James the Brother of Jesus by Robert Eisenman
is my current reading having just finished The Bible
Unearthed. Eisenman kept popping up on the threads I
am active in so I just one-clicked Amazon and bought him.

I am not yet 100 pages into Eisenman and I have learned that
he is a fundie just like Carrier, Haggith, Finkelstein,
and Silberman. I guess, if you want to sell books in this
world of dogma you must not use your own mind.

For a little humor, Eisenman tells about how Josephus flattered
Poppea (Nero's wife) and got "all he wished of her - and perhaps
more." He then tells about Nero kicking his pregnant wife to
death. Maybe Poppea did play around a little ... but I can not
imagine implicating Josephus the pious Jew! I do appreciate the
humor.

These so-called biblical scholars have a problem with a fact
that I realize. There are two women under the cross in John
19:25. One of them is Jesus' mother who is the wife of Clophas
who is Jesus' father Joseph. The other is Mary Magdalene who
is also the Virgin's sister and Jesus' aunt. The gospel of John
was the first gospel written and the last gospel edited. The
other Clophas in Luke 24:18 is put their in order to diffuse
this obvious conclusion. Also, if John is said to have been
written after the other gospels then obvious conclusions can
not be reach. The last chapter of John was written by another
John and its intent was to sweeten Peter. If you read
the gospel of John you will realize that Jesus and Peter were
at odds. Eisenman does not realize this (pg. 8).

Eisenman writes that James is the High Priest Commanding the
Many (pg.12). Does he realize the the Many is an exclusive
group or sect? and not a whole bunch of people? I do not
know.

Eisenman writes that Josephus was born in the year 37 CE (pg. 21)
and this is incorrect. Josephus was born in the year 26 CE and
celebrated his bar mitzvah in 37 CE. He also writes that
the birth of Jesus according to Matthew and the birth of Jesus
according to Luke are irreconcilable. Like Carrier, he is
in a fundamental shell and does not know what he is talking about.

I am on chapter 5 and I find this book,James the Brother of Jesus
very interesting and quite informative. In the interpretation of
Scripture Eisenman writes singulars inexplicably changed to
plurals (pg. xxxv) and this is what Thiering alluded to when
she remarks that Jerusalem in plural is Qumran, see
Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls pg. 37.

thanks, offa