reply to post by stewartw2
Background on the author of the noted book suggests the author probably would have followed the teachings of the Jewish Talmud.
The Jewish Talmud is very, very disrespectful toward Jesus, and Mary, his mother, I won't quote here, but do a search Jesus, Talmud if you want to
see exactly what it says.
Even if the book does actually relate a Jewish folk story passed down through generations, I don't believe the story is true, for two reasons.
First, what better way to get back at someone you felt was disloyal, than to accuse them of being a spy who was just pretending to be converted to
Christ.
I believe Paul was a genuine follower of Jesus, because of all the many years he went through hardship for the sake of Jesus, and he spent time in
prison and ultimately was crucified for his belief in Jesus.
At the end of the book of Matthew it states that Pilate set soldiers to guard the tomb Jesus was laid in, at the request of the Jewish leaders, who
thought Jesus's followers might steal the body.
According to the text, the soldiers were witness to events that made them pass out, and when the Jewish leaders heard their stories, they decided to
bribe them to say Jesus's followers did steal the bodies. Matthew states that the story that the disciples stole the body was a tale that still was
going around.
History supports this story because some works by Josephus who was an historian of the day, did mention Jesus in such a way as to make it sound as if
he did believe Jesus was at least a wise man, mentioning the many wonderful things he did.
A lot of the information contained in this article was questionable at best, and at worst it was totally unbelievable. I think the author had an
agenda he was trying to accomplish, knowing a lot of people would just take at face value.
Also, the site where this article was located, and the other articles, just confirmed my impression.