judge

What is even more ironic is that you just accused him of "name calling", yet this is what you are essentially doing yourself.


The irony continues

Steven Carr

'Mythicists are never able to come up with a scenario in which it is probable that one or more Jews invented a figure that they claimed to be the anointed one, the descendant of David who would restore the kingdom of his ancestor; that, furthermore, they invented the claim that this figure had been crucified by enemy powers; and that they proceeded to try to persuade their fellow Jews to believe their message about this Messianic figure, so at odds with Jewish expectations.'

I don't really understand this one.

Is McGrath claiming that the idea that Jews would believe a crucified person was the Messiah - the anointed descendant of David who would restore the kingdom - is so improbable that there must have been a carpenter from Galilee who fitted exactly that job description , and whose followers then proceeded to persuade their fellow Jews to believe their message about this Messianic figure, so at odds with Jewish expectations.?

To be honest, I have no idea what was going on in McGrath's head when he wrote it.

I would be grateful for an explanation of what on earth McGrath is on (about).

At least McGrath appears to be accepting here that Jews had never heard of Jesus, till Christians started preaching about him.

That is, if I understand McGrath, which I don't, because he cannot make a coherent point.

Steven Carr

I wonder if anybody would invent 'Incident Two: seventy-five million years ago the emperor of the Galactic Federation, a despot named Xenu, solved overpopulation on his planet by freezing its inhabitants, shipping them to Earth in spacecraft resembling DC-8s, and dropped them into volcanoes in Hawaii and other places. He then detonated the volcanoes with atomic bombs and captured the suddenly-disembodied Thetans with an electronic device.'

You would never get people to believe that if you invented it. Not in a million years.

Therefore, using all the powerful techniques available to True Historians , it must be true.

Isn't history easy? You hardly need evidence. Just ask yourself 'Would people make it up and would anybody believe something somebody just made up?'

You can then sort out whole periods of history in about an hour of research, without even having to visit a library or looking at one of those artefact-things.

Huon

We know "probably", but with a high degree of confidence that the sun rises and sets and returns to his place (Ecclesiastes 1.5).
Mythicists are never able to come up with a scenario in which it is probable that the Earth rotates about its own axis, and that the Earth orbits around the Sun.

Is that version impossible? No—very few things are. But the fact that something isn't impossible doesn't make it likely...

Astronomical study can only say "probably," but in this instance it says it with a very low degree of confidence.

[/irony]

fatpie42

I'm just checking out the link now, but what does this quote mean?

Toto

It's my little joke, based on Bush_Derangement_Syndrome

Conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer accused liberals of suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome when they kept accusing Bush of stealing elections, lying about weapons of mass distraction delusion, being as smart as a bag of hammers, etc. Krauthammer defined BDS as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency — nay — the very existence of George W. Bush."

Liberals have returned the favor with Obama Derangement Syndrome, Clinton Derangement Syndrome, etc. "Derangement syndrome" is now all over the place.

It seems to me that McGrath is not stupid, not a bad guy, but if you mention mythicism, he feels like he needs to throw every weapon at his disposal into the fight against the idea, whether he understands it or not.

judge

If you don't understand him it may not be because he is not able to make a coherent point, there is another possibilty.

Toto

McGrath makes a lot of coherent points about his real area of expertise - science fiction and popular culture. When he gets into history, he is out of his depth.

Steven Carr

As you were unwilling to explain his coherent point to me, perhaps not....

By the way, did people invent stories of Xenu and thetans?

Obviously not, because such stories are so ludicrous nobody would try to sell them unless they had really happened.

(I think that is McGrath's point. Even now, he is immersing himself in Scientology, as a True Historian knows that something that is too ludicrous to believe is something that must be true as nobody would make it up)

Steven Carr

He is good on Doctor Who. Credit where credit is due.