Did any author in the New Testament actually know Jesus?

I follow these posts and haven't seen this discussed. To my knowledge, the only people who actually claimed they met Jesus were Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Synoptic Gospels. And because they were long dead when the gospels were written, are we to understand that there were no authors of the New Testament who actually met Jesus?

Wasn't that a vision if it happened at all? I think we're talking about actually meeting/knowing Jesus. If you're talking about visions, there would be trillions of those...with all forms of deities and demons. Funny thing about visions, anybody can claim they have them and nobody can prove them wrong...or right. Did Paul exist? Did he write what he is credited with writing?Edited by 8upwidit2, : Typo

Peg wrote: (of Luke)"he was in fact a jewish doctor who became a believer some time after jesus death. His account/gospel was based on eye witnessed testimonies. He researched extensively the genealogy of Jesus, using the public records available at the time, for a certain official by the name of Theophilus who may have commissioned him to provide a report on the newly formed religion."There are two entries in the New Testament(Matthew and Luke)showing the genealogy of Jesus beginning with David and continuing through Jesus. The lists are completely different except for 3 entries; David is on each list as is Joseph and Jesus. Why is Joseph on the lists? How did Joseph contribute to Jesus' bloodline connection to David? After all, Joseph is not even related to Jesus. Does this confirm that at the time of the penning of these writings, the virgin birth thing with Mary had not evolved and was not yet a part of the later accepted Christian lore? When these were written, did everybody think Joseph was the real father?

Peg, sounds as though you have accepted the fact that many things simply do not add up in the Biblical record and in order to continue to "believe" you must come up with theoretical reasons why...which in turn do not add up.When Jesus said to the disciples they would not taste death before He returns, and they have indeed died, the enthusiasts believe Jesus was talking in some in depth, thought provoking terms. He didn't mean "really" dying. These guys were not rocket scientists..proabably having ZERO schooling at all..and surely not trained in abstract thinking. You can't read the Biblical record and take it literally? PALEASE.

Are you really Bailey or are you a famous philosopher? Come on..tell us.
You're really Hu Shih aren't you!"And remember, no matter where you go, there you are" Confucius

Bryan wrote: "Since there are no contemporary mentions of Jesus anywhere in the extant hostorical record I suggest you are making this up."How rare is that, Bryan? Enthusiasts simply making it all up as they go.

Peg, if one record was the mother's through Mary's father(Heli)and other were the father's (Joseph), why is Joseph's name even listed ...remember Joseph isn't the biological father. God is. Plus Joseph is listed as the father on BOTH lists. Please explain this. Or is it more likely, when the story was changed later (to make Jesus more Godly and borrow the virgin birth scam from other stories hundreds if not thousands of years prior) did the perps forget that the story simply does not gel?

Peg said, "Josephus wrote about Jesus and his followers. Josephus was Born just four years after the death of Christ, he was an eyewitness to the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about the first-century Jewish nation. He was a military commander, a diplomat, a Pharisee, and a scholar."Josephus, of course, was not an eyewitness to Jesus' life and activities. If he wrote these lines about Jesus he would have based his comments on hearsay.Peg, please tell us what "fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy" did Josephus see and later write about?

Mantis wrote: "I'm Bluejay. Darwin loves you."Maybe a bit off topic, Bluejay, but I have a Darwin Fish (you know the Christian Fish only with the word Darwin inside and it has legs) on the back of my car and I have had numerous Christians (with the Christian Fish on their cars)shoot me the bird as they passed. So much for love and kindness. Now back to the discussion.

Jaywill wrote: "When opening the New Testament to read why should distrust and skepticism be the default attitude?"One's devotion to "faith" that something supernatural is true with absolutely no proof it ever happened would be considered lunacy almost anywhere thought processes occur unless it is religious faith. Herein lies the problem with non-cultists attitudes.Therefore there is resentment, skepticism and distrust. The participants in this faith cult are not only "blind devotees" they also arrogantly flaunt their baseless belief in the face of reason...and evidence to the contrary.

Jaywill, I, too, would and have fought so that you can believe the way you do. But you (and others of your faith) try to use the excuses that "you can't see the wind, yet it's there" or in your case, "Are your parents really your parents". If they were not my real parents, at least they are somebody that I can touch and that verifies they do exist. Jesus, God, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny are not such entities.I repeat myself and others, out of ALL the discoveries on Planet Earth in the last 5,000 years (geology, archeology, science of any kind) NOT ONE suggests the supernatural versions in the Bible or Jesus of Legend, Jehovah, or God is true. NOT ONE. How do you deal with these facts verses faith or fiction?

You have to hand it to her, Brian, she's game on! Gotta love it. Do I sense that she believes what she says and has "data" to back it up? You're going to be a choir boy when gets through with you.

I would think that if God were planning a special occasion..like the birth of His son..He would have chosen a time and place when exceptional recorded records could have been kept..like the 21st century as to assure that everyone could see the real Son of God and all He would do...rather than the middle of nowhere in a time when proof of occurrence would be impossible. All powerful and all-knowing, wouldn't God have known what would be happening today? "Let's hold up on the birth of my son till there are cameras to make sure everybody experiences this!" "Also, let's use another story that hasn't been used before...!"

Hi Jaywill, Let's look at your religious position from another view just a minute to see what we "critics" see.Jews are God's "chosen people" and I feel they have not gotten the "people" treatment ever (enter Hitler in the late 1930's as an example of recent "mistreatment of God's chosen ones". Surely you see my concern for why God would allow mistreatment his own.I am not aware of any statistics that show Christians have any advantage in any category in their lives. Maybe I missed it, but can you provide data showing that Christians have reaped any benefits from their devotion to the son of God over all others?Do they live longer, better, smarter, have less disease, less suffering? Do they lose less babies to crib death? Do elderly Christians not become old and die terrible deaths compared to, for example, the Hindus or Buddhists? Do they have less incidences of cancer than non-Christians?If not, what has God/Jesus done for you Christians for devoting your lives blindly to Him? Have you ever asked that question yourself?

Jaywill, PROOF is: Something that induces certainty or establishes validity. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.Your lengthy rant included comments like: "Besides it is obvious that "disciples" wrote the Gospels. If not Matthew was the author of Matthew, it should be obvious that a DISCIPLE wrote it. Who else would be interested in passing it on, a non-disciple?" How is it obvious? How is this proof?Also,the fact that the order in which the names are listed in different texts doesn't prove the disciples wrote anything.You continue to offer lengthy rhetoric still with no proof of anything. And why are you calling Bryan names or suggesting he is stupid?