Reasonable Doubts Podcast: Rd114 The Myth Of Martyrdom Part 2: Who Would Die For A Lie?

[webmdave]

Would anyone knowingly die for a lie? Christian tradition teaches us that many of Jesus' disciples were persecuted and martyred for their faith. But if Jesus did not really rise from the dead why would the apostles be willing to sacrifice their lives over claims they knew were false? To many Christians, the apostles martyrdom is compelling confirmation that the message they preached was true. But is there any reliable evidence that the apostles actually were martyred for their faith in the resurrection? Also on this episode: The Pew Research Center releases a global study on the views of Muslims world-wide. We'll take a look at the survey and what it suggests about the source of Islamic extremism.

 

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[RipVanWinkle]

These kind of arguments by Xtians are hard evidence of nothing. No one was an eye

witness to Jesus' resurrection. No one saw him rise from the dead. People claimed to

see him away from the tomb,like Paul did on the road to Damascus. People have seen things that weren't there since time immemorial.

 

Just because a martyr believes in Xtianity with all his heart does not mean it is true.

I'm sure the church father (whose name I don't remember,) who wanted to die a martyr in

Rome and asked the Romans to make sure the lions were not fed so they would all the more aggressively attack, believed that Christ had arisen. This martyr was also certifiably

insane.

 

If there is a god, he/she certainly could have made Jesus' resurrection completely

believable had he/she wanted to. Jesus could have been made the king of Palestine for 100 years or 1000 years after the resurrection and then ascended to heaven. He could

have appeared before everyone on earth had god wanted him to. When are Xtians going to come to their senses???? bill

[YakRider]

Agreed, Bill.

 

The sinister part, however, is that the xtians are well within their senses.  Numbed and twisted as their senses have become, they function just fine while being twisted. The guys on the podcast are right: The particulars of a legendary event really doesn't matter to believers in any religion --the killer problem is that if the arguments are persuasive enough, somebody will believe it.  Given the right cues, that selfsame believer may do ANYTHING in defense of that belief.  In the case of the muslims, as the guys read from the report, that twisted combination of beliefs and cues means that they support killing people who leave their religion.

 

Does that prospect doesn't frighten the god out of you, or what? It does me.