... malevolent bully.

[MrFungus420]

The way I see it, there can be many alternative interpretations. We can even view the Jesus dying and rising again story as metaphorical, can't we? We could even interpret the existence of God as metaphorical, yes?

You can, if that is how you evaluate the available manuscript evidence. My position is that the crucifixion of Jesus is established as an historical event by a preponderance of the historical evidence,

And you would be wrong.

It only exists in one place...the Bible. That's it. That is the closest that you have to evidence.

but you can interpret it any way you like. Belief in God and the resurrection of Jesus only comes when one has a personal revelatory experience, IMHO.

Personal revelatory experience? WTF does that even mean? You had an hallucination and you think that it was true?

[MrFungus420]

The lack of consistency in the Bible is of no import to me. I evaluate each individual book on its own merits.

Bullshit.

You judge the different stories of the Bible by comparing them to your preconceptions.

Basically, if the story shows that God is all warm and fuzzy and nice, then you accept it. If it is one of the many (if not majority) of Biblical stories that portray God as an evil, immoral and cruel fuckwad, you don't accept it.

[MrFungus420]

There is no science, empirical experimentation or historical documentation that debunks the resurrection of Jesus. Ya got nothin!

Magic doesn't exist.

Period.

And that is precisely what the resurrection would require. Jesus to have been magically brought back to life.

[MrFungus420]

I don't have mountains of evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. I have a little evidence that he did and you have none that he didn't. I win!

I have more evidence that Zeus existed.

You can go to the cave in which he was hidden from Cronus. You can see the stone that Rhea gave to Cronus in lieu of the infant Zeus.

What do you have? Stories in a book.

[MrFungus420]

I don't have mountains of evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. I have a little evidence that he did and you have none that he didn't. I win!

Can you show us this evidence?

Sure - eyewitness testimony recorded in the writings of Paul and John, It's some evidence, as all historical manuscripts are.

Stories written decades after the fact. Stories not written by the supposed witnesses.

Stories about things that look to be plagiarized from earlier mythologies.

Anecdotes are not evidence. Hearsay is not evidence. Stolen mythological stories are not evidence.

[Tigger]

And then they always sod off, don't they? Ignore the arguments and move on to pastures woo.

[Feck]

As i said It must be true because they believe it(WTF) ... We the poor atheists don't have a "relationship " with Jebus ....They start with Evidence and Proof and end with "because it makes me feel better ..."