Jesus was a dangerous, deranged individual

"Here Jesus clearly believes he was above all other men; a representative of God that was singled-out for special status." -Actually, he claimed to be God, not some "representative". He was the messiah prophecied in the OT. If true, then his claim was simply correct, like it or not. * "He would have opposed Muhammad, Gandhi..." -Muhammed was demon possessed as a child, raped a 6 year old girl, got his revelation from a demon, and decided to kill himself in the Quran... -Gandhi loved Jesus. Jesus being "the only way" does not define who has that way. (John 3:17) For I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. * "John 15:6: "[Jesus speaking]'If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.'" It's an allegory. This is why it uses the word "like". If something is useless, you get rid of it or let it expire. My opponent can claim "no one is useless", but then he must argue the usefulness of Stalin, Hitler, Charles Manson and Jeffry Dahmer. * "John 8:44" -The "devil" is defined in the Bible. They resembled him. If they truely were of the devil and Christ literally was God, he was simply stating a fact. * "Jesus was a notorious drunk:" He wasn't a drunk. The Pharisees accused him of being one because he "hung out with sinners". They were accusatory, murdering, thieving, liars who were self righteous religious hypocrites. * "Clearly, the gospel stories were written and orally communicated to appeal to a lot of drunks, to justify their drunken debauchery! " - Doubtful. (Ephesians 5:18) "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:21) Envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:10) Nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. - Notice my opponent rebukes Christ for "not accepting everyone", yet condemns Christ's moral character rejecting Christ. It's a contradiction of terms. Morally, should we accept everyone or not accept everyone? * "But Jesus was an absolutist thinker." Not actually. The dialogue is about strongholds. In this verse he is challenging those who sin because of greed, those of which money is a stumbling block. It's not a stumbling block to everyone. Jesus was fine with rendering to Caesar what belonged to Caesar according to himself. * "This is a particularly troubling story because it reveals Jesus's bigoted worldview. Here he claims that he came only to help the lost sheep of Israel." 1)He did help her. In this dialogue he lets her know he is here for his own first. This is actually an honorable trait. To feed others while letting your own starve is disgraceful. This is a fault of far left Progressive thinking. Far left Progressive thinking wants to help most "everyone" but winds up unable to help anyone in the end by spreading its means too far. (And by "everyone" it typically means everyone but the majority.) A million dollars is great, but split between 100,000 people, it is useless. 2)He helped her because she continued asking. This is called mercy. God did the same thing to the actual man "Israel" in the OT, and only showed the man "Israel" mercy after several attempts. The act of asking repeatedly shows a genuine need and desire. Repeated requests is begging. Begging is a sign of humility and desperate need for help. 3)The term "dogs" is used as allegorical speech. Political correctness was not a part of Jewish speech 2,000 years ago, nor is it today. This is simply a cultural concept that is foreign to Westerners. Most cultures speak bluntly and to the point. The West is the exception not the rule. Western speech is incorrect to nonwestern cultures. Even American culture used terminology in the past that is now deemed provacative but was seen as normal speech at the time. http://elitedaily.com... http://taskandpurpose.com... (Proverbs 8:17) "Those who diligently seek me find me." * "Jesus was sealing his fate with every public mocking of the Pharisees and Saducees who were entrusted by Rome to help maintain public order and peace. In fact, you could say Jesus was provoking conflict by ridiculing Rome's entrusted peace keepers in the area." 1)They came after him. He rebuttled. 2)The same could be said about Martin Luther King and Gandhi and anyone else who has stood against corruption. * "John the Baptist" John was beheaded. He stood against corruption but was not violent. He and Jesus willingly died peacefully for what they believed in. (John 10:18) "No one can take my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord."