"Gospel Quest" (or The Jesus Timeline)

[Undeceived]

Minimalist, are you saying that the majority of Bible scholars are wrong about the Bible? How is that different from saying astrophysicists don't know anything about stars?
I don't mean to make an argument from authority here, but neither should we resort to ad hominem.

Brakeman inspired me to respond to this post. When I first read it, I had disregarded it as the usual attempt to compare theology to science. I've grown a bit tired of pointing out how fields of science like astrophysics are studies of objective realities that are measurable and the tests/evidence can be conducted/discovered independently by another scientist in that field.

By "objective reality", I mean measurements of mass, kinetic energy, temperature, velocity, distance etc. can be measured in quantifiable ways. Personal opinions do not enter into it.

When an astrophysicist publishes an article, is it a straight line of facts, or is it an interpretation of the facts? For example, when they observe a star's "wobble" do they merely publish the sky coordinates on a timeline, or do they add their own hypothesis, namely that the "star" is actually a planet? In order to get anywhere in science, interpretations must be made, right?

---

John's Jesus was still fuzzy on the identity issue but it was here that we start to see a Trinitarian Jesus, one who said "I and my father are one". Were you to read the Synoptics in isolation, you would not have any idea that Jesus was anything more than a holy man or a demigod offspring of Yahweh.

During Christ's trial, the chief priests ask Him point blank, "Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." And He said,
• "I am." (Mark 14:60-62)
• "Yes, it is as you say." (Matt. 26: 63-65)
• "You are right in saying I am." (Luke 22:67-70)
Matthew 27:43 "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus heals a paralytic. He had authority to forgive sins, which is something only God Himself can do. Then, to authenticate His claim, He demonstrated His power by healing the paralytic. Also, in Matthew 2:11; 14:33; 28:9, 17 and Luke 24:52 He accepts worship.
Matthew 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.'”
And then there's all the prophecies He fulfilled, something the synoptics authors could not have missed when they wrote:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Miscellan...hecies.htm
In the Jewish context, a "son" is the heir and equal to his father. http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-Son-of-God.html Moreover, Luke and Matthew make it clear the Jesus could not have been a demigod, since he was virgin-born.

---

Also, this date allows for the all-so-interesting celestial dance between 3-2 BC, which may have been what the Magi saw:
http://www.bethlehemstar.net/setting-the...ists-star/

3-2 BCE would have been later than 4 BCE. Herod died in 4 BCE and so he couldn't have been talking with the wise men two years later.

The website makes the case that Herod died in 1 BC. There's a case for it, too:
http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/...608x245953
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-aki...-of-jesus/
None of this is conclusive; it just goes to show how little we know. The Bible is ambiguous. Any "proving" or "disproving" it will probably involve a lot of opinions. If the gospels are true, its authors would have focused on doctrine and the character of Jesus-- their contemporaries were well aware of recent events, a preliminary block of evidence would have served little purpose. If the gospels are false, there are no mathematical contradictions to indicate such.

---

When you get to it, I'm just dying for you to show us the single point vectoring that enabled the magi and shepherds to pinpoint the right house with a stationary guide millions of miles away.

I can't stand behind the website 100% (it's not scripture), but you might find it interesting. It involves science (imagine that)! Larson uses a professional astronomy program to determine the stars' formation at the time of Jesus' birth. It included one star/planet (Jupiter) coming into conjunction with several others, touching the Leo and Virgin constellations. Thus, the Magi would interpret royalty (Jupiter) from the tribe of Judah (Leo/lion). And they would go to the palace in Jerusalem and ask Herod if he knew anything about this king, which is exactly what they did.