Re: Jesus, the Prequel - Evolution of a Myth


"*Hemidactylus*" <ecphoric@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2e773497-0cbd-4606-8f6a-5ce5a89c2a33@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Jul 9, 6:03 pm, Vend <ven...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 9 Lug, 22:24, Jeffrey Turner <jtur...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:






http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/world/middleeast/06stone.html?ex=12...

Ancient Tablet Ignites Debate on Messiah and Resurrection
By ETHAN BRONNER
Published: July 6, 2008

JERUSALEM ? A three-foot-tall tablet with 87 lines of Hebrew that
scholars believe dates from the decades just before the birth of Jesus
is causing a quiet stir in biblical and archaeological circles,
especially because it may speak of a messiah who will rise from the
dead
after three days.

If such a messianic description really is there, it will contribute to
a
developing re-evaluation of both popular and scholarly views of Jesus,
since it suggests that the story of his death and resurrection was not
unique but part of a recognized Jewish tradition at the time.

The tablet, probably found near the Dead Sea in Jordan according to
some
scholars who have studied it, is a rare example of a stone with ink
writings from that era ? in essence, a Dead Sea Scroll on stone.

It is written, not engraved, across two neat columns, similar to
columns
in a Torah. But the stone is broken, and some of the text is faded,
meaning that much of what it says is open to debate.

Still, its authenticity has so far faced no challenge, so its role in
helping to understand the roots of Christianity in the devastating
political crisis faced by the Jews of the time seems likely to
increase.

Daniel Boyarin, a professor of Talmudic culture at the University of
California at Berkeley, said that the stone was part of a growing body
of evidence suggesting that Jesus could be best understood through a
close reading of the Jewish history of his day.

?Some Christians will find it shocking ? a challenge to the uniqueness
of their theology ? while others will be comforted by the idea of it
being a traditional part of Judaism,? Mr. Boyarin said.

Given the highly charged atmosphere surrounding all Jesus-era
artifacts
and writings, both in the general public and in the fractured and
fiercely competitive scholarly community, as well as the concern over
forgery and charlatanism, it will probably be some time before the
tablet?s contribution is fully assessed. It has been around 60 years
since the Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered, and they continue to
generate
enormous controversy regarding their authors and meaning. Cont'd

Death and rebirth man-gods existed in all cultures. It wouldn't be
particularly shocking to find one in the first century Jewish culture.

Especially after a sojourn in Babylon where they were eventually
acquainted with Persian benefactors and Zarathustra.


IIRC, lots of stone tables have been 'found'. They were all made by an
Egyptian working for a Jewish(?) collector. He was well known for making
sensational discoveries of stone tablets. Don't kmnow if this is just
another one of those, though. But the myth - it dates back at least to the
Osiris myth, about 5k years back in time.


.

Relevant Pages