RE: Atheists:Can you disprove the resurrection or Jesus' existence?
September 2, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Quote:So, in essence, I have just Harry Limed myself. The uncovering of the truth has just driven my point further. Given that there is no census to speak of, it's even less likely that Jesus' existence can be verified.
Except that when the Romans conducted a census it was to determine the number of Roman Citizens, Rev. Only in Italy were free born males considered citizens as a birth right. In the provinces citizenship was bestowed as a reward for services rendered - for instance completion of a military enlistment. So, its something of a strawman argument to say that there are no census records of this particular family when there NEVER would have been such records. The Romans would not have cared and Herod Antipas collected whatever taxes he did from his kingdom but his tribute to Rome was set by the treaty of alliance. It could not have been all that onerous as Antipas still had the funds to build the cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias.
Far more compelling is the archaeological evidence that "Nazareth" did not exist as even a village (let alone a city) in the early first century AD and the historical evidence that said city was not mentioned in Josephus' extensive writings on his campaigns in the area nor in the OT, itself.
Our current troll can whine all he wants about "empty tombs" and other such bullshit but the story has no archaeological or historical underpinnings at all. How many bricks can you pull out of the foundation before the house collapses?
