RE: Atheists being asked about the existence of Jesus
January 13, 2019 at 9:54 am
(This post was last modified: January 13, 2019 at 9:55 am by Acrobat.)
(January 13, 2019 at 9:44 am)Der/die AtheistIn Wrote:(January 13, 2019 at 8:47 am)Acrobat Wrote: I think people look at those who deny Jesus historically existed, like they would flat earthers, or holocaust denialist. We have first hand accounts of someone who met his disciples and brother, we have Josephus writing of his brothers death, we a number of sayings, parables, stories incorporating a unique style of irony, reversals of expectstions, etc.. in mutiple texts, attributed to none other than Jesus.
In fact Jesus was acknowledged as historical person even from staunch Roman opponent said of Christianity.
If you try and explain all the events that transpired and gave rise to the Christian movement, without a historical Jesus, it’s not long before it drifts into the mother of all conspiracy theories, that you start sounding like someone suggesting sandyhook was staged
Do you believe that Jesus actually existed?
In my case I am not sure he didn't exist. There are many possibilities. Maybe he was based off one or more people who actually existed and didn't have the exact name.
Yes I believe he existed. I also don’t do maybe, like maybe I’m a brain in a vat.
You take the variety of evidences and form a most likely conclusion based on them. Historians and others have long been able to break up the gospels, NT writings and confer what they see as belonging to the historical Jesus’s life and message, and other that didn’t.
The world of truth here is dependent on explanations with greater explanatory power.
