Quote:
Originally Posted by dnlgfnk
At the risk of doing your homework for you, I'm aware that Richard Carrier criticizes Van Voorst. For a criticism of Carrier, I've got atheist historian Tim O'Neill warming up in the bullpen.
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Carrier, Van Voorst, O'Neill. Names. If we are going to discuss this writer v. that writer then it's all ad hominem and appeal to authority without addressing the issue under discussion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dnlgfnk
"The non-Christian testimonies to Jesus … show that contemporaries in the first and second century saw no reason to doubt Jesus’ existence...as far as we know, no ancient person ever seriously argued that Jesus did not exist."--Theissen and Merz, Historical Jesus
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Nor did they argue that Hercules or Dionysus did not exist although few today would argue that they did. Prior to Copernicus, Galileo and Newton there was no alternative to superstition. To argue that someone else's god does not exist was to invite a counter argument that your's does not exist. Boxcar wanted an example of an ancient who disputed the existence of Jesus. I gave him one who at least indirectly acknowledged the possibility.
How many different religions were there in the ancient world? Thousands. How many different religions are there today? Thousands. Can they all be true? No.
How many different sciences are there today? One. Did North Korea build its nukes using a different science than our guys in Alamogordo used? No. There are two things that are absolutely true about science:
- There is only one.
- It works.
If you get sick or are injured you go to the hospital. You do not go there for religion. You go there for the science. Because the science works. Even if the doctors tell you that you have an incurable disease the science still works because the science tells them they can't save you.
The question of the historicity of Jesus only came about as a serious discussion in the nineteenth century. It needed science to bring it about. It needs science to seriously investigate it. If no ancient writer steeped in superstition ever questioned it then that is not surprising. It's also irrelevant.
Question: Why is Jesus called Jesus? His name was Joshua. Jesus is a Greek name.
