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Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

Also, the fact that these epistles were received early as scriptures and with no significant opposition until the 1900s weighs in faviour of their authenticity.

Kind of like how there was no significant opposition to the sun going around the earth weighs in favour of the idea's authenticity?

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

I don't discount the scholarship of the men who asked these same questions over the last 1800 years.

Which scholarship? Which men asked the same questions?

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

And I think you've been sold a load of goods.

I could say the same thing, that you've been sold a load of goods.

You say it to me expecting it to be meaningful in some way, but if I say it to you, is it meaningful to you? Or do you just discount it? That should tell you something about the merit of that kind of statement.

I haven't been sold anything, I've arrived at a conclusion based on examining the evidence as best as I can.. if I get different evidence I may change my conclusion.

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

This discussion began with you stating that Paul didn't write the pastorial epistles. You don't know that.

You don't know that they were. You don't know that Christianity and Jesus and Paul weren't fabricated out of whole cloth by Constantine.

So either we can unproductively sit around talking about what no one knows or we can talk about what there's evidence to support.

What evidence would convince you that some of the canonical epistles were not authored by Paul?

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

You've also never looked at your "evidence" with a critical eye or you would have found it wanting.

Ah now we get down to the bottom line.. it's so inconceivable that someone would examine the evidence and come to a different conclusion than you would, so clearly it must be a case of not examining the evidence, or not having a critical eye, or some other excuse.

But you are wrong, because I used to believe the Bible was inerrant, I used to think all the books were authored by Paul, and it was only the evidence combined with a (presumably) god given trait of intellectual honesty that compelled me to change my mind.