mountainman

Why dont we put that to a test?

What harm can there be presenting this to S&S readers?
If it is irrelevant I am sure they will let me know soon enough.

Pete

mountainman

We also have nothing left from other first century authors
such as the purported historical figure Apollonius of Tyana.

Perhaps one and the same at times.
eg: bullneck

mountainman

When I first asked myself the question
what is the implication that Eusebius wrote
fiction I was skeptical of the answer.

Nevertheless for the last year I have attempted
to discuss the issue, and have researched the
fields of both Biblical History and Ancient History
for a number of years prior to that.

My thesis is in the field of ancient history.

mountainman

See the Exceptions Index and interpretations thereof.

mountainman

The thesis is that Constantine invented christianity.

That in terms of intellectual copyright the use of
the term "christian" was invented for use in the 4th
century and no earlier.

The question form is for the purpose of discussion.
Does this clarify things JD?

J-D

I did not require clarification. I am well aware of your debating tactics. My purpose was to draw attention to them.

I see no reason to think that your thesis is true, nor have you ever given any. That you deny the existence of anything that would falsify your thesis does not constitute a reason to think it true.

J-D

On reflection, perhaps I should put it like this:

Do you have any evidence that would falsify the hypothesis that Christianity existed before Constantine?

mountainman

See the Exceptions Index and interpretations thereof.

ClassicsFiend

So... how would the "Constantine Invented Christianity" thesis account for pagan references to Christians such as the one found in Tacitus (1st century Roman historian)? Or, say, letters between Pliny and Trajan (late 1st century/early 2nd) that specifically deal with the question of how to punish Christians?

Also, if Constantine invented Christianity, how would you explain the works of early Christian philosophers like Origen (early 3rd century)? I'd be especially interested to hear that one since Origen was pretty edgy and was later regarded as a heretic. Not the kind of thing you'd forge to create a unified political body. Plus Origen is really complex. Lots of genuine deep thought in there.

I can come up with more than a few examples along these lines. I know I'm just feeding a troll in this situation but the idea the Constantine invented Christianity is so preposterous I can't help myself.

J-D

How is any of that evidence that falsifies the hypothesis that Christianity existed before Constantine? It isn't. How, for example, is the existence of the archaeological finds from Dura-Europos logically incompatible with the existence of Christianity with Constantine? It isn't. You haven't even attempted to show that it is. All you have attempted to show is that the archaeological finds from Dura-Europos are compatible with the hypothesis that Christianity did not exist before Constantine. This is not the same as showing that they are incompatible with the hypothesis that Christianity did exist before Constantine.

If that's the best you can do at falsifying, it's not good enough.