Jesus the Christ is Probaby the Result of Creative Writing.

Initial Responses: >> "The point that I was trying to make was that the sources that actually mention Jesus were part of the New Testament" Once again - I must remind you that the resolution states "JESUS THE CHRIST is the result of creative writing." Not "THE NEW TESTAMENT is the result of creative writing." The mention of the historical Jesus of Nazareth is completely different from the mention of Jesus the Christ. >> "Here's a nice little column on the transition from Calming the Sea in the Psalms (OT) to Calming the Seas in the New Testament: " This source concludes that "by the calming of the storm we find Jesus engaging in a parabolic action declaring to all who will see and understand that their king was coming, their exile was ending and that their God was returning to Zion..." One could just as easily conclude that the writers of the New Testament thought it would be really great if the Messiah they were creating matched up with the Old Testament texts that they already have. Psalms is NOT a prophetic book. The content of Psalms cannot be understood as making predictions about Jesus. Thus, the story of Jesus calming the waves is not fulfilling any sort of prophecy - it is clearly allegorical fiction intended to portray Jesus in a certain light. >> "The details are the same. Therefore, I come to the conclusion that it was NOT creative writing." Based on the fact that the details are exactly the same, you conclude that it is a true reference, and not plagiarism. That's very strange. So despite the fact that NO OTHER HISTORICAL accounts make reference to these facts, you choose to believe a self-corroborating source on this matter? Hopefully anyone with a rudimentary understanding can see that self-corroborating sources that conflict independent sources are NOT VALID. ************************** Since my opponent seems to have ignored most of my points so far, or has answered them by means of links to external sites that do not address the point, I shall move on, but remind the reader that my opponent has still not provided any sort of meaningful answer to the following: 1) My opponent recognizes that OT and NT texts are nearly identical, yet in conflict with other historical accounts, but holds that self-corroboration is a valid form of evidence, despite the fact that it is not. 2) My opponent admits Jesus could write but gives no explanation for why he would not do so. 3) My opponent defends traditional authorship without answering any of the objections concerning them. 4) My opponent has apparently dropped argumentation concerning Middle Eastern mythology. 5) My opponent has not addressed mistranslations and deliberate misreading of OT text in NT literature. ********************************* Now... on to further argumentation: 1) The crucifixion of Jesus would have violated several Jewish laws. There were prohibitions at the time of Jesus' crucifixion on holding capital crime sessions at night, holding trials at places other than the temple precincts, trying capital crimes in a one-day sitting, and holding trials on the eve of a festival or the Sabbath (http://rationalrevolution.net...). Furthermore, the punishment for blasphemy at the time was stoning (http://www.law.umkc.edu...). The fact that Jesus was crucified, and the manner in which it was done aligns suspiciously well with Isaiah 53 (Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows), Psalm 22 (My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?), Psalm 69 (They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.), Isaiah 50 (I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.), more Psalm 22 (He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.), even more Psalm 22 (they have pierced my hands and my feet.), holy cow... MORE Psalm 22 (They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.), Amos 8 ("In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.), and even some Ezekiel 37 (O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them;). Coincidence? Most apologetics will state that this is an example of Jesus fulfilling prophecies. However, some of the most specific passages from from Psalms, which, as stated before, is NOT a prophetical book. 2) The Gospel of Mark reads like allegorical fiction, and not a historical account. Historical books reference events in a larger context - for example, "The Roman Empire fell around the year 400 CE." Historical accounts do not explain the over-arching point in terms of individuals - for example "Adolf Hitler ordered Hans Muller to investigate the home of the Franks in order to see if there were any Jews in hiding there." The Gospel of Mark reads as a narrative - for example: "As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him." Such writing is not the stuff of history - but much more like a narrative intending to point out that the writer was of the opinion that Jesus was the Messianic Prophecy fulfilled. Other formal historical accounts at the time of Jesus (and preceding that time) are written with a completely different flavor (Tacitus, Josephus, Livey). Furthermore, elements of Mark's writing are clearly taken from the Old Testament and meant to refer to other OT characters. For example: 2 Kin 1:8 - ""They replied, 'He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.' The king said, 'That was Elijah the Tishbite."" Mark 1 - "Now John [the baptist] was clothed with camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist" This is not the work of an actual account of something that took place, but rather the work of allegorical fiction. 3) There is no evidence for the "Empty Tomb" ("Beyond Resurrection" - Wedderburn). The empty tomb of Easter morning and central to the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is not mentioned by Paul or other writers of the epistles. The tomb itself would have been one of the most important sites to early Christians, yet there is no mention of anyone making a pilgrimage to this site. And of course, according to Acts, Jesus ascended into heaven bodily, so there are no remains. But still the tomb itself would have been a central focus of early Christians. The writings of Philo mention what is usually considered the passion of Jesus, but make no mention at all of his burial and resurrection ("Flaccus IV" - Philo). These passages even include minute details, such as: "...and they, driving the poor wretch as far as the public gymnasium, and setting him up there on high that he might be seen by everybody, flattened out a leaf of papyrus and put it on his head instead of a diadem, and clothed the rest of his body with a common door mat instead of a cloak and instead of a scepter they put in his hand a small stick of the native papyrus which they found lying by the way side and gave to him;" ******************************************* Unfortunately, I'm at the end of the character limit, but it should be clear to the reader that my opponent has a LOT of work to do. AFFIRMED.