rationalskepticism.org

Mike S wrote:Christian writers?

Literary-wise there’s been never anything like it, fraud, invention, fabrication and forgery on an unimaginable scale, including where third-party works like Josephus or Tacitus are concerned, rendering reliance on any one single passage fraught with peril.

The very fact that early Christianity found it necessary to resort to falsifying such works, including those of Josephus, where they didn’t burn them, that is, readily demonstrates that they themselves lacked any evidence of Jesus historicity.

Yes it is a very sorry state of affairs. We don't know who wrote any of the Christian material or indeed the century of its provenance. We think we know who wrote the works attributed to the early church fathers, and other identities in the Roman Empire during the early history of the nation of Christians. But do we?

What we do know is that for almost every Christian author in antiquity, we invariably find a "Pseudo-Author".

Authors and Pseudo Authors in "Early Christianity"

Paul and Pseudo Paul
Peter and Pseudo Peter
Mark and Pseudo Mark
John and Pseudo John
Luke and Pseudo Luke
Matthew and Pseudo Matthew

Justin Martyr and Pseudo Justin
Clement and Pseudo Clement
Hegesippus and Pseudo Hegesippus
Lucian and Pseudo Lucian
Tatian and Pseudo Tatian
Irenaeus and Pseudo Irenaeus
Tertullian and Pseudo Tertullian


Eusebius and Pseudo Eusebius
Cyril and Pseudo Cyril
Augustine and Pseudo Augustine


Barnabas and Pseudo Barnabas
Polycarp and Pseudo Polycarp
Origen and Pseudo Origen
Ignatius and Pseudo Ignatius

The TF and the Agbar correspondence might permit two more:

Josephus and Pseudo Josephus
Jesus and Pseudo Jesus



EDIT: Please feel free to dig out any more !!!!

Where does this lead the historical investigator?
What provisional conclusions (if any) might be drawn from this state of affair?

Without the "Sacred Seal of the Church Industry" the entire scenario appears to have little or no integrity.