J. L. Hinman on the Jesus Project
February 18, 2009 by Chris Hallquist |
Shorter version: OMFG! The Jesus Project is a bunch of people I disagree with.
For quick background, I strongly recommend Richard Carrier’s posts on the Jesus Project. Richard’s attitude towards the affair seems to be “hey, some of these guys may be a bit kooky, but with the right process we’ll get worthwhile results.” Richard really knows his stuff with history, but I still guess I’m a little less optimistic, and frustrated that that mainstream Jesus scholarship that doesn’t shill for Evangelical Christianity OR liberal Christianity–the sort of viewpoint represented by Bart Ehrman’s book on Jesus–doesn’t get more attention.
In spite of all that, Hinman’s criticisms are about as ridiculous as they come. He’s obsessed with linking the Jesus Project to Skeptical Inquirer magazine, a magazine which–this is a quote from Himna’s post–”advocates responsible, evidence-based treatment of extraordinary claims and fringe science, such as psychic phenomena, intelligent design creationism, and conspiracy theories.” It’s taken as just obvious that criticizing belief in psychic powers and zany conspiracy theories is a bad thing. Why Hinman would think this is unexplained.
