Doug Shaver

I'm afraid I have no idea, since I am unacquainted with any nihilists, atheist or otherwise.

Professor Arnold was grossly in error.

Vorkosigan

That dude kicked in 1842, Toto. See my post above with the Wiki link.

Her pinkness saves

quite interesting, as usual i observed the death and rebirth of attis(consort of Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess) over march 22-25, with my pagan friends.

they really have whacky idea's for holidays in the pagan camp, image... God's being born to virgins, three wise men, stars traveling about and guiding people, death and rebirth over three day periods.

they must have been smoking the good stuff that day. ^^

Anduin

The prime candidate could be the hybrid solar eclipse of 71 CE over the Mediterranean:

http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclips...0071Mar20H.gif

The area of totality passed over Greece. Can anybody remind me what language was Matthew written on?

Agenda07

Why are you so obsessed with 19th century sources? :huh:

Dargo

Could is be because 20th and 21st century sources don't agree with his viewpoint? He's hardly the only Christian apologist to mostly quote from 19th century experts.

FatherMithras

Have you been doing any better than here? If not, I can see why you'd flee from them.

Equating atheism with nihilism. Wow, way to have no idea about reality again.

Way to have a 160 year old quote. Is that supposed to be impressive or pathetic? Because it's pathetic.

jackrabbit

A 160 year old quote about a 2000 year old book ain't bad. At least it's in the ballpark.

Trina17

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse Leigh
G'morning!

If the crucifixion did not take place, why was there a worldwide darkness (recorded by the respective powers that were at that time) for a full three hours at the moment of Christ's death? Even in Rome they recorded it, and the records are still available today.

SOMETHING obviously happened - can anyone explain this?

FWIW - Jesse.

Wow- an eclipse happened at some point in history. That really does prove the crucifixion took place. I wonder if you have ever heard of a game called Chinese Whispers? I think it goes like this. "Jesus, who we think is the son of God was crucified, and on the same day an eclipse happened. It went for 3 whole minutes!"
2000 years later, it went for 3 hours.
Anyway, how did Rome know the exact time of Jesus' death? It's not like he was very special to the emperor. You say 'even in rome' as if Rome is somehow special, as if Rome wasn't a major seat of Christiantiy later on. I'd be more impressed if you'd said even in China, or even in Persia, and provided some source for this unsubstantiated claim.
How many places around the world recorded this event and where are your sources? Lol and I'll think you'll find that this 'world-wide darkness' didn't cover the whole world as we know it today- but eclipses do generally effect a lot of the world.


Quote:
Professor Thomas Arnold, former chair of history at Oxford, and author of the famous volumes, History of Rome, was skillfully educated in the study of historical facts.

Professor Arnold, stated,
"I have been used for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and weigh the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is PROVED BY BETTER AND FULLER EVIDENCE of every sort, than the great sign which God has given us that Christ died and rose again from the dead."

What exactly makes the Prof's opinion anymore valid than anyone else's? He doesn't state sources, doesn't provide evidence for his belief, he just makes a broad statement of opinion. As for "I know of no one fact in the history of mankind which is PROVED BY BETTER AND FULLER EVIDENCE of every sort..." well that is so blatantly false its not worth replying to.


This was a very long first post

Toto

Yes, I am suspicious that this is another fake quote invented by a Christian evangelical.

The Wiki link says that Mr. Arnold is beloved of modern Christians for his defense of the historicity of Jesus, and then links to a Josh McDowell article, which repeats that quote, with no reference.

In fact, this obsession with proving the historical truth of Jesus is a 20th - 21st century concern, not a 19th century concern.

That quote is all over the internet without attribution, or quoting Josh McDowell. There is a downloadable copy of Arnolds' The Christian Life on project Gutenbert, and the quote is not there. Perhaps it is in Thomas' History of Rome?