Thanks for your reply. Here are a few sources from which I pull my information from. The authors know the Greek language and have studied the NT in Greek:

1. L. Micheal White, From Jesus to Christianity, (New York: HarperCollins, 2004)
2. Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted, Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don’t Know About Them), (New York: HarperCollins, 2009), 183-184
3. Harry Y. Gamble, The New Testament Canon, Its Making and Meaning, (Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002), 28

Gamble is well-respected in the field of NT studies. I’m not convinced their is a “consensus” view of the NT – the study of Jesus and the NT is rife with disagreement on issues such as the Q document or the historicity of Jesus (apocalyptic prophet or political subversive, etc.), for instance.

I do know that a lot of Christian apologists argue as you have – from “consensus” – but these apologists (Josh McDowell, for instance) exaggerate the reliability of the Bible, omit facts and spread inaccuracies.

I have books by McDowell and WL Craig on my shelf, as well as many others, and also the the above books. After reading them, and many others – and reading and studying the Bible (NIV) myself – I’ve drawn the conclusions I’ve drawn. It’s not a “consensus” view, it is just a reasonable appraisal of the facts presented. I’ll happily change my mind if someone presents different facts that I am unaware of. Until then, I’ve reached the tentative but highly probable conclusion that Jesus is dead and Christianity is false. I mean you no disrespect by saying that.

Thank you, and I sincerely wish you a great day.
Alan

I’ll read and listen to the scholars who make these claims after studying the texts. What I shared is the consensus. They are the experts in textual criticism. Again, not all are believers, but they acknowledge the authenticity. Do with the evidence as you choose. Isn’t free-will great? But I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you He loves you.

First, you say that:

“Matthew and John were eyewitnesses . . .”

No, it is doubtful that they are, and highly unlikely. The gospels were written anonymously, and their names were ascribed to them in the 2nd century, rather arbitrarily. Also, the gospels, written 60-90 years after the events they narrate, were written in highly educated Greek, and the disciples were certainty not highly educated Greek students. Also, Mathew and Luke clearly had access to Mark, and added and embellished Marks gospel, as passages were copied almost verbatim. Lastly, the multiple contradictions in the text are far too significant to suggest that these are eyewitness accounts.

Your mention of the crucifixion disparity isn’t found. John 19:31, Mark 15:42 each claim death on the Day of Preparation, one prior to the Jewish Sabbath. Crucifixion to death-9 hours.

Temporal markers in Mark 14:12-17 contradict this. According to these passages, Jesus is alive on for the Passover meal. The meal in John is clearly not a Passover meal. There is a difference between the Passover festival and a sabbath day.

As to meager accounts-there are over 5,000 Greek manuscripts of the NT, earliest dating to 150 years of Christ’s life. Next, The Iliad written about 800BC, 650 copies earliest dating to 2nd century AD.

True. But so what? None of these manuscripts, 3-4 generations away from the events they narrate, contain a single eyewitness account between them. These are all second-hand accounts. Copies of copies of copies. As for the Iliad, I treat those sources the same as I do the Bible – there is not sufficient evidence – or type of evidence – that would suggest that Zeus – or Jesus – performed miracles.

Thank you for you input. Have a great day, and thanks for reading.

Matthew and John were eyewitnesses, John Mark a companion of Peter, Luke, a physician, and proven historian, a companion of Paul. Luke wrote Acts, which doesn’t include Paul’s martyrdom, 63ish AD, and his gospel is accepted as being written beforehand, so 30 or so yrs post resurrection. (The early church history claims these were the authors and they were written soon enough after the events that witnesses who disagreed had ample opportunity to write their versions. No, the Gnostic gospels aren’t given the same weight as their dated to originated a century or more after the fact. The church didn’t quiet opposing views either. The Church started as 13 guys and followers were martyred for several centuries to follow. They had little power.) Compare this with the two earliest biographies we have of Alexander, written 400 yrs after his death.

There are no original texts of the NT, as there are no original texts of any ancient text known to exist. This is agreed upon by scholars of all beliefs.

Mark 16:8 ending? You’re right, but you failed to mention the empty tomb and angel appearing in 16:6. I know you don’t believe this, but these verses still account for the resurrection.

The acknowledged 30-90 year gap of Christ’s life to written testimonials actually supports what is written much better than other texts when taken with the dating of actual texts we have.

Your mention of the crucifixion disparity isn’t found. John 19:31, Mark 15:42 each claim death on the Day of Preparation, one prior to the Jewish Sabbath. Crucifixion to death-9 hours.

If miracles are a dime a dozen and far from extraordinary, do you believe they occur? They are far too infrequent for me. Jesus’ greatest miracle to the 1st century Jew was His forgiveness of sin. He even said a corrupt generation requires signs(miracles). He did them out of love, not to solely prove Himself. Forgiveness of sins did this. Again, context of 1st century Jewish life.

Philostratus, who was commissioned to write a biography of Apollonius, of which this is the only source of his life, written about 2nd or 3rd century AD, doesn’t claim full blown miracles, but even if it did it wouldn’t negate those of Christ who lived and was known earlier.

Was Peregrinus a character in a Lucien play? Can’t find what he did.

Also, the whole scholarly consensus claims- many have been brought to Christ through textual criticism. More so, as far as I’ve read, and I’ve tried to find stats, than the number of those who’ve lost their faith.

Confirmation based on a presuppositional bias works both ways.

Thanks for allowing me to tell you about The Way, The Truth, The Life. What more must He do?