Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

ARGUMENT FROM A MYTHICIST BEING WRONG
(1) I think a mythicist is wrong about their particular ideas concerning the origins of Christianity.
(2) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM GALATIANS 1:19
(1) Paul's letter to the Galatians is authentic.
(2) Gal 1:18-19 is authentic.
(3) The only reasonable interpretation of "the brother of the Lord" is the brother of Jesus.
(4) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM LUKE'S PROLOGUE
(1) Luke's prologue sounds like it was written from the standpoint of trying to tell a historical or biographical narrative.
(2) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM JEWISH CHRISTIANS
(1) Jews would never be interested in myth-making about a dying-and-rising savior.
(2) Christians were Jews.
(3) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM JOSEPHUS
(1) Christians definitely interpolated stuff about Jesus into the works of Josephus.
(2) But I am pretty sure about the bits about Jesus that I don't think were interpolated.
(3) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM ROMANS
(1) Romans thought Jesus existed.
(2) Romans criticized Christianity.
(3) Therefore, Jesus existed.

ARGUMENT FROM CHRONOLOGY
(1) The first gospel was written around 70 AD.
(2) It takes a really, really long time for legends to form.
(3) The first gospel says that Jesus lived around 30 AD.
(4) Therefore, Jesus existed.

When it comes to personal attributes like your "uncontrolled egoism" thing and so on, there's as many shades of "atheism" as there are "atheists." That's the thing you're not seeing. You could make batshit crazy statements like this about any opinion and the people who ...

It's worth noting that Clement does not use "brother of the Lord" in the key passage but rather just "brother." http://earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book4.html And what? Does not he, who denies the Lord, deny himself? For does he not rob his Master of His autho...

Unless it wasn't.

Also I haven't seen any evidence of the literary dependence between Paul and Josephus.