JESUS - MYTH AND REALITY

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A. It is the ideas associated with Jesus that are important.

'Love your enemies' is very different from 'an eye for an eye'.

Jesus's teachings have some similarity to those of Hillel the Elder.

Hillel said: "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour."

Jesus's teachings have some similarity to those of several other teachers, including Buddha, Lao-Tzu and certain physicists.

"We can choose to accept our identity as projections of the Father and consciously co-create with the Father..." - Quantum Physics, Jesus and Intuition?

Patrick Matthew, who published the basic concept of natural selection as a mechanism of evolution in an appendix to his 1831 book.

Darwin did not invent the theory of Evolution on his own.

There were earlier scientists who contributed to the theory Evolution.

Similarly, the ideas of Buddha are based partly on the ideas of earlier thinkers.

Paul, who was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem.

The first three Gospels do not refer to Jesus as God.

However, the letters of Paul, only some of which were written by Paul, see Jesus as being in some way divine.

The letters of Paul do not refer to Jesus's criticism of the rich and praise of the poor.

Paul was a conservative Jew.

The letters of Paul "are written to propagate the cult of a god crucified for the salvation of man..."

The Legend Of Jesus Christ.

The letters of Paul were written before the Gospels.

Horus

B. The facts about the life of Jesus are disputed.

And the same is true of a number of other people with whom Jesus has been linked.

1. The facts about Horus (3100 B.C.) are disputed.

Reportedly:

Horus had 12 disciples.

Horus was born of a virgin.

Horus's birth was announced via a star.

Three wise men arrived.

He was baptized when he was 30 by Anup the Baptizer.

He raised someone from the dead.

He walked on water.

He was crucified, buried in a tomb, and resurrected.

5 Near-Identical Jesus Christ Myths That Predate Jesus.

Mithra

2. Mithra (2000 B.C.)

Reportedly:

Mithra had a virgin birth on December 25th.

Mithra was swaddled and laid in a manger.

Mithra was tended by shepherds in the manger.

He had 12 companions (or disciples).

He performed miracles.

He gave his own life to save the world.

He was dead for three days, then resurrected.

He was called 'the Way, the Truth and the Light.'

He had his own version of a 'Lord’s supper.'

5 Near-Identical Jesus Christ Myths That Predate Jesus

Krishna

3. Krishna (around 3000 B.C.)

Krishna was born after his mother was impregnated by a God.

Angels, wise men, and shepherds were at his birth.

At his birth, Krishna was given Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

A jealous individual ordered the slaughter of all newborns.

Krishna was baptized in a river.

Krishna performed miracles, including raising the dead and healing the deaf and blind.

Krishna rose from the dead to ascend to heaven.

Krishna is expected to return to earth someday to fight the 'Prince of Evil.'

5 Near-Identical Jesus Christ Myths That Predate Jesus

Osiris

4. Osiris (around 2500 B.C.)

Osiris was the son of an Egyptian God.

He was killed and the resurrected after three days in hell.

He performed miracles.

He had 12 disciples.

He taught rebirth through water baptism.

5 Near-Identical Jesus Christ Myths That Predate Jesus



5. Buddha (563 B.C.)

Buddha fed 500 people from one basket of food.

Buddha walked on water.

Buddha healed the sick.

Buddha taught equality for all.

Buddha was resurrected when he died.

5 Near-Identical Jesus Christ Myths That Predate Jesus

6. Cleomenes, king of Sparta

"Late in the third century B.C. Cleomenes, king of Sparta, embarked on a revolutionary policy of cancellation of debts, redistribution of land and emancipation of the helots (slaves)."

"He was driven out of Sparta...

"In the story preserved by Plutarch, Cleomenes and twelve friends had a last supper together on the night before his death.

"He was betrayed to his enemies...

"His dead body was crucified.

"A prodigy occurred after the crucifixion; and the people of Alexandria called him a 'hero and son of the gods'."

The Legend Of Jesus Christ.

Conclusion:

The basic teaching of Jesus, about loving one's neighbours and tuning in to some kind of Holy Spirit, are fine.

But the 'official story' is not entirely true.

There is a suspicion that the 'biography' has had untrue bits added, and that there is a lot of 'spin'.

Below is what we wrote earlier:

...

The biblical scholar Joseph Atwill claims that the story of Jesus Christ is a HOAX designed to control the people.

Joseph Atwill's Blog | Discussing "Caesar's Messiah".

Atwill says that the Jesus story was designed by the Roman empire to justify slavery and to pacify the citizens.

Atwill writes: "Christianity was actually developed and used as a system of mind control to produce slaves that believed God decreed their slavery.”

Story of Jesus Christ was a HOAX designed to control the people, Biblical scholar claims

Atwill is very pro-Israel.

His claims have apparently been debunked.[2][3][4

John Dominic Crossan (above), professor emeritus at De Paul University Chicago, "believes that less than 20 percent of what we read in the Gospels are original sayings of Jesus." 

(John Dominic Crossan Web Site) (http://www.y-jesus.com/bornid_4.php)

What do we think?

Jesus attacked the Old Testament.

Jesus said: "Turn the other cheek."

We think that those Jewish Christians who wrote the New Testament made alterations to the Jesus story, in order to tie it in with the Old Testament.

And, we think that the Romans made alterations to the Jesus story, in order to aid the Roman empire.

But, the true parts of the Jesus story have been of benefit to the world.



Joseph Atwill argues that, at the time of Jesus, Jewish sects in Palestine were awaiting a 'warrior Messiah'.

According to Atwill, the Powers-That-Be thus designed the Jesus story in such a way that it would appear to give the people a Messiah, while at the same time making sure that the people remained slaves.

Atwill says: "Instead of inspiring warfare, this Messiah urged 'turn-the-other-cheek pacifism' and encouraged Jews to 'give onto Caesar' and pay their taxes to Rome.

"Christianity can be ... an insidious form of mind control that has led to blind acceptance of serfdom, poverty..."

What do we think?

Atwill, being a fan of Israel, does not like a pacifist Jesus.

Many of the people who have opposed poverty and serfdom are the followers of the Real Jesus.

What evidence is there that Jesus was (A) an opponent of the Establishment, or (B) a tool of the establisment?

1. Jesus shared meals with outcasts, which annoyed the Pharisees, strong supporters of the laws and traditions of the Jewish people.

Jesus said: "Be on your guard against the Doctors of the Law, who like to walk about in robes and be saluted in the streets... who devour the livelihood of widows..."

2. Jesus talked of 'good people' being his 'brothers' and 'sisters'.

3. Jesus urged people to 'renounce self'.

Jesus said: "If anyone wishes to be the first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all."

Jesus said: "Why do you call me good? No one but God is good."

4. Jesus said: "How difficult it is for men of wealth to enter the Kingdom of God."

We are a fan of Jesus.

David and Jonathan.

Jesus appears to attack the Old Testament.

Jesus said: "Turn the other cheek."

In Numbers 31:14, 17, 18: "Moses said 'Kill all the women and boys, but keep the girls for yourselves."

Moses, if he ever existed, was obviously a child killer.

The Bible is like the curate's egg - good in parts.

The Bible, like the Koran, is a very human attempt to describe what life is all about.

In Matthew 5:1,2  "Jesus went up into a mountain: and when he was ready, his disciples came to him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...."

This is the Sermon on the Mount.

In Luke 6:17,20: "Jesus stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people...came to hear him.. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said..."

This is the Sermon on the Mount, but, it is in the plain.

Luke seems to be making it up.

..

The Old Testament is endless contradictions.

In Isaiah 14:21 we read that people should "Kill the children because of the sins of their fathers."

In Deuteronomy 24:16 we read "Children should not be put to death for the sins of their fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

In Jeremiah 13:14 we read: "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling."

In Psalms 145:9 we read: "The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works."

A List Of Biblical Contradictions

Christians killing Christians.

In Jeremiah 32:27 we read "God is all powerful."

In Judges 1:19 we read: "God is not all powerful."

Biblical Contradictions

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Many of the people who leave comments on this blog have been brainwashed by fundamentalist Christians.

Sensible Christians "consider some passages of the Bible (e.g. those referring to slavery, burning some hookers alive, forcing rape victims to marry their rapists, raping female prisoners of war, etc.) as not being valid today, as immoral, and against the will of God.

"They differentiate among various homosexual and heterosexual sex practices, treating some (rape, prostitution, temple sex rituals) as immoral and some (consesual activity within committed relationships) as positive." 

same-sex relationships in the bible: conservative and liberal

www.smc-mb.net 

The early Christians had various theories about Jesus.

Jesus did not become 'officially' divine until 325 AD.

This was when the Council of Nicaea, set up by the Roman emperor Constantine, decided that Jesus, like many Roman Emperors, was divine.



Most scholars agree that Jesus did actually exist.

"Amy-Jill Levine states that ... 'there is a consensus of sorts on the basic outline of Jesus' life' in that most scholars agree that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, debated Jewish authorities on the subject of God, performed some healings, gathered followers...." [68]

Christ myth theory - Wikipedia



In The Historical Jesus; Five Views, Robert Price suggests that the story of Jesus in the Gospels contains borrowings from pagan mythology.

In the same book, Professor Luke Timothy Johnson lists all the things historians can know with 'a very high degree of probability' about Jesus - Jesus taught in parables, Jesus healed people, Jesus taught about God's Kingdom.

The Recliner Commentaries: Five views of the historical Jesus

www.ellenwhite.info

David Strauss (1808–1874), a German theologian, believed that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and that the encounter had influenced the views of Jesus.

However, Strauss believed that "the additional elements of the sky opening, the dove descending on Jesus as the Holy Spirit, etc. were subsequent miraculous embellishments by the authors of the gospels intended to emphasize the importance of a key event in the life of Jesus."[220] [225]

Strauss believed that the divine spirit was embedded in all of humanity.



In 1890, Sir James George Frazer published the first edition of The Golden Bough which showed "the shared elements of religious belief."

Frazer himself believed that Jesus existed.[235]

William Benjamin Smith (1850–1934) argued for a symbolic interpretation of the stories about Jesus.

Smith argues that in the parable of the Jesus and the rich young manthere never was a young man, and the young man symbolizes the nation of Israel. [254]

Dying and rising gods

What about Quantum Physics, Jesus and Intuition?

"Free will allows us to choose to continue to influence reality with our memories (Ego) 

Or we can choose to accept our identity as projections of the Father and consciously co-create with the Father...

"Quantum physics has proven that the belief of the observer is translated in the test tube. 

"Each energy packet can become particle or remain as energy depending on the expectation of the observer. 

"This is known as the observer effect.

"Positive Thinking is Merely Scratching the Surface of Truth: We must be attentive to intuition

"As the Quantum physicist has discovered, our beliefs come true. 

"This is the key to the kingdom which we forgot shortly after birth. 

www.peje.co.za 

"Our parents probably forgot that we are connected, just as they are connected to the One. 

"In this same way, Herod of Judea forgot that he and Jesus were both born of the Creator/Father/One. 

"Herod attempted to kill Jesus by ordering all the newborn children of Bethlehem to be slain.

"But, since Joseph was attentive to his intuition, (for intuitive training go to Andrea Hess...) he was warned by the One/Creator/Father to flee to Egypt. 

"Jesus was safe during His childhood. They only returned to Israel after they were told of the death of Herod.

"When Jesus was grown, he fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before beginning His ministry... a month of fasting will cause an altered state of reality.

"When Jesus was tempted by His Ego to turn the stones into bread, He reminded the tempter that 'man does not live by bread alone.' Thus He determined to finish his vision quest...

"Jesus told the Ego to get behind Him because it is only the One/Source/Creator who would be served.

"To accept our identity as co-Creators with the One, we must put our finite Egos behind us. 

"Our Subconscious mind is connected to our Higher Mind and to the Creator/One/Source. 

"The Ego is only connected to our conscious minds and helps keep us involved in this physical world. 

"But, at the same time, we must learn to influence our Subconscious Minds in order to create our reality..."

Who was Jesus?

John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at De Paul University Chicago, is an Irish-American religious scholar. 

(John Dominic Crossan Web Site)

Crossan "believes that less than 20 percent of what we read in the Gospels are original sayings of Jesus." 

(http://www.y-jesus.com/bornid_4.php)

Crossan does not dispute that Jesus Christ really lived.

Independent accounts "prove that in ancient times even the opponents of Christianity never doubted the historicity of Jesus." 

(Quoted in Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict, vol. 1 (Nashville: Nelson, 1979), 87.)

Crossan sees Jesus as a healer and man of great wisdom. 

(John Dominic Crossan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

The fundamentalists are no fun

According to Crossan, Jesus's teachings would have upset the elite.

According to Crossan, "The Kingdom of God comes not at some future time

"You cannot point out the sign of its coming

"The Kingdom of God comes not at some special site

"You cannot point out the place of its coming

"The Kingdom of God is already here, among you, now."

Egyptians, by Veralyn Adeyinka

In a review of a Crossan book, Peter Broady wrote (Review of The Essential Jesus by John Dominic Crossan.):

"One can only wonder what the Jewish peasant who spoke of the poor and destitute as ‘blessed’ along with the ‘peacemakers’ and ‘those that hunger and thirst after justice’, and said that it is nearly impossible for wealth and the ‘kingdom of God’ to coexist, would think of our unimaginably wealthy country where the gap between rich and poor has reached heights unimaginable in his time..."

Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God." 

He also said that he was not seeking glory for himself.

Jesus wanted people to be humble, like little children. He wanted people to see themselves as servants. Jesus washed people's feet.

What about Jesus when he was criticising some of the Jewish leaders and calling them names?

In Matthew, Jesus says, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!... You blind fools!... You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?"

This seems to conflict with Jesus's teaching about not judging people; and about seeing your own faults; about turning the other cheek and about not resisting evil.

When Jesus talked about being at one with the Father, that could mean many different things. 

Jesus believed that we can all be one with the divine.

The guru must teach that we should be humble, kindly and flexible in our thinking. But, the guru must himself be humble, kindly and flexible.

The fundamentalists are no fun

The Religion OF Jesus - not ABOUT Jesus: Toward the theology OF Jesus

Arthur C. Ruger suite101.com/new_christianity

"Jesus, in fact, was typical of a certain kind of fanatical young idealist: at one moment holding forth, with tears in his eyes, about the need for universal love; at the next furiously denouncing the morons, crooks and bigots who do not see eye to eye with him, It is a very natural and human behavior." - Margaret Knight, 'Honest to Man' : p26 ( personality )

The Prophet said, "Have I not taught you how the inhabitants of Paradise will be all the humble and the weak..." Islam: Hadith of Bukhari.

"Be humble, be harmless, Have no pretension..." Hinduism: Bhagavad Gita

"To know when one does not know is best. To think one knows when one does not know is a dire disease." Taoism: Tao Te Ching

"The fool who knows that he is a fool is for that very reason a wise man; the fool who thinks he is wise is called a fool indeed." Buddhism: Dhammapada

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JESUS, MUHAMMAD, BUDDHA - WHAT WERE THEY REALLY LIKE?

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