Could the law abiding Jesus or his disciples have used a coin depicting Caesar?

by EdenOne 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  EdenOne

  "..I choose to believe the Bible and therefore didn't read through or watch anything to the contrary.--it would be a waste of my time"

  At least you're honest to admit to hiding your head in the sand. If it works for you, great! Nothing to see here.
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  EdenOne

  neat blue dog3 hours agoSo many of "The Experts" have made fools of themselves trying to disprove the historicity of Biblical details, and going for this minutiae is really reaching. Not original, and not impressed.

  Good thing I'm not an expert trying to impress you, then. A true expert doesn't set himself to prove the Bible wrong, you see. He follows the evidence available and based on that, formulates explanations. Sometimes (many times) the FACTS are overwhelmingly not favorable to the accuracy of the biblical narratives; sometimes they are.

  The thing where I am a true expert is in knowing my own path out of belief; in that path, I had to make sure every step of the way that I was making the right decision by rejecting the Bible as the "Word of God" to which I must heed. And in 100 out of 100 times, in every detail, the verdict points to the Bible being a fascinating collection of documents that tell a story of how an insignificant tribal worship of a weather god in northern Arabia became the largest religious phenomenon in the history of mankind - but that's all there is to it. It's as fascinating as it is deceptive in its claims.

  The burden of proof is not with "The Experts", is with those who make extraordinary claims that demand extraordinary proof - at least something more than fallacy of circular reasonings.
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  enoughisenough

  Edenone "At least you're honest to admit to hiding your head in the sand. If it works for you, great! Nothing to see here." If I am wrong, no harm done! If I am correct, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes.
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  Phizzy

  I don't think the Writer of "Mark" was at all worried about historical accuracy, throughout his Work,and may well have known his little story about Jesus confounding the Pharisees with his clever ploy with the coin was inaccurate, but it IS a good Story.

  I wonder if the Writer of "Mark" was most motivated by the desire to write entertainment, more than he was by the desire to Evangelise.
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  EdenOne

  Phizzy - but it IS a good Story.
  I wonder if the Writer of "Mark" was most motivated by the desire to write entertainment, more than he was by the desire to Evangelise.

  Yes! No doubt, it IS a great story, and a masterful illustration, but likely it's not something that the historical Jesus would have said. But, why let the truth get in the way of a good story, right?

  I don't think the writer of Mark was in the entertainment trade, but early Christian writers were more concerned with electrifying their audiences than with the truth. Thus, they felt justified to lie in order to advance their faith.

  Some people here would benefit from reading Bart Ehrman's "Forged - Writing in the name of God". (That is, if you're not hiding your head in the sand). And btw, this example wasn't taken from any of Ehrman's books.