Just started reading The Passover Plot. Extremely interesting, it puts forth the idea that Jesus thought he was the messiah in the Jewish sense, never meant to start a religion, and went to great lengths, like many others in his time, to convince others that he was the messiah. And the other big idea is this: you know how we always hear about the coming of the messiah which will establish the kingdom of god on earth. Evangelicals, etc. take that to mean some time in the future. In fact this is exactly what Jesus and other Jews at the time believed AND most importantly that THEY themselves were living in the time of the so-called second coming. And several Jewish preachers, including Jesus, based on what they knew from their own bible (the old testament - i.e. the jewish bible) thought they matched the characteristics of the prophesied messiah.
Just started reading The Passover Plot. Extremely interesting, it puts forth the idea that Jesus thought he was the messiah in the Jewish sense, never meant to start a religion, and went to great lengths, like many others in his time, to convince others that he was the messiah. And the other big idea is this: you know how we always hear about the coming of the messiah which will establish the kingdom of god on earth. Evangelicals, etc. take that to mean some time in the future. In fact this is exactly what Jesus and other Jews at the time believed AND most importantly that THEY themselves were living in the time of the so-called second coming. And several Jewish preachers, including Jesus, based on what they knew from their own bible (the old testament - i.e. the jewish bible) thought they matched the characteristics of the prophesied messiah.I read that years ago. Yes, it's fascinating. You should have seen the biblie thumpers come out of the woodwork trying to challenge the author on his knowledge and understanding of the bible. He beat them every time. They would usually preface their remarks with something like, "Yeah? Well what about this!" At one time someone got up and started quoting a biblical passage (as if Schonfield, who was a gentlemanly scholar, had never heard of it). He quietly said, "Yes, I'' familiar with the passage," and rattled it off verbatim then destroyed the questioner's challenge. I hate to even think how long ago that was. LL
Wow that must have been something. I’m just getting into it and the thing to me that makes it so powerful is that piece by piece, it just makes so much sense. It’s like having a veil lifted.
I read that years ago. Yes, it's fascinating. You should have seen the biblie thumpers come out of the woodwork trying to challenge the author on his knowledge and understanding of the bible. He beat them every time. They would usually preface their remarks with something like, "Yeah? Well what about this!" At one time someone got up and started quoting a biblical passage (as if Schonfield, who was a gentlemanly scholar, had never heard of it). He quietly said, "Yes, I'' familiar with the passage," and rattled it off verbatim then destroyed the questioner's challenge. I hate to even think how long ago that was. LLLois, your in person knowledge of this bible literal interpretations and related debates is impressive. Since I'm impressed with this and some of the other links you've sent, I ask: What is the most effective presentation you've experienced or know of that is simple, comprehensive and factually verifiable regarding the nature of the Biblical writings and its subsequent messengers: paul and other "apostles". I don't know about the most effective presentation, but I can suggest anything by Bart Ehrman. Back when, I was particularly impressed by Bertrand Russell's writings. Secular books on the history of the bible are a good choice. Here's a website you might look into. http://www.christianitydisproved.com/books.html Also, is your spelling biblie (bib-lie) in "biblie thrumpers" on purpose or a misspelling indicating a belief...or be-lie-ing a belief? :) Thank you Ha, you caught me! No, those were just mindless typos. I hadn't even noticed them. I'm a fairly good typist on a regular keyboard but the iPad hunt and peck keyboard often defeats me. And, of course, I usually don't see the errors until after I've hit "send". Even though I spent many years as a professional editor, I can see everyone else's mistakes but seldom my own--a condition common among editors.