[net.religion] Christianity reasons: reprise

rtris (05/04/83)

CBostrum and I don't communicate very well (we've tried). But here's my
last submission (no, not because I'm fed up with it, but because I'm
leaving for the Great West Coast tomorrow, and must depart from the
net for an indefinite period of time) (ALSO this is the parting reminder
that since I am leaving it will obviously mean that I will not be able to
reply to any mail or news (this in case my silence gets misinterpreted
(>anything< could happen on this net!)).

Sure Christ's resurrection could have been faked in any of a countless
number of ways, by himself or his disciples. However, IF you accept
Scripture as reasonably accurate (i.e. sort of believe it's kind of a
historical document, but you're not sure you're going to go for miracles
and that kind of stuff (a perfectly >reasonable< investigative point
of view for reasons I already pointed out)), THEN I don't see any reasonable
motive on the disciples part. What did they gain (except self-delusion).
Would you die for that? Do you think they would, from their portrayal in
the Bible? From the accounts of Acts they had everything to lose, and nothing
to gain (not even power), save persecution of a very ruthless sort.
   Could Christ have set it all up? I'm sure it's possible to do such a thing.
But again, to what end? There was no money or power to be had (in contrast
to our modern phenomenon which can be easily so motivated).

   And if you believe it's just a *fairy* tale, why go into trickery
explanations. I think it's >reasonable< however to grant the Bible a
substantial amount of historical worth, on archeaological evidence alone.
IF you accept that, I think it becomes far less likely that it's *only* a
fairy tale, than that it's a, in some sense, historical document.

								Ralph.

jwp (05/12/83)

In response to watmath!rtris:

	"... THEN I don't see any reasonable motive on the disciples part.
	What did they gain (except self-delusion).  Would you die for that?
	Do you think they would ..."

A very large number of people have died for (more properly, possibly, 'from')
self-delusion.

			John Pierce, Chemistry, UC San Diego
			{ucbvax, philabs}!sdcsvax!sdchema!jwp