Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:24 pm Posts: 4337 Location: 3rd rock from the sun
Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ
New cover image:
"Who was Jesus?" (WWJ) is perfect for the believer and non-believer alike! In fact, this book will help these two groups understand each other better!"
Quote:
Hi there,
For years, people have asked me to provide a short and easy-to-read summary of the "life of Jesus" to share with family and friends. I am delighted to announce that I have now written a book designed to do just that, and that you can order this new book, Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ right now!
Who Was Jesus? is specifically designed for Christians and uses mainly Christian texts and authorities. It starts out recounting the story of Christ found mostly in Matthew, followed by a short discussion of each of the other gospels, where they meet and diverge from each other. Next, I discuss the concept of "textual harmonization" as well as the gospel dates, revealing that the gospels are a mass of "variant readings" and that their authorship and dates are uncertain. I also delve into some Old Testament "prefiguring" and "prophecies," providing all-new, original side-by-side charts. Next come many reasons why people do not believe the story of Jesus Christ, along with the standard apologies for such objections and a chapter discussing whether or not the gospel story is history or propaganda. Finally there is a conclusion reminding the readers how much of our future rests upon this issue and how it should not be taken lightly."
- Acharya
WWJ leads the reader gently through the problems revealed within New Testament scholarship. These are serious difficulties widely known by New Testament scholars, Christian or otherwise, but they are rarely brought to light to the rank-and-file believer.
Using biblical and Christian texts, Who was Jesus?:
* Provides an easy-to-read summary of the gospel story of Jesus Christ. * Includes comparisons between the gospels, revealing discrepancies and difficulties. * Investigates the problems with the harmonization and dating of the gospels. * Presents precedents, prefiguring and prophecies of Jesus Christ. * Gives reasons why people believe different things about who Jesus Christ was - and why many do not believe in him at all. * Addresses apologies for the many objections to the gospel story. * Discusses whether or not the gospels represent "history" or propaganda.
"Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ includes a Foreword by Dr. Robert M. Price!"
Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ was written for a Christian audience as well as others and includes an almost all Christian bibliography and includes quotes from the following Christian authorities, apologists and evangelicals, as well as New Testament scholars:
* John Ankerberg * Craig L. Blomberg * F.F. Bruce * William Lane Craig * John Dominic Crossan * Bart Ehrman * Norman Geisler * Gary Habermas * Josh McDowell * John P. Meier * Bruce M. Metzger * J.P. Moreland * Ronald H. Nash * Lee Strobel * Merrill C. Tenney * Ben Witherington * Edwin Yamauchi * And more!
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:24 pm Posts: 4337 Location: 3rd rock from the sun
Back cover of the book:
Was Jesus Christ truly the divine Son of God who walked the earth 2,000 years ago? How can we be sure the gospel story is an accurate and infallibly related historical account? When the gospels are examined scientifically, can we truthfully uphold them as "inerrant?" Is it possible to assert honestly and ethically that the Bible is the inspired Word of God? The answers to these questions and many more may surprise and shock you!
Is the New Testament a "historical record" or "factual biography" of what really happened, or a tool for the priesthood to lay down doctrines and dogma as they were developed over the centuries?
--Was Jesus the Jewish Messiah?
--Was Christ the Savior of the World?
--Was He a Cynic sage or a political rebel?
--Or was Jesus Christ something altogether different?
This fascinating "CSI-style" investigation by controversial historian D.M. Murdock aka "Acharya S," author of The Christ Conspiracy and Suns of God, includes quotes by Christian authorities, apologists and evangelists, as well as New Testament scholars, such as:
John Ankerberg
Craig L. Blomberg
F.F. Bruce
William Lane Craig
John Dominic Crossan
Bart Ehrman
Norman Geisler
Gary Habermas
Josh McDowell
John P. Meier
Bruce M. Metzger
J.P. Moreland
Ronald H. Nash
Lee Strobel
Merrill C. Tenney
Ben Witherington
Edwin Yamauchi
And more!
--------------------
About the Author:
D.M. Murdock, also known as "Acharya S," is a Member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece. Ms. Murdock is the author of the controversial books The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold and Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled. Her website appears at TruthBeKnown.com
I am delighted to pass along the newest endorsement of Who Was Jesus? by the founder of the famed "spiritual" movie-review website HollywoodJesus.com, David Bruce.
Bruce has read just about every popular book on Jesus that's come out in the past couple of decades - and he LOVES Who Was Jesus?. In fact, we have a little project together that will be out and about sometime soon...
In the meantime, here's what he said:
"I've known people with triple Ph.D's who haven't come close to the scholarship here."
"I think I've read every popular alternative theory about Jesus that has come down the pike - with this one I was very impressed.
"This book gives me pause for serious thought."
David was a seminary student who knows his Jesuses very well. He read Christ Con years ago and enjoyed it, but this book was much more up his alley - as it would be for many believers who are ready to make the leap (not of faith).
At this time, also, the esteemed Barbara Walker, author of The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and a mentor and muse of mine, is also reading Who Was Jesus? with great interest. Stay tuned for her review!
_________________ Why suffer from Egyptoparallelophobia, when you can read Christ in Egypt? Try it - you'll like it:
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:24 pm Posts: 4337 Location: 3rd rock from the sun
A couple quotes from Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ (WWJ):
Quote:
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, remarks:
"The NT [New Testament] is now known, in whole or in part, in nearly five thousand Greek MSS [manuscripts] alone. Every one of these handwritten copies differs from every other one ... It has been estimated that these MSS and quotations differ among themselves between 150,000 and 250,000 times. The actual figure is, perhaps, much higher..."
"...A study of 150 Greek MSS of the Gospel of Luke has revealed more than 30,000 different readings ... It is safe to say that there is not one sentence in the NT in which the MS tradition is wholly uniform."
"...Many thousands of the variants which are found in the MSS of the NT were put there deliberately. They are not merely the result of error or of careless handling of the text. Many were created for theological or dogmatic reasons… It is because the books of the NT are religious books, sacred books, canonical books, that they were changed to conform to what the copyist believed to be the true reading."
- Who Was Jesus?, pages 48/49
* The TID is a conservative Christian authority "Text, NT," v. 4; 594-595
Regarding the canonical gospels, Dr. Bart Ehrman remarks:
Quote:
"We don't have the originals! We have only error-ridden copies..."
- Who Was Jesus?, page 50
Dr. Gary Habermas says:
Quote:
"The Names "Joseph" and "Jesus" were very popular in the 1st century. "Jesus" appears in at least 99 tombs and on 22 ossuaries. "Joseph" appears on 45 ossuaries.… "Mary" is the most common female name in the ancient Jewish world."
- Who Was Jesus?, page 107
Quote:
"Apart from the New Testament writings and later writings dependent upon these, our sources of information about the life and teaching of Jesus are scanty and problematic"
F.F. Bruce, a founder of the modern evangelical movement
- Who Was Jesus? 84
Quote:
"...there are very few sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus beyond the four canonical Gospels. Paul and Josephus offer little more than tidbits. Claims that later apocryphal Gospels and the Nag Hammadi material supply independent and reliable historical information about Jesus are largely fantasy. In the end, the historian is left with the difficult task of sifting through the Four Gospels for historical tradition."
John P. Meier
- Who Was Jesus? 86
* Dr. Meier is a Catholic University New Testament professor, ex-Catholic priest and monsignor
Quote:
"One would naturally expect that the Lord Jesus Christ would be sufficiently important to receive ample notice in the literature of his time, and that extensive biographical material would be available. He was observed by multitudes of people, and his own followers numbered into the hundreds (1 Cor. 15:6), whose witness was still living in the middle of the first century. As a matter of fact, the amount of information concerning him is comparatively meager. Aside from the four Gospels, and a few scattered allusions in the epistles, contemporary history is almost silent concerning him."
Merrill C. Tenney
- Who Was Jesus? 85-86
* Dr. Tenney is a conservative evangelical Christian who was a professor of Theological Studies and the dean of the school of Theology at Wheaton College. Tenney was also one of the original translators of the NASB and NIV editions of the Bible.
Quote:
"...Christian scholars over the centuries have admitted that ... "there are parallels between the Mysteries and Christianity"1 and that "the miracle stories of the Gospels do in fact parallel literary forms found in pagan and Jewish miracle stories,"2 "...According to Form Criticism the Gospels are more like folklore and myth than historical fact."3
1. Metzger, HLS, 8. 2. Meier, II, 536. 3. Geisler, CA, 320.
- Who Was Jesus? 259
Quote:
"The gospels are in fact anonymous"
- Dr. Craig L. Blomberg
- Who Was Jesus? 60
Quote:
"The Gospels are neither histories nor biographies, even within the ancient tolerances for those genres."
Dr. John Dominic Crossan
- Who Was Jesus? 24
* Dr. Crossan is a major figure in the fields of biblical archaeology, anthropology and New Testament textual and higher criticism. He is especially vocal in the field of Historical Jesus studies
Quote:
"The works of Greek, Roman and Jewish historians all probably influenced the New Testament writers."
Dr. J.P. Moreland
- Who Was Jesus? 261
A Jewish perspective:
Quote:
"The only definite account of his life and teachings is contained in the four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. All other historical records of the time are silent about him. The brief mentions of Jesus in the writings of Josephus, Tacitus and Suetonius have been generally regarded as not genuine and as Christian interpolations; in Jewish writings there is no report about Jesus that has historical value. Some scholars have even gone so far as to hold that the entire Jesus story is a myth…"
The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia (v. 6, 83)
- Who Was Jesus? 84
In over 20 passages throughout the canonical gospels claiming Jesus was famed far and wide not a single one has ever been substantiated with credible evidence.
Quote:
Jesus famed far and wide:
"These "great crowds" and "multitudes," along with Jesus's fame, are repeatedly referred to in the gospels, including at the
"Additionally, even though many times in the gospels Jesus was claimed to have been famed far and wide, not one historian of the era was aware of his existence, not even individuals who lived in, traveled around, or wrote about the relevant areas. The brief mentions of Christ, Christians or Christianity we possess from non-Christian sources are late and dubious as to their authenticity and/or value. Nor is there any valid scientific archaeological evidence demonstrating the gospel story to be true or even to support the existence of Jesus Christ. Despite this utter lack of evidence, Christian apologists and authorities make erroneous and misleading claims that there are "considerable reports" and "a surprisingly large amount of detail" regarding the life of Jesus and early Christianity."
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:24 pm Posts: 4337 Location: 3rd rock from the sun
Christian apologist websites often make similar claims about the historicity of Jesus and they enjoy citing each other or similar apologist websites that regurgitating the same load of crap only to claim it's evidence when it is not. Here's just one example by Dr. Paul L. Maier from the Christian apologist website Always Be Ready:
Code:
Always Be Ready http://www.alwaysbeready.com/index.php?id=130&option=com_content&task=view
"Did Jesus Really Exist? By Paul L. Maier" http://www.4truth.net/fourtruthpbjesus.aspx?pageid=8589952895
Paul L. Maier wrote:
Did Jesus Really Exist?
"No, he didn't!" some skeptics claim, thinking that this is a quick, powerful lever with which to pry people away from "the fable of Christianity." But the lever crumbles at its very first use. In fact, there is more evidence that Jesus of Nazareth certainly lived than for most famous figures of the ancient past. This evidence is of two kinds: internal and external, or, if you will, sacred and secular. In both cases, the total evidence is so overpowering, so absolute that only the shallowest of intellects would dare to deny Jesus' existence. And yet this pathetic denial is still parroted by "the village atheist," bloggers on the internet, or such organizations as the Freedom from Religion Foundation."
Lets focus on this specific claim by Maier: "there is more evidence that Jesus of Nazareth certainly lived than for most famous figures of the ancient past."
That is a flat out lie that gets repeated by Christian apologists who never expect anyone to fact-check the claim because when one does they'll learn that the only way one can make such a claim is by using every forged, interpolated, fabricated and invalid piece of so-called "evidence" they could muster. However, none of it proves that Jesus existed like Dr. Maier claims above. For example:
Quote:
The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, remarks:
"The NT [New Testament] is now known, in whole or in part, in nearly five thousand Greek MSS [manuscripts] alone. Every one of these handwritten copies differs from every other one ... It has been estimated that these MSS and quotations differ among themselves between 150,000 and 250,000 times. The actual figure is, perhaps, much higher..."
"...A study of 150 Greek MSS of the Gospel of Luke has revealed more than 30,000 different readings ... It is safe to say that there is not one sentence in the NT in which the MS tradition is wholly uniform."
"...Many thousands of the variants which are found in the MSS of the NT were put there deliberately. They are not merely the result of error or of careless handling of the text. Many were created for theological or dogmatic reasons… It is because the books of the NT are religious books, sacred books, canonical books, that they were changed to conform to what the copyist believed to be the true reading."
- Who Was Jesus?, pages 48/49
* The TID is a conservative Christian authority "Text, NT," v. 4; 594-595
So, as you may have figured out, this is just one example of how Christian apologists utilize all these different readings even of the same books to claim: '...more evidence for Jesus than any other famous figures in history'
Here's an image of the list of evidence between Jesus and Caesar
Speaking of the 'Freedom from Religion Foundation,' here's an image from a former preacher of 20 years in his article Did Jesus Really Rise From The Dead? listing some of the: "extraordinary" (natural and supernatural) in the stories between the crucifixion and ascension of Jesus: earthquakes, angel(s), rolling stone, dead bodies crawling from Jerusalem graves ("Halloween"[32]), Jesus appearing out of thin air ("Now you see him") and disappearing ("Now you don't"), the "fish story" miracle[33], Peter's noncanonical "extravaganza" exit from the tomb (see below), a giant Jesus with head in the clouds, a talking cross, and a bodily ascension into heaven."
And that's using the earliest Christian conservative dating of the Gospels, which don't really show up in the historical or literary records until the mid to late 2nd century:
I'll simply repeat what I've posted elsewhere on this issue below, for example, Christian apologists also love to claim 40/42 authors mention Jesus within 150 years of his life:
Quote:
"42 authors mention Jesus within 150 years of his life"
Clement of Rome, 2 Clement, Ignatius, Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Didache, Barnabas, Shepard of Hermes, fragments of Papias, Justin Martyr, Aristides, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch Quadratus, Aristo of Pella, Melito of Sardis, Dhognetus, Gospel of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, Epistula Apostolorum
4 heretical writings:
Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Truth, Apocryphon of John, treatise on resurrection
9 secular sources:
Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny the Younger, Phlegon, Lucian, Celsus, Mara Bar-Serapion, Suetonius, Thallus.
It's not always just what devotees (or scholars) say that is wrong it can often be what they don't say. For example, not a single one of the "42 authors" ever met Jesus while he was alive. The four canonical Gospel writers were all anonymous until the names Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were added as authors late in the 2nd century. There is no contemporary eyewitness testimony for Jesus at all whatsoever. Nobody ever wrote about Jesus during his lifetime and the canonical gospels didn't exist as we have them today until around 180 C.E. - that is what the literary and historical records show i.e. evidence that actually exists.
Historians, philosophers and other writers of the day during Jesus's lifetime and supposed ministry fail to ever notice him at all:
Quote:
"One would think that if all these things happened, someone somewhere would have written about them or otherwise recorded them for posterity. But, inspecting the literary, historical and archaeological record of the time produces nothing. The dearth of evidence is not for want of suitable reporters, as during the first century the following historians and writers depicted life in and around the Mediterranean, including in some of the very places that Jesus and his disciples purportedly moved about:
Aulus Perseus (60 AD) Columella (1st cent. AD) Dio Chrysostom (c. 40-c. 112 AD) Justus of Tiberius (c. 80 AD) Livy (59 BC-17 AD) Lucanus (fl. 63 AD) Lucius Florus (1st-2nd-cent. AD) Petronius (d. 66 AD) Phaedrus (c. 15 BC-c. 50 AD) Philo Judaeus (20 BC-50 AD) Phlegon (1st cent. AD) Pliny the Elder (23?-69 AD) Plutarch (c. 46-c. 119 AD) Pomponius Mela (40 AD) Quintilian (c. 35-c. 100 AD) Quintus Curtius Rufus (1st cent. AD) Seneca (4 BC?-65 AD) Silius Italicus (c. 25-101 AD) Statius Caelicius (1st cent. AD) Theon of Smyrna (c. 70-c.135 AD) Valerius Flaccus (1st cent. AD) Valerius Maximus (fl. c. 20 AD)
Oddly enough, not one of these writers recorded any of the amazing and earth-shaking events reported in the gospels, even though this period was one of the best documented in history and although some of these authors lived or traveled in the same small area in which the gospel story was set. Neither Jesus nor his disciples are mentioned by any of them—not a word about Christ, Christianity or Christians."
- Who Was Jesus?, page 85
Even top Christian New Testament scholars disagree that there's credible evidence for the historical existence of Jesus:
Quote:
"One would naturally expect that the Lord Jesus Christ would be sufficiently important to receive ample notice in the literature of his time, and that extensive biographical material would be available. He was observed by multitudes of people, and his own followers numbered into the hundreds (1 Cor. 15:6), whose witness was still living in the middle of the first century. As a matter of fact, the amount of information concerning him is comparatively meager. Aside from the four Gospels, and a few scattered allusions in the epistles, contemporary history is almost silent concerning him."
- Merrill C. Tenney
- Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ (WWJ) 85-86
* Dr. Tenney is a conservative evangelical Christian who was a professor of Theological Studies and the dean of the school of Theology at Wheaton College. Tenney was also one of the original translators of the NASB and NIV editions of the Bible.
Quote:
"Apart from the New Testament writings and later writings dependent upon these, our sources of information about the life and teaching of Jesus are scanty and problematic"
- F.F. Bruce, a founder of the modern evangelical movement
- Who Was Jesus? (WWJ), page 84
Quote:
"...there are very few sources for knowledge of the historical Jesus beyond the four canonical Gospels. Paul and Josephus offer little more than tidbits. Claims that later apocryphal Gospels and the Nag Hammadi material supply independent and reliable historical information about Jesus are largely fantasy. In the end, the historian is left with the difficult task of sifting through the Four Gospels for historical tradition."
- John P. Meier
- WWJ page 86
* Dr. Meier is a Catholic University New Testament professor, Catholic priest and monsignor
Quote:
"The gospels are in fact anonymous"
- Dr. Craig L. Blomberg
- WWJ, page 60
In over 20 passages throughout the canonical gospels claiming Jesus was famed far and wide not a single one has ever been substantiated with credible evidence.
Quote:
Jesus famed far and wide:
These "great crowds" and "multitudes," along with Jesus's fame, are repeatedly referred to in the gospels, including at the
"Additionally, even though many times in the gospels Jesus was claimed to have been famed far and wide, not one historian of the era was aware of his existence, not even individuals who lived in, traveled around, or wrote about the relevant areas. The brief mentions of Christ, Christians or Christianity we possess from non-Christian sources are late and dubious as to their authenticity and/or value. Nor is there any valid scientific archaeological evidence demonstrating the gospel story to be true or even to support the existence of Jesus Christ. Despite this utter lack of evidence, Christian apologists and authorities make erroneous and misleading claims that there are "considerable reports" and "a surprisingly large amount of detail" regarding the life of Jesus and early Christianity."
- WWJ page 257
Quote:
"The only definite account of his life and teachings is contained in the four Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. All other historical records of the time are silent about him. The brief mentions of Jesus in the writings of Josephus, Tacitus and Suetonius have been generally regarded as not genuine and as Christian interpolations; in Jewish writings there is no report about Jesus that has historical value. Some scholars have even gone so far as to hold that the entire Jesus story is a myth…"
- The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia (v. 6, 83)
- Who Was Jesus? 84
The one constant theme is, there's no credible evidence for a historical Jesus, same as there was no valid evidence amongst the 1st Xians either. The earliest Christians never had any evidence they could point to in order to demonstrate Jesus actually existed. If Jesus was really a carpenter, there was no work done by his hands. There were no paintings, rock carvings, writings - nothing by him at all. And, there's no evidence that the earliest Christians ever tried to claim anything by him ever existed. And what about Jesus' own family? Isn't it odd that nobody ever went to them for an interview of any kind? Where's Jesus' supposed family today? If they were real people i.e. Joseph, Mary and Jesus' siblings etc. don't you think Constantine and his mother would've sought them out? NOPE, nothing, notta, zippo, ZERO! There's never been anything beyond 'anecdotal evidence' or evidence based on hearsay.
So, it appears that in 2,000 years nothing has changed. Which is significant considering all the research, investigations and all the money / funding spent on them. So, it's really bad form for NT & biblical scholars to rigidly adhere to the a priori assumption that Jesus must have existed when there's no valid evidence substantiating that claim.
Aside from the many Messianic predictions in the Old Testament, not one of the four Gospels or the 23 other documents in the New Testament would make an ounce of sense if Jesus had never lived.
Baaahaha, the writers of the New Testament simply used the Old Testament as a blueprint to make it APPEAR as if Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies when nothing could be further from the truth. There's no credible evidence to substantiate a single one of those prophecies being fulfilled at all let alone by Jesus, who has never been confirmed with credible evidence to have existed at all let alone done and said all those things attributed to him. Just try to back those claims up with valid evidence and you'll see them all fall apart one by one.
Quote:
"The Gospels are neither histories nor biographies, even within the ancient tolerances for those genres."
- Dr. John Dominic Crossan
- WWJ (24)
Paul L. Maier wrote:
From the internal, biblical evidence alone, therefore, Jesus' existence is simply categorical. And yet there is an abundance of additional extrabiblical information on this question.
It's shameful to see any new testament scholar or historian with a Ph.D. mislead people with such blatant lies.
Paul L. Maier wrote:
...the first-century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, twice mentions "Jesus who is called the Christ" in his Jewish Antiquities. In the second of these, he tells of the death of Jesus' half-brother James the Just of Jerusalem (20:200).
Dr. Paul L. Maier goes on to cite Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny the Younger, Theudas and Mara bar Serapion. All of which, and many more, were dealt with in Acharya's Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ.
... But any further evidence clearly comes under the "beating a dead horse" category so far as this article is concerned. Nothing more is necessary in view of the overpowering evidence that Jesus of Nazareth was no myth, but a totally historical figure who truly lived. Skeptics should focus instead on whether or not Jesus was more than a man. That, at least, could evoke a reasonable debate among reasonable inquirers, rather than a pointless discussion with sensationalists who struggle to reject the obvious.
Pathetic, absolutely categorically false on all counts as Dr. Paul L. Maier failed utterly to cite a single CREDIBLE source that has EVER confirmed the claims in his article, as demonstrated to be false in Acharya's book, Who Was Jesus? Fingerprints of The Christ.
Are the New Testament gospels history? Where's the proof?
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