So why isn't he mentioned in the Old Testament?
Back in October, I tried to explain why Sherri Shepherd might have said the world could be flat. When a commenter suggested the alternate possibility that "the woman is as dumb as a box of rocks," I strongly disagreed.
Now that Shepherd is insisting that Jesus came before the ancient Greeks, and, indeed, that "nothing predated Christians," I'm changing my mind. There is nothing about evangelical culture or teaching that can explain why a person would say this*. Indeed, as the headline implies, this should be foundational knowledge for any Christian. Or any bag of rocks.
*I'm going to disalow any claim that she is thinking of the theological teaching that Jesus is the alpha and omega, as the conversation clearly concerns human history, not cosmology.
Comments
Didn't lions used to predate Christians?
Posted by: kejo | December 4, 2007 5:48 PM
Don't be silly. What would they have eaten?
Posted by: radosh | December 4, 2007 5:52 PM
By the way, many conservative Christians don't allow predating, just courtship.
Thank you very much!
Posted by: radosh | December 4, 2007 5:53 PM
This link is longer and gives a little more context:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckb0Pwfpkbc
Yes, she is clearly not talking about a theory - like Christ is the apha-omega. She's says that there were living Christians (not just Christ)"back then". Ignorance, plain and simple.
Posted by: simsburybear | December 4, 2007 9:08 PM
So, the Flintstones were Christians?
Posted by: therblig | December 4, 2007 9:53 PM
No, therblig, the Flintsones were Cris-stones
Posted by: JohnnyB | December 4, 2007 10:11 PM
Yes.
And Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree on their way home from Sunday mass.
I thought creationists were supposed to be all about the Old Testament, that curious portion of the bible with exactly zero Christians in it.
Posted by: David | December 4, 2007 10:15 PM
There were no Christians before Jesus? What about the Virgin Mary? Why'd she stay a virgin if she wasn't Christian?
Posted by: Sam L. | December 5, 2007 12:29 AM
Epicurus? Were they discussing Hitchens' Hannukah smackdown? Or has the tenor of that show really picked up since the woman from Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit showed up?
Kejo: Points or penalty for slipping one past Radosh?
Posted by: TGGibbon | December 5, 2007 6:59 AM
Looks like she's less "her Christianity makes her seem less smart than she is" and more "her ability to be funny on stage makes her seem smarter than she is". I know I tend to assume that someone who can write decent comedy must be smart.
Posted by: Francis | December 5, 2007 8:51 AM
Kejo: Yeah, I thought I might have missed a joke there. SS talked about the "Greeks" feeding Christians to the lions, but I didn't quite get your elaboration...
Posted by: radosh | December 5, 2007 9:14 AM
The joke is a double-entendre. "Predate" means "to come before," but also "to prey upon." D'you see? Oh well, I totally had misinterpreted Francis' desert crawler caption, so I can't cavil.
Posted by: kejo | December 5, 2007 9:54 AM
Blast you and your superior vocabulary!
Posted by: radosh | December 5, 2007 9:56 AM
Wow. Scary stuff.
Is this what happens when you live in a country that allows states to put those caveats in science textbooks that say "Remember, Evolution is Just a Theory!" (or words to that effect)?
Posted by: SouthernBelle | December 5, 2007 11:27 AM
Actually, I don't think "predate" in that sense is actually a word (at least, not according to my unabridged). Predator, predatory, predation, and even predacious, but not predate. Theoretically it might catch on someday as a back-formation (the way we got "extradite" from the earlier "extradition"), but it seems unlikely.
Posted by: Francis | December 5, 2007 11:35 AM
Francis -- while I ought to accept your help, Wordnet defines predate as "prey on or hunt for; 'These mammals predate certain eggs'"
Posted by: radosh | December 5, 2007 11:46 AM
I thought "predate" was when you met a new aquaintance for coffee or had sex with her (or him) prior to learning the person's name and then calling for an actual date.
Posted by: JohnnyB | December 5, 2007 11:50 AM
JohnnyB - now my joke went past you.
Posted by: radosh | December 5, 2007 11:54 AM
I don't think predate has to be a word to work in the joke. And I intend to continue talking about this seriously so as to kill the humor in wordplay that I am jealous of not coming up with myself.
Posted by: Charles | December 5, 2007 12:00 PM
damn, I thought I was making a joke.
Posted by: JohnnyB | December 5, 2007 12:12 PM
G'night everybody! Please don't forget to tip your waitress...
{flashing APPLAUSE sign}
Posted by: junior | December 5, 2007 1:40 PM
Oh, the lions predate the Christians, and the Christians predate the Muslims, and the Muslims predate the Hindus and everybody predates the Jews...
Posted by: Zebra | December 5, 2007 1:48 PM
So that Caveman sitcom is a Christ metaphor? Now I'm confused.
Posted by: Steve | December 5, 2007 1:50 PM
Tom Lehrer jokes? I think your cultural references may predate Christianity...
Posted by: Jesse | December 5, 2007 3:09 PM
Wordnet is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Posted by: Francis | December 5, 2007 4:14 PM
The Internet predates dictionaries.
Posted by: radosh | December 5, 2007 4:17 PM
"Tom Lehrer jokes? I think your cultural references may predate Christianity..."
Dude. That was hilarious. Even though I don't know who Tom Lehrer is.
Posted by: SouthernBelle | December 5, 2007 4:58 PM
But if you did know who Tom Lehrer was, it would help you feel better about having failed to catch any of the other jokes in the thread until they were explained.
Posted by: Sam L. | December 5, 2007 8:50 PM
Sam L. - cute, but inaccurate. Sorta like Sherri Shepherd?
Posted by: SouthernBelle | December 6, 2007 9:50 AM
Well, that's how it worked for me...
Posted by: Sam L. | December 6, 2007 7:19 PM