Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
A small community in northern Michigan believes it has been touched by an angel after a motion-sensor camera captured a mysterious object apparently looming over a parked vehicle. People online, however, remain unconvinced.
Please, that's so obviously Arthur.
Source: https://www.rt.com/usa/426544-angel-vision-moth-debate/
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 13 2018, @09:05PM (11 children)
Wasn't Jesus supposed to return 40 years after ascending to heaven after being rezzied or some figure in that neighborhood?
Actually, I think he did finally come back after 2k years. He's now in charge of setting release dates for Star Citizen!
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday May 14 2018, @12:42AM (10 children)
Jesus was supposed to return during the lifetimes of his original believers, but didn't.
The fact they were so obviously wrong about something which seems to be pretty fundamental doesn't seem to have done the whole Christianity thing much harm though.
Jesus coming back and ending the world seems to be a core belief among Christians, but if you sit back and really think about it, it seems not only unlikely but also a really bad idea.
(Score: 2) by coolgopher on Monday May 14 2018, @01:17AM (2 children)
He's coming back at Ragnarok because Hel is bringing him together with all the others who didn't make into Valhalla. Duh. ;)
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Monday May 14 2018, @02:33AM
Good to know.
I will plan accordingly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 14 2018, @06:20PM
Is that a DC/Marvel crossover?
Wait--is Jesus a DC character, even?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Monday May 14 2018, @03:42PM (2 children)
What? No. That was what the disciples interpreted "soon" to mean, but he never gave a time frame IIRC.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday May 15 2018, @12:30AM (1 child)
Well, OK then. There is this quote:
from the Wikipedia article about the Second Coming. So at least some of them thought he was on his way.
Maybe they didn't look behind the sofa.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 15 2018, @04:04PM
Yes, that was my point: the disciples expected him to come back in their lifetimes, but there are numerous examples in the Bible where the disciples are rather thick. They kept asking him when he was going to kick out the Romans and start his earthly kingdom, and he kept going, "dude, I've told you a hundred times that's not my bag."
Cf. the unexpected hanging paradox [wikipedia.org].
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday May 15 2018, @02:15PM (3 children)
> Jesus was supposed to return during the lifetimes of his original believers, but didn't.
It's as if people turned off the brain when discussing religion, especially the atheists.
On one corner we have the literal interpretation of "this generation"
On the other corner we have the fact that if you were right, then Jesus would have given his disciples 15-20 years to travel the whole world and convert everybody.
So?
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday May 15 2018, @02:17PM
Well, to be precise, it's the concept of the reign of god to be discussed, not the translation of "this generation". Still, absurd is reached by grandparent's assertion.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday May 15 2018, @10:33PM (1 child)
I'm not sure what you're arguing here.
Are we supposed to accept the new testament as being somehow rational and literal?
I don't view Christianity as anything other than just another middle eastern sect, albeit one that gained a huge amount of political influence during the late antiquity period, and managed to hold onto that until well into the modern age.
Arguing about interpretations of passages in the Bible is no different to arguing about when Ragnarok will come.
It's all just stories.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday May 16 2018, @12:13PM
> Are we supposed to accept the new testament as being somehow rational and literal?
No, because rationality either takes into account all aspects or derives wrong conclusions. Literally also is difficult because you are working on a translated nth generation text. You are not even supposed to accept it at all, you're strongly encouraged to listen, though.
You started from a premise that is debatable ("nobody knows the day or the hour, not even the Son" says some version, what does rationally implies?) and does not take into account the other apparent problems in determining the kingdom of god (which seems not to refer to the end times only, but to every situation where the conscience or people recognize the authority of god over them) and relies on a specific meaning of "this generation". If you are arguing against something and you start by misunderstanding it, I can claim your brain is offline.
Account abandoned.