The Marketing Of Christianity

Yes! That is utter bullshit and a sorry excuse as well.

Again, that is not what the Bible says. Have you ever read the Bible?

Many, many, many times.A Jesus did not say Pete, feed them platitudes and dogma.

In case you were unaware Deuteronomy has little to do with Jesus and in fact Jesus also specifically repudiated much that was required in the Old Testament. The issue is not about what Deuteronomy says but rather what Jesus is alleged to have said.

What apologists say has little to do with what Jesus said.

What is this more that is more than comforting the sorrowful, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, clothing the naked?

Well Phat, you can feed them, hand them tissues, help them handle the day to day issues that such events entail, most of all shut up and listen to them and throw away all the platitudes. If they want something else they will ask for it. Again, that is not what Jesus said according to the stories. What people think of me, if they think of me at all which is unlikely, is irrelevant. The goal is not to collect friends or likes or emojis. Knowing Jesus is one of those empty bumper sticker catch phrases used in marketing to avoid honesty and difficult questions. Hopefully we represent love and concern and empathy; GOD perhaps, but not Jesus or Muhammad or Buddha or Ganesha or Turtle. We represent help and support. And I would say that clothing them with righteousness is a worthless joke and a con game.

And in fact the goats were just the opposite, those who HAD done for Jesus, his followers, his disciples.The message is that GOD and Jesus really don't need any help, it is humans and animals and plants and the environment we are charged to do for.

LOLDo you mean YOUR truth or some other truth?And is not living somewhat important? Have you asked hungry people whether they prefer materialistic food or spiritual food?

You use the term truth very loosely and I really wonder if you have a clue what the word means or what the quotes YOU provide mean?Quoting John 3:16 out of context a great example of the utter bankruptcy and dishonesty of the "Biblical Christians".First, the passage that begins at John 3:16 is an editorial comment by the author of John or a later redactor. In addition it is taken totally out of context to once again provide a cheap and easy get-otta-hell-free card while ignoring the rest of that paragraph.So here it is in context:

quote:

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16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

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Notice that it goes on to talk about how belief is shown and that is by doing, not just believing. Pay close attention to the parts the conmen usually skip over and leave out. "19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."It's about what people do Phat, not what they believe.But you don't like that or having what the stories actually say pointed out and so you take John 3:16 as though it stood alone. That's pitiful.

According to Jesus it is what we are to do. Where did Jesus say we should pray?

It means to feed the hungry, comfort the sorrowful, protect the weak, clothe the naked, heal the sick ...Maybe those things have not be mentioned yet?

There are two kinds of prayers, those asking for guidance to allow you to do something and those that ask someone else to do it.Jesus often prayed for the knowledge and power to do things, feed the hungry, make the beer run, raise the dead, heal the sick and it seems from the stories those prayers got answered.There is one time that Jesus prayed asking God to do something; to lift this burden. That prayer did not get answered.

I believe I can show how and why it does make sense but I'm uncertain about covering it here even though I think it is very much related to how Christianity is marketed.Let's see if the moderators think it appropriate in this thread or take it back channel.Edited by jar, : fix sub-title

Okay, with Admin's tentative go ahead ...You are right. If Christianity markets Jesus as being God or God/Man while alive on Earth then that does not make any sense just as Jesus death as some payment makes no sense and just makes the God character look stupid.I have never been able to understand how marketing Jesus as God or God/man while he was on his mission could be considered as applying to humans in general or as any sacrifice. Humans can't really kill Gods and a God allowing humans to kill him is more a sham than sacrifice. A God rising from the dead says nothing about life after death for humans. Then there is the idea that God needed to kill God before God could forgive sins. That just really doesn't make any sense.But there is another way Jesus could be marketed that may make better sense, show a true sacrifice, preserve the dogma and maybe even improve the product slightly and that revolves around the terms "incarnate" and "was made man".Incarnate means to take on all of the attributes of something and "made man" is pretty self-explanatory. In the story Jesus is incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man.Made man. Not man/god. not god wearing a man suit but GOD assuming all of the attributes of man, just man. It is GOD the creator of all that is seen and unseen becoming a baby, unable to see or speak, unable to walk or talk, unable to control his bowels or feed himself.It is Jesus only a man living among men, having to learn as a man, work as a man, having all the fears and uncertainties and ignorance of man, feeling hunger and pain and hot and cold and anger and satisfaction and doubts and sorrow and joy and curiosity.Now that is a real sacrifice far beyond getting nailed to a cross and put in the ground for a few hours.If Christianity marketed Jesus' sacrifice as his life instead of his death then things look more reasonable. GOD performs miracles through Jesus just as GOD performed miracles through others in other stories. Jesus is then a lesson on what humans could be, what humans should do, what humans may face.Jesus message then changes emphasis from a way to get outtahellfree towards a way to live, changes the focus from after death to during life, from "what's in it for me" towards "what am I supposed to do".I believe that one of the big issues facing Christianity is that it seems to be choosing the easy marketing path instead of the harder marketing path which has resulted in so many folk seeing Christianity and Jesus message as totally irrelevant and just a waste of time and effort; as "it just doesn't make any sense". And I think their assessment is correct. Christianity as marketed today really doesn't make any sense and really is irrelevant.One last point to bring dogma back into focus; this marketing plan says nothing about the state of Jesus before being born or after his ascension. Edited by jar, : fix sub-title