(November 21, 2015 at 4:50 am)robvalue Wrote: I think the best response is one we've had already: the question is irrelevant. Any link between a real person and the character in the bible is so weak as to be meaningless.
I find it very strange that anyone says it's meaningless. Just because new testament era history doesn't interest you, doesn't mean that it doesn't interest other people; and all mythologies are interesting subjects to some people, as are the anthropogenic elements at play here (that is the study of human culture and behaviour and changes over time).
I also find it strange you claim the link is "weak" whereas scholars do not find that, so what evidence do you have for your clam?
(November 21, 2015 at 4:50 am)robvalue Wrote: Some maniac wandered about preaching about the end of the world, and finally caused enough of an annoyance that he got executed. So what? Maybe he even blathered about being the son of God. I can do that too.
Why would you characterise someone like Jesus as a "maniac"? Do you simply characterise everyone as maniacs? All he did was teach from the Hebrew scriptures - lost of people did that back then in that region, and lots of people still do it today - does that make him a maniac? He also provided healings; and again lots of people did that back then, and lots still do it today: so are they all maniacs as well?
People holding to an imperfect view of the world is normal, as is the confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance.
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
