..resurrection has been done in one form or another by many religions..not necessarily in the classical christian gospel style but the idea of a god figure
reappearing or reassembling to give new insight is not unique to the christian religion...i am sure a wikipedia consult would show a couple...( i have not looked ).
here i just looked up resurrection in the indian tradition from wiki
Modern India
Best selling author and philosopher of Yoga, and the guru of Mahatma Gandi, Paramahansa Yogananda recorded the following accounts of resurrections in his Autobiography:
* Lahiri Mahasaya resurrected Rama a friend of Sri Yukteswar who had died of Cholera. He was brought back to life a day after he had passed,Chapter 32.[12]
* On June 19th, 1936 at the Bombay Hotel Swami Sri Yukteswar, who had died three months earlier, appeared to Yogananda in "flesh and blood" and spoke to him of life in the astral realms. Yogananda describes touching Sri Yukteswar and provides a detailed account of the meeting but some believe this could have just been a hallucination, Chapter 43.[12]
* Mahavatar Babaji the guru of Lahiri Mahasaya is said to have healed and resurrected a disciple who had willingly thrown himself to death from a high cliff after learning he was unfit to be a disciple in his present form, Chapter 34. However, the authenticity of this account is questioned, as the body would have doubtlessly been badly broken, making any resurrection superfluous.
Sathya Sai Baba disciple Dr. John S. Hislop reported in his book My Baba and I that while attending a conference, Walter Cowan, of Tustin, California, was pronounced dead on the morning of December 25, 1971 of a heart attack. According to Hislop, later in the day, he was found sitting up in a hospital bed alive raised to life by Sai Baba. Elsie Cowen, Walter's wife provided details of the account at a lecture at the Unity Church in Santa Ana, California. According to Elsie, Walter recounted witnessing Sai Baba convincing a council to let him live again to perform a purpose.[13] Some believe many of the Sathya Sai Baba miracles are questionable, thus throwing this account of a disciple into doubt. Furthermore, according to medically established consensus, the body can be resuscitated after 9 hours. Within this time frame certain people emerge, and falsely claim to be resurrected, however, it is not true resurrection. This might explain Walter Cowen's resurrection.[citation needed]
[edit]and here is some wiki concerning ancient pre-christian mesopotamiam god resurrection ideas ( not the human personalities just noted in the above indian wiki reference )
Mesopotamia and the classical world
In the literal sense of the word, resurrection refers to the event of a dead person returning to physical life. Thus it is not to be confused with things like Hellenistic immortality in which the soul continues to live after death, "free" of the body.
"Centuries before the time of Jesus Christ the nations annually celebrated the death and resurrection of Osiris, Tammuz, Attis, Mithra, and other gods" [1]. A cyclic dying-and-rising god motif was prevalent throughout ancient Mesopotamian and classical literature and practice (eg in Syrian and Greek worship of Adonis; Egyptian worship of Osiris; the Babylonian story of Tammuz; rural religious belief in the Corn King).
Specifically, some of language concerning resurrection in the Hebrew Bible appears to have origins in Canaanite belief as demonstrated by the Baal cycle found at Ugarit in Northern Syria. Ba'al-Hadad's battle against Mot seems to be the origin of the some of the resurrection imagery found in Hosea, Isaiah and Daniel. This influence survives into the New Testament and even Rabbinic literature, with agricultural imagery regarding resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:36-37 and in John 12:24 reflecting the agricultural images of the Ba'al myth. [1]
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Originally posted by josephwYou're making a whopper of an assumption though aren't you?
One would think that all the other major religions would have one.
Why is it that the only person who ever rose from the dead is Jesus?
Why isn't the resurrection duplicated by the other religions?
That is, you're assuming the resurrection actually happened.
Now of course, knowing you a little through your posts, you would assume this, but don't make the mistake of then using this assumption to judge other religions. They don't assume, necessarily, that the resurrection actually occurred.
In fact, there's even some debate about the historical truth of the resurrection amongst christians. John Spong for example, does not believe in the literal truth of the resurrection but instead sees it as a metaphor for something deeper and more meaningful - that's how he describes it anyway.
I of course, think it's all a load of rubbish.
But then, that's just me ...
Originally posted by josephwBecause hamburgers are not blue.
I'm talking about the resurrection of an individual that claimed to be God.
I don't believe there is a single comparison to it in any other religion.
The question is, why not?
Now, if that answer to your question makes no sense, then you'll get some idea of the nature of your question.
It's meaningless.
Christianity is what it is.
Other religions are what they are.
Originally posted by amannionNo, you are wrong! Christianity is the only true relationship. Notice I said relationship and not religion. In no other religion is there a death and resurection as an atonement for our sins! Sure there have been claims of other resurrections in some Indian religions but to what end? The death and resurrection of Jesus was special because it gave man a chance to reconcile with God.
Because hamburgers are not blue.
Now, if that answer to your question makes no sense, then you'll get some idea of the nature of your question.
It's meaningless.
Christianity is what it is.
Other religions are what they are.
Originally posted by twhiteheadThe other people who were raised from the dead were raised by Jesus! Are speaking of Lazarus and the other little girl that had died? They were both raised by Jesus! Peter and Paul also raised some people from the dead in the Bible but it if you notice they always declared Jesus's name as they were doing it! This means it wasn't them, it was the power of God (Jesus, Holy Spirit)! Doesn't this set off some bells in you that Jesus might be who he said he was? The Son of God! Please tell me somewhere in the Bible where someone was raised from the dead who wasn't Jesus or wasn't raised by the power of Jesus. Give the name of the Book and Verse.
What? Have you actually read the Bible? Jesus wasn't the only one to be raised from the dead.
Originally posted by chappy1Set off bells?
The other people who were raised from the dead were raised by Jesus! Are speaking of Lazarus and the other little girl that had died? They were both raised by Jesus! Peter and Paul also raised some people from the dead in the Bible but it if you notice they always declared Jesus's name as they were doing it! This means it wasn't them, it was the power of ...[text shortened]... wasn't Jesus or wasn't raised by the power of Jesus. Give the name of the Book and Verse.
All it does is make for a pretty uninteresting story. If I wrote a story that said someone I know has been brought back to life by the power of God, what does that tell you? That this person is a deity or somehow related to a deity by some strange relationships not really able to be described? Or does it tell you I'm a bit of a loon and might need some treatment>
I would go for the latter.
So, why do you treat this Jesus story any differently?
I know, I know. Beacuse jesus saved you and he is the lord and blah blah blah. Get past the circular reasoning and I'll be interested.
Originally posted by chappy1Only true relationship?
No, you are wrong! Christianity is the only true relationship. Notice I said relationship and not religion. In no other religion is there a death and resurection as an atonement for our sins! Sure there have been claims of other resurrections in some Indian religions but to what end? The death and resurrection of Jesus was special because it gave man a chance to reconcile with God.
What a crock.
In my mind, the relationship I have with my wife and kids beats anything - anything - hands down.
But then of course, that's in my mind - which is subjective and biased.
But tell me, why is your relationship any less subjective and biased? Because a couple of billion people share it?
Weight of numbers isn't going to win you any prizes here. You'll have to do better.
Can you?
Originally posted by josephwWhen did Jesus claim to be God?
I'm talking about the resurrection of an individual that claimed to be God.
I don't believe there is a single comparison to it in any other religion.
The question is, why not?
Didn't he keep saying he was the "Son of MAN"?
He did say that the Father and He were one--unless it's a later interpolation by mystically-minded editors--but perhaps he only meant that metaphorically.
He also agreed that he was the Son of the Living God. Still, that's not quite an assertion of identity, is it?
Originally posted by josephw
I'm talking about the resurrection of an individual that claimed to be God.
Jesus never claimed to be God. There are things that He said that would lead the reader to
conclude that He didn't believe this, and St Paul clearly didn't think Jesus was God.
I don't believe there is a single comparison to it in any other religion.
Then you haven't done even cursory research into the matter.
The question is, why not?
Given that the two principal assumptions are false, this question makes no sense.
Nemesio
Originally posted by amannionIf you wrote this story it would have no validity. The reason it would have no validity is because you were in no position to see it for yourself. The people who wrote the Bible did and they died horrible deaths because of it (except John). No one will die for their faith if they know it to be false. Plenty will die if they know it to be true and the disciples were in the unique position of knowing for a fact that it was true because they saw it with their own eyes. You're going to say that plenty of people die for their faiths. However, they weren't in a position to know for a fact that their faith is true like the disciples did. That's why I treat Jesus differently.
Set off bells?
All it does is make for a pretty uninteresting story. If I wrote a story that said someone I know has been brought back to life by the power of God, what does that tell you? That this person is a deity or somehow related to a deity by some strange relationships not really able to be described? Or does it tell you I'm a bit of a loon and migh ...[text shortened]... and he is the lord and blah blah blah. Get past the circular reasoning and I'll be interested.