Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 5:25 pm
Now I know what I wanted to say.
You call this an iconic event. Was it really even an event? Aren't events things that actually happened? How do we really know that Jesus was crucified? How do we know he even really existed? I'm NOT arguing that he didn't exist and wasn't crucified, but am pointing out that believers sure do accept a lot of information at face value. There are literally no historical records of Jesus existing, yet believers believe. I assume he existed, personally, but I strongly doubt he walked on water and rose from the dead. If he existed he was just a man with a mission. He probably never said everything that is attributed to him.
What if I made up a story with an abundance of symbolic power? As long as the story elicits the desired effect in the target audience the truth isn't important. This seems to be what you're saying when you say, "A question such as whether the nails went through Jesus' hands or the wrists is barely relevant to the symbolic power of this iconic event." If we can identify holes in the story and find absolutely no empirical evidence for the balance of the tale why should we believe?
I know...I'm a bit of a party pooper. I think too much. I question too much. I'm a skeptic and a cynic. Maybe I should just join the flocks of followers and stop analyzing every last detail. But I can't. It isn't in my nature.
So there is symbolic power. Ok, I will grant you this. But is this enough for you? What if the actual event never took place? Just knowing that certain aspects of the story are clearly false leads me to suspect the whole story. Where do you draw the line? At what point do you say: "Well, this part of the story probably happened while the rest of this might be embellishment." How do you what is fact and what is fiction?A question such as whether the nails went through Jesus' hands or the wrists is barely relevant to the symbolic power of this iconic event.
You call this an iconic event. Was it really even an event? Aren't events things that actually happened? How do we really know that Jesus was crucified? How do we know he even really existed? I'm NOT arguing that he didn't exist and wasn't crucified, but am pointing out that believers sure do accept a lot of information at face value. There are literally no historical records of Jesus existing, yet believers believe. I assume he existed, personally, but I strongly doubt he walked on water and rose from the dead. If he existed he was just a man with a mission. He probably never said everything that is attributed to him.
What if I made up a story with an abundance of symbolic power? As long as the story elicits the desired effect in the target audience the truth isn't important. This seems to be what you're saying when you say, "A question such as whether the nails went through Jesus' hands or the wrists is barely relevant to the symbolic power of this iconic event." If we can identify holes in the story and find absolutely no empirical evidence for the balance of the tale why should we believe?
I know...I'm a bit of a party pooper. I think too much. I question too much. I'm a skeptic and a cynic. Maybe I should just join the flocks of followers and stop analyzing every last detail. But I can't. It isn't in my nature.