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Old 01-03-2007, 08:03 PM   #61
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Gamera,

You said

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamera View Post
mdd:

This doesn't fly

Act 26:27: "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe."

Paul is not asking Agrippa to beleive in OT prophesy as evidence of Jesus's claims, but the prophets, who according to Paul (preaching to an ostensible Jew) proclaimed the coming of a messiah.

Paul doesn't preach anything about messiahood when preaching to gentiles, since it would be meaningless to them.

So again, prophesy seems not to be something Paul or James or Peter cared about. It's not something God seem eager to promulgate by making sure that dated OT mss exist prior to the things predicted.

So why are you convinced that prophesy is so important? Seems like it's part of the narrative of Hebrew scriptures, and we are supposed to focus on the role of prophesy in the narratives, not as evidence of anything.
You also stated,
Quote:
Is a scholarly understanding of the "kingdom concept" necessary for accepting the gospel? Meaning the erudite and well read can be saved, but not simple unschooled souls?

I for one am pretty well read and pretty educated (got a Ph.D in mediaeval studues and have two books published) and consider myself a mature Christian, yet I find the "kingdom concept" obscure and tangential to the gospel, which is rather simple and available to everyone.
Then you stated that if I didn't want to discuss it that was fine. The point that I made was that I did. However, the above issues are not on topic here. If you want to discuss the things you asked, start a thread and I will be more than happy to do so fyi.
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Old 01-03-2007, 08:09 PM   #62
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hatsoff stated,
Quote:
First of all, the evidence that Daniel was written in the sixth century B.C. is based entirely on the testimony and alleged testimony of ancient religious zealots, who are notorious for confabulation, credulity and intentional deception.
.

Now you know why I did the post about the faithful reproduction of the Bible. And for the record, in the second post about the date/time there is plenty of evidence that is very substantial, were anyone to take a look at it.
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Old 01-03-2007, 08:31 PM   #63
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Spin,
That's a good arguing skill. When you cannot answer, attack the person.
I'm sorry that you missed the point.

If you want to talk about Daniel and what the text says, you are supposed to do that, not talk about almost anything else and then pretend that you've talked about what Daniel says.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Don't bother to explain how it is you don't misunderstand the things I specifically noted in your post. Oh no, why do that? Well I would suggest you do it because I believe you do not understand them based on the way you used them. Now if you don't want to go there, that is your choice.

Just for the record, here is what I stated for you:
Quote:
Spin,
You seem to have some pretty big misconceptions about plain Bible terms.
Although I've already dealt with this post, let me just cite you:

Quote:
That's a good arguing skill. When you cannot answer, attack the person.
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Originally Posted by mdd344
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
In reading what you wrote,
Next problem, you didn't show that you read what I wrote.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
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Originally Posted by mdd344
I found that you do not have a clear concept of what 'power' is at it is used in Acts 1-2,
Next problem, you cannot assume that what was written several hundred years after Daniel has any direct connection with, or ability to talk about, what Daniel says. This has the appearance of simple anachronism.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
you do not understand the nature of the kingdom in the OT as it would have been viewed by the Jews (confirmed in the NT use of it btw),
What I like is bald unsupported statement of bias on your part: it really cries for response, doesn't it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
you do not grasp that Isa. 2:2-3 is not about the Old Covenant Temple but about the church to come (as evidenced by 'the law will go forth" yet the Law of Moses was in effect then).
This is simple christian folly, as I indicated in my previous response to this stuff. I don't really understand why you felt that I had to trash your post again.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Those misunderstandings make it, in my estimation, nearly impossible for you to study and get what I wrote.
What you've shown is that you are not ab;e to understand the need for evidence. When you make a claim, you need to back it up with evidence. You're big on unsupported claims.

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Originally Posted by mdd344
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Originally Posted by mdd344
For those reasons,...
As I explained last time, you've supplied untinged opinions and nothing more.

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Originally Posted by mdd344
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Originally Posted by mdd344
...and the reasons stated above that testify to the time of Daniel and its authenticity and genuineness, I must reject your post overall.
Without understanding it, without weighing up the historical content, without paying attention to your principal source. This is good stuff there, mdd344. Keep it up. You'll supply some entertainment.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
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Originally Posted by mdd344
I will stipulate that I didn't deal with your history notes, or what Daniel writes in great detail about history (the ten horns, the three, etc.) but that is beyond the scope of this thread.
Understanding your source text and being able to work from the context in which it was written is essential to anything you may want to write using the text.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
In your last post to me you did not touch one of the above. Not one. If you would like to do so, I would certainly like to hear it.
Sorry, I was too busy dealing with the lack of content in the post. You've already shown you are not interested in reading what people have to say, not even your source text, so one doesn't get inspired by the sincerity of "I would certainly like to hear it."

Let me just say the task you took on with regard to Daniel required that you understood in what period the text was produced and what its relationship was to history and literary context. You then need to cite your text clearly and expound what you want from the text, rather than read from the new testament into the text.

Prophecy as you understand it as predictive requires you to show that the text was written before the events you claim that it predicts; you need to show that the events you claim that it predicts actually are what it predicts. I hope you see the problems you are required to resolve in order to do your task and that what you provided in your opening post simply didn't touch what you needed to. Of course you may disagree with the procedure I outline hear, but then you would need to say why you disagree, not simply that you disagree.

Reasoning is what is required from you when you make claims. The reasoning necessarily is based on your source material, not read into it. So please feel free to respond,... supplying the necessary reasoning for your thoughts.


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Old 01-03-2007, 08:39 PM   #64
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Spin,
Why do you simply write off the misuses I pointed out in your post? Your only response, tangled in all of the words above is essentially, "I did not."

What argument is that? Part of your initial post to me about my post on Daniel (both of them) gave those phrases as part of the reason 'I was wrong.'

You cannot stand up and say those were reasons I was wrong WHEN you don't understand the terms to begin with, as the Bible gives them.

Tell you what. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I'll apologize for being short with you in this latest post--btw I changed my original but it was too late. I was a bit irritated and I ought to know better.

Here is what you can do. Take those concepts which I pulled from your post to me. Define them as the Bible uses them. Then post it. I will read it and I'll either see that I was wrong, or I'll be able to explain to you why I was right.

How about it?
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Old 01-03-2007, 08:59 PM   #65
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344 View Post
Spin,
Why do you simply write off the misuses I pointed out in your post? Your only response, tangled in all of the words above is essentially, "I did not."

What argument is that? Part of your initial post to me about my post on Daniel (both of them) gave those phrases as part of the reason 'I was wrong.'

You cannot stand up and say those were reasons I was wrong WHEN you don't understand the terms to begin with, as the Bible gives them.

Tell you what. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I'll apologize for being short with you in this latest post--btw I changed my original but it was too late. I was a bit irritated and I ought to know better.

Here is what you can do. Take those concepts which I pulled from your post to me. Define them as the Bible uses them. Then post it. I will read it and I'll either see that I was wrong, or I'll be able to explain to you why I was right.

How about it?
Thanks for the discussion wherever it was mdd344. The latter part of my previous post should be of use. Let me know when you have something to say. Have a good one. :wave:


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Old 01-03-2007, 09:16 PM   #66
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Nope Amaleq. He would need to assume that the magic of other faiths is about 10% as good as that of Daniel's God.
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Old 01-03-2007, 10:36 PM   #67
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Tell you what. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. I'll apologize for being short with you in this latest post--btw I changed my original but it was too late. I was a bit irritated and I ought to know better.
Kinda sucks when the audience thinks for itself and then talks back, eh?

Welcome to the 21st century, proliferation of information to the people.
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Old 01-04-2007, 01:40 AM   #68
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David,
Skeptics who have as their goal to disprove all of the Bible do not accept any Bible document as 'not contentious.' Destructive critics who want to rid the world of the plague of Christianity will do what they can to make it happen, no matter what positions they have to take to do so.
In case you missed it: You are bringing up this prophecy as an argument that the bible is true. But you assume the bible to be true as soon as you accept what the bible says about the dating of the prophecy.
So all what your loooooooooooong post achieved was a textbook example of circular reasoning. So much effort for only one logical fallacy. Bummer.
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Old 01-04-2007, 01:50 AM   #69
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Jack,
You did not use the terms even remotely in line with what the Bible teaches. Your concept of "kingdom" is just bizarre. When you determine that you would like to use them the way the Bible does, let me know. I'll be glad to point you to the Scripture that helps you see it. Until then, you have my two posts. If you don't like them, or want to believe them, or want to ignore them, that is your choice.
You still aren't getting it, despite multiple corrections from various people. You are attempting to reinterpret Daniel based on a later "Holy Book" from a different religion not shared by the original author: this is analogous to reinterpreting the New Testament by citing the Koran, or the Book of Mormon.

You are also ignoring the date-of-authorship issue of the Gospel of Mark: you are citing what appears to be a late Christian apologetic for the failure of the "Kingdom of God".

You are also continuing to ignore the historical errors in Daniel, which allow it to be dated rather precisely.

We are now on page 3 of a thread entitled "The Prophecy of Daniel and its fulfilment prove that God exists", yet you still haven't provided a single verifiable example of a prophecy written before the event and subsequently fulfilled. Meanwhile you have chosen criteria so lax that I have used them to "prove" (via the Oedipus prophecy) that Greek mythology must be true: so where does this leave your religion?
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdd344
Now you know why I did the post about the faithful reproduction of the Bible.
Are you referring to this thread, in which you made that claim and were soundly refuted?

I prophesy that your future attempts to prove the existence of God will be similary unsuccessful. And I have a better track record on prophecies than God does.
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Old 01-04-2007, 02:04 AM   #70
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By the way, mdd is writing in the larger "I can prove the existence of God" genre, which has no basis in historical Christianity. The idea, once dissected is, that God wasn't competent enough to prove his existence by himself, so he needs some really good attorney to put the case to the public. If only God had had a good attorney in Iron Age Israel, we could have avoided all this nonsense of history and gone directly to the millenium.

In short, the idea that you can prove the existence of God is contrary to the entire concept of God in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. Which is why I find it so offensive when so-called Christians attempt to do so.
While I largely agree with what you say, I'm interested in your take on the infamous verse in Romans 1:
[...]19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Doesn't this claim that the world itself proves god's existence?
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