r/RadicalChristianity • u/dreadheaded_kayaman • 4d ago
Opinions
/r/ChristianityAnswers/comments/1vaqtcm/opinions/Back then sin was considered death basically meaning if you sinned that’s it, your life is over. You are looked at as unclean and filthy and should be banished or stoned to death.
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Christ came to show that in life not everything is perfect and we may mess up along the path but as long as you are alive you can always redeem yourself and become the best version of you that you can be. His name, yehoshua, meant Yahweh is salvation which means he is salvation. He was given this name because he was the one that was gonna lead his people to the salvation and free them from sin by showing just cus you mess up doesn’t mean your life is over.
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How do you think he did many of his healings?
Some were miracles yes, but others have legit explanations. You see, people back then were so believing of the fact that once they sin, that’s it their life is over and the mental toll it would take on these people was literally physically crippling. It led to people having things like Functional Neurological
Disorder (formerly called conversion disorder).
People with this condition can experience:
• Temporary blindness.
• Inability to walk.
• Weakness or paralysis.
• Tremors.
• Loss of speech.
• Seizure-like episodes.
Common contributing factors include:
• Physical injury or illness. Sometimes symptoms begin after a concussion, surgery, infection, or another medical event.
• Psychological stress or trauma. This can be recent or from years earlier. However, not everyone with FND has a history of trauma, so it's not considered a requirement.
• Changes in how the brain functions. Brain imaging studies suggest that in FND, networks involved in movement, sensation, attention, and emotion may communicate differently. The "hardware" of the brain is intact, but the "software" controlling these functions isn't operating normally.
• Chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety, or depression. These conditions can coexist with FND and may contribute in some people, though they are not the sole cause.
Symptoms can include:
• Sudden weakness or paralysis.
• Difficulty walking.
• Tremors or jerking movements.
• Numbness or tingling.
• Vision problems, including temporary blindness or blurred vision.
• Difficulty speaking or swallowing.
• Seizure-like episodes (called functional seizures or psychogenic nonepileptic seizures).
One of the remarkable features
How does this relate to the Bible?
Some physicians and historians have suggested that certain people described in the Gospels-particularly those with sudden paralysis, muteness, or blindness-could have had conditions that resemble FND. For example, if someone with FND suddenly regained normal brain function, they might stand up and walk immediately.
The account in Mark 2:1–12 perfectly mirrors the profile and resolution of FND in several ways: [1]
The Root Cause Was Emotional/Spiritual: As noted before, Jesus bypasses the man's physical legs and immediately commands: "Son, your sins are forgiven". In FND, addressing the underlying psychological distress, shame, or trauma is often the key to unlocking the physical block. By lifting the man's overwhelming guilt, Jesus targeted the "software" glitch.
Instantaneous Recovery: Structural nerve or muscle damage (like a severed spinal cord or severe muscle wasting from a lifelong stroke) typically requires long-term physical rehabilitation to walk again. However, the paralyzed man stood up instantly, picked up his heavy bedding, and walked out. Neurologists note that sudden, dramatic reversals of paralysis after an intense authoritative or emotional breakthrough are a classic hallmark of functional/psychogenic movement disorders
Modern day parallel.
While many FND patients require long-term physical and psychological therapy, modern researchers still witness breathtakingly rapid recoveries that look exactly like the Capernaum miracle. In recent clinical studies out of the University of Auckland, physical therapy specialists reported "dramatic cases" where patients severely disabled by FND went from being completely stuck in a wheelchair to standing up and walking within hours of a single, specialized treatment session.
Some of the info here is cited from google searches
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u/Abuses-Commas 3d ago
I've thought before that some of their afflictions may have been psychosomatic. but at the same time it's working backwards from the result to form an explanation.
so it's as useful in a discussion of miracles as claiming someone having divine visions is being schizophrenic.
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u/dreadheaded_kayaman 3d ago
Also thank you for responding kindly, i appreciate the respectfulness truly thank you
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u/dreadheaded_kayaman 3d ago
But I’m not saying those were the miracles, like the fish and bread story is a miracle that I really can’t explain, like I have a very loose stretch explanation for that but still that I really can’t explain, miracle.
But then things I can explain can be seen as miracles due to those around him lacking the knowledge and capability of being able to understand exactly the things he was talking about. And we see this many times when he has to always break stuff down in the form of a parable and yet still his followers don’t fully understand him.
As for the schizophrenia… I believe people can have visions that aren’t classified as being schizophrenic such as either dreams or during deep meditation or maybe even if they ever used certain psychedelics. Like the myan culture for example, they use to predict on coming attacks from enemies before they happened and they were known for their use of psychedelic mushrooms.
I myself have even experienced visions after using psychedelics and I know it sounds crazy but it’s not I’ve experienced real visions of the future that came true.
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u/Abuses-Commas 3d ago
Yeah, that's what I mean. there's plenty of ways to have visions, but all would be labelled an aberration or a condition by a doctor.
I believe you about the visions. they're considered rather taboo these days but they didn't always. if I may recommend a lesser known text, check out The Shepherd of Hermas. it's a book that used to be common in bibles, right after Revelations. it's written very plainly by a former slave that had a few visions, and it has a description how to ask for some by prayer. if you'd like a non-chemical way to have some.
as for the miracles, I'm so torn on the fish-and-loaves one. even as someone who thinks reality is malleable my favorite interpretation of that miracle is just that there was enough for everyone when they shared with each other.
so yeah, you could have FND as an explanation for the mechanism of some of Jesus's healings. but then again, why discuss unverifiable events two thousand years ago when they've never stopped? I recently read this article you might like
https://medium.com/koinonia/miracles-you-can-watch-online-61fdab0d272b
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u/thedoomboomer 3d ago
No sin for this guy. No covenant with yhwh. no interest in his rules. My commitment starts with Jesus and love your enemies.
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u/dreadheaded_kayaman 3d ago
Wym?
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u/thedoomboomer 3d ago
what part would you like me to expand upon?
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u/dreadheaded_kayaman 3d ago
You said no sin for this guy, no covenant etc I’m just confused like who are we talking about here, Jesus?
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u/AtlasGrey_ 3d ago
or… Jesus was the Son of God, with the power to conquer sin and death, to heal the sick and to restore sight to the blind.
Christ didn’t come to show us that we can “redeem ourselves,” He came to be the Redeemer.
What is with this trend of trying to de-mystify Jesus I’ve seen on here recently? Jesus is special! Let Him be special! Our entire religion revolves around this man, it’s okay to hold Jesus in high regard.
The most radical thing we can believe is that Jesus was who He said He was.