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Are You A True Skeptic?

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  • Are You A True Skeptic?

    What ideas do you test?

    The link can be found here.

    ----

    What arguments do you accept? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

    Just recently, I was in a Facebook group and I saw someone share something from Lawrence Krauss claiming that there were several divine figures at the time of Jesus born of virgins (And I do affirm the virgin birth) who died and rose again. It didn't take long for a bunch of us to show that this was wrong. What was most amazing to me was that this was accepted.

    What matters to me about this is how quickly people who call themselves skeptics will cease to be skeptics. This isn't to say that their skepticism of Christianity is necessarily unreasonable. Some skepticism is good. The claims we make are pretty intense after all and should be backed by evidence. The problem is that a scholar says something that supports Christianity or shows an attack on i is false and that's questioned, but show someone who attacks it and that's an immediate Gospel truth.

    I also think it's important to point out that we Christians can do the same. There are many Christians who will share something immediately if it supports Christianity, but it turns out to be false. This is also true in the area of politics. Many people will share something that supports their political viewpoint without checking up on it.

    After the Florida shooting, there were news stories going around about eighteen school shootings taking place this year. Some of you might be surprised by that news. You never heard about all of these school shootings. There's a good reason for that. They didn't really happen, at least not the way you would think. One such school shooting was when a man was in the parking lot of an Elementary school that was closed at the time and committed suicide with a gun. Somehow, that qualifies as a school shooting.*

    Many of you know that I'm a political conservative, yet I have taken enough conservatives to task for sharing false stories about political opponents. Our side is not helped by sharing stories that are false and we damage our reputation by sharing those stories.*

    The solution to all of this is really simple. Test everything. Check it all out. If you are a Christian, don't damage your reputation by sharing things that are false. It shows people you are gullible and undermines your witness to Christianity.*

    If you are a skeptic of Christianity, you should also want to be taken seriously. It's not going to be happening by sharing copycat myth ideas or even worse, ideas that Jesus never existed. No. Carrier is not the most awesome New Testament scholar of all time. Most of us will actually discount you pretty quickly just for mentioning Carrier.*

    Everyone should agree to this. Test all things. If you're a Christian and a skeptic does disprove something you believe to be true, accept it. If you're a skeptic and a Christian disproves something for you, do likewise. Of course, you're more prone to accept ideas that already fit with your worldview, but watch your own bias first. If we want to have more informed discussions, it starts with us.

    In Christ,
    Nick Peters

  • #2
    The Zoroastrians believe in a savior, whom they name Saoshyant (meaning he who brings benefit), who will be the biological son of Zarathustra, born of a virgin. Well, actually, through artificial insemination. They say that every thousand years a virgin will swim in a pond where Zarathustra once swam, and they would become pregnant by his sperm and give birth to a Saoshyant. The last Saoshyant shall come at the last day, defeat evil, usher in righteousness. The dead, whether righteous or evil, will be resurrected, and given everlasting righteousness and immortality.

    While the tradition of a Saoshyant may be ancient, the idea of the virgin birth of the Saoshyant didn't arise until the writing of the Denkard, in the tenth century, AD. Most likely borrowed from Christian doctrine, much like the rest of what Zarathustra is said to have taught.

    As far as skepticism, that's what I'm about. I was an atheist before coming to the Lord in 1968, fifty years ago. The Holy Spirit convicted me, and I put my faith in the Lord and in His Scriptures. I'm still a skeptic when it comes to everything else, even what I hear from preachers, even my own, and what I hear Bible teachers claim the Bible says. That's what led me to Partial Preterism shortly after becoming a Christian.

    With prophecy preachers like Chuck Missler and John Nelson Darby teaching nonsense, somebody needs to be skeptical.
    Last edited by Faber; 03-02-2018, 12:33 PM.
    When I Survey....

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    • #3
      I believe test all things, means test all things.
      Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

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      • #4
        Approach the topic at hand with the same level of skepticism that you would have when looking at a used car you're thinking about buying and then let the evidence speak for itself.

        I'm always still in trouble again

        "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
        "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
        "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Faber View Post
          The Zoroastrians believe in a savior, whom they name Saoshyant (meaning he who brings benefit), who will be the biological son of Zarathustra, born of a virgin. Well, actually, through artificial insemination. They say that every thousand years a virgin will swim in a pond where Zarathustra once swam, and they would become pregnant by his sperm and give birth to a Saoshyant. The last Saoshyant shall come at the last day, defeat evil, usher in righteousness. The dead, whether righteous or evil, will be resurrected, and given everlasting righteousness and immortality.

          While the tradition of a Saoshyant may be ancient, the idea of the virgin birth of the Saoshyant didn't arise until the writing of the Denkard, in the tenth century, AD. Most likely borrowed from Christian doctrine, much like the rest of what Zarathustra is said to have taught.
          Interestingly, most the Zoroastrian scriptures were not written until the 3rd century AD some 1300 years latter. This according to Dr. Edwin Yamauchi (The Chase for Christ, 2016 edition page 92-93).
          . . . the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; . . . -- Romans 1:16 KJV

          . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: . . . -- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 KJV

          Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: . . . -- 1 John 5:1 KJV

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          • #6
            Originally posted by 37818 View Post
            Interestingly, most the Zoroastrian scriptures were not written until the 3rd century AD some 1300 years latter. This according to Dr. Edwin Yamauchi (The Chase for Christ, 2016 edition page 92-93).
            Correct. Supposedly the Avesta was handed down by word of mouth by the magi from generation to generation, too sacred to be put into writing. The Avestan language, in which all the Zoroastrian scriptures were written, didn’t have a written alphabet until around the 4th century AD. By that time the language was dead: nobody spoke it, except in order to recite the oral tradition of Zarathustra and his ancient followers. And most of that oral tradition was destroyed when Alexander the Great invaded Persepolis and killed most of the priests. Whatever remained was in the memories of those who fled and their descendants, which wasn’t put into writing for another six centuries. So much was lost, and whatever remains is questionable.

            But that did't stop so-called "scholars" like Martin Haug and Mary Boyce from idolizing Zarathustra and dating him some time around 1,200 to 1,500 BC and claiming that the Jews borrowed their religion from his teaching.
            When I Survey....

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