Doesn’t the fact that our calendar is based on the birth or death of Jesus prove that he was a historical person? Indeed, doesn’t it prove that he was the Messiah?
Posted: December 16th 2010
Reed Braden www
My calendar has pictures of Betty White on every page.
(Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.)
Posted: January 17th 2011
Philip www
A better question would be to ask is what date does the Bible agree that Jesus was born?
Do we trust Luke or Matthew? An excellent essay by Richard Carrier shows that there is not even a conclusion reached as to when that was.
As for the Calender – I really don’t think Dennis the Small – who came up with the AD and BC system 525 years supposedly after the event happened is good enough evidence to show Jesus existed. He fixed the calender to suit the Christian needs and this is 100 years after Constantine had set to work to make Christianity more cohesive, it is all an entirely human construct with very little reference to actual evidence.
The dates and timing in the year for Jesus’ supposed birth and death can be referenced to various events already established in religions that were around way before Christianity which they adopted over time to make Christianity more attractive to those who they wanted to convert. They have nothing to do with actual events concerning Jesus and more to do with adopted customs and philosophies from many different cultures that had been integrated into the Roman Empire.
I do not know or see how this proves Jesus was the Māšîăḥ or Christós (The Anointed One) I would rather have thought that it was obvious that the calender, along with religion itself, is entirely connected with human beings and not anointed beings.
Posted: January 12th 2011
Blaise www
This question is so stupid that I can only assume that it is some sort of a troll, intended to get people upset or frustrated. Why waste your time our ours? It seems a bit petty…
Posted: December 19th 2010
Eric_PK
I’m not sure exactly what our referring to.
If you are referring to Christmas, it’s well-established that Jesus was supposedly born in the spring, and the Christians co-opted the pagan ceremonies that occurred around the time of the Winter solstice. That’s why we have “christmas” trees.
If you are referring to the “AD” thing, that designation was created in the year 525, so it certainly is contemporaneous to the events. Most scholars date the birth of Jesus at 4-6 AD, which isn’t very good evidence of divine connectedness of the calendar – you’d think that God would be able to get his dates right.
Posted: December 19th 2010
Paula Kirby www
To build on bitbutter’s answer, doesn’t the fact that the Islamic calendar is based on a key event in Muhammed’s life prove that he was a historical person? Indeed, doesn’t it prove that he was God’s ultimate and truest messenger, superior to Jesus in every way?
Or could the fact that the Mayan calendar is due to come to end in 2012 mean that all religion has had its day and it is time for humanity to stop degrading itself with such inanities?
While you’re pondering that, you might like to check out just how many different calendar systems there are around the world.
Posted: December 17th 2010
logicel
Extraordinary evidence for extraordinary claims, please.
Posted: December 17th 2010
bitbutter www
I hope I can answer the question indirectly by posing a similar one:
Doesn’t the fact that our days of the week are named after Norse gods prove that Thor existed? Indeed doesn’t it prove that he had a magic hammer?
Posted: December 17th 2010