RedEye wrote:
Divine Insight wrote:
RedEye wrote:
Isn't this just another ridiculous plot hole in the entirely fictional story of Jesus?
It truly is. It's just beyond my understanding how anyone can stand by these ancient stories and keep a straight face. Seriously. We'd need to believe that Mary and Joseph were either complete idiots or were both suffering from some serious dementia. It just doesn't add up.
See posts #4 and #6 if you want examples of someone doing just that. Believers have no option but to stand by these incoherent stories. They are chained to them no matter what.
The other thing they are willing to ignore also is the fact that if Jesus was truly God incarnate he would have known better than to just go off without telling his parents what his plans where. Keep in mind that one of the commandments is to honor thy mother and father. Obviously Jesus had no respect for his parents at all.
And while one could argue that Joseph wasn't his parent Mary most certainly was.
But yes, you are right those who have been taken in by this religion really have no choice but to continue to make excuses for it until the cows come home. What they appear to fully realize is that the number of apologies for this failed theology are greater than the theology itself. And this particular incident is a perfect example. It's one incident that requires TWO apologies.
One apology for why Mary and Joseph had no clue what Jesus was talking about. And a second apology for why Jesus was so ignorant and disrespectful of his own parents to not event tell them that he was starting his ministry. Even a mere mortal preacher would most likely tell his parents what his plans were.
And this is typical of the Biblical stories. Just about every event requires multiple apologies to try to justify it. And those apologies are never compelling in any case.
For example, the apologies thus far were trying to downplay Mary and Joseph's inability to comprehend what Jesus was saying. But the verse you posted in the OP actually rejects that apology itself when it states: "
But they did not understand what he was saying to them."
The authors of these obviously false fables created contradictions that no apologies can remedy.
So yes, they might keep a straight face whilst making up their absurd apologies, but this isn't because they believe their apologies actually make sense. Their straight face is really nothing more than an extreme fear that they can't afford for the theology to be wrong. It just has to be right, because in their mind the consequences of it being false is simply too much to bear. From their perspective at that point they would need to face unthinkable things.
1. Face the fact that secularism may very well be true and that when they die they'll just cease to exist.
2. Egotistically bear the embarrassment of having to confess to their greatest enemy (
the atheists) that the atheist actually have a point.
3. Finally, and possibly the most difficult at all, they might need to face social rejection from their community, career position, and even their own families.
In fact, many believers of this religion who have come to the realization that it's obviously not true have ended up having their spouse divorce them over it. That's how extremely hazardous it can be for a believer to face the reality of the fallacy of Christianity. It can be life-changing in so many ways. It's no wonder they keep a straight face when making apologies for this religion. The idea that it might actually be false is simply to dire to even consider. They have no choice but to defend it. No matter how absurd the defense becomes.
The fact that this religion has incarcerated so many people in a dungeon of self-delusion is truly sad. It was an extremely powerful social brainwashing scheme. So powerful that is has been coasting along for hundreds of years on momentum alone. The original monarchical dictators who invented it to keep people under their thumb have long since passed away. And now the religion is just rolling along the tracks like a "Ghost Train" with no one even running the locomotive anymore. Everyone on the train are just passengers now sitting in the coaches making excuses for why the train makes no sense.
In Islam we can easily see the truth of this since in many countries dictators are still using Islam as a political weapon to keep people under their thumb. But Christianity has become divorced from its original political purposes and is now just coasting alongside secular democracies that have superseded it. Unfortunately, as we can see, there are still millions of people who can't free themselves from it. Even though the secularist around them have come to realize the fallacy of it all. Those who are still held captive by it actually view the secularists as "The Enemy".
That's how POWERFUL this religious regime was and still is. It's one of the most successful brainwashing schemes ever invented. Believe, and you'll be granted eternal life in paradise. Dare to leave the religion, and you'll burn in hell for eternity.
That's a very powerful idea.
So Mary didn't understand Jesus? Who cares? I'm going to heaven anyway!
That's the idea.
