Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 04-29-2008, 09:45 AM

An Iranian's vision of Jesus' life stirs debate

A movie maker has produced a life of Jesus based on the Qur'an and the Gospel of Barnabas, in hopes of showing Christian the Truth and sparking some interfaith dialogue.

Quote:

The film, nearly 10 years in the making, draws on the Koran and the putative Gospel of Barnabas, considered by many Western scholars a medieval fable. The premise of "Jesus, the Spirit of God" is that Jesus was compassionate and performed miracles, but was not crucified or resurrected from the dead. The message implies that Christianity, a faith of 2 billion people and the core of much Western philosophy, is based on a falsehood.

....

The rough, choppily edited $5-million film, condensed from a 1,000-minute-long series that will soon air on Iranian TV, reveres Jesus as a blessed prophet speaking parables and moving through soft light and angelic chants amid a ruckus of zealots and conspiring Pharisees. The narrative and dialogue are attributed to Islamic teachings and Jesus' disciple Barnabas, whose gospel the director said was hidden by church authorities so as not to undermine the established Christian faith.

Scholars believe that the gospel, not included in the canon of the early Catholic Church, was written by others centuries later and ascribed to Barnabas. It overlaps with the stories of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but it does not present Jesus as the son of God. Barnabas' tale resonates with Muslims who believe that it supports the Koran's teaching that Jesus, though born of a virgin, was not divine, but one of the last great prophets. Talebzadeh's film shows Jesus ascending to heaven before Roman soldiers come for him; Judas, the disciple who betrays him, is transformed into the likeness of Jesus and crucified. According to Islamic traditions, Jesus is alive and will return to defeat evil.

Christians are getting upset over this movie, according to the story, but it seems that this Muslim Jesus should be less upsetting than the historical Jesus reconstructed by the Jesus Seminar, who was a nice guy but couldn't even bend the laws of nature to his will.

youngalexander · 05-01-2008, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Christians are getting upset over this movie, according to the story, but it seems that this Muslim Jesus should be less upsetting than the historical Jesus reconstructed by the Jesus Seminar, who was a nice guy but couldn't even bend the laws of nature to his will.

Quote:

"I pray for Christians. They've been misled. They will realize one day the true story,"

Seems perfectly reasonable. These guys are not deluded, they merely have a different interpretation of reality.

I can accept that, I am sure that SM can also - and Toto?

Malachi151 · 05-01-2008, 05:29 AM

My understanding of the Muslim version is that it all ultimately stems from one of the popular readings of the traditional Gospel narrative regarding the release of "Barabbas" ( son of the father).

It appears that the author of Mark was engaging in some type of parable or inside joke by presenting both Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, and Barabbas, son of the father, as the two people that the Jews had to choose from. They chose to release the "son of the father", not the "Son of the Father".

A popular reading of this however, recorded as early as the 2nd century, was that in fact Jesus was Barabbas, and that thus, in reality Jesus was released and someone else was crucified in his place.

This developed its own line of legends, eventually forming the base of the Muslim belief about the non-crucifixion of Jesus.

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05-01-2008, 05:29 AM	#3
Malachi151 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Colorado Posts: 8,674	My understanding of the Muslim version is that it all ultimately stems from one of the popular readings of the traditional Gospel narrative regarding the release of "Barabbas" ( son of the father). It appears that the author of Mark was engaging in some type of parable or inside joke by presenting both Jesus Christ, Son of the Father, and Barabbas, son of the father, as the two people that the Jews had to choose from. They chose to release the "son of the father", not the "Son of the Father". A popular reading of this however, recorded as early as the 2nd century, was that in fact Jesus was Barabbas, and that thus, in reality Jesus was released and someone else was crucified in his place. This developed its own line of legends, eventually forming the base of the Muslim belief about the non-crucifixion of Jesus.

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