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"Tell the chef, the beer is on me."
So what do the mainstream (and non-Christian) scholars say about all this? Surprisingly very little – of substance anyway. Only Bart Ehrman and Maurice Casey have thoroughly attempted to prove Jesus’ historical existence in recent times. Their most decisive point? The Gospels can generally be trusted – after we ignore the many, many bits that are untrustworthy – because of the hypothetical (i.e. non-existent) sources behind them. Who produced these hypothetical sources? When? What did they say? Were they reliable? Were they intended to be accurate historical portrayals, enlightening allegories, or entertaining fictions?
Ehrman and Casey can’t tell you – and neither can any New Testament scholar.
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“— Denounce candidate who used Jesus' words to incite violence against President Obama | Faithful AmericaJoshua Black, a candidate for state representative, voiced his agreement that "it's time to arrest and hang him high," then went on to state, "This would be exactly what the President has done to others, and, as Jesus said, 'the measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you again.'"
Black's rhetoric is unusually outrageous, but it's just the latest example in a pattern of conservative Republicans exploiting Christianity to advance a hateful agenda and vilify President Obama.
A few Republicans in Florida have begun to criticize Joshua Black's comments, but if the Republican Party is serious about putting an end to this kind of offensive rhetoric, they need to publicly denounce Black's candidacy and assure voters that he won't receive any support from the party.
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“ American Biblical scholar Joseph Atwill will be appearing before the British public for the first time in London on the 19th of October to present a controversial new discovery: ancient confessions recently uncovered now prove, according to Atwill, that the New Testament was written by first-century Roman aristocrats and that they fabricated the entire story of Jesus Christ. His presentation will be part of a one-day symposium entitled "Covert Messiah" at Conway Hall in Holborn (full details can be found at http://www.covertmessiah.com). ”— [-UK-] Ancient Confession Found: 'We Invented Jesus Christ'
“ The vast majority of Biblical historians believe there is evidence sufficient to place Jesus’ existence beyond reasonable doubt. Many believe the New Testament documents alone suffice firmly to establish Jesus as an actual, historical figure. I question these views. In particular, I argue (i) that the three most popular criteria by which various non-miraculous New Testament claims made about Jesus are supposedly corroborated are not sufficient, either singly or jointly, to place his existence beyond reasonable doubt, and (ii) that a prima facie plausible principle concerning how evidence should be assessed – a principle I call the contamination principle – entails that, given the large proportion of uncorroborated miracle claims made about Jesus in the New Testament documents, we should, in the absence of independent evidence for an historical Jesus, remain sceptical about his existence. ”— Stephen Law: EVIDENCE, MIRACLES AND THE EXISTENCE OF JESUS
“— Jesus Christ: An Artifice for Aggression - Sita Ram GoelJesus Christ: An Artifice for Aggression - Sita Ram Goel
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