When I was in seminary, one of the few arguments presented that the Gospels were written before 70 CE was that these text failed to mention the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. With no real dating system for the Gospels in place, scholars (who were usually linked to a religious institution) needed to keep these texts as closely connected to an early first century Jesus as they could or this divine figure would fade into legend and myth.
On Facebook Joshua Tongol quoted me, where I had written:
My goal is to force Christians to think about what they would believe if the Bible itself was undermined as a source of divine truth.” —John Loftus
Now enters Dan Lambert:
I have spent my years online, and in my books, trying to reason with Christian apologists in front of the watching world (whoever watches anyway). It is my specialty. And yet today I feel like I am no better at understanding the mind of the apologist than when I began. Just how badly does the faith virus infect otherwise reasonable people? They cannot even understand what we're saying. They don't even try. They are in defensive mode. They only hear what they want to hear when the evidence of what we're saying should be clear enough. My goal is to break through to them, so I am forced to understand them. It's like trying to understand the mind of a serial killer. I cannot begin to understand such a person. It appears I cannot understand the mind of the apologist either, even though I was once one. How do I break through to them? I feel that if anyone can do this I can. But I admit I can't. The virus of the mind is that strong. It's very maddening. It is the most difficult challenge I have ever undertaken. [I wouldn't be surprised in the least if one of them copied this post and inserted the word atheist in it.]
1. Demand textual proof that any verse of the Old Testament was written before 200 BCE. (There's 23,145 verses to prove them right or wrong.)
2. Demand historical proof (apart from using the New Testament to prove the New Testament) that Jesus Christ existed. (Let's see
absolute truth prove itself.)