Harry Bosch

Apples and Oranges. History books are confirmed by other sources of information and they are often testable. The bible is a group of stories that are not confirmed by any other civilizations living at the time. The bible contains many stories that would have affected the whole world (God stopping the sun so that Joshua could continue slaughtering the heathens and the "flood" for example) but these events are not noted by civilizations living during this time.

Sven

Thanks for the congrats, but there are times when I rather like to be proven wrong.

David B

Since the texts allegedly about Jesus were not written down for a couple of generations after, one can hypothesise that accounts were exagerated and/or deliberately fabricated to get people to believe.

We can also notice that these days there are accounts of miracle healings in many religions and none - people like Sylvia Browne and John Edrards, Uri Geller, the so called Psychic Surgeons in the Philippines and Latin America, Sai Baba - the list goes on - all have their following of true believers despite them being clearly debunked, many caught doing sleight of hand on video.

Perhaps Jesus existed, and managed to persuade some people that he did some miracles. But there is really nothing unique in that.

However, no claim of the supernatural has ever been substantiated.

For further information on the variety of supernatural claims, and the evidence that they are in fact genuine, I'd strongly suggest searching for The Skeptics Dictionary and the JREF.

Nice to see you back here - I was wondering if you'd given up.

BTW - I think I'm right in thinking that there are major supernatural claims concerning the late and unlamented L Ron Hubbard.

Half-life- unsubstantiated supernatural claims are not good reasons for believing in something.

David B

scisyhp

Half life, *sigh*.... I'm sure you know about how much of the scripture regarding Jesus was written in the forth century, Christianity is nothing more than a myth written by some creative writters, and becouse of some very violent wars, assassinations, and genocide, it was able to take power, there never were any miricals becouse he didn't exist, and there are no miricles today, becouse people understand how the world works.

Sven

In the fourth century?!

This would be news to me!

P.S.: I suggest a spell checker.

scisyhp

That's what I've read.

Toto

Many of the surviving manuscripts may date to the fourth century. But scholars deduce that the gospels were written in the late first or early second centuries. Exactly when, and how accurately they were transmitted, is a hot topic.

ELECTROGOD

In regards to the OP, you've got to be out of fallacies by now HL.

Revisionist

Perhaps you don't realize this is partially true. There are lots of things in history books that are just bullshit. The example I always give people is Josephus. In War of the Jews 6.5.3 he writes about a heifer giving birth to a lamb. This is complete bullshit, written in one of our only primary sources for the era.

Not only is Josephus practically our only source of history from this period, but he was directly involved with most of the things he wrote about. Yet his history is extremely tainted. So much of what he writes elevates himself or the Flavians. His history is written with a purpose, and that purpose isn't the pure pursuit of truth.

Anyone who believes everything they read in any history book, ancient or modern, is an idiot. There really is no shortcut here, other than to become just as familiar with the primary sources as historians themselves are.

Of course, the Gospels are in whole different category of bullshit altogether.

ChandraRama

...In the crusade of the Shepherds, for example, a renegade monk named Jacob claimed the he had received a letter from the Virgin Mary summoning all shepherds to free the Holy Sepulcher. Tens of thousands of poor people followed Jacob about, armed with pitchforks, hatchets, ad daggers which they would hold aloft as they entered a town, initmidating the authorities so that they would be given a proper reception. Jacob had visions, healed the sick, gave miraculous banquets in which food appeared faster than it could be eaten, denounced the clergy, and killed any one who dared to interrupt his sermons. ..."

- Cows pigs wars and witches . page 197

Mass hysteria.. plain and simple.