One big reason I became an atheist in the 1990s is that I started reading Jesus Seminar books, not knowing what I was getting into. It took me a long time to realize that the “quest for the historical Jesus” is not about history but rather is an anti-Trinitarian endeavor. I wasted 25 years down that rabbit hole.
The trouble with the Jesus seminar crowd is that if you went digging into their evidence for their theories it's fairly lacking. It's pretty typical of theories based on conjecture & trust me because I am the expert.
During my undergrad in history, a core curriculum class is Historiography 301. Every week during the semester we were given an article written by an expert and our assignment was to find the bias throughout the article. And, again, this exists for everyone. The mistake is thinking anyone is without it.
Well done. I have had similar conversations with atheists and others. It is different for me because I was hired while in college as a writer and never had the chance to go back to school - too busy making a living after age 23 or so and paying my own way. I am self-educated, so I don't get a lot of respect from academics when it comes to "scholarly" stuff. Conversely, I grew up with a lot of Jewish folks and I usually get along very well with Jews, religious or not. I also get along well with Muslims. So long as there is mutual respect. Honestly, I get along better with most Jews, who accept me as Catholic... and even some atheists, that many Protestants who refuse to operate with mutual respect. I had to chuckle though. I was reminded of the old Jackie Mason's (my favorite comedian, next to Groucho Marx) line, "The one thing you never tell a Jew, is that is so Jewish.... You can mean it as the most heartfelt compliment, but you tell a Jewish girl she looks Jewish and so beautiful and she replies, 'Why would you say that? That is so mean!'" I don't get it. I dated two Jewish women with hopes of long-term. One was a gorgeous red head from CA, the other a petite little blonde from Tel Aviv (yes, actually blonde with blue eyes). The Israeli was more proudly Jewish, but neither were touchy about cultural and religious differences. Regardless, it just brought Jackie Mason to mind, and I LOVED Jackie!
One big reason I became an atheist in the 1990s is that I started reading Jesus Seminar books, not knowing what I was getting into. It took me a long time to realize that the “quest for the historical Jesus” is not about history but rather is an anti-Trinitarian endeavor. I wasted 25 years down that rabbit hole.
The trouble with the Jesus seminar crowd is that if you went digging into their evidence for their theories it's fairly lacking. It's pretty typical of theories based on conjecture & trust me because I am the expert.
During my undergrad in history, a core curriculum class is Historiography 301. Every week during the semester we were given an article written by an expert and our assignment was to find the bias throughout the article. And, again, this exists for everyone. The mistake is thinking anyone is without it.
Well done. I have had similar conversations with atheists and others. It is different for me because I was hired while in college as a writer and never had the chance to go back to school - too busy making a living after age 23 or so and paying my own way. I am self-educated, so I don't get a lot of respect from academics when it comes to "scholarly" stuff. Conversely, I grew up with a lot of Jewish folks and I usually get along very well with Jews, religious or not. I also get along well with Muslims. So long as there is mutual respect. Honestly, I get along better with most Jews, who accept me as Catholic... and even some atheists, that many Protestants who refuse to operate with mutual respect. I had to chuckle though. I was reminded of the old Jackie Mason's (my favorite comedian, next to Groucho Marx) line, "The one thing you never tell a Jew, is that is so Jewish.... You can mean it as the most heartfelt compliment, but you tell a Jewish girl she looks Jewish and so beautiful and she replies, 'Why would you say that? That is so mean!'" I don't get it. I dated two Jewish women with hopes of long-term. One was a gorgeous red head from CA, the other a petite little blonde from Tel Aviv (yes, actually blonde with blue eyes). The Israeli was more proudly Jewish, but neither were touchy about cultural and religious differences. Regardless, it just brought Jackie Mason to mind, and I LOVED Jackie!
Looking forward to part 2
Look forward to 2 and possible 3!
PS I enjoyed this article greatly!
Thank you, part 2 (maybe 3) still has some work to do but I think overall I’m at about 7,000 words, so it’s been a labor of love.
Excellent! You are spot on!!!