What does it mean when people say "[insert name here] is a historical religion"?

[Ilisrum]

You hear this claim from fundamentalist Christians alot. I've also heard it from Muslims and Mormons from time to time. Obviously, any institution can be called "historical", religious or secular, simply given the fact that they all exist. If one religion is "historical", that makes all other religions "unhistorical" and therefore wrong? Apologists will use this line to void any counterargument with no support for their claims. It sounds like a pathetic cop-out to me and nothing more.

I'm starting the Church of Charlie Sheen - the man who sacrificed his professional career for the sake of our amusement. He's an inspiration to us all, and of course we can all agree that that's historical!

 

[waitasec]

my guess is when using the word historical it sort of validates it's premise...
but then again, the st. nick fable used in history morphed into santa claus...

 

[Ilisrum]

but then again, the st. nick fable used in history morphed into santa claus...

I think the modern image of Santa Claus was invented by Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is historical, therefore Santa is too.:yes:

 

[McBell]

You hear this claim from fundamentalist Christians alot. I've also heard it from Muslims and Mormons from time to time. Obviously, any institution can be called "historical", religious or secular, simply given the fact that they all exist. If one religion is "historical", that makes all other religions "unhistorical" and therefore wrong? Apologists will use this line to void any counterargument with no support for their claims. It sounds like a pathetic cop-out to me and nothing more.

I'm starting the Church of Charlie Sheen - the man who sacrificed his professional career for the sake of our amusement. He's an inspiration to us all, and of course we can all agree that that's historical!

Seems ot me that it is used to puff up the followers of said religion.
basically nothing more than an appeal to history/tradition.