I’ve been following your channel for awhile and have always respected your content and the amount of research you put into your videos. Your collaborations have introduced me to other UA-camrs like Gutsick Gibbon, Aron, Potholder, Viced Rhino, and many others. This video in particular is extraordinary both in content and presentation. Your work is greatly appreciated.
@@leothenomad5675 I did make a typo; thanks for correcting. Two others I learned about from Paulogia that I feel I should have mentioned: Logicked and Rationality Rules. Great channels both.
@@Paulogia agreed. Love the art style (in addition to the clear, concise, well researched explanation). My one quibble: Skin tone. Not sure any of these mediterranean folk would have shared the phenotypes of modern Europeans as depicted here.
This is awesome! I'm often giving the cliff notes of this in my online discussions. It's great to have a link to send people to such a well-designed and researched presentation.
Paul, this video is fantastic. Thank you for compiling all of this information and wrapping it up in this beautifully animated package. You're the best at what you do.
As a theist I appreciate this and many of your videos. I give equal time on UA-cam to both sides of arguments. I have found many of your videos helpful in getting a full perspective. I use others videos on othe sides and evaluate both sides. You are one of the main reasons I am a searching theist. You bring up things i haven't thought of and see others with answers. So, thank you for your content.
appreciate this thoughtful comment from a Theist. Sometimes as I watch Paulogia's videos I wonder to myself "how is anyone convinced by these narratives"? but I totally get that we're all biased, and we're all a product of worldviews our parents shared and repeated as we grew up. Cheers!
Just like most people who watch your videos, I was once a believer. Your videos have helped a lot and now my dad watches them and we have the best chats. Thank you 😊
This may actually be the best video you’ve ever made. Certainly in the top 5, or even top 2. The rundown of how a single bereavement hallucination could explain all post-crucifixion appearances is one I can recall that is at this level! WELL DONE!
"The rundown of how a single bereavement hallucination could explain all post-crucifixion appearances is one I can recall that is at this level!" - can you please provide a link for that? Paulogia has loads of awesome videos; it's hard to find the one you mean. Thanks!
Straight to the point how? The title suggests he is going to tell us who wrote the Gospels, but then he never does. All he ever does is tell us who _didn't_ write them.
@@ronm3245 simple, we don't know who wrote the gospels. But, contrary to the lies from the church, he points out Mark, Matthew, Luke and John did not write it. That's the answer. We're never going to know who actually wrote these gospels.
@allanwilliams2079 Anyone that's taking an honest, unbiased look at who wrote the gospels. The church deduced and guessed who wrote the gospels. No one knows for certain.
you nailed it. Your production, visuals and editing are off the scale. The information was concise and very complete. This may be the best material on the topic I have seen so far. Keep it up please
Yeah, except for the information. I have to say the cartoon is really good. It makes weak minds think that the information is good too. Well played cartoon man.
@@Paulogia Among men! A lie is not a lie based on who tells the lie: a lie is a lie because what is written is not the truth about what or whom it is written. Truth is not truth based on who tells it: truth is truth because what is written can be/is substantiated by evidence provided by witnesses. The Bible has provided evidence: the Bible has presented its witnesses. Can any of the refuters of the Bible provide and present the evidence and witnesses that they are using with which to refute the Bible?? [A misunderstanding of the Bible cannot be the only source that is used for the purpose of refuting the Bible.] Everyone claims to be in search of the truth, but the pronouncements which are being given are absolute and speaks of people who already possess perfect knowledge. On what source has Paulogia based this refutation of the authors of the gospels??
Brilliant work! So what is your personal conclusion on the "We" passages in Acts? Was it written by a Paul Pal? Or were these added to lend credibility to the stories?
I think the "we" passages are the author of Acts incorporating someone's first-hand account as part of this story and not bothering to scrub the pronouns. (Or keeping them for dramatic effect.) He's clear that he interviewed people and used sources.
@@Paulogia so you feel the author of Luke-Acts interviewed one of Paul's many companions to write his works? What date would you give for the composition of Luke-Acts?
I've notice that you haven't released any videos in a while, but I was not worried; i knew you were using the time to research your next subject, and man! was I right! I do miss the your avatar gently guiding the viewer thru your report, but I guess this is an AI universe we are living in now. Any chance you are releasing any new podcasts version of your videos? I love to listen to them on hikes and bike rides.
This is going to be probably an unusual form of criticism compared to most you likely get on this channel, but as much as I liked the content of the video, I think the editing actively took away from my ability to enjoy the video. I'm not sure exactly what it is, whether it's that the graphics are too fast, or the sound effects play too much, or that the AI art is at times actively more distracting than helpful, or maybe a mix of all of them. I think in some cases the simpler the better when you're trying to get info across. I think I might have actually been more attentive to simpler transitions with simple cartoons of characters and props needed in the video. I do appreciate you stepping out of your comfort zone with this editing style but it personally just doesn't work for me. 👍
I was also squinting at the art because it had that AI art feel. I love the content, but I'm never going to like something with AI art in it as much as I would've without it. I will always prefer a simple cartoon, drawn by a human hand, over anything AI-generated. AI art is always just too busy-looking, since a machine has no ability to edit out information for viewer clarity.
This looks like it must have taken weeks to put together, both in terms of editing and research. But the end result, with the sources of your information displayed on screen and the simplicity of the presentation were great! Fantastic stuff!
Paul, this is fantastic. The scholarship and graphics used here make this complicated matter very easy to digest. One thing regarding Luke's authorship of Acts that casts doubt is the fact that Acts is in disagreement about what Paul did and where he went when compared to Paul's actual letters where he personally gave an account of his journeys. It's another indication that whoever wrote Acts either didn't know the details of Paul's life, or wrote them down inaccurately.-EDIT: Sorry, I wrote this before I got to 19:15 when you discuss this!
Speaking of Acts: "As a quick example, let’s consider the book of Acts. A familiar and pivotal aspect of Acts is the story of Paul’s conversion. Acts 26:15 relates that Paul, an opponent and persecutor of Christians, had an unexpected spiritual epiphany in which he heard the voice of Jesus say to him *“Saul, Saul, why persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”* *So, what makes this passage significant? It strongly appears that the Acts narrative of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is taken in large part from the pages of Euripides’ popular play “The Bacchae.”* In this narrative, the persecutor Pentheus is ironically converted despite himself to the faith of Dionysus by an unwelcome personal epiphany of the Dionysian god *(sidebar: Dionysus is also known for miracles such as turning water to wine).* During this sudden encounter, Pentheus hears a voice from Dionysus - the persecuted deity, who says to Pentheus in a voice from heaven: *“You disregard my words of warning… and kick against the goads.”* *Yes, that same phrase appears in The Bacchae and in the same exact narrative context as found in Acts.* When examining New Testament writings, it pays to be at least moderately familiar with Greco-Roman literature from antiquity, as these uncanny parallels with Biblical writings would otherwise go completely unnoticed. Another peculiar “tell” pointing to literary borrowing is that the Acts narrative claims Jesus spoke to Paul in a Hebrew dialect. *But the idiom “to kick against the goads” is specifically a Greek pun found only in pagan literature and is not found in any Hebrew or Aramaic source, nor was it used by any Jews in antiquity. So it’s quite the awkward coincidence that Jesus (while speaking in Hebrew) quotes a Greek pagan proverb to Paul in the exact same situation as found in a popular pagan play.* Namely, both cases feature an impromptu conversation between a persecuted god and a notorious persecutor who serendipitously converts to faith as a result." *"Are Stories in the Bible Influenced by Popular Greco-Roman Literature? - The Doston Jones Blog"*
@@enumaelish6751Wow. Thanks for this, it’s highly appreciated. Acts seems like a fictional Peter and a fictional Paul because Paul in his authentic epistles isn’t doing anything like preaching in the street to different groups of people, but instead, he’s addressing certain issues and problems to different churches as well as providing comfort for them too. But for some reason acts has Paul going out preaching here there and everywhere, getting into problems, raising people from the dead and doing other extraordinary miracles in large groups, even more, extraordinary in Acts is that Paul gets shipwrecked three times and then gets bitten by a poisonous snake but then miraculously survives and just chucks the snake off. It seems like whoever the author of acts is he’s making a fictional version of Paul based on the historical Paul. And then we’ve got what seems to be a fictional version of Peter based on the historical Peter, acts presents Peter as some sort of magical wizard that goes around raising multiple people from the dead and goes around performing extraordinary miracles. It seems even more fictional when Simon Peter is having a magic contest against who? Another man named Simon, it’s a bit suspicious to me that he just so happens to be facing off against another man with the same name “Simon” and they are both magical wizards.
@@enumaelish6751 I would notice though that that's NOT the account of Paul's conversion made by the author of the Acts, but the account of Paul's conversion made by Paul himself as described by the author of the Acts. In the direct account there's no trace of this pun. And I would notice THE CONTEXT of these words: in this second account, Paul is speaking to Herod Agrippa and Berenice and their court, i.e. clearly people of Greek culture; moreover, it's totally understandable that Paul, a roman citizen from birth (i.e. the citizenship was bought/acquired by his father or grandfather, not by himself) knew and understood not only the Greek language, but also the Greek culture and maybe also some literary texts, especially if they were very popular to the point of some of their sentences entering in the common language as universally known jokes. In the end, he was the Gentiles' Apostle and if you want to speak to convince someone, the best way is through using their own language and idioms.
2:49 "But there is no title like there is in later editions. Our earliest page one was distributed anonymously." This doesn't follow because paratextual information was alternatively located after the text. As far as I know, this was actually more common in the first and second century than including it before the text, but I'd have to check. It eventually became standard to include a title before the text but this is a later development. It should be noted, however, that even if there was say a 25:75 split between whether an author was identified at the beginning or at the end of the text in first-century manuscripts with authorial identification, P1 is still evidence against the titles being original, it's just four times weaker than it would be if we also had the end of the text and knew positively that it didn't have any paratextual information either. And this is because the extant fragment having a title is not entailed by the hypothesis that the titles were original but is entailed by the hypothesis that they were added later.
I loved this format and specific nature of answering a question! This is the type of thing I can point out to my Christian friends who ask me why I left the faith. These are the types of things I looked for for answers to, and to have one, 20ish min video to reference is huge! You do a great job of answering these questions in other ways in your other videos, but many times there are multiple topics discussed, so it's hard to pin down. PLEASE do more of these! I will watch this multiple times so I can learn it and share with others. But I look forward to other big questions as well! Also, I'm glad to hear you have it peer reviewed. You do such a good job, and thank you so much for your work! It had helped me so much!
Fantastic style Loved the shadows. Found the music to be a trifle loud and repetitive (I am hard of hearing so the sound gets played directly through my hearing aids, so it is possible that my auditory experience is an artifact of my setup)
Thanks Paul, I know this was a lot of work. I really enjoyed this content with timelines laying out things very clearly. I wish I could find more content like this.
So much effort and work in this video!! Is amazing!! From the information, passing to the narrative, the transitions and effects, correct use of music. Is an amazing work Paulogia.
I am watching on my tv and got on my phone just to comment. This is so concise and helpful! But PLEASE, PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU not to make a habit of including the generic background music and constant swishy noises in future videos. I usually dont make it through the first few mins of a video with these sound elements even though UA-camrs seem to love them. The content for this is so great im powering through but please dont fele the need to use stereotypical youtuber sound design
Brilliant!! One of your best, and that’s saying something! I wish the pace was a touch slower, just since there’s so much great information presented that I don’t want to miss anything! One of the best summaries of this topic I’ve ever seen, and very shareable. I’ll be sending it to multiple Christian friends. Thanks for everything you do Paul, you’re awesome 😎
Thant's funny. I play most UA-cam videos at 2x. Some I wish I could play at 3x. You can get a transcript by opening the description section and search for "Transcript". Then turn off timestamps. Copy and paste it into an editor.
The Book of Mark was the first written of the Gospels and it’s probably the closest to reality. There’s no nativity story in Mark - it starts with Jesus being baptized by John. The nativity story was probably added later to make Jesus for godlike. But the Mark was probably closest to what really happened. Jesus was a regular guy with a regular conception who became a follower of John and he probably became the leader of John’s group after John’s death.
Yes, I agree with you. The gospels seem like a gossip chain, with each succeeding author adding their embellishments to the original story. LOL And no telling how much the story had changed, and grown, in the thirty years before the gospel authors wrote down the versions they did.
I’d say the nativity narrative was probably a late apologetic to place Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem to be in line with the OT and establish him as of David’s line.
Thanks for this EXCEPTIONAL work, Paul !!! Beyond the awesome information presented, I'm super curious about the awesome images. Where did they come from? Are these your own work?? Why is Mathew depicted without a beard? I know this is an obscure question, but traditionally John is the one depicted without a beard. Perhaps you can talk about this on a live stream, if you haven't already.
Thanks for that comprehensive video on how the gospels likely received their names. I learned about this process in general terms a couple of years ago but your video added greatly to my understanding. Thanks for sharing.
This is fantastic. I don't think that this topic has been covered so precisely, concisely, and comprehensively anywhere else. Also a great opportunity to show off your animation skills 😉
These are some of the most interesting questions to me. Who actually wrote these documents? How have these documents changed over time? Why were these changes made?
I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the video you created. Even though some time has passed, its impact remains as powerful as ever. Your thoughtful presentation has shown more truth than my many years invested with the church. I’m sure many others feel the same way. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and creativity with the world. Your work has made a lasting difference, and I am truly grateful for it. Best regards, Geo
My grandfather was a Methodist Missionary who spoke Hewbrew, Ancient Greek, Old German, Latin and spent his life doing translation work into several South Pacific languages...ie bible.abd hymns. He said it was very difficult to find words that translated directly and had to find a word or phrase that the people would understand. So there is never a true translation from language to language. Wish I had inherited his gift with languages...😮
The translation issue is something Muslims take very seriously that's skipped over by most Christians. Translations of the Koran exist, but only the original Arabic is considered to be true by most Islamic theologists. Most also treat interpretation in a more mature way. The Koran is the unerring message of God, given to Mohammed, but any human interpretation can be errant
Loved this video. I thought it was paced very well and put everything in chunks to be easily referenced later. I knew a lot of the information already but having it all together in one place is really excellent.
Another head scratcher. The synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration, in which John is a witness. Yet the Gospel attributed to John doesn't bother telling this story?
I agree with one of the others who said this may very well be the best vid you've ever done. All of this is pretty basic information on this subject but it's good to have it in a short, easy-to-follow video like this.
I once heard a *Christian* comedian say something like, "You'd think if you were raising the savior of the world, you'd keep a journal!" and that has always stuck with me 🤣
While I would agree, to me, a better question would be "Why go to the pretense?" Why not show yourself to the entire world? That would be the surest way to convince people to believe.
Awesome work! I think I've heard almost everything in this video before in various places, but this brought it all together and presented it clearly and concisely. Christians need to see this.
I also find it ironic how Christian Apologists say that the gospels were written by eyewitnesses because they contain specific numbers, details and names of people (i.e. Simon the Cyrene) in them. In reality, when an account from the ancient world contains details like those, it’s a sign that the account has been embellished overtime.
@larrote6467 That's ridiculous and not at all how textual criticism is done. It's like finding an ancient text that details calculus and you go, oh this must be modern because calculus wasnt invented back then. its utterly ridiculous.
I’m going to beg you - please make another version of this without the background music. Aside from it being horribly distracting, that repeating chord pattern that runs the entire length of the video genuinely makes me want to harm myself and others. Please don’t make me download this and use the voice isolation in FCP. I got too much $hit to do!
I couldn't agree more! While the overall production quality is very impressive, that continuous music is extremely annoying. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the video.
@@mrdood740I hope he sees some of these comments about the music. I would really like to be able to enjoy the video, but the music makes it too difficult for me.
Oh, boy, all people in Galilee were illiterate therefore Matthew could not have written it. Lots of Greeks in Galilee. And the tax collector obviously had no need at all of keeping records, so had no need of literacy Therefore he WAS illiterate. Silly to start an argument with “certainties” that are not in evidence.
@@Paulogia I had no idea that we had the first page of any Gospel manuscript as early as P1 without an attribution. I've debated with apologists for years and let them say there are no early manuscripts that lack the names without a challenge. Referring instead to the Greek word "kata" in the title as one of my main arguments. Well thanks to you I now have P1 to call BS on that claim. I just wish P45 had at least one first page though.
I'm really curious whether it is considered normal for that time to write 'testimonies' without any attribution. It seems extremely strange to me that these works were so clearly trying to provide credibility to these stories, but not a single person put their name to them. The Gospels spend a lot of time claiming what happened and who was present, but as far as credibility, they simply say that many people witnessed these things. I don't know of anywhere that the writer claims to have interviewed someone present, nevermind having been present themself. Even when they say "an apostle whom Jesus loved" gave testimony, the go out of their way to avoid attaching a specific name. It would all be highly unusual today, that's for sure. Even an article that makes no claims dependent on witnesses would be considered sus if no author was attributed today.
This is amazing. I really think this kind of content is going to tip the scale and cause an even greater evangelical exodus. Debates put off or confuse too many people. Videos like this are so engaging and reveal the inherent contradictions in evangelical ideology so clearly.
We needed this video. Thank you for making it. I am looking forward to your work comparing Paul's undisputed letters and Acts. I deconverted from Christianity mainly because of this problem. I had learned about "some minor discrepancies" between Acts and Paul's letters in graduate Bible courses. We were assured they were not significant, and we got the appropriate apologetic arguments. Nothing to see here. move along. But decades later I sat down and actually tried to read the letters of Paul. I liked Paul. He came across as an honest guy who had a big ego. He claimed to have visions. He claimed those visions of the Christ gave him greater insight than those who physically knew Jesus. But he did not embellish what he wrote. If Paul had made prison walls fall down or had raised people from the dead he would have bragged about it. Granted, we only have a small sample of Paul's letters, but Paul's ego is such that he would have found a way to work those huge miracle claims into the things he wrote. That is especially true of situations where he discusses his credentials. The types of miracles attributed to Paul in Acts would have been things that bolstered his credentials; he would have mentioned them.
Well that's something I did not learn in Sunday school Thank you for filling in the gaps Or rather showing where the gaps are Your videos have a lot of depth And Hard work another great video Sir
Not only is authorship unknown, as you pointed out, but even if we COULD confirm authorship, and even confirmed that they were contemporaries of jesus, hell, if we discovered writing from Jesus Christ himself, how would we know that the writings were true? Not only is no independent corroboration, but some of the events described surely would have been noticed by historians in the Mesopotamian area who were writing at the time, and yet all of these amazing events like Jesus feeding most of Judea through magic on two different occasions went completely unnoticed by literally everyone apparently.
"Most of Judea"? Hardly. And not "unnoticed by literally everyone" - they're in the Gospels so someone noticed. Maybe you should present a better argument without the hyperbole. Or not.
If I may comment on the video style: I personally miss the more casual style but I can’t complain. There’s a ton of info here and I appreciate the massive amounts of research. But the repetitive swishing sound was a little distracting….
@@MoreEriksson Me too. Paul's video's are usually very fun and relaxing to watch, but the music and sound effects were getting me worked up. I can't focus on the information when I'm frustrated at the audio.
Minor correction: the "Republic" does not have a unique referent. Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, also wrote a book called "Republic." He was influenced by Plato, but we don't know exactly what was in his book because it was lost, like almost everything the Greek Stoics wrote. What we know about it is what was written by later authors, mostly by way of mockery due to Zeno's more extreme doctrines, such as communal holding of property and sexual freedom for all.
I’ve been following your channel for awhile and have always respected your content and the amount of research you put into your videos. Your collaborations have introduced me to other UA-camrs like Gutsick Gibbon, Aron, Potholder, Viced Rhino, and many others. This video in particular is extraordinary both in content and presentation. Your work is greatly appreciated.
I really appreciate the kind words and the support. Thank you!
Who is "Potholder"?
@@vassternich1 A very happy archeologist?
@@vassternich1Potholer54. OP made a typo.
@@leothenomad5675 I did make a typo; thanks for correcting. Two others I learned about from Paulogia that I feel I should have mentioned: Logicked and Rationality Rules. Great channels both.
This was really well done Paul! I look forward to videos like this in the future on this channel.
Thank you, sir.
I really appreciate the effort, time and scholarship that you put into this video Paul. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@PaulogiaI remember you telling a caller on The line, That he couldn't even be sure of anything jesus actually said. Let the confusion Commence.
@@uncleanunicorn4571it's true. We have no idea what Jesus said. We know what people say Jesus said way after the fact though.
@@Paulogia agreed. Love the art style (in addition to the clear, concise, well researched explanation). My one quibble: Skin tone. Not sure any of these mediterranean folk would have shared the phenotypes of modern Europeans as depicted here.
@@tobinod4299 ermmmm are you telling me Jesus wasn't a blond-haired, blue-eyed, pure-blooded Aryan?
Just dropped out of my 5th year at Bible college due to deconstructing over the last 3 years. I really appreciate your channel dude.
oh wow. all my best in what must be a difficult situation.
Congratulations. I hope you are doing well.
5th year? That's allot of study.. you should do a deconstruction video on your journey..
It's a shame you dropped out. You could have brought a critical ear to the final year. It's a fascinating study.
@@tonedumbharry why would he bother eating more time and money on something he doesn't believe anymore? Deconversion is already tough enough as is.
This is awesome! I'm often giving the cliff notes of this in my online discussions. It's great to have a link to send people to such a well-designed and researched presentation.
Glad it was helpful!
I was thinking the same thing.
@@Paulogia love your work, investigations & presentstions
Paul, this video is fantastic. Thank you for compiling all of this information and wrapping it up in this beautifully animated package. You're the best at what you do.
thank you for the kind words and support!
As a theist I appreciate this and many of your videos. I give equal time on UA-cam to both sides of arguments. I have found many of your videos helpful in getting a full perspective. I use others videos on othe sides and evaluate both sides. You are one of the main reasons I am a searching theist. You bring up things i haven't thought of and see others with answers. So, thank you for your content.
appreciate this thoughtful comment from a Theist. Sometimes as I watch Paulogia's videos I wonder to myself "how is anyone convinced by these narratives"? but I totally get that we're all biased, and we're all a product of worldviews our parents shared and repeated as we grew up. Cheers!
You are a rare breed @finkstudios
Careful @finkstudios ! The atheistic plague is infectious. ;)
@@pansepot1490 not afraid of pursuing truth, if it leads me there it leads me there
@@finkstudios Good for you. So so many are afraid to pursue truth. I determined to not be afraid and followed where it lead. May you do also.
Just like most people who watch your videos, I was once a believer. Your videos have helped a lot and now my dad watches them and we have the best chats. Thank you 😊
That's so amazing!
Man this was excellent. It was so nice to have this clearly spelled out all in one spot and not too long! Thanks, Paul!
Hi Brandon, is the next episode on secular bible study Daniel?
I love your work Brandon❤
Hello Brandon.
Love your channel Brandon ! Keep up the great work as well.
You help a lot of people.
Heck yeah, my next half hour is booked.
Really stellar presentation.
Wow. Thank you.
This may actually be the best video you’ve ever made. Certainly in the top 5, or even top 2. The rundown of how a single bereavement hallucination could explain all post-crucifixion appearances is one I can recall that is at this level! WELL DONE!
That previous one was an amazing episode. But you're right, this is one of those too.
"The rundown of how a single bereavement hallucination could explain all post-crucifixion appearances is one I can recall that is at this level!" - can you please provide a link for that? Paulogia has loads of awesome videos; it's hard to find the one you mean. Thanks!
Great comment !
Glad so many concur.
Yeah, this video was outstanding.
No fluff, straight to the point with everything laid out concise and seemingly accurately. Very impressive.
Straight to the point how? The title suggests he is going to tell us who wrote the Gospels, but then he never does. All he ever does is tell us who _didn't_ write them.
@@ronm3245 simple, we don't know who wrote the gospels. But, contrary to the lies from the church, he points out Mark, Matthew, Luke and John did not write it. That's the answer. We're never going to know who actually wrote these gospels.
@@ronm3245 Because we don't know, we aren't all-knowing gods.
@@dwiii1635
When you say, "we don't know who wrote the gospels": who does the word "we" represent??
@allanwilliams2079 Anyone that's taking an honest, unbiased look at who wrote the gospels. The church deduced and guessed who wrote the gospels. No one knows for certain.
As tidy and clear a summary of a cluttered topic as I've ever seen. Bravo! Well done.
you nailed it. Your production, visuals and editing are off the scale. The information was concise and very complete. This may be the best material on the topic I have seen so far. Keep it up please
I've been looking forward to this! Excellent formatting and concise, to the point delivery. Top notch work!
Much appreciated!
Yeah, except for the information. I have to say the cartoon is really good. It makes weak minds think that the information is good too. Well played cartoon man.
@@Paulogia
Among men!
A lie is not a lie based on who tells the lie: a lie is a lie because what is written is not the truth about what or whom it is written.
Truth is not truth based on who tells it: truth is truth because what is written can be/is substantiated by evidence provided by witnesses.
The Bible has provided evidence: the Bible has presented its witnesses.
Can any of the refuters of the Bible provide and present the evidence and witnesses that they are using with which to refute the Bible??
[A misunderstanding of the Bible cannot be the only source that is used for the purpose of refuting the Bible.]
Everyone claims to be in search of the truth, but the pronouncements which are being given are absolute and speaks of people who already possess perfect knowledge.
On what source has Paulogia based this refutation of the authors of the gospels??
Really enjoyed this new aspect to Paulogia' channel, informative, interesting and well set out.
Looking forward to future episodes.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The new format looks great! Is this going to be an ongoing series?
Thank you. That's the hope.
Can’t wait!!
Brilliant work! So what is your personal conclusion on the "We" passages in Acts? Was it written by a Paul Pal? Or were these added to lend credibility to the stories?
I think the "we" passages are the author of Acts incorporating someone's first-hand account as part of this story and not bothering to scrub the pronouns. (Or keeping them for dramatic effect.) He's clear that he interviewed people and used sources.
@@Paulogia so you feel the author of Luke-Acts interviewed one of Paul's many companions to write his works? What date would you give for the composition of Luke-Acts?
@@lostfan5054 post-70AD... probably closer to 90AD
I've notice that you haven't released any videos in a while, but I was not worried; i knew you were using the time to research your next subject, and man! was I right!
I do miss the your avatar gently guiding the viewer thru your report, but I guess this is an AI universe we are living in now.
Any chance you are releasing any new podcasts version of your videos? I love to listen to them on hikes and bike rides.
Thanks. The avatar look isn't going anywhere, don't worry. And yeah.... will be back to podcasts soon.
Great video, very informative. Thank you, Paul!
That must have been very time consuming to compile. Thank you so much for synthesizing all that information into one presentation!
This is going to be probably an unusual form of criticism compared to most you likely get on this channel, but as much as I liked the content of the video, I think the editing actively took away from my ability to enjoy the video. I'm not sure exactly what it is, whether it's that the graphics are too fast, or the sound effects play too much, or that the AI art is at times actively more distracting than helpful, or maybe a mix of all of them.
I think in some cases the simpler the better when you're trying to get info across. I think I might have actually been more attentive to simpler transitions with simple cartoons of characters and props needed in the video. I do appreciate you stepping out of your comfort zone with this editing style but it personally just doesn't work for me. 👍
I was also squinting at the art because it had that AI art feel. I love the content, but I'm never going to like something with AI art in it as much as I would've without it. I will always prefer a simple cartoon, drawn by a human hand, over anything AI-generated. AI art is always just too busy-looking, since a machine has no ability to edit out information for viewer clarity.
Thanks Paul. I’m forwarding this to a JWW devotee friend of mine here in Calgary.
Please do!
Wow! _Thank you!_
*This is my favorite video from you Paul.* 😁👍
This looks like it must have taken weeks to put together, both in terms of editing and research. But the end result, with the sources of your information displayed on screen and the simplicity of the presentation were great! Fantastic stuff!
Thank you very much! Weeks is generous. 😬
Paul, this is fantastic. The scholarship and graphics used here make this complicated matter very easy to digest. One thing regarding Luke's authorship of Acts that casts doubt is the fact that Acts is in disagreement about what Paul did and where he went when compared to Paul's actual letters where he personally gave an account of his journeys. It's another indication that whoever wrote Acts either didn't know the details of Paul's life, or wrote them down inaccurately.-EDIT: Sorry, I wrote this before I got to 19:15 when you discuss this!
Speaking of Acts:
"As a quick example, let’s consider the book of Acts. A familiar and pivotal aspect of Acts is the story of Paul’s conversion. Acts 26:15 relates that Paul, an opponent and persecutor of Christians, had an unexpected spiritual epiphany in which he heard the voice of Jesus say to him *“Saul, Saul, why persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”*
*So, what makes this passage significant? It strongly appears that the Acts narrative of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus is taken in large part from the pages of Euripides’ popular play “The Bacchae.”* In this narrative, the persecutor Pentheus is ironically converted despite himself to the faith of Dionysus by an unwelcome personal epiphany of the Dionysian god *(sidebar: Dionysus is also known for miracles such as turning water to wine).* During this sudden encounter, Pentheus hears a voice from Dionysus - the persecuted deity, who says to Pentheus in a voice from heaven: *“You disregard my words of warning… and kick against the goads.”*
*Yes, that same phrase appears in The Bacchae and in the same exact narrative context as found in Acts.* When examining New Testament writings, it pays to be at least moderately familiar with Greco-Roman literature from antiquity, as these uncanny parallels with Biblical writings would otherwise go completely unnoticed.
Another peculiar “tell” pointing to literary borrowing is that the Acts narrative claims Jesus spoke to Paul in a Hebrew dialect. *But the idiom “to kick against the goads” is specifically a Greek pun found only in pagan literature and is not found in any Hebrew or Aramaic source, nor was it used by any Jews in antiquity. So it’s quite the awkward coincidence that Jesus (while speaking in Hebrew) quotes a Greek pagan proverb to Paul in the exact same situation as found in a popular pagan play.* Namely, both cases feature an impromptu conversation between a persecuted god and a notorious persecutor who serendipitously converts to faith as a result."
*"Are Stories in the Bible Influenced by Popular Greco-Roman Literature? - The Doston Jones Blog"*
@@enumaelish6751Wow. Thanks for this, it’s highly appreciated. Acts seems like a fictional Peter and a fictional Paul because Paul in his authentic epistles isn’t doing anything like preaching in the street to different groups of people, but instead, he’s addressing certain issues and problems to different churches as well as providing comfort for them too. But for some reason acts has Paul going out preaching here there and everywhere, getting into problems, raising people from the dead and doing other extraordinary miracles in large groups, even more, extraordinary in Acts is that Paul gets shipwrecked three times and then gets bitten by a poisonous snake but then miraculously survives and just chucks the snake off. It seems like whoever the author of acts is he’s making a fictional version of Paul based on the historical Paul. And then we’ve got what seems to be a fictional version of Peter based on the historical Peter, acts presents Peter as some sort of magical wizard that goes around raising multiple people from the dead and goes around performing extraordinary miracles. It seems even more fictional when Simon Peter is having a magic contest against who? Another man named Simon, it’s a bit suspicious to me that he just so happens to be facing off against another man with the same name “Simon” and they are both magical wizards.
Who _actually_ wrote...?
As though you're equipped to "actually" tell us. 😂
Speculation smorgasbord.
@@enumaelish6751 I would notice though that that's NOT the account of Paul's conversion made by the author of the Acts, but the account of Paul's conversion made by Paul himself as described by the author of the Acts. In the direct account there's no trace of this pun. And I would notice THE CONTEXT of these words: in this second account, Paul is speaking to Herod Agrippa and Berenice and their court, i.e. clearly people of Greek culture; moreover, it's totally understandable that Paul, a roman citizen from birth (i.e. the citizenship was bought/acquired by his father or grandfather, not by himself) knew and understood not only the Greek language, but also the Greek culture and maybe also some literary texts, especially if they were very popular to the point of some of their sentences entering in the common language as universally known jokes. In the end, he was the Gentiles' Apostle and if you want to speak to convince someone, the best way is through using their own language and idioms.
2:49 "But there is no title like there is in later editions. Our earliest page one was distributed anonymously." This doesn't follow because paratextual information was alternatively located after the text. As far as I know, this was actually more common in the first and second century than including it before the text, but I'd have to check. It eventually became standard to include a title before the text but this is a later development. It should be noted, however, that even if there was say a 25:75 split between whether an author was identified at the beginning or at the end of the text in first-century manuscripts with authorial identification, P1 is still evidence against the titles being original, it's just four times weaker than it would be if we also had the end of the text and knew positively that it didn't have any paratextual information either. And this is because the extant fragment having a title is not entailed by the hypothesis that the titles were original but is entailed by the hypothesis that they were added later.
This is the best exposition I have seen/heard. Congratulations!
I loved this format and specific nature of answering a question! This is the type of thing I can point out to my Christian friends who ask me why I left the faith. These are the types of things I looked for for answers to, and to have one, 20ish min video to reference is huge! You do a great job of answering these questions in other ways in your other videos, but many times there are multiple topics discussed, so it's hard to pin down. PLEASE do more of these! I will watch this multiple times so I can learn it and share with others. But I look forward to other big questions as well! Also, I'm glad to hear you have it peer reviewed. You do such a good job, and thank you so much for your work! It had helped me so much!
Stoked for this.
Fantastic style Loved the shadows.
Found the music to be a trifle loud and repetitive (I am hard of hearing so the sound gets played directly through my hearing aids, so it is possible that my auditory experience is an artifact of my setup)
I don't even have any hearing issues, more processing issues, and the music makes it hard to focus on what he's saying.
You sir are the greatest
I appreciate. thank you very much.
Thanks Paul, I know this was a lot of work. I really enjoyed this content with timelines laying out things very clearly. I wish I could find more content like this.
So much effort and work in this video!! Is amazing!! From the information, passing to the narrative, the transitions and effects, correct use of music. Is an amazing work Paulogia.
A powerhouse. This sets a new standard for serious discussion of apologetics content.
Great production value! Well done, Paul.
This presentation is awesome, well done!
Thank you so much this was great!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Can't wait to see a bunch of response videos to this
me too
There won't be. They know their evidence is weak
I am watching on my tv and got on my phone just to comment. This is so concise and helpful! But PLEASE, PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU not to make a habit of including the generic background music and constant swishy noises in future videos. I usually dont make it through the first few mins of a video with these sound elements even though UA-camrs seem to love them. The content for this is so great im powering through but please dont fele the need to use stereotypical youtuber sound design
Exactly, bump for the algorithm so Paul sees this.
wow, this must have been a looooooot of work, well done, Paul!
The amount of effort and knowledge in this video, not just the info, but the editing and presentation is astounding. Well done, Paul.
Much appreciated!
This must have taken a long time to make, good job Paul!
thank you
This is great Paul. Very nice summary of the whole issue.
I haven't seen one of your videos in a while and you've really upped your game. Great work Paul!
Welcome back!
@@Paulogia thanks!!
Thanks!
Wow. Thank you.
This is a really great video, compactly going through the entire case. thanks!
Brilliant!! One of your best, and that’s saying something! I wish the pace was a touch slower, just since there’s so much great information presented that I don’t want to miss anything!
One of the best summaries of this topic I’ve ever seen, and very shareable. I’ll be sending it to multiple Christian friends.
Thanks for everything you do Paul, you’re awesome 😎
I find that a lot of YT videos are spoken too fast for me. I find it easier if I slow them down to 90-95%. (if that's what you mean).
Thant's funny. I play most UA-cam videos at 2x. Some I wish I could play at 3x.
You can get a transcript by opening the description section and search for "Transcript". Then turn off timestamps. Copy and paste it into an editor.
The Book of Mark was the first written of the Gospels and it’s probably the closest to reality. There’s no nativity story in Mark - it starts with Jesus being baptized by John. The nativity story was probably added later to make Jesus for godlike. But the Mark was probably closest to what really happened. Jesus was a regular guy with a regular conception who became a follower of John and he probably became the leader of John’s group after John’s death.
Yes, I agree with you. The gospels seem like a gossip chain, with each succeeding author adding their embellishments to the original story. LOL And no telling how much the story had changed, and grown, in the thirty years before the gospel authors wrote down the versions they did.
I’d say the nativity narrative was probably a late apologetic to place Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem to be in line with the OT and establish him as of David’s line.
Very nicely done Paul!
Thanks for this EXCEPTIONAL work, Paul !!!
Beyond the awesome information presented, I'm super curious about the awesome images.
Where did they come from? Are these your own work??
Why is Mathew depicted without a beard? I know this is an obscure question, but traditionally John is the one depicted without a beard.
Perhaps you can talk about this on a live stream, if you haven't already.
Thank you Paul! A clear, concise, and well reasoned critique of the traditional authorship position. Wonderful presentation.
Excellent work!! Congratulations!
Thanks for that comprehensive video on how the gospels likely received their names. I learned about this process in general terms a couple of years ago but your video added greatly to my understanding. Thanks for sharing.
This was freaking amazing
This is probably my favorite video you have made. Thank you.
Wow, thank you!
So clearly explained. Excellent! Thanks
appreciate
Top-Notch Paulo!!!
thank you
PAUL THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING
Thank you 🙏
Brilliant. Interesting. Informative. Thorough. Fair. Engaging.
10/10
This is fantastic. I don't think that this topic has been covered so precisely, concisely, and comprehensively anywhere else.
Also a great opportunity to show off your animation skills 😉
Excellent video, Paul!
These are some of the most interesting questions to me. Who actually wrote these documents? How have these documents changed over time? Why were these changes made?
I just wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the video you created. Even though some time has passed, its impact remains as powerful as ever. Your thoughtful presentation has shown more truth than my many years invested with the church. I’m sure many others feel the same way.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and creativity with the world. Your work has made a lasting difference, and I am truly grateful for it.
Best regards,
Geo
My grandfather was a Methodist Missionary who spoke Hewbrew, Ancient Greek, Old German, Latin and spent his life doing translation work into several South Pacific languages...ie bible.abd hymns. He said it was very difficult to find words that translated directly and had to find a word or phrase that the people would understand. So there is never a true translation from language to language. Wish I had inherited his gift with languages...😮
The translation issue is something Muslims take very seriously that's skipped over by most Christians. Translations of the Koran exist, but only the original Arabic is considered to be true by most Islamic theologists. Most also treat interpretation in a more mature way. The Koran is the unerring message of God, given to Mohammed, but any human interpretation can be errant
@@12jswilson
And they ignore that people don't speak original Arabic.
@@12jswilsonur faith has been debunked plenty of times.Go seel attention somewhere else
@@Boasvibes777Like every religion.
Well done, Paul. As always.
Thanks Paul for this concise, sharable explanation.
Loved this video. I thought it was paced very well and put everything in chunks to be easily referenced later. I knew a lot of the information already but having it all together in one place is really excellent.
I saw a short where they read Matthew 28 verses 1-2 then Mark 16 4-5 and Luke 24 1-4 Which tell totally different story's of the tomb
Outstanding breakdown on this slippery topic.
Another head scratcher. The synoptic Gospels tell the story of the Transfiguration, in which John is a witness. Yet the Gospel attributed to John doesn't bother telling this story?
I agree with one of the others who said this may very well be the best vid you've ever done. All of this is pretty basic information on this subject but it's good to have it in a short, easy-to-follow video like this.
I once heard a *Christian* comedian say something like, "You'd think if you were raising the savior of the world, you'd keep a journal!" and that has always stuck with me 🤣
While I would agree, to me, a better question would be "Why go to the pretense?" Why not show yourself to the entire world? That would be the surest way to convince people to believe.
@@gaden002 completely agree 💯
not if he was haunted as baby and you had to flee to stop him getting killed...you probably wouldn't keep no proof of that in your house lol
@@Mo-sk7xo But if God is all powerful, and Jesus is his son, sent to save the world...
@@gaden002 is there a question?
Awesome work! I think I've heard almost everything in this video before in various places, but this brought it all together and presented it clearly and concisely. Christians need to see this.
yeah, I'm just presenting existing scholarship... sadly, most Christians don't hear the scholarship.
I also find it ironic how Christian Apologists say that the gospels were written by eyewitnesses because they contain specific numbers, details and names of people (i.e. Simon the Cyrene) in them. In reality, when an account from the ancient world contains details like those, it’s a sign that the account has been embellished overtime.
What? thats nonsense lol
@@nunyabisniz8047 quite logical dude, because certain characters and events only become as meaningful as time passes
@larrote6467 That's ridiculous and not at all how textual criticism is done. It's like finding an ancient text that details calculus and you go, oh this must be modern because calculus wasnt invented back then. its utterly ridiculous.
Brilliantly displayed Paulogia, Thanks & Cheers🥃.
Love the format! The graphics are entertaining and attention grabbing! Great job!
Awesome production. Nice, Paul.
Great video, I've always wondered how the early church came up with the names.
I’m going to beg you - please make another version of this without the background music. Aside from it being horribly distracting, that repeating chord pattern that runs the entire length of the video genuinely makes me want to harm myself and others. Please don’t make me download this and use the voice isolation in FCP. I got too much $hit to do!
Yes! Please!
I couldn't agree more! While the overall production quality is very impressive, that continuous music is extremely annoying. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the video.
@@mrdood740I hope he sees some of these comments about the music. I would really like to be able to enjoy the video, but the music makes it too difficult for me.
Oh, boy, all people in Galilee were illiterate therefore Matthew could not have written it. Lots of Greeks in Galilee. And the tax collector obviously had no need at all of keeping records, so had no need of literacy Therefore he WAS illiterate. Silly to start an argument with “certainties” that are not in evidence.
This is the best summary of the evidence on gospel authorship that I have seen. Nice work on the video as well.
Finally a nice and concise, non-judgmental video to show people where they have been unknowingly misled. Thanks Paul! :)
that was the goal
Now THIS is the type of video I wait for from you Paul. Well done indeed!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@Paulogia I had no idea that we had the first page of any Gospel manuscript as early as P1 without an attribution. I've debated with apologists for years and let them say there are no early manuscripts that lack the names without a challenge. Referring instead to the Greek word "kata" in the title as one of my main arguments. Well thanks to you I now have P1 to call BS on that claim. I just wish P45 had at least one first page though.
You are just wonderful, Paul. Thank you! 💖
I'm really curious whether it is considered normal for that time to write 'testimonies' without any attribution. It seems extremely strange to me that these works were so clearly trying to provide credibility to these stories, but not a single person put their name to them. The Gospels spend a lot of time claiming what happened and who was present, but as far as credibility, they simply say that many people witnessed these things. I don't know of anywhere that the writer claims to have interviewed someone present, nevermind having been present themself. Even when they say "an apostle whom Jesus loved" gave testimony, the go out of their way to avoid attaching a specific name. It would all be highly unusual today, that's for sure. Even an article that makes no claims dependent on witnesses would be considered sus if no author was attributed today.
Paul, this was super informative and well done. I would really love more videos like this -- especially on the resurrection!!
This is amazing. I really think this kind of content is going to tip the scale and cause an even greater evangelical exodus. Debates put off or confuse too many people. Videos like this are so engaging and reveal the inherent contradictions in evangelical ideology so clearly.
great graphics!
So proud of you ❤
Outstanding video
thank you
Highly shareable. Fantastic video and wonderful editing.
Excellent work Paul O'Gaia.
We needed this video. Thank you for making it.
I am looking forward to your work comparing Paul's undisputed letters and Acts. I deconverted from Christianity mainly because of this problem. I had learned about "some minor discrepancies" between Acts and Paul's letters in graduate Bible courses. We were assured they were not significant, and we got the appropriate apologetic arguments. Nothing to see here. move along.
But decades later I sat down and actually tried to read the letters of Paul. I liked Paul. He came across as an honest guy who had a big ego. He claimed to have visions. He claimed those visions of the Christ gave him greater insight than those who physically knew Jesus. But he did not embellish what he wrote. If Paul had made prison walls fall down or had raised people from the dead he would have bragged about it. Granted, we only have a small sample of Paul's letters, but Paul's ego is such that he would have found a way to work those huge miracle claims into the things he wrote. That is especially true of situations where he discusses his credentials. The types of miracles attributed to Paul in Acts would have been things that bolstered his credentials; he would have mentioned them.
Well that's something I did not learn in Sunday school Thank you for filling in the gaps Or rather showing where the gaps are Your videos have a lot of depth And Hard work another great video Sir
Not only is authorship unknown, as you pointed out, but even if we COULD confirm authorship, and even confirmed that they were contemporaries of jesus, hell, if we discovered writing from Jesus Christ himself, how would we know that the writings were true?
Not only is no independent corroboration, but some of the events described surely would have been noticed by historians in the Mesopotamian area who were writing at the time, and yet all of these amazing events like Jesus feeding most of Judea through magic on two different occasions went completely unnoticed by literally everyone apparently.
"Most of Judea"? Hardly. And not "unnoticed by literally everyone" - they're in the Gospels so someone noticed. Maybe you should present a better argument without the hyperbole. Or not.
Very well done. I really like how you did the timeline on the bottom.
If I may comment on the video style: I personally miss the more casual style but I can’t complain. There’s a ton of info here and I appreciate the massive amounts of research. But the repetitive swishing sound was a little distracting….
Second that, plus the background music 🙉. 5 minutes in and I'm not sure I can keep watching.
@@MoreEriksson Me too. Paul's video's are usually very fun and relaxing to watch, but the music and sound effects were getting me worked up. I can't focus on the information when I'm frustrated at the audio.
Excellent. And great video production.
Thank you kindly!
Minor correction: the "Republic" does not have a unique referent. Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, also wrote a book called "Republic." He was influenced by Plato, but we don't know exactly what was in his book because it was lost, like almost everything the Greek Stoics wrote. What we know about it is what was written by later authors, mostly by way of mockery due to Zeno's more extreme doctrines, such as communal holding of property and sexual freedom for all.