When Will Apologist David Marshall Learn He's Out of His League? Never?

I've gone round and round with Marshall, almost always to no avail (with at least one exception below). Where has he been lately? He's decided to challenge some fella named Matthew Ferguson who said: "...it is clear to me that the Gospels are not historical writing. These texts instead read like ancient prose novels . . . the Gospels all fall short from the criteria that can be used to categorize a piece of historical prose." Marshall all too quickly responded as if Ferguson was some kind of duffas, claiming he was the expert, and that Ferguson had not seriously studied the Gospels. So what are Ferguson's credentials? He says,

I am a Classics Ph.D. student who also holds an M.A. in the subject with an emphasis in ancient history. Such experience has involved studying multiple Greek and Latin authors in the original language, in addition to doing genre criticism and understanding the history of 1st century CE literature. I have likewise taken graduate seminars on the New Testament and Christian Origins.

Big Oops! So when Marshall heard this he does the backstep dance routine we're so used to here, rather than apologizing for rashly jumping to a conclusion like he did. Ferguson:

After Marshall posted his first comment on my essay, in which he claimed that I had not seriously studied the Gospels, he did not like the fact that my reply emphasized my experience studying Classical languages. Marshall accused me of “waving around my credentials” when I stated that I had studied a wide array of literature from the 1st century CE (including the NT) in the original language.

Which is it Marshall? You blamed him for not being informed but when it was clear he was more informed than you, then you blamed him for telling you he was an expert. To read a serious take down of Marshall, his level of competence and his behavior when caught red-handed read through this.

There are a few additional items we've written on Marshall's style and substance here at DC. Notice the titles, if nothing else:

A Slave to Incompetence: The Truth Behind David Marshall’s Research on Slavery by Dr. Hector Avalos.

David Marshall and Guillermo Gonzalez: How Untruth Becomes Gospel Truth, by Dr. Hector Avalos.

Alexander the Great, Jesus, and David Marshall: A Simpleton's Approach to History, by Dr. Hector Avalos.

David Marshall’s Use and Abuse of Anthropology: Émile Durkheim and Australian Aborigines, by Dr. Hector Avalos.

Explaining Faith So That Even David Marshall Can Understand, by Jonathan Pearce.

The Duplicitousness of David Marshall, by John W. Loftus.

A Refutation of David Marshall's Book Rebuttal of My OTF, Which Randal Rauser Recommends, by John W. Loftus.

Granted this is a lot to read. But you will be a much better informed person if you read through these links, irrespective of the role Marshall plays in being good fodder.

Oh, and that exception I mentioned earlier? This is the one: Our Debates Are Not Unproductive: I Recommend David Marshall's Chapter On "The Outsider Test For Faith" To My Critics.