[RJT]

When phil153 was OOO with the umlats, I thought he had some good posts. I can’t figure out what happened when he devolved into phil153. Witness the following statements of his:

[ QUOTE ]
I question whether he (Jesus) ever existed. I know that sounds insane in a culture built on the certainty that he did (and Christmas movies presented as fact), but the more you actually look at what historians and Catholic apologists write about the issue, the more you realise the evidence is very scant. Without the bible, there would not be enough evidence for a historian to consider him a real historical character.

As the only evidence, the new testament comes under scrutiny. The first parts of what would become the New Testament were written around 40 years (the absolute minimum according to even religious scholars) after his death. Later parts were added up to 100 years after his death. In a time of myth and superstition, without widespread education/writing, TV, or reliable press, such a story could very well be a complete fabrication. Certainly there were excellent reasons for religious powers to write a story which combined the prominent pagan myths of the day (as the bible suspiciuosly does).

Anyway, the point is that even if he did exist, we can't reliably say anything at all about him or his life, as none other than the religious powers of the day wrote anything historical about him.

[/ QUOTE ]

David,

I had always suspected part of your motivation for posting some of the things you do had to do with your (probably, mostly tongue-in-cheek) comment that “…Since, in the long run, the busier these forums are, the more money I make…”.

I would suggest, though, that in the long run (even though, we are all dead) it might be better for you to keep some integrity to 2+2. While I understand that your motivation for posting this thread might also be attributable to not wanting thoughts like this to go unchallenged (irrelevant whether one concurs or not), I think it would be more valuable for 2+2 to not compromise its quality.

Perhaps, it is already too late. Once you made atheism all the rage there wasn’t much hope of maintaining control of the beast you created. (I am not talking about atheism, per se; just the brand we often see here on this forum. You must admit it is often not very flattering to itself.)

But, this is your domain. Who am I to suggest how you should guide it? I apologize for not responding to your OP directly. I just can’t bring myself to do it. As Lillian Hellman said, “ I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashion.”

RJT