103 thoughts on “g Matthew: ”He’s making it up as he goes along!’”
Too bad you can not leave this in a comment on Mel’s blog. It would cause him to pop his cork and blow his gaskets. Sadly even though this is straightforward he would deny the science and the information to keep repeating false narratives. Doesn’t the bible say not to lead people astray? By claiming something exists where it clearly did not is he not leading his flock astray? Hugs
Scottie, he’d just hand-wave it away saying you’re reading he bible with a wooden spoon. His style of apologetics is so vaporous even he doesn’t know what bullshit he’ll spin until he’s spun it.
He wouldn’t take it seriously coming from me. However there are a few in our gang that he knows have the knowledge to back up the video. He couldn’t just ignore them or his sheep will see that he can not answer. Hugs
They guy is definitely making it up as he goes along. He concludes that because there’s little or no evidence for the ‘city’ of Nazareth it couldn’t possibly have existed. That’s bad logic because the only conclusion which can be drawn is that evidence has not yet been found, but it certainly isn’t proof that Nazareth never existed. Me makes too many faith statements.
What he is saying is there s no evidence for Nazareth existing as described in the bible in the time of the character Jesus. On this score he is absolutely correct.
Lack of evidence of existence is not proof of not existing. (I should know, I quartered my herd of unicorns there one particularly bad winter … keep digging, I have faith.) (Seek, and ye shall find …)
No .. you won’t. In fact all you do by writing such a stupid sentence is further cement the fact you behave like a Nob.
Why don’t you provide evidence that refutes Humphries video?
You could start by reading the Nazareth Farm Report.
Maybe you can locate the next vid suggesting there is no Tigris and Euphrates? And then the next one, No Ur, no Joppa or Jericho? And then another, No Abraham, Isaac, no Jacob, no David, Solomon, no temple, no tabernacle, no Nile river, no Mediterranean sea, no Bethany, no Cana, no Jerusalem?
Are you beginning to see the pattern of your fruitless endeavors to discredit scripture? If the devil can’t do it, who the h–l do you think you are? lol
Seriously though, your latest hero is a first class clown.
Here’s a fact. Less fact = more faith. It was imperative the entire story be fiction to play the ultimate card on the foibles of human psychology. Belief has to be in total for the trap to hold. Even little bits of proof can be too damaging to the cause. Too bad Jesus never came when he said he would. This was never intended to go this far. Gullibility of humanity is incredible.
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.“ (Matthew 16: 27, 28) Need more?
Transfiguration was prior to his death in the garden of Gethsemane. Coming in his glory with a host of angels? Even after the resurrection story…not in his glory. None of the writers witnessed anything. Sorry. I know small town gossip.
A resurrected body is not glorious? You must be kidding. There’s always the Ascension too. It’s not as though there were no opportunities to witness Christ in His risen glory. Try also 2 Peter 1:16: ‘For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.’
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels”—didn’t happen. Lots of could be’s in the explanation. The need for those are obvious.
By whom is not the issue, n« much as the finger of guilt is pointed at Eusebius regarding the Testimonium Flavianum.
Some have suggested Silvanus as the author.
However, even this is suspect as Saul’s /Paul’s travels as reflected in Acts are nothing but fiction so one would be had pressed to attribute it to a ”travelling companion, ” as there were no travels.
That it is regarded as a forgery by scholars and has been for a long time is enough.
Why? Because the internal evidence has convinced the vast majority of textual critics, including some evangelical scholars and the likes of the late Raymond Brown.
And he goes on, leaving no doubt. You could say it’s referring to those other things, but you and I both know it’s not. The entire thing is an imminent apocalyptic prophecy. ”Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.“ (Matthew 24: 25-34)
There is no time schedule given here, so it’s impossible to say exactly when the events Jesus described might happen. What makes you think everything described is ‘imminent’, and indeed what do you mean by imminent? Are you thinking of minutes, years, decades or millennia? Even ‘immediately’ is non-specific. Are you sure you’re not reading into it more than is written?
Within the lifetime of those supposedly present. It’s very clearly stated, especially the fig tree parable. The only reason one could believe otherwise is by choice, from believing the miles of excuses for the failure of the prophecies. What did he really mean? Sounds like a long list of end time prediction excuses that have come and gone.
Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. In Ch 24:34 Jesus mentions the word ‘generation’ but he doesn’t define it.
There are no contradictions unless you interpret every single word according to your own wants and wishes. You’d call it grasping at straws if you were sitting on the other side of the fence. Jesus makes it very clear why he is deliberately ambiguous in Ch 24:36:
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.’
Noah is a fable. None of the words you quoted were written by Jesus. If they were, being a god and all, he should’ve known Noah and Moses too, were just stories. Christianity is the one hairsplitting contradictions. I know, I used to do it too. you interpret every single word according to your own wants and wishes. Well said—Christianity in a nutshell. The writers had to be deliberately ambiguous. That’s how it works. Any ounce of fact would be too damaging to faith. I quit grasping at straws 5 years ago. That’s how I was able to exercise some integrity in the face of overwhelming pressure to conform and finally be at peace. The key to understanding the mysteries is unbelief. True true
Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. In Ch 24:34 Jesus mentions the word ‘generation’ but he doesn’t define it. ~CumbriaDaydreamer
“For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” ~Jesus (Mt 16:27-28)
Given the context, it’s difficult to see how he could have meant anything other than that particular generation.
And to come in the glory of his father? Do you see the implications of that? No man could look upon him and live. It never happened, or maybe that’s why there are no witnesses. Lol
I have always believed that had there been underlying facts regarding the veracity of the truth/characters involved, then they would eventually surface.
As it turns out, archaeology and extant historical records show the tale is nothing but historical fiction.
Lol. Yes. But this is how it goes when one assumes it’s true when it’s not. This is like this pastors arguing over which version of heaven was the correct version in the fake near death experiences. Debating the validity of a con
Much like the versions of Nazareth, which are many.
It went from a biblical city to a town of a few thousand to a thriving village cum dormitory where craftsmen would trot along the mountain path to Sepphoris to ply their trade – carpenters and the like, no doubt) to a small farm, to a tiny hamlet of one or two families – with their own Kokh Tombs on the outskirts. Handy!
Odd then that a god man born into such a tight knit community went completely unnoticed for thirty years until his cousin baptized him, quite forgetting e«that his mum, had informed her friend Elizabeth of the impending arrival after Gabriel paid her a visit.
And Now I’m confused!
And the tale grows smaller on down the line 🎶. They need the practice to explain the Moses story. Same pattern. Now it’s the reed sea and 10 slaves… or less. Like I said, faith can only thrive with zero evidence. Less the better for the ‘men of words’ to run their scam.
I disagree with this, Jim: It was imperative the entire story be fiction to play the ultimate card on the foibles of human psychology. Why? Because it’s a statement from “today.” The people who wrote the bible did not, in any way, have the knowledge we possess today. Legends and myths were their cup o’ tea.
It’s more than obvious there are people today still drinking the tea … but they’re doing it by choice, not because it’s the only thing on the menu.
So jim, do you really think you can sink a submarine with a peashooter?
Apparently my first comment was well above your pay grade.
Ever heard of Pitcairn Pennsylvania? Didn’t think so, but rest assured there is a 90 year old tailor that nobody in your neck of the woods ever heard of.
You guys are an embarrassment to common sense and history.
I’ve actually been through there. I used to travel a lot for business and always went out of the way routes. Always liked to explore. A lot of people have heard of Pitcairn within the Pittsburgh area. But no one seems to have heard of nazereth in the Jerusalem area. Weird
And yes, it was a mere grain of sand in the boot that has sunken many adventures. I have more than a peashooter. Your submarine is already underwater. The leak has sprung. The internet will do the rest.
Go ahead and prove god did create the heavens and earth. I’ll be waiting. The universe is a brute fact. There was never nothing. You would have made a great epileptic goat herder though. You muslims are all alike.
Animals are clueless when it comes to grace, they are acting according the nature of raving beasts, something distinct to Christianity, by virtue of that town (in keeping with the spirit of this post) called Nazareth, where it was alleged: can anything good come from such an obscure out of the way and insignificant place?
The answer is ‘yes’ obviously, but I have already extended the good graces of ark here, but happy holidays.
CS , you wrokte: Go ahead and prove that God did not create the heavens and the earth.
What did god do all the other 13,5+ billion years? Trying to find out which of the trillions of planets were the ” earth and Heavens” he supposedly had to create although they existed since 4.5 billions of years.
What’s a year? What’s a billion? What does it matter to an infinite, timeless God if He created it all? Remember what time is; it only matters to us because we perceive it and are constrained by it. Atheists are unable to avoid shrinking the God they don’t believe in.
But this is a presupposition that is only supported by faith but not with evidence.
Thus it can treated with the contempt it deserves and dismissed with impunity.
Atheist worldview? What the hell is an ”atheist worldview”?
Your assertion is so blatantly ignorant and one of the big reasons theists like you are ridiculed – and deservedly so.
After Christmas, Ark. Have a great holiday and see if you can keep away from the computer for just one day. Take some more photos of God’s wonderful creatures as your ability to appreciate beauty is one of those spiritual, God-given skills.
Well, we agree on one thing, CS: much slaying has been done in the name of scripture.
“Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own” ~ Papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric prior to the massacre at Béziers on 22 July 1209
Absolutely correct!
Yahweh had no idea his grubby minions would be slaughtering other grubby minions across the land, simply because of words in a book.
It isn’t as if he had anything to do with the book’s composition, now did he?
However, you would have thought someone would have realised something was amiss by the time they got to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Apparently not.
Not in Bosnia either.
Sheesh, that book of God’s Wordsic) sure has a lot to answer for.
Love it when any scripture is cited, even if by a scorning atheist!
Of course you are clueless as to what the meaning is, and no, don’t ask me to explain something in which you deride, when especially, you do not even give God the courtesy of existing.
There you go hiding your light under a bushel again, CS. How will you ever bring people to the Lord with that type of response? And must I remind you of the instructions found in 1 Peter 3:15?
Of course it’s not me you have to convince — it’s the Christians who cite scripture as a pretext to committing all manner of horrific deeds.
I’d certainly be open to your engaging in an honest exchange and directly addressing the issues raised. Of what value is your self-proclaimed superior knowledge if you never share it with others?
Off topic, but for some reason I no longer receive comment updates for your posts in the “conversations followed” portion of WP Reader, despite the fact that everything related to notifications is turned on in the settings menu. Your blog appears to be the only one affected.
Younger (now too, but with my eyes open) I read and loved the Carl Barks “Uncle Scrooge” Walt Disney comic books. I would hazard a guess that they were fiction, but they too were often convincingly set in real locations.
But the Ducks visiting Philadelphia and Jamaica and others doesn’t prove the existence of Duckburg …
Uh, why are we surprised that they are making stuff up as they go? Isn’t it all made up as people went? I have been reading some on Ken Humphries website and I have learned that many of the early “Christian” apologists didn’t even mention Jesus as a real character (not just Paul). So, they were pulling all of this stuff out of their asses, which is why it is so jumbled up … one person’s imagination conflicting with another’s. Ask any apologist about any other religion, than their own, and ask them where “their” scriptures came from. They will conclude that it is all just made up because it cannot be true. (Then hold a mirror up to show them their own reflection.)
Just a correction. I popped over to see the alleged ‘contradictions,’ and suffice to say, the writer confuses the word ‘contradiction’ with ‘interpretation,’ and therefore reveals a common trait and weakness among they who ‘read’ scripture.
If he would have taken the time to consider the multi layered components of such scriptures, he would have seen nothing but absolute harmony. ‘Buy a sword.’ ‘Put your sword away,’ for example, but rest assured no contradictions.
Also, you have to admit that the atheist is in a poor position to chastise God and scripture, since he finds fault and no value in either.
That said, I wish you, Ark, and all his faithful readers, the very best of holiday greetings, and hope you all find rest and good will in your families, friends, and even disagreeing bloggers. 😉
Thank you For the season’s greetings and I hope the coming year is good for you. Words have the meanings we assign them. Those assigned meanings have to be common enough and generally well understood enough for humans to communicate. So it makes no difference if the reader is a christian or not. The words mean what they mean. I don’t think you want to suggest that the scriptures, the bible that is to be understood by the common person, was written in a secret code for the understanding of the elite only, do you? What good would the book be then, it couldn’t accomplish the very thing it was designed for. John it simply makes more sense to say the book was written and translated and transcribed by humans, people doing their best but fallible. If you are a believer which you are, it doesn’t mean you can not claim it is inspired or based on the instructions of God. Humans make mistakes, we all know that. If you give the same job to a couple dozen people you will get a good share of differences in the out come. I am reminded of stories of things that bend so they don’t break. If you hold the book, your idea of it, and the idea of your deity with too great rigidity something has to break in the face of reality. Is it not better to bend than break? Again best wishes. Hugs
“Phil who?” Phil McCraken, a gay archeologist who is famously known for opening the first deli in Nazareth back in 12CE. I believe the place was called Phil McCraken’s Virgin Bagels and Crucified Ham on Rye: The Best Damn Deli In Town.”
Oh ye fleabitten doubters! It all happened; only it was at a different place in a different time and to different blokes and bloke-esses, and the events were a bit different. See?
I dunno. I think the video goes too far into arguing the color of the unicorn in its approach. It would be like having to do a video on Homer’s Odyssey and the non-existence of some islands to show how the underlying religious beliefs weren’t accurate. Such an approach assumes the legitimacy of the notion that Zeus and friends are real.
It’s difficult to convince someone the unicorn isn’t real when that person has already decided what to believe beforehand. If anything, it allows people to pat themselves on the back to tell themselves they’re making the right choices in following the magical beast. Ideas like people coming back from the dead, flying into the upper atmosphere/space after one dies, mystical guilt complexes, and strength through long hair are but a few of the things that get ignored while this happens.
A Tale Unfolds 
Too bad you can not leave this in a comment on Mel’s blog. It would cause him to pop his cork and blow his gaskets. Sadly even though this is straightforward he would deny the science and the information to keep repeating false narratives. Doesn’t the bible say not to lead people astray? By claiming something exists where it clearly did not is he not leading his flock astray? Hugs
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Scottie, he’d just hand-wave it away saying you’re reading he bible with a wooden spoon. His style of apologetics is so vaporous even he doesn’t know what bullshit he’ll spin until he’s spun it.
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But you can!
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He wouldn’t take it seriously coming from me. However there are a few in our gang that he knows have the knowledge to back up the video. He couldn’t just ignore them or his sheep will see that he can not answer. Hugs
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If it’s in the Bible and in the common knowledge, then it HAS to be true … so keep digging, dammit, I know they dropped it there somewhere …
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I didn’t know that about Mark/Matthew. Good stuff.
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They guy is definitely making it up as he goes along. He concludes that because there’s little or no evidence for the ‘city’ of Nazareth it couldn’t possibly have existed. That’s bad logic because the only conclusion which can be drawn is that evidence has not yet been found, but it certainly isn’t proof that Nazareth never existed. Me makes too many faith statements.
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What he is saying is there s no evidence for Nazareth existing as described in the bible in the time of the character Jesus. On this score he is absolutely correct.
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Lack of evidence of existence is not proof of not existing. (I should know, I quartered my herd of unicorns there one particularly bad winter … keep digging, I have faith.) (Seek, and ye shall find …)
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… correction … HE makes too many faith statements (although I guess I won’t get away with that).
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No .. you won’t. In fact all you do by writing such a stupid sentence is further cement the fact you behave like a Nob.
Why don’t you provide evidence that refutes Humphries video?
You could start by reading the Nazareth Farm Report.
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… and where is golgatha?
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Nice try doug. Where do you find these cartoons?
Maybe you can locate the next vid suggesting there is no Tigris and Euphrates? And then the next one, No Ur, no Joppa or Jericho? And then another, No Abraham, Isaac, no Jacob, no David, Solomon, no temple, no tabernacle, no Nile river, no Mediterranean sea, no Bethany, no Cana, no Jerusalem?
Are you beginning to see the pattern of your fruitless endeavors to discredit scripture? If the devil can’t do it, who the h–l do you think you are? lol
Seriously though, your latest hero is a first class clown.
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Look up Roman maps of Judea. Lots of cities, no nazereth. The town that religion built. Really.
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Apparently Nazareth was a Roman garrison, so they wouldn’t have classed it as either city or a village but rather a temporary military base.
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Evidence, please. For the gods sake evidence!!!
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Here’s a fact. Less fact = more faith. It was imperative the entire story be fiction to play the ultimate card on the foibles of human psychology. Belief has to be in total for the trap to hold. Even little bits of proof can be too damaging to the cause. Too bad Jesus never came when he said he would. This was never intended to go this far. Gullibility of humanity is incredible.
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Why do you conclude that Jesus didn’t come when he said he would? What are you referring to?
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For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.“ (Matthew 16: 27, 28) Need more?
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That could refer either to Jesus’ Resurrection or His Transfiguration … and some witnessed both.
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Really? Who?
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Transfiguration was prior to his death in the garden of Gethsemane. Coming in his glory with a host of angels? Even after the resurrection story…not in his glory. None of the writers witnessed anything. Sorry. I know small town gossip.
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A resurrected body is not glorious? You must be kidding. There’s always the Ascension too. It’s not as though there were no opportunities to witness Christ in His risen glory. Try also 2 Peter 1:16: ‘For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eye-witnesses of his majesty.’
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“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels”—didn’t happen. Lots of could be’s in the explanation. The need for those are obvious.
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Why must one give any credit to 2 Peter? Like 1 Peter, It is considered a forgery.
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A forgery by whom and why? Evidence please.
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By whom is not the issue, n« much as the finger of guilt is pointed at Eusebius regarding the Testimonium Flavianum.
Some have suggested Silvanus as the author.
However, even this is suspect as Saul’s /Paul’s travels as reflected in Acts are nothing but fiction so one would be had pressed to attribute it to a ”travelling companion, ” as there were no travels.
That it is regarded as a forgery by scholars and has been for a long time is enough.
Why? Because the internal evidence has convinced the vast majority of textual critics, including some evangelical scholars and the likes of the late Raymond Brown.
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That darn philology just ruins everything.
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Phil who?
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Scientific processes of literary fraud
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology
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And there was moi thinking it was somehow related to Dr. Phil.
😉
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And he goes on, leaving no doubt. You could say it’s referring to those other things, but you and I both know it’s not. The entire thing is an imminent apocalyptic prophecy. ”Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.“ (Matthew 24: 25-34)
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There is no time schedule given here, so it’s impossible to say exactly when the events Jesus described might happen. What makes you think everything described is ‘imminent’, and indeed what do you mean by imminent? Are you thinking of minutes, years, decades or millennia? Even ‘immediately’ is non-specific. Are you sure you’re not reading into it more than is written?
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Within the lifetime of those supposedly present. It’s very clearly stated, especially the fig tree parable. The only reason one could believe otherwise is by choice, from believing the miles of excuses for the failure of the prophecies. What did he really mean? Sounds like a long list of end time prediction excuses that have come and gone.
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Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. In Ch 24:34 Jesus mentions the word ‘generation’ but he doesn’t define it.
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So which contradiction should we believe… again. The story is a fable. Every line.
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There are no contradictions unless you interpret every single word according to your own wants and wishes. You’d call it grasping at straws if you were sitting on the other side of the fence. Jesus makes it very clear why he is deliberately ambiguous in Ch 24:36:
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.’
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Noah is a fable. None of the words you quoted were written by Jesus. If they were, being a god and all, he should’ve known Noah and Moses too, were just stories. Christianity is the one hairsplitting contradictions. I know, I used to do it too. you interpret every single word according to your own wants and wishes. Well said—Christianity in a nutshell. The writers had to be deliberately ambiguous. That’s how it works. Any ounce of fact would be too damaging to faith. I quit grasping at straws 5 years ago. That’s how I was able to exercise some integrity in the face of overwhelming pressure to conform and finally be at peace. The key to understanding the mysteries is unbelief. True true
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Hilarious!
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Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. Jesus didn’t say everything he described would happen during their lifetimes. In Ch 24:34 Jesus mentions the word ‘generation’ but he doesn’t define it. ~CumbriaDaydreamer
“For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done. Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” ~Jesus (Mt 16:27-28)
Given the context, it’s difficult to see how he could have meant anything other than that particular generation.
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And to come in the glory of his father? Do you see the implications of that? No man could look upon him and live. It never happened, or maybe that’s why there are no witnesses. Lol
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I have always believed that had there been underlying facts regarding the veracity of the truth/characters involved, then they would eventually surface.
As it turns out, archaeology and extant historical records show the tale is nothing but historical fiction.
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Non historical fiction? Un historical fact? I’m confused
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I thought you got over confusion when you deconverted?
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Lol. Yes. But this is how it goes when one assumes it’s true when it’s not. This is like this pastors arguing over which version of heaven was the correct version in the fake near death experiences. Debating the validity of a con
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Much like the versions of Nazareth, which are many.
It went from a biblical city to a town of a few thousand to a thriving village cum dormitory where craftsmen would trot along the mountain path to Sepphoris to ply their trade – carpenters and the like, no doubt) to a small farm, to a tiny hamlet of one or two families – with their own Kokh Tombs on the outskirts. Handy!
Odd then that a god man born into such a tight knit community went completely unnoticed for thirty years until his cousin baptized him, quite forgetting e«that his mum, had informed her friend Elizabeth of the impending arrival after Gabriel paid her a visit.
And Now I’m confused!
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And the tale grows smaller on down the line 🎶. They need the practice to explain the Moses story. Same pattern. Now it’s the reed sea and 10 slaves… or less. Like I said, faith can only thrive with zero evidence. Less the better for the ‘men of words’ to run their scam.
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I disagree with this, Jim: It was imperative the entire story be fiction to play the ultimate card on the foibles of human psychology. Why? Because it’s a statement from “today.” The people who wrote the bible did not, in any way, have the knowledge we possess today. Legends and myths were their cup o’ tea.
It’s more than obvious there are people today still drinking the tea … but they’re doing it by choice, not because it’s the only thing on the menu.
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In fairness, some doomsday cults prefer Kool-Aid. 🙂
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Why would a temporary Roman military base have a synagogue?
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Maybe Varus destroyed that too?
The Romans had a well developed sense of humour in this regard.
Or perhaps even Titus and the 10th?
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So jim, do you really think you can sink a submarine with a peashooter?
Apparently my first comment was well above your pay grade.
Ever heard of Pitcairn Pennsylvania? Didn’t think so, but rest assured there is a 90 year old tailor that nobody in your neck of the woods ever heard of.
You guys are an embarrassment to common sense and history.
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I’ve actually been through there. I used to travel a lot for business and always went out of the way routes. Always liked to explore. A lot of people have heard of Pitcairn within the Pittsburgh area. But no one seems to have heard of nazereth in the Jerusalem area. Weird
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Not really weird jim. I could name a thousand towns u never heard of, and vice versa.
The people who were relevant heard of it, that’s the point. Nazareth was a town, as was Bethany, Cana, Joppa, Jericho, Tel Abib, Babylon, Patmos.
It’s all true. The geography of scripture heightens its credibility, regardless of who believes it.
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Prove it.
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If it existed it would have been less than six kilometres from Sepphoris – where Josephus was governor.
You understand the relevance I hope
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Yeah, like old Flavius was interested in the greater son of David. No more than Rabbi Ben Smooshie today.
Geez man, get a grip.
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Ah … so he never showed any interest in JC or the city he came from, right?
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Aaah .. I have missed this line.
Take your medicine CS.
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And yes, it was a mere grain of sand in the boot that has sunken many adventures. I have more than a peashooter. Your submarine is already underwater. The leak has sprung. The internet will do the rest.
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Internet? The place where godlessness rules, and proves scripture is true.
Thanks for the confirming word.
Go ahead and prove that God did not create the heavens and the earth. In the meantime, while you exhaust every breath, He will prove you a liar. 😉
His word is that good. But grace be with you, something foreign to nature; just ask a jackal to share his burger with you.
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Go ahead and prove god did create the heavens and earth. I’ll be waiting. The universe is a brute fact. There was never nothing. You would have made a great epileptic goat herder though. You muslims are all alike.
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I have life as proof. What proof do you have?
And no, you can’t steal my proof. Nazareth and Bet-lechem (note that accent) testify!!
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Thank you for defining the perimeters of my available answers. Welcome to Christianity.
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Ask a jacket to share their burger? What on earth are you talking about?
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Jackal
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Whoops I meant to say Jackal but autocorrect foiled me! So um what does ask a jackal to share their burger mean?
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Just as I said C.A.
Animals are clueless when it comes to grace, they are acting according the nature of raving beasts, something distinct to Christianity, by virtue of that town (in keeping with the spirit of this post) called Nazareth, where it was alleged: can anything good come from such an obscure out of the way and insignificant place?
The answer is ‘yes’ obviously, but I have already extended the good graces of ark here, but happy holidays.
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CS , you wrokte: Go ahead and prove that God did not create the heavens and the earth.
What did god do all the other 13,5+ billion years? Trying to find out which of the trillions of planets were the ” earth and Heavens” he supposedly had to create although they existed since 4.5 billions of years.
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What’s a year? What’s a billion? What does it matter to an infinite, timeless God if He created it all? Remember what time is; it only matters to us because we perceive it and are constrained by it. Atheists are unable to avoid shrinking the God they don’t believe in.
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But this is a presupposition that is only supported by faith but not with evidence.
Thus it can treated with the contempt it deserves and dismissed with impunity.
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… as is the atheist worldview, so the same applies.
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Atheist worldview? What the hell is an ”atheist worldview”?
Your assertion is so blatantly ignorant and one of the big reasons theists like you are ridiculed – and deservedly so.
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Yours is. The true a-theist is indifferent or even agnostic, but you are a full-time, paid-up Atheist.
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Yes, I am an atheist. But what is an atheist worldview . Please give details.
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After Christmas, Ark. Have a great holiday and see if you can keep away from the computer for just one day. Take some more photos of God’s wonderful creatures as your ability to appreciate beauty is one of those spiritual, God-given skills.
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Thank you CS for providing endless entertainment to this blog. Please keep coming.
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CS,
Are you gonna roar all day little kitty? or are you gonna bite?
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Oh brother ron. One by one they appear to try to add to the distaste of scripture.
I suggest you change your appetite. Start where its always the best. Your heart.
Scripture. The anvil which slays every gripe against it, and remains untarnished. Nazareth!
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Well, we agree on one thing, CS: much slaying has been done in the name of scripture.
“Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own” ~ Papal legate and Cistercian abbot Arnaud Amalric prior to the massacre at Béziers on 22 July 1209
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Hey ron.
It is the fault of Mathematics that people count the ways they can steal from their employers?
Is it fault of the manufacturers of Stihl chain saws that some customers cut dogs, cats, or people?
Is it the fault of Russian vodka makers that some drunks kill people with their cars?
Now then, how in God’s good name, could ANY book, be responsible for the acts of miscreants who do not know how to read?
I swear, you prove atheism is incapable of reasoning.
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Absolutely correct!
Yahweh had no idea his grubby minions would be slaughtering other grubby minions across the land, simply because of words in a book.
It isn’t as if he had anything to do with the book’s composition, now did he?
However, you would have thought someone would have realised something was amiss by the time they got to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Apparently not.
Not in Bosnia either.
Sheesh, that book of God’s Wordsic) sure has a lot to answer for.
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“But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.” ~Jesus (Luke 19:27)
“The Lord knoweth them that are his.” 2 Tim 2:19
Looks like the abbot took his cue from scripture.
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Yay!
Love it when any scripture is cited, even if by a scorning atheist!
Of course you are clueless as to what the meaning is, and no, don’t ask me to explain something in which you deride, when especially, you do not even give God the courtesy of existing.
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There you go hiding your light under a bushel again, CS. How will you ever bring people to the Lord with that type of response? And must I remind you of the instructions found in 1 Peter 3:15?
Of course it’s not me you have to convince — it’s the Christians who cite scripture as a pretext to committing all manner of horrific deeds.
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Are you really open to instruction ron? Be honest.
Or am I always 3 steps ahead.
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3 steps
aheadbehind is more like it. 🙂LikeLiked by 2 people
Ha nan! I must be prophet or something. I knew you would pop by with holiday greetings, so I must be ahead…………
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Happy Holiday CS. May all your wishes come true and your heart be jolly on this celebration of multiple mixed pagan rites. Hugs
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Too funny, but tks S.
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I’d certainly be open to your engaging in an honest exchange and directly addressing the issues raised. Of what value is your self-proclaimed superior knowledge if you never share it with others?
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Yes … those damn Cathars. Evil not-proper-christian sinners. Good riddance!
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Off topic, but for some reason I no longer receive comment updates for your posts in the “conversations followed” portion of WP Reader, despite the fact that everything related to notifications is turned on in the settings menu. Your blog appears to be the only one affected.
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Weird. I am not very savvy when it comes to things WordPress.
Maybe someone reading along can offer some advice?
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Never mind. Your posts are now appearing again. Must have been a glitch in the system.
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CS:
Younger (now too, but with my eyes open) I read and loved the Carl Barks “Uncle Scrooge” Walt Disney comic books. I would hazard a guess that they were fiction, but they too were often convincingly set in real locations.
But the Ducks visiting Philadelphia and Jamaica and others doesn’t prove the existence of Duckburg …
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Uh, why are we surprised that they are making stuff up as they go? Isn’t it all made up as people went? I have been reading some on Ken Humphries website and I have learned that many of the early “Christian” apologists didn’t even mention Jesus as a real character (not just Paul). So, they were pulling all of this stuff out of their asses, which is why it is so jumbled up … one person’s imagination conflicting with another’s. Ask any apologist about any other religion, than their own, and ask them where “their” scriptures came from. They will conclude that it is all just made up because it cannot be true. (Then hold a mirror up to show them their own reflection.)
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For those who are interested in contradictions in the Bible, I found a really interesting web resource. Hugs
https://www.atheists.org/activism/resources/biblical-contradictions/
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Hi scott-
Just a correction. I popped over to see the alleged ‘contradictions,’ and suffice to say, the writer confuses the word ‘contradiction’ with ‘interpretation,’ and therefore reveals a common trait and weakness among they who ‘read’ scripture.
If he would have taken the time to consider the multi layered components of such scriptures, he would have seen nothing but absolute harmony. ‘Buy a sword.’ ‘Put your sword away,’ for example, but rest assured no contradictions.
Also, you have to admit that the atheist is in a poor position to chastise God and scripture, since he finds fault and no value in either.
That said, I wish you, Ark, and all his faithful readers, the very best of holiday greetings, and hope you all find rest and good will in your families, friends, and even disagreeing bloggers. 😉
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Thank you For the season’s greetings and I hope the coming year is good for you. Words have the meanings we assign them. Those assigned meanings have to be common enough and generally well understood enough for humans to communicate. So it makes no difference if the reader is a christian or not. The words mean what they mean. I don’t think you want to suggest that the scriptures, the bible that is to be understood by the common person, was written in a secret code for the understanding of the elite only, do you? What good would the book be then, it couldn’t accomplish the very thing it was designed for. John it simply makes more sense to say the book was written and translated and transcribed by humans, people doing their best but fallible. If you are a believer which you are, it doesn’t mean you can not claim it is inspired or based on the instructions of God. Humans make mistakes, we all know that. If you give the same job to a couple dozen people you will get a good share of differences in the out come. I am reminded of stories of things that bend so they don’t break. If you hold the book, your idea of it, and the idea of your deity with too great rigidity something has to break in the face of reality. Is it not better to bend than break? Again best wishes. Hugs
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“Phil who?” Phil McCraken, a gay archeologist who is famously known for opening the first deli in Nazareth back in 12CE. I believe the place was called Phil McCraken’s Virgin Bagels and Crucified Ham on Rye: The Best Damn Deli In Town.”
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Oh ye fleabitten doubters! It all happened; only it was at a different place in a different time and to different blokes and bloke-esses, and the events were a bit different. See?
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I dunno. I think the video goes too far into arguing the color of the unicorn in its approach. It would be like having to do a video on Homer’s Odyssey and the non-existence of some islands to show how the underlying religious beliefs weren’t accurate. Such an approach assumes the legitimacy of the notion that Zeus and friends are real.
It’s difficult to convince someone the unicorn isn’t real when that person has already decided what to believe beforehand. If anything, it allows people to pat themselves on the back to tell themselves they’re making the right choices in following the magical beast. Ideas like people coming back from the dead, flying into the upper atmosphere/space after one dies, mystical guilt complexes, and strength through long hair are but a few of the things that get ignored while this happens.
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