Rewriting the bible

[xpastor]

There may well have been a raving rabbi called Jesus walking the desert.

There "may" have been but what Ehrman...and Aslan, and lots of others forget is that there is only one story. That of the miracle-working godboy.

They are all trying to shrink it down to something they think is 'reasonable' but simply refuse to admit that in doing so they are writing a new story. In Ehrman's case it is particularly ironic since he has made a career out of blasting the shit out of xtians who take the 4 gospel stories that made the cut in the committee and trying to ram them together into what he derisively calls the gospel of markmatthewlukejohn.

That book does not exist. Neither does the one that Ehrman claims for his apocalyptic preacher.

Min, I have to say I find your narrative a good deal less credible than Ehrman's and in violation of Ockham's Razor. (Historical note: What we call Ockham's Razor was well-known to the scientists and philosophers of ancient times. Richard Carrier cites two places where the astronomer Ptolemy invoked it.)

If I understand your position (not just from the above post) you think that Christianity was "invented" in the 2nd century CE. I see some problems with that view.

1. Why would these unknown conspirators set their mythical hero at least 150 years earlier and then put into his mouth prophecies of the end which obviously did not come true?
   
2. Why would the forged pastoral epistles show a much more developed church government (bishops, presbyters, and deacons) than the wild and wooly situation depicted in Corinthians and other epistles thought to be genuine writings of Paul?
   
3. Why would these people have written four wildly divergent accounts of the life of their central figure?
   

Ehrman's explanation is much simpler. We know that 1st century Palestine was filled with apocalyptic preaching. One of those preachers made more of an impression than the others. My own explanation is that Jesus was the most eloquent, see for instance, the Sermon on the Mount and the parables. He was crucified by the Romans, and his followers dealt with the cognitive dissonance by believing that he had been resurrected. We have plentiful examples down through the ages of cults refusing to accpt the facts when their expectations were dashed. The little sect grew mainly because of the conversion of Paul, who was a talented and indefatigable worker. As the church in different regions met different situations, they fabricated sayings of Jesus and miracle stories to back up their position, and so we have 4 gospels which contradict each other on many points. I guess it could have been 6 or 7 gospels, but sentiment favored these four.