[Serious] The Story

[The Grand Nudger]

No, I'm not, I'm including prehistory up to 200bce. Narrower..and narrower. Inconsequential, though - I offered an explanation for how deception and forgery don't really fit the narratives even if they aren't strictly factually accurate. It's there if you ever need it.

[Jehanne]

ps. As to forgery, every reference to Daniel in the second century and thereafter is treating him like a real person that underwent real events. Unless the conspiracy runs much deeper and everyone that references Daniel is playing along, you are committed to the fraud narrative. Because it doesn't sound like anyone knew he was a fictional character created to narrate the politics of the time.

I think your error is that you're acting like Daniel was the only Jewish apocalyptic document written:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalyptic_literature

[John 6IX Breezy]

I'm not sure what gave you that impression—I'm Adventist. The entire church was built on apocalyptic literature lol.

[Jehanne]

I'm not sure what gave you that impression—I'm Adventist. The entire church was built on apocalyptic literature lol.

Such was the tabloids of the day!

[Fake Messiah]

The level and extent of persecution of Christians by Rome has been exaggerated, but it was far from nonexistent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletianic_Persecution

Yeah, if you were to listen to Christians you would hear that they were constantly persecuted. Like during medieval times, Jews were stealing their kids and eating them, and Muslims also persecuted them. Even now, many Christians claim they are the most persecuted group ever. Even in places like Europe and the US Christians are in mortal danger and the most persecuted ever, especially white male Christians over the age of 35.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/...eport-says

And how brave of them to still remain Christian despite all the persecution.

[Paleophyte]

Growing up in the SDA church, I learned what I thought was a very common narrative on the story of the fall and subsequent redemption of mankind.

If anyone wants to answer, I'm curious what you believe the overarching biblical plot is—what is the story behind the scenes in other words—whether it's your own interpretation or the one you were taught. What led up to the creation mankind, and where is it all going after the fall?

(Or do you even process it as a fall/redemption story in the first place? Perhaps that phrasing is already too bounded for some interpretations.)

The same story where god lies, the snake tells the truth, and Adam and Eve get banished because god's worried about competition? Not the best basis for a theology.

A few centuries after he got tacked up, the church finally realized that they had an apocalyptic messiah with no apocalypse. Embarrassing just how often the world fails to end on cue from the lunatic fringe. Jesus, now unemployed, is put to work atoning for your sins, because that's not at all morally dubious. Of course there's always some bastard who has led a good life, so the church concocts The Fall to ensure that everybody is sinful from the instant that they're whelped. Turns out that substitutionary atonement for sins that you never committed by a failed messiah that never actually gave a sailing shit about you is a real money maker.