The Apostle Peter, claimed that Jesus was "a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst" Acts 2:22
I say that these miracles never happened and I have the proof they never happened right from the Bible.
1) When Jesus was with his Apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, [Mark 14:32-50] when Judas and the men came for Jesus with swords and clubs, the Apostles feared for their lives and they ran away. ""And they all left Him and fled."" [Mark 14:50] Had the Apostles actually witnessed Jesus healing the sick and injured, walking on water, and raising the dead, they would have had nothing to fear. The safest place to be would be with a man who could perform these fabulous miracles. But the Apostles ran for their lives because the miracles in the gospels never happened.
2) Jesus told the people of his generation...."" "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet"" [Matthew 12:39] The sign of Jonah referred to his supposed resurrection. But besides this, Jesus promised no signs to his generation. Aren't miracles signs? So was Jesus lying when he said he would not perform any signs, or miracles? Or as I contend, this is proof that Jesus did not perform any miracles.
3) At Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus is with his Apostles and he feeds 5,000 men, along with many women and children with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish. And the Apostles witnessed, this amazing miracle. In fact they distributed the loaves and fish.
But one chapter later [Matthew 15:32-38] in Matthew's gospel Jesus performs a similar stunt by feeding only 4,000 this time with seven loaves of bread and only a few small fish.
But here is the amazing part.......When Jesus proposes feeding the multitude, the Apostles say to him ""Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"" Isn't this a dumb question to ask Jesus when they recently helped Jesus feed 5,000 with a few loaves and fish? They should have known that Jesus could make food out of nothing. I contend that this is evidence that these miracles never happened.
4)We are all familiar with the story of the woman who was bleeding.
""And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak;
for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." [Matthew 9:20-21] The woman says to herself..." "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."" My question is ...How did the author of Matthew's gospel know what the woman was thinking? I contend that this is just more evidence of the fraudulent nature of these supposed miracles.
5) Remember Jairus?
""a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.""
But Jesus tells the crowd ""And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep."" Mark 5:39
So was the child dead or just asleep? Did Jesus perform a miracle or was this just the story of a charlatan's trickery?
6)When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again." After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!" Mark 9:25-26
If the spirit was deaf ("You deaf and mute spirit,") how could the spirit hear Jesus' command to come out?
If the spirit was mute, how could the spirit cry out?
7)And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." Matthew 8:5-7
In Matthew's gospel, the Centurion comes to see Jesus and talks to Jesus directly. But look how Luke's gospel tells the same story.
Luke 7:2-5
And a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him;
for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue."
In Luke's gospel, the centurion sends Jewish Elders, and never speaks to Jesus directly.
John's Gospel has another twist to this healing story.
""And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death."" John 4:46-47
John's Gospel promotes the sick servant to a son.
These differences point out that the story is fiction and each gospel writer tells the story differently.
8)Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Mark 9:2-5
Am I nitpicking if I ask how Peter knew it was Moses and Elijah with Jesus? Were they wearing name tags? How could Peter recognize them?
Elijah and Moses died long ago. So where had they been? """No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man"" John 3:13
So what proof do Christians have that Jesus performed miracles? Christians have stories written more than 40 years after the events that they supposedly report?
During the 40 or more years before the Jesus story was written down, the story was told and retold and retold and with each new generation retelling the story the storytellers added fantastic miracles that never happened.
But I have given you proof from the gospels themselves that the miracles are pure fiction.
BigRed
I say that these miracles never happened and I have the proof they never happened right from the Bible.
1) When Jesus was with his Apostles in the garden of Gethsemane, [Mark 14:32-50] when Judas and the men came for Jesus with swords and clubs, the Apostles feared for their lives and they ran away. ""And they all left Him and fled."" [Mark 14:50] Had the Apostles actually witnessed Jesus healing the sick and injured, walking on water, and raising the dead, they would have had nothing to fear. The safest place to be would be with a man who could perform these fabulous miracles. But the Apostles ran for their lives because the miracles in the gospels never happened.
2) Jesus told the people of his generation...."" "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet"" [Matthew 12:39] The sign of Jonah referred to his supposed resurrection. But besides this, Jesus promised no signs to his generation. Aren't miracles signs? So was Jesus lying when he said he would not perform any signs, or miracles? Or as I contend, this is proof that Jesus did not perform any miracles.
3) At Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus is with his Apostles and he feeds 5,000 men, along with many women and children with just 5 loaves of bread and two fish. And the Apostles witnessed, this amazing miracle. In fact they distributed the loaves and fish.
But one chapter later [Matthew 15:32-38] in Matthew's gospel Jesus performs a similar stunt by feeding only 4,000 this time with seven loaves of bread and only a few small fish.
But here is the amazing part.......When Jesus proposes feeding the multitude, the Apostles say to him ""Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"" Isn't this a dumb question to ask Jesus when they recently helped Jesus feed 5,000 with a few loaves and fish? They should have known that Jesus could make food out of nothing. I contend that this is evidence that these miracles never happened.
4)We are all familiar with the story of the woman who was bleeding.
""And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak;
for she was saying to herself, "If I only touch His garment, I will get well." [Matthew 9:20-21] The woman says to herself..." "If I only touch His garment, I will get well."" My question is ...How did the author of Matthew's gospel know what the woman was thinking? I contend that this is just more evidence of the fraudulent nature of these supposed miracles.
5) Remember Jairus?
""a synagogue official came and bowed down before Him, and said, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.""
But Jesus tells the crowd ""And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep."" Mark 5:39
So was the child dead or just asleep? Did Jesus perform a miracle or was this just the story of a charlatan's trickery?
6)When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again." After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!" Mark 9:25-26
If the spirit was deaf ("You deaf and mute spirit,") how could the spirit hear Jesus' command to come out?
If the spirit was mute, how could the spirit cry out?
7)And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented." Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." Matthew 8:5-7
In Matthew's gospel, the Centurion comes to see Jesus and talks to Jesus directly. But look how Luke's gospel tells the same story.
Luke 7:2-5
And a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him;
for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue."
In Luke's gospel, the centurion sends Jewish Elders, and never speaks to Jesus directly.
John's Gospel has another twist to this healing story.
""And there was a royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and was imploring Him to come down and heal his son; for he was at the point of death."" John 4:46-47
John's Gospel promotes the sick servant to a son.
These differences point out that the story is fiction and each gospel writer tells the story differently.
8)Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Mark 9:2-5
Am I nitpicking if I ask how Peter knew it was Moses and Elijah with Jesus? Were they wearing name tags? How could Peter recognize them?
Elijah and Moses died long ago. So where had they been? """No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man"" John 3:13
So what proof do Christians have that Jesus performed miracles? Christians have stories written more than 40 years after the events that they supposedly report?
During the 40 or more years before the Jesus story was written down, the story was told and retold and retold and with each new generation retelling the story the storytellers added fantastic miracles that never happened.
But I have given you proof from the gospels themselves that the miracles are pure fiction.
BigRed
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Whether these happened or not, or even the existence of Jesus, is not important to me since he is not exactly a cornerstone of my faith.
