Matt the Medic

I'm rusty on my biblical author history, and I'm sure the folks at BC&H can do a better job than I, but I was pretty sure it was a known fact that neither Matthew nor John were written by Matthew or John.

Matt

funinspace

So tell me: Did Joseph and Mary start out in Nazareth or Bethlehem? Did they then go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, then Nazareth, or did they go to Egypt then Nazareth? Like I said, I treat them the same standards and both fail to proffer viable gods via their historicity.

I could go on for quite a while with things like: What census? Governor of Syria when? What's with the 3 14s generational gibberish that doesn't match the Hebrew canon? Why would the brutal Pilate give a damn about another rebel/heretic? Exactly who was at the tomb and when? ...

funinspace

Uh, fact is probably too strong a word, very little is known of this time frame as "fact". I'm not sure on Matthew, but even many Christian Scholars agree that John could very well have not been written or transcribed by John. They will usually say it was by one of his students/deciples. Especially since many also agree that John could be as late as 120AD.

Orthodox_Freethinker

Returning to the town of your birth was a common practice for the census. There is extra-Biblical for this.

There were either two governors named Quirinius or one who ruled on two separate occasions. There is extra-Biblical evidence for this.

Herod would have killed anyone who threatened his authority as king.

Orthodox_Freethinker

Many people agree that we never landed on the moon. That doesn't make them correct.

Mageth

In Moby Dick, Ishmael attests that he is recording a true account.

Irenaeus was born somewhere between 115 and 142 CE (perhaps in 130 CE), I believe. In other words, at a minimum 80 years after the alleged events in the Gospels, more likely 100 years.

How could he possibly have known John?

Orthodox_Freethinker

[QUOTE=John A. Broussard]Do you have reason not to judge the Gospels by the same historical standards as other ancient documents?

Mageth

Provide it.

Provide it.

Babies?

The Herod account (the killing of babies, with Jesus being saved) is a classic case of midrash, where the author borrowed from the legend of Moses by incorporating a similar childhood tale for Jesus. The author was portraying Jesus as the "new Moses" by creating a parallel story for Jesus.

Mageth

That's false.

And again, it's Irenaeus.

Orthodox_Freethinker

Please forgive me. John recounted the testimony of Polycarp and Papias, who were disciples of John. Compare this to how we know of Socrates through Plato.