[Magdalen] did jesus exist

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

"Some people would rather be right than happy."

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente

On Sat, Jan 17, 2015 at 5:40 PM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
wrote:

> From my experience in a course _The search for the historical Jesus_ (OMG
> Pannenberg!) it seems that all that is known for sure is that a fellow
> called Jesus was indeed crucified at that time.  The rest is faith,
> i'nnit?  Including the Seminar fellows and their red print.  As famous
> artist of the Arctic and commited Anglican, Doris MacArthur, replied when
> asked at 90 yrs of age what she would think if, when she got to heaven, she
> were to find Jesus didn't exist, said, "Well, it was a wonderful way to
> live."  I was there when she said it.
>
> Marion, a pilgrim ... today my sail I lift ....
>
> On 1/17/2015 4:23 PM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford wrote:
>
>> I am on a discussion forum where a lot of skeptical questions and comments
>> come up.  One thing which I see from time to time is the simple question:
>> "Did Jesus exist?"
>>
>> I've always said that this is for me personally an unimportant question,
>> because whether or not there was some guy walking around Palestine back in
>> the day has absolutely no impact on us today.  Similarly, the stories
>> about
>> walking on water, feeding more than ten thousand people (read the text
>> carefully), healing or even those rumors about resuscitation actually mean
>> nothing if we do not have reason to think there is an ongoing presence in
>> us and in the world today.
>>
>> However, for a lot of folks, it is being said that there is no evidence
>> that Jesus ever even existed at all. This, for them, is a gateway to
>> concluding that there is no basis to any aspect of the Christian point of
>> view.
>>
>> So, while it might not be terribly vital to me, evidence that Jesus
>> existed
>> is nevertheless an important piece of information for me and anyone who
>> might interact with someone of the skeptical nature.
>>
>> Those of you (I hope nearly all of you. we live in hope) who subscribe to
>> Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) probably already know the article I am
>> thinking of. However, not everyone subscribes to BAR, and both of you need
>> to take a look at this article from BAR now available online. Since it
>> probably will not be so for much longer, I suggest you may want to look
>> now.
>>
>> http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/
>> jesus-historical-jesus/did-jesus-exist/
>>
>> The author does a good discussion of the sources available and puts each
>> into good perspective.  In short, this article pretty much demonstrates
>> that Jesus the person actually existed and was an influential leader of
>> sorts. In this sense, Tacitus' comments are especially useful, since he is
>> not likely forged, and his dislike of the "Chrestus" cult (and lack of
>> information about them) is evident.
>>
>> BAR is a rich resource of information on what is being pulled out of the
>> ground, and what may be made of it. Since it absorbed the staff of the now
>> defunct magazine Biblical Review, it also has regular features on Bible
>> related themes as well.
>>
>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>> *“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things
>> better
>> for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your
>> time
>> on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente
>>
>>
>