Secret Alias wrote: ↑Mon Sep 26, 2022 7:40 am
But what are you trying to get 'out' of attacking Ehrman? That's the part I am wondering about. Why the attack on him in particular? My guess is that it has something to do with his case against 'mythicism' - right? If that's the case what does carelessness show 'prove' or 'suggest' about Ehrman's attitude toward mythicism? That he hasn't studied it very carefully? Probably true. That Jesus never existed because Ehrman didn't double check his research? Probably not.
I think, and Neil please correct me if I'm wrong, it is because Ehrman is one of the most publicly recognizable scholar, and so his screw ups, bad research, etc. are much more visible and create bad standards for other people just entering the academy or getting a view of scholarship to follow. It is not to do with whether or not Jesus existed, but to do with the fact that Ehrman, as one of the most accessed figures to the public, and therefore his carelessness impacts how people perceive academia, and also impacts the integrity of the field. When people dissect his poor research... they also lose faith with the field.
Because I wasn't raised as a fucking mentally retarded fundamentalist. I can live with people not agreeing with me on marginalia like mythicism and the Letter to Theodore.
Yeah, your ableist rhetoric, constant bullying, and antagonistic demeaner isn't giving anyone the impression that you can "live with people not agreeing" with you.
Do I think that religious scholarship is 'important'? No.
Not sure what you mean, but if you think the study of religion isn't important... well... I'm sure all the actual scholars currently working for social organizations, or even being hired by organizations like the CIA, FBI, and more to help them study and understand religious groups they want to investigate... like the study of religion has had a huge impact on helping the public to foster understanding of their fellow humans, and has impacted more than just that. For instance, James George Frazer's Golden Bough has influenced incalculably the way that literary and popular perception of religion and death functions in European nations. It heavily impacted for instance the films Excalibur by John Boorman, Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola, the writings of Lovecraft, one of the most famous poems of all time The Wasteland by T. S. Elliot... and then it was heavily influential on Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces... which... you know... became the theoretical framework for some of the most impactful fiction and societal products of all time, like Star Wars. Its impact alone makes it important. This statement:
It's a kind of useless field that doesn't have real relevance for society at large unless - and I am sure we will disagree on this - the question of social order comes up.
Is just wrong. It is relevant to practically every part of society. To art, literature, film, social order, social and individual psychology, philosophy, to science (as it often informs how we think and conceptualize what is or is not scientific to begin with), politics, international relations, community, etc. And historically, the study of religion has had an impact on every single one of those things and more. I'd argue it is possibly one of the most practically useful and important fields of study in the world, on par with hard sciences. So yes, you are write, I will certainly disagree with you on this.
I can see how believing in a 'good God' fearing a 'punishing God' can help a society run smoothly and effectively so I am not hostile to religion.
Yeah... because that has been going super smoothly as of late. The "good God" and "punishing God" thinking definitely did help Christians smoothly colonize the world and destroy other cultures in the process. And all those places definitely run very smoothly and effectively to this day... we definitely didn't nearly end up in Civil War on January Sixth in no small part because of people who endorse this thinking.
I don't think mythicism is an important question in the study of Christianity. I am sure that Ehrman shared my sentiments when he wrote his poorly researched and sloppily fact checked book.
I mean I actually agree on the former part... but no one writes a whole book on an issue they don't find important... he obviously found it important and pressing enough to write the book.