Why Jesus (if he existed) Ain't Comin' Back -The Bible Version.

Most Christians believe that Jesus will return one day to save them from us godless heathens and "take them up into the clouds"--but if they actually read their bibles they would realize that it ain't gonna happen.  Nope, never.  See the following excerpt from our book which explains why:

"Although Christianity was practiced shortly after the supposed “death” of Jesus Christ, in the Roman Empire it only became a driving force via the influence of the Roman Emperor, Constantine I (272-337 CE), and those that came after him. Before Constantine in the first century CE, there is little written record of those who practiced Christianity. The reasons why probably stem from the fact that the few followers of Christ at that time believed that Jesus would return "within their lifetimes," as Jesus said he would:

“When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Matthew 10:23

“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” Matthew 16:27-28

“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” Matthew 24:34

If the followers of Jesus believed he would return within their lifetimes and they would soon be entering the Kingdom of Heaven, then they had no reason to record anything, or paint pretty pictures. Most likely it is for this reason that the first century CE gives us almost no evidence of Christian art, history, or literature. This was a 30-40 year gap in time where virtually nothing was recorded until the gospel of Mark, and this makes sense if believers in Jesus believed his return was imminent. Instead of writing and painting pretty pictures, believers probably spent their time getting themselves ready for Jesus' supposed imminent return.

Christian Apologists attempt to explain the above passages from Matthew by claiming that Jesus was explaining events that "had not yet happened." This is true of course, but the scriptures make it clear that these events that "had not yet happened" were supposed to have happened within the lifetimes of the apostles. Apologist explanations fail, as their claims that events "not happened yet" could happen at any time, and "no one knows the day or the hour" (Matt 25:36), do not take into consideration that Jesus is speaking only in the context of "THEM," i.e., his disciples. Jesus also says in the text to, "Watch out that no one deceives YOU." (Matt 24:4), which is ironic, as Jesus fails to include all future generations in this warning. Why? Because there was no need to do so, as Jesus believed he would return within the generation of his disciples. As Matthew 24 continues, Jesus made this clear in a way most won't recognize, when he stated that when he returned:

"Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left." Matt 24:41

In these passages, Jesus was speaking directly to his apostles and in the context of his society, which is very important to recognize if one considers the above passage to be a prophetic message--which many do. The above passage speaks of primitive hand mills which are not used in the modern world except perhaps in remote areas of Africa, which leads us, via Ockham's Razor, to the best conclusion concerning this narrative. Considering his language, and to whom he was speaking, and the prophetic signs he made of his return, it is clear that Jesus expected to return within the generation of his disciples as he said he would, but he did not know exactly what time that would be. (Although, since he is claimed to be one with God, which means he would have been all-knowing, his time of return SHOULD have been known to him.) In the Bible, as in the dictionary, a generation is a generation after all--not 2000 or more years. Therefore, the time for the supposed return of Jesus Christ has long passed, and is a "failed prophecy."

So there you go--Biblical proof that Jesus ain't comin' back. 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/270873

Origin of Christian Doomsday Cults, and Why They Are Here to Stay

In the spirit of the "Doomsday Cults" and their adherents, and the infamous Harold Camping and his failed prediction of Judgement Day being May 21, 2011, I find it interesting that people continue to put their faith in such predictions, when over the centuries literally hundreds of such predictions have been made which have all turned out to be bogus. Even the predictions made in the bible about the "Second coming" were unfulfilled. Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels explains the phenomenon in their work "On Religion."

Engels and Marx reveal the "beast" of the book of Revelations as Rome, and the seven heads of the beast are the seven hills which surround Rome. Revelations refers to the war between the Caesar Nero, (represented by the Jewish numerical code 666) and Jesus, where Jesus was to return and overthrow the tyranny of Rome. This was the prophecy of Revelations.

When the "failed prophecy" of Jesus coming back in a "twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52, ) did not happen, people started laughing at believers, so they changed tactics and had him coming back within their generation. This didn't happen either, so then they said "no one knows." (Matt 24:36) This, however, hasn't stopped Christians from making failed prophecy after failed prophecy, because they can always find suckers willing to buy their schtick--and hand over their cash. It's unfortunate that some of these believers (such as the Heaven's Gate cult) have also lost their lives as a result of these unfounded beliefs.

Doomsday predictions are nothing new. People have been making such predictions for literally centuries now--but when they keep failing, why do they continue to do it? Most believers in such nonsense would not put their "faith" in science, and volunteer to be guinea pigs in a science experiment, so why do they, oh so willingly, believe the end is near without any evidence? How can people continue to be so pessimistic about our natural world, and so gullible as to believe the world will end without any evidence?

Cognitive Dissonance. Cognitive dissonance results when a person holds conflicting ideas simultaneously, which they uphold by blaming, justifying and denying whatever they need to in order to maintain their conflicting beliefs. Didn't win the lottery? Just say god has different "plans" for you.

One of the most famous examples of cognitive dissonance was described in the book "When Prophecy Fails." In this example, a religious group that expected the imminent "end of the world" (sound familiar?) grew, instead of faltering when their predictions failed. Because of this, we should not be too surprised to hear that Camping's group is still around in the future making more lame excuses for the no-show of their gods--and continue to come up with even more bizarre predictions.

Cognitive dissonance certainly is a force to be reckoned with, so if you see anyone wearing a sandwich board warning that the "end is near"--smile and walk away knowing you have absolutely nothing to worry about. After 2000 years of failed predictions, I don't expect the prophecies to end anytime soon....:)