Not So Polite Dinner Conversation – the pathetic apologetics of Charles Leslie

On Hillfaith, a rather unpleasant and pernicious attempt to get conservative christianity wormed into US gov’t, the author Mark Tapscott had a post lauding one of the worse apologetics I’ve seen in a while.  It cites a Charles Leslie, who is claimed as a “historian” and is no more than a pastor from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.   My response to this silliness is as follows:

Unsurprisngly, history doesn’t support the existence of miracles, and no evidence can be found for any of the divinely created events in the bible. It’s hilarious how this is simply a lie from Leslie.

It’s also great when christains themselves can’t agree if miracles still happen or not. it’s great that Leslie was not a historian, but simply a pastor in one of the many christian versions at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century.. here’s the list of his nonsense:

“1.That the matter of fact be such, that men’s outward senses, their eyes and ears may be judges of it.”

Funny how there is no evidence for miracles only testimony which any cult can use.

“2.That it be done publicly in the face of the world.”

Not one miracle has been done that way. Funny how all cult’s miracles happen with no external observers, no evidence being found etc.

 “3.That not only public monuments be kept up in memory of it, but some outward actions be performed.”

ROFL. Oh dear, so public monuments to things that can be shown to have happened are important. So any cult can do this too.

“4. That such monuments, and such actions or observances be instituted, and do commence from the time, that the matter of fact was done.”

Again, this is just hilarious, since all this says is that if people believe in something, wtih no evidence and put up a monument, that means the thing happened. That really takes some stupid to accept as “evidence”.

Mark is quite indignant that I dare say that there are is no evidence for any of the divinely created events in the bible.  He insists, well, you can see what he insists:

“Vel, you say “no evidence can be found to support for any of the divinely created events in the Bible.”

You must include in your claim the most important of those miracles, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I would be very interested in hearing your explanation and supporting evidence for the disposition of Jesus’ body following His death.”

This is an old one, and it depends on presupposition, like all Christian nonsense does.  In this case, Mark presupposes the story about jesus christ, the man/god described in the bible, in various contradictory ways, is true.   Unsurprisingly, no one noticed Jesus Christ being alive, much less dead.  Curious how no one noticed a guy wandering around Roman-occupied Palestine being followed by a literal Roman legion’s worth of men, plus others.  No one noticed any “triumphal entry” into Roman-occupied Jerusalem, and no one noticed a certain day where there was a major earthquake, the sky darkening and dead jews wandering around Jerusalem during a Passover.  Curious how Caiaphas, Pilate, etc never noted the riots that would have been sure to have occurred. 

The most reasonable answer, in my opinion, is that Jesus simply didn’t exist and that the entire story, all versions of it, are completely invented.  No need to account for a body, if there was never a Jesus.  That Christians can’t agree on where the supposed tomb even is supports that the events never happened.  Add to this the fact that the gospels differ wildly in their accounts of what happened during the cruxifiction and resurrection and there is no reason to think any of this nonsense is true.  From what it looks like, various people had to invent a story to cover for how the religion’s claims failed, and each had an agenda. 

It even gets worse when Paul tries to make claims about the resurrection since he contradicts the others forgetting the women were there to see the resurrected jesus and insisting 500 people saw jesus and those people simply vanish, never to be heard from again.   

So, Mark, do show your evidence that your jesus existed at all. Show where the dead jews wandering around were reburied. Explain why Caiaphas, Pilate, and every other person except for the author of matthew never noted these undead jews.