(March 31, 2015 at 9:47 pm)Minimalist Wrote:Quote: I should have mentioned that I think that Nestor is absolutely correct, that one should view the existence of Jesus exactly as one views the existence of other ancient people.
Then you need to delete the standard of "objective" from the OP and admit that you are willing to accept the subjective bullshit of believers in its place.
I am not.
I am saying that the exact same standards of evidence apply, whether we are discussing Jesus, Homer, or any other ancient person. Typically, all one has in these sorts of cases is testimony of other people. If you dismiss all testimony as irrelevant, you will have trouble establishing the existence of anyone from 2000 years ago or earlier. Somehow, though, I think you will agree that some people existed at that time...
My guess is that you have not been paying attention to my posts in this thread, or you would have observed me saying that I do not believe Jesus ever existed.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
