Was George Washington president?

[this charming man]

A wafer-thin mint?

Appropriate. This thread makes me want to throw up.

Thank you, sir, and now the check.

 

[joobz]

I for one am willing to acknowledge that Jesus existed for the sake of argument. Proving that he was God is a whole different pile of wafers.

I agree. It really doesn't do much to discount his existence. It's purely a contrarian position and avoids the real issue.

It's why I kind of like Jefferson's position. Treat Christ like a philospher and remove all of the magic mumbojumbo.

 

[skeptical]

I agree. It really doesn't do much to discount his existence. It's purely a contrarian position and avoids the real issue.

It's why I kind of like Jefferson's position. Treat Christ like a philospher and remove all of the magic mumbojumbo.

Whenever I see arguments similar to JF's, I always just say: "ok, I'm perfectly prepared to use exactly the same standards of evidence for Jesus as I am for <insert historic figure of the day>. I will rule out any supernatural claim about <arbitrary historic figure> and Jesus, and rule all the natural, non-magical claims in for both of them. Deal?"

Needless to say, this is pretty much a conversation ender.

 

[Ryokan]

I suspect Jesus_Freak won't make a second post in this thread.

 

[Darth Rotor]

I suspect Jesus_Freak won't make a second post in this thread.

Can you prove that Jesus_Freak exists?

DR

 

[Hokulele]

I think another point is that no one is claiming the accounts of George Washington are inerrant (chopping down the cherry tree for the classic example).

 

[erlando]

I suspect Jesus_Freak won't make a second post in this thread.

He did. #5. Just don't expect for him to make a third.

 

[triadboy]

...the most interesting part of the story about George’s teeth is the mechanism of their fabrication. The upper and lower gold plates were connected by springs which pushed the upper and lower plates against the upper and lower ridges of his mouth to hold them in place. Washington actually had to actively close his jaws together to make his teeth bite together. If he relaxed, his mouth would pop open.

http://www.goodteeth.com/gwteeth.htm

I hope this helps you realize George was real.

If only we had something similar for Jesus.

"Jesus had "crazy eyes".
"Jesus finished every sermon with "jazz hands".
"Jesus never met a meal He didn't like (if you know what I mean)"

But we have nothing describing Jesus. Is that strange?

 

[Darth Rotor]

http://www.goodteeth.com/gwteeth.htm

I hope this helps you realize George was real.

If only we had something similar for Jesus.

"Jesus had "crazy eyes".
"Jesus finished every sermon with "jazz hands".
"Jesus never met a meal He didn't like (if you know what I mean)"

But we have nothing describing Jesus. Is that strange?

Given that some of the Nag Hamadi scrolls were burned to start a fire, one wonders at any number of things not preserved in that regard.

It is possible that the best written description of his facial features was used to start a fire for dinner, one fine evening. Or used by M Madgalene to blow her nose into, or crafted by a janitor in the library of Alexandria into a little origami boat for his son.

DR

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

1) The claim "George Washington was, at one time, President of the USA" is not an extraordinary claim; therefore it does not require extraordinary evidence
2) Multiple, independent sources (spanning nations, political affiliations, etc) agree that he was President and when he was President

1) The claim "the bible is 'the word of God'" (or whatever) is an extraordinary claim; therefore it does require extraordinary evidence
2) Multiple sources, w/in the Christian faith, disagree on multiple aspects of the bible; its level of accuracy; its interpretation; etc

Your analogy fails.

 

[jesus_freak]

I for one am willing to acknowledge that Jesus existed for the sake of argument. Proving that he was God is a whole different pile of wafers.

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?
And for the few who thought I wouldn't post again why? because I am scared of the big mean atheist? Please

 

[quixotecoyote]

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?

You see, that is the bit you'd have to prove.

 

[Hokulele]

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?

Not much of anything. Would you like a few Buddhist fables to compare?

And for the few who thought I wouldn't post again why? because I am scared of the big mean atheist? Please

Why haven't you followed up on your promise to read the Stephen Jay Gould? Are you afraid of a paleontologist? I have kept my end of our bargain. Does your refusal to even acknowledge our agreement suggest that atheists are better at keeping promises than christians?

 

[m_huber]

Darwin is liked by evolutionists because he liberated science from the straitjacket of observation and opened the door to storytellers. This gave professional evolutionists job security so they can wander through biology labs as if they belong there.
--- David Coppedge

This statement (JF's sig) pretty well indicates that this discussion isn't going to go anywhere.

But for the record, I think there are about a dozen other threads currently active dealing with the possibility of a historical Jesus. Do we need another one (especially one based on the premise that if Jesus didn't exist, George Washington didn't)?

 

[Hawk one]

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?

Where were those witnesses, then? I mean, you have absolutely no source at all from a direct witness to the event. All you have is a claim that there were witnesses. But without any evidence of there being any witnesses, that claim means as little as the claim that he did feed several thousand people through supernatural means. Heck, there's not even evidence he fed them via trickery and natural means.

 

[fuelair]

Joobz did a great job in his post showing how badly JF is mis-characterizing the skeptics of theism, completely demolishing JF's position.

My prediction is that JF will completely ignore it.

After awhile, don't you get the feeling that all this effort to communicate with people who completely refuse to listen to what you're saying... is a bit futile?

That's what all the JFs of the world do-whackin' fer jeebus.

 

[Furi]

well just to take his analogy about the bibble being written by man so therefore is possibly incorrect, that is because numpties accept it to be the Word of God, sooo there is one failure, the second is that G Washington was a human, and didn't pretend or aspire to be a god, so that any history was written by his peers.

If JF wants us to accept the bibble and other Gods doggeral sources as valid as they were written by Man, then they shall be accepted as long as JF acknowledges that they are written by his Gods peer.

 

[ponderingturtle]

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?
And for the few who thought I wouldn't post again why? because I am scared of the big mean atheist? Please

The number of proposed witnesses does not validate the story, as none of those witnesses independantly recorded the event.

 

[Irony]

So the whole rising from the dead, raising the dead, feeding the thousands with the few fish and loaves of bread, all which had many witnesses proves what?
And for the few who thought I wouldn't post again why? because I am scared of the big mean atheist? Please

It proves about as much as the equally well witnessed digging of the grand canyon by Paul Bunyan.

 

[Furi]

It proves about as much as the equally well witnessed digging of the grand canyon by Paul Bunyan.

That Paul Bunyan should team up with the well known Irish navvy Fionn MacCumhaill, surely the originator of pikey driveway laying. (I bet he offers to do garden decking as well)

Maybe start terraform-U-like or similar