Quote Originally Posted by geoff View Post
You got a source for that? Also, where did Jesus ever "stand up" against the oppressive government? He commanded them to submit to their leaders and pay the due taxes. What He did do is "stand up" to the political religious leaders. This "Christian" movement is by far the most significant in history. Is it just coincidence that He appeared during the "perfect" setting in history. The Romans probably began to lose faith in their gods because the relationship was one sided. Paul came to preach the "un named" god whom they worshipped. A God with whom they could know on a personal level. There is also a difference between talking about something I.e. Mayans, Greek gods, ect...and having a following of 2.18 billion devout believers. Christianity is not fading away and neither is Jesus. In fact in 1910 there were some 600 million believers, in 2010 there were 2.18 billion. Today it is roughly 2.3 billion and the largest religion in the world. No other event in history can claim that after 2000 years, the event still has such a strong filling. According to the numbers, Jesus the Christ was the most influential man in our history. Can you really try to rationalize that so many would follow a mad man or liar?
Let me rephrase, Jesus didnt "stand up" to the government in a sense that he fought them or anything. He was an opposing idea to an oppressing government. He was something to believe in for people who desperately needed something to believe in. Rome can take credit for the lore growing, if they didnt make it a big deal, it probably would have never been a big deal. Jesus is not an uncommon name. Being named Jesus would be like being named John. Being crucified was not something exclusive to Jesus Christ. Many people were crucified. If Jesus' was more "special" than others, it was probably a combination of him having a following and they felt the need to make an example of him and that he probably refused any "plea deals" offered by Rome and angered them.

Whether or not you want to believe a story can greatly change how it gets told. If Tim Tebow played football in 200BC before ESPN and twitter and the only evidence of his ability was the news spread by word of mouth from fans......

we'd be sitting here today talking about how Tim Tebow split the dead sea with a stiff arm and him diving for a touch down is what broke up the continents. The ice age that killed the dinosaurs was God icing Tebow's knees after a game.

Also, the argument that "people still believe in Jesus after 2000 years" doesnt validate it either. Christianity is not the lone standing religion. So obviously, people still believe in other deities as well, even though theyre aware of Jesus. Does "staying power" validate other religions?