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A strange but curious question: if you had a time machine...
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(February 9, 2015 at 3:56 pm)Jenny A Wrote: The real question is if any theist would dare go back to look at the beginnings of their own religion. Indeed. I already have an immortal fictional character created who was born before the time of Jesus and I am attempting to work out a way to incorporate into a novel how he explains what he experienced, that there was no such individual as Jesus in existence during that time period.
"Never trust a fox. Looks like a dog, behaves like a cat."
~ Erin Hunter RE: A strange but curious question: if you had a time machine...
February 9, 2015 at 4:20 pm
(This post was last modified: February 9, 2015 at 4:20 pm by Pyrrho.)
(February 9, 2015 at 2:16 pm)Dystopia Wrote:(February 9, 2015 at 2:02 pm)TheMessiah Wrote: The historical Jesus most likely existed. Yes, they will. First, there are no contemporary writings that mention Jesus. This is quite striking, considering his supposed significance. And contrasts greatly with people like Socrates, who existed hundreds of years earlier, about whom we have three contemporary accounts. One would think that if Jesus were anywhere near as important as he is purported to be, that someone would have written about him while he was alive. But we have absolutely nothing written about him during his supposed lifetime. Second, the stories about Jesus get more detailed the further in time one gets from him historically. This is somewhat obscured by the fact that the Bible has the books NOT ordered chronologically from when they were written, but in an order that helps promote the religion by having more detailed accounts put first in the New Testament rather than having the earlier writings first. More details more removed from the time suggests that they are fiction rather than reports of actual events. Third, the stories about Jesus resemble earlier stories about divine beings, which suggests that the stories are simply copies of old ideas rather than an attempt at actual history. Fourth, the Bible books contradict each other on key points. For example, the gospels all tell us different stories of the resurrection. The best description of that bit that I have seen is an article entitled "The First Easter: Evidence for the Resurrection Evaluated" by John K. Naland in Free Inquiry, Vol. 8, No. 2, Spring 1988. But you can get an idea about this with a simple online search for:
Sixth, the claims made in the stories are such that, were they true, they would certainly have been mentioned by historians of the time. For example, the idea of a star guiding the wise men from the east to a stable. Aside from the fact that a star cannot guide you to a specific stable (so it is nonsensical in itself), if there were some special astronomical event, the Romans and others would have commented on it. Yet there is no such record of any such thing by anyone else anywhere in the world. This is proof that the book is fiction, not anything real at all. The upshot is, we have zero evidence that there was any guy named Jesus upon which the stories are based. Of course, there might possibly have been some individual who inspired the stories, but we have no reason to believe it, as there is no evidence for it. Of course, many people do not like a conclusion that something is unknown, and so they will desperately cling to something, to pretend that they know what they do not know. Frankly, though, it makes no difference whether there was some guy upon whom the stories are based, as the stories overall must be false anyway. "A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence." — David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
RE: A strange but curious question: if you had a time machine...
February 9, 2015 at 4:26 pm
(This post was last modified: February 9, 2015 at 4:34 pm by TheMessiah.)
Was anyone here involved in this thread? http://www.rationalskepticism.org/christ...-t219.html
If not, I highly recommend it. (February 9, 2015 at 1:56 pm)TheMessiah Wrote: I've thought of this scenario, and I'm just interested to hear out different thoughts. It sounds a bit strange, but I am genuinely interested so hear me out. Most likely, all one would see would be quite boring, like some guy writing a book of fiction. If you enjoy watching people write, you might also enjoy watching paint dry. Imagine watching Joseph Smith writing his nonsense, or any of the Bible authors writing their drivel. It would be tedious in the extreme. "A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence." — David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
I imagine a bunch of old guys writing the bible as a joke. One would be like "cool story, bros. Needs moar dragons"
http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bibl...t-Dragons/
Kama Sutra development.
RE: A strange but curious question: if you had a time machine...
February 9, 2015 at 5:00 pm
(This post was last modified: February 9, 2015 at 5:04 pm by Minimalist.)
(February 9, 2015 at 3:36 pm)TheMessiah Wrote:(February 9, 2015 at 3:10 pm)Minimalist Wrote: And the evidence for that statement is? Zeus had an amazing effect on the Greeks. Did he exist? It's just special pleading without actual evidence.
As has been said, I'd rather visit some other religion than christianity, judaism or Islam. They're all a huge step back from the politheistic ones.
But I would like to check on the grave story, since the Romans usually weren't that great at treating the bodies of executed perps with respect. Usually they ended up in some gutter to rot, if they weren't left on the crosses for nature to take it's course. @Losty: There's a curious mixup in your sig. The first few lines adress the lover intimately as it should be, whilst the last line adresses him as a stranger. It should read "Alles werde ich für Dich tun". RE: A strange but curious question: if you had a time machine...
February 9, 2015 at 5:06 pm
(This post was last modified: February 9, 2015 at 5:08 pm by Losty.)
(February 9, 2015 at 5:02 pm)abaris Wrote: As has been said, I'd rather visit some other religion than christianity, judaism or Islam. They're all a huge step back from the politheistic ones. Yes, I have heard. I struggle with how to fix it because...ich liebe dich is something I say that is acceptable, but alles werde ich für dich tun is not. Anything I would do for you seems to require a more formal wording. It's complicated. But it works for us. Ps. It's not so much addressing him as a stranger but rather as my Master. :p |
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