Skinny-L Members Ridicule T. Kimball, C. Hitchens

[_Daniel Peterson]

I dunno. Do you know anyone who combines the wit of Carrot Top and the encyclopedic knowledge of Karl Pilkington? That would be him.

Then I know him. Several of him, as a matter of fact.

Have you thought of moving to Borneo?

[_Runtu]

I dunno. Do you know anyone who combines the wit of Carrot Top and the encyclopedic knowledge of Karl Pilkington? That would be him.

Then I know him. Several of him, as a matter of fact.

Have you thought of moving to Borneo?

I know several of them, too, unfortunately. But only one of them is targeting me specifically. It's kind of funny, in a pathetic and sad sort of way.

And, no, Borneo isn't necessary. I just won't be visiting my family members at SUU anytime soon.

[_Yoda]

I dunno. Do you know anyone who combines the wit of Carrot Top and the encyclopedic knowledge of Karl Pilkington? That would be him.

Then I know him. Several of him, as a matter of fact.

Have you thought of moving to Borneo?

I know several of them, too, unfortunately. But only one of them is targeting me specifically. It's kind of funny, in a pathetic and sad sort of way.

And, no, Borneo isn't necessary. I just won't be visiting my family members at SUU anytime soon.

Wait...I thought I was your only stalker, Runtu. You have others? ;)

[_Runtu]

Wait...I thought I was your only stalker, Runtu. You have others? ;)

You can stalk me anytime. Last time I was tied up in your lounge, I couldn't escape for weeks. Not that I wanted to ...

[_Yoda]

Wait...I thought I was your only stalker, Runtu. You have others? ;)

You can stalk me anytime. Last time I was tied up in your lounge, I couldn't escape for weeks. Not that I wanted to ...

Glad you approved of my incentives...

;)

[_The Dude]

For those who do not care to open the Signature
Books webpage, but who are still a but curious, I
have attached a WP file with the latest from Tom
Kimball, but also one earlier item. Amazing stuff.
How can George D. Smith imagine that he is getting
value for his money?

The void is opened! Azathoth have mercy! -- horrible -- there is a monstrous odor ... senses transfigured ... Ia ... ngai ... ygg ... Yog-Sothoth save us -- these are things man was not meant to know!

[_Trevor]

which includes Robert M. Price's athiest look at
early Christianity as published by Signature. Hitchins, in his links
section, takes us to the web site of Price. This is a must see--a
wonder to behold. This may be found at:

http://www.robertmprice.mindvendor.com/

Well, ain't that a load of yucks. I might add to this illuminating, watershed moment in the history of Mopologetics that Robert Price's book is a set of translations of early Christian documents. It is not, as far as I know, his "atheist look at early Christianity." I own it, and it is pretty cool. But, maybe that is what you get when you allow preconceptions to guide you in lieu of actual knowledge.

The Signature website description of the book (The Pre-Nicene New Testament) is positively awash in atheist misconception and venom against belief:

In this monumental work, Professor Price offers an inclusive New Testament canon with twenty-seven additional sacred books from the first three centuries of Christianity, including a few of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi writings. Price also reconstructs the Gospel of Marcion and the lost Gospel according to the Hebrews. Here, for the first time, is a canon representing all major factions of the early church.
As an interpretive translation, Price's text is both accurate and readable and is tied more closely to the Greek than most previous translations. Price conveys the meanings of words in context, carefully choosing the right phrase or idiom to convey their sense in English. For words that had a specific theological import when first written, Price leaves the Greek transliteration, giving readers archons for the fallen angels thought to be ruling the world, paraclete for encourager, and pleroma for the Gnostic godhead.

Within the collection, each book is introduced with comments about the cultural setting, information about when a document was probably written, and significant textual considerations, which together form a running commentary that continues into the footnotes. The findings of scholars, documented and summarized by Price, will come as a surprise to some readers. It appears, as Price suggests, that most of what is known about Jesus came by way of revelation to Christian oracles rather than by word of mouth as historical memory. In addition, the major characters in the New Testament, including Peter, Stephen, and Paul, appear to be composites of several historical individuals each, their stories comprising a mix of events, legend, and plot themes borrowed from the Old Testament and Greek literature.
In the New Testament world, theology developed gradually along different trajectories, with tension between the charismatic ascetics such as Marcion and Thecla, as examples, and the emerging Catholic orthodoxy of such clergy as Ignatius and Polycarp. The tension is detectable in the texts themselves, many of which represent "heretical" points of view: Gnostic, Jewish-Christian, Marcionite, and proto-orthodox, and were later edited, sometimes clumsily, in an attempt to harmonize all into one consistent theology.

What may occur to many readers, among the more striking aspects of the narratives, is that the earliest, most basic writings, such as Mark's Gospel in inarticulate Greek, are ultimately more impressive and inspirational than the later attempts by more educated Christians to appeal to sophisticated readers with better grammar and more allusions to classical mythology and apologetic embellishments.

The critical insights and theories on display in these pages have seldom been incorporated into mainstream conservative Bible translations, and in many ways, Price has made the New Testament a whole new book for readers, allowing them, by virtue of the translation, to comprehend the meaning of the text where it is obscured by the traditional wording. Whatever usefulness teachers, students, and clergy may find here in terms of pedagogical and inspirational value, The Pre-Nicene New Testament is guaranteed to provoke further thought and conversation among the general public—hopefully toward the goal of more personal study and insights.

[_Trevor]

I guess we have also discovered that Scratch wasn't lying about his knowledge of some things on skinny-l.

[_The Nehor]

I guess we have also discovered that Scratch wasn't lying about his knowledge of some things on skinny-l.

How does this follow? We have as much evidence that these actually are from that listing as we do that the 2nd Watson Letter existed.

[_Trevor]

How does this follow? We have as much evidence that these actually are from that listing as we do that the 2nd Watson Letter existed.

Did I miss the part where Daniel denied that these quotes reflected actual skinny-l material?