Josephus and other contemporaries on Jesus

[Minimalist]

Oh. my  John Meier.  You do know he is one of those catholick fuckers, right shithead?  Alice Wheatley investigated and dismissed the so-called Arabic copies.  They too, like everything else, derive from Eusebius' forgery.  Try again, dripshit.

[Abaddon_ire]

I find this all fascinating in a "car wreck" sort of way.

Seems to me that there are few possibilities:

A: There was an actual Jesus wandering the Levant
B: There were a bunch of itinerant preachers wandering the Levant who all got munged together.
C: There was no Jesus at all
D: There was a god wandering the Levant performing oddly bovine "miracles"
E: Something else (suggestions welcome)

Regardless, I really don't care. There is insufficient actual evidence to make a determination one way or the other and even if there were, it really doesn't wash. No matter how one spins it, it still does not add up to a divine Jebus in any way.

Why folks on both sides get all bent out of shape over whether a homeless religious wingnut existed or not 2,000 years ago is puzzling to say the least to this atheist. Homeless religious wingnuts exist today, Why can't they exist any other time?

To the true "bleevers" I shrug and say "sure, A religious wingnut may have existed. Not a problem, really"

To the atheists I say "Why should we give a rat's posterior?" . After all, we know religious cranks were ten a penny in the first century Levant. Mandaeanism promoted JtB as the true Messiah, so it ain't like one can pretend that religious cranks did not abound in the region.

[Minimalist]

[The Grand Nudger]

  An obscure preacher telling people to pay taxes to Caesar wasn't a threat to Rome, especially in an area hostile to Roman rule

That;s an example of rehabilitation.  It comes from matthew, where "jesus" is made into a god from birth, puts a mans severed ear back on, the jews are stripped of their status as the chosen people, and rome washes it;s hands of the whole mess.   

Why folks on both sides get all bent out of shape over whether a homeless religious wingnut existed or not 2,000 years ago is puzzling to say the least to this atheist. Homeless religious wingnuts exist today, Why can't they exist any other time?

They can, do and did.  The mythicist position doesn;t assert otherwise.  It posits that the character found in the gospels is just that, a character.  A narrative vehicle manufactured for theology, not a biography (even a loose one).  

To the atheists I say "Why should we give a rat's posterior?" . After all, we know religious cranks were ten a penny in the first century Levant. Mandaeanism promoted JtB as the true Messiah, so it ain't like one can pretend that religious cranks did not abound in the region.

That I don;t believe in gods is really irrelevant to my interest in the story.  The story exists, understanding the nature of that story and how it came to be constructed gives a picture into history and culture and a foundation from which to understand the eventual evolution of a religion which has had an immense impact on humanity.  

That;s why we™ care.

[Abaddon_ire]

That;s why we™ care.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I care because theists seek to impose their position. They want to legally enshrine their whacko belief in a beardy bloke in the sky into LAW. I am all fine with them privately believing whatever superstition they happen to like today. Go to it, I say. Believe whatever bonkers claim you like. The line, however, is drawn when they try to impose their crackpottery on everyone else.

[Succubus]

Why would anyone mention a quelled uprising that ultimately lead to a gubernatorial power shift in the region which ultimately lead to the insurrection and destruction of the region? yes indeed that would be totally uncharastic for a historian to mention the events preceding the obliteration of jerusalem and the wholesale slaughter of it's people and culture.

This happened centuries later, how the fuck could early writers know this?

[Angrboda]

[Minimalist]

I'm sure dripshit thinks it is inspired by fucking God.

[Drich]

[Minimalist]

Minimalist Wrote: I'm sure dripshit thinks it is inspired by fucking God.

and I'me sure what ever nut ball conspiracy you currently are running with is the true hidden truth.

---

You can bet your sorry ass that it does not include the absurd tale of a dead jew coming back to life to atone for your fucking sins, moron.  Talk about "nut ball."  You know, you have to be really fucking stupid to believe that.

You qualify.