Seized from smugglers, the leather-bound 'gospel' which Iran claims will bring down Christianity a

I think there is a lot that we don’t know about history, whether is been hidden from us by various governing powers or lost over time. The more you learn, the less you believe.

reply to post by CaptainLJB


Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100),[2] also called Joseph ben Matityahu (Biblical Hebrew: יוסף בן מתתיהו, Yosef ben Matityahu),[3] was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70.

Why would he bother to mention Jesus if he was a myth? He was born during the time Christianity was new and spreading. There were people alive that knew Jesus and witnessed His death. There also those alive who saw Him after the resurrection. He could have interviewed eye witnesses.

reply to post by MI5edt oDeath

Then why smuggle a forgery? Surely a forgerer puts his forgery together where he intends to do the forgery, therefore, negating the need to smuggle and risk arrest?

If you live in an area, why would you go somewhere else to forge something? And if some of what you smuggle is real, then bringing forged info out in the same manner provides credence to the object. The area it is smuggled out of also adds to the authenticity of the article. Besides, they never thought they would get caught. What criminal ever does?

reply to post by daaskapital


Constantine ordered 50 copies of manuscripts that were from the libraries in Egypt. They had already been altered from the originals. Of these 50 sloppily made copies we still have 2, the Codex Siniaticus and the Codes Vaticanus.
All the books of the New Testament were revered by the early church even before the formation of the canon.
If we did have a NT, we could reconsturct it from quotes by the early church fathers. You should study the two distinct lines of manuscripts and how one has changed and the other has not.
As for the OT, it's lineage is clear. The two copies of Isaiah discovered in Qumran Cave 1 near the Dead Sea in 1947 were a thousand years earlier then the oldest dated manuscript previously known (980 AD), they proved to be word for word identical with our standard Hebrew Bible in more then 95% of the text.

Originally posted by zachi
reply to post by CaptainLJB

 

Why would he bother to mention Jesus if he was a myth? He was born during the time Christianity was new and spreading. There were people alive that knew Jesus and witnessed His death. There also those alive who saw Him after the resurrection. He could have interviewed eye witnesses.

Today we would call it all hearsay. The Kuran/Muhammed also refers to Jesus. Centuries after Jesus.
If Jesus was so influential during his lifetime, how come nobody alive back then ever mentioned him?

reply to post by Wirral Bagpuss

We divide ourselves over lots of things, culture included. We always will, but maybe not equally. The more isolated we're from each other, I think the more likely differences are to emerge.

As technology improves, our ability to observe activity and enforce law GLOBALLY will allow us to have a more functional system without the need for complete and absolute uniformity. So division is acceptable, somewhat. Remember that even in communities there're stark differences between individuals. And in cities you can find people of all different faiths. I see the nations on earth as separate people in a community. But we're not quite yet at the point where our technology allows us to effectively rule the planet to ensure justice and fairness for all.

I'll admit that humans recognizing that they're a family is important, but it's not the only thing that will allow us to have peace on this planet. That's why I bring up the issue of technology here.

I think Rome was guilty of expanding beyond its technological means. And this world is possibly in danger of doing that too if it does not recognize the need for technology to govern itself.

reply to post by MI5edtoDeath

The only way to 'bring down' Christianity is to ignore it.

Christianity thrives on opposition and controversy...
...if you want to see Christianity grow, persecute it.

I love this quote from the Gospel of Barnabas:

"And having said this, Jesus smote his face with both his hands, and then smote the ground with his head. And having raised his head, he said: "Cursed be every one who shall insert into my sayings that I am the son of God."

Here's a link about this:
religion.wikia.com...

............
This gospel prophesies the coming of Muhammad and shares many core beliefs with Islam. Mentioning Muhammad by name seems to be an obvious attempt at deception as none of the other gospels or prophecies ever mentioned an upcoming messenger of God by name. None of the approx. 24,000 Biblical manuscripts support the Gospel of Barnabas, including those who significantly antedate the Qur'an, nor does this late work itself have any ancient manuscript evidence. The earliest copies date back to the 16th century A.D., and with its additional obvious anachronisms and historical errors (like sailing to Nazareth), it is believed by both Christian and secular scholars (and some Muslims such as Abbas el-Akkad) to be a circa 14th century pseudepigraphical work.[3][4][5] [6]

reply to post by CaptainLJB


www.flex.com...

Text
The X-RATED PARADISE OF ISLAM
In this article I shall describe the Islamic Paradise or Jannat which was invented by Prophet Mohammed to bribe the Arabs into committing hedious crimes by promising them materialistic things which they couldn't obtain in the harsh desert. The paradise contains six important items: beautiful virgins, young boys, water, wine, fruits and wealth.

To prove my point I have taken verses from the Koran and quotes from the Hadiths.

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reply to post by CaptainLJB


Oh, here comes the Message Police again.

Freedom of Speech--my ASS!