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Quest for the historical Jesus

outhouse

Atheistically
I have not paid much attention to either for quite some time. I remember Carrier from my old iidb days and it's been almost as long since reading Incredible Shrinking Son of Man. I vaguely recall liking Carrier or, at the very least, thinking his arguments to be reasonably cogent. On the other hand I well remember feeling cheated after having actually spent money on Price's work.


Did you quit posting there.
 

Brickjectivity

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
maxfreakout said:
the ahistoricist/mythicist view of Jesus is gaining popularity, especially now that people encounter it on the internet. Just 10 years ago it would have been completely unthinkable and unnecesary for a scholar to write a book called `did jesus exist?`, but thanx to the internet times have now changed and the question of jesus` historicity has entered the mainstream.
It was inevitable, because protestants have been having to live with an untenable situation. It almost doesn't matter whether the mythic view is wrong or right. Well, it does but that isn't the central issue. What matters is the escape pressure that has been building. Its a "Let me out of here" type pressure. All the normal routes of teaching that the Catholics once used are blocked off for many protestants; so they feel nobody has satisfying explanations for anything. At the same time they are subjected to ridiculous sheep shearing, humiliation, and are just generally badly used. In the Bible are 66 nearly impenetrable books through which the protestant is supposed to obtain guidance simply by reading them. That's why there is so much energy behind this debate. People want not just answers but a way to escape. Its like there is an earthquake going on in the protestant community. Answers used to satisfy and misdirection could, too; but some people (such as myself) have felt like they've been bound to a corpse. I can totally understand why the question has come up.
 
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AmbiguousGuy

Well-Known Member
this ^ is a mischacterisation of the recent increase in popularity of the mythic jesus idea. It has nothing to do with quote mining, it is simply because the internet enables people to encounter the mythic view and think about it for themselves. Before the internet existed there was no access to the mythic view, nobody ever heard about it. It is never mentioned in schools or universities, strictly forbidden to even entertain it as a possibility; but the internet levels the playing field by enabling a much greater degree of free discussion.

I agree. It has been simply inconceivable in our culture to question the historicity of Jesus. But that is changing. I think the historical Jesus will go the way of the historical Adam with time. Lots of time, alas.
 

outhouse

Atheistically
Would you mind addressing post 9?


Without looking back, I can guess its your questioning regarding my sources, which you already know.

That is the beauty of the web. One can research without ever picking up a book.

I have read parts of online books by many of the people listed or I would not quote them. As well as blogs and articles on the topic I choose.

There have also been some great TV specials with said named scholars giving their opinion on certain topics that are relevant to todays debates.

Not having claimed to be educated on the matter, my education is not up for debate, and without judging you, I do find it a disspicable tactic used by some, to avoid the relevant topic at hand.
 

steeltoes

Junior member
I am curious as to if and what historians can say about a Jesus of history vs the Jesus of legend and myth that we are all familiar with. Apparently it's not so cut and dry since anyone that ever wrote about Jesus never met the guy. I've tried discussing this topic on other forums but it's just too emotionally charged for some, I hope that's not the case here.
 
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AmbiguousGuy

Well-Known Member
I am curious as to if and what historians can say about a Jesus of history vs the Jesus of legend and myth that we are all familiar with. Apparently it's not so cut and dry since anyone that ever wrote about Jesus never met the guy. I've tried discussing this topic on other forums but it's just too emotionally charged for some, I hope that's not the case here.

I don't follow the scholars as they debate this issue but I'll be happy to unemotionally discuss it with you.

My best guess is that no man lived in first century Judea upon whom the gospel stories were based.
 

steeltoes

Junior member
I don't follow the scholars as they debate this issue but I'll be happy to unemotionally discuss it with you.

My best guess is that no man lived in first century Judea upon whom the gospel stories were based.


OK, I'm curious, do you think that they lived in a different century, or not at all?
 

outhouse

Atheistically
I am curious as to if and what historians can say about a Jesus of history vs the Jesus of legend and myth that we are all familiar with. Apparently it's not so cut and dry since anyone that ever wrote about Jesus never met the guy. I've tried discussing this topic on other forums but it's just too emotionally charged for some, I hope that's not the case here.


There is quite the bit of gray area in recreating a historical Jesus/Yehoshua. This person is completely diferent then the biblical Jesus. Right off the bat if he was here and you yelled out Jesus, he probably wouldnt know who you were talking too and probably never heard that name called to him.

There are a few things most scholars will agree upon but it is a very short list.

E.P. Sanders gives a much better overview on PDF if you can find it.

But here is my version.

Birth and teenage years unknown, pre 30 years of age for that matter is a guess. A poor oppresed man who lived a life beow poverty, who may have worked in the rebuilding of Sepphoris, doing add jobs. Tekton from this time was not carpenter but hand worker, known to live a poor renting life. His parents displaced peasant who rented a very small fieldstone rock house in Nazareth, windowless, lit with a single oil lamp. Diet would have been olives and bread soaked in vinegar and or olive oil. Lentels. Some fish but very little meat. A few mixed vegetables which may have been grown in Nazareth, a few rock cut channels few a few gardens from a spring near the towns edge. These gardens had rock walls to keeop animals out and to make the soil on te hillside level, and to hold the seaping water in the soil. More thne likely this graden had a full time person watching over it.

He was baptized by John The Baptist in the river Jordan, where he may have been influenced by his teachings.

He would have had a very small amount of disciples, probably his inner circle of 3 or 4 which would have been poor oppressed fishermen, who at that time were overworked, underpaid and overtaxed. They were known to be like Yehoshua, living a life below that of a common peasant. They may have went into these small villages prior to his arrival and stated a wise man is coming and set the village up for the coming of a healer/teacher. All in hopes for a meal. He was said to have healed and taught for free.

He traveled around Galilee preaching only in small Jewish villages avoiding the large Hellenistic cities.

He traveled to the temple for passover where he caused some unknown trouble that had to do with money. The temple was very corrupt as well as the Jewish government. If one was going to try and make a statement, passover was the time to do it. It is said there were close to 400,000 people in attendance, and this was a very crowded passover. This trouble had him placed on a cross where he died.
 
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