h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Indeed it is!

It's worth noting there are other sources of information about Jesus and, indeed, God, that are worth considering.

What other sources are you referring to? The only other religious source that might mention Jesus would be the Koran, and I see no more reason to assume that Islam is correct than to assume that Christianity is correct.

[bows respectfully]
-Caledonian

Yes, the QurÕan is one source. Clearly, to accept its authenticity would mean to believe in it. Nevertheless, for those who donÕt, its narrations about Jesus, both the similarities and differences with Biblical stories, provide an interesting alternative perspective.

A further source is Muslim Hadith literature Ð the sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad. Again, these contrast with Christian narrations.

Finally, there are many Arab traditions originating before the advent of Islam. There were Christian communities in north Africa and even Arabia, many of whom followed the Arian unitarian tradition. They passed traditions about Jesus from generation to generation, which were eventually collected in works such as ThalabiÕs ÒStories of the ProphetsÓ and al-GhazaliÕs ÒRevival of the Life-Transaction SciencesÓ. These traditions, though not backed by the careful scrutiny of QurÕanic and Hadith scholarship where the chains of transmitters are known, still give descriptions of an ascetic Jesus and perhaps add to our knowledge about him.

KC - "I don't personally believe that Josephus wrote that bit! Is that clear enough?"

Who do you think wrote it?

No idea, MRD, if you mean specifically. But if he didn't write it himself, it's pretty likely it was a Christian, wouldn't you have said?

Why - any particular theory associated with this?

That is indeed what I would have said...

The associated theory is that early christians were perfectly willing to lie for their faith, and lie big time. That casts a huge shadow over the reliability of the bible as any kind of historical record.

well - it does for me, anyway...

So many to respond to all at once...

Monkey Boy: I am not ignoring your question, I am choosing not to address it. My motivations in this area are irrelevant to the discussion at hand. My arguments are no stronger/weaker because of my reasons for undertaking them.

Twophlag: When I rejected ghosts and psychic powers, I did so on the same basis as with Christianity. I approached the subject with an open mind, but people making fantastic claims are required to show evidence. In a vacuum of evidence for either (despite a well-publicized one million dollar reward to anyone who can show such evidence) I reject them as well. Chaos theory, string theory... I have not made any judgements, because I do not have enough information.

Other sources for information on Jesus: none that are reliable. The bit in the Koran wasn't written until after the second century. The Nag Hammadi collection is of an indeterminate date, although they do appear to be concurrent with the New Testament, which means they were still written at least a generation too late. You can read quite a lot about Jesus the myth, but Jesus the man has disappeared without a trace.