(September 13, 2017 at 12:25 pm)LadyForCamus Wrote:(September 13, 2017 at 10:19 am)SteveII Wrote: The quote you were referring to was about Paul. Even Bart Ehrman firmly believes Paul was real and wrote most of the epistles ascribed to him. He also believes the the NT is 99% today what it was when it was written.
Thank you for your response regarding that particular quote, though I'm still waiting for you to answer these questions I asked based on your statements: "I believe Paul was who he said he was", and, "I believe the epistles are what they appear to be."
My questions are:
1. What evidence lead you to these two beliefs?
2. Why do you find this evidence persuasive?
1. It is a long established view that Paul wrote at least most of the epistles ascribed to him. We have early copies of those letters. We are as certain as you can be that he wrote them (there is no reason to doubt).
2. If the skeptics are not skeptical, why should I be? I have no trouble believing the content--the letters make no extraordinary claims beyond what the gospels say--they are largely about Christian living.