Really? You and muflax say that but I thought lukeprog leaned the other way, and I always figured that it was more likely that Jesus was for real.
In that context the position I was assuming was that the details of the stories told about Jesus and the character conveyed were most likely heavily fictionalized. Not so much anything about the possibility of a man behind the myth.
It seemed that arguments could easily go either way
I had been under the impression that it was generally believed Jesus existed as a historical figure but when prompted I was rather surprised that the evidence was scant. I’m not especially attached to a position either way and accordingly have only investigated briefly.
(I think I admire passive aggression and trolling more than you do, I wonder why that is.
I admire passive aggression—when done well. The sort encouraged in churches does not seem to be of this kind. It can be a powerful tool to use against enemies and rivals and in particular anything that can be done to claim the moral highground from the enemy—to make them look like the bad guy—is usually a good idea.
I most certainly don’t admire it as a primary means of conflict resolution in my friends. In terms of what benefits and what I find convenient to tolerate it ranks far below straightforward aggression. Mostly because I’m not very good at dealing with it. I don’t mean I can’t reciprocate effectively and mitigate damage. I just can’t deal with them in a way that makes them useful to me as friends. Passive aggressive friends resolve in my mind to ‘enemies’.
As for why you like trolling more than I do—many would attribute that sort of thing to bad parenting but from what I understand it is actually genetics and peer influence that are the dominant factors. ;)
In that context the position I was assuming was that the details of the stories told about Jesus and the character conveyed were most likely heavily fictionalized. Not so much anything about the possibility of a man behind the myth.
I had been under the impression that it was generally believed Jesus existed as a historical figure but when prompted I was rather surprised that the evidence was scant. I’m not especially attached to a position either way and accordingly have only investigated briefly.
I admire passive aggression—when done well. The sort encouraged in churches does not seem to be of this kind. It can be a powerful tool to use against enemies and rivals and in particular anything that can be done to claim the moral highground from the enemy—to make them look like the bad guy—is usually a good idea.
I most certainly don’t admire it as a primary means of conflict resolution in my friends. In terms of what benefits and what I find convenient to tolerate it ranks far below straightforward aggression. Mostly because I’m not very good at dealing with it. I don’t mean I can’t reciprocate effectively and mitigate damage. I just can’t deal with them in a way that makes them useful to me as friends. Passive aggressive friends resolve in my mind to ‘enemies’.
As for why you like trolling more than I do—many would attribute that sort of thing to bad parenting but from what I understand it is actually genetics and peer influence that are the dominant factors. ;)