Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;corvusconstantius, post: 8099648, member: 123797&quot;]One theory for the switch from clean shaven cropped hair Jesus to the longer haired version, is that this was associated with the highest divinity in the Roman world. As theological innovations made Jesus&#039; divinity more &quot;full&quot; and as the knowledge of Jesus slowly moved away from its Semitic place of origin to the gentile empire, he slowly morphed into resembling Zeus/Jupiter.</p><p><br /></p><p>My personal opinion on the historicity of Jesus is that he certainly existed and some basic facts about his life an be assumed to be true.</p><p>He was from Galilee</p><p>He was baptized by John the Baptist</p><p>He preached and had followers</p><p>He caused a ruckus in Jerusalem</p><p>He was crucified by the authorities</p><p><br /></p><p>I believe that this template is real, and some particular circumstances about Jesus, life or his teachings/prophecies were intriguing enough to be used as a theological springboard for his disciples (and later, Paul) to launch a new attractive religious movement.</p><p><br /></p><p>I do think that Jesus gets a hard time regarding sources. The authentic letters of Paul are very close (in a historical sense) to the date of the crucifixion. As another posted pointed out, Paul claims that he met the &quot;brother of the Lord&quot; and had a bit of back and forth with him. At least two of the New Testament gospels appear to arise independently (Mark and John) and there are a few corroborating references to Jesus in non-Christian works. I personally think that is quite a decent resume of sources for one of the many Semitic preacher figures. I am also unsure why people use the argument that there were no sources written &quot;while Jesus was alive&quot;, a rather arbitrary delineation. His ministry only lasted a few years, mainly involved illiterate followers, and it was only during the crucifixion and perhaps &quot;resurrection experiences&quot; of his followers that he becomes a truly significant figure.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s also worth pointing out that the prevailing opinion is that much of the Josephus text is an interpolation, but a part of it which still attests to the existence of Jesus, is legitimate. This version being the &quot;original&quot; is the most accepted opinion according to Bart Ehrman</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><i>Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and many of Greek origin. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this da</i>y.</p><p><br /></p><p>Even if you don&#039;t buy this rather contentious passage for whatever reason. There&#039;s still a reference to James the brother of Jesus that almost all scholar&#039;s accept as legitimate. </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course we can never be one hundred percent sure about such things, but there is quite rightly a heavy preponderance by scholars towards Jesus existing and some basic facts about his life being very likely.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in