No Robots

What I said was that the composition of the Gospels as we have them is a mystery. Their context and content, however, provide ample evidence of their original source material. It is an anomaly in literature that we know so little about the composition of these documents, and yet are able to understand so much about their source material.

No Robots

Ultimately, my argument for historicity is very simple: in order to explain the profound effect of Christianity, there must be an equally profound cause, and the only adequate explanation for Christianity is that it was initiated by a genius; and clearly the composers of the Gospels and its sources were not that genius, but all their work is directed toward describing him and transmitting his words.

Minimalist

Or, a very good con man.

BTW, Osiris hung around for more than three millennia. Are you suggesting that he also had a "profound cause" or is it just that your god is "special."

No Robots

Well, if we test this against the documents, we see that some of his wonder-working touched upon charlatanism, but this was something he had to do to gain any kind of hearing, and he was obviously uncomfortable with it.

But there is no comparing the impact of Osiris with that of Christ.

Why do you call him my god? I do not say he is a god. I hold to what Thomas Jefferson wrote:

I am a Christian, in the only sense he wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence; & believing he never claimed any other.

spamandham

...something like the descruction of the Temple perhaps?

No Robots

Well, we know that the destruction of the Temple originated a couple of things:

1. the Diaspora
2. Rabbinism

But there is no evident connection between the destruction of the Temple and the world-transforming power of the Gospels.

show_no_mercy

Uhh... the destruction of the 2nd temple led to Rabbinic Judaism and eliminated every other form of Judaism... Saducees, Essenes, and Jewish Christians. The temple's destruction (and probably the rise and fall of the Bar Kochba revolt) is what "officially" separated gentile Christianity from Jewish Christianity.

The "world transforming" power of the gospels didin't occur until Constantine, when Christianity became the official religion of "the world" (ie the Roman Empire).

No Robots

Isn't that what I said?

Yep, but that still does not connect the destruction of the Temple to the world-transforming power of the Gospels.

No Robots

But it had sufficient power before Constantine to have become useful to Constantine.

eheffa

aa said: and his widespread and radically disruptive followers as described in the "historical" account of the Book of Acts. Why did Josephus seem oblivious to this important sect? :huh:

-evan