(October 12, 2013 at 11:36 am)Beta Ray Bill Wrote: This is an intriguing theory, but I have a couple problems with it:No one takes Atwill seriously, he isn't even a real scholar to begin with.
1) Were the Jews really that much of a threat? I'm no history expert, but I've never heard of overehelming Jewish missionary work. And they were crushed quite easily when they got annoying.
2) Why are there over 40 Gospels? Wouldn't it have been more useful to the Romans to write one version and stick to that?
3) what about Paul's writings? He was the first writer, but he told almost nothing of the life of Jesus. What purpose would his writings serve (especially since some of them were written in prison)?
This sounds like another Zeitgeist to me. Sounds good, but it just isn't plausible.
Firstly I'll address the point that he makes that Jesus didn't exist as a historical person, this can be answered by any historian who studies the period, here is Bart Ehrman on that very subject:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUQMJR2BP1w
I could have chosen to use a Christian instead, however Ehrman does just as good a job on this one.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
