NONSENSE FROM THE BIBLE (5 page)

Peter and the other disciple then ran to the sepulchre. The ‘other’ disciple was the first to arrive and looked into the sepulchre and saw the linen grave clothes lying there. Peter then arrived and went in and saw only the linen clothes -
And the napkin, that was about his head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself

The disciples then left and went to their homes. Mary Magdalene stood outside the sepulchre weeping. Then she looked into the sepulchre and saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus had lain.

Who first met Jesus
?
How and where
?

The angels spoke to her and then she saw Jesus, but she thought he must be the gardener. She asked him where he had taken the body of Jesus and then Jesus called her by name
Mary
 and she turned and recognised him and said
Rabboni
 - meaning Master. Jesus then said:
don’t touch me as I have not yet ascended to my Father
. He then told her to go and tell the disciples that she had seen him, which she did.  

Note: He allowed the two Marys to hold his feet (version 1)  

We also have the words of Paul according to the book of the Acts of the Apostles to consider, especially as he was converted to Christianity well after the time of the alleged crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. This conversion is generally believed to have been circa 33-36CE. Paul was previously known as Saul of Tarsus and was a Pharisee who rigorously persecuted the Christians until, it is alleged, he was dramatically confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus:

Acts 9:3-5

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and
suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said I am Jesus whom you thou persecutest:

We have the writings of Paul concerning the ‘Resurrection.’ These, according to an overwhelming majority of New Testament scholars, pre-date all the four Gospels which were written as late as 60-70CE. Again there are more discrepancies concerning these events to consider.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was
seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;
of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some have fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Paul makes no mention of any soldiers guarding the tomb or of the happenings at the sepulchre or that the tomb was empty or that Jesus appeared first to either Mary Magdalene or Mary mother of Jesus and of James. Instead he adds to those who witnessed seeing the resurrected Jesus -
Five hundred followers of Jesus - 
then, after that he was seen by James and then by
all
. And after that, last of all by Paul.

Wow! 500 people in Jerusalem saw the resurrected Jesus!

IF that had actually occurred, then again there would have been many documents still existing about this great happening. As I have already mentioned, had the events which the Bible records occurred at the time of the crucifixion, they would have been huge news throughout the entire region and there would be countless volumes of evidence and reports of these happenings.

There were numerous historians at this time and none mentioned any of the extraordinary events, which allegedly occurred during the life and death of Jesus.  There are no reports of his so called miracles, healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the five thousand or walking on water! There are no historical documents containing evidence about this man called Jesus and his ‘triumphant’ entry into Jerusalem just a few days before his ‘trial’ and then his suffering leading to and during the crucifixion and his death on the cross and no mention of his resurrection.

Why have none been found?

The controversy about the validity of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus continues to the present time. There are numerous opinions and theories to be found in books and now also on the Internet; they persist as there is hardly any scientific, historic or factual evidence concerning these events any more than for the rest of the Bible.

It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the entire episode originates from myths and legend rather than from true and accurate information from any source. The descriptions of the events in the New Testament of the Bible greatly lack integrity as they were all written, based on verbal accounts given and repeated over many years, by numerous people. There is no evidence that any of the critical major events were written by those who were eyewitnesses to those events. Very little of the content of the Old Testament can be claimed to have been written by anyone who actually witnessed the reported events.  

IF Jesus was crucified as described in the Bible there are many flaws in the story: 

As I have previously mentioned, the Bible says that he was crucified between two thieves. Historically, there are no records that the Romans crucified
thieves
. Crucifixion was reserved only for heinous crimes, notably treason against the State. The bodies of those crucified were left on the cross to rot or to be devoured gradually by birds and animals. This was usual practice by the Romans as it was an important warning to others who might offend. The ability of Joseph of Arimathaea to persuade Pontius Pilate the Governor to allow the body to be removed was unusual if not unlikely.

The ‘guards’ - soldiers at the tomb, were only mentioned in Matthew. If they were ‘on duty’ and guarding the tomb they may have slept during part of the night, which would enable the disciples to open the sepulcher and remove the body. This was suggested by the chief priests as the explanation the guards might give as to why the tomb was empty; and that they were bribed to tell everyone that is what had happened. But it’s hardly likely that the disciples could count on the guards sleeping at all, let alone so soundly as to be unaware of the activity necessary to remove the body. In any case would soldiers admit to falling asleep on duty? And, importantly, if the soldiers did remain awake they would have witnessed the alleged amazing events, and said so, perhaps to the point of becoming believers.

So, either way, even the opening gambit of the resurrection story raises questions.

It is also very possible that Joseph of Arimathaea who owned the tomb which was conveniently close by
*13
, offered it only as a
temporary
place for the body. It was almost nightfall when the body of Jesus was removed from the cross and Jewish law and custom maintained that a body must be buried before sundown and, as it was Friday, sundown was the beginning of the Sabbath. Joseph then could have removed the body later during the night before dawn and buried it in common ground which was the usual practice for the burial of criminals.

Deuteronomy 21:23-23

And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree:
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; 
for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God hath giveth thee for an inheritance.

The above reference is concerning Jewish law rather than the Roman practice of leaving the body hanging on the cross.

So - what about the reported sighting of the resurrected Jesus?

We should remember that if these events happened as described in the Bible, this was a time of great emotion for all involved. The disciples and followers of Jesus were not in fact prepared for him to actually die upon the cross.

No doubt they all believed that somehow God - whom he called his Father - would rescue him from the cross and Jesus would then be hailed as the King of Kings and the true messiah! 

Even Jesus was surprised and disappointed that God had not performed as he had believed as he uttered those words on the cross:
My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?

Why else would he utter those words?

Some of the disciples went into hiding as they feared being identified as those who followed and believed in Jesus. Before the crucifixion the disciple Peter was asked if he was with Jesus, but he denied that he knew him. He was afraid to be seen as a disciple.

Following the crucifixion was a time of high drama. The disciples had lost hope and would be afraid, but looking for something to happen. The fact that they didn’t believe the reports that Jesus had risen is further evidence that they were not expecting him to rise from the dead. No doubt they wanted to see Jesus again but it seemed to them to be an unlikely possibility.

When, where and to whom did Jesus appear? We have already listed those appearances in this chapter.

Those who allegedly saw Jesus after he was missing from the tomb were: Mary Magdalene and Mary mother of James. They also held him by his feet but in version 4 he tells them -
don’t touch me as I have not yet ascended to my Father; 
Two of the disciples, (not named) as they walked to Emmaus. Jesus joined them.

Two disciples (Version 2)

And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and been seen of her, believed not.
After that he appeared in another form unto two of them
, as they walked, and went into the country.

If we apply REASON to the entire discourse on the crucifixion and resurrection story of the man called Jesus, I would offer this as a plausible explanation of the Bible story: First of all I call it simply a ‘story’ - one of thousands which have been passed from generation to generation. This passing on of stories process would include even up to the present and so would include (even from centuries ago) publications as well as ‘word of mouth.’  Virtually
all
that is written about Jesus is hearsay and /or fiction, and unsubstantiated historically. 

This is a story from the time that the Roman Empire included most of the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East as we know it today. People of every nation and race believed in some form of religion, including the Romans and the Greeks, who worshipped many gods. The nation of Israel believed in one god - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Apart from those various and fairly stable religions, there were always new prophets or gurus or magicians with new ideas.

The New Testament Jesus was not unique as he had very similar credentials to many others who had lived before his time, including a virgin birth, miracles, execution and resurrection. There was, for example, a type of ‘Jesus’ in Egyptian mythology named Horus several thousand years before the alleged birth of Jesus Christ. The story includes a star in the east heralding his birth to a virgin mother. There was no detail of the life of Horus after his birth until he was thirty years old. He was baptized in the river Eridanus in Jordan by Anup the baptizer who was later executed by decapitation. Horus was said to be a fisher of men and had twelve loyal followers. It is claimed that he walked on water, cast out demons and healed the sick. It was said that he and God were one. Horus was also known as the light of the world, the Lamb, the Lion, the afflicted one and as the source of life eternal and that he showed the way, the truth and the life. He delivered a sermon on a mount. He was crucified between two thieves, buried in a tomb and resurrected. He was transfigured on a mountain. He descended into hell and preached to the souls in prison there before he arose from the dead.

As you can see, the story of the life and ministry of Jesus is remarkably parallel to the story of Horus who preceded him by several thousand years. The story of the mythical Horus would still have been known among the people of Egypt at the time of Jesus. According to Matthew’s Gospel the infant Jesus lived in Egypt for many years during his early childhood. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Matthew 2:13-15

And when they were departed, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

There are many others with similar credentials: Osiris, Krishna, Bacchus, Orpheus, Adonis, Attis, Hercules, Mithras, Thor son of Odin, Tammuz of Syria, Beddru of Japan and Deva Tat of Siam to name but a few.

Gerald Massey (1828-1907) An Egyptologist who studied and lectured for many years on his research of ancient religions concluded that:

Christianity was neither original nor unique, but that the roots of much of the Judeo/Christian tradition lay in the prevailing Kamite (ancient Egyptian) culture of the region. We are faced with the inescapable realisation that if Jesus had been able to read the documents of old Egypt, he would have been amazed to find his own biography already substantially written some four or five thousand years previously.