Duh. You're not as slow as I thought you were. Congrats!Here’s what the dimwits don’t realize. If Christ did not die on the cross, there is no salvation scenario. For billions.
Glad you finally caught up to @Cypress and me.
Duh. You're not as slow as I thought you were. Congrats!Here’s what the dimwits don’t realize. If Christ did not die on the cross, there is no salvation scenario. For billions.
Odd you believe in Satan and not Jesus, but figures for an atheist.I gotta hand it to you two jokers. If Christ did not die on the cross, you morons have, by yourselves, wiped out the salvation of billions of people.
No small feat, Satan! LOL

The core story of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion are all there.
Virgin birth? Two attestations is a lot weaker than five in in eyes of the historian.
Also weakening these two attestations is the fact a miraculous virgin birth is never mentioned by our two earliest Christian authors, Mark and Paul.
You get really stressed out about the birth narrative, when it is not central to the core Christian beliefs in ethics, grace, and salvation.
Even the great atheist New Testament scholar and noted skeptic Bart Ehrman says there is nothing in the New Testament which requires belief in a miraculous virgin birth, and that most of his Christian friends think the story is allegorical.
The great atheist New Testament scholar and noted skeptic Bart Ehrman categorically disagrees with you. He unequivocally believes the New Testament can be mined for historical information than that.
The great atheist New Testament scholar and noted skeptic Bart Ehrman categorically disagrees with you. He unequivocally believes the New Testament can be mined for more historical information than that.
Ancient writers did not have the 21st century standards of analytical history and biography that some of us naively come to expect of all authors throughout human history.
The New Testament, the Norse Icelandic Sagas, the Historia of Herodotus, the Anglo-Saxon chronicles all have historically valid information existing along side myth that the careful person can mine using the methods of literary criticism and historical context.
Like I said, the groups who most adamantly treat the Bible as a strictly literal, strictly factual, strictly historical collection of books are:
Atheists, Televangelists, fundamentalist Baptists, fire-and-brimstone Pentecostals
Your literacy skills are lacking. But then, I repeat myself.Odd you believe in Satan and not Jesus, but figures for an atheist.![]()
![]()
![]()
No worries. I've noticed that you seem normal about most topics except Christianity. Bad memories? Trauma? Both @Cypress and myself are admitted agnostics but you and Perry Penis-lover keep building your straw men. Weird.Your literacy skills are lacking. But then, I repeat myself.
Christ didn’t die for everyone’s sins. That’s fake news.No worries. I've noticed that you seem normal about most topics except Christianity. Bad memories? Trauma? Both @Cypress and myself are admitted agnostics but you and Perry Penis-lover keep building your straw men. Weird.
Duh. No shit but glad you are catching up to the adults on the discussion. You really are blind when it comes to discussing Christianity. You hate and insult anyone who disagrees with you about it in the slightest. Weird. This is why I suspect some sort of trauma in your past is driving such hatred and bigotry.Christ didn’t die for everyone’s sins. That’s fake news.
He was merely comatose for everyone’s sins.
PRICELESS!
The “attestations” you refer to aren’t that at all. Luke and Matthew merely copied Mark with some changes to fit their own agenda.
You're really stressed out about the virgin birth aren't you?The birth narrative, like it or not pal, is part of your Bible. You go on about the historicity, yet are in denial about all the discrepancies.
Nope. First rule is you have to read in context and literary style. You have to have the training and intelligence to understand ancient Near Eastern writers weren't familiar with analytical history and biography, and they expressed truth claims in different ways than our 21st century eyes are accustomed toIf you want historical accuracy, you have to apply the same standards of proof that you do to any historical figure or event.
I'll let everyone else who visits the thread and reads my posts with an impartial eye decide whether I sound like a fool who is out of his league.You simply don’t have it here, no matter how many fucking backflips you do.
That and surviving the crucifixion are major trauma foci for him. You and I have both agreed that the virgin birth was likely added later to build up a case for the divinity of Jesus to fulfill prophecy....but that's not good enough for the militant atheists....You're really stressed out about the virgin birth aren't you?...

I think it's allegory and written to make a theological pointSo, the birth story is not factual, huh?
You're just getting my point now?So, since Jesus was in a coma, according to you, the death on the cross was not factual.
This topic seems to make you angry.Tell us, Nostradamus, which part IS factual? I’ll wait.
That and surviving the crucifixion are major trauma foci for him. You and I have both agreed that the virgin birth was likely added later to build up a case for the divinity of Jesus to fulfill prophecy....but that's not good enough for the militant atheists.
You and I postulated how it might have been possible for Jesus to survive the crucifixion even if he died later but, again, that's not good enough for the militant atheists. Weird!
The best part of this entire conversation is seeing Perry Pud-Lover run off with his tail between his legs.![]()
Here’s what the dimwits don’t realize. If Christ did not die on the cross, there is no salvation scenario. For billions.
The great atheist Bart Ehrman also says
How can the birth story be factual when it is devoid of observed facts? It's a faith story.So, the birth story is not factual, huh?
So, since Jesus was in a coma, according to you, the death on the cross was not factual.
Tell us, Nostradamus, which part IS factual? I’ll wait.
Duh. No shit but glad you are catching up to the adults on the discussion. You really are blind when it comes to discussing Christianity. You hate and insult anyone who disagrees with you about it in the slightest. Weird. This is why I suspect some sort of trauma in your past is driving such hatred and bigotry.
MAGAts are usually consistent in their hatred and bigotry which indicates mental deficiency. You only go nuts on the subject of Christianity, which indicates trauma to me.
They had Mark as reference material, but they also had their own sources and Luke claims to have talked to the eyewitnesses.
The fact that you relentlessly complain that there are ubiquitous discrepancies between the gospels just undermines your own point that they are copying off one another. They would have gotten their stories straight if they were just copying from each other.
Mark and Paul never mentioned a virgin birth. I think Luke and Matthew came along later and wrote those stories to make a theological point
You're really stressed out about the virgin birth aren't you?
I'm trying to understand why you are so stressed out about it. My theory is that you just want to have an easy strawman to knock down.
Nope. First rule is you have to read in context and literary style. You have to have the training and intelligence to understand ancient Near Eastern writers weren't familiar with analytical history and biography, and they expressed truth claims in different ways than our 21st century eyes are accustomed to
So you don't read and analyze the Norse Icelandic Sagas or New Testament in the same way you would read 20th century historical accounts
I'll let everyone else who visits the thread and reads my posts with an impartial eye decide whether I sound like a fool who is out of his league.
WHOOSH!Odd you believe in Satan and not Jesus, but figures for an atheist.![]()
![]()
![]()
Good, we’re making progress. You’re admitting that there is no historical accuracy certain central narratives of the New Testament. But, you see, it’s not merely virgin birth, it’s the narratives themselves, beyond that.Yes, I agree, I believe the birth narrative in Luke was written to make a theological point.
Paul was writing 30 years before Luke, and Mark had access to the apostle Peter and wrote about 15 years before Luke
A miraculous virgin birth is so extraordinary, it's hard to fathom why Paul, Mark, John never mention it.
I think that's something separate from this conversation. Cy seems to be arguing that the story of the Resurrection must be true as written assuming the witnesses misinterpretted what they saw.
That's fine insofar as it goes. Remember, Cy, for all his fierce defense of the faith, claims elsewhere to be agnostic. So I have to assume he is not arguing anything related to the supernatural aspects of the point.
But it does still leave some serious problems for the faith. As you note it makes a huge portion of Christian salvation into a "lie", but it also creates a new character in the Narrative: the skulking sneaky guy who wanders off after preaching.
Did he preach elsewhere? Why didn't those stories get recorded anywhere? And most important of all, the thing that basically destroys Cy's point is that the same stories that told about the resurrection also witness him, in one version, flying up to heaven before the witnesses. But you note that Cy doesn't try to defend that. Just the stuff that a good "just-so" story could be concocted for. Even if it basically destroys the religion itself.