If we didn't have the New Testament, would other sources (historical, archaeological, anthropological, etc) present basically the same Jesus Christ OR a radically different Jesus Christ? (Do not refer to the DaVinci Code since that is a work of fiction).
2006-09-09 09:49:32 · 7 answers · asked by flandargo 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Answer to "Root of All". It says so right there at the beginning of the book, "All of the characters and events in this book are fictitious, and any resembalance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental".
Even though in the introduction it states, "All descriptions or artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in the novel are accurate," this is not true. One example is that the Dead Sea Scrolls speak about Jesus. FACT: The Dead Sea Scrolls have nothing to do with Jesus. Admittedly, there are some historical facts, but the book itself is fiction, a suspense novel, a thriller.
2006-09-09 10:36:30 · update #1
It's impossible to know. If we didn't have the New Testament, then maybe we would discover the New Testament as archaeological record, or maybe the Jesus accounts would have survived as oral history which could be used by anthropologists. Or maybe not. It would be a different world.
2006-09-09 10:30:17 · answer #1 · answered by Sincere Questioner 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The quick answer is: No, not even a transcript of his trial. However, King Herod and Pontius Pitlate were real people. A Jewish teacher, Josephus, referred to Jesus, around about the time of the destruction of the Temple...years after the event, but other than that there is no evidence that JC existed at all.
There is, though, a very, very old tradition that Jesus was some sort of Jewish/Buddhist teacher, and that what he taught was an early form of Buddhism. A sort of Dalai Lama. The traditon goes on to say that Jesus survived the crucifixion, or that it was symbolic rather that actual, (there's a bit of confusion there) and that he packed up and went back to India where he lived to be a very old man.
Even today, in northern India...I've been racking my brain trying to remember the name of the town...lol...it is on the Indian tourist map...there is a holy shrine where two very holy men are buried. One was an Islamic teacher & scholar. The other is Jesus. The fact is that the former is buried in the Islamic custom...whilst Jesus is buried in the Jewish custom. Also the same family has been taking care of the shrine for many many generations (& still do). It is part of the basis of Islam's recognition of Jesus as a prophet, but also raises the rather uncomfortable question of whether Mohommet was a sort of Buddhist teacher rather than a prophet...or maybe they were early Mahatmah Gandhis.
The tradition goes back to at least the time of King Richards as it was discussed in the dialogues that he had with Saladin.
One writer you may find interesting is Elaine Paigel with her book The Gnostic Gospels.
Something I read many years ago; it was a book about the East India Tea Co. and it talked about the first visit to Tibet & the first meeting of white Europeans with the then Dalai Lama, who astounded them by asking about their Christianity and knowing more about it & esp JC than they did. He also found it somewhat amusing!
So much for bringing the Light to the savages.
I hope this helps. Probably it just confuses the issue even more.
What the Truth really is ...God knows...if you find these sort of heresies rock your faith, just remember...God Is Real....God Loves You...and whichever "Truth" you end up following...just Love Him Back.
2006-09-09 18:04:29 · answer #2 · answered by cheek peas 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There are existing works in the hands of scholars right now that reference Jesus Christ by either name or deed, that are NOT included in the Bible, some if not most are even recognized as heretical by the church because they don't fit their comprehension of their particular translation of the Bible. Do they point to a different Jesus? Not necessarily, just a different perception of him.
To be a smarta*, I'm sure there's tons of historical references to "Jesus" in the old birth records in Latin American countries. Are they all the same person? Not a chance.
2006-09-09 17:05:35 · answer #3 · answered by desiderio 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read "The Muslim Jesus". It is a collection of Jesus's
sayings. Some like in the Book. Some different.
2006-09-09 17:07:05 · answer #4 · answered by Medicine Eddie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are contemporary references to Christians but not to Jesus.
2006-09-09 16:53:13 · answer #5 · answered by October 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Prove that "The Da Vinci Code" is a work of fiction, and not the bible, WITHOUT quoting biblical verses.
2006-09-09 16:56:07 · answer #6 · answered by Root Of All Evil 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
there are none outside of the bible
2006-09-09 16:56:48 · answer #7 · answered by Marty G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋