(January 30, 2016 at 2:11 pm)Constable Dorfl Wrote:(January 29, 2016 at 12:26 pm)athrock Wrote: On "Christians" and "Chrestians" in Tacitus’ Annals
(Detail of the gap where an "e" was replaced by an "i".)
From time to time in this forum and elsewhere on the Internet, atheists persist in grasping desperately for any means to call the historical existence of Jesus into question. One common tactic is to undermine the significance of the witness of Tacitus as found in his history of Rome, Annals. Wikipedia addresses the controversy in an article as follows:
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In summary, this article contains the following points and explanations regarding the i/e gap:
1. The terms “Chrestianos” and “Christianos” (as well as “Chrestus” and “Christus”) were used interchangeably during this period without any impact on the meaning of the passages in question rendering the entire kerfuffle moot.
2. It is possible that Tacitus intentionally wrote “Chrestianos” originally and then used the word “Christos” immediately after to demonstrate his own superior knowledge.
3. It is possible that Tacitus wrote “Chrestianos” and that a scribe in the 11th century corrected what he thought to be a blunder by Tacitus by changing the “e” to an “I”.
4. It is possible that Tacitus wrote “Christianos” and that a later scribe wrote “Chrestianos” –an error subsequently corrected back to the original “Christianos”.
Thanks for posting evidence which disproves your argument, you little ball sucking shit you.
Brilliant riposte, Constable.
A truly dazzling display of the intellectual and rhetorical prowess of the "bright" side.