Schweitzer, Elst, and a whole host of others agree that the passion narrative is pure absurdity. Amazingly, the views of both Elst and Atwill converge in Schweitzer.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><< Mark 15:21 >>parallel translations
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was coming into Jerusalem from his home in the country. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. As he was about to pass by, the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
'topos' writing in tandem with one 'infidelguy':
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Joe told me he had just noticed a new parallel a day or so ago and it's so good I urged him to use it in the show, but he said he couldn't find a place to bring it up. This one is about the two boys that help Jesus bear his cross so as he can get to his crucifixion on time. Their names are Rufus and Alexander, if I have it right. But, Rufus and Alexander are also the names of TItus' top two generals, who between the two of them filled every tree in the hills around Jeruselum with Jewish rebels being crucified. Is this just coincidence? How many other Rufuses and Alexanders are there in the New Testament or Josephus' Jewish War, I wonder. I guess probably none others. So it is pretty easy to calculate some odds here, out of all the possible names, and not one but two generals there helping Jesus get to his crucifixion, just as they had helped tens of thousands of others get to theirs. Now, I wouldn't argue that when you calculate the odds of this happening by accident that there is really any particular certain odds of it, like Mr Spock would quote. Of course this isn't true. I could probably make the calculation at least three or four different ways, under different assumptions, and get widely varying results. However they would all come up with long odds that it would come up by accident, and that is the significant fact. We just wouldn't excpect those two names with the most significance (not one but two) to come up by accident.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><< Mark 15:21 >>parallel translations
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
A man named Simon from the city of Cyrene was coming into Jerusalem from his home in the country. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus. As he was about to pass by, the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
'topos' writing in tandem with one 'infidelguy':
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Joe told me he had just noticed a new parallel a day or so ago and it's so good I urged him to use it in the show, but he said he couldn't find a place to bring it up. This one is about the two boys that help Jesus bear his cross so as he can get to his crucifixion on time. Their names are Rufus and Alexander, if I have it right. But, Rufus and Alexander are also the names of TItus' top two generals, who between the two of them filled every tree in the hills around Jeruselum with Jewish rebels being crucified. Is this just coincidence? How many other Rufuses and Alexanders are there in the New Testament or Josephus' Jewish War, I wonder. I guess probably none others. So it is pretty easy to calculate some odds here, out of all the possible names, and not one but two generals there helping Jesus get to his crucifixion, just as they had helped tens of thousands of others get to theirs. Now, I wouldn't argue that when you calculate the odds of this happening by accident that there is really any particular certain odds of it, like Mr Spock would quote. Of course this isn't true. I could probably make the calculation at least three or four different ways, under different assumptions, and get widely varying results. However they would all come up with long odds that it would come up by accident, and that is the significant fact. We just wouldn't excpect those two names with the most significance (not one but two) to come up by accident.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->