Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Hi Spin, Thanks for the information on the word "rumori." I should have checked out the word in Latin, but I am terribly busy as usual. I wonder why the translator put it as "report" rather than the more obvious "rumor?" Besides all your excellent arguments, one perhaps...

Hi Spin, This is an excellent and valid point. The statement "But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order" is the conclusion to the passage. The passage a...

Hi Rick, Excellent example of Alice Liddell and Alice in Wonderland. Fiction writers often use names and traits of real and historical people to write their characters. They often refer to real historical events when producing their narratives. This does not make the characters or the stories histor...

Hi Peter, Yes, "A Martyred Man at Passover" sounds more like a fantastic plot device than an historical event.The description of the three or four trials of Jesus when tens of thousands of Jews and God-fearers are visiting Jerusalem and celebrating Passover each sounds absurd. The Jewish H...

Hi Tenorikuma, Isis followers would make much more sense than Christians in this context. Isis worship was associated with animals and dogs. She was often portrayed holding a torch which would explain how setting Isis followers on fire would be a form of mockery. There is a vigorous debate if crucif...

This passage in Tacitus is incredibly strange. What makes it strange is this line: "Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly il...

Hi Blood, Yes, saying that we don't have anything carbon dated before 180 shows no support for a date of composition before 180 is childish error. However, saying that we have no text that can be securely dated before 180 that quotes any of the gospels and there is no carbon dating of any gospel fra...

Thank you for explaining this, Ficino. From this case, it is apparent that pre-scientific and mythological thinking prevails in the heads of the Catholic Church. They look for signs instead of looking for scientific evidence. The problem is that people believe that Priests, Bishops and Popes are edu...

Hi Spin, I do not think it is a matter of freeloading but a matter of getting a just reward. As i recall, Socrates' point was that the city-state rewards winning Olympic athletes with a free home and free meals. Socrates exposed the gap between what was believed to be known and what was actually kno...

Hi Stephan, Speaking on behalf of all mythicists, we want what Socrates wanted - an apology from every Christian who ever said that Jesus was an historical person, and a nice free place to live and free meals for the rest of our lives. Warmly, Jay Raskin Would they be content with an acknowledgement...