Posted on 03/11/2014 6:32:04 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
Among Catholics and atheists, is easy to exchange convinced assertions: “The gospels are 100% God’s holy Word and every bit is historically accurate!” or “The gospels are fairy tales!” However there is a discipline called “Biblical scholarship” in which scholars do some very interesting work determining just which parts of the gospels they think are reliable and which they think are not. Their conclusions are, of course, debated. That’s what scholars do. Their work is fascinating and it is worth taking some time to look at just a smidgen of their methodology and conclusions.
Bible scholars are most interested in trying to determine whether the original gospels record eyewitness accounts, and whether those original versions have been transmitted accurately. To do this scholars consider several factors: 1) authorship and date of composition, 2) intention and genre, 3) gospel sources and oral tradition, 4) textual criticism, 5) historical authenticity of specific sayings and narrative events.
One of the difficult aspects for modern people to understand is just what kind of document the gospels are. Everyone can admit that they are not written as purely historical documents, but neither are they simply fabulous fables, myths, or fairy tales. In continuity with the Old Testament, and consistent with their Jewish origins, we have documents which are presented as history and have plenty of historically verifiable details, but which also have supernatural and otherworldly elements to them
(Excerpt) Read more at strangenotions.com ...
Nah; merely TRYING to...
nice..thank you!
Fabian, I hope you will answer a question for me.
If you condemn those who learn and follow the written Word, then from what does your Pastor(?) get his material to teach you? I don’t understand.
Personages???
I reckon I’m not bright enough to understand, Elsie. If a person claims to be Christian but then says, in a way, to not cling to the Word that instructs on how to be a Christian, then how ...
Ah. I don’t think I can make sense of it. I just don’t get how that is supposed to work.
Yes, that is like reading a manual for a Ford when you have a Chevy.
LOL! You’re good. ;o)
I guess it’s kinda like levitating in the TM movement...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Meditation_movement
The argument is circular.
1. The Bible says it is the Word of God.
2. We know what the Bible says is true because it’s the Word of God.
IOW, it is because it says it is and it says so because it is. This is standard evangelical theology, but it’s horrible logic.
That's suspect. You don't think the writers (whoever they were) knew of the prophecies and framed the story accordingly?
They’re based on the oral tradition, which tends to be a long game of telephone, as it gets distorted through being passed along from one source to another.
And they have scribal errors, some accidental and often incidental, but some both deliberate and significant.
Isn't that what Longnecker/the OP just said?
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