Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

What's wrong with simply working with the historical data and ignoring the question entirely? Nothing wrong, but do not pretend this kind of work is going to cover the very origins of Christianity. There will be a big blank at the beginning, and using a metaphor, boarding the train well after it st...

to Neil, ... mythicism versus historicism shit. That does not show you are open-minded. You put "shit" on only one side. Cordially, Bernard Omg, you are the paranoid one, aren't you. Let me try again: historicism versus mythicism shit the christ myth shit discussion the shit preoccupation...

to Neil, You were clearly saying, and the examples you gave supported your claim, that the criterion of embarrassment (alone) was sufficient grounds for asserting certain details are actually historical. Yes, but you need plausibility also, and these details (or important items) fits well in a reco...

I don't think you recognize your Freudian slip by dropping this line in there, Bernard. Anyone would suspect that you have made up your mind before the research begins that you must have a central role for the historical Jesus in any reconstruction. That's not kosher. That's not how historical inqu...

What I said was that the types of questions we ask need to be determined by the nature of the data we are dealing with. And I disagreed. More affirmatively, the nature of the data we are dealing with determines something else - the confidence we will have in each of the seriously possible answers t...

Neil if they are living up to their professional ideals, Your ideals for their profession, Neil. Nonsense. Why do you say stuff like that? What's your beef with me? I get the impression you don't know anything about the study of history as discussed among historians themselves. Maybe you recoil at ...

Archaeological evidence confirms that there was no Israelite invasion of Canaan. The story is myth.

I wouldn't take John T's comment seriously. He is joking, no doubt.

There is no sliding scale from clear cut black and white proof down to more or less something close ... That'd be news to Laplace, Neil. We are talking about historical "facts" such as the existence of certain persons and reality of certain past events. Once we get into the murky shades o...

Neil The normal process in conversation is for people to exchange views, ... You are seriously teaching that when somebody asks a question of fact on an open forum, it isn't "normal" for those who know a factual answer to contribute it to the forum community? If so, then that's absurd. Ex...