| Subject: |
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"The Life and Times of Jesus (the Christ)" |
| Name: |
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JVH ^_^ |
| Date Posted: |
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Oct 30, 07 - 10:54 AM |
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 Incredulousness is not an argument against - it\'s an argument for - for one\'s own inability to conceive. |
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Conclusion
Jesus as portrayed by the bible never walked the earth. If indeed he did, the evidence, proof even, would've been overwhelming; any literate person of his time would've written tomes about it. As the case stands, there are no such writings in existence. No such evidence (let alone proof) exists whatsoever - except for this one and only source. The silence of the authors of the time appears to be deafening testimony.
In Closing
Most authors of the time whose works have survived had little interest in the Middle East in general, and Judea in particular, and so would have had little reason to write about a local religious leader who preached there for a few years. The absence of any mention of Jesus (the Christ) by authors such as Philo, Seneca the Elder, Plutarch etc. seems to indicate that if this Jesus had existed, he must have been a relatively minor figure -an actor in an outdoor passion play perhaps- since these authors mention many people who are of much lesser historical significance. This Jesus thing as commonly portrayed simply does not add up.
How about this Mohammed thing?
Decisions are being made that effect our lives; decisions based on ideas, religous and political, not shown to be valid - let alone sound.
Appendix
Josephus (37 - 100 AD)
Perhaps the most significant "witness" to the life of Jesus in ancient literature is in the writings of Joseph ben Matthias, better known as Flavius Josephus (named after his patrons, the Flavian emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitian). Josephus lived from A.D. 37 to 100, and wrote two famous works: The Jewish War, which was initially drafted in Aramaic, and then translated into Greek five to ten years after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. His second work, Jewish Antiquities, was completed more than a decade later. This work was much longer, and recounts Jewish history from creation to the Jewish revolt against Rome (A.D. 66-70).
Contrary to what many Christians may think, Josephus does not give us much information about Jesus. In his 28 volumes of Jewish history, there are only two passages that mention Jesus. And even these references are difficult to assess. The trouble is that Josephus' writings were preserved for posterity by Christians (the Jews disowned him as a traitor). The texts available to us today contain statements that were added later by Christian editors. This is seen in the (in)famous Testimonium Flavianum, "the testimony of Josephus," found in Antiquities 18:63-64:
At that time there appeared Jesus, a wise man, if indeed someone should call him a man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of people who receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. He was the Messiah. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cease to do so. For he appeared to them on the third day, living again, just as the divine prophets had spoken of these and countless other wondrous things about him. And up until this very day the tribe of Christians, named after him, has not died out.
Scholars of Josephus have been divided over the authenticity of this entire passage, although both sides acknowledge the Christian additions (highlighted in italics).
On one hand, some scholars argue for the genuineness of the passage (without the italicized parts). They stress that the language and grammar are typical of Josephus' style and language.
The other school of thought argues that the passage is bogus. They point to the clear Christian redaction.
The other well-known passage in Antiquities is Antiquities 20:200 with the reference to "James, the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ":
(...) Convening the judges of the Sanhedrin, he brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ, whose name was James, and certain others. He accused them of having transgressed the law and delivered them up to be stoned. (...)
Scholars generally agree that this is authentic Josephus. They do so for several reasons: First, this narrative is found in the major Greek manuscript tradition of Antiquities without variation. Second, Christian editors would not refer to James as "the brother of Jesus." Instead, they would use the reverential phrase, "the brother of the Lord". |
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