's most following rigidly it's dogma will kill the ones that the very scripture itself says to save for we are the one's for whom the trumpets depicted, without the number of the beast on our forhaeads

Jesus wont come until you all stop being cunts. http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif)

There couldn't be a second coming because you touch yourself at night.

quote:Originally posted by angustheotherwhitemeat:

There couldn't be a second coming because you touch yourself at night.

No that's why the dinosaurs died out.