This article is a critical examination of the so-called teachings of Jesus Christ. If you would like to read my personal journey from Christian to non-Christian, believer to unbeliever, you can do so in this article (Why I’m no longer a Christian) Let’s start by stating facts… If Jesus existed: We don’t know what Jesus […]
We don’t know what his personality was really like
We’re unable to verify anything either, because we don’t have any video, audio or photos of Jesus, nor do we have access to a time machine.
All we have are ancient manuscripts which:
Weren’t written by God
Weren’t written by Jesus
Weren’t written by Jesus disciples
Weren’t written by eye witnesses to Jesus or to anything written about in the gospels, but by anonymous writers in the 3rd person 50-100 years after the fact who had never met, seen or spoken to Jesus (the gospels never say “and then I saw Jesus” or “then Jesus said to me” etc. and titles found in the Bible such as “The gospel according to Matthew” etc. were later added by editors)
Are extremely summarized, and exclude 99.99% of Jesus life including the 18 lost years of Jesus (between 12-30)
Weren’t written in English (Jesus spoke Aramaic, the gospels were written in Greek, and weren’t translated into English until 1536)
Aren’t the originals, all we have copies that were made centuries later
Also not even all of the Bible claims to be written, inspired or commanded by God, sometimes it’s just an author like Paul giving his own subjective opinion 1 Corinthians 7:121 Corinthians 7:25
Miracles aside…
In this article I’m going to leave aside the claims of Jesus miracles such as:
Jesus being born of a virgin, being the son of God, and one with God
Jesus speaking to God and the devil, casting out demons, being ministered to by angels
Jesus healing the blind, deaf, lame, mute, crippled and paralyzed, those with leprosy, a man with a shrived hand, and even raising the dead on multiple occasions
Commanding a storm to stop by rebuking the wind and the waves
Turning water into wine, and five loaves of bread and two fish into enough food for 5 thousand people with leftovers, and then seven loafs of bread and a few small fish into enough food for 4, 000 people with leftovers
Walking on water
Being resurrected from the dead 3 days after he was crucified
Who was Jesus?
According to the gospels, opinions varied about Jesus from those who met him. Some people thought he was demon possessed or mad (including his own family) others thought he was a prophet, the messiah, the son of God.
I’m going to leave all that aside though, because whether or not Jesus was:
The son of God, or God himself
A great religious or spiritual teacher
Enlightened
A cult leader
A mentally insane person suffering from delusions of grandeur
…the claims in the Bible, the words attributed to him, are either correct or incorrect, right or wrong, true or false, regardless of who said them.
Jesus was wrong
So let’s get to it…
Christians claim that the Bible is inerrant, and that Jesus is infallible, but the following are things that Jesus was simply wrong about in the gospels:
Jesus was wrong #1
Nothing will be impossible for you with a little faith
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
Is this true in your experience?
Common sense, logic and life experience contradicts this obviously untrue assertion.
Jesus was wrong #2
Prayers aren’t answered
Jesus says a lot about prayer, and he makes big claims for it, as if it was a magical one way telephone line to God.
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:21-22
“Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” Mark 11:24
“I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” John 14:13-14
But this is contradicted by experience. Millions of Christians pray to Jesus every day for things and don’t get them.
Prayer doesn’t work. Scientific studies have proven that it works at exactly the rate of chance, meaning it doesn’t work, and those that know they’re being prayed for tend to do worse.
Some Christians/Muslims/Religious people will argue that they’ve prayed for things and received them – and I believe them.
However, what about all of the things you’ve prayed for that you never received?
“The root of all superstition is that men observe when a thing hits, but not when it misses” – Francis Bacon
According to most Christians:
If you get what you prayed for: God answers prayers
If you don’t get what you prayed for: God works in mysterious ways or it wasn’t part of God’s plan
Prayer doesn’t work, action is better:
Evidence collected over many years, obtained from many locations, indicates that the power of Prayer is insufficient to stop bullets from killing school children.
Prayers without accordant action are silent lies told to oneself, heard by no God, amounting to nothing. Action is the language of truth, the prayers of the Saints.
Jesus appeared to his disciples after he had risen while they were eating and said:
These signs will accompany those who believe:
In my name they will drive out demons
They will speak in new tongues
They will pick up snakes with their hands
When they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all
They will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well Mark 16:17-18
How many Christians do you know that can do any of these things?
Jesus even said, “Everything is possible for one who believes”Mark 9:23
Is that true in your experience?
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” John 14:12
Do you know of any Christians that can or have performed greater works than Jesus?
If not, is that because Jesus was wrong or misquoted?
No Christian (or human being) has done greater works or performed greater miracles than those of Jesus (if true)
Also note that the Pentecostals and other Christians who speak in tongues aren’t speaking a real language (it’s just gibberish)
Jesus was wrong #4
Jesus teaches the exact opposite of reality
Blessed
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man
Woe
But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets Luke 6:20-26
In your experience, if you’re being completely honest with yourself, are the:
Poor
Hungry
Crying
Hated
Excluded
Insulted
Blessed?
Would you rather be:
Rich or poor?
Hungry or well fed?
Crying or laughing?
Have people hate you, exclude you and insult you, or speak well of you?
Jesus here blessed everything crappy, and said woe to everything that aids in human wellbeing.
In short: It doesn’t matter if your life sucks now, because the afterlife will be awesome.
Jesus was wrong #5
Jesus encourages being a doormat
I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you Matthew 5:39-42
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it backLuke 6:27-31
This is bad advice: If you let people walk all over you, use and abuse you, take your money and possessions etc. you will soon be homeless and living on the street.
Jesus was wrong #6
Do not save money, give it all away
If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me Matthew 19:21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal Matthew 6:19
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money Matthew 6:24
Rich can’t enter into the kingdom of heaven
In fact, if you’re rich you can’t get into heaven:
Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God Matthew 19:23-24Mark 10:25Luke 18:24-25
The reason Jesus taught this is because he thought that the end of the world was near. Why save up money if the world is about to end any day now?
However giving away all of your money and possessions is not a smart way to live. Poverty sucks.
Jesus was wrong #7
Jesus says that anger is a sin (even though he got angry)
Anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell Matthew 5:22
Anger is a completely normal emotion. Everyone gets angry. Including Jesus.
Jesus was wrong #8
Jesus encourages self-mutilation to prevent sin
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell Matthew 5:27-30
Jesus doubled down on this too:
If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell Matthew 18:8-9
Actually he tripled down:
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,where the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched Mark 9:43-47
Except our hands, feet and eyes don’t cause people to “sin”. Thoughts and thinking patterns cause our desires, actions and habits, and we don’t even have control over our thoughts, they just appear to us from out of the void, from out of nowhere.
A lot of Jesus commands are almost impossible to live up to e.g.
Jesus even says “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48
What’s the point of commandments that no one can live up to?
And if these commands aren’t to be taken literally, why didn’t Jesus just speak plainly? Without parables? Why speak in such a way that even your own disciples don’t understand you?
Jesus was wrong #9
It doesn’t matter what you eat or drink or wear
Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Matthew 6:25
Why do you worry about clothes? Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear? Matthew 6:31
Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles themMatthew 15:11
Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean) Mark 7:18-19
Actually your diet (physical and mental) and the foods you eat have a major impact upon your emotions and mood and the way you think and feel (which in turn have an effect upon your desires, actions, habits etc.)
What you eat is important. What you consume mentally and physically is important. Garbage in, garbage out.
It’s also important to eat healthy if you want to avoid cancer, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, obesity, osteoporosis, high blood pressure etc.
Jesus and his disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating
Jesus disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating either:
Some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat! Matthew 15:1-2
Jesus didn’t wash before eating either:
When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table.But the Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus did not first wash before the meal Luke 11:37-38
Why didn’t Jesus wash his hands as an example for others?
Why didn’t he tell his disciples to wash their hands?
Why didn’t he teach the people about the importance of cleanliness to prevent germs and disease instead of lecturing the person who asked him why he didn’t do it?
This is simply not true. This is a fallacy of black and white thinking. Unless you’re a celebrity, the vast majority of people (99.99%) are neither for you nor against you. They’re indifferent. They don’t care about you one way or another.
Jesus was wrong #11
Jesus preached blind belief
Jesus preached blind belief without evidence, and he chastised those whose faith wasn’t strong enough, including his own disciples.
However faith isn’t a reliable path to truth (people can believe anything they like but that doesn’t make it true) and you can’t just choose what you do and don’t believe (you either believe it or you don’t). Also your beliefs should be based upon evidence and logic, not just what someone told you.
“Faith is belief without evidence and reason; coincidentally that’s also the definition of delusion” – Richard Dawkins
Jesus was wrong #12
Jesus falsely prophesied his return in the 1st century
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom Matthew 16:28
Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God Luke 9:27
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened Mark 13:30
The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.
Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened Matthew 24:29-34
There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. When you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened Luke 21:25-32
Jesus promised to return over 2, 000 years ago and he still hasn’t.
Jesus and the angels never appeared from Heaven, the stars never fell from the sky, none of these things happened. Nothing he prophesied happened.
Christians are still waiting. Every generation thinks they’re the last. According to this 2013 poll 41% of Americans surveyed think we’re living in the end times.
Apologists can try to spin this, but the simple fact is that Jesus was either wrong or misquoted.
According to the Bible that makes Jesus a false prophet or misquoted (and if Jesus is misquoted than the Bible is not inerrant or the word of God)
How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord? If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken Deuteronomy 18:21-22
Jesus was wrong #13
Jesus falsely prophesied to the high priest and the Sanhedrin
Jesus also falsely prophesied to the high priest and the Sanhedrin (assemblies of either twenty-three or seventy-one rabbis appointed to sit as a tribunal)
You will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven Matthew 26:64Mark 14:62
Except the high priest and the Sanhedrin never saw Jesus sitting at the right hand side of God, or coming on the clouds of heaven, or any such thing.
Jesus falsely prophesied to Nathaniel
Jesus also falsely prophesied to Nathanael when he declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
Jesus said, You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that. He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man John 1:50-51
Nathanael never saw any such thing. Neither did anyone else.
Questions for Christians
In addition to these false teachings of Jesus I have a number of questions for Christians…
Where is God?
If God wants everyone to believe in him, where is he?
Why does God go to such great lengths to hide himself from us?
Why doesn’t he just reveal himself?
“Why if God is real must we dance through philosophical arguments, become experts in dead or altered languages? Why isn’t it clear and obvious? Why doesn’t God just show up in front of all of us, set the record straight and be done with it?” – Matt Dillahunty
Where is Jesus?
Jesus said he would return over 2, 000 years ago.
Was he lying, mistaken or misquoted?
Every generation of Christians thinks it’s the last and final generation, but they all die, and Jesus never comes.
Why did Jesus need to die?
Why couldn’t God just forgive humanity?
Why did God need a human sacrifice in order to forgive us?
Why did God need to sacrifice himself to himself in order to save us from himself?
“It’s a horrible idea that God, this paragon of wisdom and knowledge, power, couldn’t think of a better way to forgive us our sins than to come down to Earth in his alter ego as his son and have himself hideously tortured and executed so that he could forgive himself” – Richard Dawkins
Why was Jesus afraid to die? (if he’s God)
If Jesus knew he was going to be in Heaven (which is much better than earth) to be with God (himself) and his whole mission was to die for the sins of mankind, why was he afraid to die? Why was he having second thoughts?
He (Jesus) began to be deeply distressed and troubled.“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will Mark 14:33-36
Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done Luke 22:42-44
Why can’t Christians perform miracles today?
How do you know that the Bible is the word of God?
How do you know Jesus really said or did anything in the Bible?
What evidence do you have?
None.
Why doesn’t God answer your prayers?
Why doesn’t God/Jesus ever speak to you or audibly answer your prayers?
Why didn’t God appear everywhere throughout the world?
Why did God only appear and communicate in the middle east 2, 000 years ago to uneducated peasants instead of today when people are more educated and there are video cameras?
Why does the Bible have contradictions and errors in it?
God gives one set of 10 commandments to Moses Exodus 20:3-17
You shall have no other gods before me
You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.You shall not bow down to them or worship them
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
Honor your father and your mother
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor
But when Moses came down from Mt Sinai and found that the people had built a golden calf he destroyed these original 10 commandments in a fit of anger Exodus 32:19
Moses then went up Mt Sinai a second time where God gave him a second set of 10 commandments Exodus 34:4-26
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God
Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land (Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)
Do not make any idols
Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread
The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock.Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons
Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest
Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year
Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning
Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God
Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk
Why aren’t these two sets of 10 commandments identical since God said:
The Lord said to Moses, Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets,which you broke Exodus 34:1
No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father John 6:46(however Jesus contradicts himself in John 14:9 by saying “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”)
God said to Moses, You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live Exodus 33:20(however this verse is contradicted just 9 verses earlier)
Yes people have seen God
The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend Exodus 33:11
No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face Deuteronomy 34:10
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless Genesis 17:1
The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live Genesis 26:2
That night the Lord appeared to him (Isaac) and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” Genesis 26:24
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them Exodus 6:3
Jacob not only saw God face to face, but beat him in a wrestling match.
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak
I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared Genesis 32:24-32
Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went upand saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky.But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank Exodus 24:9-11
Job saw God after God and Satan tormented him and killed his children.
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you Job 42:5
I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying Isaiah 6:1-2
So at a minimum:
Adam and Eve
Abraham
Moses
Joshua
Isaac
Jacob
Aaron
Nadab
Abihu
Job
Isaiah
Seventy elders
All saw God + Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9
Does God know and see everything?
God sees and knows all things
We know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything 1 John 3:20
There are some things that God doesn’t know and can’t see
For example:
God didn’t know if what he’d heard about Sodom and Gomorrah was true so he went down for a closer look
Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievousthat I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know Genesis 18:20-21
God didn’t know what was in the Israelite’s hearts until he led them through the wilderness for forty years
The Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands Deuteronomy 8:2
God didn’t know that Abraham feared God until he showed his willingness to murder his son for God
Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore” Genesis 22:16-17 (however note that there are 1 billion trillion stars in the observable universe)
God didn’t know who the men with Balaam were
God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you? Numbers 22:9
God didn’t know where Satan had been
The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?Job 1:7
You have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome Genesis 32:24-32
God couldn’t defeat iron chariots
The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron Judges 1:19
Jesus couldn’t do miracles in his hometown
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith Mark 6:4-6
Either Jesus and the Father are one, or the Father is greater than Jesus…
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God John 20:17
If Jesus his own God?
Did he ascend to himself?
Did he come to sacrifice himself to himself?
As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God John 8:40
Did Jesus receive his teachings from himself?
As he was dying on the cross, Jesus asked God why he had forsaken him:
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God Mark 16:19
Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God Acts 7:55-56
Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand 1 Peter 3:21-22
If Jesus is God, can he sit on his own right side?
Can God sit on his own right side?
Also God cannot be tempted:
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone James 1:13
But Jesus was tempted… (and therefore can’t be God)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,where for forty days he was tempted by the devil Luke 4:1-2
Since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin Hebrews 4:14-15
Does Jesus judge people?
Jesus doesn’t judge people
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him John 3:17
You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one John 8:15
If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world John 12:47
Jesus judges people
The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son John 5:22
He has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me John 5:27-30
Jesus said, for judgment I have come into this world John 9:39
He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead Acts 10:42
We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad 2 Corinthians 5:10
What were Jesus last words on the cross?
The gospel writers all disagree:
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Matthew 27:46 (If Jesus was God, and knew he’d be in Heaven in moments, why would he say that? Also: Can God forsake God?)
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit Luke 23:46
It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast Ephesians 2:8–9
Works
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” James 2:14-26
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done Matthew 16:27
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books Revelation 20:12
These are just a few of the many contradictions in the Bible…
Why didn’t Jesus want people to understand him?
One thing that is clear from the Bible is that Jesus purposely spoke in very ambiguous terms, often in parables in order to confuse people.
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable Matthew 13:34
When his disciples asked him why he spoke in parables instead of just speaking plainly he said:
This is why I speak to them in parables:
Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand Matthew 13:13
To those on the outside everything is said in parablesso that,
They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven! Mark 4:11-12
And even when he spoke privately to his disciples they still didn’t understand him.
Most people who met and spoke to Jesus didn’t have a clue what he was talking about – including his own disciples and family.
No wonder there are something like 40, 000 denominations of Christianity. No one can agree on exactly what the teachings are.
In fact, even in the Old Testament God didn’t like clear communication or people understanding each other so he confused all the languages on earth:
The Lord said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other Genesis 11:6-7
The Bible isn’t the word of God
When you read the Bible:
Not through a Christian lens
Not the way you’ve been taught to interpret it
Not by cherry picking the things you like, and ignoring the things you don’t like
Not by starting with the assumption that it’s the word of God
But by thinking critically about what you read and asking questions:
Does this make sense?
Is this true in my experience?
What evidence is there for this?
… just like you would with any other book, it’s complete nonsense. Utterly ridiculous.
Noah, a 500+ year old man building an Ark
Moses talking to God face to face
Jacob wrestling with God (and winning)
God making the Sun stand still
Jonah being swallowed by a whale (or “great fish”) and living in it’s belly for 3 days
Elijah taken up to heaven in a whirlwind
People living until they were almost 1, 000 (Methuselah was 969)
Talking donkeys and snakes
Jesus if he existed was either:
A delusional mad man
A cult leader with delusions of grandeur
Completely misrepresented and misquoted by the gospel writers
However because we don’t have access to a time machine we’ll never know.
Can you imagine if God wrote a book how awesome it would be?
It would be infinitely better than the Bible.
Final thoughts
I don’t expect anything I’ve written in this article to change the mind of anyone.
Christians will continue to be Christians, Muslims will continue to be Muslims, Atheists will continue to be Atheists etc.
Most people believe whatever they want to believe, and the simple fact is that most people – especially religious believers – are intellectually lazy and dishonest, won’t follow the evidence where it leads, and refuse to think critically about their guru/holy book/religion or their sacred cows, and stubbornly refuse to concede ground on anything that might threaten their position.
99.99% of the time:
You cannot get a Christian to admit fault in the teachings of Jesus
You cannot get a Buddhist to admit fault in the teachings of Buddha
You cannot get a Hindu to admit fault in the teachings of Krishna
You cannot get a Muslim to admit fault in the teachings of Mohammad
You cannot get a religious person to admit fault in their religion
You cannot get a spiritual person to admit fault in their guru