I feel sorry for Runner and his ilk who so doggedly refuse to look reality in the face.

David

Good, logical thinking, Mr Morris.

Unfortunately, religion has very little to do with logic, and - in the context of your article - a great deal to do with politics. Can you imagine, for example, an American presidential candidate declaring themself atheist, or even agnostic? Would not get to the starting gate. Whatever their personal views might be, they would need to keep them tightly under cover, in much the same way that religious folk had to hide their faith in the time of Stalin or Mao.

It will take another couple of generations, unfortunately, before the shackles of belief in some abstract deity are lifted. But please, don't let that stop you trying.

It's a typical post where opinion is quoted as fact. It'a also typically arrogant in that he thinks that we are superior because we have greater knowledge than the guys who wrote it.

It's so baised as to be useless for any discussion.

The following view is striking: There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the kingdom of God, who founded the kingdom of heaven upon earth, and died to give his work its final consecration, never had any existence. This image has not been destroyed from without, it has fallen to pieces, cleft and disintegrated by the concrete historical problems which came to the surface one after another. END OF QUOTE
It's particularly striking that this comment was made by a highly motivated Christian, the physician, musician and scholar Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965, who wrote a detailed study of the Quest for the Historical Jesus.
So it's not all an atheist plot.

Whether a bloke called Jesus, who claimed to be the son of God, lived or died over 2000 years ago or not, is of no consequence when there is absolutely no proof there is any actual God anyway.

A good essay which sums up the situation in a succinct way.

Dashton is obviously completely unavailable for any kind of serious in depth consideration about the fabricated "evidence" re the life and teaching of Saint Jesus of Galilee.

These two well reasoned references also affirm the findings of the modern scholarship that began with the work/challenge of Albert Schweitzer. They are however based on a completely different perspective than the usual secular critiques of now archaic old-time religiosity
http://www.dabase.org/up-5-1.htm
http://www.aboutadidam.org/articles/secret_identity/beyond_hidden.html
The author used to humorously point out that unless you have solid on the spot photographic evidence for the existence of these (now) essentially fictional story-book characters, then you are essentially believing in and promoting mystifying mumbo-jumbo.