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Post by timoneill on Dec 5, 2009 21:38:23 GMT
It seems one of these threads pops up on the Dawkins forum about once every 2-3 weeks. There's now a new one. I promised myself I'd stay out of it until the name "Galileo" was invoked, and lo, there it is right on cue. A certain "Richard Carrier" is also being brandished about. "Once more unto the breach dear friends ...!"
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Post by James Hannam on Dec 5, 2009 21:48:54 GMT
Once more unto the breach dear friends ...! I sort of tried to start a conversation in that thread and got roundly ignored. Oh well. ipetrich is an ghost from the Secular Web who has been pawning the same old rubbish since the invention of the internet. That said, I'm really looking forward to Carrier's book. Given it will deal with the period up to the fifth century, it is unlikely to be much skin off my nose in the High Middle Ages. And it will be great to have sources and footnotes for all his stuff, which I am extremely confident Carrier will provide. Best wishes James
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Post by timoneill on Dec 5, 2009 23:05:49 GMT
That said, I'm really looking forward to Carrier's book. Given it will deal with the period up to the fifth century, it is unlikely to be much skin off my nose in the High Middle Ages. And it will be great to have sources and footnotes for all his stuff, which I am extremely confident Carrier will provide. It will be interesting to see if he does what Freeman did and conveniently skip over the fact that Christianity ended up embracing reason and philosophy. Do you know if this book is being properly peer reviewed or is this going to be another of his self-published hack jobs?
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Post by timoneill on Dec 6, 2009 8:51:41 GMT
Ipetrich hath spoken unto us again! I've just come home from a sunny afternoon drinking beer, so it would be best I don't reply now since I'm already on the brink of being suspended from that forum for being too "forthright" in my replies to idiots. If anyone else wants to chime in that would be good. Perhaps you'd have more impact if you replied that post James.
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Post by James Hannam on Dec 6, 2009 8:56:26 GMT
It will be interesting to see if he does what Freeman did and conveniently skip over the fact that Christianity ended up embracing reason and philosophy. Do you know if this book is being properly peer reviewed or is this going to be another of his self-published hack jobs? Of course, the difference between Carrier and Freeman is that the former has a PhD from Columbia, which carries significant kudos in my book. His book is based on his PhD, so I think we can assume he knows his stuff. Besides, he now has a copy of God's Philosophers so has no excuses . However, according to his website, the book covers only the early Roman Empire, so it is hard to imagine it will have much to do with Christianity at all. Peer review would be a huge help and hopefully it will be published by a university press. Nothing about a publisher on the website. Best wishes James
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 6, 2009 9:44:00 GMT
I have chimed in on the Jesuits
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 6, 2009 10:15:35 GMT
Ha ha!. Lets see what he comes back with.
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joel
Bachelor of the Arts
Posts: 70
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Post by joel on Dec 6, 2009 14:55:39 GMT
Is Carrier going to publish his book on ancient science or on the Jesus myth first?
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 6, 2009 16:41:00 GMT
Hmm, having just come back to this, the thread in question appears to be fairly dead. Meanwhile the 'Did Jesus Exist' thread is now nearly up to 800 posts.
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Post by James Hannam on Dec 6, 2009 19:24:29 GMT
Hmm, having just come back to this, the thread in question appears to be fairly dead. Meanwhile the 'Did Jesus Exist' thread is now nearly up to 800 posts. It is often the case that they'll slunk off when getting a kicking... J
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 6, 2009 21:12:59 GMT
It's a bit annoying though. You spend a good half and hour writing some blurb on Jesuit Astronomy during the Counter Reformation (under pressure as well because at the same time my wife is telling me to stop wasting time on the internet because I should be going to the shopping mall to buy a sweater!) and the people you write it for sod off. Oh the joys of arguing with strangers on the internet.
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Post by timoneill on Dec 7, 2009 19:32:09 GMT
Hmm, having just come back to this, the thread in question appears to be fairly dead. Meanwhile the 'Did Jesus Exist' thread is now nearly up to 800 posts. But that thread is being sustained mainly by the indefatigable efforts of a single bonehead called "angelo" and, occasionally, the odd drive-by semi-Myther who quickly gets walloped and disappears. Compare that to two years ago when there were no discussions of history on that forum at all and where "Jesus didn't exist" was the reigning and unquestioned orthodoxy. Now the few Mythers there that still remain hide and keep silent, with the exception of said bonehead and the inevitable Secular Webbist Steve Carr. How things have changed.
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joel
Bachelor of the Arts
Posts: 70
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Post by joel on Dec 7, 2009 21:49:11 GMT
Unfortunately the Secular Web seems to be getting more and more radical. It's become fashionable there to say that Josephus's passage on John the Baptist is ANOTHER Christian interpolation! Also, apparently the reason we're missing some years in the early first century in Tacitus is because Christians were embarrased he didn't mention Jesus in the period when he supposedly lived and destroyed those years (if Carrier tries to put that argument in his book, there's no way it'll get through anything besides Prometheus).
Steven Carr is extremely annoying; I see him all over the internet posting snarky strings of one-liners and attacking the integrity of people who disagree with him. I didn't know until a few weeks ago that he's a myther though.
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Post by timoneill on Dec 8, 2009 22:51:26 GMT
Unfortunately the Secular Web seems to be getting more and more radical. The lunatics took over that particular asylum long ago. I used to post there but gave up - it was like talking to a series of very shouty brick walls. Several other sensible atheists also used to post there but have also abandoned the place. It's now an increasingly weird Myther ghetto where they convince themselves that Richard Carrier and Earl Doherty are giants in their field (whatever that might be) and that Mythers can't get published in academia because of some vast conspiracy. Basically it's become second only to the "Rational Response Squad" site in crazed loopyness. He published his last hysterical screed learned tome via lulu.com - which means it only had to pass the peer review of one R. Carrier to be accepted. Not to be outdone, his puppy-like little protégé Tom "Rook Hawkins" Verenna (of aforementioned "Rational Response Squad" infamy) bundled up some of his rambling, inarticulate and semi-literare blog posts and published them via lulu.com as well. I'm almost tempted to buy and review the latter just for laughs, but the idea of actually giving "Rook" some of my money sticks in my craw. He gets very snippy with me when I remind him that Mythers are fringe theorists at best and share the same extreme end of the field as total crackpots like Atwill, Carotta and Dorothy "Acharya S/Atlantis Girl" Murdock. He's one of the few Secular Web ghetto dwellers who occasionally emerges into the real world, but that doesn't mean he likes it when the real world reminds him of reality.
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Post by humphreyclarke on Dec 9, 2009 9:56:36 GMT
He published his last hysterical screed learned tome via lulu.com - which means it only had to pass the peer review of one R. Carrier to be accepted. Not to be outdone, his puppy-like little protégé Tom "Rook Hawkins" Verenna (of aforementioned "Rational Response Squad" infamy) bundled up some of his rambling, inarticulate and semi-literare blog posts and published them via lulu.com as well. I'm almost tempted to buy and review the latter just for laughs, but the idea of actually giving "Rook" some of my money sticks in my craw. I have just come across the Rook Hawkins saga and 'The Rational response squad; which appears to be run by some work-shy egomaniac and a Nevada prostitute. It's actually worse than 'truth saves.com'. atheismsucks.blogspot.com/2007/09/rook-hawkins-uses-false-advertising.htmlI see someone by the name of Mr O'Neil has been instrumental in his downfall. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. What the hell is Martin Bashir doing chairing this moron convention? www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-rKiGJrcNwThis set of highlights is actually worse www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0DdgSDan9c&feature=relatedIt has some Jesus mythology and the infamous 'crocoduck' !
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