Debbie Jellinsky
User
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2012
- Messages
- 2,025
...
It was her death anniversary yesterday
Isn't she having a party in the sky?It was her death anniversary yesterday![]()
Wild historical and mathematical takes here. The number we give the year is arbitrary, but its duration is not. WWII isn't any less arbitrary to the cosmos. Also, are you referring to Jesus mythicism? Because that's a fringe movement that WILL get you eye rolls in most scholarly communities, religious or secular. The historicity of Jesus is supported under standard historical methodology.I mean it's incredible that our grandparents lived through WW2. That was at least an actual event with consequences. The changing of the millennium just marked the passing of time based on an arbitrary decision by a 6th century monk to place a date on the birth of a fictional character.
And he was one of those nutters screaming about the impending apocalypse!Jesus definitely existed - the Roman historians wrote about him!
He walked around calling himself the Messiah and pretending to do miracles I think he'd be fine with it!Yeah Jesus definitely existed, but I bet the poor bloke didn't expect to be plagiarised for centuries by white people so that they could take money from poor people and build pretty buildings for their leaders to secretly fiddle children!
![]()
)Paul's undisputed letters - Paul of Tarsus and his identity/background are basically uncontested. His words and meanings in these letters would have to be warped so far to support Jesus mythicism that YOU'D end up with the heavier burden of proof.Show evidence of Jesus please.
When were those two historians alive?Paul's undisputed letters - Paul of Tarsus and his identity/background are basically uncontested. His words and meanings in these letters would have to be warped so far to support Jesus mythicism that YOU'D end up with the heavier burden of proof.
Tacitus (Roman historian) - historically reliable; has no reason to lie or fabricate info, esp cuz he hated Christians; and actually writes in a very dismissive/hostile way about Jesus.
Josephus (Jewish historian) - Even WITH later Christian 'edits' to his work, his notes about Jesus are universally regarded as authentic by religious and secular historians.
Those last two are important because if Jesus was a myth then you'd need to show proof of why/how two independent non-Christian (arguably ANTI-Christian) scholars would both write about him, place him in the same time, and place him under the same Roman prefect.
Also, really importantly, movements based on fictional/mythical characters are EXTREMELY rare (if not nonexistent), even more so in antiquity. And when they are there, they're never portrayed in real contemporary places, attached to real historical events, or related to real historical people. They're always...mythic in origin - from "once upon a time" etc etc. Inventing charismatic/religious leaders was NOT commonplace.
There's more evidence/arguments but that's a quick rundown. "Jesus mythicism" is actually too credible of a term. It really should be called "Jesus skepticism" because the evidence needed to debunk/discredit the mentions/recordings of Jesus just isn't there.
After Jesus' death. But that doesn't carry the weight you THINK it does - trivial at best. In fact, no historian treats this as a problem because posthumous sources of people's lives are the bread and butter of history. Nearly ALL sources written about ALL ancient people are posthumous. Just a simple Google search tells us that our sources on people like Pythagoras and Alexander the Great are 300+ years after their death. Jesus actually had MUCH CLOSER sources.When were those two historians alive?
I literally have a History Masters, I'm aware of how historical sources work.After Jesus' death. But that doesn't carry the weight you THINK it does - trivial at best. In fact, no historian treats this as a problem because posthumous sources of people's lives are the bread and butter of history. Nearly ALL sources written about ALL people are posthumous. Just a simple Google search tells us that our sources on people like Pythagoras and Alexander the Great are 300+ years after their death. Jesus actually had MUCH CLOSER sources.
Also, later writing can actually be a strength because in the case of Tacitus he had no reason to adopt Christian 'propaganda' (unless you have some groundbreaking evidence that he did), because he was writing from an administrative perspective using authoritative Roman sources that had accumulated a very respectable account of the early Christian movement. Same with Josephus - he didn't rely on Christian sources but instead had access to credible Jewish archives (I believe he came from an affluent Jewish family).
Good. Then you know that posthumous sources are the norm for ancient people.I literally have a History Masters, I'm aware of how historical sources work.
In what way? He had EVERY reason to stay quiet, and had everything to lose by writing about Jesus or anything that diverged from the established Jewish tradition. Suggesting that he threw away his culture, affluence, education and security to become a broke traveling tent-maker to preach about a totally fictional character is by FAR the more outrageous claim and will require evidence.St Paul - biased
Incorrect. He was reporting as a Roman historian from an administrative perspective using authoritative Roman sources (not Jewish ones and certainly not Christian ones)...because that was literally his job as a public official. If you're suggesting that he had motives to favor a Christian narrative that propped up a mythic Jesus, then you're gonna need extraordinary evidence because he explicitly expressed hate for Christianity.Tacitus was only reporting Christian belief
This is correct. Many people stood up and claimed to be the "Messiah" or prophets etc. The Jewish leadership were understandably suspicious of him.He was one of many rebellious preachers at the time
Yeah I think for the most part, theologically and orally, his ideas were transparently grounded in traditional Jewish ideas. He spoke the same way all other 1st Century Jewish 'holy men' spoke. But he also broke with Jewish tradition in many parts too - and not just in his claims to divinity. And he CERTAINLY challenged Roman ideology.whose ideas suited the historical era
Even as a kid I've never understood the appeal of "new years". Like yay, another day in this craphole. It has no real significance no matter WHAT calendar we use. I was just pointing out that if we're going to talk about the "arbitrary" meanings humans attach to date and time, that otherwise have no cosmic significance, then WWII and every other human affair would also qualify. The physical universe attaches the same meaning to WWII as it does for "new years" - none at all.It certainly doesn't change the fact the turning of the millennium (which was only memorable for the fact we found out that the queen doesn't know how to link arms to Auld Lang Syne and the planes didn't crash) was less significant than WW2 which involved almost half the world at war with each other, remains the most destructive conflict of all time and saw rapid technological, medical and social change, to name but a few. The millennium was literally just drunk people dancing to Re-rewind and the Hamster fucking Dance.