Mare Tranquillity
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
- Messages
- 3,477
Having read about the oldest known copy of the Old and New Testament in the world, the Sinai Bible, this article was no real surprise to me, though some of the Catholic/Vatican sources were interesting. The Nexus article isn't terribly long, but it is informative and gives many additional sources where an interested person could go for more information. Christianity is a scam, a fraud, a hoax of Biblical proportion.
For the dyed-in-the-wool religious folks who have given me so much grief, let me be the first to say that the good teachings of Jesus are in no way diminished in value by the recognition of the story of Jesus being a fable. The ideas, the concepts for which Jesus is credited are good and useful: loving others, returning good for evil, forgiving, and turning the other cheek are all things that could make the world a better place if people would simply DO THEM. We don't need a supernatural source to give these ideas validity, we can decide that they are valid all on our own and make the world a better place--not for the sake of Heaven or the fear of Hell--but because we have decided that they are good things to do.
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/NewTestament.html
Why there are no records of Jesus Christ
It is not possible to find in any legitimate religious or historical writings compiled between the beginning of the first century and well into the fourth century any reference to Jesus Christ and the spectacular events that the Church says accompanied his life. This confirmation comes from Frederic Farrar (1831-1903) of Trinity College, Cambridge:
"It is amazing that history has not embalmed for us even one certain or definite saying or circumstance in the life of the Saviour of mankind ... there is no statement in all history that says anyone saw Jesus or talked with him. Nothing in history is more astonishing than the silence of contemporary writers about events relayed in the four Gospels."
(The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, Cassell, London, 1874)
This situation arises from a conflict between history and New Testament narratives. Dr Tischendorf made this comment:
"We must frankly admit that we have no source of information with respect to the life of Jesus Christ other than ecclesiastic writings assembled during the fourth century."
(Codex Sinaiticus, Dr Constantin von Tischendorf, British Library, London)
There is an explanation for those hundreds of years of silence: the construct of Christianity did not begin until after the first quarter of the fourth century, and that is why Pope Leo X (d. 1521) called Christ a "fable" (Cardinal Bembo: His Letters..., op. cit.).
For the dyed-in-the-wool religious folks who have given me so much grief, let me be the first to say that the good teachings of Jesus are in no way diminished in value by the recognition of the story of Jesus being a fable. The ideas, the concepts for which Jesus is credited are good and useful: loving others, returning good for evil, forgiving, and turning the other cheek are all things that could make the world a better place if people would simply DO THEM. We don't need a supernatural source to give these ideas validity, we can decide that they are valid all on our own and make the world a better place--not for the sake of Heaven or the fear of Hell--but because we have decided that they are good things to do.
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/NewTestament.html
Why there are no records of Jesus Christ
It is not possible to find in any legitimate religious or historical writings compiled between the beginning of the first century and well into the fourth century any reference to Jesus Christ and the spectacular events that the Church says accompanied his life. This confirmation comes from Frederic Farrar (1831-1903) of Trinity College, Cambridge:
"It is amazing that history has not embalmed for us even one certain or definite saying or circumstance in the life of the Saviour of mankind ... there is no statement in all history that says anyone saw Jesus or talked with him. Nothing in history is more astonishing than the silence of contemporary writers about events relayed in the four Gospels."
(The Life of Christ, Frederic W. Farrar, Cassell, London, 1874)
This situation arises from a conflict between history and New Testament narratives. Dr Tischendorf made this comment:
"We must frankly admit that we have no source of information with respect to the life of Jesus Christ other than ecclesiastic writings assembled during the fourth century."
(Codex Sinaiticus, Dr Constantin von Tischendorf, British Library, London)
There is an explanation for those hundreds of years of silence: the construct of Christianity did not begin until after the first quarter of the fourth century, and that is why Pope Leo X (d. 1521) called Christ a "fable" (Cardinal Bembo: His Letters..., op. cit.).