Comments by "Nicholas Conder" (@nicholasconder4703) on "UsefulCharts" channel.

Once again you give a very good, succinct and informative video without bias. Well done. One thing I might add is that one reason why we might not have very many early versions of the Bible is because the Romans likely went around destroying texts whenever they discovered them between the time of Nero and Constantine (superstition is such a wonderful thing). That, and the impermanent nature of papyrus and paper go a long way to explaining why many ancient texts were lost (the dry climate of Egypt explains why so many early texts from that region survive).
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@hanz3967 Considering all the good that has come out of Christianity - charitable organizations and disaster relief by the public at large, viniculture and many agricultural techniques, the preservation of ancient histories and science of Rome and Greece, etc., I wonder how you can say that. In spite of what you may think, Christianity did bring a LOT of good in the world. Problem is that people like to focus on the bad, because it is easier to criticize and find fault than accept that Christians are people who make mistakes, but give credit where it is due in spite of the religions warts.
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Personally, I figure that the Exodus took place during the Bronze Age collapse. It would make sense, since the Hittites would have begun disintegrating at this time, Egypt fell back to its borders, and there was a massive power vacuum in the region. Also, at least on of the Egyptian records from this time mention the Israelites as part of the sea peoples. Pharaoh's armies would have been tied up fighting off invaders, so a relatively small group of people heading off into the wilderness could escape without much pursuit. That said, there is no written evidence of this.
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@kamion53 Jesus himself said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits". In other words, "Judge people on their acts".
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I disagree with the interpretation given in this video, as I do think the books of Daniel and Revelations do talk about the past, present and future. However, the most important thing to remember is what Jesus said, "No one knows the day or time ... Only the father knows." In other words, live every day in an upright manner, and consider the possibility it may be your last (there are a few parables on this). Most importantly, don't dwell on it and make it the focus of everything, because you could die in a car accident, or a heart attack, or whatever before then.
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@JOBRAIL1 Doesn't mean anything. The reason why they would have built mounds is because the area floods. So what? There is no Middle-east style pottery, no bronze working, nothing. It is a culture that arose completely independently of any influence from the old world, just like the Maya, Aztecs, Inca and other First Nations cultures in the Americas.
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One thing I have seen in another presentation is that there could be a translation error in the Gospel of Luke (wish I could remember the video that discussed this possibility). The word that Luke uses when describing the census of Quirinius often means during, but if the video is right, in a certain context the same word can be translated as "prior to". If true, that would resolve the problem, since Jesus' birth would have taken place prior to the census, not during it. And since the account would have been written from talking with locals, it would be hardly surprising that the census and its aftermath would be an event that would stick out in everyone's minds.
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@hanz3967 You could also add that the "enlightened" Greeks and Romans tortured and killed Christians, as did "peaceful" Buddhists. And many atheist communists killed anybody who was religious (in fact Communists and Nazis show up quite frequently at the top of the list if you Google search greatest mass murders in history). The issue is not the religion, but the people who claim to be religious and use religion as a basis for power, rather than being nobility, CEO of a company, leader of a political party or country, etc. Religion is often used to separate an "Us" group from a "Them" group. Had the European settlers actually adhered to Christianity properly, rather than either dogmatic extremism, materialism or cynical hypocrisy, things might have gone better for the First Nations in both Americas. Then again, one tends to forget they were constantly at war with each other before Europeans showed up. People will be people, and if they can find an excuse to try to take something from another group, be it land, women, property or control over others, they will find one or make one up.
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@PitboyHarmony1 Very true. It is one thing that I have argued with Mormons about when they come to my door. In particular, the Bible does have a fair bit of corroborating evidence supporting the authenticity of many of its passages and events, but there is nothing of the sort with the book of Mormon.
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@hanz3967 As far as destroying roman history and science, there was this little thing called the barbarian invasions and the related looting and burning of towns and cities. Also forgotten in your comment is the fact that the Greco-Roman world is seismically active with a lot of earthquakes. So if a temple gets destroyed by natural or invading forces, if something isn't being used and there is all this building material around, why not use it? The people of the time were more pragmatic in their approach than we are - they didn't preserve things in museums like we do. Monuments and such had a purpose, and if that purpose was not longer there, they took the building materials and repurposed them. For instance, large parts of the Temple in Ephesus are still in the area, just as parts of walls and local buildings. Same with the parts of the Colosseum in Rome after it was damaged in an earthquake, which is why it has the appearance it does today. The Pharos likewise was destroyed by an earthquake. The Parthenon wasn't destroyed by Christians per se, but rather because the Turks used it to store gunpowder during a war in 1687. And one should not forget that many Christians were mass-murdered by pagans as well. It cuts both ways. However, I can also see by the response above that you seem to have a chip on your shoulder regarding Christianity. I think that is a shame, because Christianity has a lot to offer, and still has place in the modern world. It is, by the way, not communist and never has been, and it is somewhat insulting to compare Christianity with that particular "cult".
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@JOBRAIL1 I always try to base my opinions on fact and evidence, and try to never questions a person's intellect, personality or point of view. If you chose to disagree with my arguments and point of view, that is entirely up to you. I just feel it is my obligation as a Christian to point out areas where there are flaws in one's thinking and suppositions, and perhaps get them to do some research of their own to confirm or challenge what they currently believe, nothing more. I have successfully rebutted arguments made by many atheists this way. A couple of them have even accepted what I have told them. By the way, having had this discussion I now know a bit more about pre-European First Nations cultures in the central US than I did before. Thank you.
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Mary was a very common name for a girl child. It could be derived from the Egyptian "beloved". However, I sorta suspect it might be derived from the Hebrew word for bitterness, especially if the girl was the first-born child.
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@smb123211 Well, it is only logical. After all, if you are persecuting a people you would also destroy their texts. If you are arresting someone for being a Christian, it is hardly that much of an extra step to arrest their family and relatives to see if they are Christian, and raid their houses for proof. Happens all the time nowadays, so why not back then? People haven't really changed over the centuries, and so will have the same modus operandi when persecuting people. And indeed, we have the whole Donatist controversy that arose in the early 300s because some people handed texts over to the authorities while others did not. One should also remember that Hadrian tried to erase Judaism from the Middle East, going so far as to cut down the olive grove at Gethsemane. Other emperors were just as zealous in their persecutions. Their approach would have been like that of the Nazis, persecute and kill the adherents, then burn their writings.
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There is an alternative to the origin of the Biblical stories. It is possible they are oral histories that existed in the area, but the Sumerians and Egyptians were the first put quill to papyrus. Oral histories leave no records, and it is likely the locals would have added their own twist to these histories. The Israelites may have retained these histories in an oral version until 1,000 BC (2,000 - 3,000 years after others created a permanent record). For example, it is interesting to note that the story of Noah in the Bible is in the first person, but in the Sumerian version it is in the third person (i.e., Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of building the boat). Both versions could relate to the same event, with Noah being the Israelite name for Utnapishtim.If you think it is impossible for oral histories to last this long, the North American First Nations still have tales of crossing the Bering Sea that may date back 14,000 years. And the aboriginal peoples around the Great Lakes remember a waterfall that existed between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The last time this waterfall (which has been mapped using sonar) would have been visible to people is about 7,000 years ago.
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All the sources I have examined do not show Quirinius doing a census around 6 BC. However, given the revolt was such a major event, it is not surprising that it would have been used as a "marker" for an event that was important to locals (especially since they were illiterate and didn't have yearly calendars like we do). Although, that being said, given the state of the archeological record, it is always possible that there was another census that we have not discovered yet. Remember, the archeological timelines are based on fragmentary data, so we often have maybe 10% of the information we need to create a really reliable chronology. If we do not have reliable information on the reign of an emperor or his campaigns (which happens a lot - I have listened to the entire History of Rome podcast), then tracking individual governors and their activities will be that much harder.
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My opinion on Jerusalem is that the city and part of the surrounding area should be turned into a free city under the auspices of the UN. That way no single state could lay claim to it. Of course, this is a pipe dream because people love control and ownership, but it would be nice if it could be done.
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I think there is a historical basis for the story of Moses, but it is also likely that it was embellished during the 700+ years it was passed down as oral tradition. Some details in the story (like the chariots of pharoah's army and the presence of Semetic peoples in the Nile delta) have recently been corroborated by archeological digs in Egypt. The event also strikes me as being based on a real event that people remembered because it left an indelible impression, much like French Revolution or Pearl Harbor. As you mention in the video, the Egyptians would not have recorded the event because it would be an embarrassment (most hieroglyphic texts are propaganda, after all). Likewise, the Israelites would have been illiterate, so the events would be passed down orally, and probably degraded and altered over time by additions and deletions. And as you point out, lack of evidence is not proof. But yes, the departure of 2 million people from Egypt is a stretch, especially since they would have to support themselves in the desert for some time. Even 200,000, a more reasonable number, would have a hard time surviving. As for the time of this event, I think around 1200 BC would be about right, given this would be around the Bronze Age collapse. The power vacuum created by the loss of the Hittites and other powerful empires in the region, not to mention Egypts decline would be just the thing to create the chaos that allows a bunch of rowdy neighbours to move in.
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There is a third option for the origins of Israel and Judah. Reading the books following the Torah, one finds that the Jewish people are more a confederacy of tribes rather than a nation, sometimes fighting each other, sometimes fighting invaders. One could make an argument that they may have united temporarily to fight a common foe (the Philistines) under David, but after Solomon died the regime became repressive and the northern tribes reasserted their independence. An analogy would be like the US States fighting the Revolutionary war, but with the subsequent Civil War ending with the Confederacy creating its own nation. In the case of the Hebrews, the northern and southern groups would each follow their own separate traditions and religious practices, and you would have each nation state's leaders and priesthoods putting their own "spin" on the religion to distinguish themselves from "those guys" (rather like the way you had Southerners and Yankees during the Civil War, and still do even to this day). You would end up with a scenario much like the breakup of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, or the Catholics and the Protestants. Then, following the destruction of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians, the two branches of Judaism would reunite after a fashion, and the two traditions being merged.
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Your comment at 12:20 is rather funny in one aspect when I considered the Battle of Kadesh around 1250 BC. If you read the contemporary texts from the Hittites and the Egyptians, it appears that both sides won the battle. As you said, a fair amount of written archeological evidence is propaganda, which must make it difficult at times to determine what actually happened.
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@JOBRAIL1 I am quite well read, and base my faith not only on accepting things out of hand, but also on supporting evidence. I will also say that you are free to have your own opinion on the matter, as do I. I just find no corroborating evidence to support the supposition that you made.
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@JOBRAIL1 I researched the mounds, and the only sites that suggest that they have an origin other than First Nations are all Mormon. There is also no archeological evidence (the pottery and artifacts are not Middle East in appearance at all), linguistic, or genetic evidence. There are no inscriptions at all, which one would expect from a Middle Eastern culture of the time. If there were any such evidence, I might change my mind. But there is not. It is also why I believe in the Bible, because it has ample archeological, linguistic, written and genetic data to back it up. Including the recent excavation of a city near the Dead Sea that could be Sodom, although there are no tablets or texts to confirm or refute this determination (like a sign reading "Sodom Chamber of Commerce").
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My own personal take on the Bible is that it is historical, but the early texts spent hundreds years or more as oral tradition, so there have very likely been distortions and exaggerations of the events to the point where trying to pick out the kernels of truth from the text. If there is no written record from that time, it makes it even more difficult, if not impossible, to determine. So, I guess that makes me a theist.
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