Part 12 (2/2)
* A virgin birth with an angel announcing it * Astrologers following a star * The heavens opening up, the Holy Spirit as a dove landing, and G.o.d's voice filling the air * Battling with the Devil * Changing water into wine * Calming a storm * Casting out demons into swine and causing the swine to drown themselves * Raising a dead girl * Instantly curing a 12-year hemorrhage through either touch or faith * Walking on water * Miraculously multiplying fish and loaves to feed mult.i.tudes * Using spit to cure a blind man * Transfiguring on the mount between Moses and Elijah * Raising a dead man * Destroying a fig tree by cursing it * Dead saints rising out of their graves and wandering around town * Jesus himself resurrecting from the dead * Angels appearing at Christ's empty tomb * Ascending physically into heaven As can be seen, there is plenty about the gospel tale that could be deemed ”fanciful.”
In a free society it is allowed that fundamentalist Christian preachers bring forth as fact that which cannot be conclusively proved and that which palpably stretches the credulity by bending natural laws and engaging in severe illogic, as well as adherence to repellant and disturbing notions. Unless such behavior const.i.tutes willful fraud, it is protected under the First Amendment of the American Const.i.tution, underscoring the freedom of speech so valued in civilized cultures. If, however, the educated elite know what is not true but present it as such in any event, are we not culpable of abusing the ignorance and gullibility of the innocents? Does such unethical behavior bode well for a society?
After discussing various churchmen who do not believe precisely as he does, in The Gospel and the Greeks conservative Christian scholar Ronald H. Nash writes: But how many serious blunders does a scholar have to make before his reputation is tarnished? If a scientist or even a historian made as many fanciful suggestions in his field that were as devoid of support as those of some of the theologians we have noticed, or if he begged as many crucial questions, his reputation would surely suffer. But sometimes in theology, it appears, the reverse often holds. I am not sure that this speaks well for theology and biblical studies as intellectual disciplines.1 Although Nash's criticisms are ostensibly aimed at individuals who do not believe in the received history of the gospels and the inerrancy of the Bible, after conducting a scientific investigation, we must ask the same of those who do believe the received history of the gospel story and inerrancy of the Bible.
Terror in the Name of G.o.d
Even if the gospel story were true, the whole premise remains grotesque and irrational: Why would G.o.d need to take birth on Earth as his own son in order to give his life gruesomely as a ransom to himself so that he could remove magically and mystically the sins of his own creatures, which he created so badly in the first place that he needed to fix them? As we have seen, there are a number of other disturbing characteristics and repulsive doctrines in the Bible that should not be ignored or explained away, as they have been over the centuries.
For example, because of the gospel story, early Church fathers such as Tertullian and Origen a.s.serted that Jesus's death at the hands of the Jews was the reason Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 ad/ce. This sentiment towards Jews as ”Christkillers,” along with the attendant excuse of ”punishment from G.o.d” for the catastrophes and persecutions suffered by Jews, has been pervasive throughout the history of Christianity, ill.u.s.trating the need for honest and intense examination of Christian beliefs. No ideology with so much blood on its hands should be dealt with lightly, with kids' gloves, excused for anything so atrocious as the torture and deaths of millions. We of conscience are rightfully revolted by the evil and bloodthirsty behavior of Cambodia's Pol Pot in mercilessly slaughtering millions of people. Yet, if we attach a G.o.d of any sort to this bloodthirstiness, it becomes something ”holy,” as in ”Holy Crusade,” ”Holy Jihad” or ”Holy War.” It is not a sane or healthy society that allows its hallowed spiritual inst.i.tutions and ideologies to be soaked in blood and gore. It is equally unsound for those individuals who survive these b.l.o.o.d.y campaigns that have killed their own ancestors to turn around and support their perpetrators by being active and obedient members of their organizations, especially when they are no longer compelled by force to do so.
As concerns the quote in the Second Epistle of Peter with the author proclaiming not to follow ”cleverly devised myths,” we reply that we think he doth protest too much! This opinion becomes especially true considering that only conservative Christians believe 2 Peter to have been written by the apostle himself, the apostolic authors.h.i.+p having been contested even in ancient times, with the epistle deemed pseudepigraphical along with so many other writings from that era. This fact means that, in representing himself as an ”eyewitness” to the events in the gospel story, the writer of 2 Peter is clearly being mendacious. Hence, his protest of not following ”cleverly devised myths” ranks as disingenuous and, in reality, indicative of the opposite: To wit, they were following myths-otherwise, why even bring it up?
To reiterate, this issue is not to be taken lightly, as the threat of the global destruction of civilization by religious fanatics looms larger by the day. The devisers of clever fables have, in fact, established a bizarre and dangerous fairytale that is setting up the entire world for a decimating holocaust, apocalypse and Armageddon the likes of which we have never seen before. With its constant portrayal of ”End Times” scenes of death and destruction, the fundamentalist Christian perception of reality, which incorporates the Muslim and Jewish paradigms as well, const.i.tutes a deleterious delusion that teaches a variety of doctrines incompatible with the love for life but repeatedly calling for a cosmic battle that ends all life. With its eschatological doctrines of the Second Coming, Rapture and End Times, the Christian myth is, in the final a.n.a.lysis, unsustainable.
Vacuous Christianity?
In studying the gospel scenario in a manner as realistic and scientific as possible, we must factor in the entire environment into which it was placed, including both Jewish and h.e.l.lenistic milieus. The supernatural genesis of Christianity in a pristine vacuum untouched by the outside world ranks as simply ludicrous and utterly unsupportable by the facts of either the time or of human nature. The drama depicted by the Christian tale, as played out many times in the media over the millennia, plainly did not unfold in the manner in which it is believed. In other words, upon close inspection we remain left with a tale riddled with suspicious holes, indicating it did not happen as depicted.
The fact is that, when all the evidence is weighed, it would seem irresponsible and unscientific merely to a.s.sume the gospel tale as historical, either in part or as a whole. If we are to treat with disdain the myths of other cultures that possess a variety of similar themes and motifs as Christianity, are we not being hypocritical and arrogant, as well as culturally biased, to hold up the patent myths of the Judeo-Christian culture as ”real” and ”true?” In such an environment of mult.i.tudinous miracles, myths and fairytales, the most logical and honest perspective would be to approach the gospel story as if it is not historical until evidence is presented otherwise. This present book does not delve extensively into the extremely important field of comparative mythology in order to demonstrate other likely influences on the gospel tale.1 Suffice it to say, however, that such material is highly germane to this subject. Regardless of how much we study the Bible, without placing the Christ story within its historical milieu, surrounded by the myths and traditions of other supernatural G.o.ds, sons of G.o.ds and legendary heroes, we will never know who Jesus really was.
Instead of a supernatural being from heaven, could Jesus actually be a fictional character created for political purposes? There is more than enough evidence to make such a suggestion, particularly in consideration of the Jewish environment of the time. The Jews were waiting-and agitating-for a messiah or messiahs, one peaceful and another warlike; yet, none powerful enough was forthcoming. Could it be that, as they had done in the past with certain biblical characters created for inspirational purposes, Jewish authorities took matters into their own hands in order to create a messiah of their own making? With the scriptures in front of them, as well as certain non-Jewish influences, it would be a simple matter of firstly cutting and pasting various ”messianic prophecies” and a.s.sorted other appropriate pericopes in order to compete with the G.o.ds and heroes of other cultures. The next decades would be spent in a concerted effort that eventually included powerful Gentile leaders to place this fictional and created savior into history.
In discussing the scholars.h.i.+p that suggests Jesus to be as mythical as Hercules and other G.o.ds, many have expressed surprise at such an a.s.sertion, with some suggesting that the Christ of the New Testament possesses a personality ”too definite and too coherent to be regarded as unreal.”1 This contention const.i.tutes a logical fallacy, however, as the same argument could be applied to many mythical and literary figures, including Zeus, Gulliver, Tom Sawyer and Harry Potter, to name but a few.
It is because there appears to be so little honest admission-as well as, often, civil response-that many people feel put off and antagonistic toward biblical stories and doctrines. Instead of saying, ”Well now, you're right-that doesn't sound too good,” the rejoinder is all too often to attack the person making the observation. Judging by its ”fruits,” it seems to many people that Christianity teaches disrespect of human beings, such that its defenders feel they can personally attack those not convinced of the faith, addressing them with little respect and making offensive comments and insults. Among others, the Christian teaching that people are ”born in sin” appears to make fervent believers hostile towards others. Other scriptures calling for the deaths and/or torture of ”evildoers,” as well as remarks concerning ”anti-Christs” as at 1 John 4:3 or the condemnation of non-believers at Mark 16:16-categories consisting of people who do not believe in Jesus-have contributed to an atmosphere of hatred and prejudice against individuals who may be moral and ethical but who simply cannot believe in something that may in fact be spurious and thus go against their morality.
With so much of our global social structure based on holy writ of some sort or another, it is imperative that we examine thoroughly our sacred cows and not s.h.i.+rk from exposing them to the bright sunlight. In consideration of the current political climate, which includes an ardent movement to ”fulfill prophecy” by bringing about Armageddon and all of the attendant ”End Times” tribulations and horrors, the issue of who Jesus was is not to be taken lightly. We should not blindly follow mummified traditions and ancient texts that could very well prove to be misleading, misinterpreted and mythical. Leading our lives and creating-or destroying-our futures based on such texts is perilous and irresponsible. It is paramount, therefore, that we consider the possibility that, rather than being the omnipotent Son of G.o.d, Jesus Christ is a manmade, literary character devised for a variety of purposes that no longer serve the greater good of humanity.
Bibliography
”A Harmonized Chronology of the Resurrection,” /bible/harmony/resharmonyhandout.pdf ”An Unpublished Fragment of the Fourth Gospel,” John Rylands University Library of Manchester,
rylibweb.man.ac.uk/data1/dg/text/fragment.htm
”Christian Authors Database: Bible Reference Authors,”
faith.propadeutic.com/authors/bibleref.html
”Dominus Flevit-the site where 'The Lord Wept,'”
198.62.75.1//restricted/reflections/messiah/sources.html
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