(July 5, 2016 at 9:12 pm)SteveII Wrote:(July 5, 2016 at 8:12 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: If you think his point was that these individuals resembled Christian narratives beyond the point that both involve incredible claims of miracles and other incredible acts, then I think you must have approached his article with a great deal of bias. It appears you missed his point completely.
I understood the point Carrier was trying to make: people are gullible. My point was that I felt the circumstances surrounding these examples were stretches. For example, Apollonius - other than the Adana Inscriptions, written around 220AD, 200 years after the guy, we know next to nothing. So when Philostratus wrote it, he would have had access to the gospels and the life of Jesus. Read the Historical Fact part of the Wiki articles.
In addition, what has changed til today? People still believe all kinds of things and will follow anyone who offers hope or a better ____.
If only you were aware of your cognitive bias here. It's clear to me that you need Jesus to be true. Thus, the special pleading.
