Posted on 12/04/2013 3:17:41 PM PST by servo1969
Christianity didn’t grow at first. it grew very slowly until the 4th Century when it became the Established Church of the Roman Empire. After that, it was stylish, and even required for the corrupt Byzantine court.
“The virgin birth prophecy was a simple mistranslation from young girl in Hebrew to virgin in Greek, and the Hebrew version had been fullfilled already by Hezikiah.”
This ‘mistranslation’ claim of donmeaker is of course demonstrably false.
The Hebrew OT was translated into Koine Greek several hundred years before Christ’s birth by a committee of 70 Jewish scholars in Alexandria Egypt. This being at a time when Hebrew was little used among Jews and the common language of the educated was Greek. The text they produced is the Septuagint, and they translated the Hebrew word in question as the Greek word parthenos, meaning virgin. They could easily have used the Greek word for ‘young girl’ if that is what they wanted to convey, but they didn’t.
The claim of mistranslation of this particular passage is a perennial favorite among atheist true believers and we should congratulate donnie on memorizing his ‘scriptures’.
And what ‘magical testimony’ would that be donny? Christ’s own account of the Sanhedrin to his apostles?
Why the tomb was empty-
First, Buddhists cremate, so their tombs are empty.
Second, Jewish practice was to reuse tombs. After some period of time bones were removed, cleaned, placed in an ossuary, and reburied to conserve space. Of course a high value tomb, only borrowed, would be empty.
Third, the evidence of an empty tomb is easy to fake- you take the body out and dispose of it. There is an interesting burial scene in “paint your wagon” a musical with Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin.
And that is without getting all conspiracy theory and asserting that the sponge with wine was drugged so Jesus would simulate being dead withing hours, rather than taking days to die as was common with crucifixion.
You are assuming that fulfillment of prophecy is independent of the prophecy. It isn’t. When you want to convince the credulous that believe in magical prophecy, you read through everything that might be a prophecy, and claim as many as possible, and probably some that are not possible, as your own.
That is why birth in Bethlehem was claimed, despite the putative Jesus being from Galilee. and to be sure, sent him off to Egypt.
I can claim 6 rolls of any number doubles in a row. Just let me report my results, and let me declare any roll I want as non-relevant. That breaks the simple statistics that you use to justify your assurance.
So it looks like I know more about the Bible than you do about Statistics.
The tomb was closed by a large stone and guarded by Roman soldiers, soldiers who would imperil their own lives if they abandoned their post.
Removing the body in such a situation is only easy to do in the fantasies of the atheist true believer.
Gravity may be due to the nature of the universe itself, with no outside agency required.
That is simpler than an assertion that some unknown outside agency by some unknown method, for some unknown reason created gravity.
Occam’s razor.
I will agree immediately that the supernatural force exists, if I see evidence of it.
A simple email will suffice, or a phone call.
You could do it, whey can’t G-d do it? Or are you greater than G-d?
So tell me how a star can hover in one place, not on a pole.
If you explain that report, I will be surprised.
Ok, explain how a Jesus could be born 4BC during the reign of Herod the Great and during the census of Quirinius at 6AD.
And of course, the eclipse during the full moon.
That is another thing: The gospels disagree on who was guarding.
Mark:
No guard
Matthew:
The Pharisees went to Pilate the day after preparation. Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone
Luke
No guard.
John: No guard
No Roman guards.
Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthians: No resurrection! apparently that was developed later.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Tomb_of_Jesus
Magical testimony, from a magical man, who magically rose from the dead a few days after he died, but not before Paul wrote his letter to the Corinthians in which he did not mention the resurrection.
Gosh, who could doubt that? (/sarc)
It took you 30 years to become this cynical?
I wouldn't believe this either:
Oops!
That darn Luke didn’t include any NAMES of these folks.
I guess they don’t count after all.
No; it would have BONES in it - you just SAID so!
Needs more straw...
Wow!
What a claim!!
Knowledge about inaccurate, bogus, and fanciful information!!!
I guess they didn't 'know how' good enough.
So, Don; would YOU wait around to guard an EMPTY tomb or a FULL one?
And, according to you, he SHOULD have?
It appear that Paul DID include YOU in his letter:
As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
But, then again, this is a mere reference to something in the Older testament; an even MORE suspect assortment of writings.
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