First, don't rush out and buy this book.This is just another sad attempt to make money in the tradition of the DaVinci Code,and some others we have all heard about recently.This man, Michael Baigent,has written a thoroughly scurrilous book, claiming that Jesus Christ was not crucified,but that he and Pontious Pilot came up with a scheme to make him disappear,and in fact that there are documents that have surfaced now, that were supposedly written 45 years after the Crucifixion, by Jesus himself. That this man had the nerve to go on the Today show this morning, and bald-faced speak such lies from the pit of hell seemed to amaze even Matt Lauer.Matt asked him point blank, and you say your a Christian? Whereupon, Baigent came out with some plain and fancy footwork.See if you can follow this line of reasoning. He said, I speak from a Christian situation,I am deeply spiritual and even though I am a believer, I wanted to find out the truth for myself. I cannot take it just on faith.That's when I started researching, wanting to know more....HUH? He just called Jesus a fake,and then turns around and says he is a Christian,...and a believer.Well, if he is setting out to prove the Jesus was a fake, then How can he be a Christian? How can he be a believer, when he just said he can't take it on faith? Faith is the only way to be a believer! He goes on to say that Christ wasn't divine.It was all fake, we have no text, no roman records,no family papers, or inscriptions. Then, as part of his proof that the whole thing was staged, he points to a "station of the cross" painted on a wall in a French church, highlighting one tiny segment of the portrayal of the followers of Christ, taking his body into the tomb, and the sky is darkened,and there is a moon visible in the sky.This, Baigent says, is proof that the priest of that church knew of the "cover-up" and used this to indicate to his flock that the whole thing was a portrayal of the followers taking Jesus Body OUT of the tomb, since it was night time,and the Jewish Sabbath had already begun,and no Jew would be touching a dead body at that time.So, he says, Jesus had to be alive! Well, that is all very interesting.And, where it is true that no Jew would be touching a dead body on the Sabbath, this church was in France.None of the parishioners would have been even remotely aware of this tradition, because they were mostly illiterate,and the Catholic church has always discouraged the reading of the Bible even if they could read. THAT IS THE REASON THEY PAINTED THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS ON THE WALLS! So the Believers could go from one painting to the next, and follow along the whole story, in picture form, the sacrifice of Christ! The darkness was to indicate that the Lord God blocked out the sun, which he did, when Christ died. The Moon in the sky indicates that it is evening, not morning.And, even if this whole story was true, which it isn't, what the mythical priest knew or didn't know doesn't even enter into it.The Priest didn't do the paintings, Artists were sent to do them,just as artists were sent to do the stained glass windows, which served the same purpose.If, as this Michael person claims, the Priest had any ideas along those lines, he certainly would not have indicated to an outsider the " deep dark secret"! Priests are really good at keeping secrets,in case he hasn't noticed. This whole interview was so riddled with contradictions I am baffled as to why the Roman Catholic Priest, who was there via satellite to rebut this writers claims didn't just jump right down on all these points. But,he was young and attractive, so perhaps he was just too nervous to think on his feet,however, as a defender of the faith, he didn't really do a very good job. And finally,to confront this whole notion that "Jesus Papers" had been found, it's patently ridiculous. Jesus Christ spoke Aramaic. This is a spoken language, not written.As For Matthew, Mark, Luke,and John, they had to turn to Greek scribes to make their written testaments.If you remember correctly, the King James Bible states very clearly, that it was translated from the original GREEK and Hebrew. Paul, being alone on the Isle of Patmos was the only one that I know of, that could write his wonderful letters to the other churches.So, if Jesus was divine, as I believe he was and is, then yes, he could have written those letters, but no, he didn't because he was divine,and did not remain on this earth past the time his followers saw him assumed up into heaven. And, as for Michael Baigent's book, he may as well have printed it on Swiss cheese, because it is so full of holes.
But, we were warned that false Prophets would arise in the last days, so don't let it upset you, or lead you astray. It's just another sign of the times....
OUI?
Posted by: RC of strangeculture | April 07, 2006 at 02:58 PM