@Rach4Patriarchy They did away with monasticism because the wealthy elite wanted the massive amount of land that monasteries occupied. This caused the social safety to collapse. There was mass unemployment, starvation, vagrancy, the collapse of the healthcare system, etc. all because of it
@JoelMCurzon If by conservative you mean that he is the last gasp of the worthless consensus then yes. If the field can finally escape the anti-semitic liberal Lutheran chains that have been in place for centuries then Ehrman will be viewed as a sad curiosity, which he is
@JoelMCurzon The problem with Ehrman is his presentation of his views as the consensus and that they are therefore true. People who agree with his views and are not particularly sophisticated, like yourself, act as if he is an important scholar. He is irrelevant outside of popularizing.
@SufrinSuccotash@charlesmurray I came to history through an interest in philosophy that led me to historiography before reading actual history. I can't believe how bad a lot of the arguments are in NT studies.
A remarkable number of liberal women these days act as though they desperately wish that Donald Trump would bend them over his knee, yank down their panties, and spank their bare bottoms until they reach orgasm. I don’t happen to know how many of them actually fantasize about this, though the popularity of MAGA dating suggests that it may not be a small number. Yet something of this sort is clearly present in the subconscious minds of a great many women who publicly insist they loathe Donald Trump with every fiber of their being.
@charlesmurray The entire field of NT Studies was poisoned centuries ago by anti-semitic German scholars who raised doubts about the texts to drive a wedge between Petrine and Pauline Christianity. Classicists do not treat their sources the way NT scholars do and for good reason.
@bjneitzel@charlesmurray There is no way to know what the vast majority of scholars believes. Consensus is a nebulous term that exists to set guard rails and to write textbooks. To invoke consensus in a scholarly argument adds nothing to the discussion and should be called the "Ehrman Fallacy".
@JMGreerWriter This is one reason that Eastern Christianity is much more appealing. No inherited guilt and God is not distant through the Essence/Energies distinction.
@gowdy_luke@LutheranTiger@EcciusMaximus It wasn't just some goober making an allegation, there was a serious inquiry by the Church and suspicious behavior from Augustine. Many Manichaeans infiltrated the Church or "converted" for convenience. See the article "Augustine Accused" by Jason BeDuhn
@gowdy_luke@LutheranTiger@EcciusMaximus Influence doesn't work by direct borrowing.
The reason people associate him with Manichaeism is because he was a Manichaean for a decade and was accused of still being a secret Manichaean when he converted in order to avoid the laws against Manichaeans. This was common.
@Oilfield_Rando It would be interesting to see what number of conservative deconversions are from broken families. There is an old study that found a correlation between family problems, apostasy, and left wing politics.
@charlesmurray He is completely wrong. The gnostic writings are much later. Matt and Mk are pre-70, Luke pre-80, and John 90s. The idea that Jesus was a zealot is a fringe idea. This is basic academic consensus stuff. He needs to quit reading Reza Aslan.
@CurtMills His demeanor is completely different. That plus the bit about Iran "agreeing" they won't get nukes tells me that the rumors are probably true and they have them.
@gowdy_luke@LutheranTiger@EcciusMaximus We do know what were large influences on Augustine. He was accused - at the time! - of being an actual crypto-Manichaean at the beginning. This is starting to be an accepted idea through Johannes Van Oort and Jason Beduhn's recent work. Wilson just brought this to attention.