by JDHURF » Wed Oct 17, 2012 1:00 pm
The fact is that you can't account for Matthew 5:17 and simply try to wish it away. Jesus is clear on "The Law and the Prophets" and is not telling a parable. I'm quite capable of recognizing parables. Jesus did often tell parables, he also often did not. The "Beatitudes" are not parables.
I would argue that Jesus was not literally the son of God, born of a virgin, who preached the strict laws of the Pentateuch before rising from the dead, but I do not rely solely upon the synoptic Gospels. Anyone who does rely solely upon the synoptic Gospels can only derive from them certain narratives, certain narratives that were specifically selected for by bishops at the Council of Nicaea. These narratives are a steaming pile of horseshit. John's "Revelation" is included but the "Gospel of Mary" is excluded? People are sheep.