Comments on: Ask an Amateur Scientist: Skeptical Answers

By: Hoobajoobah

Hoobajoobah — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:58:32 +0000

Sorry being so damn late to the party, but I only recently discovered all these old entries. I would take exception with only one thing that you said, which is that there is no *contemporary* mention of Jesus. Flavius Josephus mentions Jesus several times in his “Antiquities of the Jews” which was published about 92 AD, IIRC. Josephus is really the only world-class historian of his generation, and was a Jew who grew up in Judea in the years not far removed from the time of Christ. His career as a historian for the Emperors (Vespasian, then Vespasian’s idiot son Titus, the George W. Bush of his day) lasted about 30 years, and he began publishing about 30 years after Jesus. So there you’ve got a solid first-century publication date from a reputable source talking about Jesus. Granted, it’s 60 years after the fact, but that’s still pretty contemporary, and it’s a secular source. More to the point, Josephus even mentions Jesus’ kid brother, “James,” as well as Jesus’ cousin, “John the Baptist.”

Secondly, I’d submit the Apostle Paul. I know, I know, you’re gonna’ say “You can’t use the bible to prove itself.” I agree, and I’m not going to. While the Gospels are all definitely pseudopigraphical works from the 2nd century AD, no one really doubts that the St. Paul’s epistles really were written in the 40s/50s AD. Most of them stand up to historical scrutiny, excepting 1st & 2nd Timothy and Titus, which are obvious 2nd century forgeries. So we’ve got Paul talking about Jesus’ death, and he admits that he, personally, never met Jesus, but he does mention several run-ins with Jesus’ brother James again.

Neither of these are first-hand proof, I’ll admit, but they’re both pretty contemporary. Now, as to wether He was the Son of God or not, and what that even means, that’s an entirely different matter. But pretty much everything else you said was on the money.

By: Richard Peacock

Richard Peacock — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:10:17 +0000

If God created bananas just for us, why do they make us constipated?

Answer: God is a jerk.

By: Furikku

Furikku — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:29:04 +0000

“16 Isn’t it somewhat arrogant to suggest that countless churches and people (including men like Abraham Lincoln) are all radically in error in their view of the Bible? ”

YEAH GALILEO, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS TOTALLY NOT WRONG ABOUT THAT EARTH-CENTRIC SOLAR SYSTEM MODEL, YOU JERK! >:(

By: AmateurScientist

AmateurScientist — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:20:55 +0000

How could anyone not love Jesus as his one and only savior? Save for Satan, of course, as he is the Ethan Rayne to Jesus’ Rupert Giles. Or is it the other way around?

By: mercutiom

mercutiom — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:25:31 +0000

Wait….so you’re telling me that Robert Heinlein wasn’t a good, God fearing Christian. With all those references to the Q’uran and mentions of the Prophet, how could he not love Jesus as his one and only savior?