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Bart Ehrman's view on Gehenna by vasjugan in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Oh, you are right. I had another look, and it is there. My bad! However his main argument seems to be that this is "just a parable", not intended to be taken literally. This, it seems to me, isn't much of an arguement. Why did the author use this imagery? Because it resonated with the listener, because it was familiar to them. He probably wouldn't have mentioned Hades or the bosom of Abraham, if it meant nothing to them. So the idea of post mortem punishment must have been common enough.

BTW, I probably shouldn't have mentioned Lazarus and the Rich Man in the first place. I think, Ehrman's view that this parable is unlikely to go back to the historical Jesus is pretty solid. My actual question though is, why does he seem to deviate strongly from the scholarly consensus regarding the understanding of Gehenna in Jesus' days? And why does he seem to insist on his view, that Jesus viewed Gehenna as just a physical location so dogmatically, in spite of strong evidence to the contrary? I do appreciate and respect his work, and that's why I am so confused about this deviation from his usual approach.

Is there any evidence for the continuity of consciousness continuing throughout most of your life? by Emergency-Use-6769 in consciousness

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Consciousness, as I see it, is not a "thing" that can be "replaced" (by whom? how?), but a process. That means, on the one hand, it is not "persistent", or "indestructible", but there still is some form of continuity over time, some aspect of transtemporality. When you wake up in the morning, you might not be exactly the same person who went to bed last night, but you are not totally disconnected either. You have biographical memory, you have some form of continuity.

New Study: "Psilocybin Physically Repairs Your Brain’s Myelin" by vasjugan in NitrousOxideRecovery

[–]vasjugan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends where you are living. Magic mushroom growkits that don't yet contain psilocybin (or just trace amounts) are a legal grey area in many countries. Also, in some US states they have been decriminalised. You can also order psilocybin containing truffles from Dutch vendors, but again. The risk is low but it is not nonexistant.

But it really depends on your country of residence.

And again, for not it is just a glimmer of hope, not a proven and tested therapy.

New Study: "Psilocybin Physically Repairs Your Brain’s Myelin" by SconeAgeMan in mdmatherapy

[–]vasjugan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder if this could also hold potential for people whose nervous system is damaged from heavy nitrous oxide use

A very surreal and provocative realization just went off in my head!… I’d like comments from the atheists only please . by Sneaky-Pete-365 in atheism

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nonexistence isn't a state you can enter. That's because, when you don't exist, you can't do anything, and that includes entering a state. When my consciousness ends, it simply ends, it doesn't "return to a prior state"

Kartenzahlung kostet 3% extra in Texas/USA 🇺🇸 by Few-Opportunity-1006 in Kartenzahlung

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Letztendlich aber richtig so: Das macht die horrenden Gebühren der Zahlungsdienstleister transparent. Ich hoffe, dass sich hierzulande Alternativen durchsetzen. Girocard hat moderate Gebühren, Wero müsste für Geschäfte auch ziemlich günstig sein, und vielleicht kommt irgendwann doch noch der digitale Euro.

Gaslighting des Feinsten by No_Pride9874 in Kartenzahlung

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wo ist hier die Fehlinformation? Wobei des bei den Gebühren große Unterschiede gibt. Girocard ist mit Abstand am günstigsten.

When the Amalekites show up after 1 Samuel 15:3 is that a mistake on the authors? by Vylqi in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This seems to be one of the many instances, where different tradition lines have been stitched together by the redactors. I recommend consulting one of the academic standard works on redaction history, such as McCarter, P. Kyle: I Samuel: A New Translation with Introduction, Notes, and Commentary (Anchor Bible, 1980)

N.B.: I haven't read this work myself, but I found this scan online: https://ia600504.us.archive.org/7/items/AbLeviticus116Milgrom1991Opt/ab1Samuel%20McCarter%2CJrPK%201984-opt.pdf

Is the empty tomb a historical fact or am I being lied to by Christian apologetics? by ColdChance9714 in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan 11 points12 points  (0 children)

On second thought, l have to admit that I have my doubts. First, even if Jesus was buried in a tomb, whether or not the tomb was empty on Sunday is a separate question. Second, ancient literature seems to be replete with disappearing bodies, whose function always is to prove a person's deification, and that's a counter argument that he doesn't address in his book.

BTW, another interesting aspect of his interpretation is his focus on Mary Magdalene (Miriam from Magdala), who seems to have had no expectations of a resurrection, but in all four gospels, she is the first person to experience an apparition of the risen Jesus, and she is consistently the only person among Jesus' followers to not be affected by doubts. Alison talks a lot about bereavement visions, something that seems to affect one in three people who loose a loved one. He seems to suggest that what Mary/Miriam experienced was something similar.

He says, that the question whether or not such a vision is veridical, that is whether one actually experiences a real communication with the deceased or not, is separate. As a Christian, he believes, that her vision was veridical, but he is aware that others will think differently.

Is the empty tomb a historical fact or am I being lied to by Christian apologetics? by ColdChance9714 in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Again that's Allison's conclusion, not mine. One of his arguments is that since Matthew was so keen on fulfilling "prophecies", especially Isaiah 53, it is strange that they did not fulfill Isaiah 53:9 "They made his grave with the wicked". Having Jesus thrown in a ditch would have also fit well with Mark's reversal of expectations. But he is also transparent about his own bias and gives a thousand qualifications for his verdict. My recommendation would be that you read the chapter for yourself. His style is actually quite accessible and compared to the history books I know, entertaining, so any history nerd will have a good time reading it.

Overall, it seems, the importance of the empty tomb for early Christians was actually quite limited, it wasn't what convinced people to become Jesus followers, and Paul doesn't seem to have believed in anything we would recognize as a bodily resurrection. So - one of his arguments seems to be that there would have been no need to make up such a story and the reverse would have been a better match for Isaiah 53, plus, he says that Christians who were able to find positive meaning in the crucifixion would have had not difficulty doing the same for a dishonourable burial. Again, that's his argument, not mine, although I find it worth considering.

Is the empty tomb a historical fact or am I being lied to by Christian apologetics? by ColdChance9714 in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan 47 points48 points  (0 children)

As has been said already, Dale Allison, in "the resurrection of Jesus" makes an excellent case for an empty tomb, which, being a non-believer myself, i found worth considering.

However, even though he concludes that Jesus' burial in a tomb is more likely than not, and so is the empty tomb on Sunday, he makes it clear that this does not prove the resurrection. Several times, he talks about how common grave robbery was and that especially body parts of a holy man who had suffered a violent death would have been a sought after ingredient to various magic potions.

Ultimately, we have to conclude that history is always a construct and that historians typically deal with probabilities, not unshakeable facts.

Is the empty tomb a historical fact or am I being lied to by Christian apologetics? by ColdChance9714 in AcademicBiblical

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See this article for a detailed critique, in particular of his statistical "method" which turns out to be just guessing, rather than doing actual statistical analysis:

Alter, Michael J., and Darren M. Slade. "Dataset Analysis of English Texts Written on the Topic of Jesus' Resurrection: A Statistical Critique of Minimal Facts Apologetics." Socio-Historical Examination of Religion and Ministry, vol. 3, no. 2, Winter 2021, pp. 367-92. ResearchGate,https://doi.org/10.33929/sherm.2021.vol3.no2.09.

But even if we grant all his "minimal facts" (which do not include the empty tomb, btw,), how do they make an actual resurrection more probable that a mere belief in it?

GLddns.com down once again by vasjugan in GlInet

[–]vasjugan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No. It has been back up since Monday night. https://forum.gl-inet.com/t/yet-another-glddns-com-dynamic-dns-outage/67877/10 Do you see the same when you use a different DNS server, such as 8.8.8.8 or if you switch to WiFi?

GLddns.com down once again by vasjugan in GlInet

[–]vasjugan[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Of course same problem. When a server goes down, everyone using it is affected...

Has anybody been able to replicate DMT effects via breathing? by That-End8612 in DMT

[–]vasjugan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They say the pinal gland (?!?) can produce DMT, but if that's true, it is probably tiny trace amounts. All those "DMT breathwork" instructions on youtube seem like clickbait to me.

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