Did Jesus side with the atheist over the religious people of his day?

Question

There were people who read the Bible very seriously 2000 years ago. Did Jesus side with them, or did he side with the ordinary fishermen who could have cared less about the Bible? More context on my bio.

Answer 1

Hmmm.. don't know for sure..but I don't believe the Bible existed 2000 years ago!

Answer 2

No one read the 'bible' 2000 years ago!

What you percieve as the bible didn't exist back then. The Old Testament was and still is The Hebrew Bible (which the Roman Catholic Church added to to create the Old Testament you read now). The New Testament wasn't written until after Jesus died and originally consisted of letters written to the apostles from one another in the decades following the death of Jesus. These were compiled into a basic format circa 125AD - a rough first draft if you will. In the first 300 years after the death of Jesus there was not a universally accepted canon of the New Testament.

The Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) was compiled between 12th and 2nd centuries BC. The early Christian Church used the oldest Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, called the Septuagint. Greek was the main language of the Roman Empire and also of the Church. In 400 AD, translations were taken from the Hebrew version rather than the Greek version as it would be thought a direct translation would be more accurate, however the Dead Sea Scrolls correspond more correctly with the Greek translations.

Although Christianity by tradition affirms that the Five Books of Moses (the Torah) is the inspired word of God, Christian tradition denies that all Mosaic Law applies directly to Christians. There are differences of opinion within Christianity as to which laws apply.

The New Testament indicates that Jesus Christ established a new covenant relationship between God and his followers without exception and teaches that this new covenant is the instrument through which God offers mercy and atonement to mankind. However, there are differences of opinion as to how the new covenant affects the validity of biblical law. Jesus commented on Biblical law during his 'Sermon on the Mount'.

In Jesus' time, the church was an institution of law and order that was going through major change.

If you believe in Jesus and follow his teachings, I think it is a sad and ignorant question you're asking, as he taught 'love thy neighbour' and 'whatsoever you do unto each other, you do so unto me'. Therefore, he wouldn't 'side' with anyone. This is a very childish black and white view. He loved everyone including prostitutes and taxmen and strived to teach us patience and understanding. Something we rarely see in the national and international politics from a fundemantally christian country.

quote:

"There were people who read the Bible very seriously 2000 years ago."

This is a sweeping, and grossly inaccurate statement. People read RELIGIOUS TEXTS very seriously 2000 years ago.

quote:

"Did Jesus side with the atheist over the religious people of his day?"

It is unlikely there was any atheism in Jesus day. The people were ruled by the church and due to a lack of understanding of eg. science and evolution, had to believe in god (or gods) to explain and validate the world they lived in.

In your bio you say you are not evangelical due to confusion as to what is the correct teaching of the bible. You have to remember the 'Bible' is a grouping of ancient texts that have undergone countless revisions as was and is seen fit by the vatican. This was done for their own gain politically right from the beginning and especially throughout the medieval times when the church was grossly corrupt. Even transcribing the texts by hand left room for error - example: the word Lucifer actually means 'light' in Latin and was originally supposed to be associated with Jesus (the way and the light) - a medieval monk hand transcribing texts made an error and the name has ever since become symonymous with the Devil.

The best thing to do is to take what you can from the teaching of Jesus not as it is written but from what we believe him to be - a teacher who encouraged others to find a path to him through love and understanding.

Answer 3

Those fishermen you reference WERE reading the Hebrew scriptures and so was Jesus...they were not Athiests at all, Jesus KNEW he was the son of GOD...those Fishermen cared very much about their "bible" at the time...;-)

Answer 4

There where no Atheists of the day! Jesus sided with righteousness no matter who or what they where.

He showed the right and wrong of faith.

He was against people being oppressed especially by religious practises.

Answer 5

jesus was interested in the common folk. he has a rather negative view of the overly religious.

the common folk where not likely atheist in that day and society.

that said, his view of the overly religious was such that he would likely have agreed with an atheist before he agreed with them

Answer 6

Jesus sided with the sinner rather than the scribes & Pharisees of His day,they were self-righteous hypocrites.And who said the ordinary fisherman cared less about the scriptures.A few of the Disciples were fisherman.

And to the one that said they didn't have the Bible back then...have you ever read the Bible?

They read the OT scrolls back then,definitely not how it is taught in most churches of today.Christ and many others quoted scripture then!