Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

I think that using LC's theory as a working hypothesis provides a perspective that could be useful, even if it is wrong. My main concern is that he doesn't go far enough. For example, how do we know that Lucian wrote the works usually attributed to him? Are the same assumptions that we use when assi...

I'll say the same thing to you that I said to Earl Doherty: I admire that you've put yourself out there with your theory. it is easy for me to fire off a hundred questions since I have no skin in the game. So feel free to answer or not answer my questions here and elsewhere as you have time and inc...

(2) There are forgeries, frauds and interpolations in both pagan and Christian literature. Plutarch, Lucian, Plato, Seneca, all had texts purported to have been written by them. It would be surprising not to find it in Christian literature. The more famous the writer, the more likely that later aut...

From this it seems clear to me atm (also see comments below) that both Tertullian and Eusebius were not referring to any general persecution of the Christians by Nero but rather the death of the chief apostles Peter and Paul in Rome. I don't see the logic in that, I'm afraid. Can the execution of P...

Three Challenges: (1) Identify (from the list or elsewhere) any non Christian source which attests to the historical existence of Christians prior to the rise of Constantine, and for which you are prepared to argue, with a reasonable level certainty, that the source identified is legitimate and aut...

5) Peter and Christ a-walking on the water? This could be anything. The water upon which the ship is floating could well have been the Euphrates River immediately below the city of Dura. The figures could be anyone involved with the river transport trade welcoming a newly arrived trader. Could the ...

I think the way to go is the use of Bayes Theorem and Bayes inference. It's strength isn't that it provides an objective result, but rather that it leads to getting an insight into our own subjective weighting. Take for example the thread on Dura Europos going on in a current thread: https://earlywr...

So the irony is that Tertullian would have never accepted that his Jesus was a historical figure as (he thought to be) Bacchus or Zeus or Heracles. For Tertullian, Jesus was a divine figure even if 'also' a man, "if indeed one ought to call him a man" (Eusebius). That's right. As Tertulli...

No, actually Tertullian is confirming Euhemerus, or at least the modern idea that Euhemerus has come to respresent (since Euhemerus' work was a fanciful tale). Tertullian writes in that same link: It is undoubted that not a few of your gods have reigned on earth as kings. That's how Euhemerism is us...

Biased people can be right and unbiased people can be wrong. Stick to the argument and worry about motives after the argument has been settled. It's good to see people having their own theories and biases posting here. Leucius Charinus was a pain in the arse a few years ago since he drove every thre...