Comment by Stutz on January 20, 2013 at 11:01pm

what is your best argument against jesus. not god, but jesus specifically????

This question makes me think you've been swayed by the C.S. Lewis "lord, liar, or lunatic" argument, which asserts that, given Jesus' claims, there are three possibilities: he was actually the son of God, he was lying about it, or he was insane. They then cite some scripture and make various arguments that eliminate liar and lunatic, so that he could only be (viola!) the one true Lord. I've heard many Christian media personalities claim that the most important question anyone can ask oneself is "who do I think Jesus was?", which is often a precursor to the LLL argument. My answer is that this is a false trichotomy (like a false dichotomy, but there are three options presented instead of two). There is, at least, a fourth L to be considered: legend. The Jesus story is a legend, much like King Arthur or Odysseus. It's not about assessing Jesus's personality, it's about whether we can believe the things we are told about him. Imagine applying the LLL argument to King Arthur—it would be a ridiculous thing to do because we don't assume the King Arthur legend is a factual historical account, even though it was likely based on real persons and events.

what is the most annoying thing about christians? or what do you dislike about christians????

I don't dislike the Christians I know and love in my everyday life, obviously. I do dislike that there are some opinions they hold that seem like they are the result of Christianity corrupting their thinking. I have a female co-worker, probably the nicest, happiest person I know, who occasionally says the most shockingly misogynisic things, like about how women are not as smart as men, or shouldn't be engaging in certain masculine activities, or how her husband makes the decisions about their money and lifestyle as the head of the household.  She has also told me that they do not even have retirement accounts because they give most of their income to their church! It's disgusting, and so sad (they are nearly 40 and have three kids)! It almost goes without saying that she is homophobic (in the love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin kind of way).

One of my best friends, who knows I'm an atheist, has suggested I pray for help with a medical issue. My mother tries to give me books to read that look like interesting nonfiction, but are actually elaborate testimonials written by Christain authors. This is the kind of stuff I am annoyed by, but mostly am disappointed by. I love these people but why do they have to be so dumb in some ways? But I know why: they've bought into Christianity, they've cast their lot with this worldview, and it corrupts their thinking in subtle ways.

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