(January 28, 2016 at 6:34 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: That's how they worked, unless in this case they didn't. Your inductive argument is weak in a context of one-time-only events.
What's your historical evidence that failed C1 messianic revolutions can't give rise to greater revolutions?
I'm not sure I quite understand what you're trying to say. Perhaps if you unpack it a bit, I might be able to give a more targeted reply.
From what I think you're trying to say with the last sentence-
Because of the theory. The job of the Messiah was to be involved with the inauguration of God's kingdom. As revolutions go, they don't come greater. And this is an all-or-nothing total succeed or fail thing. If you fail, God was not with you, and what you were doing was meaningless.
Because of the practice. Many Messiahs came and died. At that point their movement stopped, so enough recorded history tells us.
When Paul writes “But we preach The Messiah as crucified, a stumbling block/scandal to the Jews...” his comment fits hand-in-glove with what contemporary historians like Josephus were saying was the universal reaction to dead Messiahs.
Which leads us to the challenging historical puzzle as to why Jesus was still seen as successful by his followers. Even more intriguingly, how they decided his death lead to the inauguration of God's kingdom. After all, dead Messiahs were the very definition of failure...