(February 18, 2014 at 8:54 am)Esquilax Wrote: Just "good reason." You never provide any resources at any point! It's all just assertion after assertion!
The Bible is fully historically accurate in it's depictions of historical locations, rulers and peoples and their cultures, archaeology and recorded history backs all these details. You would find the events of the Exodus in the archaeological record had it been on the scale the Bible describes but we can say they added to the drama a little and that's not quite what happened. Much of history is vague and lost to us anyway we only have a rough approximation, particularly when you're dealing with pre-literate cultures.
Quote:Leaving aside that the Jewish slavery in Egypt never happened
The Egyptians kept slaves so the ancestors of the Jewish people may well have been kept as slaves. They may not have been defined ethnic group at this point so no-one at the time will have noticed.
Quote:, you still aren't answering the question, you're just explaining the problem: telling me what the bible describes doesn't tell us why the obviously superior alternative didn't happen.
What is the obviously superior alternative and what makes it superior?
Quote:The concept of a universal message is entirely undermined by the fact that it was so selectively deployed and took centuries to reach the entire world
It took time and effort to do as all good things worth doing take.
Quote:when the messenger was entirely capable of doing it in an actually universal manner.
In his Earthly life he was confined to his geographical area in his resurrected life he covers the entire world. Christianity began life as a movement within Judaism but the universal nature and importance of the message to all humanity was apparent.
Quote:And did you ever think that some of the conflict in the world was due to the fact that the entirely convincing presence of the messiah didn't occur in those conflicted corners of the world?
He's convincing enough just not for people like yourself who seek to deny him but you're allowed to due to the fact you have your own freedom of choice.
Quote:Gotta love that cultural re-appropriation, you scumbag.
This is only cultural re-appropriation if you don't believe God was a guiding hand in human history and all religious faith was made up bull. But I'm not saying this therefore I'm not appropriating anything I'm saying you will find God speaking to various people throughout history and you can see the common ground between the various world faiths.
Quote:Leaving aside the absolute, unfounded assertion you just made
I can back my assertions up with reasoning and evidence you're the one making unfounded assertions. I haven't seen you support anything you say with reason or supply any evidence, you state opinions as fact as atheists do because that's all you have.
Quote:you still haven't answered the question: why did China not get a messiah to spread the message of god through their area simultaneous with Jesus?
They did the Messiah being Jesus Christ and they're accepting Christianity in ever increasing numbers today, Christianity even spread there in the 7th century. Christianity is for all humanity equally you see it's not a tribal/racial thing. It doesn't mean God ignored them before that though he had a hand in their culture, beliefs and history as he did with everyone else. Find me one atheist culture or civilization.
Quote:Alright, you've been told over and over about this, and I've just had it. I've had it with your refusal to listen, with your inability to let go of bare assertions... it's horribly frustrating.
You're the one making bare assertions I'm providing reasoning and historical evidence and facts. You are ignoring it and providing nothing of substance to counter it. I'm open to decent well thought out counter argument presented in a civilized way without ad hominems, accusations of things I'm not doing and name calling. You know you're losing the argument when you resort to that.
Quote:And yet for some reason you run from my debate challenge...
If you have a genuine debate on some kind of an interesting point that's great but I'm still waiting for you to present this.
Quote:More bare assertions. Yawn.
It's a point of view based on the evidence of human history and the revelation of scripture but you have an objection and an alternative idea with evidence and reasoning to support it in opposition to this feel free to present it. So far you have done no such thing.
Come all ye faithful joyful and triumphant.