Memo: Better not tell Christians what we found when we looked for small change underneath the cushions in Moses' couch.

It's not as if this is the first time that "science" has gotten dates and times wrong.

BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either.

Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe. 'Creator' is possible, in some far-out science fiction way.

I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see any major theological problems/implications stemming from discovering that a given wall was completed 20 years later than previously believed, despite Josephus' 1st century account saying matching the findings in TFA.

However, I can predict this thread (much as Fark as a whole recently) will devolve into fundamentalist athiests bashing Christians because no right thinking person can believe in an invisible sky wizard and those who do are mindless sheep, right?

BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either. So be careful when you choose to make fun of people and their belief in a "sky fairy".

Confirms this atheists opinion that the bible is dubious history and confused philosophy.

svenge: However, I can predict this thread (much as Fark as a whole recently) will devolve into fundamentalist athiests bashing Christians because no right thinking person can believe in an invisible sky wizard and those who do are mindless sheep, right?

I've been to a Catholic wedding. It was SCARY. A room full of otherwise intelligent people, holding positions of various power and authority in society... and all mindlessly chanting to God about how great he was and how insignificant they were.

I always thought that church scene from Meaning of Life was a joke made via exaggeration, but it's so close to the real thing it's no longer funny to me.

BillCo: Hello religion haters. Welcome ot today's Christian bashing thread.

Herod was Christian?

BillCo: Hello religion haters. Welcome ot today's Christian bashing thread.

I am not particularly religious myself (Agnostic), but I do have a problem with people who want to believe that their version of the bible is 100% accurate. It is a book that has had numerous authors, numerous rewrites and god only knows (that's the joke), how many translations. Not to mention the changes that have been made due ot the political expediency of the time. Believe if you like, but don't try to convince me that your bible tells the only true story of God and Christ (if there is such a thing).

Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either. So be careful when you choose to make fun of people and their belief in a "sky fairy".

Agnosticism, the only way to be sure (maybe).

I don't "know" that there isn't an invisible dragon living in my garage either, but I'd be a fool to think that there might be one without any evidence.

As they wrote, Josephus already mentioned this, and this is just some confirmation evidence.

After Herod died his son briefly ruled before the Romans tried direct rule, it failed so badly they they brought in Agrippa, grandson of Herod to rule, he died of a heart attack after a few years (though he was beloved by the Jews and the Romans), so the Romans went back to direct rule. The new roman governor knew nothing of local culture of religion and acted like an ass, causing many jews to rebel. When Nero gave a decree that was persecutory of Judaism, the Jews rebelled. And in 66CE the first jewish revolt started. Took over much of modern day Israel and part of southern Lebanon (most of the old Hasmonean kingdom border, but not all, and never extended beyond the old borders) and it ended in 70CE when the Jerusalem, the capital of the revolution (the Roman capital was in Caeseria, but Jews used Jerusalem which was their capital under the Hasmonean dynasty before Rome conquered it) fell to the Romans and was sacked. Some hold outs like Massada lasted as late as 73CE but the Jews were defeated and would rise up again until 135CE, which was their last revolt until the early byzantine period, which they lost each time, though in the second one they gave the Romans and good hurtin' before they lost.


So this is not that groundbreaking, as the historians of the period already told us this and this just confirms what we know, not contradict it. But the massive project was started under Herod but finished later. So nothing new here

Interesting article. I'm always impressed by archeologist even when they are not Indiana Jones.

Tyrone Slothrop: I don't "know" that there isn't an invisible dragon living in my garage either, but I'd be a fool to think that there might be one without any evidence.

Wait. Hold on a moment.

Invisible garage-dragons? I thought it was invisible pink unicorns in orbit?

Now I've got TWICE as many invisible things to worry about!

Unsung_Hero: BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either.

Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe. 'Creator' is possible, in some far-out science fiction way.

I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

An Atheism is Mathematically irrational. And anything Rational Must able to be Mathematically proven. This Atheism is inconsistent with reality. Now Religion and agnosticism is too, but from a Mathematical standpoint, belief in god is less of an irrationality that Atheism, but all are irrational. Now given this, I choose to believe in which irrationality I choose, and you choose yours out of smugness, or that you just prefer the greater irrationality.

Read about Math and the universe, then you realize all are irrational, just some more than other. Just Most Atheists I have met are too blind to realize they are not the superrational beings they tell themselves they are. And are too smug to care.
Enjoy your irrationality

Unsung_Hero: Tyrone Slothrop: I don't "know" that there isn't an invisible dragon living in my garage either, but I'd be a fool to think that there might be one without any evidence.

Wait. Hold on a moment.

Invisible garage-dragons? I thought it was invisible pink unicorns in orbit?

Now I've got TWICE as many invisible things to worry about!

I was about to give dap to Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS), but then I saw the reference whooshing over the head of Unsung Hero, so I had a sad instead.

/DHW at least as influential to the way I think as Wittgenstein or Russell are.

jedihirsch: Unsung_Hero: BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either.

Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe. 'Creator' is possible, in some far-out science fiction way.

I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

An Atheism is Mathematically irrational. And anything Rational Must able to be Mathematically proven. This Atheism is inconsistent with reality. Now Religion and agnosticism is too, but from a Mathematical standpoint, belief in god is less of an irrationality that Atheism, but all are irrational. Now given this, I choose to believe in which irrationality I choose, and you choose yours out of smugness, or that you just prefer the greater irrationality.

Read about Math and the universe, then you realize all are irrational, just some more than other. Just Most Atheists I have met are too blind to realize they are not the superrational beings they tell themselves they are. And are too smug to care.
Enjoy your irrationality

Troll or nutcase?

Byno: Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS)

Ah, Gravity's Rainbow.
/Embarrassed to admit I've never read Pynchon

Soooo...he was an alien?

Byno: I was about to give dap to Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS), but then I saw the reference whooshing over the head of Unsung Hero, so I had a sad instead.

Billions and billions of ideas out there, and you expect me to remember each one?

Unsung_Hero: Byno: I was about to give dap to Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS), but then I saw the reference whooshing over the head of Unsung Hero, so I had a sad instead.

Billions and billions of ideas out there, and you expect me to remember each one?

Nothing's going to be rewritten. Just like with the discoveries in Egypt that showed they didn't use slaves to build the pyramids, and of course the theory of evolution, the fundies will continue believing their book over reality. And everybody else besides the fundies, even if they do believe in God and the general gist of the Bible, at least realizes that much of it isn't entirely factual already.

jedihirsch: Unsung_Hero: BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either.

Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe. 'Creator' is possible, in some far-out science fiction way.

I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

An Atheism is Mathematically irrational. And anything Rational Must able to be Mathematically proven. This Atheism is inconsistent with reality. Now Religion and agnosticism is too, but from a Mathematical standpoint, belief in god is less of an irrationality that Atheism, but all are irrational. Now given this, I choose to believe in which irrationality I choose, and you choose yours out of smugness, or that you just prefer the greater irrationality.

Read about Math and the universe, then you realize all are irrational, just some more than other. Just Most Atheists I have met are too blind to realize they are not the superrational beings they tell themselves they are. And are too smug to care.
Enjoy your irrationality

Do you perhaps have a Time Cube you wish to tell us about, as well?

Byno: Unsung_Hero: Byno: I was about to give dap to Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS), but then I saw the reference whooshing over the head of Unsung Hero, so I had a sad instead.

Billions and billions of ideas out there, and you expect me to remember each one?

[striderweb.com image 110x83]

So... are you complimenting my not-so-subtle hint that I knew the source, or mocking my inability to close the italics tag?

/either way, I can't stop watching the applause...

LewDux: BillCo: Hello religion haters. Welcome ot today's Christian bashing thread.

Herod was Christian?

We're only allowed to make fun of Jews and Muslins in the politics tab.

Unsung_Hero: Byno: Unsung_Hero: Byno: I was about to give dap to Tyrone Slothrop (love the handle, not sure of the reference unless I GIS), but then I saw the reference whooshing over the head of Unsung Hero, so I had a sad instead.

Billions and billions of ideas out there, and you expect me to remember each one?

[striderweb.com image 110x83]

So... are you complimenting my not-so-subtle hint that I knew the source, or mocking my inability to close the italics tag?

/either way, I can't stop watching the applause...

The first. It's Thanksgiving, after all; my snark can stand to take a few days off a year.
/Had to resist making a smiley face emoticon there
//By-the-by, what does this find actually change? Most Christians don't know anything about what's in the Bible, much less its history or construction, and it's not like Muslims are going to swipe their hands up and down and say, "ya know what, here's Al-Aqsa and Al-Haram; Muhammed probably just got lost on his way back to heaven." Nor are the Jews going to cede the Wailing Wall over.
///Both sides are bad?

if the king's english was good enough for gawd, it's good enough for me

my copy is 110% literally accurately infallible

Unsung_Hero: Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe.

what about one that exists in and out, under and above and through the universe?

btw where does your mind exist?

Unsung_Hero: I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

precisely which part of God (or claims about God) is illogical? and whose Reality are we going to contemplate?

/3rd post
//just so you know it's me

Dead for Tax Reasons:
From math we know that 1 is the loneliest number. Since there is only one god according to the bible, god was lonely, got depressed and killed himself. Therefore god does not exist. The end.

But 2 can be as bad as 1, it's the loneliest number since the number one.

You'd think with such a headline that CBS would quote relevant scripture that would need to be rewritten because of this discovery. I did a quick search and all I could find was this -

19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

20 They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?" 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. John 2:19-20

From that quote there's still no need for a rewrite. They could have been referring to an unfinished building in that context or they could have been referring to the actual temple and not the outer wall. So unless there's some other reference to the time it took to build the temple in the Bible and I'm just missing it, the headline is misleading.

After work the guys would always stop for a few cold ones, as usual when it was Yosef's turn to buy a round, he didn't have any money.

"No really guys, had money when I came to work this morning, must have lost it on the job."

Brubold: JOhn 2:19-20

Or, the author of John - writing nearly two generations after the death of Christ from a decidedly Roman perspective - made the tale up AND flubbed the date, given that records might have been hard to come by following the "recent unpleasantness" of 66-70 A.D.

Christians: they don't believe in science.

xtrc8u: I may have the time table a little off, but would this make the coins minting approximately 13-15 years before the new testament references to the temple? How long does it take to start to build a wall? What bible references does this change? Maybe I missed the point.

The point is easy. Bible said wall was built during the governorship of Roman A.
Coins are found underneath foundations with stamp of Roman C, who ruled 20 years after Roman A by all other historical and archaelogical data. Ergo, either some Jews did some time travel, or the Bible has the dates and rulers wrong.

BillCo:

You seem to miss the idea behind an evangelist's espousing of their particular bible as the one and true version; the base idea is that, regardless of how many times the story has been rewritten, translated or passed along, it is guided and protected by God himself by the virtue of being the written word of said god and thus immutable. Or something.

Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either. So be careful when you choose to make fun of people and their belief in a "sky fairy".

You don't know that Candlejack isn't real for sure (even if you know who created the character,) so be careful when you ch

Unsung_Hero: jedihirsch: Unsung_Hero: BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either.

Incorrect; there is no definition of 'God' that can exist in the universe. 'Creator' is possible, in some far-out science fiction way.

I'm an atheist because God is logically inconsistent with reality.

An Atheism is Mathematically irrational. And anything Rational Must able to be Mathematically proven. This Atheism is inconsistent with reality. Now Religion and agnosticism is too, but from a Mathematical standpoint, belief in god is less of an irrationality that Atheism, but all are irrational. Now given this, I choose to believe in which irrationality I choose, and you choose yours out of smugness, or that you just prefer the greater irrationality.

Read about Math and the universe, then you realize all are irrational, just some more than other. Just Most Atheists I have met are too blind to realize they are not the superrational beings they tell themselves they are. And are too smug to care.
Enjoy your irrationality

Troll or nutcase?

I can't Tell if he is a Troll or a nutcase, but I Rationally deduce that he Belongs TO the Church OF Random capitals. I Can Prove This from a Mathematical standPoint.

BillCo:
Agnosticism, the only way to be sure (maybe). absolutely terrible at logic and ignorant of even the most basic cultural context of either religion or atheism.

ftfy

BillCo: Oh, and atheist, you don't know for sure either. So be careful when you choose to make fun of people and their belief in a "sky fairy".

I don't have to "know" for sure. They have to prove it.

Agnosticism, the only way to be sure (maybe).

Agnosticism is cowardice. Make up your farking mind.

Baron Harkonnen: Now, you'd figure, if a man like him was really visited by 3 wise men, and was told that there would be a new King of Israel born in the East, and he'd ordered a massacre of innocent children as a result, that would have been a major event that someone would have remembered or recorded outside of the New Testament. But it wasn't.

You'd think if the sun stood still in the sky for twenty-four hours someone else in the world might have written about the event. Especially in an age rife with astrology.

"Walk across my swimming pool..."

Unsung_Hero: power

The longer I go between visits to my parents' church, the freakier it seems to me.