(February 1, 2016 at 4:56 am)robvalue Wrote: As far as Matthew goes, the most prominent example is him "recording" the event where the dead raise up and go wandering around. So either this actually happened but no one else noticed it or thought it worth commenting on, not even the other synoptics; or he made it up.
Which is most likely?
Would you treat any source where you know people are making shit up as reliable?
Matthew is based on at least two written pre-existing sources (proto-mark and "q" or some other sayings document), as well as oral embellishment and folklore. The fact that he includes some mythical features before and after the ministry itself (where Mark does not) does in no way negate the fact that Jesus delivered the sermon on the mount as is clearly proved by the existence of the Epistle of James which pre-dates Matthew by at least a decade.
Do we treat the entire gospel as "reliable"? Of course not, but that's not the point. Within there is some historicity and some things in particular we can say about the teachings and ministry of Jesus.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
