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Old 08-05-2007, 03:54 PM   #21
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Eeek! I wouldn't touch that article with a barge-pole. That Bushby guys seems totally hokey to me. Somewhere in that article he cites some weird modern channelled text as if it's history - very flakey.
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Old 08-05-2007, 07:30 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by BALDUCCI View Post
I am not able to comment on the reliability of any of these sites, but there appear to be scholars arguing that the earliest gospel manuscripts are certainly earlier than the 4th Century

http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/papy...nuscripts.html
http://www.helsinki.fi/~merenlah/opp...sh/newtest.htm
http://catholic-resources.org/John/Papyri.html
http://journals.cambridge.org/action...ine&aid=327815
http://home.att.net/~kmpope/FirstCenturyMSS.html

...and there were many more....if they are all wrong, why is that ?
The current consensus seems to place the P52 fragment as the oldest surviving piece of the New Testament. Most of those dating it suggest it is from the first half of the second century. Some writers take the midpoint of that range and give the date as 125 CE. I think this can mislead some into thinking we have a more precise date than we really do.

But for now assume that 125 CE is an accurate date. Now go to the last link you provided and view an image of the fragment. From that image, you can tell that we do not know for sure what the Gospel of John said in 125. Perhaps the copies of the full text we have from the fourth century are largely correct. Perhaps not. The opening paragraph of your first link (IIRC) claims we have more than 5000 copies of new testament manuscripts, but admits every single one is different. While most of these may be simply transcription errors, there are known cases of changes made for theological reasons. So depending on the date you think a crucifixion occurred, the date you think GJohn was written and the date P52 was produced, how confident are you that the fourth century full text is correct down to the letter?

I'm not at all confident. There was plenty of motive and opportunity to make significant changes to whatever the originals were.
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Old 08-05-2007, 08:12 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainman View Post

This dating of the Beatty collection is via handwriting analysis.
So? That technique may be off a generation or so, but not a couple centuries
Neither generation of paleographers will detect the 4th century
forgery of the early second century Hadrian script. If the
christian propaganda was lavishly published en masse its
"lavishness" could easily have been extended to a more
ancient script.

And if you want to make any comment whatsoever about
the use and abuse of fraudulent misrepresentation by
Constantine, have your say in this thread:

Evidence that Constantine fraudulently misrepresented the patristic literature



Quote:
Quote:
These four authors are first mentioned in the monumental
work and labour of the very very first "christian historian"
Eusebius, who wrote the "Eccesiastical History".

The claim being explored by the article is that

"what if Eusebius was ordered to deliver a load
of bullshit, by his boss, Constantine?"

How can we tell if the Eusebian "Ecclesiastical History"
is either true, or is a fabrication and a fiction of men?

You tell me.
If that is what the article is claiming, then his poor research is the first strike against him. Irenaeus, in fact, mentions these four authors of the gospels around 180, in Adv. Herasies, Book III, Chapter xi. Feel free to check for yourself.
The article actually does not make this specific
claim, I happened to have done so. And you
dont appear to understand the implications
of the hypothesis of Eusebian fiction.

Best wishes,


Pete Brown
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Old 08-05-2007, 08:15 PM   #24
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You think Rattinger is a bad pope, check out the medicis.

Murder, incest, money.Now thats a holy trinity!!!
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Old 08-06-2007, 12:27 AM   #26
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Originally Posted by gurugeorge
Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainman
Eeek! I wouldn't touch that article with a barge-pole. That Bushby guys seems totally hokey to me. Somewhere in that article he cites some weird modern channelled text as if it's history - very flakey.
Yes, george, that would probably be the three references to 'God's Book of Eskra' with the ideas of competing deities at Nicaea, the voting for them and more. Appears to be related to 'Oahspe' which came to our attention through the automatic writing of a 19th-century dentist. However we don't have the Macguire translation easily available .

Shalom,
Steven
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Old 08-06-2007, 01:38 AM   #27
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Originally Posted by Moto
This article is by Tony Blair and George W Bush, Far from being pious followers of Jesus Christ, as they would have us believe, a great many of their troops performed acts of corruption, cruelty, debauchery, genocide, greed, terror and warfare.
Now, that's what I call redaction!

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Originally Posted by Toto
I think life is too short to spend much time on this.
Er, sorry about that.
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Old 08-06-2007, 07:46 AM   #28
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Quote:
The article actually does not make this specific
claim, I happened to have done so. And you
dont appear to understand the implications
of the hypothesis of Eusebian fiction.
If the four gospels were 4th century Eusebian forgeries, as you appear to be claiming, then what four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John was Irenaeus referring to back in the 2nd century? Or did Eusebius create the fiction of Irenaeus as well (not to mention Muratori and Clement of Alexandria)?
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Old 08-06-2007, 11:57 PM   #29
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Originally Posted by jackal5096 View Post
If the four gospels were 4th century Eusebian forgeries, as you appear to be claiming, then what four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John was Irenaeus referring to back in the 2nd century? Or did Eusebius create the fiction of Irenaeus as well (not to mention Muratori and Clement of Alexandria)?
IMO he was ordered to fabricate an army of authors.
The chronology of publications is outlined here.

Best wishes,


Pete Brown
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Old 08-07-2007, 04:28 AM   #30
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Quote:
IMO he was ordered to fabricate an army of authors.
The chronology of publications is outlined here.
While I agree that Eusbius may have had a hand in "interpolating" some things, such as Josephus's TF, that author says a bit more:

Quote:
Manuscripts of prominent Roman and Jewish historians were perverted, false communications between non- existent bishops were fabricated, manuscripts of other writers were interpolated by Eusebius, and Eusebius uses the names of unknown writers to publish his own fictitious literature.
This seems to be saying that Eusibius also created Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Justin Martyr, Tertullian and a host of others, along with all their various correspondences. Frankly, I think that author has his tin-foil hat on a little too tight.

(Pete - since this article is on "www.mountainman.com", would that imply some connection between you and it?)
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