On 10/17/05, Susan Maneck <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> [But you don't take the New Testament seriously as a historical
> record. You don't actually believe Jesus rose from the dead.)
> Dear Gilberto,
> Because we don't take everything in those accounts literally does not mean
> we don't take them seriously as a historical record. They happen to be the
> best historical records we have of the life of Jesus whatever their faults.
I think you are using words in a different way than I would. If you
are disbelieving significant events described in a text, I'm not sure
you can be said to take it seriously as a historical record. You are
willing to use it as an indication of what happened, sure. But you are
taking very little of it at face value.
> "And the
> non-canonical gospels and other Christian writings aren't
> significantly less credible as historical accounts. They were excluded
> from the canon, to a large degree, because they were theologically
> objectionable to the group of Christians which was dominant, but
> looking at them gives us more information about the Christian movement
> and Jesus."
> Oh, indeed they are less credible. They may have been excluded from the NT
> for theological reasons but aside from the Gospel of Thomas there are good
> historical reasons for excluding these Gospels as providing credible
> information about the life of Jesus as well, mostly the fact they are much,
> much later.
At least you are opening up. First you were saying that the NT was the
only source of information. Now you are willing to include Thomas.
Hopefully you would be willing to admit that Josephus is another
extra-Biblical source of information about Jesus.
Peace
Gilberto
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