# Questions for Christians **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 7, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875 "2026-05-07T01:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/81 "2026-05-15T16:23:36Z")
Some people would certainly argue that they are. I hold that each generation of Jews is entitled and obligated to interpret the Torah in the light of their own historical situation. Arguing that it’s OK to eat pork because the dietary laws no longer serve the purpose they once did and distract us from the central message of ethical monotheism is, well, totally kosher. Arguing that it’s OK to eat pork because “The synagogue is a brothel, a den of scoundrels, the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults, a criminal assembly of Jews, a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, a gulf and abyss of perdition” is not. See the difference? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/82 "2026-05-15T16:26:49Z")
@Thing.Fish : you clearly think that Deuteronomy 13 is a “gotcha” for Christians. Clearly, 2000 years of Christian theologians don’t see it that way. For example: > [@](#): > > Deuteronomy 13 rightly precludes the worship of false gods. The question is whether what Jesus proposed is a rebellion against God and his commandments (see Deuteronomy 13:5). > > The short answer is no. Jesus reminds us that he came [not to abolish the law but to fulfill it](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/did-jesus-abolish-the-law-of-moses-or-not) (Matt. 5:16-17). That’s why, for example, we see that the New Covenant Passover (the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass), inaugurated at the Last Supper, fulfills and thereby replaces the Old Covenant Passover (see 1 Corinthians 5:7, 11:23-27). > > In addition, Moses said a prophet like him would one day come to lead God’s people (Deut. 18:15-18). In that light, [Christ’s command to drink his blood was not a violation](https://www.catholic.com/qa/did-jesus-violate-the-law-by-instituting-the-eucharist) of the Old Covenant’s prohibition on consuming blood (see Leviticus 17:10-14), but a wondrous fulfillment that gives eternal life (John 6:54). > > And Jeremiah prophesied that God would one day [establish a New Covenant with his people](https://www.catholic.com/qa/jeremiah-3131-34-foretells-the-new-covenant) (Jer. 31:31-33). So, provided one is fulfilling the Father’s plan—and we can be sure that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, did that—any changes he brings should be seen as the legitimate fulfillment of God’s law and not rebellion against God. > **[Jesus Didn't Propose Rebellion Against God](https://www.catholic.com/qa/jesus-didnt-propose-rebellion-against-god)** > > Deuteronomy 13 might seem to condemn Jesus as a false prophet who commands rebellion against God. In reality, Jesus was the fulfillment of many prophecies. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/83 "2026-05-15T16:31:44Z")
“2000 years of Christian theologians” are fucking idiots with the blood of millions of murdered Jews on their hands. You can’t abolish the law and then claim that you were actually fulfilling it, that’s just transparently bullshit, as 2000 years of Jewish theologians have clearly seen. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/84 "2026-05-15T16:37:36Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > You can’t abolish the law and then claim that you were actually fulfilling it, that’s just transparently bullshit, as 2000 years of Jewish theologians have clearly seen. I mean… it’s religion. It’s all transparently bullshit. Christianity isn’t special in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/85 "2026-05-15T16:41:01Z")
True. The thing that makes Christianity unique isn’t its theological embrace of bullshit, but its extensive history of genocide and oppression. I also happen to find it particularly offensive that they justify their atrocities by twisting and distorting the scriptures of my religion. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/86 "2026-05-15T16:41:10Z")
Thank you for biting my head off on this. I have no skin in this game; I’m basically a non-denominational deist, though I’m nominally a Methodist. This topic is a trigger for you, and I don’t care to engage on this further. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/87 "2026-05-15T16:44:54Z")
Probably a good idea. I will note that, while looking up your quote from Deuteronomy 18 (which actually just refers to Joshua), I was amused to discover Muslims also use it as a proof text predicting the coming of Mohammad! ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/88 "2026-05-15T19:45:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So you can’t say that faith alone proves a religion is true. No it doesn’t. Faith defines itself by it’s refusal to provide proof. I’m wondering if Faith and Logic may be the yin and yang that I heard of way back in the day, opposites complementing each other. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/89 "2026-05-15T20:25:43Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > The basic Christian argument is that we know Jesus is divine because he performed miracles. But here, the Bible clearly states that isn’t a valid argument, even if it were true. I would agree that miracles, even if they are true don’t really prove very much. Jesus could walk on water but you can’t. I can solve Rubik’s cube but you probably can’t. Neither one really provides an extensive logical proof. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/90 "2026-05-15T22:06:56Z")
> [@Ancient\_Nerd](#): > > On Palm Sunday, the city of Jerusalem welcomed the military leader who would drive out the Romans. After hearing him in person, they felt betrayed by his pacifism. They manipulated the Romans into the crucifixion Just fyi you are claiming a lot of false history. While there were probably a few people who “welcomed Jesus as the Messiah” (and yes, Messiah just means the anointed king, like David and all of the kings after him.) it was hardly “the city of Jerusalem” . Jesus left very little contemporary historical footprint; he was not particularly famous in his lifetime. Also, ancient Israel was crawling with wanna-be messiahs, and the Romans executed all of them, as insurgents. Well, all the ones they caught. But Israel was not happy about Roman rule, and was looking for a leader to throw off the Roman yoke, as the Maccabees had thrown off the Alexandrian yoke. And a whole lot of people stepped forward to attempt to be that leader. There were a few revolts that attracted serious support from the Jews. > **[Jewish–Roman wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish%E2%80%93Roman_wars)** > > Major conflicts > The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of Judaea against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The conflict was driven by Jewish aspirations to restore the political independence lost when Rome conquered the Hasmonean kingdom, and unfolded over three major uprisings: the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), the Kitos War (116–118 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE). Some historians also include the Diaspora Revolt (115–117 CE) which coinci... [Simon bar Kokhba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Kokhba_Revolt) was the one with the most support as the Messiah. Sadly for his followers, his revolt only held away for the years, and then the Romans defeated him, and depopulated the whole area. But he’s a Messiah who left a contemporary historical footprint, unlike Jesus, who was probably just a fringe miracle-worker in his lifetime. He’s also probably the reason the early Christians were so concerned about blaming the Jews and not the Romans for an execution that was obviously done by the Romans for standard Roman reasons. Because they desperately didn’t want the Romans to exterminate them. “No, no, we don’t blame you. Really! Honest! Look at that scapegoat over there! Please!” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/91 "2026-05-15T22:34:04Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Jesus left very little contemporary historical footprint; he was not particularly famous in his lifetime. Nor did Pontius Pilate, the Governo-, in fact until 1961, some though he was mythical. No period ancient documents bear his name, and only Josephus and a couple other Jewish writers mentions him- except of course the Gospels. It is true the Romans executed Jesus, but as you mention, he wasnt well known so it took the Sanhedrin to bring Jesus to Pilates attention. So yes that particular faction of Jewish politicians have some blame, but it was Pilates decision. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/92 "2026-05-15T23:41:05Z")
> [@Ancient\_Nerd](#): > > > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > > > So you can’t say that faith alone proves a religion is true. > > No it doesn’t. Faith defines itself by it’s refusal to provide proof. I’m wondering if Faith and Logic may be the yin and yang that I heard of way back in the day, opposites complementing each other. The point I was making is that if you’re a Christian believer trying to convince a non-believer that Christianity is the true religion, whether because you’re a missionary or a poster on a message board, you can’t cite your faith (or the faith of other people) as proof. Convincing non-believers requires a non-faith based argument. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/93 "2026-05-15T23:59:31Z")
I don’t know if there’s a name for it - but I’ve known a number of people who told me they weren’t getting baptized until they got all their sinning out of the way , although the sins they were referring to were drinking, dancing and gambling not murder and stealing. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2026, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/94 "2026-05-16T05:23:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It is true the Romans executed Jesus, but as you mention, he wasnt well known so it took the Sanhedrin to bring Jesus to Pilates attention. Whether or not the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to the attention of the Romans, they were executing all insurgents and terrorists. And that’s what “Messiah” meant to his contemporaries. If his followers were calling him “messiah”, they were saying he was an insurgent leader. Maybe his followers were mistaken. But that’s who gave him that label. Rome executed a whole lot of messiahs in Israel. There was a lot of political unrest, and the region was crawling with messiahs. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/95 "2026-05-17T15:59:08Z")
Sorry about the hate speech. @kenobi_65 was quite right that I was triggered. I’ll leave y’all to talk amongst yourselves now. ---
**Author:** ![Schubert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Schubert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schubert)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2026, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/96 "2026-06-25T03:24:48Z")
So could Ric Ocasek, and I haven’t worshipped him in WEEKS ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/97 "2026-07-02T13:52:13Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > And today, the comforting message of Christian scripture continues to uplift the souls of the devout. > > > at the anti-Semitic rally in Charlotteville in 2017, posters with John 8:31-47 were seen, as well as the text “Jews are children of Satan,” and the social media profile of the gunman who killed 11 people in the Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 also featured John 8:44. OK, so anti-Semites quote sections of Scripture that explicitly reject anti-Semitism. That’s hardly a surprise. All that that proves is that anti-Semites are idiots, which I didn’t think was a controversial position. ---
**Author:** ![Leftpopulist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Leftpopulist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leftpopulist)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/98 "2026-07-02T15:07:49Z")
I once heard a Christian assert that Cain’s wife was his sister, the law against incest not being given at that time. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/99 "2026-07-02T15:53:06Z")
> [@Leftpopulist](#): > > I once heard a Christian assert that Cain’s wife was his sister, the law against incest not being given at that time. Yes, this is a very common assertion among many of the mainstream Christian denominations. > **[4 Reasons Why Cain Could Marry His Sister](https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/cain/4-reasons-cain-could-marry-his-sister/)** > > Where did Cain get his wife? This question confounds many Christians and is a favorite of skeptics. Fortunately, the Bible and science provide an explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875/100 "2026-07-02T16:12:14Z")
Of course, it’s not the only possible interpretation. It could be that, after God created Adam and Eve, he also created other humans, and that the children of Adam and Eve married those other humans. Or, of course (and this is by far the most common interpretation, throughout history and around the world), you could say that the tale of Adam and Eve is entirely metaphorical to begin with, and that hence questions like “Who did their children marry” are meaningless and irrelevant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-for-christians/1029875.md?page=6)