The Historical Reliability of the New Testament

[downbeatplumb]

And how could anyone but Mary possibly have known she was a virgin?

And my answer was: Someone asked.

Whoa. That's "unpersuasive speculation" if I ever saw it.   

Well I can see a male dominated judgemental society that make ISIS look like pansy liberals would have just been dandy with that explanation when confronted with a pregnant teen who joseph had not known in the biblical sense.

"Sure" they would have gone. "that makes sense"[/sarcasm]

She would have been stoned to death and you know it.

by the way what do you make of the jesus the child killer as described in the infancy gospel.

In one book, Jesus is described as playing by a stream with some other children. While the other children are probably just splashing around, Jesus is digging pools of water next to the bank, in which he forms statues of birds out of the muddy clay. Being a miracle-worker, he then turns the bird-statues into real, living birds, which then fly away. Observing this, a child comes by and proceeds to splash the water in the pools with a stick. Jesus does not take kindly to his playmate’s antics, and uses his spell-casting powers to wreak vengeance on him:

“O evil, ungodly, and foolish one, what hurt did the pools and the
waters do thee? Behold, now also thou shalt be withered like a tree,
and shalt not bear leaves, neither root, nor fruit.” And straightway that
lad withered up wholly.

— Infancy Gospel of Thomas 3:2-3
Just a little later in the same day, Jesus is gallivanting about town performing errands as well as the occasional miracle when a boy accidentally bumps against him in the street. What would Jesus do, you ask? This time, he lacks the patience to watch him wither and die:

Jesus was provoked and said unto him, “Thou shalt not finish thy
course.” And immediately he fell down and died.

— Infancy Gospel of Thomas 4:1

Read more at [url=http://www.themonastery.org/blog/2011/01/jesus-the-child-killing-dragon-tamer/#bOkVo8piguwiiYDZ.99

http://www.themonastery.org/blog/2011/01...uwiiYDZ.99

Notice that this gospel was written around 80 ad putting it around the same age as the canonical gospels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infancy_Gospel_of_Thomas

So every single argument you gave to support those based on age also relates to the one that contains the story of killer christ.

Enjoy