De Kretser relies on Barbara Thiering for "The Story of Jesus" but is challenged by Anonymous who says he relies on "reliable methods". THE STORY OF JESUS CHRIST
Brian de Kretser (Investigator 147, 2012 November) The belief that Jesus died on the cross is a fiction. He survived together with the two who were crucified with him — Simon Magus and Judas. This information is to be found in the books written by Barbara Thiering— • Jesus of the ApocalypseAccording to Thiering— • J.C. was born on 1st March BC 7Not bad for a man who was supposed to have died on the cross on 20th March AD 33! J.C.'s
actual father is
said to be a Roman archer named Tiberius Julius Abdes Panthera who was
nicknamed "The Panther". J.C. was often referred to as Ben Panthera
("Ben" meaning "son of"). Joseph had nothing to do with it,
neither did God.
Brian de Kretser Darwin, N.T. WHERE IS THE STORY OF JESUS?
(Investigator 148, 2013 January) Anonymous Mr De Kretser in #147 quotes Sydney theologian Barbara Thiering on Jesus' marriage, births of his children, and his activities decades after his crucifixion. The upshot of Thiering's method is that the Gospels, when read literally, are largely wrong. Thiering
and her book Jesus
The Man (1992) — in which she finds hidden meaning in the Dead Sea
Scrolls — were reported in South Australia's Sunday Mail as follows:
"Barbara Thiering…said the virgin birth was a myth and Jesus survived the crucifixion and went on to marry former prostitute Mary Magdalene and father three children a girl and two boys… Note that there
are no
historical records supporting Thiering's claims — her claims are based
on alleged "second meaning, hidden below the words." Her subsequent
book Jesus of the Apocalypse (1995), likewise, rewrites the
book of Revelation to expose alleged hidden meanings that no-one's ever
seen before.
The problem is that by postulating hidden meanings we can make anything mean anything. The
Bible Code
(2010) by Michel Drosnin, for example, finds a detailed description of
the "war on terror" hidden in the Hebrew lettering of the Bible!
President Obama is allegedly named in the Bible, "Raven Rock" his
bunker is also named, as well as other prominent people, terrorists,
Scud missiles, nuclear terrorism, al Qaeda, and many specific dates and
terror events foretold.
MR WILLIAMS
Back in Investigator 71 (March 2000) in my article The Bible: Tested, True, Triumphant I replied to John H Williams who had backed Thiering: Mr Williams cites the theologian Barbara Thiering. Refuting the latest critics is a specialized job often needing detailed knowledge of ancient languages, culture, literary customs, laws, etc. I don't do that. I'mWilliams in #72 responded: …he predictably used a gross put-down by someone called Gwynne-Seary, writing in the Fortean Times (1996), to dismiss decades of fine scholarship and research as "a bad joke". Obviously, because someone writes in a rather suspect journal criticising Ms T does not invalidate some or many of her ideas. Naturally, one asks, ‘who is this Gwynne-Seary, what's his belief system, what kind of axe is he grinding? I recommend her books to Investigator readers as an antidote to the gospel stories… John Williams in
(#125)
changed his mind about Thiering and wrote: "I'm not invested in the
Yesu'a ben Panthera story, nor was I in presenting Barbara Thiering's
pesher theory, and offered it for comment and debate. I find it a
useful and ‘therapeutic' alternative to the supernatural version, about
which every Christian child is conditioned…"
"MY WIFE…"
Until
2012 there was not
a scrap of historical evidence indicating Jesus was married. The Da
Vinci Code (2003) by Dan Brown which has Jesus married to Mary
Magdalene is historical fiction based on speculation and imagination.
Then in September 2012 Karen L King of Harvard made public a 4th century Coptic manuscript-fragment which quotes Jesus as saying "My wife…" The
fragment has 33 words
in 14 incomplete rows. King thinks there was a 2nd century original in
Greek which was translated into Coptic two centuries later. She makes
no claims about it being biography and says it "does not provide
evidence that the historical Jesus was married." (Erin McLaughlin—ABC
News September 18, 2012)
The rest
of the sentence
after "My wife…" is missing. Since we're left guessing the sentence
might have continued figuratively with "is everyone who follows me."
This would be similar to: "For whoever does the will of my Father in
heaven is my brother, and sister and mother." (Matthew 12:46-50)
But even if "My wife…" is literal the fragment is simply too late a document to challenge the traditional view that Jesus died single. The Gospels nowhere hint at Jesus being married despite marriage being the common, acceptable and expected role for Jewish males. RELY ON RELIABLE
METHODS
Numerous
theologians,
both amateur and professional, have in recent centuries presented
theories, some weird and wrong (like Jesus being a hallucinogenic
mushroom) and some more plausible but also dismissed. Barbara
Thiering's theology has likewise not gained respectability.
The situation is what the Bible warned about: "We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming." (Ephesians 4:14) The investigative
methods
that survive and prove ever more of the Bible reliable are the obvious
ones — historical documentation, archaeological discoveries, and
scientific tests.
These confirm that the real story of Jesus is in the Bible and in its words — not "hidden below the words". |