torquemada

Probably the most exciting book I have perhaps ever read is Robert Eisler's Basileus ou Basileusas, The Messiah Jesus and John the Baptist. It was written in 1929 and is hard to find. It essentially restores the lost contributions of Josephus about Jesus and the early Christians. It gives us a different Jesus, a different John the Baptist, and a church which has resorted to censorship and the burning of books (as well as people) to conceal the truth. Eisler shows that the Christian churches do not know the real Jesus and do not want to know him. No surprise. His followers were nationalistic terrorists vs. the Romans. Jesus may not have intended war but he did accept the acclamations of the crowds that he was the Jewish king. The Romans killed him for that and God did not save him as he expected. God always disappoints, doesn't he?

Roger Pearse

A very Soviet-sounding legend, eh, very redolent of the 1930's. Doesn't that sound a warning note, if you're even a bit sceptical?

These sorts of fake 'real Jesus' stories are ten a penny, and always reflect the historical period in which they are composed. Be sceptical.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Spanky

I think when it comes to ANYTHING with this Jesus in it one should be skeptical. ANYTHING.

torquemada

Robert Eisler was a distinguished scholar and his theories have not successfully been refuted.

Roger Pearse

You have, no doubt, read all of the scholarly literature published on the topic since before making this confident pronouncement? {hint}

All the best,

Roger Pearse

torquemada

Roger Pearse, you're a ball breaker.

Zeichman

Hey, I was thinking the other day, it might be a neat idea to have a list of various reconstructions of the Testimoniums as a compliment to Peter Kirby's Josephus thing. Would people be interested in working on something like that? I don't have access to the books that I did before, but I think it's be a great resource.

Toto

I didn't think that there were that many different reconstructions of the TF. The controversy is over whether it can be reconstructed at all.

Eisler's reconstruction is here. AFAIK it is the only reconstruction that differs from the one most accepted, that has Jesus as a wise man who did wondrous deeds and was crucified under Pilate, whose followers still remember him to this day.

aa5874

And at least one of these fakes is in the NT.

Ecrasez L'infame

Here's another site with Eisler's version in parallel with the usual versions.

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topi.../josephus.html

If (as everyone admits) the TF has been mucked about with by later Christians, it does strike me as more likely that they'd have cut stuff out rather than adding it. And given that the original (if it was Josephus at all) would have been anti-Jesus, Eisler's reconstruction seems superficially plausible. Totally lacking in any evidence, of course, but then again how is that different from everybody else?

Robert