venio, video, vinco. (I come, I see, I conquer)

[Hijiri Byakuren]

My definition of "religion" is more enlightened than some.

He who must claim to be enlightened isn't.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

He who must claim to be enlightened isn't.

Fer shure, good budgie.

[Ecbarrowes]

Dead?

Jesus died, suffered for wrongdoers, in the hope that they would repent. I think that trumps the other (albeit very noble, and in the same vein as) dying example of yours.

[Ecbarrowes]

This is a non-answer, and I will once again require that you define your terms. What is a perfect being? Why does Jesus' opinion of it matter? Assuming you mean the character in the Bible, who  has four distinct and conflicting characterizations across the four gospels, do you have any evidence that he even existed? And if so, which of the four versions?

The variations in the four gospels tend to confirm Jesus's existence rather than conflict it because multiple witnesses always express a bit of conflicting information due to their different perspectives and personalities.

What is a perfect being? A very apropos question. Clearly, if there is a being such as a perfect God, who is far and away better than us in every way, then certainly we do not and cannot fully comprehend his full nature until we attain his degree of perfection. All I can really say is that in my experience and perception, he has "blown my mind" in every metric.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

The variations in the four gospels tend to confirm Jesus's existence rather than conflict it because multiple witnesses always express a bit of conflicting information due to their different perspectives and personalities.

Incorrect, and irrelevant to my question. Wildly different accounts of his life are not "a bit of conflicting information" and certainly aren't evidence the man existed. Try again.

What is a perfect being? A very apropos question. Clearly, if there is a being such as a perfect God, who is far and away better than us in every way, then certainly we do not and cannot fully comprehend his full nature until we attain his degree of perfection. All I can really say is that in my experience and perception, he has "blown my mind" in every metric.

It never ceases to amaze me how theists can use so many words to say absolutely nothing. Answer my question properly or begone.

[aitm]

Jesus died, suffered for wrongdoers, in the hope that they would repent. I think that trumps the other (albeit very noble, and in the same vein as) dying example of yours.

Going from wandering desert bum to a god is not a sacrifice. Hell of an upgrade. Beside, the reality of the absurdity of the whole scenario is it is pure fantasmic bullshit. If that was the best plan an all knowing god could come up with, one is not surprised at the rest of his lengthy failures.

[the_antithesis]

Jesus died, suffered for wrongdoers, in the hope that they would repent. I think that trumps the other (albeit very noble, and in the same vein as) dying example of yours.

You really shouldn't be using the same methods as internet sexual predators.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You really shouldn't be using the same methods as internet sexual predators.

...and priests.

[the_antithesis]

...and priests.

Don't confuse the man. He's already loopy.

[Blackleaf]

...and priests.

[Blackleaf]

FYI, the Gospels are not eyewitness accounts. Experts agree that the Gospels were written well after Jesus' death by anonymous authors. The names were attached to the books way later. And they were not written independently, either. The authors were well aware of each other's work, with later books directly copying passages from earlier ones verbatim, and sometimes "correcting" each other based on their agenda. They disagree on important details like Jesus' lineage, his home town, how he got there, what his final words were, how many (if any) people saw him after his resurrection, etc.

Additionally, even if we were to grant the assumption that the authors of the Gospels were eyewitnesses, that doesn't help you much anyway. Eyewitness testimonies are among the weakest forms of evidence, because memory is highly unreliable. People can witness a murder up close and get basic information, like the color of the murderer's skin, completely wrong.

[Unbeliever]

I'm not convinced that Jesus of Nazareth ever existed. There were a lot of guys named Jesus in those days, but I don't think there was a place called Nazareth until the fourth century.

[PopeyesPappy]

but I don't think there was a place called Nazareth until the fourth century.

The town known as Nazareth today has probably been continiously occupied for the at least the last 10,000 years. It was certinally occupied during the late Hellenistic and early Roman periods, but the whole population was probably just a few family groups.

You can read an article here: https://www.timesofisrael.com/listen-what-do-we-know-about-nazareth-in-jesus-time-an-archaeologist-explains/

Or get into some of the nitty gritty here: https://web.archive.org/web/20200526102938/http://www.atiqot.org.il/download.ashx?id=1797