Hey mate,
By shifting goal posts I meant you were talking about Constantine and Protestantism then when I challenged what you were saying in context of the article quickly changed the topic.
Apologies if I wasn't clear enough.
I'd suggest you'd read my article in closer detail if it's something that interests you.
In all seriousness the Gospels are full of historical information and I've written about this as well.
To establish the facts I mentioned though you don't even need to assume to Gospels are broadly reliable that that they contain some facts established by historical criteria.
To simply dismiss independent eyewitness accounts because they are in the Bible is again overly simplistic- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts and 1 Corinthians are all separate books. They are not 1 source!
Moreover the creed in 1 Corinthians 15 dates back to within several years of Jesus as per sceptical scholars.
I have also reported extra-biblical evidence that supports some of the facts I mentioned. However, I don't see that necessary to support the historicity of an event when we can apply like criteria such as dissimilarity, embarrassment, multiple attestation etc as we would to a historical document.
You can apply these criteria to determine key facts that can be established.
If you apply your approach to history you may as well throw out all antiquity.
I proposed 3 key facts that need explanation. Explanation CUMULATIVELY. I address dying for a lie in my article. It shows sincerity. It doesn't show a belief is true in and of itself but needs to be considered as a whole in light of the other facts. It takes out the option people were deliberately spreading a lie if they were prepared to die for it. You could argue they're deluded yes.
Again, I find your response too simplistic and not really addressing my position.
Like I said if you want to look into this I'd suggest you read my case and we can go from there- at least you'd be addressing where I'm at instead of a strawman.
If not, that's totally fine. I do appreciate you engaging again.
I am conscious these messages are getting long and we both do a lot of writing- if you prefer to read my articles and publish a response on your page and we go from there that is fine too.
I'm all for having open healthy dialogue.
Take your time responding too if you need.
No pressure or anything. I know these back and forths can be time consuming.
I'll get back next week if you reply. Take care my friend!
