RE: The Historical Reliability of the New Testament
June 2, 2015 at 11:48 am
(This post was last modified: June 2, 2015 at 1:14 pm by Mudhammam.)
What might we expect to read HAD the Gospel writers been credible eyewitnesses?
- The author going to great lengths to document precisely when and where each event occurred
- names of everyone who was present so as to encourage the reader to investigate matters for his or her self
- details of the various reactions such genuine miracles would have evoked
- questions and answers as to the different hypotheses of what was witnessed
- references to other specific written accounts of the same events
- delineation as to when the author was personally present at an event and when he is relating what others have told him, including who those others were, what relation to the event they have, and why they are to be trusted
I'm sure there could be much more added to this preliminary list, but being that the materials we possess completely fail this basic test of moderate skepticism and credibility that any actual eyewitness would display, it's pretty obvious that the authors were no more genuine in their attempts to convey accurate history than modern-day Christians like Randy are in their efforts to read them as such.
- The author going to great lengths to document precisely when and where each event occurred
- names of everyone who was present so as to encourage the reader to investigate matters for his or her self
- details of the various reactions such genuine miracles would have evoked
- questions and answers as to the different hypotheses of what was witnessed
- references to other specific written accounts of the same events
- delineation as to when the author was personally present at an event and when he is relating what others have told him, including who those others were, what relation to the event they have, and why they are to be trusted
I'm sure there could be much more added to this preliminary list, but being that the materials we possess completely fail this basic test of moderate skepticism and credibility that any actual eyewitness would display, it's pretty obvious that the authors were no more genuine in their attempts to convey accurate history than modern-day Christians like Randy are in their efforts to read them as such.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
