Why don't  Christians accept miracle stories recorded in ancient non-biblical works?
819141
Please share what other miracles you are talking about... send them to me via e-mail, or a link where I can read up on them, or the name of the book .\n\nadmin@lotministries.net
928543
There is both Biblical and non Biblical evidence. Josephus was a Jewish historian of his day. Never a christian BTW. He gave an account of Jesus is his record. Biblically, David the King wrote a Psalm all about the crucifixion a method of execution not used until the Romans invented it some 500 years later. Proof there is not. If there were we would all be damned because proof makes faith of no effective and people as saved by the grace of God through faith. Without faith we die...   Jim
728036
The same can be said of the Exodus. There are no records of a massive Jewish migration out of Egypt by Moses. Christians claim, erroneously, that the Egyptians never documented a bad policy and would never document losing thousands of slaves.\n\nInterestingly enough though, maticulous records from granaries show no excessive shortages or surplus, which would support the Exodus story...\n\nIt's a book. 5% philosophy, 73% theology, 22% assorted smut and violence. 100% fiction.\n\nIncidentally, for the guy above me, that occurance was off by about 5 years. The phenomenon you are referring to happened BEFORE the birth of Jesus in the historical record.\n\n-SD-
1054386
Exactly - so many cultures, both pre and post Christianity include a "flood" story as part of their emic mythology, and explanation for things. Noah's story is just example - clearly borrowed from Babylonian and Sumerian mythologies.\n\nIn addition, had it not been for media, technology, and science, it would seem likely that similar stories would have developed in the major tsunami that occured in south-east Asia, about 1 and a half years ago. Oral traditions developing from chaos, uncertainty, and without explanation all lead to the development of myths to explan the mysterous.
385739
Actually, there are other references too.  Historical documents exist to suggest other versions as well.  Other gospels, like the gospel of Thomas, the gospel of Mary Magdalene, the gospel of Judas, etc. including the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John were all written decades after Jesus' death and were not actually written by the named induviduals.  They were marketing tools for the new Christian religion aimed at converting the pagan nonbelievers.
720517
Every scribe that translated or rewrote would have added the notes in the margins from previous scribes, and then added their own notes. \n\nThe stories passed down are inspired by the word of God, are manipulated by kings and pharisees and written by men.\n\nNothing surprises me.
6702
Actually, No, the Jews of Jesus's day rejected the message of Christianity, as is evident from the Christian's New Testament itself. Repeatedly in the Christian's New Testament, when the Early Christians would go into the synagogues and preach, or even just explain what they believed, they would get kicked out. \n\nThe reason why this was so, is that the Jews to whom they preached recognized the story of Jesus in the stories of other Hellenist and Mediteranean gods. For example Mithra, who was born of a virgin human by a god for a father, who was born in the Winter, and who died in the Spring, and who came back to life three days later, and whose death and resurrection was proof for those who believed in him that they, too, would not die. Mithra was the patron god of the city of Tarsus, where Paul, called by many the true founder of Christianity, was born and raised. See also Dionysus, Attis, Ra, Adonis, and other gods that pre-date Christianity. Even Hercules had a human mother and Zeus for a father.\n\nWhen Christianity failed to take hold among the Jews, that is when the Early Christians took their faith to the non-Jewish world, and made it more attractive to the non-Jews by removing from it, Biblical requirements of keeping the Biblical laws, especially those of keeping kosher and circumcision.\n\nIn Jesus's day, (as now) the vast majority of those Jews who converted to Christianity were very assimilated, very Hellenized Jews, to whom the story of Jesus would have sounded very familiar.
701190
No. Jesus did His miracles for the glory of God and not for His own glory.
973575
It's very simple, they didn't believe in them, nor know about them.\n\nThe beginning of "Christianity" in the Torah, aka Old testament, was just 6,000 years old.\n\nWay after the dinosaurs were extinct.\n\nThe reason why they don't mention a lot of animals like the kangaroo, toucan and so on; is that the "Religion" was a localized one to the Middle East, around present day Israel and mentioned events that happened there.\n\nThe Great Flood was perhaps a localized event that happened due to glacial melting and the shift of the earths axis.\n\nMost things in the Torah would be full of inaccuracies.\n\nI think you shouldn't take things literally, like the 7 days story; because it's evident that there was no one around to make that "Testament".\n\nChristianity is, really, more based upon the Charisma of Christ. It's greatness lies in the fact that Christ taught us to seek the Truth and not be blinded by lies.
819416
I'm agnostic, but here's the deal: of course the Bible is metaphor. Garden of Eden, Noah's Ark, parting of Red Sea, Sodom & Gomorrah, Virgin Birth, Lazarus rasied from the Dead, etc. But we have to remember that those stories were all told by a group of semi-nomadic, largely illiterate people living 2000 years ago. They were simply using metaphor and allegor and symbolism to convey as best they could their understanding of God. So yes, they ARE a bunch of stories, if you want to over-simplify like that, but the big question is: what compelled them to go to such lengths to create such myths? And why would Jesus' disciples risk death--and incur death--if they thought he was a fake? After his death they could have simply disbanded, yet they continued on. To me--the reasons for the stories are more important than the literal accuracy. To read the Bible like a history book is to totallt miss the point!
943241
True Christians must believe that the whole Bible, the full gospel, is the inerrant, unchanging and eternal word of God.  Christians reject certain miracles in the Bible because they lack the faith to believe those miracles.  If God has created the heavens and the earth and everything in it what are the problems with those little miracles?  Christians must be consistent and full of faith..
713635
That’s just what the original christians (the gnostics) believed (and still do). To them it was Jesus’ life and teaching which “saves”, not his suffering and death. All this god-men and miracles and eveyone’s-a-sinner and virgin births and crucified saviours of the world business was added by the Romans. Do some research, it’s all there.
1035838
Okay, back in the day when the first set of pagans under Constantine converted to Christianity, a group of clergies and etc...got together and collected all the books every written by those who lived in that era of Jesus.  They sat in a council and decided which books they wanted to include in the bible and which ones they would throw out.  The people who wrote the current books of the bible read many of the ones who were not included, thus leaving us with a half written story of the bible.
1140689
That is a very intelligent rant there. Good for you. And, thank you for being the christian you are.\n\nNow, for all the laughable responses you got.\nThe bible is not historically accurate. It has been PROVEN many biblical stories were in fact translations of ancient roman, african, and greek stories. NOT the word of god. Also, nothing in the bible is able to be verified. Therefore it cannot be classified as anything but Fiction.\n\nAs for God having the power to make sure his words were conveyed correctly. That is also highly incorrect. It has been discovered much of the bible was not even close to interpreted correctly from it's original form. It has many completely made up parts and was written by christians with alterior motives and an agenda.
124024
Cyanne, think!!  The Dead Sea scrolls show that almost the entire Old Testament had not changed a single word in well over two thousand years.  Of the thousands of New Testament manuscripts in existence, there are very minor discrepancies (eg. the second half of Mark 16 - was it added later?) but the underlying content can be demonstrated as being unchanged.  Those who claim the Bible has been 'changed' repeatedly simply do so as a crutch to avoid considering the claims made BY the Bible.\n\nAs for apostles and miracle workers, the Bible states that God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  GOD is the same; however, the way He works changes.\n\nThe passages in Paul's letters referring to spiritual gifts make no distinction between 'miraculous' gifts and 'natural' ones such as administration.  No-one claims that administration should have disappeared from the church, so why miracles or prophecy?\n\nThe scriptural arguments on both sides are complex, but the bottom line for me is that the Bible gives no indication that these gifts should disappear.  If they were supposed to be gone from the church, the Bible would tell us!
277172
It's not a weird notion.  There is no evidence of a lot of things that transpired during the times of Christ.   Sure the Bible talks about it and is the ONLY accepted history of that time.   I'm inclined to think that the apostles did run with their interpretation of Christ's teachings.   I'm not so sure it was to create an alternate Jewish religion, but an alternate politically correct on of the time.   Jesus didn't come to Earth to have people worship him as God.  That was furthest from his teachings.  His teachings were to show people the way to the Father through his teachings.  Even the perverstion of "The only way to heaven is through Christ."   It simply means that to get to heaven is to be like Christ and follow his teachings.   It does not mean to worship him as God.   Never has, never did, never will.
550244
Surely miracles are some from of sorcery. I also found out something else which I didn't know before, some of the silly people who told me I was evil for using crystals, but crystals are mentioned in the bible, and I believe it says nothing about it being evil. I don't know about Jesus, I am aware that there are records of a fellow called Jesus but I don't know if his miracles were real. I do know that many ancient people believed that some people could perform miracles because they could heal and do other things which we take for granted today.