[Nittany Dodgers]

Originally Posted by randilover

Yes. I also didn’t mention it before, but from a Biblical perspective, there are prophecies of redemption and the advent as early as Adam and Eve, which would obviously over time become parts of other religions.

That's quite convenient, but it is self serving. Using the Bible to prove the Bible's accuracy?

Originally Posted by randilover

I think we did this before, but generally this is not true. It may be what class of people to enslave, etc, but generally morals have remained pretty steady. You’ve never seen a society where cowardice was exemplified, bravery was frowned upon, or fairness or justice were not appealed to, etc.

So sexual morals have remained constant through civilization, and accross civilizations? How about morality concerning crime and punishment? You cite fairness and justice. Read Socrates, and what he says about what is just, and tell me that concept has been constant. Or, are you saying that because brave people have always been admired, that morals have stayed constant?

Originally Posted by randilover

http://www.carm.org/bible/extrabiblical_accounts.htm

Check out this link. Some of them have disclaimers on them, but from the studies I’ve done, I believe these are generally accepted but both Christian and non-Christian. Not all reference the crucifixion, but some do.

Oh, I'll be checking out those sources alright.

Originally Posted by randilover

Yes it is. It’s usually only fringe scholars who try to make the case against Christian history. (I’m talking NT here.) The OT obviously is a bit tougher due to it’s age, but I don’t know of anyone that really discounts it’s historical accuracy. Again, you’d have to treat it the way you do science. If it has not been disproved you can’t say it’s not true just because it’s content is disagreeable.

You're quite the expert on fringe scholars. I should take your word on that.

However, history is not at all like science. You can't claim something happened with no evidence to show it. History is not a natural science, it is a social science. They are not treated the same way. Any book that contained as many inconsistencies and apparent innacuraces as much as the Bible would not be considered a reliable source in any other context.