Seeking thoughts on a delicate religious topic.

I think it’s a good question. I doubt that there were that many able to read and write at that time.

My paternal grandfather was born in 1886 and was illiterate. He could sign his name and recognize some words, but he could not read or write.

My maternal grandmother was a scribe who charged fees to write and read letters for the illiterate, but her first husband was illiterate.
 

Gary O' said:
I'm not totally comprehending the gist of all this.

Pretty sure The Bible has been well preserved

.....and read

According to Guinness World Records as of 1995, the Bible is the best-selling book of all time with an estimated 5 billion copies sold and distributed.

Yes, Jesus was literate
He read in the temple

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luke 4
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Sorry, you misunderstood that. This was in reference to any eyewitness accounts that were documented when they occurred. Not forty to 100 years after his death. (Just clarifying).
 
Naturally said:
Many more than a single person documented it. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James for example, are only a few who did.
They’re ancient writers, why don’t they count? But they were Christians and wrote about Christianity ... well, Duh.

The tax collectors and scribes of the rulers of Rome certainly would not have written anything about Christianity or Jesus Christ. After all, the rulers of Rome sought to debunk and eradicate Christianity and all things connected. Rulers of Rome were King, not a humble carpenter from Nazareth. Say otherwise and be dealt with harshly. The fact there are no Roman authors who documented such things, does not mean the things recorded in the Bible didn't happen. And even if they did write about Jesus and Christianity, I'm not shocked it hasn't survived.

Jesus was well educated from an early age beginning with time spent in the temple and his continuing interactions with educated Jews. But he lived in a primarily oral culture. In the book of John we find that Jesus explains Christian authors, through the Holy Spirit, will be guided to remember and record His teachings.

The last part of your question may be right in front of you. It was written and has been preserved going on 2000 years or so. Do you know the book I reference? Perhaps God would want you to know. Dunno

And you may find this an interesting read ... Did ancient writers overlook Jesus
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Again, this is in reference to those who were eyewitnesses when they occurred. As for the gospels, the majority of New Testament scholars agree that they were anonymous, and written many years after the death of Jesus. So they would have to be accepted on faith, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I am curious though why you would not be surprised that they haven't survived. One would think that if God was behind these things, then he or she would want them to survive and make sure they did. Doesn't that make sense?
 
Timewise 60+ said:
I am not a student of the Bible. So, I have no 'legitimate' expertise on this question. I will say that it seems that God later in time had the ability to influence others to write the bible, he would have no need to provide paper and pen (or anything similar) earlier in time.
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I could see that, except that the writers are unknown (Anonymous), according to scholars. It would seem like God wouldn't want that questionable aspect if it was intended to be convincing.
 
Ok, My answer to your questions as I see it:
To those who think I will offend, please don't read this. Thanks.

The "writing in the dirt" was not to communicate with souls of earth , but to receive immediate answers from gods and Holy Angels of the Heavens.
They have the power to move his fingers to answer his mental questions when the surroundings were too chaotic for thought transference.
This was similar to "automatic writing" that we have today. I feel his thoughts were one with the God.

The Roman Catholic church councils changed, translated several times and took out and destroyed any of the beautiful writings in documents or in the Holy Bible which hinted at healings, supernatural or metaphysical teachings because their purpose was to "bind the souls " to only the teachings of the church.
I feel this "holding back" the teachings of the Angels did great harm to the populous.
People still take great comfort in what remains of the Bible. People DID document angelic sacred messages. Sanskrit, for instance, is proposed to be 8,000 to 10,000 years old.
 
I wouldn't get locked down on 40-100yrs thing.
Among beggars, thieves, lepers, starving people, the dead, etc, 2000 years ago, I would not expect eyewitnesses capable of documenting anything. It was an oral culture and Christ's teachings were passed down and eventually recorded in writing.

One would think that if God was behind these things, then he or she would want them to survive and make sure they did. Doesn't that make sense?
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It would seem like God wouldn't want that questionable aspect if it was intended to be convincing.
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I'm not "one" who knows what God should or shouldn't think, do or what He should intend. I know all of humankind, each of us, is given choices. Of that I am convinced. I don't second guess my higher power.

And to borrow Bruce Honsby's words ... that's just the way it is
 
bobcat48 said:
I could see that, except that the writers are unknown (Anonymous), according to scholars. It would seem like God wouldn't want that questionable aspect if it was intended to be convincing.
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Seems like God got plenty of the 'convincing' he wanted and more yet to come....
 
I kinda lean towards the conclusion that Jesus could read, but perhaps not write, which could answer why he never wrote anything. The only passage that I know of, says he wrote in the dirt, but a Bible historian claims that was later added by a scribe to give the idea that Jesus could write. I wouldn't know about that.
As for why any others didn't write anything during his lifetime, it may be because they were illiterate also, but given the numbers, you would think that at least a few had that ability. I dunno. Maybe a mystery for the ages.
 
We are talking of a time when people did not have journals to keep track of their daily activities. What was described as thousands at that time in the bible, may have been a mere handful. Jesus spoke to all who would listen to his message, which was a good one, but he wasn't alone in his day. He was offended by the use of the Synagogue for anything other than honoring God. He despised those who took advantage of others, and equally despised violence.
The idea of the Romans doing these things was deplorable to him. I think he simply wanted others to follow his teachings and simply pass them along. Who knows the whys and wherefores when it came to recording anything he said in writing?
 
If this is all true, then why didn't one single person think to document any of it, and why didn't Jesus write anything down about his teachings or his life?
If anything was written, why wasn't it preserved, if you think it's what God would have wanted?
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The Ten Commandments were literally "Etched in Stone". All teachings in life branch from them.
 
I tried some more googling, but this topic seems to be pretty clear - no-one contemporary wrote about Jesus. As to why Jesus didn't write anything, we can only speculate.

Also, though it may see, somewhat trite, this paragraph got me thinking:

"Now, since we're in the realm of religion here, I always wondered why nobody outside the bible mentions that the dead walked the streets of Jerusalem upon the death of Jesus. (Matt 27:50-54) You'd think this was something rather remarkable, worthy enough to write down for posterity or inform friends about. But nobody did. At least the governor should have informed his emperor about this rather unusual event. But even he didn't."

This opens up another issue - if the stories in the Bible are literal, why weren't other authors writing about some of the supernatural events in it? Apologies if this is straying too far from the topic at hand.
 
ohioboy said:
The Ten Commandments were literally "Etched in Stone". All teachings in life branch from them.
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The Ten Commandments were in the Old Testament, and have been superseded by the New (which does away with the tablets). But I get your point. It seems Moses could not only write, but he could chisel.

I also came across this response from a guy named Gordon Clason. It was a response to the question: How much writing survives from BEFORE the time of Jesus:

"Everything from Sumeria, Babylonia and Assyria. Everything from classical Greece. Half of all Roman literature. Ninety percent of all Hindu and Buddhist literature. All Confucian and Taoist literature. Everything in the Old Testament. Everything in Egyptian, Persian, Aramaic, Hitite, Armenian that was written before the common era. Epics and hymns from Ebla, Ugarit, Mari, Byblos, Aleppo and other ancient libraries."
 
ohioboy said:
The New Testament does not nullify or abrogate the Old Testament.
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Nullify? Perhaps not. But if we're going to accept the Old Testament, then we must accept that the Bible gives advice on how to treat slaves, and a whole other host of nastiness.

"As followers of Christ, we are no longer under the requirements of the Old Testament law (Galatians 3:13), but have been set free to pursue righteousness by the redeeming blood of Christ."

Of course:

"Christians place an emphasis on following the New Testament and follow only some of the laws of the Old Testament . This is because they believe that Jesus' teachings in the New Testament override many of the laws laid out in the Old Testament - for example, the dietary laws still followed by many Jews today." (BBC)
 
bobcat48 said:
I would like to preface this by saying I have no desire to trash anyone's beliefs here, and I certainly hope it doesn't go there.
My question is this:

If any of the 4 gospels that may have been written some 40 years after the death of Jesus are true, then Jesus is said to have performed some of the greatest miracles that have occurred in history during his lifetime. Also, it is said that he ministered to thousands and was followed by them.

If this is all true, then why didn't one single person think to document any of it, and why didn't Jesus write anything down about his teachings or his life?
If anything was written, why wasn't it preserved, if you think it's what God would have wanted?

Again, not ridiculing any beliefs, it's just that it's something that has never made any sense to me, and there may be answers I haven't thought of. I have wondered if they were all afraid of the political climate, however they followed him just the same. Were they all illiterate? Not likely, as there were, tax collectors, scribes, Pharisees, etc..., and Jesus wrote in the dirt, and they understood and left the scene, so that doesn't seem plausible.

Is it just a question no one knows the answer to? Is it just a matter with no facts, and only beliefs and opinions? Maybe so.
Either way, please remember to be respectful.
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Good questions.
Jesus had his reasons for every single thing He did. He knew that those closest to Him would pass on His teachings as they were inspired by being his witnesses. They did and now there are millions of us who believe.
He himself was very educated in scripture.

Most of the New Testament was actually down to Paul, who never met Jesus while He was in human form. His conversion was absolutely amazing and life-changing. Up to the Damascus Road event, Paul was an absolute hater of Christians. He was a scholar of high intelligence and ability, a Jew who was ambitious and ruthless. So his experience was a miracle, completely changing his mind and resulting in him travelling and spreading the gospel for the rest of his life, ending in being executed after being held in an underground dungeon.
That was the strength of his faith in Jesus. His letters, as he built the church, form a huge part of the New Testament.

Each of the apostles gave their lives to spreading the word and all died terrible deaths. Peter even insisting on being crucified upside down.

The Bible has been put together by greatly knowledgeable learned scholars, over a great length of time, studying manuscripts which were written by those inspired by the Holy Spirit. Translated from Greek and Aramaic and made into the greatest literary work. The book in which God speaks to all who wish to hear.
 
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The OT's historical aspects, as opposed to any which philosophy to adhere to did not change! The Book of Genesis. Can we not still accept how the Earth was formed in 6 days? Can we not still accept from faith concerning the Great Deluge? That is what I think of when I see Rainbows?
 
VaughanJB said:
But if we're going to accept the Old Testament, then we must accept that the Bible gives advice on how to treat slaves, and a whole other host of nastiness.
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The Lord needed to reach His people where they were

They were into all kinds of evils....pretty much like us
 
The Book of the Dead is actually a collection of prayers, or spells, for the benefit of the dead to help them on their journey to the afterlife.
The Ten Commandments were not derived from the Book of the Dead.
 

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