@@counteringchristianity "And Joseph Smith had a vision that can't be true" They are the most gullible. There are records of Smith spending time inside for running the same scam on the local farmers, claiming he can find them wells with a magic hat and stone.
1. 70 shepherds of israel prophecy (Benjamin Netenhayu is the 70th shepherd of israel) 2. 2 Benjamins prophecy (Benjamin Netenyahu and Benjamin Gantz currently running for israel) 3. Prophecy of the popes before the end (Pope Francis is the 112th Pope) very interesting how prophecies seem to be converging about the end of days, very interesting ruclips.net/video/oBF0Mm-Jumk/видео.html
The resurrection narratives do, in fact, grow over time. Pay attention to how "experiencing" the Risen Jesus evolves in chronological order. Scholarly consensus dating places the documents as follows: Paul c. 50 CE - is the only firsthand report. He says the Risen Jesus "appeared" ὤφθη (1 Cor 15:5-8) and was experienced through "visions" and "revelations" - 2 Cor 12:1. The appearance to Paul was a vision/revelation *from heaven* - Gal. 1:12-16, Acts 26:19 (not a physical encounter with a revived corpse) and he makes no distinction between what he "saw" and what the others "saw" in 1 Cor 15:5-8. This shows that early Christians accepted visions as Resurrection "appearances." Paul nowhere gives any evidence of the Risen Christ being experienced in a more "physical" way which means you have to necessarily read in the *assumption* that the appearances were physical, from a later source that Paul nowhere corroborates. He had a chance to mention the empty tomb in 1 Cor 15 when it would have greatly helped his argument but doesn't. Paul's order of appearances: Peter, the twelve, the 500, James, all the apostles, Paul. No location is mentioned. Mark c. 70 CE - introduces the empty tomb but has no appearance report. Predicts Jesus will be "seen" in Galilee. The original ends at 16:8 where the women leave and tell no one. Mark's order of appearances: Not applicable. Matthew c. 80 CE - has the women tell the disciples, contradicting Mark's ending, has some women grab Jesus' feet, then has an appearance in Galilee which "some doubt" - Mt. 28:17. Matthew also adds a descending angel, great earthquake, and a zombie apocalypse to spice things up. If these things actually happened then it's hard to believe the other gospel authors left them out, let alone any other contemporary source from the time period. Matthew's order of appearances: Two women, eleven disciples. The appearance to the women takes place near the tomb in Jerusalem while the appearance to the disciples happens on a mountain in Galilee. Luke 85-95 CE - has the women immediately tell the disciples, contradicting Mark. Jesus appears in Jerusalem, not Galilee, contradicting Matthew's depiction and Mark's prediction. He appears to two people on the Emmaus Road who don't recognize him at first. Jesus then vanishes and suddenly appears to the disciples. This time Jesus is "not a spirit" but a "flesh and bone" body that gets inspected, eats fish, then floats to heaven while all the disciples watch - conspicuously missing from all the earlier reports. Acts adds the otherwise unattested claim that Jesus appeared over a period of 40 days. Luke's order of appearances: Two on the Emmaus Road, Peter, rest of the eleven disciples. All appearances happen in Jerusalem. John 90-110 CE - Jesus can now walk through walls and has the Doubting Thomas story where Jesus gets poked. Jesus is also basically God in this gospel which represents another astonishing development. John's order of appearances: Mary Magdalene, eleven disciples, the disciples again plus Thomas, then to seven disciples. In John 20 the appearances happen in Jerusalem and in John 21 they happen near the Sea of Galilee on a fishing trip. As you can see, these reports are inconsistent with one another and represent growth that's better explained as legendary accretion rather than actual history. If these were actual historical reports that were based on eyewitness testimony then we would expect more consistency than we actually get. None of the resurrection reports in the gospels even match Paul's appearance chronology in 1 Cor 15:5-8 and the later sources have amazing stories that are drastically different from and nowhere even mentioned in the earliest reports. The story evolves from Paul's spiritual/mystical Christ all the way up to literally touching a resurrected corpse that flies to heaven! So upon critically examining the evidence we can see the clear linear development that Christianity started with spiritual visionary experiences and evolved to the ever-changing physical encounters in the gospels (which are not firsthand reports).
Strange that the detective didn’t point this out 😉. But seriously, that was interesting and probably now has the record for longest comment ever read by me.
One thing that could have happened was Paul started going around preaching that Jesus appeared (by vision) to him and the disciples didn't want to feel embarrassed by Paul and then they also said Jesus came to them. They also made sure that Jesus came to them before Paul.
Actually, there isn't any one part in the Bible where Saul's name is changed to Paul. There is a passage that passively states "But Saul, who was also called Paul,..." and then continues to call him Paul for the rest of the book. Seems to be that Saul (or the Aramaic equivalent) was his given name at birth while Paul was used as a Roman name.
Since there is no historical corroboration for the gospels, a more pertinent question would be how do we even know that the apostles existed in the first place. Have you ever read an authentic eyewitness account of anything that was written from an omniscient third person perspective?
@@Paulogia Paul might have existed but since there is no historical record of him outside of the new testament, he might be entirely fictional, or a psuedonym. Also, there are some notable contradictions between the book of Acts and the later Epistles attributed to Paul. Some scholars believe that all of the texts attributed to him might have had as many as four different authors. There's almost as much fraud in the NT as there is in apologetics.
I still wonder why these people think that the people who just crucified the guy and who, in every other instance of some random person getting crucified, just tosses the bodies into mass graves... would make a fucking cave tomb for this random nobody. Why would they change how they act for this one random person that means nothing to them? It makes no sense.
come on pal, this is baby stuff. Everyone knows that the first record we have of names being attached to the hitherto anonymous gospels is the Irenaeus text, "Against the Heresies", usually dated to 180 to 185 CE . That is a full century after the gospels were written!
@Stefan Dingenouts it is atheist that can not support their claims if anonymous writings. You are the one shifting the burden of proof as usual with atheists. Are you going to get all emotional on me now and throw an intellectual tantrum. Please do it live on video because I love watching you guys break down when you can't look up selective history at your keyboards.
@@stevem7945 do we have copies without the names attached ? In other words, do we have documents which are truly anonymous ? No, we don't. The names were always there and there are no records of gospel accounts without names attached. If you can find any, then show I am inaccurate in what I say.
Wallace must've been the worse detective. Ever. Him: "Looks like you're the murderer." Me: "Nope." ::::pulls out letter:::: I have this alibi saying I was at the club at the time of the murder. It's a letter from someone named Bob." Him: "How do I know it's legit?" Me: "Look. It says right there where I was. It was written at the time. It even says there were 120 witnesses to me being there." :::::pulls out another letter::::: Me: "And here's a letter from someone named Jim that says pretty much the same thing." Him: "Looks good to me. No way you committed the crime."
It's just a shtick to get gullible people to be like _"see he was a former detective so he must know what he's talking about."_ Another clever snake oil salesman.
If Wallace detective skills when investigating the resurrection story are as bad as those he used in his professional work as a detective then I seriously think that all the cases he was involved in have good grounds of being reinvestigated, Scooby-Doo appears to have superior investigative skills than this man when it comes to investigating the gospels.
But when does Dumbledore show up to tell us about the Force?! Before or after the fall into darkness? Did Jesus ever top Gimli and Legolas in the Whack-an-Orc competition? Inquiring minds need to know!
Elvis was seen getting on a plane to South America the day after he died. There have been countless sightings of him since then. Hallelujah! The King lives!
Hi Guys! Elvis here. I'm currently on Playa Paraiso in Cuba with Jimi and Janice. No Covid-19 here! Come visit! Easier for non-US people I know. LoL. Happy Holidays!
The twinned non-arguments of "It's too early" and "People would've complained" are so painfully wrong that it's shocking Josh would ever have been able to build a career out of them. Elvis Presley. He died. There are still people who think he's secretly alive, and there has been since the moment he died. Was it "too early" for people to make things up then? Clearly not. Did anyone object that he died and therefore was not still alive? Of course they did. Did it change anything? Of course not. Washington and the cherry tree thing. Another known falsehood, invented out of wholecloth by a delusional fanboy, quite literally. Too early? Didn't stop it from becoming common mis-knowledge. People complained and still do, did it matter? Nope. What about the weather at Trump's inauguration? It's Trump's second lie as candidate: that the weather was perfect. The US weather service reported that it rained a little bit. Not a lot, just a little bit. He lied that lie on the first week of his presidency. Was it too early then for falsehood to creep in? Clearly not, since Trump's residency has been one long list of falsehood after falsehood. Did people object? IMMEDIATELY AND VERBOSELY. Doesn't matter. It never does. A lie can go around the world before the Truth gets its boots on. What Josh is saying isn't just wrong. He's saying that things that are known to happen all the goddamn time are impossible. He might as well say that air is a solid and that humans breathe hydrogen sulfide smoothies through their rectums. And people take him seriously.
500 all somehow hallucinated the same thing? Far more evidence for the resurrection than for consciousness and life magically creating itself from sterile matter.
S Gloobal What evidence is there that 500 people did see him? Do we have 500 independent, early written accounts? 100? 50? No, we have 1, at least 2nd or 3rd hand source (Paul wasn't there with the 500) written years after the fact, and with a considerable religious and financial bias
@@colinc892 Really is that why not a single ancient historian denied his existence or the things he did? Why didn't the romans provide people who could verify that it was all a lie? That's because it wasn't www.bethinking.org/did-jesus-rise-from-the-dead/q-is-there-really-solid-evidence-for-the-resurrection-of-jesus
Cults/religions do not care when people complain, they just call it persecution, and carry on regardless. They don't record it - why would they? Apologetic's for theism is easy, just ignore reality!
It's funny how they never consider that the whole damn thing could be fiction. The number of Star Trek novels written does nothing to change the fact that Gene Roddenberry made the whole damn thing up.
Paddington station is real, but Paddington Bear isn't. King's Cross station is real and even has a sign for Platform 9 3/4 (now), but JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as Fiction.
how could people not consider that the whole thing could be magic tricks with blowfishpoison, performed by a prince from house of david? those tricks are still sucessfully performed in voodoo.
@@voxpopuli8132 Don't be so sure, people are capable of some bizarre behaviour. And even if some people are willing to sacrifice their lives for a book it says nothing about the validity of said book. People sacrifice themselves and others for the Koran, does that mean that the Koran is true?
@@BigHeretic I'm pretty sure people wont sacrifice their lives for star trek novels. the writer of star trek never said or advocated that what he wrote was true. If you want people believing you, first, you have to believe in truth, and you are writing that truth. This is not some machiavellian wisdom or something, this is just how things work. Therefore, the comparison with star trek is just wrong.
Hi, God here. I had a compilation with 502 testimonies of my resurrection, right from the witnesses, written in aramaic and with beautiful drawings! ...But, the scrolls were recycled as prayer booklets during the byzantine period, to sing about my awesomeness... Archimedes: I share your pain! Oh well, cannot go against free-will or something like that. Back to sleep.
Paul's firsthand claim in Gal. 1:16 - "God revealed His Son in me" sounds like a totally subjective/internal experience. He does not mention seeing a bright light, hearing a voice or any companions seeing anything. Compare the Damascus Road story to the visions of Ezekiel (Ez. 1-2) and Daniel 10. In each account there is almost the exact same sequence of having a vision, seeing a bright light, falling down, hearing a voice, being told to "stand up again" and ordered to carry out a specific theological mission. Acts 9:7 even excludes the others from seeing anything just like in Daniel 10:7. Daniel 10 also uses the same word for "vision" (optasia) that is used in Acts 26:19. So since the Acts story fits the literary trope of an Old Testament "call vision" and Paul himself nowhere corroborates any of the physical details, then it's just as likely that the author of Acts was modeling the story after the visions of Daniel and Ezekiel as it is that he was recording what actually happened to Paul. Thus, the Acts story by itself cannot serve as evidence for its historicity.
Plus we have thousands of cases of people who firmly believe they were abducted by aliens, but whenever you ask these apologists if they believe them, they dismiss them out of hand.
Excellent point. Too many people read those ancient texts as they were first hand records to be taken literally while in reality they were religious texts with an agenda and made heavy use of all sorts of literary devices.
What's weird is.......that the guy acts extremely excited [and almost "used car salesman" like] about the most unimpressive of claims, which cannot even be verified in any real sense,....and he's speaking in a way to hopefully fool the uninformed or easily swayed to his religion. O_o
If Jesus Christ didn't rise from the dead, does that mean the disciples hallucinated it all? If Harry Potter didn't defeat Lord Voldemort, does that mean Neville Longbottom dreamed it all up?
Or, how about, it’s just a literary work of fiction! It didn’t happen. Nobody hallucinated anything. No need to concoct complex scenarios to explain something that was make-believe to begin with.
*Hey Zeus* The problem with "it's a literary work of fiction" is that it doesn't ressemble a literary work of fiction, it ressembles a collection of uncorroborated writings of exaggerated oral stories which were chosen by the church to tell the story of their god.
Douglas Agreed, yes, that’s a more accurate description. At least with a literary work of fiction, the author’s intent is not so disingenuous, as with the Hebrew/christian bible.
This will be lengthy but bear with me, I think it is instructive or, at least, illustrative. I live in Mexico and for many years I was involved with a woman from Mexico City. She was a very honest and credible person. At one point in our relationship, she told me about a trip that she and several friends made to Puerto Vallarta. They built a fire on the beach and were having a party. At some point, a long-haired young man with a guitar showed up and joined their party. He began playing and singing songs notably dominated by songs written by John Lennon. She noticed that this young man (she questimated his age at about 15) bore a resemblance to John Lennon and sounded like John Lennon. According to her, after some prodding, this young man confessed that he was in fact John Lennon's son, Julian. Being a huge fan of both John and Julian Lennon I was very impressed buy this story and knowing the woman who told it to be an honest and reliable person, I accepted it on face value. Years later, coincidentally, I became facebook friends with Julian Lennon and we had a scant few conversation on- line. During one such conversation, as an aside, I mentioned to him that I knew a person who met him at a beach party in Puerto Vallarta. Julian informed me that he had never been to Puerto Vallarta. Was my friend lying? I really don't think so. I think she truly believed that what she reported to have happened DID, in fact, happen. AT least to the best of her knowledge. Was Julian Lennon lying? Well, why would he? What possible advantage could accrue to him by lying about having never been to Puerto Vallarta? Mistaken? Possible but really doubtful. I will leave it to others to reach the conclusion that I eventually reached. A conclusion that does not require deliberate dishonesty on the part of either Julian or my friend. It is based on people being human beings.
After my mother's death I had many incidents of turning and expecting her to be there, or the phone ringing and expecting to hear her on the phone. The death of a loved one can really fuck with your head.
I think the resurrection was wishful thinking based on a desperate desire within his family and followers to have Jesus come back from the dead. How difficult would it be is to turn wishful thinking into a rumor and then into a story. We do it all the time.
And how do you explain that Jesus robe is glowing at 11:12, 12:08 and 13:39? That happened thousands of years before the invention of washing powder with whitening agents. That's a miracle! Alleluia!
@@hisbloodsaves3621 Well, dad sure ain't no saint, but last time I checked he didn't have a tail or funny looking feet. Though he does run the heating quite high, he likes it warm.
Sometimes I think I would like to be a RUclips atheist...then I remember that Paul has already said it, and better than I ever could. Great stuff man, thanks for doing what you do. Your tone and thoughtful approach make it easy to recommend your videos to the Christians in my life.
If you haven't already, you should consider supporting him on Patreon. It's much easier and, as you observed, leads to higher quality than making videos yourself (at least in my case).
What are offered explanations for Jesus rising from the dead? 1. it actually happened 2. it was just a legend 3. the story got exaggerated ever the years by repeated person to person telling. 4. hallucination Let's say you heard a contemporary similar story, say about Sai Baba. This time you had thousands of first-hand witnesses. Most people would dismiss the story without investigation as simply impossible. It must have been a lie. On what grounds do you treat Jesus and Sai Baba differently?
Since there is no legitimate evidence "the disciples" existed, it is moot what they may or may not have hallucinated. Since the writers of _Matthew_ came along about 140 years after the main stories were written it seems obviously of no value to take anything they wrote as "gospel."
I remember my first semester in college learning about American literature. I was aghast at Mark Twain's claims about the accounts of Jesus being hearsay only to find out they really are hearsay just a year later.
Its not all that hard to make people see things that aren't there, we did it in one of my biology classes just for fun a few times. We got a group of people together, all looked at a tree and pointed claiming to see a snake in the branches. Other people came over to see what was going on and a significant number of them _also_ claimed to see the snake and even described what it looked like and what it was doing... there was no snake in that tree.
Everytime I hear an apologist say that group hallucinations are rare I want to show them the videos of faith healers who can knock down the first 3 rows of the congregation just by extending their hand. It's a garbage argument that falls flat the instant anyone bothers to investigate.
Not an accusation, just my inference, but Sean McDowell strikes me as someone that's pretending to believe due to societal pressure and self deception. For what its worth, this is exactly how i behaved when compelled to play the Christian.
I think it MOST likely that the Jesus resurrection myth is an adaptation of Jewish, Greek, Egyptian and other more ancient resurrection myths. The Bible is not evidence of its claim. It IS the claim!
It's a bit concerning that this guy was a detective. You wonder if anyone ever falsely got convicted because he constructed 'completely convincing' cases against them.
A nail factory exec decides his business needs a better television ad for his Wilson's brand of Nails. A marketing Rep comes and puts a cassette in the video and presses play. A Roman soldier is busy nailing Jesus to the cross. He turns to face the camera and says with a grin, "Use Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything." The exec goes mad, shouting, "What the hell is the matter with you? They'll never allow that on television. Give it another try, but no more Gentiles crucifying Jesus!" A week goes by and the marketing man comes back with another tape. He puts it in the machine and hits play. This time a naked man with long hair, gasping for breath, is running across a field. About a dozen Roman soldiers are hot on his trail. One of them turns to the camera and says, "If only we had used Wilson's Nails!"
@Desperadox23 Actually the bulk of the Buybull is of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. Here is a more poignant example of what the christians left out of the Buybull, for unspecified reasons... THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, CORRECTLY! “There sprung up a certain profligate, worthless fellow by the name of Joseph Pandera,” who lusted after Mary, a hairdresser. Though she was engaged to another man, Joseph repeatedly had sex with her. Out of their adulterous relationship, Jesus was born (ch. 1). The boy Jesus turned out to be so insolent that the Jewish elders “blew 300 trumpets and they proclaimed that he was born of an adulteress and not fit to enter into the congregation. And they called his name Jesus as a sign that he was a man whose name and memory ought to perish.” (ch. 2) Jesus, they said, sneaked into the temple in Jerusalem and, learned the secret use of the Divine Name of God by which heaven and earth can be created. He became a magician, deceiving the people. But for the intervention of Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ deception and influence might never have been contained. Judas resisted Jesus in an aerial battle, the Toldoth says. “And Jesus uttered the Great Name and a wind came and placed him between the heaven and the earth. Then Judas also uttered the same, and a wind came and placed him in like manner between the heaven and the earth: and they were flying about in the regions of the air. And all who saw them were greatly astonished...And when Judas saw that he was not able to put a stop to the exploits of Jesus, he pissed upon Jesus, and they became both unclean and fell to the earth...And they sentenced Jesus with the sentence of death.” (ch.4) The Toldoth says that even after death by stoning, Jesus had so enchanted all the trees that He couldn’t be hung upon any of them for crucifixion. Again, Judas comes to the rescue of Israel. “And Judas saw that no tree would receive him, and he said to the wise men, See, the heart of this bastard, for he has enchanted all the trees so as not to receive him. And behold, there is in my garden the stalk of a great cabbage. I will go and bring it, perhaps it will receive him. And the wise men said, Go, do as you have spoken: and Judas agreed, and brought the stalk, and Jesus was hanged upon it...And they buried the bastard in the place where they had stoned him. (ch. 6) And it came to pass in the middle of that night that his disciples came and sat upon his sepulcher and lamented with a great lamentation and wept over him.” At this juncture, Judas again intervenes. He takes the body of Jesus and uses it as a dam for irrigation in his garden. “And Judas saw this thing, and he took the body and buried it in his garden, in the place of a stream of water. For he turned the water one way for a while and after he had buried him, he turned the stream of water over him as it was at the beginning.” The rabbis of Israel then came to Judas’ garden and, pulling Jesus’ dead body from the mire, “they tied him to the tail of a horse, and they drew him and brought him before the face of the queen and said, Behold, this is the man of whom you said, that he had ascended into the firmament...And as they brought him by dragging him, the hair of his head was torn off; wherefore the Christian priests now shave their hair in the middle of their heads to remember the words of Jesus.” (ch.7) The Toldoth ends by relating that, despite the deception of Jesus, his wicked disciples “went into twelve kingdoms, and they spread among them the prophecies of falsehood...And the wise men saw this evil word, and it was very evil to them; for an abomination was done in Israel.”
@Desperadox23 Christianity is a cruel joke... so why not make fun of christians and their ignorant childish beliefs. Why do Christians use their church stunted intelligence to prop up a lie? If Securalist can see the lie than so can Christians. They must reject rational thought to uphold their irrational beliefs. They must believe there is still a justification hiding, that has yet to be uncovered in 2019 years of searching.
I like how Paulogia puts into context the claim that 500 people saw Jesus rise. 1) Why should a non-believer care to investigate such an unbelievable claim? Who would even care, to travel to a different city and investigate? People have lives.... and 2) How would they even go about searching for 500 unnamed people claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus 20 years ago?
It always amazes me how you can take 5 short sentences and talk for hours on them and infer all kinds of "truths" about them. I don't like how fast the guy talks. Words blending together are a distraction and if you really want the meaning to be analyzed it will be said slow and concise. Like you speak Paul. That guy wants ppl to not keep up or really think about what he's saying. He reminds me of that little tart on Ken Ham's news show - talk the clear nonsense as fast as you can so they don't really catch it is her way as well. This guy also puts a lot of pressure behind his words. I wouldn't doubt it if there's some innocent ppl in jail because of him.
Believer: Your Relationship with god is simply a profound and dynamic relationship with the self, with your ego. This is why god can seem so very real to you. In a sense he is real. He is you. This is why god's opinions are so very often your opinions. This is why two believers of the same religion can both claim to agree with god's opinion but not with each others. When you pray and god gives you answers you are the source of those intuitions. You are simply having a conversation with yourself and don't even realize it. This is why god can always assuage any doubts of the believer. You see, "God" knows exactly how you think because he is you. He knows your tastes, your biases and all the gaps in your logic. Therefore it follows that "he" knows what arguments you will find compelling and what mental gymnastics you are capable of to ignore any arguments to the contrary. Ironically I probably can't convince you of anything I stated above because of the very fact that it is in fact true. You are "god". The next time you hear someone preaching or waxing poetic about god, Jesus, Mohamed or Joseph Smith, change all the names and pronouns you hear them say, in your mind, so that they refer to the person speaking and trust me you will get a whole new perspective on life. This is why believers have such a strong emotional reaction whenever they encounter a non-believer. They simply misperceive the non-believers rational skepticism about the supernatural and occult as an assault on their "god" which is to say their own personal identity. There are a vast multitude of religions and superstitious beliefs in the world that espouse many mutually contradicting doctrines. Therefore they cannot all be true. but they can certainly all be false. Even if one were actually proven to be true it would still follow that human beings have a rather remarkable propensity for making up entire religions from whole cloth. I think that all religions and other supernatural beliefs are cultural phenomena of purely human making. Much of this impulse in human culture is driven by peoples existential angst, their innate and instinctive fear of death. Their own death and the death of the people they love. It can seem easier to deal with death by convincing ourselves that it is not real. "My loved one is not dead they are in the afterlife", we tell ourselves. And "Of course I will never die! that's absurd!". You all need to grow up. Embrace the suck! And make the most of the time you actually do have. You are mortal. Death is real...... Get over it. I sincerely and earnestly do not believe that gods exist. But you have each other. Perhaps that alone could bring meaning to your lives. However if you insist on believing in supernatural claims at a minimum please do us all a big favor and don't give your hard earned money to religions pimps and hucksters.
Something I'd always add is many of the earliest followers appeared to be women and slaves. They couldn't check things out if they weren't even geographically mobile.
One time after staying up 48 hours I went to sleep. I then had a lucid dream where I saw a distant bright light surrounded by darkness. I asked "God?" (I was an atheist but always pictured God if it existed as a light through a New Age influence) then the light twinkled. Then I woke up feeling pure joy. I went outside where everything had a white aura like sheen around it. Most strikingly everything in the world made sense even the evil as if it was part of a grand plan. Then I realized my head was numb, in that it was internal, and most importantly I recognized that other than the hallucination the effect was the same as many years earlier when I tried Valium (I was curious through a Billy Joel "We Didn't Start the Fire" video in that an housewife from the 50's/60's was repesented being on Valium playing a violin). The light was from a sunbeam coming through the window hitting my eyelids. I then went on to research what happened was a "Dopamergic Release", and it tied in to my research on addiction. We seek pleasure, and the very act of believing a creator loves you, or saves you from torment, or annihilation is very desirable. We evolved to gather energy to reproduce, and our cognitive abilities though faulty can use thoughts to substitute, or prioritise over these processes. Also since we derived evolutionary success from being in social groups, religion takes advantage of the tribal formula of cooperation, and leadership structure (having a sense of community is desirable to many people). Theists are thought addicts via the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* (Dopamine Reward System). Imagine the euphoria experienced by the average person for believing they won a million dollars on a scratch off ticket (it could be a joke ticket yet as long as they believe). Now imagine someone having the same sensations, but being convinced it's a paranormal contact for believing John 3:16. Now chances are you can get a person holding the fake ticket to turn it over to see "Redeem at 123 Fake st, Fairyland, In Your Head". Yet religion deeply imprints reward for belief, and the believer has confirmation bias of rewards (also often times suffering is seen as evidence due to the influence of ancient cultures which religious texts derive from with lack of medical knowledge) with the ultimate prize after death. Check out the science (along with some history) on why the proverbial carrot, string, and stick in our neurology can cause us to error in our thinking. Evolution has it's pitfalls for example believing non-evidence as evidence if we do not stop to think (emotional thinking is not quality thinking, but squashes rational thought). Hoarding, compulsive gambling, believing far out conspiracy theories, and drug addictions are related on a neurological level though certain dynamics are at play. We are all capable of confirmation biases, and compartmentalized thinking (holding & protecting a belief in the face of contradicting evidence). The Holy Dopamine Ghost (Thoughts are addictive): ruclips.net/p/PLQATeZAnm87BaJjBtM1vMIq_gHRmBq3ie "Genetic and behavioral factors influencing religiously motivated behavior appear related to dopamine metabolism and signaling. Inclination toward religious behavior and motivation has been associated with a polymorphism on the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 (Comings, Gonzales, Saucier, Johnson, & MacMurray, 2000;Sasaki et al., 2013). Acquired disorders of dopamine physiology also show links to religious behaviors." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478470/ "Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music, report researchers at theUniversity of Utah School of Medicine. The findings will be published Nov. 29 in the journalSocial Neuroscience." unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/ These neurological processes reinforce neural pathways (bridging literal gaps) in the brain in order to repeat thoughts, and behaviours like energy gathering (eating) along with specie perpetuation (sex). Going from drug addiction to Religion is just a placebo switcharoo of the power of the mind which is not a miracle. I heard from someone that went to Alcoholics Anonymous that a guy in AA did not want to worship a Higher Power (which is part of the program), and was told to worship an inanimate object. Supposedly the guy became clean, and sober by worshipping the radiator in his room (I wish stuff like this was documented). It was absurd to me at the time, but it makes sense now in relation to our evolution, and the function of the Dopamine Reward System (which both could not forsee the hazards of modern society). Dopamine in varying levels is also related to creativity, patternicity, making nonsense make sense, and hallucinations (involuntary movements, tactile/feeling embraced, and speaking in tongues are also forms of hallucinations which can happen to all five senses). Also see "Dopamine Hypothesis". Note that the apostle Paul showed signs of schizophrenia (2 Cor. 12:9), the early church was encouraged to *believe* in order to be taught by the *Spirit/HDG* (Gal. 3:1-5 Note: Use Young's Literal translation for proper context in that the emotion derived from hearing about Jesus being crucified is considered the spirit. It's like hearing about when in Star Wars Darth Vader picks up, and throws the Emperor saving Luke the emotion stirred in you is a sign of the Force), and perform glossolalia/speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:4-11 Note: It was a potpourri of placebo effects, hallucinations to one, or more of the five senses, and complete ignorance of the power of the mind). "Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that belong to the catecholamine family. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain, and dopamine alterations are related to schizophrenia (1, 2). Dopaminergic projections are divided into the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical systems. Impairments in the dopamine system result from dopamine dysfunctions in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental region, striatum, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus (3-5). The “original dopamine hypothesis” states that hyperactive dopamine transmission results in schizophrenic symptoms." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032934/ "Dopamine In schizophrenia (SCZ), there is evidence that very high levels of dopamine in the limbic system play a major role in emergence of hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medications, which block central dopamine activity, alleviate the hallucinations of psychosis. Drugs with strong dopaminergic effect, such as L-dopa, methylphenidate, bromocriptine, pramipexole and piribedil, may induce hallucinations. D-amphetamine, a direct dopamine agonist, may also induce psychosis and hallucinations." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996210/ "Tibetan mystics have long practiced a method to create sentient beings from the power of concentrated thought." www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/exmqzz/tulpamancy-internet-subculture-892 Mesolimbic System (instinctive ancient part of the brain) overrides the Frontal Cortex (rationalizing modern) building a cognitive wall. Dopamine Enhances Optimism Bias "Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future." www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424419/ Mark 3:28-29 says that the one unforgivable sin is rejecting, or being blasphemous to the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* which is funny since it's the conduit through which one accepts nonsense as gospel. New Testament Narrative as Old Testament Midrash www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/art_midrash1.htm Then He Appeared to Over Five Hundred Brethren at Once! www.richardcarrier.info/archives/14255 The Idea of the Sanctity of the Biblical Text users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/CohenArt/#8a Dr. Ehrman "Forged" archive.org/stream/BartD.Ehrman-ForgedWritingInTheNameOfGod-WhyTheBiblesAuthors/Forged_djvu.txt
Ancient people did not know the neurosciences, and some thought that joy came from the divine on high (no pun intended). The Hellenized Jew Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of Paul the Apostle) believed that the Divine Word/Right Reason/Logos (a character derived from OT scripture, and Greek philosophy) poured down spiritual nourishment as a reward for righteous thoughts about God. Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book 2 "XXXVII ...And *who can pour over the happy soul which proffers its own reason as the most sacred cup, the holy goblets of true joy, except the cup-bearer of God, the master of the feast, the Word* ?" ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, III "LX ... *the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, “This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul,” explaining that God has brought it, his own Word and his own Reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this Word of his* ." Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING "XXV *Those also who have inquired what it is that nourishes the soul, for as Moses says, “They knew not what it was,” learnt at last and found that it was the Word of God and the Divine Reason, from which flows all kinds of instinctive and everlasting wisdom. This is the heavenly nourishment* which the holy scripture indicates, saying, in the character of the cause of all things, “Behold I rain upon you bread from Heaven;” (Exo. 16:4) for in real truth it is God who showers down heavenly wisdom from above upon all the intellects which are properly disposed for the reception of it, and which are fond of contemplation. But those who have seen and tasted it, are exceedingly delighted with it, and understand indeed what they feel, but do not know what the cause is which has affected them; and on this account they inquire, “What is this which is sweeter than honey and whiter than snow?” And they will be taught by the interpreter of the divine will, that *“This is the bread which the Lord has given them to Eat.” (Exo. **16:15**) What then is this bread? Tell us. “This,” says he, “is the Word which the Lord has appointed.” This divine appointment at the same time both illuminates and sweetens the soul, which is endowed with sight, shining upon it with the beams of truth, and sweetening with the sweet virtue of persuasion those who thirst and hunger after excellence* ." Philo: ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, II "XXI ... *who brought forth for thee out of the hard rock a fountain of water, who fed thee with manna in the desert, which thy fathers knew Not?* ” (Deut. 8:15-16) ...Moreover, the soul falls in with a scorpion, that is to say, with dispersion in the wilderness; and the thirst, which is that of the passions, seizes on it until *God sends forth upon it the stream of his own accurate Wisdom, and causes the changed soul to drink of unchangeable health; for the abrupt rock is the Wisdom of God, which being both sublime and the first of things he quarried out of his own powers, and of it he gives drink to the souls that love God; and they, when they have drunk, are also filled with the most universal manna; for manna is called something which is the primary genus of every thing. But the most universal of all things is God; and in the second place the Word of God* . Note: Philo's Divine Word provides a feast of spiritual food of bread, and water. A clay tablet that dates 1,300 years before Christianity describes the Goddess Inanna's Journey to the Underworld. In it she travels through the Heavens to below the Earth. There she is unfairly judged, crucified, then after 3 days/nights her corpse is fed sacred food, and water in which she resurrects in glory. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (Note: Supplier of spiritual nourishment 1 Cor. 10:1-4, :16) "23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was *betrayed/delivered* up (Note: The word in Greek has meaning in context. The former is in context of the later Gospels, but the latter is possible since Paul gives no context, but talks about a sacrifice derived from OT scripture, and visions) took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it (Note: It's in context of the later Gospels that it's presumed to be wine), in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." Psalm 23:5 "5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Philo's Divine Word has many attributes (just a few of them summarized below) including being annointed/christened as well as having a father (God), and a mother (Divine Wisdom). "Philo's doctrine of the Logos is blurred by his mystical and religious vision, but his Logos is clearly the second individual in one God as a hypostatization of God's Creative Power-Wisdom." www.iep.utm.edu/philo/ Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I (Note: Image of God 2 Cor. 4:4, Phil. 2:6) "XVI ...Now *the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made* ...." Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT (Note: God's celestial high priest Heb. 2:17, 4:14 God's Word Heb. 1:3, 11:3 God's firstborn son Rom. 8:29) "XXXVII ...For there are, as it seems, two temples belonging to God; one being this world, in which the *high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son* ." Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING (Note: Born of a woman, born under the Law Gal. 4:4 God's agent of creation 1 Cor. 8:6) "XX ...For we say that the high priest (Jos. 20:1-6) is not a man, but *is the Word of God, who has not only no participation in intentional errors, but none even in those which are involuntary* . For Moses says that he cannot be defiled neither in respect of his father, that is, the mind, nor his mother, that is, the external sense; "He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother." (Lev. 21:11) because, I imagine, he has received imperishable and wholly pure parents, *God being his father, who is also the father of all things, and Wisdom (Greek Sophia personified feminine wisdom Prov. **3:13**-20, 8:1-36) being his mother, by means of whom the universe arrived at creation* ; and also because *he is anointed with oil, by which I mean that the principal part of him is illuminated with a light like the beams of the sun* , so as to be thought worthy to be *clothed with garments. And the most ancient Word of the living God is clothed with the word as with a garment, for it has put on earth, and water, and air, and fire, and the things which proceed from those elements* . ...Nor will he “rend his clothes;” (Lev. 21:10) for *the Word of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated* ." There's many more similarities between Philo's Divine Reason, and Paul's annointed saviour. But it's Paul's pre-existing celestial being that had Gospels written about it set on Earth. Most eye opening is that Paul is adamant that his Gospel is not from humans, but *from scripture, and visions/dreams* (Gal. 1:11-12, Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 15:3-8). A *secret hidden through the ages now revealed* (Rom. 16:25-26, 1 Cor. 2:6-7). Also Paul says *his apostleship is by the same means as the founding Pillars* (Gal. 2:6-8). The thing is one can find a Jesus/Joshua (Saviour) being crucified in OT scripture keeping in mind the power of the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* to reveal hidden mysteries that are kept in plain sight. See Joshua 10:22-27 where Joshua son of Nun (Saviour of the Rising One) crucifies the five senses/members of flesh (Rom. 6:12-23, 7:5, 8:3-13, Gal. 5:24) that leads one to sin, and places it in a tomb. Note Paul quotes scripture in that Jesus was crucified by hanging from a tree thus becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13, Deut. 21:23). See Zechariah 3:1-10, 6:11-13 where Joshua son of Jehozadak (Son of the Righteous God) has tricked Satan who does not recognize him because he is wearing filthy clothes (human flesh). Then God glorifies Joshua by clothing him in festal apparel (spiritual flesh), removes the guilt of the land, gives him a throne, a crown, and given the title Branch/Rising to rule over his Temple. Paul says Satan destroys flesh (1 Cor. 5:5), and the persishable cannot inherit the imperishable (1 Cor. 115:35-56). So the hymnal (Phil. 2:6-11 which is considered the oldest Christian writing, and creedal statement) where Jesus takes on flesh then being found in this disguise is crucified, and raised in glory can be inferred right of OT scripture. The later Gospel called Mark started out as a symbolic allegory of this perceived OT Jesus character. Then over time, and the writing of other Gospels it was deemed historical. Who would believe that the OT, and NT are revelations from an omnipotent/omnipresent being except a thought addict via the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* (Dopamine Reward System) that increases our patternicity, and reward seeking. i.imgflip.com/1ydvtk.jpg
@@lordepichax3755 Paul's Christ Jesus and Philo's Divine Word are the same imagined OT Character. Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4, Phili. 2:6), Agent of Creation (Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 8:6) Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I "XVI ...Now the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made..." Celestial High Priest (Heb. 2:17, 4:14), God's Word (Heb. 1:3, 11:3), Firstborn son (Rom. 8:29) Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT "XXXVII ...the high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son." Spiritual Kinship/Angel of God (Rom. 8:29, Gal. 4:5-7, :14, Heb. 1:4) Philo: ON THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES "XI ...In reference to which I admire those who say, “We are all one man’s sons, we are men of Peace,” (Gen. 42:11) because of their well-adapted agreement; since how, I should say, could you, O excellent men, avoid being grieved at war, and delighted in peace, being the sons of one and the same father, and he not mortal but immortal, the man of God, who being the reason of the everlasting God, is of necessity himself also immortal?" "XXVIII ...And even if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labour earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called, the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God’s image, and he who sees Israel. For which reason I was induced a little while ago to praise the principles of those who said, “We are all one man’s Sons.” (Gen. 42:11) For even if we are not yet suitable to be called the sons of God, still we may deserve to be called the children of his eternal image, of his most sacred word; for the image of God is his most ancient word...." Note: Gal. 1:19 "but I did not see any other apostle except James the LORD's brother." This could be a cultic title (like Peter/Cephas which means "Rock" could have been, or an idiom) rather than being a biological relation? Paul constantly refers to those "in Christ" as brothers/sisters in a spiritual family. Good Shepherd (Heb. 13:20) Philo: ON THE CHANGE OF NAMES "XIX ...for they have abandoned all connections with pride, and having connected themselves with lawful persuasion, choosing to become a portion of the sacred flock, of which the divine word is the leader, as his name shows, for it signifies the pastoral care of God." "XX But while he is taking care of his own flock, all kinds of good things are given all at once to those of the sheep who are obedient, and who do not resist his will; and in the Psalms we find a song in these words, “The Lord is my shepherd, therefore shall I lack Nothing;” (psa. 23:1) therefore the mind which has had the royal shepherd, the divine word, for its instructor,..." Purification/Forgiveness of Sins/Glorification (1 Cor. 6:11, 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:6) Philo: ON THE LIFE OF MOSES, II "XXVI Such then are the figurative meanings which he desires to indicate by the sacred vestments of the high priest;... ...namely the logeum, being also an emblem of that reason which holds together and regulates the universe. For it was indispensable that the man who was consecrated to the Father of the world, should have as a paraclete, his son, the being most perfect in all virtue, to procure forgiveness of sins, and a supply of unlimited blessings;..." Tested (Heb. 2:18) A Man (Rom. 5:15-19, 1 Cor. 15:45-49) Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book I "XXXIX ...For when the sacred word has purified us with the sprinklings prepared beforehand for purification, and when it has adorned us with the select reasonings of true philosophy, and, having led us to that man who has stood the test, has made us genuine, and conspicuous, and shining,..." Sits Beside God (Heb. 8:1) Philo: ABOUT NOT MOVING LANDMARKS "XXXVIII... I say, should such men triumph in and insult the misfortunes of others, having no respect for justice, the ruler (Note: justice/ruler) of human life, who sits by the side of the great Ruler of the universe, who surveys all things with sleepless and most piercing eyes, and sees what is in recesses as clearly as if it was in the pure sunlight?" The Word is a Covenant (1 Cor. 11:25, 2 Cor. 3:4-6) Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book II "XXXIII ...God, says that he is about to erect firmly his covenant full of grace (and that means his law and his word) in the soul of the just man as on a solid foundation, which shall be an image in the likeness of God, when he says to Noah, “I will establish my covenant with Thee.” (Gen. 9:11) And besides this, he also indicates two other things, one that justice is in no respect different from the covenant of God (Note: justice/covenant), the other that other beings bestow gifts which are different from the persons who receive them;... XXXVI Since then all steadiness, and stability, and the abiding for ever in the same place unchangeably and immovably, is first of all seen in the living God, and next in the word of the living God, which he has called his covenant;..." Sacrificial Blood (Heb. 12:24) Philo: WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS "XXXVIII ...Now, the craters of the sense of seeing are the eyes, those of hearing are the ears, those of smelling are the nostrils, and so on with the appropriate receptacles for each of the senses. On these craters the sacred word pours a portion of blood, thinking it right that the irrational part of us should become endowed with soul and vitality, and should in some manner become rational; following the guidance of admonition, and purifying itself from the deceitful alluring powers of the objects of the outward sense which aim to overcome it." Intermediary Agent to Mortals (Rom. 8:34, Gal. 3:19-20, Heb. 12:24) Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book I "XII ...who never abandons his faith in God and his invisible comprehension of him, but who keeps to the intermediate divine word, which affords him the best suggestions, and teaches him everything which is suitable to the times. For God, not condescending to come down to the external senses, sends his own words or angels for the sake of giving assistance to those who love virtue. But they attend like physicians to the disease of the soul, and apply themselves to heal them, offering sacred recommendations like sacred laws, and inviting men to practice the duties inculcated by them, and, like the trainers of wrestlers, implanting in their pupils strength, and power, and irresistible vigour. Very properly, therefore, when he has arrived at the external sense, he is represented no longer as meeting God, but only the divine word,..." Empties (Kenosis) Himself (Phili. 2:7-8) Philo: Who is The Heir To Divine Things "XLI ...but in real fact for the whole world which was created by divine wisdom may be consecrated and dedicated, being made a burnt offering of early in the morning and also in the evening. For such a life as this becomes the world, namely, continually and without ceasing to be giving thanks to its Father and Creator, so as to stop short of nothing but evaporating and reducing itself into its original element, in order to show that it stores up and conceals nothing, but dedicates itself wholly as a pious offering to God who created it." Born of a Woman/Under the Law (Gal. 4:4b), Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24b) Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING "XX ...For we say that the high priest (Jos. 20:1-6) is not a man, but is the Word of God, who has not only no participation in intentional errors, but none even in those which are involuntary. For Moses says that he cannot be defiled neither in respect of his father, that is, the mind, nor his mother, that is, the external sense; "He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother." (Lev. 21:11) because, I imagine, he has received imperishable and wholly pure parents, God being his father, who is also the father of all things, and Wisdom being his mother, by means of whom the universe arrived at creation (Prov. 3:19-20, 8:22-31); and also because he is anointed with oil, by which I mean that the principal part of him is illuminated with a light like the beams of the sun, so as to be thought worthy to be clothed with garments. And the most ancient Word of the living God is clothed with the word (Law) as with a garment, for it has put on earth, and water, and air, and fire, and the things which proceed from those elements. ...Nor will he “rend his clothes;” (Lev. 21:10) for the Word of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated." Philo: A Treatise Concerning The World "II ...But the eternal law of the everlasting God is the strong and lasting support of the universe. This law being extended from the centre of the world to its furthest extremities, and again back from its extremities to the centre, moves on in the unwearied irresistible course of nature, uniting and binding together all the parts of the universe. For the Father who established it made it to be the indissoluble bond of the universe. Therefore we are naturally led to conclude that the whole earth will not be dissolved by water, which its bosoms contain; nor again will fire be extinguished by the air, nor again will the air be burnt up and consumed by fire, since the divine law has placed itself as a boundary to keep all these elements distinct from one another."
@@lordepichax3755 Jesus tricked Satan into crucifying him (The Gospel Mark is a parable set on Earth while later Gospels are doctrinal warfare later believed as history): The pseudograph 2 Pet. 1:16 is pushback against people (likely a group of Xtians who we don't get to hear from) that are saying the Gospels are literary fabrications, and then forges an eyewitness account. Later in 2 Pet. 3:15-16 it mentions that there's things in Paul's letters that do not make sense, which is strange in light of 1 Cor. 3:2 & Heb. 5:12 in which converts are taught things easy to understand. Paul is adamant that his Gospel is not from humans, but from scripture, and visions/dreams (Gal. 1:11-12, :15-17, Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 15:3-8). A secret hidden through the ages now revealed (Rom. 16:25-26, 1 Cor. 2:6-7). Also Paul says his apostleship is by the same means as the founding Pillars (Gal. 2:6-9). Who in context of what Paul wrote would execute someone for being in human form? Phili. 2:6-8 "6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself (Isa. 53:12), taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross." Who would NOT kill Jesus if it was made known to them that by doing so it would fulfill God's plan for mankind to have a chance at immortality? 1 Cor. 2:6-8 "6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (Note: "rulers of this age" is reciprocal with Earthly & spiritual powers to the ancient reader) To Paul a physical resurrection does not inherit God's Kingdom (The Synoptics & John have a flesh resurrected Jesus). 1 Cor. 15:49 "49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality." Dirty, or impoverished clothing, and clean, or gleaming clothing were seen as metaphors for Earthly/spiritual bodies in the ancient world. (Mark 14:51-52 "A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.", 16:5 "As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.") Rom. 4:25 "who was betrayed/handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification." Note: 1 Cor. 11:23 "betrayed" is contextually reciprocal with "handed over" in Greek (Rom. 1:24, :26, :28). The verse Rom. 1:3b "who was descended from David according to the flesh" (2 Sam. 7:12) is good evidence for historicity. But 2 Sam. 7:12c "who shall come forth from your body," can mean God made a flesh body from David's semen for Jesus (it was a belief that the male seed contained the whole body). This is a convenient way to fulfill messianic prophecy for a celestial event instead of on Earth. Zec. 3:1-9 "1 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua/Jesus (Savior) standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan (Adversary) standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?" 3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." And to him he said, "See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel." 5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of the LORD was standing by. 6 Then the angel of the LORD assured Joshua, saying 7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day." Zec. 6:11-13 "11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak (Savior Son of the Righteous God); 12 say to him: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch: for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he that shall build the temple of the LORD; he shall bear royal honor, and shall sit upon his throne and rule. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them." Rom. 15:12 "12 and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope." (Isa. 11:10 LXX). Isa. 11:1 "1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." 1 Cor. 15:24-26 "24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Jos. 10:24-27 "24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua/Jesus, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. (Psa. 110:1/1 Cor. 15:24-28, Rom. 16:20, Heb. 1:13, 2:5-9, 10:13) 25 And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight." 26 Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. (Deut. 21:22-23/Gal. 3:13)" Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4, Phili. 2:6), Agent of creation (Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 8:6) Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I "XVI ...Now the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made..." Celestial high priest (Heb. 2:17, 4:14), God's Word (Heb. 1:3, 11:3), Firstborn son (Rom. 8:29) Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT "XXXVII ...the high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son." Five Kings= Five Senses (Flesh) Philo: ON ABRAHAM "XLI These things, then, are what are contained in the plain words of the scriptures. But as many as are able to contemplate the facts related in them in their incorporeal and naked state, living rather in the soul than in the body, will say that of the nine kings (Gen.14:1-2) the four are the powers of the four passions which exist within us, the passion of pleasure, of desire, of fear, and of grief; and that the other five kings are the outward senses, being equal in number, the sense of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste, and of touch. For these in some degree are sovereigns and rulers, having acquired a certain power over us, but not all to an equal extent; for the five are subordinate to the four, and are compelled to pay them taxes and tribute, such as are appointed by nature. For it is from the things which we see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch, that pleasures, and pains, and fears, and desires arise; as there is no one of the passions which has any power to exist of itself, if it were not supplied by the materials furnished by the outward senses." Philo: WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS "XXXVIII ...Now, the craters of the sense of seeing are the eyes, those of hearing are the ears, those of smelling are the nostrils, and so on with the appropriate receptacles for each of the senses. On these craters the sacred word pours a portion of blood, thinking it right that the irrational part of us should become endowed with soul and vitality, ...purifying itself from the deceitful alluring powers of the objects of the outward sense which aim to overcome it." Philo: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ON GENESIS, III "(51) What is the meaning of, “And it shall be my covenant (or agreement) in your flesh?” (Gen. 17:13). God is willing to do good, not only to the man who is endued with virtue, but he wishes that the Divine Word should regulate not only his soul but his body also, as if it had become its physician. And it must be its care to prune away all excesses of seeing, and hearing, and taste, and smell, and touch, and also those of the instrument of voice and articulation, and also all the redundant and pernicious impulses of the genitals, (morning cross? Rom. 7:23) as also of the whole body, the effect of which is, that at times we are delighted by our passions and at times pained by them."
The gospels may have been refuted verbally by many people in a better position to know, and we might never know of those refutations. Refutations don’t erase pages and the winners get to tell the story
The Resurrection argument only works if these people actually saw Jesus alive again (with their eyes) after his death since that is the only way to verify that an actual resurrection had taken place. If the "appearances" of Jesus were not veridical then the Resurrection argument fails. Therefore, the burden of proof is on the Resurrection proponent to demonstrate that the "appearances" of the Risen Christ were veridical. Paul is the earliest and only source written firsthand who says _"Jesus appeared to me"_ and the appearance to him was some sort of "revelation" from heaven - Gal. 1:16 which he does not distinguish from the other appearances in 1 Cor 15:5-8. So the *only example* of a "resurrection appearance" that we have in the earliest source is some sort of subjective spiritual experience from heaven and not a physical encounter with a revived corpse. It therefore necessarily follows that personal/subjective "visions" "revelations" or "experiences from heaven" (experiences that don't necessarily have anything to do with reality) were accepted as "resurrection appearances." In 1 Cor 15:5-8 the word for "appeared" is ὤφθη (ōphthē) which is the aorist passive form of ὁράω (horáō). Note how this word doesn't necessarily mean to see with the eyes. ὁράω 1. to see with the eyes 2. *to see with the mind, to perceive, know* 3. to see, i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g3708 horáō - properly, see, *often with metaphorical meaning: "to see with the mind" (i.e. spiritually see), i.e. perceive (with inward spiritual perception)."* biblehub.com/greek/3708.htm So without reading in the stories from the later gospels and Acts, what argument can be given that the resurrection appearances were originally understood to be visually confirmed physical encounters with the Resurrected body of Jesus? Since the Greek word can mean physical *or* spiritual seeing and the fact that these people claimed to "see" things in visions and dreams quite regularly www.openbible.info/topics/dreams_and_visions then any claim that they "saw" Jesus is simply a non-starter. Note: Any appeal to the later gospels and Acts is a tacit admission that Paul (the earliest and only firsthand source) gives no clear evidence for the physical/veridical type of seeing. What Paul says in 1 Cor 15:5-8 is consistent with *all* of the appearances coming from heaven like his did. He gives no evidence of any physical touching or a witnessed ascension. All of that stuff develops later in the gospels which are not firsthand sources.
The detective enters the room to question the eye witnesses of a murder. All 3 witnesses state that they saw a being of light commit the crime; Do we assume it was supernatural? No Do we assume they are all lying or mistaken? maybe Do we look for better evidence? YES!!!!!
@@areyoujelton I mean if you're depressed cause a loved one close to you died then you might see them in a psychedelic hallucination if you do the drugs later.
Paul only saw a bright light and heard a voice. NEVER SAW JESUS RESURRECTED IN PERSON. It was something closer to a vision rather than a bodily presence. And by the way, why should we believe this story anyway?
While I like many of your videos, I think you need to do better due dilligence and consult more widely when you touch upon issues relating to New Testament history. For example, as I noted in an earlier comment on a previous video, there is indeed recent research that questions the anonymous nature of the gospels (e.g. Martin Hengel, Simon Gathercole), and the claim that scholars think that the "church fathers" assigned the names of the gospels is not usually claimed in New Testament scholarship. Also please note you have misunderstood what "high Christology" is. High Christology does not mean that over time the narrative of Jesus was embellished with more and more supernatural elements, but it relates to when the idea of when he was first considered divine (which after the work of many scholars has been pushed back to the synoptic Gospels). Also the Gospels are not written in scholarly Greek, but rather fairly unrefined Koine Greek. You further seem to imply that knowledge of Greek and Aramaic is surprising for these individuals, when the multilingual status of most inhabitants of Palestine has been acknowledged since work in the 1970's by Fitzmeyer and has only grown stronger, e.g. see Hughson T. Ong or Stanley Porter, among many).
We know Paul didn't 'see Jesus in the flesh'. He could have and probably did make up his whole vision. These are the earliest accounts. The next earliest account is Mark, and the ressurection is not included in the earliest manuscripts. 'Mark' is also obviously not an eye witness, as it is evident from the writings that he was not familiar with the geography or the customs. That leaves Matthew, Luke, and John. Matthew is obviously a copy of Mark, which means the ressurection was probably tacked on to fulfill prophecy. Luke was probably also a copy of Mark, at a later date, and probably added the tradition of the resurrection. That leaves us with John, which seems to be written from a different perspectives, and is considered less reliable than the Synaptics. Nevertheless, it is the only gospel with which there is no explaining the origin of the resurrection story. It is the only one scholars should be concerned with. But in reality, the resurrection was probably added here as well, as a response to Paul's teachings.
So, what we have here is a sacrifice cult, in which it is claimed that god sent himself as a sacrifice to himself...hmm. And the purpose of god sacrificing himself to himself was to save humanity from god's own condemnation...hmm. It's a curious paradox that this supposedly 'all-powerful' god needed to sacrifice himself to himself in order to achieve his own forgiveness of humanity. Such forgiveness is an intellectual concept, thus it would have needed no physical effort to achieve. From my perspective, any effort to justify this nonsense is pointless.
Or the whole story about Paul being a prosecutor of the Christians who then had an experience and then became a believer was just a story he made up to give himself legitimacy as a prophet. Kind of like how apologists today pretend to be a former atheist to give them legitimacy now.
Paul (if e wrote it) said he only knew Jesus from scriptures and revelation and not from people. For someone who was supposed to be going after the Christians pre conversion and meeting Peter and James post conversion, this does not add up. Also Paul you seem to dismiss the idea that the whole story was made up. When I learned that there was little or no historical evidence for the crucifixion and definitely nothing for the resurrection, and the possibility that the gospel stories were written in the second century by unknown writers does have a fictitious feel to it just like almost every other religion based on myths.
The Greek of the New Testament is far from scholarly--for instance the optative occurs only once--Luke manages to put it in when Paul addresses the Aereopogus.
@Sam Bacon Thanks for telling me that Greek is not a Semitic language. I would never have known that without your saying so. Even more amazing is your revelation that ancient Jewish girls had a Bat Mitzvah or that boys had a Bar Mitzvah in the first century. Everyone else in the world thinks those rituals only developed much later. You alone know the truth. Thanks again for revealing it. And your description of translation is so insightful. Who knew that the fact that two different languages use different vocabulary and grammar it make it impossible to accurately translate meaning? I was just wasting my time reading all those Yukio Mishima novels in translation. Any you are doubly insightful since all of the Gospels were originally written in Greek and no translation was involved (and none of them were written by an apostle--I just cant get over how relevant your opening line is!) I am so glad that you fearlessly make such statements based on your own expert knowledge derived from years of study of the subjects you speak about.
@@helenaconstantine Obviously @Sam_Bacon didn't understand what you were trying to say. I admit I don't really either. What was the point of saying that the Greek wasn't entirely scholarly. Were you just being a pedant, like I often am, or were you actually trying to object to something in the video?
@@catlover10192 Paulogia, if I recall now, said something about the Gospel authors being educated in Greek. They were obviously, but educated is an ambiguous term. The Greek of the New Testament is actually quite poor. It leaves whole grammatical moods like the optative, has a minuscule vocabulary (Greek has the largest vocabulary of any ancient language), and never produces anything like a grammatical period (a long complex sentence typical of Greek). If Lucian had read the NT (and he might have done) he would considered it the bastardized Greek of uneducated foreigners (and he wasn't a native Greek speaker either; he just learned it much better).
@@catlover10192 Now that I reread bacon's post, to answer you in a different way, I think its fair to say he doesn't understand anything. He is gibbering on as if he is an expert, when he know nothing, like so many people Socrates met.
Ancient Historians know Paul didnt write most of the Epistles,they are forged...the ones he probably wrote..he speaks of Christ as some revelatory Deity..so more likely Mythology!
The 'speaking in tongues' nonsense is a mis-understanding if not total distortion of that verse. A group of activists gives a 'sermon'. One speaks in Aramaic, one speaks in Greek, and another speaks in Latin. ergo: speaking in tongues.
Hey Paul from Edmonton. I just watched a flat earth debunker channel called SciMan Dan take on your old pal Ken. I gave you a shout out to your channel in the comments for anyone who is interested in hearing more about Ken's and the rest of his ilk's claims. Hopefully you'll get a few more subs.
As usual, nice video with detailed explanations. However, as far as we know, Jesus existed and many of miracles of the bible actually happened, there just is no way to verify one way or the other. What I do know for a fact is that Jesus and God are no where to be found presently performing miracles for all to see. So in other words, he used to care, but now, he doesn't give a shit.
Hi Paul, I just sent Braxton (recently on ShannonQ, as you obviously know), your "How Christianity probably began" video, he said he will check it out to possibly do a response!
If all 500 of those people that supposedly saw the risen Christ also wrote down an account of their experience then it would be noteworthy. One person's account that 500 people saw the risen Jesus with not so much as the name of the town that this happened in isn't really that impressive or compelling.
I do agree that Paul's interactions with Jesus were all in his head (I think that he was an epileptic). However, it is to note that the account of him encountering Jesus "on the way to Damascus" is legendary, and the episode was completely made up by whoever wrote Acts. It is more probable that he had the revelatory experience IN Damascus, where he actually lived. And, according to his own account, the resurrected Jesus appeared to him there for the first time. He would experience that appearance many times, one of them on what he describes as being lifted to the third heaven. I also note that the first story of the "empty tomb" was probably of Mark's own making, and he states firmly, that the women fled from the tomb, and they didn't say anything to anyone, because they were afraid. And the Gospel ends there.
@Sam Bacon The problem is that I can't find a passage where he says that he practiced ascetism, nor that he used to fast. At best, he practiced celibacy and he seemed disinterested in sex, but that can be explained with his epilepsy. A temporal lobe epileptic can have a very high interest in religious themes (which he certainly did), can hear voices, experience apparitions, and even have out of the body experiences. All of these are very well documented in scientific literature. Also, he talked about an illness that stung his flesh, and he linked it to his revelatory experiences so that he didn't feel too proud. Hence, it was something humiliating. To the Galatians, Paul talked about how they took care of him, despite his illness. We know that epilepsy led people to be denigrated socially. This must be the illness that afflicted him, IMHO. Also, a point about his attitude on sexual life of a married couple can also be explained by his apocalyptic views. He says that the time for the new world order, when Chist would come and establish God's Kingdom in heaven was coming soon. That life of marriage would distract people from giving their all to prepare gentiles for that special moment. We know that Paul worked extensively with married couples, and he didn't mind that they had sex or abstain from it, as long as it was with mutual consent. But fasting? Ascetic life? I find nothing in Paul's authentic letters or even Acts to suggest that he practiced these things. If anything, Paul's opponents were too concerned about him and his gentiles of eating from meat and other food sacrificed to the pagan gods.
@Doc Reasonable First, Paul *did* exist. From him, we have seven authentic letters in the New Testament: Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon. The rest we find in the New Testament are either misattributed (Hebrews) or forged (2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus). Second, yes he practiced celibacy, but that doesn't mean he fasted or had an ascetic life, which is what Sam is suggesting.
@Doc Reasonable I think a better way to put it is that those epistles can be shown by experts (in a field I'm not qualified to comment on) to almost certainly have been written by the same person. And that person, whoever he was, is Paul.
Wow! if I was Wallace, I think I might take that as slander LOL. Or perhaps I'm just biased against people perverting and misrepresenting science. My impression is that Wallace at least keeps his arguments to biblical issues. And yes, nicely done Paul.
Ingredients for manufacturing 500 witnesses to an appearance of Jesus: A charismatic speaker. A charismatic and emotional worship or prayer service. The sun illuminating a cross-shaped cloud at just the right time. No mass hallucination required. Just heightened emotions, suggestion, and confirmation bias.
@jurpleoi Paul never says they saw Jesus appear in a room with them, eat with them, or ascend to heaven. Those are details found in the later gospel accounts.
Perhaps our detective , having so convincingly ( S) proved the Gospel stories, should now investigate the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes ? For Holmes in his fight with Moriarty, certainly fell to his death on the Swiss mountain, it is well attested in the writings of Conan Doyle. But we have the resurrection of Holmes, and now we have Mrs Hudson, Dr Watson, Inspector Lagrange and others as eye witnesses to confirm this fact. Unfortunately some crimes still remain unsolved in London, indeed the majority.
Saul of Tarsus saw a bright light and heard a voice. None of his companions saw anything or heard anything. I find heat stroke and a possible concussion from falling as a far more likely explanation. Of course, that means most of the NFL would qualify as disciples if that was all it took.
We're really doing psychoanalysis retroactively on characters in a book written by anonymous authors thousands of years ago. What can I say, I'm convinced! I believe in God now.
Yes, they all did just that... The world makes more sense with religion. Deny it if you like. Just like free will, beauty, objective morality, fine tuning, meaning, the problem of eternal regress, etc. Deny reality completely. Rather find nihilistic, naturalistic explanations that would always lead to another question and live a life without any foundation or grounding.
Paulogia, I loved your responses to his claims! I realize that some times the video must be sped up a bit and I usually can't tell. But every time I hear apologists talking, if someone argued or even questions in a doubting way, they seem to talk faster, like a Gish gallop. That's what it sounded like at the end here, when the guy he was talking to tried to say something. Islam apologists do it , too! I don't think this detective can really relate this to a cold case. The evidence in a cold case may be old and sparse, but at least it generally came from some original facts. They have nothing but fragments of old myths, prevalent in that area at that time.👏💝☮️🎃
Hay Ya'll did you know that the "Plan of Salvation " is encrypted in the names of the pre-flood Patriarchs ? Old timey Hebrew names have meaning; Adam = Man , Seth = appointed , Enosh = Mortal or miserable , Kenan = sorrow , Mahalalel = The Blessed God , Jared = shall come down , Enoch = teaching , Methuselah = his death shall bring , Lamech = despairing , Noah = comfort . Read as a sentence it would sound something like this : Man (is) appointed miserable sorrow . The Blessed God shall come down teaching. His death shall bring the despairing comfort. The finger prints of The Almighty, put that in your pipe and smoke it !
Well, regardless of how late the gospels were written, there are hymns quoted in the gospels and epistles. (The first chapter of John for one.) Well, I can sing 200-year-old songs and not make mistakes. (I consider them to be sort of time machines.) Granted, the early Church leaders spoke Aramaic, but they knew some Greek as well. (Greek was the real language of the Roman Empire.) Chances are, the authors dictated the works to a scribe, who noted the text in short hand (tachygraph), then took them to a scriptorium for copying. The New Testament Greek is notoriously uneven. I could bring up the Shroud of Turin, but I'd end up pitching my script. Paul, when I die, I'm going to appear in a dream, with a new standup comedy shtick, just for you!
As I read 2 Corinthians, it seems as if you're taking a bit of liberty here. I don't think that's the context that is intended in reading the passage. Please understand I am an atheist but intensely interested in biblical history. I'm studying out of the Harper Collins Study Bible that Ehrman recommends, it's wonderful reading from the historical context. I understand your point and I believe that further into chapter 12 - 1 thru 10, I can kind of see where you're going but I think a bit more context could've been included here. On Jesus appearing to people, I mean, if he did, what kept him from coming back "before this generation is over"? He's 1900 years ish late. Good video, I subbed to your channel. Thanks!
@8:40 ... ruclips.net/video/1dZnWPYXd_s/видео.html edit: for some reason this "old" music came to mind when Paulogia was talking about talking. Perhaps I should apologize... ?
He's a detective? He never earned a dollar he was paid! It is disturbing to think that there are professional's in high-level positions who believe in mythologies. " Quit your job, fuck stick!" Sorry Paul. That pisses me off.
![Yailin La Mas Viral, @kreizyk.official - Dale 2 (Remix) [Video Oficial]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JaYHBzgqz94/mqdefault.jpg)
Paul has a vision where he saw Jesus... must be true.
Mohammed sees a vision of the Archangel Gabriel... but that can't be true.
And Joseph Smith had a vision that can't be true. There are visions of Krishna in the Hindu scriptures which can't be true...
Ohhhh! Paul meaning Saul of Tarsus. I was confused for a moment.
😛
@@counteringchristianity
"And Joseph Smith had a vision that can't be true"
They are the most gullible.
There are records of Smith spending time inside for running the same scam on the local farmers, claiming he can find them wells with a magic hat and stone.
@@tompaine4044 Oops. Saul... the guy in the videos who has a vision of Jesus as a white man.
1. 70 shepherds of israel prophecy (Benjamin Netenhayu is the 70th shepherd of israel)
2. 2 Benjamins prophecy (Benjamin Netenyahu and Benjamin Gantz currently running for israel)
3. Prophecy of the popes before the end (Pope Francis is the 112th Pope)
very interesting how prophecies seem to be converging about the end of days, very interesting
ruclips.net/video/oBF0Mm-Jumk/видео.html
The resurrection narratives do, in fact, grow over time. Pay attention to how "experiencing" the Risen Jesus evolves in chronological order. Scholarly consensus dating places the documents as follows:
Paul c. 50 CE - is the only firsthand report. He says the Risen Jesus "appeared" ὤφθη (1 Cor 15:5-8) and was experienced through "visions" and "revelations" - 2 Cor 12:1. The appearance to Paul was a vision/revelation *from heaven* - Gal. 1:12-16, Acts 26:19 (not a physical encounter with a revived corpse) and he makes no distinction between what he "saw" and what the others "saw" in 1 Cor 15:5-8. This shows that early Christians accepted visions as Resurrection "appearances." Paul nowhere gives any evidence of the Risen Christ being experienced in a more "physical" way which means you have to necessarily read in the *assumption* that the appearances were physical, from a later source that Paul nowhere corroborates. He had a chance to mention the empty tomb in 1 Cor 15 when it would have greatly helped his argument but doesn't. Paul's order of appearances: Peter, the twelve, the 500, James, all the apostles, Paul. No location is mentioned.
Mark c. 70 CE - introduces the empty tomb but has no appearance report. Predicts Jesus will be "seen" in Galilee. The original ends at 16:8 where the women leave and tell no one. Mark's order of appearances: Not applicable.
Matthew c. 80 CE - has the women tell the disciples, contradicting Mark's ending, has some women grab Jesus' feet, then has an appearance in Galilee which "some doubt" - Mt. 28:17. Matthew also adds a descending angel, great earthquake, and a zombie apocalypse to spice things up. If these things actually happened then it's hard to believe the other gospel authors left them out, let alone any other contemporary source from the time period. Matthew's order of appearances: Two women, eleven disciples. The appearance to the women takes place near the tomb in Jerusalem while the appearance to the disciples happens on a mountain in Galilee.
Luke 85-95 CE - has the women immediately tell the disciples, contradicting Mark. Jesus appears in Jerusalem, not Galilee, contradicting Matthew's depiction and Mark's prediction. He appears to two people on the Emmaus Road who don't recognize him at first. Jesus then vanishes and suddenly appears to the disciples. This time Jesus is "not a spirit" but a "flesh and bone" body that gets inspected, eats fish, then floats to heaven while all the disciples watch - conspicuously missing from all the earlier reports. Acts adds the otherwise unattested claim that Jesus appeared over a period of 40 days. Luke's order of appearances: Two on the Emmaus Road, Peter, rest of the eleven disciples. All appearances happen in Jerusalem.
John 90-110 CE - Jesus can now walk through walls and has the Doubting Thomas story where Jesus gets poked. Jesus is also basically God in this gospel which represents another astonishing development. John's order of appearances: Mary Magdalene, eleven disciples, the disciples again plus Thomas, then to seven disciples. In John 20 the appearances happen in Jerusalem and in John 21 they happen near the Sea of Galilee on a fishing trip.
As you can see, these reports are inconsistent with one another and represent growth that's better explained as legendary accretion rather than actual history. If these were actual historical reports that were based on eyewitness testimony then we would expect more consistency than we actually get. None of the resurrection reports in the gospels even match Paul's appearance chronology in 1 Cor 15:5-8 and the later sources have amazing stories that are drastically different from and nowhere even mentioned in the earliest reports. The story evolves from Paul's spiritual/mystical Christ all the way up to literally touching a resurrected corpse that flies to heaven! So upon critically examining the evidence we can see the clear linear development that Christianity started with spiritual visionary experiences and evolved to the ever-changing physical encounters in the gospels (which are not firsthand reports).
well said
Excellent comment. Thank you.
Strange that the detective didn’t point this out 😉. But seriously, that was interesting and probably now has the record for longest comment ever read by me.
No BS fantastic summary, well done
Motivated. Reasoning.
You nailed it again!!
One thing that could have happened was Paul started going around preaching that Jesus appeared (by vision) to him and the disciples didn't want to feel embarrassed by Paul and then they also said Jesus came to them. They also made sure that Jesus came to them before Paul.
Braxton's video on your no resurection needed video is up! Looking forward to your response :-)
Actually, there isn't any one part in the Bible where Saul's name is changed to Paul. There is a passage that passively states "But Saul, who was also called Paul,..." and then continues to call him Paul for the rest of the book. Seems to be that Saul (or the Aramaic equivalent) was his given name at birth while Paul was used as a Roman name.
13:40 I'd be more willing to believe the alien stories than the resurrection. At least the alien stories are entertaining.
and there is nothing supernatural about the concept of intelligent Beings, other then Humans, somewhere in the in the Universe
@@reasonablespeculation3893 Truth. Plus aliens are cool. A crotchety old God that gets mad for being gay or something is way less cool.
Since there is no historical corroboration for the gospels, a more pertinent question would be how do we even know that the apostles existed in the first place. Have you ever read an authentic eyewitness account of anything that was written from an omniscient third person perspective?
Do you think that Paul exists and wrote any of his letters?
@@Paulogia Paul might have existed but since there is no historical record of him outside of the new testament, he might be entirely fictional, or a psuedonym. Also, there are some notable contradictions between the book of Acts and the later Epistles attributed to Paul. Some scholars believe that all of the texts attributed to him might have had as many as four different authors. There's almost as much fraud in the NT as there is in apologetics.
My brain on Jesus.
Get ready for a journey into the Land of Nod.
I still wonder why these people think that the people who just crucified the guy and who, in every other instance of some random person getting crucified, just tosses the bodies into mass graves... would make a fucking cave tomb for this random nobody.
Why would they change how they act for this one random person that means nothing to them? It makes no sense.
I would like to see evidence that the gospel accounts were anonymous and not written by the people that they are named after.
If you want evidence, look it up. Google is your friend.
come on pal, this is baby stuff. Everyone knows that the first record we have of names being attached to the hitherto anonymous gospels is the Irenaeus text, "Against the Heresies", usually dated to 180 to 185 CE . That is a full century after the gospels were written!
@@stevem7945 I beg to differ
@Stefan Dingenouts it is atheist that can not support their claims if anonymous writings. You are the one shifting the burden of proof as usual with atheists. Are you going to get all emotional on me now and throw an intellectual tantrum. Please do it live on video because I love watching you guys break down when you can't look up selective history at your keyboards.
@@stevem7945 do we have copies without the names attached ? In other words, do we have documents which are truly anonymous ? No, we don't. The names were always there and there are no records of gospel accounts without names attached. If you can find any, then show I am inaccurate in what I say.
Wallace must've been the worse detective. Ever.
Him: "Looks like you're the murderer."
Me: "Nope." ::::pulls out letter:::: I have this alibi saying I was at the club at the time of the murder. It's a letter from someone named Bob."
Him: "How do I know it's legit?"
Me: "Look. It says right there where I was. It was written at the time. It even says there were 120 witnesses to me being there."
:::::pulls out another letter:::::
Me: "And here's a letter from someone named Jim that says pretty much the same thing."
Him: "Looks good to me. No way you committed the crime."
It's just a shtick to get gullible people to be like _"see he was a former detective so he must know what he's talking about."_ Another clever snake oil salesman.
@@counteringchristianity Priests, politicians, and used car salesmen. The only difference is what they're selling.
If Wallace detective skills when investigating the resurrection story are as bad as those he used in his professional work as a detective then I seriously think that all the cases he was involved in have good grounds of being reinvestigated, Scooby-Doo appears to have superior investigative skills than this man when it comes to investigating the gospels.
"But this letter says there were 141 witnesses"
"No it doesn't"
There's a reason why his channel doesn't allow comments. Clearly, he _knows_ it's nonsense. But I suppose it pays well.
Jesus the Grey returns from his fall into darkness as Jesus the White.
I'm gunna use that some time.
Right wingers: "Well, at least he's white."
Radagast the Brown and Saruman of Many Colours are jealous ! Gandalf isn't bothered. He's got Shadowfax !
Lord of the Rings fan here.... This is my fav Jesus comment of all time. Thank you for this!!!!😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🕇
But when does Dumbledore show up to tell us about the Force?! Before or after the fall into darkness? Did Jesus ever top Gimli and Legolas in the Whack-an-Orc competition? Inquiring minds need to know!
Elvis was seen getting on a plane to South America the day after he died. There have been countless sightings of him since then. Hallelujah! The King lives!
if that's wrong, someone would have told us.
Hi Guys! Elvis here. I'm currently on Playa Paraiso in Cuba with Jimi and Janice. No Covid-19 here! Come visit! Easier for non-US people I know. LoL. Happy Holidays!
@@robertplatt643 Yo Elvis, here from Jamaica, gonna catch a banana n come see u bro. Long live the King.
The twinned non-arguments of "It's too early" and "People would've complained" are so painfully wrong that it's shocking Josh would ever have been able to build a career out of them.
Elvis Presley. He died. There are still people who think he's secretly alive, and there has been since the moment he died. Was it "too early" for people to make things up then? Clearly not. Did anyone object that he died and therefore was not still alive? Of course they did. Did it change anything? Of course not.
Washington and the cherry tree thing. Another known falsehood, invented out of wholecloth by a delusional fanboy, quite literally. Too early? Didn't stop it from becoming common mis-knowledge. People complained and still do, did it matter? Nope.
What about the weather at Trump's inauguration? It's Trump's second lie as candidate: that the weather was perfect. The US weather service reported that it rained a little bit. Not a lot, just a little bit. He lied that lie on the first week of his presidency. Was it too early then for falsehood to creep in? Clearly not, since Trump's residency has been one long list of falsehood after falsehood. Did people object? IMMEDIATELY AND VERBOSELY. Doesn't matter. It never does. A lie can go around the world before the Truth gets its boots on.
What Josh is saying isn't just wrong. He's saying that things that are known to happen all the goddamn time are impossible. He might as well say that air is a solid and that humans breathe hydrogen sulfide smoothies through their rectums. And people take him seriously.
Michael he went home.
500 all somehow hallucinated the same thing? Far more evidence for the resurrection than for consciousness and life magically creating itself from sterile matter.
S Gloobal What evidence is there that 500 people did see him? Do we have 500 independent, early written accounts? 100? 50? No, we have 1, at least 2nd or 3rd hand source (Paul wasn't there with the 500) written years after the fact, and with a considerable religious and financial bias
@@colinc892 Really is that why not a single ancient historian denied his existence or the things he did? Why didn't the romans provide people who could verify that it was all a lie? That's because it wasn't
www.bethinking.org/did-jesus-rise-from-the-dead/q-is-there-really-solid-evidence-for-the-resurrection-of-jesus
Cults/religions do not care when people complain, they just call it persecution, and carry on regardless. They don't record it - why would they? Apologetic's for theism is easy, just ignore reality!
It's funny how they never consider that the whole damn thing could be fiction. The number of Star Trek novels written does nothing to change the fact that Gene Roddenberry made the whole damn thing up.
Paddington station is real, but Paddington Bear isn't.
King's Cross station is real and even has a sign for Platform 9 3/4 (now), but JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter as Fiction.
how could people not consider that the whole thing could be magic tricks with blowfishpoison, performed by a prince from house of david? those tricks are still sucessfully performed in voodoo.
Yeah, but people arent willing to sacrifice their lives for star trek novels.
@@voxpopuli8132 Don't be so sure, people are capable of some bizarre behaviour. And even if some people are willing to sacrifice their lives for a book it says nothing about the validity of said book.
People sacrifice themselves and others for the Koran, does that mean that the Koran is true?
@@BigHeretic I'm pretty sure people wont sacrifice their lives for star trek novels.
the writer of star trek never said or advocated that what he wrote was true.
If you want people believing you, first, you have to believe in truth, and you are writing that truth. This is not some machiavellian wisdom or something, this is just how things work. Therefore, the comparison with star trek is just wrong.
Hi, God here. I had a compilation with 502 testimonies of my resurrection, right from the witnesses, written in aramaic and with beautiful drawings! ...But, the scrolls were recycled as prayer booklets during the byzantine period, to sing about my awesomeness... Archimedes: I share your pain!
Oh well, cannot go against free-will or something like that. Back to sleep.
Which god? I think you mean Jesus.
Speaking of pain, Prometheus wants to have a word with you about that "bummer weekend" of yours.
Bummer
Unsurprisingly, the comments are disabled on Wallace's video.
Paul's firsthand claim in Gal. 1:16 - "God revealed His Son in me" sounds like a totally subjective/internal experience. He does not mention seeing a bright light, hearing a voice or any companions seeing anything. Compare the Damascus Road story to the visions of Ezekiel (Ez. 1-2) and Daniel 10. In each account there is almost the exact same sequence of having a vision, seeing a bright light, falling down, hearing a voice, being told to "stand up again" and ordered to carry out a specific theological mission. Acts 9:7 even excludes the others from seeing anything just like in Daniel 10:7. Daniel 10 also uses the same word for "vision" (optasia) that is used in Acts 26:19.
So since the Acts story fits the literary trope of an Old Testament "call vision" and Paul himself nowhere corroborates any of the physical details, then it's just as likely that the author of Acts was modeling the story after the visions of Daniel and Ezekiel as it is that he was recording what actually happened to Paul. Thus, the Acts story by itself cannot serve as evidence for its historicity.
Plus we have thousands of cases of people who firmly believe they were abducted by aliens, but whenever you ask these apologists if they believe them, they dismiss them out of hand.
Good god that was good
Excellent point. Too many people read those ancient texts as they were first hand records to be taken literally while in reality they were religious texts with an agenda and made heavy use of all sorts of literary devices.
What's weird is.......that the guy acts extremely excited [and almost "used car salesman" like] about the most unimpressive of claims, which cannot even be verified in any real sense,....and he's speaking in a way to hopefully fool the uninformed or easily swayed to his religion. O_o
If Jesus Christ didn't rise from the dead, does that mean the disciples hallucinated it all?
If Harry Potter didn't defeat Lord Voldemort, does that mean Neville Longbottom dreamed it all up?
yup
Neville Longbottom defeated Voldemort. 😏
Or, how about, it’s just a literary work of fiction!
It didn’t happen. Nobody hallucinated anything. No need to concoct complex scenarios to explain something that was make-believe to begin with.
But that would make *sense* No, we cannot have that when we're on the faith trip :-)
*Hey Zeus* The problem with "it's a literary work of fiction" is that it doesn't ressemble a literary work of fiction, it ressembles a collection of uncorroborated writings of exaggerated oral stories which were chosen by the church to tell the story of their god.
Douglas Agreed, yes, that’s a more accurate description. At least with a literary work of fiction, the author’s intent is not so disingenuous, as with the Hebrew/christian bible.
This will be lengthy but bear with me, I think it is instructive or, at least, illustrative.
I live in Mexico and for many years I was involved with a woman from Mexico City. She was a very honest and credible person. At one point in our relationship, she told me about a trip that she and several friends made to Puerto Vallarta. They built a fire on the beach and were having a party. At some point, a long-haired young man with a guitar showed up and joined their party. He began playing and singing songs notably dominated by songs written by John Lennon.
She noticed that this young man (she questimated his age at about 15) bore a resemblance to John Lennon and sounded like John Lennon. According to her, after some prodding, this young man confessed that he was in fact John Lennon's son, Julian.
Being a huge fan of both John and Julian Lennon I was very impressed buy this story and knowing the woman who told it to be an honest and reliable person, I accepted it on face value.
Years later, coincidentally, I became facebook friends with Julian Lennon and we had a scant few conversation on- line.
During one such conversation, as an aside, I mentioned to him that I knew a person who met him at a beach party in Puerto Vallarta. Julian informed me that he had never been to Puerto Vallarta.
Was my friend lying? I really don't think so. I think she truly believed that what she reported to have happened DID, in fact, happen. AT least to the best of her knowledge.
Was Julian Lennon lying? Well, why would he? What possible advantage could accrue to him by lying about having never been to Puerto Vallarta? Mistaken? Possible but really doubtful.
I will leave it to others to reach the conclusion that I eventually reached. A conclusion that does not require deliberate dishonesty on the part of either Julian or my friend.
It is based on people being human beings.
Always a good morning when I get one of your videos, Paul.
After my mother's death I had many incidents of turning and expecting her to be there, or the phone ringing and expecting to hear her on the phone. The death of a loved one can really fuck with your head.
I think the resurrection was wishful thinking based on a desperate desire within his family and followers to have Jesus come back from the dead.
How difficult would it be is to turn wishful thinking into a rumor and then into a story.
We do it all the time.
And how do you explain that Jesus robe is glowing at 11:12, 12:08 and 13:39? That happened thousands of years before the invention of washing powder with whitening agents. That's a miracle! Alleluia!
CynoDont 🤦🏽♀️
😲
Borox and a healthy virgin ?
"--or the worst Dockers commercial ever!"--love it!
Thanks for reminding me of those commercials.
J M2064 atheists love lies just like their father!
@@hisbloodsaves3621 My dad lies? Santa ain't real?
0x777 your father is the devil!
@@hisbloodsaves3621 Well, dad sure ain't no saint, but last time I checked he didn't have a tail or funny looking feet.
Though he does run the heating quite high, he likes it warm.
Wallace and Strobel clearly can't speak Hebrew or Greek..they dont know the difference between History and Historized Fiction
Honestly I cannot hear them speak English because they are speaking too fast in over-excitement.
Sometimes I think I would like to be a RUclips atheist...then I remember that Paul has already said it, and better than I ever could.
Great stuff man, thanks for doing what you do. Your tone and thoughtful approach make it easy to recommend your videos to the Christians in my life.
If you haven't already, you should consider supporting him on Patreon. It's much easier and, as you observed, leads to higher quality than making videos yourself (at least in my case).
What are offered explanations for Jesus rising from the dead?
1. it actually happened
2. it was just a legend
3. the story got exaggerated ever the years by repeated person to person telling.
4. hallucination
Let's say you heard a contemporary similar story, say about Sai Baba. This time you had thousands of first-hand witnesses. Most people would dismiss the story without investigation as simply impossible. It must have been a lie.
On what grounds do you treat Jesus and Sai Baba differently?
Since there is no legitimate evidence "the disciples" existed, it is moot what they may or may not have hallucinated. Since the writers of _Matthew_ came along about 140 years after the main stories were written it seems obviously of no value to take anything they wrote as "gospel."
There ain't no carbon in it...
ISWYDT
I remember my first semester in college learning about American literature. I was aghast at Mark Twain's claims about the accounts of Jesus being hearsay only to find out they really are hearsay just a year later.
Awesome video as always. So well researched and thought out.
Its not all that hard to make people see things that aren't there, we did it in one of my biology classes just for fun a few times. We got a group of people together, all looked at a tree and pointed claiming to see a snake in the branches. Other people came over to see what was going on and a significant number of them _also_ claimed to see the snake and even described what it looked like and what it was doing... there was no snake in that tree.
Everytime I hear an apologist say that group hallucinations are rare I want to show them the videos of faith healers who can knock down the first 3 rows of the congregation just by extending their hand. It's a garbage argument that falls flat the instant anyone bothers to investigate.
Can anyone say-Benny Hinn?
@@shriggs55 Bunny Hint ! shit no I cannot
Not an accusation, just my inference, but Sean McDowell strikes me as someone that's pretending to believe due to societal pressure and self deception. For what its worth, this is exactly how i behaved when compelled to play the Christian.
I think it MOST likely that the Jesus resurrection myth is an adaptation of Jewish, Greek, Egyptian and other more ancient resurrection myths.
The Bible is not evidence of its claim. It IS the claim!
One person says he met someone who heard that five hundred people saw the resurrected Jesus at the same time. That's a multiple attestation?
It's a bit concerning that this guy was a detective. You wonder if anyone ever falsely got convicted because he constructed 'completely convincing' cases against them.
A nail factory exec decides his business needs a better television ad for his Wilson's brand of Nails. A marketing Rep comes and puts a cassette in the video and presses play. A Roman soldier is busy nailing Jesus to the cross. He turns to face the camera and says with a grin, "Use Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything." The exec goes mad, shouting, "What the hell is the matter with you? They'll never allow that on television. Give it another try, but no more Gentiles crucifying Jesus!" A week goes by and the marketing man comes back with another tape. He puts it in the machine and hits play. This time a naked man with long hair, gasping for breath, is running across a field. About a dozen Roman soldiers are hot on his trail. One of them turns to the camera and says, "If only we had used Wilson's Nails!"
@Desperadox23 Actually the bulk of the Buybull is of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin.
Here is a more poignant example of what the christians left out of the Buybull, for unspecified reasons...
THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, CORRECTLY!
“There sprung up a certain profligate, worthless fellow by the name of Joseph Pandera,” who lusted after Mary, a hairdresser. Though she was engaged to another man, Joseph repeatedly had sex with her. Out of their adulterous relationship, Jesus was born (ch. 1). The boy Jesus turned out to be so insolent that the Jewish elders “blew 300 trumpets and they proclaimed that he was born of an adulteress and not fit to enter into the congregation. And they called his name Jesus as a sign that he was a man whose name and memory ought to perish.” (ch. 2)
Jesus, they said, sneaked into the temple in Jerusalem and, learned the secret use of the Divine Name of God by which heaven and earth can be created. He became a magician, deceiving the people. But for the intervention of Judas Iscariot, Jesus’ deception and influence might never have been contained. Judas resisted Jesus in an aerial battle, the Toldoth says.
“And Jesus uttered the Great Name and a wind came and placed him between the heaven and the earth. Then Judas also uttered the same, and a wind came and placed him in like manner between the heaven and the earth: and they were flying about in the regions of the air. And all who saw them were greatly astonished...And when Judas saw that he was not able to put a stop to the exploits of Jesus, he pissed upon Jesus, and they became both unclean and fell to the earth...And they sentenced Jesus with the sentence of death.” (ch.4)
The Toldoth says that even after death by stoning, Jesus had so enchanted all the trees that He couldn’t be hung upon any of them for crucifixion. Again, Judas comes to the rescue of Israel. “And Judas saw that no tree would receive him, and he said to the wise men, See, the heart of this bastard, for he has enchanted all the trees so as not to receive him. And behold, there is in my garden the stalk of a great cabbage. I will go and bring it, perhaps it will receive him. And the wise men said, Go, do as you have spoken: and Judas agreed, and brought the stalk, and Jesus was hanged upon it...And they buried the bastard in the place where they had stoned him. (ch. 6) And it came to pass in the middle of that night that his disciples came and sat upon his sepulcher and lamented with a great lamentation and wept over him.”
At this juncture, Judas again intervenes. He takes the body of Jesus and uses it as a dam for irrigation in his garden. “And Judas saw this thing, and he took the body and buried it in his garden, in the place of a stream of water. For he turned the water one way for a while and after he had buried him, he turned the stream of water over him as it was at the beginning.”
The rabbis of Israel then came to Judas’ garden and, pulling Jesus’ dead body from the mire, “they tied him to the tail of a horse, and they drew him and brought him before the face of the queen and said, Behold, this is the man of whom you said, that he had ascended into the firmament...And as they brought him by dragging him, the hair of his head was torn off; wherefore the Christian priests now shave their hair in the middle of their heads to remember the words of Jesus.” (ch.7)
The Toldoth ends by relating that, despite the deception of Jesus, his wicked disciples “went into twelve kingdoms, and they spread among them the prophecies of falsehood...And the wise men saw this evil word, and it was very evil to them; for an abomination was done in Israel.”
@Desperadox23
Christianity is a cruel joke... so why not make fun of christians and their ignorant childish beliefs.
Why do Christians use their church stunted intelligence to prop up a lie? If Securalist can see the lie than so can Christians. They must reject rational thought to uphold their irrational beliefs.
They must believe there is still a justification hiding, that has yet to be uncovered in 2019 years of searching.
I like how Paulogia puts into context the claim that 500 people saw Jesus rise. 1) Why should a non-believer care to investigate such an unbelievable claim? Who would even care, to travel to a different city and investigate? People have lives.... and 2) How would they even go about searching for 500 unnamed people claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus 20 years ago?
Even better. It's a appearance to 500 unnamed people at an unknown time and place .
How would you even begin to try to track that down?
It always amazes me how you can take 5 short sentences and talk for hours on them and infer all kinds of "truths" about them. I don't like how fast the guy talks. Words blending together are a distraction and if you really want the meaning to be analyzed it will be said slow and concise. Like you speak Paul. That guy wants ppl to not keep up or really think about what he's saying. He reminds me of that little tart on Ken Ham's news show - talk the clear nonsense as fast as you can so they don't really catch it is her way as well. This guy also puts a lot of pressure behind his words. I wouldn't doubt it if there's some innocent ppl in jail because of him.
"little tart on Ken Ham's news show"
Believer: Your Relationship with god is simply a profound and dynamic relationship with the self, with your ego. This is why god can seem so very real to you. In a sense he is real. He is you. This is why god's opinions are so very often your opinions. This is why two believers of the same religion can both claim to agree with god's opinion but not with each others. When you pray and god gives you answers you are the source of those intuitions. You are simply having a conversation with yourself and don't even realize it. This is why god can always assuage any doubts of the believer. You see, "God" knows exactly how you think because he is you. He knows your tastes, your biases and all the gaps in your logic. Therefore it follows that "he" knows what arguments you will find compelling and what mental gymnastics you are capable of to ignore any arguments to the contrary. Ironically I probably can't convince you of anything I stated above because of the very fact that it is in fact true. You are "god".
The next time you hear someone preaching or waxing poetic about god, Jesus, Mohamed or Joseph Smith, change all the names and pronouns you hear them say, in your mind, so that they refer to the person speaking and trust me you will get a whole new perspective on life.
This is why believers have such a strong emotional reaction whenever they encounter a non-believer. They simply misperceive the non-believers rational skepticism about the supernatural and occult as an assault on their "god" which is to say their own personal identity.
There are a vast multitude of religions and superstitious beliefs in the world that espouse many mutually contradicting doctrines. Therefore they cannot all be true. but they can certainly all be false. Even if one were actually proven to be true it would still follow that human beings have a rather remarkable propensity for making up entire religions from whole cloth. I think that all religions and other supernatural beliefs are cultural phenomena of purely human making. Much of this impulse in human culture is driven by peoples existential angst, their innate and instinctive fear of death. Their own death and the death of the people they love. It can seem easier to deal with death by convincing ourselves that it is not real. "My loved one is not dead they are in the afterlife", we tell ourselves. And "Of course I will never die! that's absurd!". You all need to grow up. Embrace the suck! And make the most of the time you actually do have.
You are mortal. Death is real...... Get over it.
I sincerely and earnestly do not believe that gods exist. But you have each other. Perhaps that alone could bring meaning to your lives.
However if you insist on believing in supernatural claims at a minimum please do us all a big favor and don't give your hard earned money to religions pimps and hucksters.
Something I'd always add is many of the earliest followers appeared to be women and slaves. They couldn't check things out if they weren't even geographically mobile.
One time after staying up 48 hours I went to sleep. I then had a lucid dream where I saw a distant bright light surrounded by darkness. I asked "God?" (I was an atheist but always pictured God if it existed as a light through a New Age influence) then the light twinkled. Then I woke up feeling pure joy. I went outside where everything had a white aura like sheen around it. Most strikingly everything in the world made sense even the evil as if it was part of a grand plan. Then I realized my head was numb, in that it was internal, and most importantly I recognized that other than the hallucination the effect was the same as many years earlier when I tried Valium (I was curious through a Billy Joel "We Didn't Start the Fire" video in that an housewife from the 50's/60's was repesented being on Valium playing a violin).
The light was from a sunbeam coming through the window hitting my eyelids. I then went on to research what happened was a "Dopamergic Release", and it tied in to my research on addiction. We seek pleasure, and the very act of believing a creator loves you, or saves you from torment, or annihilation is very desirable. We evolved to gather energy to reproduce, and our cognitive abilities though faulty can use thoughts to substitute, or prioritise over these processes. Also since we derived evolutionary success from being in social groups, religion takes advantage of the tribal formula of cooperation, and leadership structure (having a sense of community is desirable to many people).
Theists are thought addicts via the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* (Dopamine Reward System). Imagine the euphoria experienced by the average person for believing they won a million dollars on a scratch off ticket (it could be a joke ticket yet as long as they believe). Now imagine someone having the same sensations, but being convinced it's a paranormal contact for believing John 3:16. Now chances are you can get a person holding the fake ticket to turn it over to see "Redeem at 123 Fake st, Fairyland, In Your Head". Yet religion deeply imprints reward for belief, and the believer has confirmation bias of rewards (also often times suffering is seen as evidence due to the influence of ancient cultures which religious texts derive from with lack of medical knowledge) with the ultimate prize after death.
Check out the science (along with some history) on why the proverbial carrot, string, and stick in our neurology can cause us to error in our thinking. Evolution has it's pitfalls for example believing non-evidence as evidence if we do not stop to think (emotional thinking is not quality thinking, but squashes rational thought). Hoarding, compulsive gambling, believing far out conspiracy theories, and drug addictions are related on a neurological level though certain dynamics are at play. We are all capable of confirmation biases, and compartmentalized thinking (holding & protecting a belief in the face of contradicting evidence).
The Holy Dopamine Ghost (Thoughts are addictive):
ruclips.net/p/PLQATeZAnm87BaJjBtM1vMIq_gHRmBq3ie
"Genetic and behavioral factors influencing religiously motivated behavior appear related to dopamine metabolism and signaling. Inclination toward religious behavior and motivation has been associated with a polymorphism on the dopamine receptor gene DRD4 (Comings, Gonzales, Saucier, Johnson, & MacMurray, 2000;Sasaki et al., 2013). Acquired disorders of dopamine physiology also show links to religious behaviors."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5478470/
"Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music, report researchers at theUniversity of Utah School of Medicine. The findings will be published Nov. 29 in the journalSocial Neuroscience."
unews.utah.edu/this-is-your-brain-on-god/
These neurological processes reinforce neural pathways (bridging literal gaps) in the brain in order to repeat thoughts, and behaviours like energy gathering (eating) along with specie perpetuation (sex). Going from drug addiction to Religion is just a placebo switcharoo of the power of the mind which is not a miracle. I heard from someone that went to Alcoholics Anonymous that a guy in AA did not want to worship a Higher Power (which is part of the program), and was told to worship an inanimate object. Supposedly the guy became clean, and sober by worshipping the radiator in his room (I wish stuff like this was documented). It was absurd to me at the time, but it makes sense now in relation to our evolution, and the function of the Dopamine Reward System (which both could not forsee the hazards of modern society).
Dopamine in varying levels is also related to creativity, patternicity, making nonsense make sense, and hallucinations (involuntary movements, tactile/feeling embraced, and speaking in tongues are also forms of hallucinations which can happen to all five senses). Also see "Dopamine Hypothesis". Note that the apostle Paul showed signs of schizophrenia (2 Cor. 12:9), the early church was encouraged to *believe* in order to be taught by the *Spirit/HDG* (Gal. 3:1-5 Note: Use Young's Literal translation for proper context in that the emotion derived from hearing about Jesus being crucified is considered the spirit. It's like hearing about when in Star Wars Darth Vader picks up, and throws the Emperor saving Luke the emotion stirred in you is a sign of the Force), and perform glossolalia/speaking in tongues (1 Cor. 12:4-11 Note: It was a potpourri of placebo effects, hallucinations to one, or more of the five senses, and complete ignorance of the power of the mind).
"Dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline are neurotransmitters that belong to the catecholamine family. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental regions of the brain, and dopamine alterations are related to schizophrenia (1, 2). Dopaminergic projections are divided into the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical systems. Impairments in the dopamine system result from dopamine dysfunctions in the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental region, striatum, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus (3-5). The “original dopamine hypothesis” states that hyperactive dopamine transmission results in schizophrenic symptoms."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032934/
"Dopamine In schizophrenia (SCZ), there is evidence that very high levels of dopamine in the limbic system play a major role in emergence of hallucinations and delusions. Antipsychotic medications, which block central dopamine activity, alleviate the hallucinations of psychosis. Drugs with strong dopaminergic effect, such as L-dopa, methylphenidate, bromocriptine, pramipexole and piribedil, may induce hallucinations. D-amphetamine, a direct dopamine agonist, may also induce psychosis and hallucinations."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2996210/
"Tibetan mystics have long practiced a method to create sentient beings from the power of concentrated thought."
www.google.com/amp/s/www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/exmqzz/tulpamancy-internet-subculture-892
Mesolimbic System (instinctive ancient part of the brain) overrides the Frontal Cortex (rationalizing modern) building a cognitive wall.
Dopamine Enhances Optimism Bias
"Here, we show that administration of a drug that enhances dopaminergic function (dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine; L-DOPA) increases an optimism bias. This effect is due to L-DOPA impairing the ability to update belief in response to undesirable information about the future."
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3424419/
Mark 3:28-29 says that the one unforgivable sin is rejecting, or being blasphemous to the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* which is funny since it's the conduit through which one accepts nonsense as gospel.
New Testament Narrative as Old Testament Midrash
www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/art_midrash1.htm
Then He Appeared to Over Five Hundred Brethren at Once!
www.richardcarrier.info/archives/14255
The Idea of the Sanctity of the Biblical Text
users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/CohenArt/#8a
Dr. Ehrman "Forged"
archive.org/stream/BartD.Ehrman-ForgedWritingInTheNameOfGod-WhyTheBiblesAuthors/Forged_djvu.txt
Ancient people did not know the neurosciences, and some thought that joy came from the divine on high (no pun intended). The Hellenized Jew Philo of Alexandria (a contemporary of Paul the Apostle) believed that the Divine Word/Right Reason/Logos (a character derived from OT scripture, and Greek philosophy) poured down spiritual nourishment as a reward for righteous thoughts about God.
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book 2
"XXXVII ...And *who can pour over the happy soul which proffers its own reason as the most sacred cup, the holy goblets of true joy, except the cup-bearer of God, the master of the feast, the Word* ?"
ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, III
"LX ... *the soul very often, when it is delighted, is yet unable to explain what it is that has delighted it; but it is taught by the hierophant and prophet Moses, who tells it, “This is the bread, the food which God has given for the Soul,” explaining that God has brought it, his own Word and his own Reason; for this bread which he has given us to eat is this Word of his* ."
Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING
"XXV *Those also who have inquired what it is that nourishes the soul, for as Moses says, “They knew not what it was,” learnt at last and found that it was the Word of God and the Divine Reason, from which flows all kinds of instinctive and everlasting wisdom. This is the heavenly nourishment* which the holy scripture indicates, saying, in the character of the cause of all things, “Behold I rain upon you bread from Heaven;” (Exo. 16:4) for in real truth it is God who showers down heavenly wisdom from above upon all the intellects which are properly disposed for the reception of it, and which are fond of contemplation. But those who have seen and tasted it, are exceedingly delighted with it, and understand indeed what they feel, but do not know what the cause is which has affected them; and on this account they inquire, “What is this which is sweeter than honey and whiter than snow?” And they will be taught by the interpreter of the divine will, that *“This is the bread which the Lord has given them to Eat.” (Exo. **16:15**) What then is this bread? Tell us. “This,” says he, “is the Word which the Lord has appointed.” This divine appointment at the same time both illuminates and sweetens the soul, which is endowed with sight, shining upon it with the beams of truth, and sweetening with the sweet virtue of persuasion those who thirst and hunger after excellence* ."
Philo: ALLEGORICAL INTERPRETATION, II
"XXI ... *who brought forth for thee out of the hard rock a fountain of water, who fed thee with manna in the desert, which thy fathers knew Not?* ” (Deut. 8:15-16) ...Moreover, the soul falls in with a scorpion, that is to say, with dispersion in the wilderness; and the thirst, which is that of the passions, seizes on it until *God sends forth upon it the stream of his own accurate Wisdom, and causes the changed soul to drink of unchangeable health; for the abrupt rock is the Wisdom of God, which being both sublime and the first of things he quarried out of his own powers, and of it he gives drink to the souls that love God; and they, when they have drunk, are also filled with the most universal manna; for manna is called something which is the primary genus of every thing. But the most universal of all things is God; and in the second place the Word of God* .
Note: Philo's Divine Word provides a feast of spiritual food of bread, and water. A clay tablet that dates 1,300 years before Christianity describes the Goddess Inanna's Journey to the Underworld. In it she travels through the Heavens to below the Earth. There she is unfairly judged, crucified, then after 3 days/nights her corpse is fed sacred food, and water in which she resurrects in glory.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (Note: Supplier of spiritual nourishment 1 Cor. 10:1-4, :16)
"23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was *betrayed/delivered* up (Note: The word in Greek has meaning in context. The former is in context of the later Gospels, but the latter is possible since Paul gives no context, but talks about a sacrifice derived from OT scripture, and visions) took a loaf of bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it (Note: It's in context of the later Gospels that it's presumed to be wine), in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes."
Psalm 23:5
"5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."
Philo's Divine Word has many attributes (just a few of them summarized below) including being annointed/christened as well as having a father (God), and a mother (Divine Wisdom).
"Philo's doctrine of the Logos is blurred by his mystical and religious vision, but his Logos is clearly the second individual in one God as a hypostatization of God's Creative Power-Wisdom."
www.iep.utm.edu/philo/
Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I (Note: Image of God 2 Cor. 4:4, Phil. 2:6)
"XVI ...Now *the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made* ...."
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT (Note: God's celestial high priest Heb. 2:17, 4:14 God's Word Heb. 1:3, 11:3 God's firstborn son Rom. 8:29)
"XXXVII ...For there are, as it seems, two temples belonging to God; one being this world, in which the *high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son* ."
Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING (Note: Born of a woman, born under the Law Gal. 4:4 God's agent of creation 1 Cor. 8:6)
"XX ...For we say that the high priest (Jos. 20:1-6) is not a man, but *is the Word of God, who has not only no participation in intentional errors, but none even in those which are involuntary* . For Moses says that he cannot be defiled neither in respect of his father, that is, the mind, nor his mother, that is, the external sense; "He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother." (Lev. 21:11) because, I imagine, he has received imperishable and wholly pure parents, *God being his father, who is also the father of all things, and Wisdom (Greek Sophia personified feminine wisdom Prov. **3:13**-20, 8:1-36) being his mother, by means of whom the universe arrived at creation* ; and also because *he is anointed with oil, by which I mean that the principal part of him is illuminated with a light like the beams of the sun* , so as to be thought worthy to be *clothed with garments. And the most ancient Word of the living God is clothed with the word as with a garment, for it has put on earth, and water, and air, and fire, and the things which proceed from those elements* . ...Nor will he “rend his clothes;” (Lev. 21:10) for *the Word of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated* ."
There's many more similarities between Philo's Divine Reason, and Paul's annointed saviour. But it's Paul's pre-existing celestial being that had Gospels written about it set on Earth. Most eye opening is that Paul is adamant that his Gospel is not from humans, but *from scripture, and visions/dreams* (Gal. 1:11-12, Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 15:3-8). A *secret hidden through the ages now revealed* (Rom. 16:25-26, 1 Cor. 2:6-7). Also Paul says *his apostleship is by the same means as the founding Pillars* (Gal. 2:6-8).
The thing is one can find a Jesus/Joshua (Saviour) being crucified in OT scripture keeping in mind the power of the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* to reveal hidden mysteries that are kept in plain sight. See Joshua 10:22-27 where Joshua son of Nun (Saviour of the Rising One) crucifies the five senses/members of flesh (Rom. 6:12-23, 7:5, 8:3-13, Gal. 5:24) that leads one to sin, and places it in a tomb. Note Paul quotes scripture in that Jesus was crucified by hanging from a tree thus becoming a curse for us (Gal. 3:13, Deut. 21:23). See Zechariah 3:1-10, 6:11-13 where Joshua son of Jehozadak (Son of the Righteous God) has tricked Satan who does not recognize him because he is wearing filthy clothes (human flesh). Then God glorifies Joshua by clothing him in festal apparel (spiritual flesh), removes the guilt of the land, gives him a throne, a crown, and given the title Branch/Rising to rule over his Temple. Paul says Satan destroys flesh (1 Cor. 5:5), and the persishable cannot inherit the imperishable (1 Cor. 115:35-56). So the hymnal (Phil. 2:6-11 which is considered the oldest Christian writing, and creedal statement) where Jesus takes on flesh then being found in this disguise is crucified, and raised in glory can be inferred right of OT scripture. The later Gospel called Mark started out as a symbolic allegory of this perceived OT Jesus character. Then over time, and the writing of other Gospels it was deemed historical.
Who would believe that the OT, and NT are revelations from an omnipotent/omnipresent being except a thought addict via the *Holy Dopamine Ghost* (Dopamine Reward System) that increases our patternicity, and reward seeking.
i.imgflip.com/1ydvtk.jpg
If i could save comments and like them to oblivion this would be one of them. Thanks
@@lordepichax3755 Thank you back.
@@lordepichax3755 Paul's Christ Jesus and Philo's Divine Word are the same imagined OT Character.
Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4, Phili. 2:6), Agent of Creation (Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 8:6)
Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I
"XVI ...Now the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made..."
Celestial High Priest (Heb. 2:17, 4:14), God's Word (Heb. 1:3, 11:3), Firstborn son (Rom. 8:29)
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT
"XXXVII ...the high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son."
Spiritual Kinship/Angel of God (Rom. 8:29, Gal. 4:5-7, :14, Heb. 1:4)
Philo: ON THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES
"XI ...In reference to which I admire those who say, “We are all one man’s sons, we are men of Peace,” (Gen. 42:11) because of their well-adapted agreement; since how, I should say, could you, O excellent men, avoid being grieved at war, and delighted in peace, being the sons of one and the same father, and he not mortal but immortal, the man of God, who being the reason of the everlasting God, is of necessity himself also immortal?"
"XXVIII ...And even if there be not as yet any one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labour earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angels, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called, the authority, and the name of God, and the Word, and man according to God’s image, and he who sees Israel. For which reason I was induced a little while ago to praise the principles of those who said, “We are all one man’s Sons.” (Gen. 42:11) For even if we are not yet suitable to be called the sons of God, still we may deserve to be called the children of his eternal image, of his most sacred word; for the image of God is his most ancient word...."
Note: Gal. 1:19 "but I did not see any other apostle except James the LORD's brother." This could be a cultic title (like Peter/Cephas which means "Rock" could have been, or an idiom) rather than being a biological relation? Paul constantly refers to those "in Christ" as brothers/sisters in a spiritual family.
Good Shepherd (Heb. 13:20)
Philo: ON THE CHANGE OF NAMES
"XIX ...for they have abandoned all connections with pride, and having connected themselves with lawful persuasion, choosing to become a portion of the sacred flock, of which the divine word is the leader, as his name shows, for it signifies the pastoral care of God."
"XX But while he is taking care of his own flock, all kinds of good things are given all at once to those of the sheep who are obedient, and who do not resist his will; and in the Psalms we find a song in these words, “The Lord is my shepherd, therefore shall I lack Nothing;” (psa. 23:1) therefore the mind which has had the royal shepherd, the divine word, for its instructor,..."
Purification/Forgiveness of Sins/Glorification (1 Cor. 6:11, 2 Cor. 3:18, 4:6)
Philo: ON THE LIFE OF MOSES, II
"XXVI Such then are the figurative meanings which he desires to indicate by the sacred vestments of the high priest;... ...namely the logeum, being also an emblem of that reason which holds together and regulates the universe. For it was indispensable that the man who was consecrated to the Father of the world, should have as a paraclete, his son, the being most perfect in all virtue, to procure forgiveness of sins, and a supply of unlimited blessings;..."
Tested (Heb. 2:18) A Man (Rom. 5:15-19, 1 Cor. 15:45-49)
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book I
"XXXIX ...For when the sacred word has purified us with the sprinklings prepared beforehand for purification, and when it has adorned us with the select reasonings of true philosophy, and, having led us to that man who has stood the test, has made us genuine, and conspicuous, and shining,..."
Sits Beside God (Heb. 8:1)
Philo: ABOUT NOT MOVING LANDMARKS
"XXXVIII... I say, should such men triumph in and insult the misfortunes of others, having no respect for justice, the ruler (Note: justice/ruler) of human life, who sits by the side of the great Ruler of the universe, who surveys all things with sleepless and most piercing eyes, and sees what is in recesses as clearly as if it was in the pure sunlight?"
The Word is a Covenant (1 Cor. 11:25, 2 Cor. 3:4-6)
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book II
"XXXIII ...God, says that he is about to erect firmly his covenant full of grace (and that means his law and his word) in the soul of the just man as on a solid foundation, which shall be an image in the likeness of God, when he says to Noah, “I will establish my covenant with Thee.” (Gen. 9:11) And besides this, he also indicates two other things, one that justice is in no respect different from the covenant of God (Note: justice/covenant), the other that other beings bestow gifts which are different from the persons who receive them;... XXXVI Since then all steadiness, and stability, and the abiding for ever in the same place unchangeably and immovably, is first of all seen in the living God, and next in the word of the living God, which he has called his covenant;..."
Sacrificial Blood (Heb. 12:24)
Philo: WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS
"XXXVIII ...Now, the craters of the sense of seeing are the eyes, those of hearing are the ears, those of smelling are the nostrils, and so on with the appropriate receptacles for each of the senses. On these craters the sacred word pours a portion of blood, thinking it right that the irrational part of us should become endowed with soul and vitality, and should in some manner become rational; following the guidance of admonition, and purifying itself from the deceitful alluring powers of the objects of the outward sense which aim to overcome it."
Intermediary Agent to Mortals (Rom. 8:34, Gal. 3:19-20, Heb. 12:24)
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT Book I
"XII ...who never abandons his faith in God and his invisible comprehension of him, but who keeps to the intermediate divine word, which affords him the best suggestions, and teaches him everything which is suitable to the times. For God, not condescending to come down to the external senses, sends his own words or angels for the sake of giving assistance to those who love virtue. But they attend like physicians to the disease of the soul, and apply themselves to heal them, offering sacred recommendations like sacred laws, and inviting men to practice the duties inculcated by them, and, like the trainers of wrestlers, implanting in their pupils strength, and power, and irresistible vigour. Very properly, therefore, when he has arrived at the external sense, he is represented no longer as meeting God, but only the divine word,..."
Empties (Kenosis) Himself (Phili. 2:7-8)
Philo: Who is The Heir To Divine Things
"XLI ...but in real fact for the whole world which was created by divine wisdom may be consecrated and dedicated, being made a burnt offering of early in the morning and also in the evening. For such a life as this becomes the world, namely, continually and without ceasing to be giving thanks to its Father and Creator, so as to stop short of nothing but evaporating and reducing itself into its original element, in order to show that it stores up and conceals nothing, but dedicates itself wholly as a pious offering to God who created it."
Born of a Woman/Under the Law (Gal. 4:4b), Wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24b)
Philo: ON FLIGHT AND FINDING
"XX ...For we say that the high priest (Jos. 20:1-6) is not a man, but is the Word of God, who has not only no participation in intentional errors, but none even in those which are involuntary. For Moses says that he cannot be defiled neither in respect of his father, that is, the mind, nor his mother, that is, the external sense; "He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall not defile himself even for his father or mother." (Lev. 21:11) because, I imagine, he has received imperishable and wholly pure parents, God being his father, who is also the father of all things, and Wisdom being his mother, by means of whom the universe arrived at creation (Prov. 3:19-20, 8:22-31); and also because he is anointed with oil, by which I mean that the principal part of him is illuminated with a light like the beams of the sun, so as to be thought worthy to be clothed with garments. And the most ancient Word of the living God is clothed with the word (Law) as with a garment, for it has put on earth, and water, and air, and fire, and the things which proceed from those elements. ...Nor will he “rend his clothes;” (Lev. 21:10) for the Word of the living God being the bond of every thing, as has been said before, holds all things together, and binds all the parts, and prevents them from being loosened or separated."
Philo: A Treatise Concerning The World
"II ...But the eternal law of the everlasting God is the strong and lasting support of the universe. This law being extended from the centre of the world to its furthest extremities, and again back from its extremities to the centre, moves on in the unwearied irresistible course of nature, uniting and binding together all the parts of the universe. For the Father who established it made it to be the indissoluble bond of the universe. Therefore we are naturally led to conclude that the whole earth will not be dissolved by water, which its bosoms contain; nor again will fire be extinguished by the air, nor again will the air be burnt up and consumed by fire, since the divine law has placed itself as a boundary to keep all these elements distinct from one another."
@@lordepichax3755 Jesus tricked Satan into crucifying him (The Gospel Mark is a parable set on Earth while later Gospels are doctrinal warfare later believed as history):
The pseudograph 2 Pet. 1:16 is pushback against people (likely a group of Xtians who we don't get to hear from) that are saying the Gospels are literary fabrications, and then forges an eyewitness account. Later in 2 Pet. 3:15-16 it mentions that there's things in Paul's letters that do not make sense, which is strange in light of 1 Cor. 3:2 & Heb. 5:12 in which converts are taught things easy to understand.
Paul is adamant that his Gospel is not from humans, but from scripture, and visions/dreams (Gal. 1:11-12, :15-17, Rom. 15:4, 1 Cor. 15:3-8). A secret hidden through the ages now revealed (Rom. 16:25-26, 1 Cor. 2:6-7). Also Paul says his apostleship is by the same means as the founding Pillars (Gal. 2:6-9).
Who in context of what Paul wrote would execute someone for being in human form?
Phili. 2:6-8 "6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself (Isa. 53:12), taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross."
Who would NOT kill Jesus if it was made known to them that by doing so it would fulfill God's plan for mankind to have a chance at immortality?
1 Cor. 2:6-8 "6 Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7 But we speak God's wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." (Note: "rulers of this age" is reciprocal with Earthly & spiritual powers to the ancient reader)
To Paul a physical resurrection does not inherit God's Kingdom (The Synoptics & John have a flesh resurrected Jesus).
1 Cor. 15:49 "49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality."
Dirty, or impoverished clothing, and clean, or gleaming clothing were seen as metaphors for Earthly/spiritual bodies in the ancient world. (Mark 14:51-52 "A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.", 16:5 "As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.")
Rom. 4:25 "who was betrayed/handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification." Note: 1 Cor. 11:23 "betrayed" is contextually reciprocal with "handed over" in Greek (Rom. 1:24, :26, :28).
The verse Rom. 1:3b "who was descended from David according to the flesh" (2 Sam. 7:12) is good evidence for historicity. But 2 Sam. 7:12c "who shall come forth from your body," can mean God made a flesh body from David's semen for Jesus (it was a belief that the male seed contained the whole body). This is a convenient way to fulfill messianic prophecy for a celestial event instead of on Earth.
Zec. 3:1-9 "1 Then he showed me the high priest Joshua/Jesus (Savior) standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan (Adversary) standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?" 3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." And to him he said, "See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel." 5 And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with the apparel; and the angel of the LORD was standing by.
6 Then the angel of the LORD assured Joshua, saying 7 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day."
Zec. 6:11-13 "11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak (Savior Son of the Righteous God); 12 say to him: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch: for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he that shall build the temple of the LORD; he shall bear royal honor, and shall sit upon his throne and rule. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them."
Rom. 15:12 "12 and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles shall hope." (Isa. 11:10 LXX).
Isa. 11:1 "1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."
1 Cor. 15:24-26 "24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death."
Jos. 10:24-27 "24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua/Jesus, Joshua summoned all the Israelites, and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had gone with him, "Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings." Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. (Psa. 110:1/1 Cor. 15:24-28, Rom. 16:20, Heb. 1:13, 2:5-9, 10:13) 25 And Joshua said to them, "Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous; for thus the LORD will do to all the enemies against whom you fight." 26 Afterward Joshua struck them down and put them to death, and he hung them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening. 27 At sunset Joshua commanded, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves; they set large stones against the mouth of the cave, which remain to this very day. (Deut. 21:22-23/Gal. 3:13)"
Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4, Phili. 2:6), Agent of creation (Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 8:6)
Philo: THE SPECIAL LAWS, I
"XVI ...Now the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made..."
Celestial high priest (Heb. 2:17, 4:14), God's Word (Heb. 1:3, 11:3), Firstborn son (Rom. 8:29)
Philo: ON DREAMS, THAT THEY ARE GOD-SENT
"XXXVII ...the high priest is the Divine Word, his own firstborn son."
Five Kings= Five Senses (Flesh)
Philo: ON ABRAHAM
"XLI These things, then, are what are contained in the plain words of the scriptures. But as many as are able to contemplate the facts related in them in their incorporeal and naked state, living rather in the soul than in the body, will say that of the nine kings (Gen.14:1-2) the four are the powers of the four passions which exist within us, the passion of pleasure, of desire, of fear, and of grief; and that the other five kings are the outward senses, being equal in number, the sense of sight, of hearing, of smell, of taste, and of touch. For these in some degree are sovereigns and rulers, having acquired a certain power over us, but not all to an equal extent; for the five are subordinate to the four, and are compelled to pay them taxes and tribute, such as are appointed by nature. For it is from the things which we see, or hear, or smell, or taste, or touch, that pleasures, and pains, and fears, and desires arise; as there is no one of the passions which has any power to exist of itself, if it were not supplied by the materials furnished by the outward senses."
Philo: WHO IS THE HEIR OF DIVINE THINGS
"XXXVIII ...Now, the craters of the sense of seeing are the eyes, those of hearing are the ears, those of smelling are the nostrils, and so on with the appropriate receptacles for each of the senses. On these craters the sacred word pours a portion of blood, thinking it right that the irrational part of us should become endowed with soul and vitality, ...purifying itself from the deceitful alluring powers of the objects of the outward sense which aim to overcome it."
Philo: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ON GENESIS, III
"(51) What is the meaning of, “And it shall be my covenant (or agreement) in your flesh?” (Gen. 17:13). God is willing to do good, not only to the man who is endued with virtue, but he wishes that the Divine Word should regulate not only his soul but his body also, as if it had become its physician. And it must be its care to prune away all excesses of seeing, and hearing, and taste, and smell, and touch, and also those of the instrument of voice and articulation, and also all the redundant and pernicious impulses of the genitals, (morning cross? Rom. 7:23) as also of the whole body, the effect of which is, that at times we are delighted by our passions and at times pained by them."
The gospels may have been refuted verbally by many people in a better position to know, and we might never know of those refutations. Refutations don’t erase pages and the winners get to tell the story
tired old question....if jesus wanted to be seen, why did he not clearly present himself? What is this, an episode of Scooby Doo?
The Resurrection argument only works if these people actually saw Jesus alive again (with their eyes) after his death since that is the only way to verify that an actual resurrection had taken place. If the "appearances" of Jesus were not veridical then the Resurrection argument fails. Therefore, the burden of proof is on the Resurrection proponent to demonstrate that the "appearances" of the Risen Christ were veridical.
Paul is the earliest and only source written firsthand who says _"Jesus appeared to me"_ and the appearance to him was some sort of "revelation" from heaven - Gal. 1:16 which he does not distinguish from the other appearances in 1 Cor 15:5-8. So the *only example* of a "resurrection appearance" that we have in the earliest source is some sort of subjective spiritual experience from heaven and not a physical encounter with a revived corpse. It therefore necessarily follows that personal/subjective "visions" "revelations" or "experiences from heaven" (experiences that don't necessarily have anything to do with reality) were accepted as "resurrection appearances."
In 1 Cor 15:5-8 the word for "appeared" is ὤφθη (ōphthē) which is the aorist passive form of ὁράω (horáō). Note how this word doesn't necessarily mean to see with the eyes.
ὁράω
1. to see with the eyes
2. *to see with the mind, to perceive, know*
3. to see, i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience
www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?t=kjv&strongs=g3708
horáō - properly, see, *often with metaphorical meaning: "to see with the mind" (i.e. spiritually see), i.e. perceive (with inward spiritual perception)."*
biblehub.com/greek/3708.htm
So without reading in the stories from the later gospels and Acts, what argument can be given that the resurrection appearances were originally understood to be visually confirmed physical encounters with the Resurrected body of Jesus? Since the Greek word can mean physical *or* spiritual seeing and the fact that these people claimed to "see" things in visions and dreams quite regularly www.openbible.info/topics/dreams_and_visions then any claim that they "saw" Jesus is simply a non-starter.
Note: Any appeal to the later gospels and Acts is a tacit admission that Paul (the earliest and only firsthand source) gives no clear evidence for the physical/veridical type of seeing. What Paul says in 1 Cor 15:5-8 is consistent with *all* of the appearances coming from heaven like his did. He gives no evidence of any physical touching or a witnessed ascension. All of that stuff develops later in the gospels which are not firsthand sources.
Well Paul, Doncha know? Everything the Bible says happened because the Bible says so. ;)
The detective enters the room to question the eye witnesses of a murder. All 3 witnesses state that they saw a being of light commit the crime;
Do we assume it was supernatural? No
Do we assume they are all lying or mistaken? maybe
Do we look for better evidence? YES!!!!!
There's one other possibility I haven't seen anyone bring up.... Psychedelics.
I’ve done a lot of psychedelics and I’ve never seen Jesus. I’ve seen DMT beings, but never Jesus 😂
@@areyoujelton I mean if you're depressed cause a loved one close to you died then you might see them in a psychedelic hallucination if you do the drugs later.
Nicely done. Clear, comprehensive and calm.
Paul only saw a bright light and heard a voice. NEVER SAW JESUS RESURRECTED IN PERSON. It was something closer to a vision rather than a bodily presence. And by the way, why should we believe this story anyway?
While I like many of your videos, I think you need to do better due dilligence and consult more widely when you touch upon issues relating to New Testament history. For example, as I noted in an earlier comment on a previous video, there is indeed recent research that questions the anonymous nature of the gospels (e.g. Martin Hengel, Simon Gathercole), and the claim that scholars think that the "church fathers" assigned the names of the gospels is not usually claimed in New Testament scholarship. Also please note you have misunderstood what "high Christology" is. High Christology does not mean that over time the narrative of Jesus was embellished with more and more supernatural elements, but it relates to when the idea of when he was first considered divine (which after the work of many scholars has been pushed back to the synoptic Gospels). Also the Gospels are not written in scholarly Greek, but rather fairly unrefined Koine Greek. You further seem to imply that knowledge of Greek and Aramaic is surprising for these individuals, when the multilingual status of most inhabitants of Palestine has been acknowledged since work in the 1970's by Fitzmeyer and has only grown stronger, e.g. see Hughson T. Ong or Stanley Porter, among many).
We know Paul didn't 'see Jesus in the flesh'. He could have and probably did make up his whole vision. These are the earliest accounts. The next earliest account is Mark, and the ressurection is not included in the earliest manuscripts. 'Mark' is also obviously not an eye witness, as it is evident from the writings that he was not familiar with the geography or the customs.
That leaves Matthew, Luke, and John. Matthew is obviously a copy of Mark, which means the ressurection was probably tacked on to fulfill prophecy. Luke was probably also a copy of Mark, at a later date, and probably added the tradition of the resurrection. That leaves us with John, which seems to be written from a different perspectives, and is considered less reliable than the Synaptics. Nevertheless, it is the only gospel with which there is no explaining the origin of the resurrection story. It is the only one scholars should be concerned with. But in reality, the resurrection was probably added here as well, as a response to Paul's teachings.
So, what we have here is a sacrifice cult, in which it is claimed that god sent himself as a sacrifice to himself...hmm. And the purpose of god sacrificing himself to himself was to save humanity from god's own condemnation...hmm. It's a curious paradox that this supposedly 'all-powerful' god needed to sacrifice himself to himself in order to achieve his own forgiveness of humanity. Such forgiveness is an intellectual concept, thus it would have needed no physical effort to achieve. From my perspective, any effort to justify this nonsense is pointless.
No hallucinations in the story, they all saw him. It is a work of fiction. Might as well wonder if Gandalf the White was a hallucination
Or the whole story about Paul being a prosecutor of the Christians who then had an experience and then became a believer was just a story he made up to give himself legitimacy as a prophet.
Kind of like how apologists today pretend to be a former atheist to give them legitimacy now.
Paul (if e wrote it) said he only knew Jesus from scriptures and revelation and not from people. For someone who was supposed to be going after the Christians pre conversion and meeting Peter and James post conversion, this does not add up. Also Paul you seem to dismiss the idea that the whole story was made up. When I learned that there was little or no historical evidence for the crucifixion and definitely nothing for the resurrection, and the possibility that the gospel stories were written in the second century by unknown writers does have a fictitious feel to it just like almost every other religion based on myths.
The Greek of the New Testament is far from scholarly--for instance the optative occurs only once--Luke manages to put it in when Paul addresses the Aereopogus.
@Sam Bacon Thanks for telling me that Greek is not a Semitic language. I would never have known that without your saying so. Even more amazing is your revelation that ancient Jewish girls had a Bat Mitzvah or that boys had a Bar Mitzvah in the first century. Everyone else in the world thinks those rituals only developed much later. You alone know the truth. Thanks again for revealing it. And your description of translation is so insightful. Who knew that the fact that two different languages use different vocabulary and grammar it make it impossible to accurately translate meaning? I was just wasting my time reading all those Yukio Mishima novels in translation. Any you are doubly insightful since all of the Gospels were originally written in Greek and no translation was involved (and none of them were written by an apostle--I just cant get over how relevant your opening line is!) I am so glad that you fearlessly make such statements based on your own expert knowledge derived from years of study of the subjects you speak about.
@@helenaconstantine Obviously @Sam_Bacon didn't understand what you were trying to say. I admit I don't really either. What was the point of saying that the Greek wasn't entirely scholarly. Were you just being a pedant, like I often am, or were you actually trying to object to something in the video?
@@catlover10192 Paulogia, if I recall now, said something about the Gospel authors being educated in Greek. They were obviously, but educated is an ambiguous term. The Greek of the New Testament is actually quite poor. It leaves whole grammatical moods like the optative, has a minuscule vocabulary (Greek has the largest vocabulary of any ancient language), and never produces anything like a grammatical period (a long complex sentence typical of Greek). If Lucian had read the NT (and he might have done) he would considered it the bastardized Greek of uneducated foreigners (and he wasn't a native Greek speaker either; he just learned it much better).
@@catlover10192 Now that I reread bacon's post, to answer you in a different way, I think its fair to say he doesn't understand anything. He is gibbering on as if he is an expert, when he know nothing, like so many people Socrates met.
Ancient Historians know Paul didnt write most of the Epistles,they are forged...the ones he probably wrote..he speaks of Christ as some revelatory Deity..so more likely Mythology!
The 'speaking in tongues' nonsense is a mis-understanding if not total distortion of that verse.
A group of activists gives a 'sermon'. One speaks in Aramaic, one speaks in Greek, and another speaks in Latin. ergo: speaking in tongues.
I always appreciate your videos, Paul. Thanks for taking the time to make and share them.
KENT HOVIND disliked this upload !
Something about the tone, speed and rhythm of the apologist guy sounds like a multi-level marketer.
“That which is asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence” Christopher Hitchens.
Hey Paul from Edmonton. I just watched a flat earth debunker channel called SciMan Dan take on your old pal Ken. I gave you a shout out to your channel in the comments for anyone who is interested in hearing more about Ken's and the rest of his ilk's claims. Hopefully you'll get a few more subs.
Yay! New Paulogia.
Yay! New Tom comment!
post-bereavement hallucinatory experiences
must remember that phrase sounds pretty posh
Why is he pinned into that corner and that guy acts a little flaky like I would want to start moving myself to the door strange
As usual, nice video with detailed explanations. However, as far as we know, Jesus existed and many of miracles of the bible actually happened, there just is no way to verify one way or the other. What I do know for a fact is that Jesus and God are no where to be found presently performing miracles for all to see. So in other words, he used to care, but now, he doesn't give a shit.
we were born too late
Hi Paul,
I just sent Braxton (recently on ShannonQ, as you obviously know), your "How Christianity probably began" video, he said he will check it out to possibly do a response!
Interesting.
*People who talk really fast like this apologist are less credible. It reeks of desperation.*
If all 500 of those people that supposedly saw the risen Christ also wrote down an account of their experience then it would be noteworthy.
One person's account that 500 people saw the risen Jesus with not so much as the name of the town that this happened in isn't really that impressive or compelling.
amen
If even one written account had been included with the Dead Sea Scrolls that would have been impressive as well.
I do agree that Paul's interactions with Jesus were all in his head (I think that he was an epileptic). However, it is to note that the account of him encountering Jesus "on the way to Damascus" is legendary, and the episode was completely made up by whoever wrote Acts. It is more probable that he had the revelatory experience IN Damascus, where he actually lived. And, according to his own account, the resurrected Jesus appeared to him there for the first time. He would experience that appearance many times, one of them on what he describes as being lifted to the third heaven.
I also note that the first story of the "empty tomb" was probably of Mark's own making, and he states firmly, that the women fled from the tomb, and they didn't say anything to anyone, because they were afraid. And the Gospel ends there.
@Sam Bacon The problem is that I can't find a passage where he says that he practiced ascetism, nor that he used to fast. At best, he practiced celibacy and he seemed disinterested in sex, but that can be explained with his epilepsy. A temporal lobe epileptic can have a very high interest in religious themes (which he certainly did), can hear voices, experience apparitions, and even have out of the body experiences. All of these are very well documented in scientific literature. Also, he talked about an illness that stung his flesh, and he linked it to his revelatory experiences so that he didn't feel too proud. Hence, it was something humiliating. To the Galatians, Paul talked about how they took care of him, despite his illness. We know that epilepsy led people to be denigrated socially. This must be the illness that afflicted him, IMHO.
Also, a point about his attitude on sexual life of a married couple can also be explained by his apocalyptic views. He says that the time for the new world order, when Chist would come and establish God's Kingdom in heaven was coming soon. That life of marriage would distract people from giving their all to prepare gentiles for that special moment. We know that Paul worked extensively with married couples, and he didn't mind that they had sex or abstain from it, as long as it was with mutual consent.
But fasting? Ascetic life? I find nothing in Paul's authentic letters or even Acts to suggest that he practiced these things. If anything, Paul's opponents were too concerned about him and his gentiles of eating from meat and other food sacrificed to the pagan gods.
@Doc Reasonable First, Paul *did* exist. From him, we have seven authentic letters in the New Testament: Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Philemon. The rest we find in the New Testament are either misattributed (Hebrews) or forged (2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus).
Second, yes he practiced celibacy, but that doesn't mean he fasted or had an ascetic life, which is what Sam is suggesting.
@Doc Reasonable I think a better way to put it is that those epistles can be shown by experts (in a field I'm not qualified to comment on) to almost certainly have been written by the same person. And that person, whoever he was, is Paul.
Please don't do a trees fund raiser because I've started to unsubb anyone who does and I don't want to unsubb you.
14:22 Another Kent Hovind clone.
Nice-take down btw....
Thank you
Wow! if I was Wallace, I think I might take that as slander LOL.
Or perhaps I'm just biased against people perverting and misrepresenting science.
My impression is that Wallace at least keeps his arguments to biblical issues.
And yes, nicely done Paul.
Ingredients for manufacturing 500 witnesses to an appearance of Jesus:
A charismatic speaker.
A charismatic and emotional worship or prayer service.
The sun illuminating a cross-shaped cloud at just the right time.
No mass hallucination required. Just heightened emotions, suggestion, and confirmation bias.
@jurpleoi Paul never says they saw Jesus appear in a room with them, eat with them, or ascend to heaven. Those are details found in the later gospel accounts.
Perhaps our detective , having so convincingly ( S) proved the Gospel stories, should now investigate the resurrection of Sherlock Holmes ? For Holmes in his fight with Moriarty, certainly fell to his death on the Swiss mountain, it is well attested in the writings of Conan Doyle. But we have the resurrection of Holmes, and now we have Mrs Hudson, Dr Watson, Inspector Lagrange and others as eye witnesses to confirm this fact.
Unfortunately some crimes still remain unsolved in London, indeed the majority.
Poor McDowell looks so awkward and uncomfortable...
"Could the Disciples Hallucinate the Resurrection?"
Or (as others here have alluded to) it was all made up by Paul?
Saul of Tarsus saw a bright light and heard a voice. None of his companions saw anything or heard anything. I find heat stroke and a possible concussion from falling as a far more likely explanation. Of course, that means most of the NFL would qualify as disciples if that was all it took.
It is a story and we have no chance to check anything. It is most likely total fiction as it is a story.
"Could the disciples hallucinate the resurrection?" With enough shrooms, you can hallucinate *anything.*
So I'm told.
FIRST
You win a bag of nuts as a first prize.
It feels like you are cheating somehow...
@@justvotingagain2799 Shannon always comes first.
yeah, you are
Perpetually the head of the queue.
We're really doing psychoanalysis retroactively on characters in a book written by anonymous authors thousands of years ago. What can I say, I'm convinced! I believe in God now.
People say Meth will make groups of people see the same thing too.🤣
Claims = heresy = worthless information
Wallace (and many a used-god salesman of his ilk) talks so goddamn fast it’s like he’s trying to outrun his doubts.
hank_says: Sales technique.....they speak so fast to prevent you having time to actually think about what they're saying.
Yes, they all did just that...
The world makes more sense with religion. Deny it if you like. Just like free will, beauty, objective morality, fine tuning, meaning, the problem of eternal regress, etc.
Deny reality completely.
Rather find nihilistic, naturalistic explanations that would always lead to another question and live a life without any foundation or grounding.
We'd much rather have unanswered questions than a false answer. Tell me , if everything needs a creator who created him?
Mark Doldon
You are either confused or you are using the silliest argument in the book. Are you new to this?
6:38 "Who exactly is claiming to have seen Jesus alive"?
I see what you did! Har-har. ;-l
Hell yeah
Paulogia, I loved your responses to his claims! I realize that some times the video must be sped up a bit and I usually can't tell. But every time I hear apologists talking, if someone argued or even questions in a doubting way, they seem to talk faster, like a Gish gallop. That's what it sounded like at the end here, when the guy he was talking to tried to say something. Islam apologists do it , too! I don't think this detective can really relate this to a cold case. The evidence in a cold case may be old and sparse, but at least it generally came from some original facts. They have nothing but fragments of old myths, prevalent in that area at that time.👏💝☮️🎃
I've always found the "empty tomb" scenario to be laughable. A tomb, empty, so what.
Derek Martin Romans leave the bodies of crucified to rot on the cross. So no body ever gets buried.
@@TorianTammas You'd think after 2000 years they'd actually have some proof.
@@SalisburyKarateClub Well if you invent a burial in the first place this is hard to come by. Not to mention all the other fantasy elements.
Hay Ya'll did you know that the "Plan of Salvation " is encrypted in the names of the pre-flood Patriarchs ? Old timey Hebrew names have meaning; Adam = Man , Seth = appointed , Enosh = Mortal or miserable , Kenan = sorrow , Mahalalel = The Blessed God , Jared = shall come down , Enoch = teaching , Methuselah = his death shall bring , Lamech = despairing , Noah = comfort . Read as a sentence it would sound something like this : Man (is) appointed miserable sorrow . The Blessed God shall come down teaching. His death shall bring the despairing comfort. The finger prints of The Almighty, put that in your pipe and smoke it !
Well, regardless of how late the gospels were written, there are hymns quoted in the gospels and epistles. (The first chapter of John for one.) Well, I can sing 200-year-old songs and not make mistakes. (I consider them to be sort of time machines.)
Granted, the early Church leaders spoke Aramaic, but they knew some Greek as well. (Greek was the real language of the Roman Empire.) Chances are, the authors dictated the works to a scribe, who noted the text in short hand (tachygraph), then took them to a scriptorium for copying. The New Testament Greek is notoriously uneven.
I could bring up the Shroud of Turin, but I'd end up pitching my script.
Paul, when I die, I'm going to appear in a dream, with a new standup comedy shtick, just for you!
As I read 2 Corinthians, it seems as if you're taking a bit of liberty here. I don't think that's the context that is intended in reading the passage. Please understand I am an atheist but intensely interested in biblical history. I'm studying out of the Harper Collins Study Bible that Ehrman recommends, it's wonderful reading from the historical context. I understand your point and I believe that further into chapter 12 - 1 thru 10, I can kind of see where you're going but I think a bit more context could've been included here. On Jesus appearing to people, I mean, if he did, what kept him from coming back "before this generation is over"? He's 1900 years ish late. Good video, I subbed to your channel. Thanks!
@8:40 ... ruclips.net/video/1dZnWPYXd_s/видео.html
edit: for some reason this "old" music came to mind when Paulogia was talking about talking. Perhaps I should apologize... ?
He's a detective? He never earned a dollar he was paid!
It is disturbing to think that there are professional's in high-level positions who believe in mythologies.
" Quit your job, fuck stick!"
Sorry Paul. That pisses me off.