I'm astonished at folk writing off Richard Baukham so thoughtlessly on this thread. Credits on his CV include being a professor of history in St. Andrews (Ivy league to our American Friends). He's a serious historian with solid scholarship behind him
Well, he is good, but I would not rely solely on academical merits, there are some professors whose main gift is to coordinate education, other researchers and organise conferences -- and for the rest, their intellectual ability is just enough to get them a professorship and little more.
@@dolmanf what the hell does that even mean? You sound like a typical Christian who loves to rattle off Bible catchphrases that don't actually mean anything. That might be the most redundant phrase I've ever read. Let he who has an ear...jesus fucking christ, dude.
@@NYCBilly let who ears ear the truth and please don't take our lord's name in vain brother ask and mean it from the bottom of your heart that Jesus come in to your life and change and save you God bless homme
If you read A-list scholars, they hold Dr. Bauckham in the highest esteem. In the 'early high Christology' or informal 'Early High Christology Club' -- that worship of Jesus as God began very early on, weeks from His resurrection -- Bauckham is regarded in the very top rank. Btw, just to share a funny story: a grad theology student was introduced to Dr. Bauckham. She thought that he was Dr. Richard Dawkins, and wondered how she should respond.
"If you read A-list scholars..."? Who, exactly, would these "A-list scholars" be and are they Christians who have signed a "statement of faith" with their institution of employment, as with Dr. Bauckham? If so, they are scholars without academic freedom and have foredrawn conclusions. To reach a conclusion in opposition to what a "statement of faith" outlines is typically detrimental to a scholars career. Also, scholars and historians cannot demonstrate that Jesus was worshipped as god merely weeks after someone claimed that Jesus was resurrected. That's pure speculation.
Just finished your book tonight....whew....I think I am going to have another go at it.....good stuff but I need better understanding! Thank you for your Orthodox Stand!
Thanks for the insight....I do believe I am going to certainly have to reread this book as much of it escaped me during my first read....I will be looking at his other books to be sure!
1. The gospel content was around as kerygma ton apostolon since the resurrection. It was put into writing when the death of apostles and eyewitnesses was forseeable in order to preserve their testimony. 2. Anonymously, cause they were not just written by a single author - they are the products of early Christian communions, quoting from different sources (eyewitness accounts, Q). 3. Greek was the lingua franka, the English of the 1. century. Koine helped to spread ... Tim the Christian
Simply google Pontius Pilates description of Jesus (a requirement for all leading officers who condemned persons to death) even with an artist rendition of him. These same authentic copies are in the congressional library in Washington.
Jesus ressuscitou e eu sei porque os Apóstolos nos transmitiram que o viram e até o palparam, como Tomé. Os Apóstolos estavam desiludidos e sem esperança e tardaram em reconhecer Cristo. Os quatro Evangelhos e os Atos dos Apóstolos dão testemunho da ressurreição de Jesus.
You are correct. I have not read that book, but it would be an intersting read I'm sure. I have read reviews and skeptics and believers both have some good things to say about the book. Based on some reviews I remain skeptical about the claims but look forward to reading about it. Hopefully there are not too many "leaps of faith" so to speak! Either way, the debate still goes on so I'm sure it is controvertial and not finite.
SeattlefsIt's important to understand that before the time the Gospels were written there was a high rate of illiteracy and also due the costs of purchasing materials for writing. These people didn't have all the resources right off hand and there are some good reasons as to why they didn't write the Gospels until much later.
Some of them say that Thomas never really went to India. It was a syrian trader called Thomas who went. I am from south India and i used to live 15 minutes away from the place Thomas lived his last years before he was killed, and I don't understand why a trader would live in a cave and in such poverty and share the good news of Jesus. :)
seriously they dont read the church fathers and tend to overlook how information was passed down... they expect way way too much out of the gospels....they tend to read the christology of the gospels before reading or looking at the genuine letters of paul
@caveatemp Actually, I read two books about studies by scientists studying the accuracy of oral transmission of information over a long period of time. The results of the studies were that the people involved in the transmission of information believed that they were being accurate in transmission but actually did very poorly. Do you suppose that Pilate and his wife socialized with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and discussed their private conversations?
Lovely stained glass backdrops. Sparkly and numinous. Glowing. As for content, some standard primary notes on Papias and some conjecture. Otherwise vacuous. Lovely colours..
It's fantastic that the writers of the gospels were able to talk to eyewitnesses, and therefore we KNOW it's true. Coincidentally, I'm writing a book about SPIDERMAN, and I'm writing with eyewitness accounts...
The Papias collection of testimonies is the best explanation for the writing of some proto-Gospel -- either a proto-Mark or a proto-Luke -- Papias *wrote* it based on testimonies of the elders. The Gospels of the Hebrews were independent, but is perhaps responsible for the Q-material in Matthew. About some of the people being healed being anonymous and some not anonymous, it signifies little, according to the anatomy of forgetfulness: you remember some but not all.
" it is more likely that Philip was a second name for another Herod and does not mean Philip the Tetrarch (Haenchen, 237; Hoehner, Antipas, 132136)." Guelich, Robert A.: Word Biblical Commentary : Mark 1-8:26. Dallas : Word, Incorporated, 2002 (Word Biblical Commentary 34A), S. 331
@revdolaf Not a single one of the gospels was written from the perspective of an eye witness. If you examine the synoptic gospels carefully you see that Matthew and Luke are really edited versions of Mark. They each wrote a new and improved version by updating various details. Actually contradicting Mark. Look for yourself...Open your eyes Ebal the Atheist
@Jesrael1986M : Don't the Mormons have stories of the early believers in the angle Moroni (i.e. the mormons) suffering very great hardships for their beliefs? And don't we think the founder made it up? The mormons were chased out of various places and persecuted, and the Church of LDS continues to grow at least as quickly as early christianity. But I agree that Paul, at least, sincerely believed that some sort of God/Son of God called Jesus Christ spoke to him in some sort of vision.
but none of these people died for the people. It was always the other way around. No one can convince another person....one has to think and figure out if there is God or not and if Jesus is who he said he was. He is the only one who made the bold proclamation that "he is the way, the truth and the life" and got crucified for it.
@revdolaf I said language of the Jews . I didn't say Hebrew. Just because other literature was written anonymously doesn't excuse the gospels from being written anonymously. If the story were true, it would have been the greatest story ever told, so the writers should have identified themselves to establish the authenticity of their gospels. Ebal the Atheist
@caveatemp The Gospels are not written from the perspective of an eyewitness. They are written like a TV Drama show, where the reader can see and hear private conversations. How could anyone know the private conversation between Pilate and his wife, for example? It's the sure mark that the story is fiction.
The gospels were written down in one compiled form 30-40 years after Jesus died. This does not mean that they had not written down the records in some sort of a "diary" which they compiled into a book. The gospels seem like they contradict in certain places..however if one thinks about it a bit it becomes clear. Judas died by hanging and the branch snapped and he fell on sharp rock and his intestines fell out. if you go to the area where he died in Israel you will see the terrain is very rocky.
True that. It could very well be that way too. I re-read the parts about Judas and it is very clear that they are describing two different events, the same goes for who indeed paied for the field etc. This is not odd at all if one only grants that the Bible is not infallible and after all it was written down by men and is not devine dictation like the Quran suposedly is.
@Jesrael1986M Yes, all they had to do was believe in the story. People believed in Hitler, in Kim Jong Il and in Bin Laden who were not nice at all, yet people believed in them. The Japanese believed that Hirohito was a God and gladly died for him, yet non of his metaphysical claims were true =)
I see two big problems with the Gospels. 1. None of the four gospels were written down by eyewitnesses. Even "the acts of the Apostles" was written 30-40 years AFTER Jesus' death. Not a sigle observer of the actual events wrote the Gospels. 2. They gospels contradict themselves. For example: Matthew 27:3-10 says that Jesus died by hanging himself, but in Acts 1:18-19 Judas is said to have fallen in a field and that his intestines fell out. Can you explain why there are so many contradictions?
Oh, the video claims that the gospels were collated from the testimonies of eyewitnesses. The Acts are much later and not genuine, but for the Gospels, it is quite possible that some elders were eyewitnesses about say 33 AD and then interviewed say 90-100 AD. Meeting Jesus at the age of 20 would make an interview at 100 AD be in the 70:ies. Jesus didn't hang himself, you refer to Judas in Matthew 27:3-10. If something is false in the Gospels it doesn't follow that everything is false. If something is true in the Gospels it doesn't follow that everything is true.
The book of James was written from 45 to 49 AD Making it The oldest N.T. That's about 15 after Jesus! Also St Paul's writing were in the 50s AD. Suck on that atheists 😅😅😅😅
@nickhts So, opposed to the argument that perhaps people wrote a story and were modest... OR that the story was written afterward and the apostles did not have direct say in how they were portrayed... you think it is more plausible that someone rose from the dead? And you are willing to accept that simply because nobody can "disprove" it? (ie: Nobody can find 2,000 year old bones, including the religious people who would want them)
@ebaltrace You're drawing your conclusions based on not knowing how aural history was written. It is all based on testimonies that people who were the original eyewitnesses were telling their whole lives. You don't think Pilate and his wife led completely insular lives?
Se Jesus fosse apenas um bom homem com uma moral nova, ninguém o quereria crucificar. Jesus foi crucificado por se dizer Filho de Deus. Isso era uma blasfémia para a classe dirigente de Israel, mas era uma verdade espantosa. O Verbo encarnou e viveu entre nós!!!
I believe if you Google the "jesusneverexisted" site, you will have many questions answered. This is one of the most documented sites concerning this question. Pass it along to others. It certainly helped me out.
@Jesrael1986M Yea, I definitely think that if I wanted to be remembered and I was some sort of loser I COULD decide to make something up and endure torture for it. Again, all OTHER religious leaders that were persecuted after coming up with their wacky ideas were still wrong. You have to understand, that to the OTHER religious leaders, I would imagine that mostly they generally thought that they DID have the truth. So yes, I'm sure some would endure torture.
In Kim Jong-il's biography he attests to shooting a 36 under par golf round the first and only time he ever played, scoring no less than 11 holes in one. This was eye witnessed by 19 bodyguards who saw the whole thing. Impressive fact, huh?
How many of those body guards were under threat from death most of their life because of that testimony? How many of those died because of that testimony? Let's be real man!
@stevemaxchillin There have been studies examining oral transmission. They always make mistakes and improve the story with each retelling. Ebal the Atheist
@nickhts You have COMPLETELY excluded the possibility that the apostles could be wrong AND the ressurection didn't happen. That's a PRETTY big absence of other ideas. Do you discount the fact that perhaps they had convinced themselves they were correct? That does not need to be malicious intent, but with such a tramautic event, one could have a vision that isn't actually "true". We're also assuming the texts are accurate.
Caro senhor Costa Lima. There were many persons in Israel that claimed to be the son of God: Simon of Peraera, Simon bar Kokhba, Athronges and Vespasian etc. Jesus was different in that he replaced the second temple wich his own teachings/doctrine and that he invited everybody to his new religion. He was executed by the Romans for challenging their power, but his Christian cult lived on. But Jesus died and did not come back from the dead. Why do you believe that he did come back?
I really don’t care how the jesus fairy tale was written. The only point if substance that can be minded from this talk is that men, just like you and I, wrote the books and assembled them.
While it's probable that there was a prophet who may or may not have been called Jesus who's myths inspired the writers, what they write is almost all pure fiction. The story of the adulterous woman was added hundreds of years later for instance. Judas dies in two different ways, a big contradiction, and of course Jesus did not walk on water or and heal the blind with supernatural power. Socrates is also a person who may not have existed at all.
When Jesus died, the graves of Jerusalem opened and the dead walked the streets. Where did they go after that? what happened next? The bible doesn't tell. Jesus may very well have existed as a mortal prophet, but that's irrelevant since he wasn't Yahwehs son. This is mainly due to the fact that Yahweh isn't real, also due to the fact that his divinity was invented by his folowers/writers. Or are all claims of all religions true?
@revdolaf It's tough to work within the confines of 500 character answers. There are many other problem verses which demonstrate that the gospels are not historical. Matthew 4:8 Look! This mountain doesn't exist. Ebal the Atheist
Matthew 14:3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herodias had been the wife of Herod the Landless, another brother of Herod, and not Philip. Philip was married to Salome the daughter of Herodias. This error shows the gospels are not historical, and not the inspired word of God. Ebal the Atheist
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be PUBLISHED among all nations. So what took the Gospel writers more than 40 years after Jesus' death to write the Gospels? Then why were the Gospels written anonymously? Why were they written in Greek rather than the Language of the Jews? The Jesus story reeks with the smell of fabrication. Ebal the Atheist
κηρυχθῆναι, Kerychthenai, does not mean “Publish”, it means herald, proclaim, or preach. The Christians were not told to write anything, they were told to spread the word by word of mouth. This is well established by Paul’s account, which is widely accepted as legitimate and predates all of the gospels. The Christians were spreading entirely by word of mouth and he had to go to Peter, and James the brother of Jesus himself to hear the story. Your complaints are completely born from ignorance, not from the historical facts and evidences surrounding the texts.
@revdolaf History is facts. Mountains that do not exist are not facts. Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Can you move REAL mountains? Or do you move imaginary mountains? It's not history. It's theology. Ebal the Atheist
Why did it take more than 40 years to write the gospels when the Apostles were supposed to publish and spread the word to the whole world? Were they saving up to buy pencils? Nothing in the gospels is written from the view point of an eyewitness. It is just a fictional story. Ebal the Atheist
@zugokku123 Christian Apologists just make up any stuff that they think will fly in order to explain away problems. Assumes facts not in evidence, Ebal the Atheist
I'm simply amazed to have stumbled upon a slew of qualified New Testament scholars in the comments section....
I'm astonished at folk writing off Richard Baukham so thoughtlessly on this thread. Credits on his CV include being a professor of history in St. Andrews (Ivy league to our American Friends). He's a serious historian with solid scholarship behind him
Well, he is good, but I would not rely solely on academical merits, there are some professors whose main gift is to coordinate education, other researchers and organise conferences -- and for the rest, their intellectual ability is just enough to get them a professorship and little more.
let he who has an ear......
@@dolmanf what the hell does that even mean? You sound like a typical Christian who loves to rattle off Bible catchphrases that don't actually mean anything. That might be the most redundant phrase I've ever read. Let he who has an ear...jesus fucking christ, dude.
@@NYCBilly Let he that has an ear meant a heckuva lot to me.
@@NYCBilly let who ears ear the truth and please don't take our lord's name in vain brother ask and mean it from the bottom of your heart that Jesus come in to your life and change and save you God bless homme
A breath of fresh air of intellectual sobriety. Thank you.
I read his Jesus: A Very Short Introduction (OUP) and found it very lucid and solid. He knows his stuff.
If you read A-list scholars, they hold Dr. Bauckham in the highest esteem. In the 'early high Christology' or informal 'Early High Christology Club' -- that worship of Jesus as God began very early on, weeks from His resurrection -- Bauckham is regarded in the very top rank.
Btw, just to share a funny story: a grad theology student was introduced to Dr. Bauckham. She thought that he was Dr. Richard Dawkins, and wondered how she should respond.
"If you read A-list scholars..."?
Who, exactly, would these "A-list scholars" be and are they Christians who have signed a "statement of faith" with their institution of employment, as with Dr. Bauckham? If so, they are scholars without academic freedom and have foredrawn conclusions. To reach a conclusion in opposition to what a "statement of faith" outlines is typically detrimental to a scholars career.
Also, scholars and historians cannot demonstrate that Jesus was worshipped as god merely weeks after someone claimed that Jesus was resurrected. That's pure speculation.
Amazing!
Just finished your book tonight....whew....I think I am going to have another go at it.....good stuff but I need better understanding! Thank you for your Orthodox Stand!
It was very helpful, thanks!
Thanks for the insight....I do believe I am going to certainly have to reread this book as much of it escaped me during my first read....I will be looking at his other books to be sure!
1. The gospel content was around as kerygma ton apostolon since the resurrection. It was put into writing when the death of apostles and eyewitnesses was forseeable in order to preserve their testimony.
2. Anonymously, cause they were not just written by a single author - they are the products of early Christian communions, quoting from different sources (eyewitness accounts, Q).
3. Greek was the lingua franka, the English of the 1. century. Koine helped to spread ...
Tim the Christian
Simply google Pontius Pilates description of Jesus (a requirement for all leading officers who condemned persons to death) even with an artist rendition of him. These same authentic copies are in the congressional library in Washington.
Amen!
Jesus ressuscitou e eu sei porque os Apóstolos nos transmitiram que o viram e até o palparam, como Tomé. Os Apóstolos estavam desiludidos e sem esperança e tardaram em reconhecer Cristo. Os quatro Evangelhos e os Atos dos Apóstolos dão testemunho da ressurreição de Jesus.
You are correct. I have not read that book, but it would be an intersting read I'm sure. I have read reviews and skeptics and believers both have some good things to say about the book. Based on some reviews I remain skeptical about the claims but look forward to reading about it. Hopefully there are not too many "leaps of faith" so to speak! Either way, the debate still goes on so I'm sure it is controvertial and not finite.
SeattlefsIt's important to understand that before the time the Gospels were written there was a high rate of illiteracy and also due the costs of purchasing materials for writing. These people didn't have all the resources right off hand and there are some good reasons as to why they didn't write the Gospels until much later.
Great
So, did eyewitnesses have direct input into the content of the Gospels? If so, was that input significant?
Some of them say that Thomas never really went to India. It was a syrian trader called Thomas who went. I am from south India and i used to live 15 minutes away from the place Thomas lived his last years before he was killed, and I don't understand why a trader would live in a cave and in such poverty and share the good news of Jesus. :)
seriously they dont read the church fathers and tend to overlook how information was passed down... they expect way way too much out of the gospels....they tend to read the christology of the gospels before reading or looking at the genuine letters of paul
Love the videos, but stripping them down and doing away with the visual effects would be much less distracting.
@caveatemp Actually, I read two books about studies by scientists studying the accuracy of oral transmission of information over a long period of time. The results of the studies were that the people involved in the transmission of information believed that they were being accurate in transmission but actually did very poorly.
Do you suppose that Pilate and his wife socialized with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and discussed their private conversations?
Lovely stained glass backdrops. Sparkly and numinous. Glowing.
As for content, some standard primary notes on Papias and some conjecture. Otherwise vacuous. Lovely colours..
It's fantastic that the writers of the gospels were able to talk to eyewitnesses, and therefore we KNOW it's true.
Coincidentally, I'm writing a book about SPIDERMAN, and I'm writing with eyewitness accounts...
Let me know when it's published. I'll be sure to get a copy, and maybe I'll convert to your side.
@@jkm9332 Interesting. If I said that it was written by eyewitness accounts, what other information would I need to make it believable?
@@BrellK what’s your claim? That Spider-Man existed?
@@BrellK Did you want to respond to my question or retract your belief in Spider-man?
The Papias collection of testimonies is the best explanation for the writing of some proto-Gospel -- either a proto-Mark or a proto-Luke -- Papias *wrote* it based on testimonies of the elders. The Gospels of the Hebrews were independent, but is perhaps responsible for the Q-material in Matthew. About some of the people being healed being anonymous and some not anonymous, it signifies little, according to the anatomy of forgetfulness: you remember some but not all.
" it is more likely that Philip was a second name for another Herod and does not mean Philip the Tetrarch (Haenchen, 237; Hoehner, Antipas, 132136)."
Guelich, Robert A.: Word Biblical Commentary : Mark 1-8:26. Dallas : Word, Incorporated, 2002 (Word Biblical Commentary 34A), S. 331
@revdolaf Not a single one of the gospels was written from the perspective of an eye witness. If you examine the synoptic gospels carefully you see that Matthew and Luke are really edited versions of Mark. They each wrote a new and improved version by updating various details. Actually contradicting Mark. Look for yourself...Open your eyes
Ebal the Atheist
Wrong
@Jesrael1986M : Don't the Mormons have stories of the early believers in the angle Moroni (i.e. the mormons) suffering very great hardships for their beliefs? And don't we think the founder made it up? The mormons were chased out of various places and persecuted, and the Church of LDS continues to grow at least as quickly as early christianity. But I agree that Paul, at least, sincerely believed that some sort of God/Son of God called Jesus Christ spoke to him in some sort of vision.
but none of these people died for the people. It was always the other way around. No one can convince another person....one has to think and figure out if there is God or not and if Jesus is who he said he was. He is the only one who made the bold proclamation that "he is the way, the truth and the life" and got crucified for it.
@revdolaf I said language of the Jews . I didn't say Hebrew. Just because other literature was written anonymously doesn't excuse the gospels from being written anonymously. If the story were true, it would have been the greatest story ever told, so the writers should have identified themselves to establish the authenticity of their gospels.
Ebal the Atheist
@caveatemp The Gospels are not written from the perspective of an eyewitness. They are written like a TV Drama show, where the reader can see and hear private conversations. How could anyone know the private conversation between Pilate and his wife, for example? It's the sure mark that the story is fiction.
@revdolaf Amen! It's really funny how infantile the criticism can be, isn't it?
The gospels were written down in one compiled form 30-40 years after Jesus died. This does not mean that they had not written down the records in some sort of a "diary" which they compiled into a book. The gospels seem like they contradict in certain places..however if one thinks about it a bit it becomes clear. Judas died by hanging and the branch snapped and he fell on sharp rock and his intestines fell out. if you go to the area where he died in Israel you will see the terrain is very rocky.
True that. It could very well be that way too.
I re-read the parts about Judas and it is very clear that they are describing two different events, the same goes for who indeed paied for the field etc. This is not odd at all if one only grants that the Bible is not infallible and after all it was written down by men and is not devine dictation like the Quran suposedly is.
@Jesrael1986M Yes, all they had to do was believe in the story. People believed in Hitler, in Kim Jong Il and in Bin Laden who were not nice at all, yet people believed in them. The Japanese believed that Hirohito was a God and gladly died for him, yet non of his metaphysical claims were true =)
I see two big problems with the Gospels. 1. None of the four gospels were written down by eyewitnesses. Even "the acts of the Apostles" was written 30-40 years AFTER Jesus' death. Not a sigle observer of the actual events wrote the Gospels. 2. They gospels contradict themselves. For example: Matthew 27:3-10 says that Jesus died by hanging himself, but in Acts 1:18-19 Judas is said to have fallen in a field and that his intestines fell out. Can you explain why there are so many contradictions?
Oh, the video claims that the gospels were collated from the testimonies of eyewitnesses. The Acts are much later and not genuine, but for the Gospels, it is quite possible that some elders were eyewitnesses about say 33 AD and then interviewed say 90-100 AD. Meeting Jesus at the age of 20 would make an interview at 100 AD be in the 70:ies. Jesus didn't hang himself, you refer to Judas in Matthew 27:3-10. If something is false in the Gospels it doesn't follow that everything is false. If something is true in the Gospels it doesn't follow that everything is true.
The book of James was written from 45 to 49 AD Making it The oldest N.T. That's about 15 after Jesus! Also St Paul's writing were in the 50s AD. Suck on that atheists 😅😅😅😅
@nickhts So, opposed to the argument that perhaps people wrote a story and were modest... OR that the story was written afterward and the apostles did not have direct say in how they were portrayed... you think it is more plausible that someone rose from the dead? And you are willing to accept that simply because nobody can "disprove" it? (ie: Nobody can find 2,000 year old bones, including the religious people who would want them)
@ebaltrace You're drawing your conclusions based on not knowing how aural history was written. It is all based on testimonies that people who were the original eyewitnesses were telling their whole lives. You don't think Pilate and his wife led completely insular lives?
Se Jesus fosse apenas um bom homem com uma moral nova, ninguém o quereria crucificar. Jesus foi crucificado por se dizer Filho de Deus. Isso era uma blasfémia para a classe dirigente de Israel, mas era uma verdade espantosa. O Verbo encarnou e viveu entre nós!!!
I believe if you Google the "jesusneverexisted" site, you will have many questions answered. This is one of the most documented sites concerning this question. Pass it along to others. It certainly helped me out.
Christianity isn't the only religion with "eyewitnesses"
@Jesrael1986M Yea, I definitely think that if I wanted to be remembered and I was some sort of loser I COULD decide to make something up and endure torture for it. Again, all OTHER religious leaders that were persecuted after coming up with their wacky ideas were still wrong. You have to understand, that to the OTHER religious leaders, I would imagine that mostly they generally thought that they DID have the truth. So yes, I'm sure some would endure torture.
In Kim Jong-il's biography he attests to shooting a 36 under par golf round the first and only time he ever played, scoring no less than 11 holes in one. This was eye witnessed by 19 bodyguards who saw the whole thing.
Impressive fact, huh?
How many of those body guards were under threat from death most of their life because of that testimony? How many of those died because of that testimony? Let's be real man!
@stevemaxchillin There have been studies examining oral transmission. They always make mistakes and improve the story with each retelling.
Ebal the Atheist
form criticism is so idealogical
@nickhts You have COMPLETELY excluded the possibility that the apostles could be wrong AND the ressurection didn't happen. That's a PRETTY big absence of other ideas. Do you discount the fact that perhaps they had convinced themselves they were correct? That does not need to be malicious intent, but with such a tramautic event, one could have a vision that isn't actually "true". We're also assuming the texts are accurate.
Caro senhor Costa Lima. There were many persons in Israel that claimed to be the son of God: Simon of Peraera, Simon bar Kokhba, Athronges and Vespasian etc. Jesus was different in that he replaced the second temple wich his own teachings/doctrine and that he invited everybody to his new religion. He was executed by the Romans for challenging their power, but his Christian cult lived on. But Jesus died and did not come back from the dead. Why do you believe that he did come back?
I really don’t care how the jesus fairy tale was written. The only point if substance that can be minded from this talk is that men, just like you and I, wrote the books and assembled them.
While it's probable that there was a prophet who may or may not have been called Jesus who's myths inspired the writers, what they write is almost all pure fiction. The story of the adulterous woman was added hundreds of years later for instance. Judas dies in two different ways, a big contradiction, and of course Jesus did not walk on water or and heal the blind with supernatural power. Socrates is also a person who may not have existed at all.
When Jesus died, the graves of Jerusalem opened and the dead walked the streets. Where did they go after that? what happened next? The bible doesn't tell.
Jesus may very well have existed as a mortal prophet, but that's irrelevant since he wasn't Yahwehs son. This is mainly due to the fact that Yahweh isn't real, also due to the fact that his divinity was invented by his folowers/writers. Or are all claims of all religions true?
If you like Bauckham, you will love Dr. Robert Price. Check out this site.
Robert Price - The Case Against The Case For Christ
@revdolaf It's tough to work within the confines of 500 character answers. There are many other problem verses which demonstrate that the gospels are not historical. Matthew 4:8 Look! This mountain doesn't exist.
Ebal the Atheist
Do you believe nothing created everything?
Matthew 14:3 For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip.
Herodias had been the wife of Herod the Landless, another brother of Herod, and not Philip. Philip was married to Salome the daughter of Herodias.
This error shows the gospels are not historical, and not the inspired word of God.
Ebal the Atheist
Google, "jesusneverexisted."
Mark 13:10 And the gospel must first be PUBLISHED among all nations.
So what took the Gospel writers more than 40 years after Jesus' death to write the Gospels?
Then why were the Gospels written anonymously?
Why were they written in Greek rather than the Language of the Jews?
The Jesus story reeks with the smell of fabrication.
Ebal the Atheist
κηρυχθῆναι, Kerychthenai, does not mean “Publish”, it means herald, proclaim, or preach.
The Christians were not told to write anything, they were told to spread the word by word of mouth. This is well established by Paul’s account, which is widely accepted as legitimate and predates all of the gospels. The Christians were spreading entirely by word of mouth and he had to go to Peter, and James the brother of Jesus himself to hear the story.
Your complaints are completely born from ignorance, not from the historical facts and evidences surrounding the texts.
@revdolaf History is facts. Mountains that do not exist are not facts.
Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Can you move REAL mountains? Or do you move imaginary mountains?
It's not history. It's theology.
Ebal the Atheist
I like Santa Claus over my parents to explain presents on Christmas.
@pppz0r Go look in your lexicon.
Ebal the Atheist
@ MerIIn5by5: Re. Kim Jong-il, one simply can't argue with that kind of testimony!
Why did it take more than 40 years to write the gospels when the Apostles were supposed to publish and spread the word to the whole world? Were they saving up to buy pencils? Nothing in the gospels is written from the view point of an eyewitness. It is just a fictional story.
Ebal the Atheist
Persecution
rubbish
@zugokku123 Christian Apologists just make up any stuff that they think will fly in order to explain away problems.
Assumes facts not in evidence,
Ebal the Atheist