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Current time: November 16, 2024, 6:33 pm

Poll: Did Jesus of Nazareth exist as an historical person?
This poll is closed.
Yes, absolutely; like Julius Caesar.
18.03%
11 18.03%
Probably.
19.67%
12 19.67%
Unknown.
24.59%
15 24.59%
Not probably.
19.67%
12 19.67%
Definitively not.
18.03%
11 18.03%
Total 61 vote(s) 100%
* You voted for this item. [Show Results]

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Did Jesus exist?
RE: Did Jesus exist?
(February 3, 2016 at 3:05 am)Rhythm Wrote:
(February 3, 2016 at 1:58 am)Irrational Wrote: So believe what you wish to believe, but I can't agree that you're being reasonable here.

You say this as you appeal to probability..with no math included, while begging the question, in pursuit of a non sequitur...and what I'm being "unreasonable" about is not accepting any of that.....

OFC I can't use it, belief isn't even a factor.  Even if I did believe in HJ your argument would still be useless, I still couldn't use it to demonstrate the truth of the HJ proposition, and it's being tore up from the floor to the ceiling still doesn't demonstrate the reverse.  This argument very literally tells us nothing.

I accept jesus for what he demonstrably is and no more.  A character in the NT.

We're talking history here, not deductive logic or maths ...

Perhaps you've never had to do textual analysis of historical records.
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RE: Did Jesus exist?
You mean that I should just take an irrational proposition floated in the absence of evidence to be true because were talking history? Thanks, I'll pass.

Textual analysis..what are you analyzing them against...invalid inferences? Good luck.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Did Jesus exist?
Maybe the authors deliberately included what may look like "embarresing details" in order to try and sneakily add credibility.

But I agree, I don't see how anyone can claim to know what would embarress an unknown author. And even if it did embarress them, I still don't see it as much of an argument. We're then assuming they are being dishonest enough to miss stuff out, to try and establish that they are actually being honest and we should believe what they say. Except, you know, they talk about a load of ridiculous shit that didn't happen as well. Kind of blows anyone's credibility for me, and I'd stick to what could actually be verified. I wouldn't take their word for squat.
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RE: Did Jesus exist?
or how anyone can claim to know what would or would not be historical on the basis of embarrassment.........

Forget all the scheming. No need to reference anyone trying to trick anybody or manufacture credibility. Maybe the author included "embarrassing details" because they were part of the tradition, or maybe the author simply believed them to be true.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Reply
RE: Did Jesus exist?
(February 3, 2016 at 4:44 am)robvalue Wrote: Maybe the authors deliberately included what may look like "embarresing details" in order to try and sneakily add credibility.

But I agree, I don't see how anyone can claim to know what would embarress an unknown author.

Yes, we can, because if the text written by the author suggests that the author was embarrassed or inconvenienced by a certain detail, and tries to rectify it or be an apologist about it, then we can know (not absolute knowledge, mind you, but it's still reasonable knowledge).
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RE: Did Jesus exist?
You might infer that the author was embarrassed by the contents, I'm being very generous...but what does that have to do with the historicity of the contents?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Reply
RE: Did Jesus exist?
(February 3, 2016 at 4:53 am)Rhythm Wrote: You might infer that the author was embarrassed by the contents, I'm being very generous...but what does that have to do with the historicity of the contents?

Ok, good question, but do you ever attempt to answer it with better (more parsimonious) answers than the one being suggested?

So a Gospel author is inconvenienced by a certain detail regarding the Messiah so he attempts to address it by coming up with an ad hoc explanation for it that would make it look more convincing to the readers. Why is he inconvenienced by it? And why try to fix it? If the theologically embarrassing detail was not true, why bother to inconvenience himself by mentioning it at all?
Reply
RE: Did Jesus exist?
(February 3, 2016 at 5:03 am)Irrational Wrote: Ok, good question, but do you ever attempt to answer it with better (more parsimonious) answers than the one being suggested?
Like...."it was part of the tradition" or "because the author thought it was true".........you mean?

Quote:So a Gospel author is inconvenienced by a certain detail regarding the Messiah so he attempts to address it by coming up with an ad hoc explanation for it that would make it look more convincing to the readers. Why is he inconvenienced by it?
Wouldn't know, wouldn't know where to begin to determine that, and it doesn't matter anyway. 

Quote:And why try to fix it?
Wouldn't know, wouldn't know where to begin to determine that, and it doesn't matter anyway.

Quote:If the theologically embarrassing detail was not true, why bother to inconvenience himself by mentioning it at all?
see up at the very top.....but it doesn't matter anyway....

The trouble, and you're already running into it, is that your inferences are not valid, not that your propositions are unsound.  Toiling away trying to establish your propositions is avoiding the problem the argument -actually- has. Howsabout we handle that first and then see how sound the propositions are?

So imagine that you do know what embarrasses an author, and that you do know why he tries to fix it, and that you know why he mentions it.  What does -any- of that have to do with the historicity of the contents?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
Reply
RE: Did Jesus exist?
Seems like an argument from incredulity.

How about they did all that deliberately, to try and make it seem true? This is propaganda, after all.

Or there was some other reason to "include" that detail, true or not, which is now lost. But it proved difficult to weave into the narrative.

Or they are just shit at storytelling.

Or we don't know why they appear to be embarrassed, if that is the case.
Feel free to send me a private message.
Please visit my website here! It's got lots of information about atheism/theism and support for new atheists.

Index of useful threads and discussions
Index of my best videos
Quickstart guide to the forum
Reply
RE: Did Jesus exist?
(February 3, 2016 at 5:10 am)robvalue Wrote: Seems like an argument from incredulity.

How about they did all that deliberately, to try and make it seem true? This is propaganda, after all.

Or there was some other reason to "include" that detail, true or not, which is now lost. But it proved difficult to weave into the narrative.

Or they are just shit at storytelling.

Or we don't know why they appear to be embarrassed, if that is the case.

That is why I said more parsimonious. Yours are possible explanations (and if I'm honest, a bit silly for the last two), but not better explanations.

Rhythm gave two possible answers which are: "part of the tradition" and "authors accept it as true", neither of which negate the historicity of Jesus, so in other words, incomplete answers.
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