Religion in America

[Farfromgeneva]

Good for you. The opinion of many folks on this forum is decidedly anti Christian with a special hatred for those mother effing catholics. Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country. Funny why that is. I don't know any catholics that have ever blown themselves up to become a martyr. As a matter of fact, suicide is one of the biggest insults to catholic faith. Taking your own life prevents you from going to heaven if your a devout catholic.

Although I don't read this forum everyday, I really can't agree with this opinion c&s. I realize it's fashionable in the catholic church to allege persecution as a reason boldly to proclaim faith, especially with regard to certain political issues. But, I don't see hatred for Catholics here.

What I do see in my community unfortunately is a propensity among Catholics to hold others in judgment, especially other Catholics. At times it feels the as though Pharisees have visited the 21st century. In fact, the faith has developed a schism that has emboldened some ranking bishops to reject outright the statements of the Pope. I feel this in part is responsible for the attrition the church continues to experience and I fear it won't be possible to bring this group together again.

I would respectfully suggest you visit this forum more often. There is a decided anti catholic hatred among more than a few posters. It is not like they try and hide their contempt for catholics and the catholic church. On this forum there is an open season on any and all things catholic. The catholic church is the one organization you can mock and ridicule to your hearts content and no one on this forum will judge you for doing so.

There may be a couple of posters who actually feel the way you describe, but I think it's more about the ire at the Catholic Church's cover-up of its history of sexual issues than anything else. Sure, the abortion stance, former contraception stance, etc bother folks, but I think it's mostly the pedophilia cover-up.

But not so much at "Catholics" as a generality, as there's quite a schism amongst Catholics, and most fair observers understand this to be the case.

But those who are the most "fundamentalist" among Catholics, also seem to be those most compliant with the hierarchy, which definitely has been corrupted on the pedophilia issue. And these folks are also most judgmental about the choices of others. Being judged by others is always going to rankle...

It's really not a surprise to find this issues paralleled with many of the most fundamentalist evangelical groups.

I have not been a practicing Catholic since i graduated from a Catholic HS in 1976. My issues were never with the Catholic church but more about the hypocrisy of organized religion in general. I don't understand why but the Catholic Church and Catholics in general, especially on this forum are open season to all sorts of unwarranted criticism. If the same criticism was directed at Jews or Muslims or any other religion there are members of this forum that would lose their minds. i guess Catholicism is an easy target to poke fun at but if you criticize Muslims or Jews...... I will stand corrected if any forum member can tell me of any organized religion that is above criticism or has no skeletons in their closet. What did Jesus say when the crowd wanted to stone the adulteress to death??? LET HE AMONG YOU THAT IS WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE.

Delusional…

God bless you my child, i will keep you in my prayers. Are you saying that Jesus was delusional??? :roll When you look at the anger and hatred directed on this forum towards Christians you may well be correct.

You have a God complex also I see.

There is a line in the movie Rudy when he is talking to the priest inside the church. The priest tells him he knows 2 things for sure. He knows there is a God and he knows that it ain't him. That is about as far as my God complex goes.

I liked Spotlight better.

Mark Ruffalo sucks. Whiny and mopey

Wasn’t he in Dark Water?

Don’t think I saw that one.

[cradleandshoot]

I'm struggling to keep up c&s. First, you start with this:

Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country.

Then you morph into this:

I'm referring to . . the " cumulative " result of posts made over many months from this forum and the old forum.

I've accepted your invitation to visit more frequently, and I still have not found a single instance where a Catholic has been mocked, ridiculed or insulted everyday. Moreover, your claim of cumulative result still yields no support for your charge. I even picked up the gauntlet you threw down and wended my way through the many posts that contain "Catholic", and I saw no proof for your claim. So, I ask again. Please help me better understand your post.

You would have to backtrack months and years even back to our old forum. It is the cumulative effect that has taken place over a long time. Too bad you have not posted on these forums for many years. You don't know what your missing. IDK but maybe a poster like JHU 72 can enlighten you more about the hatred for catholics. You can ask him and judge him by his response... He has nothing but respect and admiration for the catholic church.

... you are delusional.

You don't like Catholics or the Catholic church, whine about that all you want Dr Wizard. If you want to be honest you detest all organized religion of the christian faith. I don't have a problem with that, I am no fan of organized religion myself.

[AOD]

I'm struggling to keep up c&s. First, you start with this:

Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country.

Then you morph into this:

I'm referring to . . the " cumulative " result of posts made over many months from this forum and the old forum.

I've accepted your invitation to visit more frequently, and I still have not found a single instance where a Catholic has been mocked, ridiculed or insulted everyday. Moreover, your claim of cumulative result still yields no support for your charge. I even picked up the gauntlet you threw down and wended my way through the many posts that contain "Catholic", and I saw no proof for your claim. So, I ask again. Please help me better understand your post.

You would have to backtrack months and years even back to our old forum. It is the cumulative effect that has taken place over a long time. Too bad you have not posted on these forums for many years. You don't know what your missing. IDK but maybe a poster like JHU 72 can enlighten you more about the hatred for catholics. You can ask him and judge him by his response... He has nothing but respect and admiration for the catholic church.

Well, I did backtrack months and I do go back to the old forum. I don't see a single post (let alone a post "every day" as you stated) mocking, ridiculing or insulting Catholics. Those problems may exist on your mind, but they do not exist on this forum.

[Farfromgeneva]

If you think Jesus would be storming the Capitol, killing and injuring cops, claiming white people are the superior race, all in support Donald Trump of all people, then I have no clue what kind of eff'd up Christianity you support.

Christianity is not being squashed, and if you think so then you're the one being duped. It's reasonable to ask public teachers and politicians to stop forcing their messed up version of Christianity or whatever religion on Americans at large. Just leave people alone.

I do remember Jesus having a bit of a hissy fit when he threw the money changers out of his fathers temple. Even Jesus had a limit as to what he would tolerate before losing his cool.

My house shall be a temple of prayer.. you have made it a den of thieves... It sounds like Jesus was speaking about both parties?

Both parties my a$$, he'd be whipping these insurrectionist White Christian Nationalists from his temples they're defiling. You know, the kind of people who literally created a golden idol of the guy they worship?

Not so much whipping the Lutherans or the Episcopalians...

https://opuszine.us/posts/becoming-here ... nald-trump

“We’re way, way past concerns for the church’s “public witness.” We’re way past concerns over whether the “reputation” of the church will survive this wave of insanity. There is no other way to say this. A significant movement of American Christians — encouraged by the president himself — is now directly threatening the rule of law, the Constitution, and the peace and unity of the American republic.”

Obama started all of this.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/06/02/au ... d-america/

America opposes idolatry. Not just the act of idolatry but the very idea that idols have power. That is why its laws—unlike those of many other nations—do not criminalize the burning of holy books or the destruction of sacred images. Its citizens do not worship pictures of leaders. The power of words and images in the United States is in the values they represent, not the objects themselves. Even the perpetual attempts to criminalize flag-burning consistently—and rightly—fail.

Just as destroying these objects has no magic power, neither does holding them up. Only idolaters believe that waving a flag makes you a patriot or wearing a cross makes you a Christian. As the singer John Prine, who died of COVID-19 in April, put it: “Your flag decal won’t get you into heaven.”

Does your theory also apply to radical Muslims who blow themselves up in the name of Allah? They don't wave flags, they just do what their faith tells them to do..

Yes it does. I have quite a few Muslim friends…..matter of fact heard from a life long friend just this morning…You should ask
your’s what they think of radical Jihadists.

I don't have any close friends who are Muslims. There is a family that lives across the street from me that are Muslims. I talk with their kids all the time. They ride their bikes all over my yard and up and down my driveway. I don't think they are radical Jihadists. I don't think the Christian kids are any different.

Who said they were? Like I said, I have plenty of Muslim friends…as well as Hindu and Sikh.

Good for you. The opinion of many folks on this forum is decidedly anti Christian with a special hatred for those mother effing catholics. Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country. Funny why that is. I don't know any catholics that have ever blown themselves up to become a martyr. As a matter of fact, suicide is one of the biggest insults to catholic faith. Taking your own life prevents you from going to heaven if your a devout catholic.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bombing

[Farfromgeneva]

Good for you. The opinion of many folks on this forum is decidedly anti Christian with a special hatred for those mother effing catholics. Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country. Funny why that is. I don't know any catholics that have ever blown themselves up to become a martyr. As a matter of fact, suicide is one of the biggest insults to catholic faith. Taking your own life prevents you from going to heaven if your a devout catholic.

Although I don't read this forum everyday, I really can't agree with this opinion c&s. I realize it's fashionable in the catholic church to allege persecution as a reason boldly to proclaim faith, especially with regard to certain political issues. But, I don't see hatred for Catholics here.

What I do see in my community unfortunately is a propensity among Catholics to hold others in judgment, especially other Catholics. At times it feels the as though Pharisees have visited the 21st century. In fact, the faith has developed a schism that has emboldened some ranking bishops to reject outright the statements of the Pope. I feel this in part is responsible for the attrition the church continues to experience and I fear it won't be possible to bring this group together again.

I would respectfully suggest you visit this forum more often. There is a decided anti catholic hatred among more than a few posters. It is not like they try and hide their contempt for catholics and the catholic church. On this forum there is an open season on any and all things catholic. The catholic church is the one organization you can mock and ridicule to your hearts content and no one on this forum will judge you for doing so.

There may be a couple of posters who actually feel the way you describe, but I think it's more about the ire at the Catholic Church's cover-up of its history of sexual issues than anything else. Sure, the abortion stance, former contraception stance, etc bother folks, but I think it's mostly the pedophilia cover-up.

But not so much at "Catholics" as a generality, as there's quite a schism amongst Catholics, and most fair observers understand this to be the case.

But those who are the most "fundamentalist" among Catholics, also seem to be those most compliant with the hierarchy, which definitely has been corrupted on the pedophilia issue. And these folks are also most judgmental about the choices of others. Being judged by others is always going to rankle...

It's really not a surprise to find this issues paralleled with many of the most fundamentalist evangelical groups.

It’s a rejection of piety. Often here directed at another who makes claims that are based on their Christian/Catholic faith and then find it wildly incongruous with many or most positions said person/people have expressed. It’s not the religion it’s the people who use it inappropriately as a way to not take responsibility for the decisions and choices in their lives. That’s what, fundamentally having a high power means, after all.

[cradleandshoot]

I'm struggling to keep up c&s. First, you start with this:

Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country.

Then you morph into this:

I'm referring to . . the " cumulative " result of posts made over many months from this forum and the old forum.

I've accepted your invitation to visit more frequently, and I still have not found a single instance where a Catholic has been mocked, ridiculed or insulted everyday. Moreover, your claim of cumulative result still yields no support for your charge. I even picked up the gauntlet you threw down and wended my way through the many posts that contain "Catholic", and I saw no proof for your claim. So, I ask again. Please help me better understand your post.

You would have to backtrack months and years even back to our old forum. It is the cumulative effect that has taken place over a long time. Too bad you have not posted on these forums for many years. You don't know what your missing. IDK but maybe a poster like JHU 72 can enlighten you more about the hatred for catholics. You can ask him and judge him by his response... He has nothing but respect and admiration for the catholic church.

Well, I did backtrack months and I do go back to the old forum. I don't see a single post (let alone a post "every day" as you stated) mocking, ridiculing or insulting Catholics. Those problems may exist on your mind, but they do not exist on this forum.

Check again. Your pretty damn good if you can sort through thousands of posts from dozens of posters over the course of more than a couple of years. FYI, you will not find a thread labeled Catholics suck. You should be a prospect for the Evalyn Woodhead speed reading course. How far back did you go and what threads did you peruse through? Your a really bad liar.. shame on you.

[Typical Lax Dad]

I'm struggling to keep up c&s. First, you start with this:

Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country.

Then you morph into this:

I'm referring to . . the " cumulative " result of posts made over many months from this forum and the old forum.

I've accepted your invitation to visit more frequently, and I still have not found a single instance where a Catholic has been mocked, ridiculed or insulted everyday. Moreover, your claim of cumulative result still yields no support for your charge. I even picked up the gauntlet you threw down and wended my way through the many posts that contain "Catholic", and I saw no proof for your claim. So, I ask again. Please help me better understand your post.

You would have to backtrack months and years even back to our old forum. It is the cumulative effect that has taken place over a long time. Too bad you have not posted on these forums for many years. You don't know what your missing. IDK but maybe a poster like JHU 72 can enlighten you more about the hatred for catholics. You can ask him and judge him by his response... He has nothing but respect and admiration for the catholic church.

Well, I did backtrack months and I do go back to the old forum. I don't see a single post (let alone a post "every day" as you stated) mocking, ridiculing or insulting Catholics. Those problems may exist on your mind, but they do not exist on this forum.

Check again. Your pretty damn good if you can sort through thousands of posts from dozens of posters over the course of more than a couple of years. FYI, you will not find a thread labeled Catholics suck. You should be a prospect for the Evalyn Woodhead speed reading course. How far back did you go and what threads did you peruse through? Your a really bad liar.. shame on you.

Like I said

[AOD]

I'm struggling to keep up c&s. First, you start with this:

Those mother effing catholics are the one group of religious folks that are mocked, ridiculed and insulted everyday on this forum that will always get a pass for whatever they say to insult catholics in this country.

Then you morph into this:

I'm referring to . . the " cumulative " result of posts made over many months from this forum and the old forum.

I've accepted your invitation to visit more frequently, and I still have not found a single instance where a Catholic has been mocked, ridiculed or insulted everyday. Moreover, your claim of cumulative result still yields no support for your charge. I even picked up the gauntlet you threw down and wended my way through the many posts that contain "Catholic", and I saw no proof for your claim. So, I ask again. Please help me better understand your post.

You would have to backtrack months and years even back to our old forum. It is the cumulative effect that has taken place over a long time. Too bad you have not posted on these forums for many years. You don't know what your missing. IDK but maybe a poster like JHU 72 can enlighten you more about the hatred for catholics. You can ask him and judge him by his response... He has nothing but respect and admiration for the catholic church.

Well, I did backtrack months and I do go back to the old forum. I don't see a single post (let alone a post "every day" as you stated) mocking, ridiculing or insulting Catholics. Those problems may exist on your mind, but they do not exist on this forum.

Check again. Your pretty damn good if you can sort through thousands of posts from dozens of posters over the course of more than a couple of years. FYI, you will not find a thread labeled Catholics suck. You should be a prospect for the Evalyn Woodhead speed reading course. How far back did you go and what threads did you peruse through? Your a really bad liar.. shame on you.

Now you've gone off the rails c&s. I'm done here with you.

[Farfromgeneva]

Long gone. But selling upstate NY as something I tangibly know to be untrue and defining it in a way people in his very backyard wouldn’t do so is just silly. There’s too many people who live(d) in upstate NY to pull that off.

[jhu72]

Killing the indigenous Americans in the name of education.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

In the gospel of John, 8th chapter, 12th verse, Jesus makes an astounding declaration about himself: “I am the light of the world.” Who in their right mind would say that? How could a mere man make that claim? It makes me wonder if anyone else down through the annals of history has ever said that or anything similar.

[MDlaxfan76]

In the gospel of John, 8th chapter, 12th verse, Jesus makes an astounding declaration about himself: “I am the light of the world.” Who in their right mind would say that? How could a mere man make that claim? It makes me wonder if anyone else down through the annals of history has ever said that or anything similar.

Really?
There have been quite a few cult leaders as well as political leaders who've made similar grandiose statements...heck, whole lot of kings claimed divinity.

Which isn't to say that Jesus is simply such as they, but for that matter, we don't really know that he used those words or that they were translated accurately, we don't really even know for sure who wrote the Gospel of John.

I'm not arguing the veracity of the statement, I'm just saying that I don't see it as persuasive in and of itself. Certainly not unique.

[OCanada]

The meaning of the words and the context have to be correctly understood. Also, Hebrew and greek have concepts that are not equivalent and for which there is no neat package to move from one to a other. Jesus taught as a Jew. The NT gospels were written long after his resurrection at a different time.

[PizzaSnake]

In the gospel of John, 8th chapter, 12th verse, Jesus makes an astounding declaration about himself: “I am the light of the world.” Who in their right mind would say that? How could a mere man make that claim? It makes me wonder if anyone else down through the annals of history has ever said that or anything similar.

Really?
There have been quite a few cult leaders as well as political leaders who've made similar grandiose statements...heck, whole lot of kings claimed divinity.

Which isn't to say that Jesus is simply such as they, but for that matter, we don't really know that he used those words or that they were translated accurately, we don't really even know for sure who wrote the Gospel of John.

I'm not arguing the veracity of the statement, I'm just saying that I don't see it as persuasive in and of itself. Certainly not unique.

Pretty sure it wasn’t Jeebus. Inspiration, who knows?

Ever read the original book of Revelations? Seems more like an account of an acid trip.

[MDlaxfan76]

The meaning of the words and the context have to be correctly understood. Also, Hebrew and greek have concepts that are not equivalent and for which there is no neat package to move from one to a other. Jesus taught as a Jew. The NT gospels were written long after his resurrection at a different time.

I'd just say that we, if followers, can choose to imbue meaning to these various texts and extrapolate their relevance to our lives.

We can (and do) do so with varying degrees of 'understanding'.

I struggle with much of the formal doctrine, especially as interpreted and utilized over the ages (by men), but find the core messages inspiring and resonating. I can find much the same resonance with other major religions.

[HooDat]

The meaning of the words and the context have to be correctly understood. Also, Hebrew and greek have concepts that are not equivalent and for which there is no neat package to move from one to a other. Jesus taught as a Jew. The NT gospels were written long after his resurrection at a different time.

I'd just say that we, if followers, can choose to imbue meaning to these various texts and extrapolate their relevance to our lives.

We can (and do) do so with varying degrees of 'understanding'.

I struggle with much of the formal doctrine, especially as interpreted and utilized over the ages (by men), but find the core messages inspiring and resonating. I can find much the same resonance with other major religions.

we are struggling with Nietzsche's challenge to replace the hole left behind when we "killed God". I have tried repeatedly to embrace organized religion - but struggle with an organized body overly dedicated to a set of rules when their entire religion is based on a man who came and told his followers over and over again to quit focusing on the rules so much. Then you add a simplistic need to take all the texts literally when the same guy told you over and over again that he was talking in parables.... Anyway - a lot of our cultural problems can be attributed to the fact that when we walked away from our churches, we walked away from the moral and ethical tether points that let us have a civilized society.

As far back as the oral history goes, humans have had religion. One could say that there is a religion shaped hole in humans and modern westerners in particular seem to be trying to fill that hole with "causes" and tribalism and inter-sectionalism and other modes of feeling like they belong to something greater...

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

we don't really know that he (Jesus) used those words or that they were translated accurately, we don't really even know for sure who wrote the Gospel of John.

Are there any ancient historical documents/manuscripts you consider accurate? If so, which ones?

[MDlaxfan76]

we don't really know that he (Jesus) used those words or that they were translated accurately, we don't really even know for sure who wrote the Gospel of John.

Are there any ancient historical documents/manuscripts you consider accurate? If so, which ones?

Define "accurate".

Do you mean the translation or that a specific manuscript has been accurately dated or that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, who the author was, or whether what the author 'reported' was an eye witness account...or whether even that such account was merely what the author perceived?

I just visited the Louvre. Pretty confident that the Hammurabi laws stone stele is 'accurately' dated to his era and very likely reflects the code at that time, as approved by him. Has it been 100% accurately translated? Probably pretty darn close, but then no one today is claiming these are the words of God himself, so any slight errors are not that crucial.

Problem with the Gospel of John is that we're pretty darn sure this a second hand account at best, so a direct quote from Jesus some 4 or more decades later, as then translated over the years from there, may or may not actually be what Jesus said...might be close, might not be...

Heck, we're not even 100% sure that all of Shakespeare's plays were written by a single fellow...

If we want to look at a higher likelihood of a religious document being what the prime figure in that religion intended, I'd suggest the Koran, in Arabic...written by Mohammad himself, not by others remembering what he may have said...on the other hand, Mohammad's claims that these are actually Allah's words and instructions may or may not be "accurate"...

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I have tried repeatedly to embrace organized religion - but struggle with an organized body overly dedicated to a set of rules when their entire religion is based on a man who came and told his followers over and over again to quit focusing on the rules so much.

I would say Jesus told his followers to quit focusing on the man made rules of the religious leaders of the day. He certainly reinforced the rules that God, his Father, had commanded. Case in point from the 5th chapter of Matthew:

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 5.17-20)

Then you add a simplistic need to take all the texts literally when the same guy told you over and over again that he was talking in parables....

I think Jesus was clear about when he was speaking in parables and when he was speaking plainly. He gave an explanation to his disciples in the 13th chapter of the gospel of Matthew after he told the parable of the sower. (Mt 13.1-9). Beginning at verse 10 is the question and Jesus’s response:

And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand;

And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive;

For the heart of this people has become dull,

With their ears they scarcely hear,

And they have closed their eyes,

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

Hear with their ears,

Understand with their heart, and return,

And I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13.10-17)

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

we don't really know that he (Jesus) used those words or that they were translated accurately, we don't really even know for sure who wrote the Gospel of John.

Are there any ancient historical documents/manuscripts you consider accurate? If so, which ones?

Define "accurate".

Do you mean the translation or that a specific manuscript has been accurately dated or that we know, without a shadow of a doubt, who the author was, or whether what the author 'reported' was an eye witness account...or whether even that such account was merely what the author perceived?

I just visited the Louvre. Pretty confident that the Hammurabi laws stone stele is 'accurately' dated to his era and very likely reflects the code at that time, as approved by him. Has it been 100% accurately translated? Probably pretty darn close, but then no one today is claiming these are the words of God himself, so any slight errors are not that crucial.

Problem with the Gospel of John is that we're pretty darn sure this a second hand account at best, so a direct quote from Jesus some 4 or more decades later, as then translated over the years from there, may or may not actually be what Jesus said...might be close, might not be...

Heck, we're not even 100% sure that all of Shakespeare's plays were written by a single fellow...

If we want to look at a higher likelihood of a religious document being what the prime figure in that religion intended, I'd suggest the Koran, in Arabic...written by Mohammad himself, not by others remembering what he may have said...on the other hand, Mohammad's claims that these are actually Allah's words and instructions may or may not be "accurate"...

By accurate I mean true, reliable, trustworthy. How do we know Christopher Columbus sailed the seas and what the names of his ships were? How do we know for certain sure that Alexander the Great existed? Can we trust the writings of Thucydides? Socrates? Plato? How can we tell if an ancient manuscript is reliably accurate?