(August 13, 2015 at 4:59 am)Redbeard The Pink Wrote:
Fuck, really?
Ok, we're talking 1st to 4th century if we're describing the early spread of Christianity, right? Just a few extant Greco-Roman Mysteries at the time include:
The Cult of Attis
The Cult of Cybele
The Mysteries of Isis
The Dionysian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries
The Mithraic Mysteries
The Cult of Sabazios
The Samothracean Mysteries
That doesn't sound like very many Redbeard. But anyway that list is meaningless on its own unless you also provide me data that shows from the 4th to 1st centuries BC there was significantly less messianic sects.
(August 13, 2015 at 4:59 am)Redbeard The Pink Wrote: When I say "hard evidence" I mean something other than what was written about him. You telling me that scholars say hard evidence exists is next to meaningless. What evidence?
What makes you qualified to decide what "hard evidence" means as opposed to actual serious historians like Ehrman?
When a historian says there is hard evidence, and he is qualified to make such a statement; then I'm inclined to believe there is hard evidence. Just like I believe Finkelstein in matters pertaining to ancient Palestine. I don't go and look for the crackpots at the extremes and then go and side with them when they claim that the evidence that the serious respected historians have is rubbish. If that's your argument then it's meaningless. If your argument really is that you think that the evidence that serious historians are interested in iss meaningless then perhaps tell me where I might find the hard evidence for the existence of Ned Kelly? Yes, OK they found his remains a few years ago and reburied them a couple of years ago, and they have a bust of him. Everything else is a written record. So that's just two pieces of what you would claim is "hard evidence" - and he only died 130 years ago. Perhaps you could tell me please what "hard evidence" we have that Shakespeare existed? What "hard evidence" do we have that Newton existed?
You aren't a qualified historian, and you aren't qualified to provide an answer for that. I'm not qualified either - all I'm qualified to do is quote the experts that are; and as I've shown you, they say there is hard evidence.
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
