Show Me the MONEY!

Even Christians realize that some NT commandments 

are ridiculous. From the *Errancy Discussion List*, 

11 Feb. 1997:

TILL
The passages that were quoted don't refer to loans, although there are
some passages that address loaning. In this case, the scripture that was
quoted says, "Give to EVERYONE who asks you and of him who takes
away your goods ask them not again" (Luke 6:30). So, Dave, I'm someone,
and I am asking you to give me $10,000. Your obedience to this
commandment of your savior will be appreciated.

(COURT 2/10) Farrell: My responses to Jason also apply here - so I won't
repeat them. I will not be sending you any money as there are others who
are in more dire need than you are for what limited resources I have -
beginning with my own son (and soon to come baby). My suggestion, if you
need money quickly, is to begin dismantling the expenditures you make on
your publications, time, computer and whatever other fringe payments you
have so that you can afford the basic necessities of life. That would be a
start - if you are really suffering, then let me know privately what exactly
you require and why, when and how you can expect to pay back the money,
and I'll be glad to help out should I be able to.

TILL
I didn't say anything about NEEDING the money, I just said that I want you
to give it to me. If you don't do it, then you are practicing smorgasbord
Xianity by selecting the passages to obey and rejecting the others. I also
have a question for you. If I came to Toronto, hot wired your car, and stole
it, would you report me to the police and try to get it back?

(COURT 2/10) Farrell: Yes, of course I would. You should abide by the law
and pay whatever penalty the government has set in place for your crime -
are you expecting a lawless society?

TILL
Would this also have been true in the time of Jesus when he said, "And of
him that takes away your goods ask them not again"?

(COURT) Would I ask for more from you than the law specifies? No. I have
nothing to gain from such action. By the way, I drive a Saturn - you may want
to try the Mercedes next door.

TILL
No, I want to steal your Saturn. The man next door may not be a Christian,
and so he could try to take the Mercedes back from me. By the way, I want
the money to be in US dollars. Every little bit helps.

(COURT 2/10) Farrell: Actually, $0 remains just that regardless of the
currency - so, no problem.

TILL
Well, you have confirmed exactly what I set out to prove: even Xians
recognize that some NT commandments are ridiculous. Your assistance
has been greatly appreciated.

Farrell Till

Luke The Historian

From the Errancy discussion list, 8-18-97:

TILL

Otsen has cited the amazing historical accuracy of Luke as an argument for biblical inerrancy, as if he somehow believes that because one biblical writer was accurate in some geographical, political, and social matters, he was therefore right in everything he wrote and that the entire Bible must, as a consequence, be inerrant. In an earlier posting, I listed over two dozen references that Luke made in the book of Acts to extraordinary events. I challenge Otsen to present to us some kind of extrabiblical evidence to prove that at least some of these events actually happened. Until he can do this, he is in effect arguing that because Luke knew the geography of the region he wrote about and the names of some public officials and such like, we can thereby know that Luke was also accurate in his reporting of the various miracle claims found in his gospel and the book of Acts. 

I'll use just one example to show how fallacious this line of reasoning is. In *The Twelve Caesars,* the Roman historian Suetonius recorded many events and named many public officials that are universally accepted as historically accurate. However, Suetonius also stated that when Roman officials were arguing over where the body of Julius Caesar should be cremated, two "divine forms" came down with torches in hand and set fire to the funeral couch (Penguin Books, 1989, p. 52). Suetonius also stated that a man who had just recently purchased the mansion that had been owned by the grandfather of Caesar Augustus went to sleep in the room that had been the nursery of Augustus, and in the night he was "hurled out of bed by a supernatural agency and found lying half-dead against the door, bedclothes and all" (p. 56). Suetonius further claimed that Emperor Vespasian healed a blind man and a lame man by just touching the lame man and spitting on the eyes of the blind man (p. 284). Tacitus made this same claim. 

Luke, A Historian "Par Excellent"[sic]? (2)

From the Errancy discussion list, August 18, 1997:

TILL
Otsen has cited the amazing historical accuracy of Luke as an argument
for biblical inerrancy, as if he somehow believes that because one
biblical writer was accurate in some geographical, political, and social
matters, he was therefore right in everything he wrote and that the entire
Bible must, as a consequence, be inerrant. In an earlier posting, I listed
over two dozen references that Luke made in the book of Acts to
extraordinary events. I challenge Otsen to present to us some kind of
extra-biblical evidence to prove that at least some of these events actually
happened. Until he can do this, he is in effect arguing that because Luke
knew the geography of the region he wrote about and the names of some
public officials and such like, we can thereby know that Luke was also
accurate in his reporting of the various miracle claims found in his gospel
and the book of Acts.

Luke, A Historian "Par Excellent" [sic]? (1)

From the Errancy discussion list, August 17, 1997:

TILL

Otsen has posted the trite fundamentalist argument about Sir William

Ramsay, who was presumbably a biblical skeptic until he studied the

writings of Luke, after which he was so impressed by Luke's historical

accuracy that he became a dedicated Christian.  When Ramsay was

discussed earlier on the list Steve Carr noted in a posting to Errancy

date May 10th that Ramsay was actually a "Bible-believing historian." 

Carr made the following statement in his posting:

"In Ramsay's book, he describes how as a young man at Oxford ( a place

which *did* not accept religious sceptics), he studied the 39 Articles

of Faith for his Divinity exam. He corresponded with Bishop Lightfoot.

He spent months studying the NT and the OT (which he described as life-

giving). He describes the Epistle to Galatians as especially moving. He

was reminded often of his mother's love for Paul."