mountainman

FAQ: Constantine’s 4th century Invention of the Christian Religion

Any more questions?

Toto

Will this be your last post on this? Please?

You give your conclusions, with no discussion or sources. I don't think anyone will be persuaded.

Doug Shaver

No questions. Just a comment. That is not a FAQ. That is a Q&A.

steve_bnk

Hd did not invent, he consolidated the existing factions as a state religion.

avi

Thanks, Pete, for this well written Q&A.

I wish to take issue with one of your "answers":

Do you possess a source for this allegation?

Here's a rather decent web site, with a slightly different slant, created by a couple of British scholars--lots about Arius, not a peep about Plato....

avi

aa5874

Toto, why don't you beg people who support the HJ theory or the Sub-lunar crucifixion of Jesus to stop posting?

Please, leave mountainman's THREAD alone.

Even EXPERTS do NOT agree about the START of Christianity.

Minimalist

Actually, its a bit more convincing than the bullshit that the xtians put forward. Not that much effort is required there.

Roger Pearse

I think that you should consider banning him, because he's doing harm to the credibility of the forum.

What he's trying to do here, is get his thesis accepted as a possible alternative here by simple reiteration. Human beings are influenced by what they see constantly said, and this is a sub-rational process (which is why advertisers rely on repetition in their campaigns). But it seems to me like a reasonable question to ask people whether they want to see this same post endlessly here.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

avi

Roger, you are surely entitled to express your opinion, freely, and usually, I find your commentary both provocative, and interesting, and certainly worthwhile contemplating....

However, this most recent suggestion of yours, is not in keeping with the best spirit of British Renaissance thinking, and here I am writing about some of my heroes, murdered by Thomas More: William Tyndale and his several colleagues, who, in defiance of the Vatican, i.e. More and Pope Henry VIII, brought into England, ENGLISH bibles, a crime so serious, that they were BURNED ALIVE AT THE STAKE, at least in part, because of fear that a great contagion would spread, of heretical thinking: PROTESTANTISM.

Why would you seek to ban someone from the forum, who openly, and honestly expresses a point of view different from the orthodox views of Christians, Muslims, and Atheists, alike? Pete's ideas MAY BE COMPLETELY WRONG, but, they ought not be banned, just because they deviate from some "consensus" opinion.

Personally, I admire Pete's thinking, his writing, and his scholarship. I hope he continues to express his ideas here on the forum, and I hope that others will find them as encouraging as I do. I do not deny having some difference of opinion, about some of the underlying assumptions of his principal hypothesis, but, given the choice between NEVER encountering his radical idea, versus regular, updated exposure to it, I would argue in favor of keeping his thesis alive....Certainly, if that tragic day ever came to pass, and Pete was expelled, in keeping with Roger's suggestion, I would immediately submit my own withdrawal---Hey, two for one: not a bad idea!!!

avi

Alexp

Avi,

I couldn't agree more. Thanks for expressing it so well.

Alex