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Subject: 
Re: Heads up, atheists
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Fri, 6 Jan 2006 22:17:59 GMT
Viewed: 
1137 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal wrote:
   In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler wrote:
   In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal wrote:
   Finally we shall soon learn the Truth

I’m surprised that this is going to court, honestly.

Agreed. Kinda like the Scopes trial in reverse;-)

I suspect that Jason Robards won’t be starring in the film version of this one, though.

  
   How can you prove that someone didn’t exist ~2000 years ago? The best you can do, IMO, is show that the evidence doesn’t support the conclusion that he existed.

He sets up a classic error-- he has so-called proofs that he has written about that Jesus didn’t exist-- he claims it is up to the other side to prove him wrong.

That’s not always unreasonable, except when the necessary disproof is so burdensome that it becomes practically impossible. If I asserted that my height prooves that I’m taller than your house, you could pretty easily disprove it (unless you live in my freshman-year apartment)!

on edit: “proove” means “to really, really prove.

  
   AFAIC, the Gospels are themselves adequate evidence to conclude that Jesus the man did exist, since it’s hardly an extraordinary claim.

Even moreso the historian Josephus’ mention of Jesus (even without all of the later embellishments).

I think that Josephus is often considered a tainted (that is, non-independent) source because he’s quite late and was very possibly influenced by the Gospels and derivative writings. Still, that doesn’t mean that Jesus didn’t exist, but it’s also a mistake to list Josephus as “proof” of Jesus’ divinity. You haven’t done that, but several modern apologists make that error.

  
   Of course, even if he is shown to have existed, that doesn’t do anything to prove his parentage...

lol Reminds me of the book, The DaVinci Code. Have you read any of Brown’s pulp fiction?

No! I read “Holy Blood/Holy Grail” by Baigent (et al) about a decade ago, and it’s a fantastic adventure story with, ultimately, some fatal errors. Brown’s book borrows heavily from HBHG.

Also, a close friend has read several of Brown’s novels, which he describes as reading any one of Brown’s novels several times. I’ll pass, thanks!

A much, much, much better (as far as I can tell) treatment of a similar topic is Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. It’s a weighty tome but well worth slogging through if you’ve the gumption. It even refers, somewhat dismissively, to HBHG. They should make a movie of Eco’s book instead of Brown’s!

Dave!



Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Heads up, atheists
 
(...) Agreed. Kinda like the Scopes trial in reverse;-) (...) He sets up a classic error-- he has so-called proofs that he has written about that Jesus didn't exist-- he claims it is up to the other side to prove him wrong. (...) Even moreso the (...) (19 years ago, 6-Jan-06, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)

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