The Myth of Jesus
Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 11:51 am
I should start by saying that what follows is purely my opinion. I think it likely that there was a historical character named Jesus. The myth in the thread title refers to the myth that has grown around this man over the past two thousand years.
Jesus was likely a preacher in Judea; one of many. He had charisma and a way with words that won him quite a few followers (and more than a few enemies too). The problem arose when he proclaimed himself to be the son of God. Whether or not this was something he actually believed we cannot know. What is certain is that he was not the first, nor indeed the last to claim this kind of divinity.
I do however believe that Jesus may well have been the Messiah. I mean of course, what the word ‘Messiah’ meant in Jesus’ time as opposed to what it means now. The Messiah was foretold as the one who would unite the two Houses of Aaron and David. Contemporary accounts tell of Mary being of the House of Aaron and Joseph of the House of David. Jesus, as the first-born, would thus have been the Messiah. Nothing to do with being the son of God you will notice... In fact the two are mutually exclusive. If Jesus was the Messiah then he was the son of Joseph and not God. You can’t have it both ways...
He did not perform the miracles ascribed to him. His followers would have made up some stories and embellished others to strengthen their case for him as a divine being so as to convert others more easily. To great effect I might add...
Was he married? Very likely so with Mary Magdelene as the prime candidate. Dan Brown reckons they had children, I don’t. I believe that if Jesus had been a father we would have heard a little more about the ‘grandson/daughter of God’.
The bible tells us that Mary was the first person Jesus appeared to after the resurrection. This to me confirms that they were married. After all, if he had appeared to his mates down the Lamb and Flag before his missus she would have crucified him again!
Speaking of the crucifixion and resurrection, he probably was put to death by the Romans. Execution was pretty standard back then for blasphemers and rabble-rousers and Jesus was both of those. So what happened next? The same followers stole his body from the tomb. I like to think that they did this partly out of respect as they knew his tomb would be defiled but the real reason was simple: No body = resurrected Jesus! It would have been easy to convince those who wanted to believe that he truly was the son of God and in fact remains easy to this day.
So there you have it! I believe that he was a man. He was a clever man, an influential man, a man whose heart was probably in the right place (don’t believe those Sacred Heart paintings...).
But when all’s said and done, just a man.
Jesus was likely a preacher in Judea; one of many. He had charisma and a way with words that won him quite a few followers (and more than a few enemies too). The problem arose when he proclaimed himself to be the son of God. Whether or not this was something he actually believed we cannot know. What is certain is that he was not the first, nor indeed the last to claim this kind of divinity.
I do however believe that Jesus may well have been the Messiah. I mean of course, what the word ‘Messiah’ meant in Jesus’ time as opposed to what it means now. The Messiah was foretold as the one who would unite the two Houses of Aaron and David. Contemporary accounts tell of Mary being of the House of Aaron and Joseph of the House of David. Jesus, as the first-born, would thus have been the Messiah. Nothing to do with being the son of God you will notice... In fact the two are mutually exclusive. If Jesus was the Messiah then he was the son of Joseph and not God. You can’t have it both ways...
He did not perform the miracles ascribed to him. His followers would have made up some stories and embellished others to strengthen their case for him as a divine being so as to convert others more easily. To great effect I might add...
Was he married? Very likely so with Mary Magdelene as the prime candidate. Dan Brown reckons they had children, I don’t. I believe that if Jesus had been a father we would have heard a little more about the ‘grandson/daughter of God’.
The bible tells us that Mary was the first person Jesus appeared to after the resurrection. This to me confirms that they were married. After all, if he had appeared to his mates down the Lamb and Flag before his missus she would have crucified him again!
Speaking of the crucifixion and resurrection, he probably was put to death by the Romans. Execution was pretty standard back then for blasphemers and rabble-rousers and Jesus was both of those. So what happened next? The same followers stole his body from the tomb. I like to think that they did this partly out of respect as they knew his tomb would be defiled but the real reason was simple: No body = resurrected Jesus! It would have been easy to convince those who wanted to believe that he truly was the son of God and in fact remains easy to this day.
So there you have it! I believe that he was a man. He was a clever man, an influential man, a man whose heart was probably in the right place (don’t believe those Sacred Heart paintings...).
But when all’s said and done, just a man.
