the real problem is people can't understand metaphors. believers or unbelievers, all lost...
I have always been curious who decides what words are meant literal and which metaphor... is there an official list, or is it up to each believer individually?
When I read Jesus say things like, "No man shall see the kingdom of heaven unless he be born again", literally this implies reincarnation... more of a buddhist belief than christian
Jesus says, "Sell all your possessions and give to the poor, then follow me" or something similar a dozen times in the bible... again, this is buddhist dogma, not christian
The more I study buddhism, the more I am certain that Jesus was a buddhist, and all this literal vs metaphor nonsense has misinterpreted his message to mean something completely different from what he actually said
It(sp?) the language says, "
The following is literal," odds are it is to be taken literally. If it says that the following is a parable, than the following might be a parable and not literal.
Read the rest: "
Unless he is born of water and the Spirit." No implication of reincarnation there.
Following Jesus gives eternal life to the follower... in the resurrection. Buddhism offers nothing like that.
You seem to make it up as you go along.I'd love to see anywhere in the bible the words, "The following is literal"... who is making up what now?
As for Jesus speaking about reincarnation... where does it say "the following is a parable"?
I stick by my hypothesis that Jesus was a Buddhist. Buddhists believe you have to be reborn before reaching nirvana, et al. The first birth is literally called "
Stream-Enterer", referring to a stream of water, almost word for word what you quoted from Jesus. Your ignorance of buddhism does not mean Jesus didn't understand it
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment#Stream-entererBuddhism also offers eternal life. How do you not view reincarnation as eternal life? There are also several branches of buddhism, much like christianity, with various beliefs.
You seem to know as little about buddhism as you do about atheism, evolution or christianity