In the
fetid atmosphere of militant atheism, there’s been a recent resurgence of
efforts to deny the historicity of Jesus. There have been Christian works
written to refute this retrograde trend. However, that’s almost superfluous
considering how these works are trashed by their fellow infidels. It’s like
watching Tasmanian Devils at dinnertime:
"Ehrman’s unscrupulous and shoddy work in DJE? does deserve some of the polemical treatment it gets in the Zindler-Price anthology–it is basically how he treated these mythicist authors, on exactly the same grounds, so it’s not as if Ehrman himself has any right to complain unless he couples his complaint with an apology"
ReplyDelete"Oh, we deserve and apology!"
Treating members of one of the most fringe positions in NT/ancient scholarship (some of whom, *cough* aren't actually scholars *Zindler* and others, like Drews, are both dust and not scholars) with contempt is exactly how these thing should go down. It is Ehrman who occupies the high ground (incidentally, it's worth noting how little any of these guys whined when Ehrman had his sights on Christian scholarship), the mythers get to wallow in the trenches until their argument advance beyond, "Jesus' X isn't mentioned here or here," and "maaaaaybe Josephus is talking about another Jesus here."
I am an atheist, a former evangelical pastor for 25 years. I reject the claims made by Carrier, Price, and Company. I think there is sufficient evidence for me to say, Yes Jesus lived in Palestine in the first century. He is a historical figure who lived and died.While I reject the supernatural claims made for Jesus, I think it is ludicrous to say Jesus never existed.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the mythicists want an easy way to dismiss Christianity out of hand. What better way to do it than to say Jesus is a myth.
I think the mythicists hurt the atheist cause. To say Jesus never existed is a sure way to end a discussion with most Christians. They hear this and think, huh? Who in their right mind doesn't believe Jesus was a real person?
Bruce