Rewriting the bible

[abaris]

Yeah, take away the magic from the story and what's left is as impressive as some reporter guy called Clark Kent who dresses up in tights and a cape in his spare time. Or the Visible Man.

May I just add that Jesus in tights and cape can make for a pretty inspiring image.

Ehrman, despite his protestations to the contrary, cannot shake free of the idea that there were "originals" floating around in the first century. Suppose that is where he goes wrong? Maybe there weren't. Maybe this jesus stuff is simply a second century invention and the earliest fragments we have WERE the originals? It doesn't alter Ehrman's work in any way as what he traces are the careless errors of scribes or the deliberate work of editors in later versions for political or doctrinal reasons. He makes an assumption that there are earlier versions now lost to us but it is only an assumption. We have no evidence of any jesus shit from the first century at all.

Yeah, that's where he loses me too, since I studied history and what that word actually meant in the classical age. It wasn't what we would call history today. It was meant to present an ideal. And all the greek writers collecting the campfire legends of a supposed Jesus walking the lands and doing his miracle routines were actually following that line of thinking. Also, what all the apologists fail to mention is, that it was a time of miracles. Miracles and the supernatural were considered normals even by otherwise rational roman authors. Roman generals used to call on their augurs before going into battle and this is presented in ancient records of so called history.

Anyway, my point, concerning Jesus is, that even if he lived (I'm open to that possibility though not to his divine character), was embelished with older myths from the region.

Here's a list of christian myths and their pagan origins:

http://www.pocm.info/getting_started_pocm.html