Wednesday, October 31, 2007

My debate with Pastor Joe





The premise of the debate was whether or not the New Testament is reliable. This was a continuation from a previous discussion we had on the subject of the manuscript evidence. I argue that the argumentation Pastor Joe fallaciously uses to support his assertions are flawed. These are the central issues we discuss and the arguments he supports which I do not.

Joe’s argument:

- Over 5,000 Greek manuscripts from before 325 C.E (A.D.)
- Only 40 lines are in question
- Is accurate within 99.5% amongst the manuscripts.
- He also claims that the NT is more reliable than the Iliad.

I thoroughly refute every one of these claims and address several issues (like contradictions) which lend credence to my premise that the NT is not a reliable amongst its earliest texts.

By the end of the debate Joe concedes that:

- Only 6% (300+) of the manuscripts were written prior to the 9th century.
- The 40 lines argument is flawed and unsubstantiated.
- Instead of 99.5% the bible is closer to 62.9% (which is lower than the Iliad).

This was not a very productive debate since we seemed to be talking past each other for the majority of the time. If you decide to listen to it make sure you listen to the last fifteen minutes which he gets officially PWNED!!


5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Holy shit! I had to laugh when he started quoting JP Holding. That guys a moron. Finding variances in secular works about Lincoln is pointless because nobody claims inspiration or inerrancy for those works.

OMGSeriously said...

That pastor is a dirty, dirty liar.

DAve said...

the Iliad wasnt a religious work- it documented the mythical siege of troy and the heroics of achilles, odeysseyus and aggamemnon- it served as a role-model for future 'heroes' and told the greeks about their common heritage- it wasnt meant to be a work of indoctrination! this idiot knows nothing about the ancient world so how can he defend the bible?

Anonymous said...

Pastor Joe doesn't get it. He just doesn't get it. He's the one in the room that doesn't get the joke, and he has probably missed out on all the real beauty in life.

Anonymous said...

"I conceded something, why aren't you willing to concede something?!" What an idiot. Since when is this open trading? It's a debate! Well done for standing you ground there.