[Yggdrasil]

I'll be lukewarm to take you seriously at first, because the trolling here is incessant.

In the case that you are in fact a minister, good on you. I do not want to get into a heated theological debate with you, because there is a plethora of information that we can both fling at each other, and I'm not up for that. If anything, I, and all other interested posters, are welcomed to discuss faith and theology in piecemeal, because uprooting a whole plant in one large heave is too much of an effort.

Now there are several points I would like to talk about. You state that there is great discussion among this topic, and that such discussion is auspicious. Auspicious indeed! It shows that many more people are thinking for themselves, and offering a critical analysis to their everyday lives. To what conclusions they reach; that is not my prerogative.

Now, I opened my bible to Ezekiel, and read the passages, yet I see no evidence of prediction. And if there is such, it is extremely vague. If you are alluding to the formation of the state of Israel, I will be glad to inform you that, right now, the Palestinians are asking for their land back, and not too nicely.

Now, assuming Jesus existed, what is it about him redeem the sins of the world? Is it the fact that he suffered by being nailed onto a cross? Because I can tell you, many, many more people have experienced greater pain, and for less reason. Take for example those poor German girls from about a month ago.

They're born, and they were kept locked up in a basement of 27 years. They never left. And their father raped them. Daily. He even fathered 9 malformed children with them. He beat them, they were filthy, all of them. I think it is fair to say that they have been through greater pain that being nailed. Am I to worship them because they have been through pain and innocent?

Secondly, I discuss the topic of a historical Jesus right hear in my thread. Before you go about declaring the new Testament as the absolute and infallible word of God, read my posts. You'll see the irony.

Then you offer me the gift of "salvation and forgiveness", and a free ticket to Heaven. As nice as it'd be to be up amongst the clouds, angels, and deceased loved ones, what are the consequences of refusal? Do I writhe, twist, moan, agonize, burn and suffer for all eternity? Well, bub, there's a thousand other religions out there with as tall a tale as yours, and apparently, you're up for the fryin' booth too.