New Testament -> Mark
And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.
Mark 3:21
Mark for Skeptics
• Jesus’ friends think he is insane. 3:21
• Jesus explains why he speaks in parables: to confuse people so they will go to hell. 4:11-12
• He says that those who have been less fortunate in this life will have it even worse in the life to come. 4:25
• He sends the devils into 2000 pigs, causing them to jump off a cliff and be drowned in the sea. When the people hear about it, they beg Jesus to leave. 5:12-13
• He is rejected by those who knew him the best, the people from his home town of Nazareth. 6:2-5
• Any city that doesn’t “receive” the followers of Jesus will be destroyed in a manner even more savage than that of Sodom and Gomorrah. 6:11
• Jesus criticizes the Jews for not killing their disobedient children according to Old Testament law. 7:9
• He falsely prophesies that the end of the world will come within his listeners’ lifetimes. 9:1
• He tells us to cut off our hands and feet, and pluck out our eyes to avoid going to hell. 9:43
• He will reward men who abandon their wives and families. 10:29
• He kills a fig tree for not bearing figs, even though it was out of season. 11:13
• Jesus shows that he is a false prophet by predicting his return and the end of the world within the lifetime of his listeners. 13:30
• He says that those that believe and are baptized will be saved, while those who don’t will be damned. 16:16
• The true followers of Christ routinely perform the following tricks: 1) cast out devils, 2)speak in tongues, 3) take up serpents, 4) drink poisons without harm, and 5) cure the sick by touching them. 16:17-18
