Amos

"Valiant and pure in spirit" is equal to my "hard work" and "upright man." These are qualities we have and cannot learn but are the seven heads of the Capital sins and Cardinal virtues.

Constable Visit

Amos, I agree with everything you say. you are a genius.

CV

Amos

Thanks but please don't do it for the sake of agreement but do it for the sake of understanding.

The arguments are easy to follow but difficult to accept because often much has to be released and I would hate to see anybody lose faith because of me. Faith is good but must be faced in the right direction so whatever we believe can lead to understanding -- instead of becoming a dead end until we die.

[ April 03, 2002: Message edited by: Amos ]</p>

Peter Kirby

I don't think that the name "Joseph" was taken from Josephus. If the name has any significance, it may be connected to the name of Jesus' father (which is not mentioned in Mark and may be mythical), as a burial would often be undertaken by the father.

There is evidence that Joseph of Arimathea is a fictional character and that the tomb burial story in the Gospel of Mark is also fictional. Roy Hoover notes, "the location of Arimathea has not (yet) been identified with any assurance; the various 'possible' locations are nothing more than pious guesses or conjectures undocumented by any textual or archaeological evidence." (In Paul Copan & Ronald K. Tacelli, ed., Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment?: A Debate Between William Lane Craig & Gerd Ludemann (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2000), p. 133.)

Richard Carrier speculates, "Is the word a pun on 'best disciple,' ari[stos] mathe[tes]? Matheia means 'disciple town' in Greek; Ari- is a common prefix for superiority." (private correspondence) Since commentators have seen the burial by the outsider Joseph of Arimathea as a contrast to the failure of the disciples and intimates of Jesus, the coincidence that Arimathea can be read as "best disciple town" is staggering. Indeed, it is good evidence that Joseph of Arimathea is a fictional character and that the tomb burial story in the Gospel of Mark is also fictional.

best,
Peter Kirby