When did Josephus allegedly write the TF and the other quote? Christianity,
as a religion, was around before the final edition of the New Testament was
put together, so mightn't Josephus simply have heard stories that
originated from Christians? Where did he supposedly get *his* evidence? I
ask because it seems an obviously relevant consideration, and because, even
today, we hear all sorts of marvelous stories that turn out to be nothing
more than the kind of memetic hokum that grows in any culture of credulous
people (such as ours).
Even if we assume that Josephus wrote *exactly* what is attributed to him,
and wrote it during the time that Jesus supposedly lived, it still does not
seem like very good evidence for the reality of Jesus, and even less good
as evidence for Jesus's supposed marvels, and certainly not good evidence
for any claim that Jesus was somehow associated with any God that we might
assume to have existed at the time, and absolutely worthless as evidence
that there *is* such a God.
I think that about sums the issue up.
--Chris
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