Evidence for why we know the New Testament writers told the truth.

[pakeha]

Well if you scroll down the following website, you'll see just how accurate Gospel writers Luke and John were in reporting highly detailed information. It lists 84 facts for Luke and 59 for John.

http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=51643

And here is some more evidence (only US viewers will be able to see all of the info on this site):

http://books.google.com/books?id=PC..._brr=0#v=onepage&q=Geisler 10 reasons&f=false

Ah, back to these two hack sources.
One that can't be read and the other which lists 84 trifling details which somehow translates as proof to DOC, even including a citation to the outdated sir Wliiam Ramsay, whose interpretations of his own findings have been called at best, "wishful thinking".
As for the list, well, so what.
It's really like claiming Anne Rice's vampire series is factual, because of accurate descriptions of New Orleans, its history and its food.

From your source:

This is a theistic world where miracles are possible. So it makes much more sense to believe Luke's miracle accounts than to discount them. In other words, Luke's credentials as a historian have been proven on so many points that it takes more faith not to believe his miracle accounts than to believe them.

Since when is someone who describes the world around him accurately an historian?
Are Somerset Maugham's short stories real history because he names and correctly locates correctly the various European cities?
Has Anne Rice written an accurate and reliable chronicle of vampires because she includes a route of the winter voyages of a real ocean liner in one of her tales? And fax machines?

And in any case, whatever Luke wrote abut his journeys, what has that to do with the fact he relied on hearsay evidence about Jesus' ressurrection?

 

[six7s]

And in any case, whatever Luke wrote abut his journeys, what has that to do with the fact he relied on hearsay evidence about Jesus' ressurrection?

If its good enough for Matthew, Mark and John, why deny poor ol' Luke teh benefit of teh doubt?

 

[pakeha]

The resurrection of Christ is certainly no fable, it is the absolute truth!

I see kurious_kathy seems to have confused this site with Rapture Ready.

 

[amb]

More like magical thinking I would say. She probably attends a David Copperfield show and thinks he is actualy doing magic.

 

[pakeha]

Ssshh...

 

[Simon39759]

More like magical thinking I would say. She probably attends a David Copperfield show and thinks he is actualy doing magic.

Or she doesn't, because he is doing witchcraft, just like kids can learn reading Harry Potter or playing Dungeons and Dragons.

 

[pakeha]

Good thinking, Simon39759.
Perhaps a good solution would be to take the kiddies around to one of those creaionalist theme parks or museums, where they can learn that one thing is the idea dinosaurs and humans co-exist (and within historical times, too!) and quite another is believing the impudent wickedness of the Harry Potter stories.

edited to correct Simon39759's name.

 

[Marcus]

The resurrection of Christ is certainly no fable, it is the absolute truth!

I have a bridge I would like to sell you...

Adding exclamation marks does nothing to improve the quality of your opinions.

 

[RobRoy]

More like magical thinking I would say. She probably attends a David Copperfield show and thinks he is actualy doing magic.

But he is actually doing magic. The only real magic there is. He's pretty good too!

 

[DOC]

You were unable to tell me where Josephus got his info about the time of the census. You are very trusting of someone who some in here think made a mistake about something.

...I have no idea where he got his info from. In fact, he may be completely and utterly wrong...

I agree.

___

Also, one has to remember that Josephus was friends with the Roman Emperor, even taking a trip with him to Egypt. If Josephus could write or not write something that would be detrimental to or nonsupporting of Christianity (a pain in the rear to the Romans) one could see how it might be tempting.

It would be like a historian being friends with Hitler and taking a trip with him to occupied France. Do you think that might influence his writings in any way?

 

[paximperium]

I agree.

___

Also, one has to remember that Josephus was friends with the Roman Emperor, even taking a trip with him to Egypt. If Josephus could write or not write something that would be detrimental to or nonsupporting of Christianity (a pain in the rear to the Romans) one could see how it might be tempting.

It would be like a historian being friends with Hitler and taking a trip with him to occupied France. Do you think that might influence his writings in any way?

That would be an interesting "what if" if Christianity was relevant to the Romans at the time. But we all know that it was a small rather irrelevant cult since the Romans were more interested in the Jews and their rebellions that finally culminated in the Bar-Kokhbar Rebellion.

So DOC, still no corroborating evidence for the claims of the Bible at all?

 

[DOC]

Never the less, some historian would have reported it. Non have.

If Saddam Hussein was still alive and ruling Iraq, do you think any Iraqi historians who live in Iraq would be reporting to the world the atrocities of Saddam.

 

[Simon39759]

Good thinking, Simon39759.
Perhaps a good solution would be to take the kiddies around to one of those creaionalist theme parks or museums, where they can learn that one thing is the idea dinosaurs and humans co-exist (and within historical times, too!) and quite another is believing the impudent wickedness of the Harry Potter stories.

edited to correct Simon39759's name.

<-Smile at Pakeha correcting my name and leaving 'creationist' severely misspelled (it is "cdesign proponentist").

But you can always shorten my user's name to Simon.

 

[Simon39759]

If Saddam Hussein was still alive and ruling Iraq, do you think any Iraqi historians who live in Iraq would be reporting to the world the atrocities of Saddam.

Not necessarily but, guess what, we don't have any Galilean historian from Herod's time.

You use the comparison to Saddam, so I'd think you have read my post and, yet, do no address it.
Considering that Herod died a bit more than 30 years before Josephus' death, I have to ask, why is your question relevant?

 

[joobz]

I agree.

So, you agree that it is possible that not only was the census not in the time of Jesus' birth, but that the account of there being any census near that time could be fradulent. As you say, being a fan of Rome, by claiming that they had census' going back that far would look good for them.

 

[zooterkin]

If Saddam Hussein was still alive and ruling Iraq, do you think any Iraqi historians who live in Iraq would be reporting to the world the atrocities of Saddam.

Ah, got it. You're saying that there's no way the author of Matthew could have heard about the massacre of the innocents, even if it had happened, so the account must be made up.

 

[joobz]

Ah, got it. You're saying that there's no way the author of Matthew could have heard about the massacre of the innocents, even if it had happened, so the account must be made up.

Or Since christian historians (e.g., Matthew) had an agenda to present history that favored thier church (and, yes, showing yourself as an oppressed victim does help religion), then there's no reason to take Matthew's account (or any gospel account) as reliable.

 

[paximperium]

If Saddam Hussein was still alive and ruling Iraq, do you think any Iraqi historians who live in Iraq would be reporting to the world the atrocities of Saddam.

But the Persians, Arabs, Americans and everyone else would.

 

[DOC]

That would be an interesting "what if" if Christianity was relevant to the Romans at the time. But we all know that it was a small rather irrelevant cult since the Romans were more interested in the Jews and their rebellions that finally culminated in the Bar-Kokhbar Rebellion.

They weren't irrelevant to the Roman emperor Nero as he was blaming them for the burning of Rome only about 30 years after the crucifixion of Christ.

So DOC, still no corroborating evidence for the claims of the Bible at all?

Well as I stated earlier we have 10 non-Christian written sources for Christianity and Christ but only 9 non-Christian written sources for the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar who was emperor during the time of Christ.

When you add biblical sources there are 44 written sources for Christianity and Christ and 10 for Tiberius Caesar.

Here is a composite of what non-Christian sources say about Christ:

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=4967314#post4967314

 

[six7s]

If Saddam Hussein was still alive and ruling Iraq, do you think any Iraqi historians who live in Iraq would be reporting to the world the atrocities of Saddam.

Yes

This might come as a surprise to those blinkered from the bright light of reality, but many, many people around the world actually do give a toss about integrity, honesty and accuracy