quote: However when we look for historical confirmation of this hometown of a god surprise, surprise! no other source confirms that the place even existed in the 1st century AD.
Nazareth is not mentioned even once in the entire Old Testament. The Book of Joshua (19.10,16) in what it claims is the process of settlement by the tribe of Zebulon in the area records twelve towns and six villages and yet omits any 'Nazareth' from its list.
The Talmud, although it names 63 Galilean towns, knows nothing of Nazareth, nor does early rabbinic literature.
St Paul knows nothing of 'Nazareth'. Rabbi Solly's epistles (real and fake) mention Jesus 221 times, Nazareth not at all.
No ancient historian or geographer mentions Nazareth. It is first noted at the beginning of the 4th century.
So basically what I've been able to comprehend, is I think they are saying there is a Jewish grave in Kashmir India, about 1900 to 2000 years old, about the right time period. It has carved feet imprints at the grave, but the carved imprints have crucifix wounds.
And that there are legitimate eastern historical texts which tell of stories of a teacher from the west who was tortured by his people but then came east at that time.
The wise men came from the east, and Jesus spent time in Egypt perhaps as well
So to be sure, Jesus did exsist as a real spiritual teacher. He was an Essene teacher.
quote:"They possess nothing of their own, not house, field, slave nor flocks, nor anything which feeds and procures wealth. They live together in brotherhoods, and eat in common together. Everything they do is for the common good of the group. They work at many different jobs and attack their work with amazing zeal and dedication, working from before sunrise to almost sunset without complaint, but in obvious exhilaration. Their exercise is their work. Indeed, they believe their own training to be more agreeable to body and soul, and more lasting, than athletic games, since their exercises remain fitted to their age, even when the body no longer possesses its full strength"
"They neither buy nor sell anything among themselves. They give to each other freely and feel no need to repay anything in exchange. Before sunrise they recite certain ancestral prayers to the sun as though entreating it to rise. They work until about 11 A.M. when they put on ritual loincloths and bathe for purification. Then they enter a communal hall,where no one else is allowed,and eat only one bowlful of food for each man, ! together with their loaves of bread. They eat in silence. Afterwards they lay aside their sacred garment and go back to work until the evening. At evening they partake dinner in the same manner. During meals they are sober and quiet and their silence seems a great mystery to people outside. Their food and drink are so measured out that they are satisfied but no more. They see bodily pleasure as sinful. On the whole they do nothing unless ordered by their superiors, but two things they are allowed to do on their own discretion: to help those 'worthy of help', and to offer food to the needy. They are not allowed, however, to help members of their own families without permission from superiors. They are very careful not to exhibit their anger, carefully controlling such outbursts. They are very loyal and are peacemakers. They refuse to swear oaths, believing every word they speak to be stronger than an oath. They are scrupulous students of the ancient literature. They are ardent students in the healing of diseases, of the roots offering protection, and of the properties of stones. Those desiring to enter the sect are not allowed immediate entrance. They are made to wait outside for a period of one year."
"They believe that their souls are immortal, but that their bodies are corruptible. They believe the soul is trapped in the body and is freed with death. "
"Some of the Essenes became expert in forecasting the future."
"When they enter the sect, they must surrender all of their money and possessions into the common fund, to be put at the disposal of everyone; one single property for the whole group. Therefore neither the humiliation of poverty nor the pride of possession is to be seen anywhere among them."
quote:5000 years ago, ancient spiritual tradition of India spoke of a universal source of all life. The energy called prana. This universal energy is the breath of life moves through all forms to give them life. Yogis work with this energy with breathing techniques, meditation, and physical exercise to produce altered states of consciousness and longevity 3,000 years ago, the ancient Qigong masters in China were practicing their meditative discipline to balance and invigorate the human energy field. They called this vital energy that pervades all forms, both animate and inanimate, Qi. The Qi is the vital energy of the body; while gong means the skill of moving this Qi and working with it. Practitioners use mind control to move and control the Qi to not only improve health and longevity, but also to enhance awareness, psychic powers, and spiritual development. The ancient Qigong masters also developed Tai Chi, Kung Fu, and the martial arts. In addition, they made the first model for acupuncture. Acupuncturists insert needles, or use moxa, or put magnets at specific acupuncture points to balance the yin and yang of the human energy field. When the Qi is balanced, the entity has good health. When the Qi is unbalanced, the entity has poor or impaired health. The Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical teachings written about 538 B.C., calls these energies the astral light. Later on, Christian paintings and sculptures show a halo around the head of Christ and other spiritual leaders. Similarly, we see this halo on statues and paintings of Buddha, and also see energy or light coming from the fingers of many of the gods of India.
quote: The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ Nicholas Notovich
Editor's Introduction
In 1887, a Russian, Nicholas Notovich, journeyed to India to study Hindu culture. (Today we would call him an anthropologist.) Eventually Notovich arrived in Ladakh on the northern border of India, from whence he intended to return to Russia through Karakorum and Chinese Turkestan. While in Ladakh he was told by the abbot of a Buddhist monastery that manuscripts recording the life of Jesus were to be found in Lhasa-at that time absolutely closed to any "white" man, as was the entire country of Tibet. Despite this prohibition, Notovich determined to force his way to Lhasa in search of the rumored records. While still in Leh, the capital of Ladakh, Notovich visited the monastery of Himis and spoke with its abbot. When he asked the abbot if he knew anything of Isha, was amazed to receive this reply:
"The name of Isha is held in great respect by the Buddhists, But little is known about him save by the chief lamas, who have read the scrolls relative to his life....Among [the manuscripts of our monastery library] are to be found descriptions of the life and acts of the Buddha Isha, who preached the holy doctrine in India and among the children of Israel and who was put to death by the pagans, whose descendants have since embraced the tenets he then propagated,....
"The great Buddha, Soul of the Universe is the incarnation of Brahma. He remains almost always in passivity, preserving within himself all things from the beginning of time, and his breath vivifies the world. Having abandoned man to his own resources, he yet at certain epochs comes forth from his inertia, taking upon himself a human form to save his creatures from irremediable ruin.
"During his earthly existence, Buddha crates a new world among his scattered people. And after having fulfilled his task, he leaves the earth to reassume his invisible condition and his life of perfect bliss.
"Three thousand years ago, the great Buddha became incarnate in the celebrated prince Sakyamuni, thus continuing the scheme of his twenty incarnations....Simultaneously with the advent of Buddhism in China, its tenets were diffused amongst the Israelites [by Isha].
"Nearly two thousand years ago the perfect Being, again breaking through his state of inaction, became incarnate in the newborn infant of a poor family. It was his will that a child in simple words should enlighten the ignorant as to the life eternal-by his own example, bringing men back to the ways of truth in setting before them the paths most surely leading to the attainment of moral purity.
"When the holy child was still a boy, he was taken to India, where until manhood he studied the laws of the great Buddha who dwells eternally in heaven....
"The documents [about Isha] brought from India to Nepal and from Nepal to Tibet concerning his existence are written in the Pali language and are now in Lhasa. But a copy in our language-that is, the Tibetan-exists in this monastery."
posted
Nazareth did exist during Jesus's time. The Gospel of Matthew mentions Nazareth, and we know that the Gospel of Matthew was written in the first century because Gamiliel wrote a parody of it.
posted
depends on what you mean by town vs settlement. I think a first century perspective of town is much different from a 21st century, therefore if a writer of the first century deem an entity a town, we must not seek to reinterpret it according to what our impression of a town constitutes.
Posts: 134 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by BigMix: depends on what you mean by town vs settlement. I think a first century perspective of town is much different from a 21st century, therefore if a writer of the first century deem an entity a town, we must not seek to reinterpret it according to what our impression of a town constitutes.
no offense; but that's kinda like this new wave anti-revisionist//originalist rhetoric. (again no offense - just playing devils advocate)......what would be your response to that statement......I only say that (not that I have the slightest idea either way) because I can't think of anything in ancient history not subject to some kind of interpretation. How would we know what the ancients' ideas of anything were except by the info they left us. In many cases they "left us" oral tradition and folklore only.......
Posts: 236 | From: chicago, illinois, | Registered: Sep 2005
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posted
Afro I was speaking in the context of this example.
Lets use the term a big metropolis or big city. In the first century, that would be Rome, which had about 600-800,000 people. Today that would be Mexico City which has upwards of 5 million.
In this context Big City does not mean the same thing and is contrained by writer's perspective.
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