Tag: Yeshua
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The world is run by a family of giant lizards
As a child, my Methodist parents paid lip service to respecting others’ beliefs as long as they didn’t conflict with their own. I was to respect other people’s tastes, political opinions and allegiances, but they also warned me to be suspicious of the Catholic family living next door, the Spiritualists across the road, men with…
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The First Gospel
‘Mark’ was the first of the four official gospels to be written, around 70 CE. Only the seven authentic letters of Paul and the anonymous letter to the Hebrews were written before this, which means ninety percent plus of the New Testament was written after. Nobody knows who wrote it, but it is clear the…
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We know next to nothing about Yeshua
Most religions can be traced back to a wise, knowledgeable and persuasive teacher, usually with great charisma, who claims to have answers to the deeper questions. Often they claim that G-d spoke directly to them. Yeshua certainly held this appeal for his close followers and continues to do so for millions around the world. But…
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‘Jesus’ wasn’t called ‘Jesus’
The first and most obvious historical fact about the main character of the New Testament gospels is that he wasn’t called ‘Jesus’. To some, this is an obvious point, to others it comes as a surprise; some acknowledge it but think it doesn’t matter. But it does, because it illustrates the way in which the…
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Christianity is not about good deeds but blind faith
Does Christianity help or hinder us realising our spirituality? Spirituality is a deep appreciation of our non-physical essence coupled with an enriching process of personal growth and transformation. In contrast, religion is a formalised set of beliefs and rituals presented within a formatted organisational structure. It’s an uncomfortable fact for those who like formality and…
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The Hebrew prophecy of a virgin birth is based on a mistranslation
Two of the New Testament gospels tell us that Yeshua’s mother was a virgin at the time of his conception and that this had been prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures. About a third of the world’s population choose to believe this. But this particular prophecy was a mistranslation of a passage from the Book of…
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The real Pilate was a ruthless tyrant, not a kindly ditherer
If you’ve seen Michael Palin’s portrayal of Pontius Pilate in Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian’, you’ll recall the weak and wavering man with a stutter in awe of his friend Bigus Dickus. Does this in any way resemble reality? No. Not at all. The Pilate of history was a vicious and paranoid tyrant who had…
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Yeshua was wrong!
The writers of the first three (Synoptic) gospels made it perfectly clear – Yeshua/Jesus’ mission was to proclaim the imminent coming of the Kingdom of G_d. Many Christians have never read the gospels in detail. I have, and one fact jumps out at you from almost every page. Once its significance understood, it casts a…
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If we want a rounded picture, we must be look at all available sources
Church theologians say that everything we need to know about Yeshua (‘Jesus’) can be found in the New Testament, and that what is written there is all true. But surely if we want a rounded picture, we must be look at all available sources. That’s not easy; Yeshua barely features in any non-Christian sources from…
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Yeshua bar Yehosef was barely mentioned by the chroniclers of his time
Did Yeshua bar Yehosef, the man later renamed ‘Jesus’ by his Greek and Roman followers, actually exist? At one time I doubted it. I placed him in the same category as King Arthur, Hercules and Robin Hood, mythical characters only loosely based on real people. But now I’m sure he did, even though the historical…