Why Did Jesus Cleanse the Temple?

Originally posted by @kegge
The bible, remember Abraham? And jesus, his own son FFS.

Abraham sacrificed his son?

Originally posted by @thinkofone
What makes you think that I'm unaware of the typically wildly speculative rhetoric that Christians often attach to the incident?

Where did Jesus say that He was there to "stop the merchants from making profit" or that money changers were "making an obscene profit"?

If "den of robbers" only applies to merchants and money changers, then why drive off the buyers as well?

You're not understanding what Jesus was saying in Matthew 21:13.

Why do you believe only some of Jesus’ words but not all of them? Why, for instance, do you not believe Him when He said He came down from heaven and identified Himself as God? Why don’t you believe Him when He talked about the miracles He performed and that He raised people from the dead?

If you think the Gospel writers got His words wrong in those instances, why do you accept that they got His words right in His teachings?

Based on Jesus’ own words, you have to believe He was either the Son of God or insane. I believe the former.

Originally posted by @eladar
Abraham sacrificed his son?

You already know the answer.

Originally posted by @kegge
You already know the answer.

Evidently someone believes he did.

Originally posted by @romans1009
Why do you believe only some of Jesus’ words but not all of them? Why, for instance, do you not believe Him when He said He came down from heaven and identified Himself as God? Why don’t you believe Him when He talked about the miracles He performed and that He raised people from the dead?

If you think the Gospel writers got His words wrong in those i ...[text shortened]... us’ own words, you have to believe He was either the Son of God or insane. I believe the former.

Why, for instance, do you not believe Him when He said He came down from heaven and identified Himself as God?

As has been pointed out to you, it is your nonsensical interpretations of what Jesus actually said that I don't believe. That you continue to misrepresent my position on this amounts to a lie. You and others don't seem to care what Jesus' words actually denote or don't denote. The conceptual model conveyed by the gospel preached by Jesus during His ministry is truly marvelous. You should take the time and effort needed to understand it.

Why don’t you believe Him when He talked about the miracles He performed and that He raised people from the dead?

As I've posted many times:

By and large, I find the words attributed to Jesus while He walked the Earth to be reasonably sound and reasonably coherent within themselves. What's more, I find much of what was attributed to Him to be remarkably deep and quite profound. As such, by and large, I find the words attributed to Jesus while He walked the Earth to be "true".

I don't share that view of the mythology and beliefs that the NT writers wrapped around them. At best, they can merely echo His words. At worst, they deviate from His words and at times substantially so.

I certainly don't share many of the beliefs espoused by many Christians - many of which are antithetical to what Jesus taught while He walked the Earth

For the most part the words attributed to Jesus as part of this mythology consist of an off-hand comment or two that serve to further the narrative of the mythology. They are not part and parcel of the gospel preached by Jesus during His ministry..

If you think the Gospel writers got His words wrong in those instances, why do you accept that they got His words right in His teachings?

Once again:

By and large, I find the words attributed to Jesus while He walked the Earth to be reasonably sound and reasonably coherent within themselves. What's more, I find much of what was attributed to Him to be remarkably deep and quite profound. As such, by and large, I find the words attributed to Jesus while He walked the Earth to be "true"

The truth in the gospel preached by Jesus during His ministry still rings out loud and clear despite the corruptions that were introduced by the NT writers. The core of His gospel are contained in the parables, explanations of the parables, the Sermon on the Mount, passages where Jesus is explicitly describing the Kingdom and what living in the Kingdom entails, passages where Jesus is explicitly describing what is required for "eternal life" / living in the Kingdom etc. In short, passages where Jesus is explicitly preaching the vision of His gospel.

If you remain true to form, you'll continue to ignore what I write on this topic and continue to misrepresent my position.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
[b] Why, for instance, do you not believe Him when He said He came down from heaven and identified Himself as God?

As has been pointed out to you, it is your nonsensical interpretations of what Jesus actually said that I don't believe. That you continue to misrepresent my position on this amounts to a lie. You and others don't seem to care what J ...[text shortened]... , you'll continue to ignore what I write on this topic and continue to misrepresent my position.[/b]

I don’t misrepresent your position on purpose. The problem is, you rarely answer questions and state your positions.

There are plenty of statements from Jesus in the Gospels that you have to reject to believe He was only a man. It’s not enough, imo, to dismiss all of them by saying I (and billions of others) misinterpret them or the Gospel writers got them all wrong.

Originally posted by @romans1009
I don’t misrepresent your position on purpose. The problem is, you rarely answer questions and state your positions.

There are plenty of statements from Jesus in the Gospels that you have to reject to believe He was only a man. It’s not enough, imo, to dismiss all of them by saying I (and billions of others) misinterpret them or the Gospel writers got them all wrong.

I don’t misrepresent your position on purpose
Given that I've clarified my position in the past, evidently you do misrepresent my position on purpose.

The problem is, you rarely answer questions and state your positions.

I state my positions more than most if not all posters on this forum.

I advocate for the gospel preached by Jesus during His ministry.

There are plenty of statements from Jesus in the Gospels that you have to reject to believe He was only a man.

Once again, it is nonsensical interpretations of what Jesus actually said that I reject.

You (and the billions of others) disingenuously misinterpret them since your gross misinterpretations serve to prop up your self-serving beliefs.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
I state my positions more than most if not all posters on this forum.

Really!!

You happy to answer my questions then are you?

Originally posted by @divegeester
Really!!

You happy to answer my questions then are you?

Put the statement back in context.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
Put the statement back in context.

You’ve seen my questions to you, are you prepared to answer them?

You know, seeing as you “state your positions more than most on this forum”...

Originally posted by @thinkofone

I state my positions more than most if not all posters on this forum.

Great!

'On what basis do you attribute the words spoken by Jesus as genuine, and other parts of the Bible as untrue?'

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Great!

'On what basis do you attribute the words spoken by Jesus as genuine, and other parts of the Bible as untrue?'

When you find the intelligence, reread what I've already written.

You could even start with what I've written on this page.

Originally posted by @thinkofone
When you find the intelligence, reread what I've already written.

You could even start with what I've written on this page.

Nothing you're written answers the question, 'On what basis do you attribute the words spoken by Jesus as genuine, and other parts of the Bible as untrue?'

For someone who says 'I state my positions more than most if not all posters on this forum,' you're not very forthcoming.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Nothing you're written answers the question, 'On what basis do you attribute the words spoken by Jesus as genuine, and other parts of the Bible as untrue?'

For someone who says 'I state my positions more than most if not all posters on this forum,' you're not very forthcoming.

Evidently you were never in any real danger of being the sharpest person in school.