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THE TRUE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY

THE TRUE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY. Please hold all questions until the end of this presentation. Thank you. Most people, Christians included, are quite ignorant of the conditions which led to the emergence of Christianity!. Many believe that Christianity evolved in the following manner ….

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THE TRUE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY

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  1. THE TRUE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIANITY

  2. Please hold all questions until the end of this presentation. Thank you.

  3. Most people, Christians included, are quite ignorant of the conditions which led to the emergence of Christianity!

  4. Many believe that Christianity evolved in the following manner …

  5. 1. Jesus’ teachings to the Jews

  6. 1. Jesus’ teachings to the Jews 2. After his death, his Jewish followers continued to spread Jesus’ teachings.

  7. 1. Jesus’ teachings to the Jews 2. After his death, his Jewish followers continued to spread Jesus’ teachings. 3. Paul then took these teachings to the Gentiles and these became Christianity.

  8. “ --- the Catholic holds that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has preserved the message of Jesus intact through all its transmission in the Christian community.” Wansbrough, (1984). Jesus, the Real Evidence. p. 5

  9. How many of you believe this was how Christianity began?

  10. Then you are wrong; this is not how Christianity began.

  11. The origins of Christianity were actually much more complex!

  12. Many Christians believe their faith is based on the teachings of Jesus;some even believe Jesus was the first Christian!

  13. Many Christians believe their faith is based on the teachings of Jesus; some even believe Jesus was the first Christian!

  14. They are wrong!

  15. They are wrong! Christianity was actually the creation of Paul, and has little to do with either the historical Jesus or Judaism!

  16. “Paul, not Jesus, was the founder of Christianity as a new religion which developed away from both normal Judaism and the Nazarene variety of Judaism.” Maccoby, H. 1987). The Myth-Maker, Paul and the Invention of Christianity. . p. 16.

  17. It is important to understand Christianity did not exist during Jesus’ lifetime; it evolved only after his death!

  18. Jesus and his followers were never “Christians”; they remained steadfast to their Jewish faith, “ … they worshipped regularly in the Temple at Jerusalem, … kept the Jewish festivals, and observed the Jewish Law,” Brandon, S.G.F. (1971). The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth, p. 26.

  19. So, how did Christianity evolve?

  20. Was Jesus, as some claim, merely a mythical figure?

  21. “That there was an actual historical Jesus, … no intelligent individual can doubt; but as regards his life and utterances there is considerable variation of opinion.“ Cook, S. (1945). An Introduction to the Bible,, p. 164

  22. Born on an unknown date in Nazareth, (not Bethlehem), he was known as Jesus of Nazareth(Matthew 26:71; Mark 1:24)

  23. “--- the birth of Jesus cannot be regarded as historical.It would thus appear that, almost certainly, Jesus was born at Nazareth,and that from his place of birth he was called Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene.” Barnes, E.W. (1948). The Rise of Christianity, p. 80

  24. There was nothing remarkable bout hi birth. His mother may have been called Mary. Joseph was probably his father, it was certainly not the Holy Ghost, (Matthew 1:18).

  25. “ … Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? “ Matthew 13:55-56

  26. “Presumably he was an obscure Galilean, until his preaching made him famous, and the details of his birth and childhood were not known. Mark, the oldest of the gospels has nothing to say about his birth and childhood. Rather, Mark starts his tale of Jesus with Jesus as an adult, beginning his ministry.” Asimov, I, (1981). Asimov's Guide to the Bible, p. 781

  27. In ancient societies although adulthood began at twelve years of age, “full adulthood” was not attained until thirty years of age.

  28. Jesus began his mission about 29 AD, (Luke 3:1 – 15th year of Tiberius), at about 30 years of age; to the Jews this was, “when a male arrived at a man's estate”(See: Genesis. 41:46; Numbers 4:3; 4:23 and 4:30; 2 Samuel 5:4).

  29. Jesus attracted followers primarily from the common people, creating what was, in effect, a small apocalyptic Jewish sect (Acts 1:15),.

  30. Jesus’ message to the Jews was that the Day of the Lord and the Kingdom of God were fast approaching and they needed to prepare for these events! (See Luke 8:1)

  31. “ … the Day of the Lord … a day of wrath for the heathen world and of triumph for Israel. … it ends with the glory of the remnant of Israel, while the assembled heathen powers are annihilated .” Encyclopedia Judaica, (1971),Eschatology

  32. "...inaugurating the reign of the "Kingdom of Heaven" for Yahweh's elected people here and now." Encyclopaedia Judaica, (1971). P. 1420.

  33. This message was for the Jews alone. It had no relevance for, and was certainly not meant for the Gentiles!

  34. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matthew 15:24

  35. The Romans viewed promises of a new kingdom as “royalist” sedition; propaganda designed to incite people to rebel against their authority.

  36. SEDITION: Conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.

  37. Because Jesus promised a new kingdom was coming which would replace Roman rule, he was arrested for sedition !

  38. Tried for sedition, Jesus was sentenced to death by Lucius Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect* of Judaea * Vardaman, H. "A New Inscription Which Mentions Pilate as "Prefect. Journal of Biblical Literature  81 (1962) 70–71.

  39. Pilate was, “ … a worldly man, knowing the right and anxious to do it …, but yielding easily to pressure from others. He would gladly have acquitted Christ and even made serious efforts in that direction, but gave way at once when his own position was threatened. “ Catholic Encyclopedia, Pilate

  40. Pilate was a vicious despotic ruler, with no respect for the Jews or their religious customs. He was, “ … vindictive, had a furious temper, and was self-willed and inflexible, ".Philo of Alexandria

  41. Pilate would never have risked freeing any enemies of Rome for fear complaints to Tiberius would expose his cruel conduct, bribes, insults, robberies, wanton injuries, and executions without trial,

  42. What do Hitler, Osama bin Laden and Jesus , all have in common?

  43. No bodies and no graves

  44. Pilate would never have given Jesus’ body to his followers, risking that his grave would become a place of worship for rebels!(See Matthew 27:57-58)

  45. Tombs of Samuel the Prophet (835-887 BCE) and of the great Rabbi Yehuda Ha Nasi, (135-219) still attract pilgrims.

  46. “The usual imperial custom was to leave the crucified exposed for a few days as a salutary warning; in that time they became the prey of wild animals and carrion birds. When the stench became unbearable the remains, still on their crosses, were dumped in the Hinnom Valley.” Thomas, G.(1987). The Trial. p. 238.

  47. Gehenna, the valley of the sons of Hinnom, (Ge bene Hinnom) a small valley south of Jerusalem.

  48. “It became the common lay-still (garbage dump) of the city, where the dead bodies of criminals and animals and every other kind of filth was cast.” Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, …” volume I

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