<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	
	>
<channel>
	<title>
	Comments on: Bryan Fischer doubles down on Christianity as a state religion	</title>
	<atom:link href="https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/</link>
	<description>A [retired] college psychology professor&#039;s observations about public policy, mental health, sexual identity, and religious issues</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 20:22:32 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<sy:updatePeriod>
	hourly	</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>
	1	</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2</generator>
	<item>
		<title>
		By: Eddy		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-92550</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eddy]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 20:22:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-92550</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&lt;strong&gt;patronizing: displaying or indicative of an offensively condescending manner&lt;/strong&gt;
Might be just me but I didn&#039;t see the suggestion to breathe as &#039;offfensively condescending&#039;. As David clarified, he had left his last comment a day prior to receiving two from Timothy in an hour&#039;s time. The second comment &quot;No? Nothing?&quot; was Timothy&#039;s petulance at David not responding to HIS post within an &lt;em&gt;hour&lt;/em&gt; after he had taken a &lt;em&gt;day&lt;/em&gt; to respond to David&#039;s.
In that context, &quot;Breath&quot; was akin to &quot;Hold your horses!&quot;, &quot;Gimme a break!&quot; with the reminder &quot;it&#039;s a blogsite not an online chat...I may not be online when you comment and might not be in an hour either...give me reasonable time to see and read your comment before implying sarcastically that I have nothing to say&quot;.
It wasn&#039;t  &#039;offensively condescending&#039; at all &lt;em&gt;especially when&lt;/em&gt; you consider the sarcasm that it was in response to.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>patronizing: displaying or indicative of an offensively condescending manner</strong><br />
Might be just me but I didn&#8217;t see the suggestion to breathe as &#8216;offfensively condescending&#8217;. As David clarified, he had left his last comment a day prior to receiving two from Timothy in an hour&#8217;s time. The second comment &#8220;No? Nothing?&#8221; was Timothy&#8217;s petulance at David not responding to HIS post within an <em>hour</em> after he had taken a <em>day</em> to respond to David&#8217;s.<br />
In that context, &#8220;Breath&#8221; was akin to &#8220;Hold your horses!&#8221;, &#8220;Gimme a break!&#8221; with the reminder &#8220;it&#8217;s a blogsite not an online chat&#8230;I may not be online when you comment and might not be in an hour either&#8230;give me reasonable time to see and read your comment before implying sarcastically that I have nothing to say&#8221;.<br />
It wasn&#8217;t  &#8216;offensively condescending&#8217; at all <em>especially when</em> you consider the sarcasm that it was in response to.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Throbert McGee		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87928</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Throbert McGee]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87928</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;Given the understanding of History as a science both &#039;pre-christian&#039; and in the centuries immediately following Christ, Is there a document written parallel to these biblical documents which is &lt;strong&gt;more historically sound/accurate&lt;/strong&gt;?&quot;
If we answer Josephus, Thudydides and others&#8230;did they try to cover the breadth of history contained in the Old Testament as well as &lt;strong&gt;narrate the meaning of the God-man connection&lt;/strong&gt;?&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;em&gt;[record-scratch sound effect]&lt;/em&gt;
Say what?!
Not that the &quot;meaning of the God-man connection&quot; isn&#039;t important, but since when has it ever been a criterion for judging the accuracy of historic narratives?
But even if we allow for the sake of discussion that the God-man connection ought to be considered here, comparing the entire Bible to the writings of Josephus Flavius is obviously going to put the latter at a severe disadvantage, since he was just one guy.
In the case of the Bible, believers and non-believers may disagree in their estimates of how many human authors were involved (e.g., was the Pentateuch written by Moses alone, or by multiple anonymous contributors?). But what both sides can agree on is that the Bible in its entirety is &lt;strong&gt;an anthology of writings by numerous authors who lived in different eras and who wrote in different genres&lt;/strong&gt;.
Thus, if you want to talk about how Classical Latin literature compared with the Bible in terms of overall quality, it doesn&#039;t really give you a meaningful picture if you simply contrast the Bible with, say, Vergil&#039;s &lt;em&gt;Aeneid&lt;/em&gt;. Rather, you should compare the Bible with an &lt;strong&gt;anthology&lt;/strong&gt; of excerpts from Vergil, and Julius Caesar, and Cicero, and Juvenal, and Tacitus, and Catullus. (Note: My list includes some Roman writers whose primary genre was &quot;history&quot;, and some who represent other genres, like moral essays and love poetry.)
But conversely, if you wanted to focus on the historicity of the &lt;em&gt;Aeneid&lt;/em&gt; alone, it would be a bit more meaningful to compare it with just the book of &lt;em&gt;Exodus&lt;/em&gt; -- after all, these two works belong to the same basic &quot;literary genre&quot;, namely, &quot;A history of how our forefathers escaped perilous circumstances, wandered around for quite a long time, and eventually laid the foundations for what would become a mighty kingdom.&quot;
(Mind you, &lt;em&gt;Exodus&lt;/em&gt; might still come out well ahead of the &lt;em&gt;Aeneid&lt;/em&gt; in terms of archeological validation, but at least you wouldn&#039;t be &quot;stacking the deck&quot; quite so much from the get-go. Whereas if you compare the &lt;em&gt;Aeneid&lt;/em&gt; with the &lt;strong&gt;whole Bible&lt;/strong&gt;, some people on the &quot;Bible side&quot; will attempt to score easy points by saying, &quot;Aha, they&#039;ve found the tomb of Caiaphas!&quot; -- although demonstrating the historicity of Caiaphas doesn&#039;t even prove the historicity of his own contemporary Jesus, much less have anything to do with the historicity of the &quot;escaping-wandering-founding&quot; narratives contained in &lt;em&gt;Exodus&lt;/em&gt; and the &lt;em&gt;Aeneid&lt;/em&gt;. )]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>&#8220;Given the understanding of History as a science both &#8216;pre-christian&#8217; and in the centuries immediately following Christ, Is there a document written parallel to these biblical documents which is <strong>more historically sound/accurate</strong>?&#8221;<br />
If we answer Josephus, Thudydides and others&#8230;did they try to cover the breadth of history contained in the Old Testament as well as <strong>narrate the meaning of the God-man connection</strong>?</p></blockquote>
<p><em>[record-scratch sound effect]</em><br />
Say what?!<br />
Not that the &#8220;meaning of the God-man connection&#8221; isn&#8217;t important, but since when has it ever been a criterion for judging the accuracy of historic narratives?<br />
But even if we allow for the sake of discussion that the God-man connection ought to be considered here, comparing the entire Bible to the writings of Josephus Flavius is obviously going to put the latter at a severe disadvantage, since he was just one guy.<br />
In the case of the Bible, believers and non-believers may disagree in their estimates of how many human authors were involved (e.g., was the Pentateuch written by Moses alone, or by multiple anonymous contributors?). But what both sides can agree on is that the Bible in its entirety is <strong>an anthology of writings by numerous authors who lived in different eras and who wrote in different genres</strong>.<br />
Thus, if you want to talk about how Classical Latin literature compared with the Bible in terms of overall quality, it doesn&#8217;t really give you a meaningful picture if you simply contrast the Bible with, say, Vergil&#8217;s <em>Aeneid</em>. Rather, you should compare the Bible with an <strong>anthology</strong> of excerpts from Vergil, and Julius Caesar, and Cicero, and Juvenal, and Tacitus, and Catullus. (Note: My list includes some Roman writers whose primary genre was &#8220;history&#8221;, and some who represent other genres, like moral essays and love poetry.)<br />
But conversely, if you wanted to focus on the historicity of the <em>Aeneid</em> alone, it would be a bit more meaningful to compare it with just the book of <em>Exodus</em> &#8212; after all, these two works belong to the same basic &#8220;literary genre&#8221;, namely, &#8220;A history of how our forefathers escaped perilous circumstances, wandered around for quite a long time, and eventually laid the foundations for what would become a mighty kingdom.&#8221;<br />
(Mind you, <em>Exodus</em> might still come out well ahead of the <em>Aeneid</em> in terms of archeological validation, but at least you wouldn&#8217;t be &#8220;stacking the deck&#8221; quite so much from the get-go. Whereas if you compare the <em>Aeneid</em> with the <strong>whole Bible</strong>, some people on the &#8220;Bible side&#8221; will attempt to score easy points by saying, &#8220;Aha, they&#8217;ve found the tomb of Caiaphas!&#8221; &#8212; although demonstrating the historicity of Caiaphas doesn&#8217;t even prove the historicity of his own contemporary Jesus, much less have anything to do with the historicity of the &#8220;escaping-wandering-founding&#8221; narratives contained in <em>Exodus</em> and the <em>Aeneid</em>. )</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Jayhuck		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87929</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jayhuck]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87929</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&lt;blockquote&gt;Just as a matter of curiosity, when you personally compared me with Bahati and Sempa recently in an entire unprovoked attack, was that a needless, polarizing and hopelessly generalizing blunt act of aggression?&lt;/blockquote&gt;
LOL]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>Just as a matter of curiosity, when you personally compared me with Bahati and Sempa recently in an entire unprovoked attack, was that a needless, polarizing and hopelessly generalizing blunt act of aggression?</p></blockquote>
<p>LOL</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Debbie Thurman		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87927</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Debbie Thurman]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87927</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[FWIW, I took a Latin course on Roman satire (mainly Horace and Juvenal) in college. I recall reading in the original language references to historical events and people that were mentioned in the New Testament, including Jesus. I found that fascinating.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>FWIW, I took a Latin course on Roman satire (mainly Horace and Juvenal) in college. I recall reading in the original language references to historical events and people that were mentioned in the New Testament, including Jesus. I found that fascinating.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: David Blakeslee		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87935</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[David Blakeslee]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87935</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Timothy,
Breathe.
I left my response a day ago...
Your comment comes and then is followed an hour later by sarcasm...
I sent you an e-mail through your BTB site after Warren had closed the other thread.  Maybe you never received it.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Timothy,<br />
Breathe.<br />
I left my response a day ago&#8230;<br />
Your comment comes and then is followed an hour later by sarcasm&#8230;<br />
I sent you an e-mail through your BTB site after Warren had closed the other thread.  Maybe you never received it.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Debbie Thurman		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87933</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Debbie Thurman]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87933</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Wasn&#039;t Tacitus more of a historian? Horace, Juvenal, Lucilius, Ennius, Perseus were the satirists. Maybe one of them was quoting Tacitus, but they had plenty to say about the culture of the day. It was a long time ago for me. :)]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wasn&#8217;t Tacitus more of a historian? Horace, Juvenal, Lucilius, Ennius, Perseus were the satirists. Maybe one of them was quoting Tacitus, but they had plenty to say about the culture of the day. It was a long time ago for me. 🙂</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Throbert McGee		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87930</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Throbert McGee]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87930</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[&lt;blockquote&gt;Timothy, the Bible is fairy stories&lt;/blockquote&gt;
Indubitably -- but I think Timothy&#039;s position is that the fairytales in the Bible are not just any old fairytales -- they are fairytales &lt;b&gt;told to us by God Himself&lt;/b&gt;.
And to any believer who is offended by the fairytale comparison and objects &quot;Well, why would God make up a bunch of lies?&quot;, I would respond with the old Russian proverb:
&lt;em&gt;Skazka -- lozh,
Da v nei namiok,
Dobrym molodtsam urok!&lt;/em&gt;
Which literally translates more or less as:
&quot;The fairytale is a lie,
Yet in it is a hint --
For kindhearted A+ students, a lesson!&quot;
And a bit loosely, for the sake of rhyme:
&quot;Fairytales are a mountain of lies...
...but with hinted-at lessons for the good and wise!&quot;]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<blockquote><p>Timothy, the Bible is fairy stories</p></blockquote>
<p>Indubitably &#8212; but I think Timothy&#8217;s position is that the fairytales in the Bible are not just any old fairytales &#8212; they are fairytales <b>told to us by God Himself</b>.<br />
And to any believer who is offended by the fairytale comparison and objects &#8220;Well, why would God make up a bunch of lies?&#8221;, I would respond with the old Russian proverb:<br />
<em>Skazka &#8212; lozh,<br />
Da v nei namiok,<br />
Dobrym molodtsam urok!</em><br />
Which literally translates more or less as:<br />
&#8220;The fairytale is a lie,<br />
Yet in it is a hint &#8212;<br />
For kindhearted A+ students, a lesson!&#8221;<br />
And a bit loosely, for the sake of rhyme:<br />
&#8220;Fairytales are a mountain of lies&#8230;<br />
&#8230;but with hinted-at lessons for the good and wise!&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Timothy Kincaid		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87938</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Timothy Kincaid]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87938</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[David,
Just so we are clear, I left two comments on two threads. You responded to one and ignored this one.
And, no, I did not get your email.  If you would like to forward it again, I look forward to reading what you had to say.
I can be reached directly at TimothyDKinLA@yahoo.com]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>David,<br />
Just so we are clear, I left two comments on two threads. You responded to one and ignored this one.<br />
And, no, I did not get your email.  If you would like to forward it again, I look forward to reading what you had to say.<br />
I can be reached directly at <a href="mailto:TimothyDKinLA@yahoo.com">TimothyDKinLA@yahoo.com</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Jayhuck		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87937</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jayhuck]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87937</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Isn&#039;t is wonderful when a person who posts asks you to breath? Not patronizing at all :)]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Isn&#8217;t is wonderful when a person who posts asks you to breath? Not patronizing at all 🙂</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>
		By: Timothy Kincaid		</title>
		<link>https://wthrockmorton.com/2011/03/30/bryan-fischer-doubles-down-on-christianity-as-a-state-religion/#comment-87931</link>

		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Timothy Kincaid]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 May 2018 19:14:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://wthrockmorton.com/?p=8918#comment-87931</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[David,
I still have not heard from you.
So I am still uncertain whether comparisons to Bahati and Sempa are objectively needless, polarizing and hopelessly generalizing blunt acts of aggression or whether this is a subjective classification.
I am also uncertain whether an apology was proffered.
Do feel free to contact me at timothydkinla@yahoo.com if you continue to believe that the venue in which you insulted me is not the proper venue in which to apologize.  Assuming, of course, that you apologized.
Timothy]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>David,<br />
I still have not heard from you.<br />
So I am still uncertain whether comparisons to Bahati and Sempa are objectively needless, polarizing and hopelessly generalizing blunt acts of aggression or whether this is a subjective classification.<br />
I am also uncertain whether an apology was proffered.<br />
Do feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:timothydkinla@yahoo.com">timothydkinla@yahoo.com</a> if you continue to believe that the venue in which you insulted me is not the proper venue in which to apologize.  Assuming, of course, that you apologized.<br />
Timothy</p>
]]></content:encoded>
		
			</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
