From 7 to 9pm on August 12th (this upcoming Monday!) I’ll be trying my hand at old video games over drinks at the VS. Arcade Bar in Lincoln, Nebraska (247 N. 8th Street). I’d be happy for company! Glad to converse on any subject; plus I’ll have my books on hand if you want to get any. Or if you have friends in the area you think might be interested, let ’em know!
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Richard Carrier is the author of many books and numerous articles online and in print. His avid readers span the world from Hong Kong to Poland. With a Ph.D. in ancient history from Columbia University, he specializes in the modern philosophy of naturalism and humanism, and the origins of Christianity and the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, with particular expertise in ancient philosophy, science and technology. He is also a noted defender of scientific and moral realism, Bayesian reasoning, and historical methods.
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Dr. Carrier:
I’m just curious. When you make scheduled appearances at these public venues, you know doubt encounter people that weren’t there for the purpose or meeting you and likely know nothing about you or your work.
When they walk up to the table and inquire about you and your books what are the typical reactions and responses you get? How often do you encounter hard core Christians that want to debate you right there on the spot and how does that typically play out?
Also apart from the scheduled debates or events such as these, how often in strike up conversations with strangers in every day life and in the course of having the typical “so what do you do for a living” do you find yourself engaging with a person that is a pastor or person of strong faith. How does that conversation and situation normally play itself out?
Just curious…
These are usually casual pubmeets. I don’t set up a table. Only fans who know me will even know who I am and why we’re there. Even when I do a formal pubmeet, often we have a booked room and aren’t in the main area (and won’t always have a sign either, though sometimes do). Nevertheless, occasionally onlookers overhear conversations or see books or signs etc. and engage with us. Most of the time it turns out to be fellow atheists. And when it’s Christians, so far it’s usually been polite interaction and discussion that results. Only rarely do I get an impromptu debate.
As for outside events, I prefer to rest or work when I travel, so I don’t engage people, unless somehow they know who I am already and engage me (as occasionally but not commonly happens). But in friendly bar situations on the road, for instance, where I chat with locals, all sorts of conversations result. They don’t always even get into religion.
And there is no general model. Once I struck up a conversation with a guy who turned out to be a priest and most of what we discussed was the history of science and not religion. Once I struck up a conversation with a couple who turned out to be conservative Christians and we mostly discussed society and politics, in ways that barely even touched on religion. Once I ended up discussing the science and philosophy of free will. Once I ended up discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Once I ended up discussing music. And so on.
Mostly people are just friendly and find common topics to discuss. Few are confrontational; I suspect the ones who are, usually just don’t engage at all.
When i was looking at Origen’s mention of james reference in josephus, i’ve noticed this just below:
So apparently he is reading Galatians 1:19 the same way that mythicists do? I’ve never seen you discuss this passage in Origen, am I misreading something or is it evidence for your position?
I might briefly footnote it in OHJ, but it’s useless as evidence. He has no source for that claim. It’s just made up to suit a relatively new and unrelated dogma that wasn’t a concern in the first century. By the time that happened, all actual information about what was really the case had been lost for a century or more. So all we really have to go on is what’s in Paul that still survives for us to see it. At most all the Origen passage shows is that there were later Christians who had no problem reading it that way.