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Old 5th June 2008, 02:28 PM
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Judaism

Quote:
Originally Posted by vivamis123
From the Bible we know that Jesus fasted for 40 days and then was tempted three times "by the devil". I think this part of the bible is metaphorical: 1) Who wrote this? 2) If Jesus was alone in the desert, who witnessed it to tell it? 3) If Jesus told it, why was it not capture as a conversation between Jesus and someone?

Most Biblical scholars that I have read recently suggest that this was not actually referring to a real event, but was instead a subjective way of putting forth the belief that Jesus was above temptation, was not concerned about materialistic gain, nor was he concerned with accumulating political power. IOW, their view is that it's probably a myth meant to convey what they believed Jesus was really about to his followers.

The art of storytelling, which should not be viewed as "lies", was alive and well back then, and was considered a legitimate way of putting forth teachings, much like Jesus' parables were used in the same manner.
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"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."-- Einstein
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