Italian court considers Jesus case
From the BBC: "An Italian court has begun the task of deciding whether a priest should be called to face questioning over whether or not Jesus Christ actually existed."
A 76-year-old Italian man, a former trainee priest and now devoted athiest, has sued a priest who "attacked him in print for casting doubt over the legitimacy of the Christian gospels."
For his part, "The atheist contends that Christianity relies on purely anecdotal evidence." He says "he hopes to use the case 'to denounce the abuse that the Catholic Church commits by profiting from its prestige to present historical facts as if they are real when they are only inventions.'"
Note that this makes great copy, but it's not new. Doubt about specific historical underpinnings of Christianity have been around for a long time. It does show, though, how far from the pinnacle of Christendom we have moved.
I think it also shows that in this postmodern age, when people long for meaning but are skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to offer it, our "story" and how we live it is more important than our "facts" and how well we "prove" them.
A 76-year-old Italian man, a former trainee priest and now devoted athiest, has sued a priest who "attacked him in print for casting doubt over the legitimacy of the Christian gospels."
For his part, "The atheist contends that Christianity relies on purely anecdotal evidence." He says "he hopes to use the case 'to denounce the abuse that the Catholic Church commits by profiting from its prestige to present historical facts as if they are real when they are only inventions.'"
Note that this makes great copy, but it's not new. Doubt about specific historical underpinnings of Christianity have been around for a long time. It does show, though, how far from the pinnacle of Christendom we have moved.
I think it also shows that in this postmodern age, when people long for meaning but are skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to offer it, our "story" and how we live it is more important than our "facts" and how well we "prove" them.
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