aa5874

I hope you understand when I say that the Canonical Gospels are fundamentally historical records of the Beliefs of people of antiquity?

I am NOT at all claiming that the Gospels are historical records of an historical Jesus, that is, a human character with a human father.

I am saying that people of antiquity, even the Greeks and Romans, fundamentally BELIEVED in Mythology and accepted the Mythological Jesus and that the Gospels MERELY recorded that people believed Jesus was the Son of a Holy Ghost who resurrected as found in gMatthew.

This is no different to Plutarch's "Romulus". Although "Romulus" is a Myth Fable it is in effect an historical record that people of Roman Empire did BELIEVE in Mythological characters and accepted them as though they did exist.

Based on the evidence, the Jesus story was most likely composed or was known sometime in the 2nd century and it was opposed by the very Romans and Greeks who themselves believed in Mythological characters.

People who accept Mythology, like the Romans and Greeks, were NOT good candidates to expose the holes and discrepancies in the Myth Fables of gMatthew that were no different to their own.

Examine the words of Justin Martyr in "First Apology" 21.

Identifying Holes and discrepancies in Myth Fables with Myth characters appears to be a modern phenomenon.

It is virtually impossible to write a Myth Fable WITHOUT Holes and discrepancies but we know the Greeks and Romans accepted them with all the Blatant implausible characters and events.

People of antiquity Believed Marcion's Phantom was the Son of God but without a body and appeared to have human flesh.

Sheshbazzar

Just saying. What it ended up to be, is not what it started out to be.
And the original writers bear no guilt for what latter men did to or with their writings.

Chili

But myth is not fable and it is 'you guys' who invented the flat earth and insist that those old sheep herders were stupid, but fail to realize that they wrote the darn book that we cannot figure out. Myth is real and the story takes place in the mind if this guy they called Joseph and so here then Pilate was the faculty of reason under Herod who had this encounter with the Magi because the 'final ousia' was not insipient from the heart to Joseph and that is how Herod became involved, and here then was who stole the body of Jesus.

Remember that this was a 'parousia event,' but a failed one and therefore the tragedy of tragedies that in Macbeth is called Shakesperean tragedy because it would be wrong to call it your ticket to hell.

la70119

The author of gJohn had a different idea of who said, they stole the body while we slept.

gJohn 20:1,2

Chili

Yes but now you are misleading because you forgot the "Rabbouni" passage wherein 'while it was still dark' she did not recognize him because Jesus was her 'light by day' and she was 'his delight' and the reason why she was looking for him alone her to be just his delight as temple tramp.

The exclamation Rabounni signifies that the light of common day is an illusion and with Jesus dead it would no longer 'be' for her as the maid he married when he first left paradise and called her Eve. And so indeed he died and rose again on the third day and here now she recognized his 'familiar voice' to say that 'we look with our eyes but see with our mind' and thus she knew who he was and wanted to 'cling' again but Jesus said "no, not yet" and not until 'faith looked in' to see and understand, and the Man did enter to occupy the place. Lovely, and so then is the end of purgation here.

I have to add here the beautiful line in Coriolanus where Aufidius said: But know thou first,/ I loved the maid I married. . . . and Coriolanus finally said: You bless me gods! = "Father into your hands I commit my spirit." (VI.v.114-15 and 136).

aa5874

In gMatthew, the Roman soldiers were paid to say that they were sleeping which may be punishable by death.

It is an EXTREMELY serious offense for soldiers on guard to fall asleep.

Once soldiers and were sent on guard duty it is extremely unlikely that they would publicly admit that ALL of them were sleeping.

Chili

Yes, and that is why they have them 'standing up' as the pride of the nation, but you need a mind to see and this was not a casual event.

sotto voce

Many people without vested interests suspect it is a big truth.

James Brown

Matthew alone puts guards at the tomb.

But then that opens a can of worms.

Because that would mean that a bunch of unwashed pagan guards were the first to witness the resurrection.

sotto voce

The only person reported to have astonished Jesus in a positive way was a Roman soldier.