Information AboutJesus Christ |
|
Jesus (8-2 ''', is the central figure of Christianity . In this context, he is known as '''Jesus Christ ''', where Christ is a Greek title meaning "Anointed", corresponding to the Hebrew term " Messiah ". The main sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the ; John Mackinnon Robertson ; G.A. Wells . The Jesus Legend , Chicago: Open Court, 1996, p xii. Christian views of Jesus (known as Christology ) are both diverse and complex. Most Christians are Trinitarian and believe that Jesus is both the Son Of God and God made Incarnate , sent to provide Salvation and reconciliation with God by Atoning for the Sins of humanity. Nontrinitarian Christians adopt various other interpretations of Jesus' divinity. Most Christians believe that Jesus was Born Of A Virgin , Crucified and buried in a tomb, , , , Resurrected on the third day of death, and Ascended into Heaven where he resides with God The Father until the Second Coming . Most Christians also believe that Jesus Performed Miracles and fulfilled Biblical Prophecy . In Islam , Jesus (called '' Isa '') is considered one of God's most beloved and important Prophets , a bringer of divine scripture, and also the Messiah . He is not the son of God but he is a prophet. Muslims, however, do not share the Christian belief in the crucifixion or Divinity Of Jesus . Islam teaches that Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the earth as Messiah in the company of the Mahdi once the earth has become full of sin and injustice. Muslims believe God created Jesus without a father just as he created Adam without either parent. Jesus is referred to in the holy Qur'an as Jesus son of Mary . CHRONOLOGY See Also: Chronology of Jesus The most detailed accounts of Jesus' birth are contained in the Gospel Of Matthew (probably written between 65 and 85 AD/CE) and the Gospel Of Luke (probably written between 65 and 100 AD/CE). The Gospels of the Bible , BibleGateway.com There is considerable debate about the details of Jesus' birth even among Christian scholars, and few scholars claim to know either the year or the date of his birth or of his death. Based on the accounts in the Gospels of the shepherds' activities, the time of year depicted for Jesus' birth could be spring or summer. However, as early as 354, according to Origen, Roman Christians celebrated it following the December Solstice in an attempt to replace the Roman festival of Saturnalia (or more specifically, Sol Invictus ). Before then, Jesus' birth was generally celebrated on January 6 as part of the feast of Theophany , also known as Epiphany , which commemorated not only Jesus' birth but also his Baptism by John in the Jordan River and possibly additional events in Jesus' life. The traditional date of Jesus' birth is celebrated as Christmas . In the 248th year of the '' (which translates as "in the year of our Lord "). This system made the then current year 532, and almost two centuries later it won acceptance and became the established calendar in Western civilization due to its championing by the Venerable Bede . However, based on a Lunar Eclipse that Josephus reports shortly before the death of Herod The Great (who plays a major role in Matthew's account), as well as a more accurate understanding of the succession of Roman Emperors, Jesus' birth would have been some time before the year 4 BC/BCE. Having fewer sources and being further removed in time from the authors of the New Testament , establishing a reliable birth date now is particularly difficult. The exact date of Jesus' death is also unclear. The Gospel Of John depicts the crucifixion just before the Passover festival on Friday 14 Nisan , called the Quartodeciman , whereas the Synoptic Gospels (except for ) describe the Last Supper , immediately before Jesus' arrest, as the Passover meal on Friday 15 Nisan. Further, the Jews followed a Lunisolar Calendar with phases of the moon as dates, complicating calculations of any exact date in a solar calendar. According to John P. Meier 's ''A Marginal Jew'', allowing for the time of the Procuratorship of Pontius Pilate and the dates of the Passover in those years, his death can be placed most probably on April 7 , 30 AD/CE or April 3 , 33 AD/CE.Meier, p.1:402 LIFE AND TEACHINGS BASED ON THE GOSPELS See Also: New Testament view on Jesus' life Genealogy and family The Gospels give two accounts of Jesus' genealogy through his legal father Joseph , (; ). Both accounts trace his line back to King David and from there to Abraham . These lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ between David and Joseph. Matthew starts with Solomon and proceeds through the kings of Judah to the last king, Jeconiah . After Jeconiah, the line of kings terminated when Babylon Conquered Judah . Thus, Matthew shows that Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of Israel. Luke's genealogy is longer than Matthew's; it goes back to Adam and provides more names between David and Jesus. Joseph appears only in descriptions of Jesus' childhood. With Jesus commending Mary into the care of the also describes James The Just as "the relative of Jesus who is called Christ," though this passage has been suggested as an interpolation (See Josephus On Jesus ). The Gospel of Luke records that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, mother of John The Baptist (), though the exact relationship is unspecified. Nativity and childhood ]] According to Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea to Mary , a Virgin , by a Miracle of the Holy Spirit . The Gospel Of Luke gives an account of the Angel Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her that she was chosen to bear the Son Of God (). Catholics call this event the Annunciation . According to Luke, an order of Caesar Augustus forced Mary and Joseph to leave their homes in Nazareth and come to the home of Joseph's ancestors, the house of David , for a Census . After Jesus' birth, the couple had to use a Manger for a crib because there was no room for them in the town's Inn or family guest room (depending on which translation from Greek is used) (; "inn" may be "guest room", see ). According to , an Angel spread the word of Jesus' birth to sheperds who came to see the newborn child and subsequently publicized what they had witnessed throughout the area (see The First Noël .) also tells of the " Three Wise Men " or " Magi " who brought gifts to the infant Jesus after following a star which they believed was a sign that the Messiah , or King Of The Jews , had been born. Jesus' childhood home is represented as Nazareth in Galilee , and aside from a Flight To Egypt in infancy to escape Herod's Massacre Of The Innocents () and a short trip to Tyre and Sidon (; ), all other events in the Gospels are set in Ancient Israel . Luke's Finding In The Temple () is the only event between Jesus' infancy and adult life mentioned in any of the canonical Gospels, although New Testament Apocrypha fill in the details of this time, some quite extensively. Baptism and temptation 's ''The Temptation of Christ'']] The Gospel Of Mark begins with the Baptism Of Jesus by John The Baptist , which Biblical scholars describe as the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. According to Mark, Jesus came to the Jordan River where John the Baptist had been preaching and baptizing people in the crowd. After Jesus had been baptized and rose from the water, Mark states Jesus "saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased'" (). Luke adds the chronological details that John the Baptist had begun preaching in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar , c. 28 AD/CE () and that Jesus was about thirty years old when he was baptized (). Matthew differs from the other accounts by describing an attempt by John to decline the baptism, saying that it is Jesus who should baptize John. Jesus insisted however, claiming that baptism was necessary to "fulfill all righteousness" (). Following his baptism, according to , Jesus was lead into the desert by God where he Fasted for forty days and forty nights. It was there that he was Tempted By Satan . In all, he was tempted three times. Each temptation was rejected by Jesus with scripture from the book of Deuteronomy . Following the Temptation, Jesus called his first disciples (). Ministry , 1449 .]] The Gospels state that Jesus is the Messiah , ; Mark ; Luke ; John ; and the Son Of God ,; sent to "give his life as a ransom for many" and "preach the good news of the kingdom of God." (, ). The Gospels also state that Jesus performed various Miracles , including healings, Exorcism s, Walking On Water , Turning Water Into Wine , and raising several people, such as Lazarus , from the dead (). The Gospel of John describes three different ). Jesus led what many believe to have been an Apocalyptic following. Some of Jesus' most famous teachings come from the Sermon On The Mount (), which contained the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer . During his sermons, he preached against anger, lust, divorce, oaths and revenge. Some aspects of Jesus' teachings were traditional, but other aspects were untraditional. He advocated and adhered to the Law Of Moses (; ). According to , Jesus stated, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." However, Jesus also Expounded On Mosiac Law and taught a "new command." (; ) Jesus advocated, among other things, Turning The Other Cheek , love for one's enemies as well as friends, and the need to follow the spirit of the law rather than merely the letter (). Jesus often used Parables , such as the Prodigal Son (), and the Parable Of The Sower (). His teachings centered around unconditional self-sacrificing God-like Love for God and for all people (). He also preached about service and humility, the forgiveness of sin, pacifism, faith, and attaining everlasting life in " The Kingdom Of God ." Jesus also debated with other religious leaders. He disagreed with the Sadducees because they did not believe in the Resurrection Of The Dead (). The relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees is more complex. Although Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their hypocrisy (), he also dined with Pharisees (), taught in their Synagogues (), specified their teachings to his followers (), and counted Pharisees such as Nicodemus among his disciples (). Jesus often met with society's outcasts, such as the Publicani (Imperial tax collectors who were despised for extorting money), including the apostle Matthew ; when the Pharisees objected to meeting with sinners rather than the righteous, Jesus replied that it was the sick who need a physician, not the healthy (). According to Luke and John, Jesus also made efforts to extend his ministry to the Samaritans , who followed A Different Form of the Israelite religion. This is reflected in his preaching to the Samaritans of Sychar , resulting in their conversion (). All four Gospels record Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem at the end of his ministry. This was during the Passover Feast (15 Nisan in the Spring) according to . The Hosanna shout and the waving of palm fronds were ordinarily part of the feast of Sukkoth (15 Tishri or Fall), but appear to have been moved by the followers of Jesus to Passover, perhaps because of their Messianic associations. Arrest, trial, and execution depiction of Pontius Pilate presenting a Scourge d Jesus of Nazareth to the people of Jerusalem]] According to the Gospels, Jesus created a disturbance at Herod's Temple by Overturning The Tables Of The Moneychangers (). Later that week, he enjoyed a Meal , possibly the Passover Seder , with his disciples before going to pray in the Garden Of Gethsemane . While in the garden, he was arrested on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas , for Blasphemy , because he claimed to be the Messiah () and because, the Jews believed, he had made himself to be God (). Judas Iscariot , one of his apostles, betrayed Jesus by identifying him to the guards with a kiss. Another apostle (identified as Simon Peter in ) used a sword to attack one of the captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus immediately healed (). Jesus rebuked Peter, stating "all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."() After his arrest, Jesus' apostles went into hiding. Jesus was condemned for blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and turned over to the Romans , charged with Sedition for claiming to be King of the Jews (; ). as portrayed by Diego Velázquez ]] The usual penalty for sedition was a humiliating death by Crucifixion . Galilee and Perea had been under indirect Roman rule under the Tetrachy of Herod Antipas following the death of Herod The Great , while Judea, Samaria and Idumea had been under direct Roman rule as the Province Of Iudaea since 6 AD/CE. According to the Gospels, Pontius Pilate , the Roman governor from 26–36 AD/CE, personally felt that Jesus was not guilty of any crime against the Romans. According to the Gospel of Luke, upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sent Jesus to Antipas, who mocked Jesus before returning him to Pilate (). Luke records that Pilate and Antipas had been enemies, but became friends after this. Antipas's involvement is not mentioned in any of the other gospels. Pilate first had Jesus Flogged , and then, remembering that it was a custom at Passover for the Roman governor to free a prisoner (a custom not recorded outside the Gospels), offered the crowd a choice between Jesus of Nazareth and an insurrectionist named Barabbas . The crowd chose to have Barabbas freed and Jesus crucified. Pilate washed his hands to display that he himself was innocent of the injustice of the decision. All four Gospels say Pilate then ordered Jesus to be crucified with a charge placed atop the cross (called the ''titulus crucis'') which read "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." (The titulus crucis is often written as INRI , the Latin acronym.) According to and his last words were "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (taken from ); according to , "It is finished"; and according to , "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." While it was common practice to let a body hang upon the cross for days and decay,Joe Zias, "Crucifixion in Antiquity: The Anthropological Evidence" , accessed March 14, 2006. Joseph Of Arimathea and Nicodemus were allowed to take his body down and place it in a tomb (). Resurrection and Ascension painting of the Resurrection Of Jesus by Matthias Grünewald .]] According to the Gospels, Jesus was Raised From The Dead on the third day after his Crucifixion .; ; ; ; ; The Gospel of Matthew states that an angel appeared near the tomb of Jesus and announced his resurrection to the women who had arrived to Anoint the body. According to Luke it was two angels, and according to Mark it was a youth dressed in white. The sight of this angel had apparently left the Roman guards unconscious (). (According to , the high priests and Pharisees, with Pilate's permission, had posted guards in front of the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen by Jesus' disciples.) states that on the morning of his resurrection, Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene . states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognize Jesus until he spoke her name. The Acts Of The Apostles tell that Jesus appeared to various people in various places over the next forty days. Hours after his resurrection, he appeared to two travellers on the road to Emmaus . To his assembled disciples he showed himself on the evening after his resurrection. According to , during one of these visits, Jesus' disciple Thomas initially doubted the resurrection, but after being invited to place his finger in Jesus' pierced side, said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Thereafter, Jesus went to Galilee and showed himself to several of his disciples by the lake and on the mountain. These disciples were present when he returned to Mount Olivet , between Bethany and Jerusalem . Although his own ministry had been specifically to Israel, Jesus sent his apostles to the Gentiles with the Great Commission and Ascended to heaven while a cloud concealed him from their sight.; According to Acts, Paul Of Tarsus also saw Jesus during his Road To Damascus experience (). Jesus promises to Come Again to fulfill the remainder of Messianic Prophecy . HISTORICITY Greek Image Of Jesus is one of many in which a Sun Cross Halo is used. Such depictions are characteristic of Eastern Orthodox Iconography .]] Name The name "Jesus" is an English transliteration of the Latin (Iēsus) which in turn comes from the Greek name (Ἰησοῦς). Since most scholars hold that Jesus was an Aramaic-speaking Jew living in Galilee around 30CE, it is highly improbable that he had a Greek personal name. Further examination of the Septuagint finds that the Greek, in turn, is a transliteration of the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושוע) or the shortened Hebrew/ Aramaic Yeshua or Jeshua (ישוע). As a result, scholars believe that one of these was most likely the name that Jesus was known by during his lifetime by his peers.Durant, Will. ''Caesar and Christ''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944. p. 558; John P. Meier, ''A Marginal Jew''. New York: Doubleday, 1991 vol. 1:205-7; Historical reconstructions of Jesus' life Most scholars agree the Gospels were written shortly before or after the destruction of The Jewish Temple by the Romans. According to most critical historians, Jesus probably lived in Galilee for most of his life and he probably spoke Aramaic and Hebrew . Many have sought to reconstruct Jesus' life in terms of contemporaneous political, cultural, and religious currents in Israel, including differences between Galilee and Judea; between different sects such the Pharisees , Sadducees , Essenes and Zealots ;For a comparison of the Jesus movement to the Zealots, see S.G.F Brandon, ''Jesus and the Zealots: a study of the political factor in primitive Christianity,'' Manchester University Press (1967) ISBN 0684310104 and in terms of conflicts among Jews in the context of Roman occupation. The Gospels record that Jesus was a . This is distinct from an earlier commission Jesus gave to the Twelve Apostles , limited to "the lost sheep of Israel" and not including the Gentiles or Samaritans (). Examining the New Testament account of Jesus in light of historical knowledge about the time when Jesus was purported to live, as well as historical knowledge about the time during which the New Testament was written, has led several scholars to reinterpret many elements of the New Testament accounts. Of special interest has been , an account of a holy person regarded as representing a moral and divine ideal. Hagiography has a principal aim of the glorification of the religion itself and of the example set by the perfect holy person represented as its central focus. Historicity of the texts See Also: Historicity of Jesus Most modern Biblical scholars hold that the works describing Jesus were initially communicated by Gospel s. These texts, being part of the Biblical Canon , have received much more analysis and acceptance from Christian sources than other possible sources for information on Jesus. Many other early Christian texts have surfaced detailing events in Jesus' life and teachings, though they were not included when The Bible Was Canonised due to a belief that they were pseudopigraphical, not inspired, or written too long after his death, while others were suppressed because they contradicted what had become the Christian Orthodoxy . It took several centuries before the list of what was and wasn't part of the Bible became finally fixed, and for much of the early period the Book Of Revelation was not included while works like The Shepherd Of Hermas were. The books that didn't make it into the final list have since become known as the New Testament Apocrypha , and the chief amongst them, heavily suppressed by the Church as heresy and only rediscovered in the 20th Century, is the '' Gospel Of Thomas '', a collection of '' Logia '' - phrases and sayings attributed to Jesus without a narrative framework. Other important apocryphal works that had a heavy influence in forming traditional Christian beliefs include the Apocalypse Of Peter , Protevangelium Of James , Infancy Gospel Of Thomas , and Acts Of Peter . A number of Christian traditions (such as Veronica's Veil and the Assumption Of Mary ) are found not in the canonical gospels but in these and other apocryphal works. Possible earlier texts Some texts with even earlier historical or mythological information on Jesus are speculated to have existed prior to the Gospels, Henry Bettenson , Chris Maunder , ''Documents of the Christian Church'' (3rd edition), Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0192880713 though none have been found. Based on the unusual similarities and differences (see Synoptic Problem ) between the Synoptic Gospels — Matthew , Mark and Luke , the first three canonical gospels — many Biblical scholars have suggested that Oral Tradition and Logia (such as the Gospel Of Thomas and the theoretical Q Document ) probably played a strong role in initially passing down stories of Jesus, and may have inspired some of the Synoptic Gospels. Specifically, many scholars believe that the Q document and the Gospel of Mark were the Two Sources used for the gospels of Matthew and Luke; however, other theories, such as the older Augustinian Hypothesis , continue to hold sway with some Biblical scholars. Another theoretical document is the Signs Gospel , believed to have been a source for the Gospel Of John . Daniel Gaztambide , "So Sayeth The Lord... According to Who?" , AramaicNT.org, accessed March 14, 2006. There is little consensus concerning how and when any of these documents were circulated, if they existed at all. There are also early noncanonical gospels which may predate the canonical Gospels. Among these are the Unknown Berlin Gospel , the Oxyrhynchus Gospels , the Egerton Gospel , the Fayyum Fragment , the Dialogue Of The Saviour , the Gospel Of The Ebionites , the Gospel Of The Hebrews , and the Gospel Of The Nazarenes . While the earliest surviving manuscripts and fragments of these texts are dated later than the earliest surviving manuscripts and fragments of the canonical Gospels, they are probably copies of earlier manuscripts whose precise dates are unknown. Questions of reliability As a result of the several-decade time gap between the writing of the Gospels and the events they describe, the accuracy of all early texts claiming the existence of Jesus or details of Jesus' life have been disputed by various parties. However, most scholars accept many details of the Gospel narratives. view of history generally do not believe in divine intervention or Miracles , such as the resurrection of Jesus mentioned by the Gospels. One method used to estimate the factual accuracy of stories in the gospels is known as the " Criterion Of Embarrassment ", which holds that stories about events with embarrassing aspects (such as the denial of Jesus by Peter , or the fleeing of Jesus' followers after his arrest) would likely not have been included if those accounts were fictional. External influences on gospel development See Also: Historicity of Jesus Historical Jesus Jesus-Myth portraying Jesus as the mythical Sol Invictus ]] Many scholars, such as , ''Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels'', Scribner, 1995 p. 199. ISBN 0684818671 However, some scholars believe that the gospel accounts of Jesus have little or no historical basis. At least in part, this is because they see many similarities between stories about Jesus and older myths of Pagan godmen such as Mithras , Apollo , Attis , Horus and Osiris-Dionysus , leading to conjectures that the pagan myths were adopted by some authors of early accounts of Jesus to form a Syncretism with Christianity. A small minority, such as Earl Doherty , carry this further and propose that the gospels are actually a reworking of the older myths and Not Based On A Historical Figure .While these connections are disputed by many, it is nevertheless true that many elements of Jesus' story as told in the Gospels have parallels in pagan mythology, where miracles such as Virgin Birth were well-known. Some Christian authors, such as C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien , account for this with the belief that such myths were created by ancient pagans with vague and imprecise Foreknowledge of the Gospels. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVES See Also: Religious perspectives on Jesus Jesus has an important role in two and Islam . Most other religions, however, do not consider Jesus to have been a supernatural or holy being. Some of these religions, like Buddhism , do not take any official stance on Jesus' life. Judaism rejects claims of his divinity and of his being the Mashiach . Christian views See Also: Christian views of Jesus - Domenikos Theotokopoulos, 1580]] The nature of Jesus is the central issue of Christology . The theological concept of Jesus as Christ was refined by a series of seven Ecumenical Council s between 325 and 787 AD/CE. While most Christians believe that the councils were guided by the Bible and the Holy Spirit , some Christians question one or more of the councils. Restorationists reject all the councils and seek to restore what they believe was the original Christian faith. Different Christians also have different interpretations of Jesus' family members mentioned in and . believe that these family members were the biological children of Mary and Joseph. Trinitarian views Most Christians believe that Jesus is . However, Oriental Orthodoxy professes a Miaphysite interpretation, while the Assyrian Church Of The East professes a form of Nestorianism . Paul Of Tarsus wrote that just as sin entered the world through Adam (known as The Fall Of Man ), so salvation from sin comes through Jesus, the second Adam (; ). Most Christians believe that Jesus' death and resurrection provide salvation not only from personal sin, but from the condition of sin itself. This ancestral or Original Sin Western Christianity, following Augustine Of Hippo , generally affirms that humanity inherited both the tendency to sin and the guilt of Adam and Eve's sin. The doctrine in Eastern Christianity is that humanity inherited the tendency to sin, but not the guilt for Adam and Eve's sin. This doctrine, also adopted by some in the Western Church as a form of Arminianism , is sometimes called Semipelagianism . A minority of Christians affirm Pelagianism , which states that neither the condition nor the guilt of original sin is inherited; rather, we all freely face the same choice between sin and salvation that Adam and Eve did. Pelagianism was opposed by the Council of Carthage in 418 AD/CE. separated humanity from God, making all liable to condemnation to eternal punishment in Hell (). However, Jesus' death and resurrection reconciled humanity with God, granting eternal life in Heaven to the faithful (). Most Christians accept the s such as John Shelby Spong and Tom Harpur , do not accept that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead, or that he still lives bodily. Nontrinitarian views Some Christians profess various Nontrinitarian views. Arianism , denounced as a heresy by the early Church, taught that Jesus is subordinate to God the Father.; Binitarians believe that Jesus is God, although a separate being from God the Father, and that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. Unitarian Christians believe that Jesus was a Prophet of God, and merely human. The ) records that the resurrected Jesus visited and taught the original inhabitants of the early Americas after he appeared to his apostles in Jerusalem. Jesus promised to return after visiting the Americas. Mormons also believe that an apostasy occurred after the death of Christ and his apostles. They believe that Christ and Heavenly Father appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820 as part of a series of heavenly visits to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ after this period of apostasy. See also Jesus In The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints . Jehovah's Witnesses view the term "Son of God" as an indication of Jesus' importance to the creator and his status as God's "only-begotten (unique, one and only) Son" (), the "firstborn of all creation" (), the one "of whom, and through whom, and to whom, are all things" (). Most Jehovah's Witnesses believe Jesus to be Michael The Archangel , who became a human to come down to earth"Jesus The Ruler "Whose Origin Is From Early Times", ''The Watchtower'', June 15, 1998, p. 22. See also Jehovah's Witnesses And Jesus . Other views arising from early Christianity The Ebionites , an early Jewish Christian community, believed that Jesus was the last of the Prophets and the Messiah . They believed that Jesus was the natural-born son of Mary and Joseph, and thus they rejected the Virgin Birth. The Ebionites were Adoptionists , believing that Jesus was not divine, but became the Son Of God at his baptism. They rejected the Epistles Of Paul , believing that Jesus kept the Mosaic Law perfectly and wanted his followers to do the same. However, they felt that Jesus' crucifixion was the ultimate sacrifice, and thus Animal Sacrifice s were no longer necessary. Therefore, some Ebionites were Vegetarian and considered both Jesus and John The Baptist to have been vegetarians.Bart D. Ehrman, ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 102. Shemayah Phillips founded a small community of Modern Ebionites in 1985. These Ebionites identify as Jews rather than as Christians, and do not accept Jesus as the Jewish Messiah . In , most Gnostics believed that Jesus was a human who became possessed by the spirit of Christ during his baptism.Bart D. Ehrman, ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 124-125. Many Gnostic Christians believed that Christ was an Aeon sent by A Higher Deity than the evil Demiurge who created the material world. Some Gnostics believed that Christ had a Syzygy named Sophia . The Gnostics tended to Interpret The New Testament as Allegory , and some Gnostics interpreted Jesus himself as an allegory. Modern Gnosticism has been a growing religious movement since fifty-two Gnostic texts were rediscovered at Nag Hammadi in 1945. and the loving God of Jesus, Marcion came to the conclusion that the Jewish God and Jesus were two separate deities. Like some Gnostics, Marcionites saw the Jewish God as the evil creator of the world, and Jesus as the savior from the material world. They also believed Jesus was not human, but instead a completely divine spiritual being whose material body, and thus his crucifixion and death, were Divine Illusions . Marcion was the first known early Christian to have created a Canon , which consisted of ten Pauline Epistles , and A Version of the Gospel Of Luke (possibly with the first two chapters missing, and Jewish references removed),Bart D. Ehrman, ''Lost Christianities'', Oxford, 2003, p. 103, p. 104-105, p.108 and his treatise on the ''Antithesis'' between the Old and New Testaments. Marcionism was declared a Heresy by proto-orthodox Christianity. Islamic views See Also: Isa In s do not consider Jesus to have been God or the Son of God. The Qur'an warns against believing that Jesus was divine. (Qu'ran, 3:59; 4:171; 5:116-117).'' Muslims do not believe that Jesus died on the cross. Instead, the Qur'an states that his death was only an illusion (done by God) to deceive his enemies, and that Jesus ascended bodily to heaven.Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro, "What is Islam? Jesus" , Kuftaro.org, accessed March 15, 2006. (Qur'an 4:157-158.) God would not subject his beloved prophet to any form of persecution at the Cross. Muslims believe that Jesus will return to the world in the flesh following Imam Mahdi to defeat the '' Dajjal '' (an Antichrist -like figure, translated as "Deceiver"), he will descend at Damascus presently Syria as detailed by the prophet Muhammad once the world has become filled with sin, deception and injustice, and then live out the rest of his natural life. Jesus will then be buried alongside prophet Muhammad in Medina presently Saudi Arabia a place that is reserved for him to this day. Muslims believe that Jesus received a gospel from God (called the '' Injil '') that corresponds to the Christian New Testament, but that it and the Old Testament have both been changed by mankind over time so that they no longer accurately represent God's original message to mankind (''See Tahrif '').Abdullah Ibrahim, "The History of the Quran and the Injil" , Arabic Bible Outreach Ministry, accessed March 15, 2006. In Muslim traditions, Jesus lived a perfect life of nonviolence, showing kindness to humans and animals (similar to the other Islamic prophets), without material possessions and abstaining from sin.III&E, "Prophethood in Islam" , Accessed March 19, 2006 He also abstained from alcohol and from animal flesh, according to these traditions. They, too, believe he was the only man ever to abstain completely from sin. The , Accessed March 16, 2006. Mainstream Muslims, however, consider these views heretical. Judaism's view See Also: Judaism's view of Jesus , accessed March 14, 2006. The '' Mishneh Torah '' (an authoritative work of Jewish Law ) states: Even Jesus the Nazarene who imagined that he would be , accessed March 14, 2006. Reform Judaism , the modern progressive movement, states For us in the Jewish community anyone who claims that Jesus is their savior is no longer a Jew and is an apostate. (Contemporary American Reform Responsa, #68). "Question 18.3.4: Reform's Position On...What is unacceptable practice?" , faqs.org, accessed March 14, 2006. According to Jewish tradition, there were no more prophets after , accessed March 14, 2006. Hinduism's views ; Gandhi vs. Christ. Both accessed on April 10, 2006. Other views of Jesus Although regards Jesus as a deceiving prophet (mšiha kdaba) of the false Jewish god Adunay, and an opponent of the good prophet John The Baptist , although they do believe that John baptized Jesus. The New Age movement entertains a wide variety of views on Jesus, with some representatives (such as A Course In Miracles ) going so far as to trance- Channel him. Many recognize him as a "great teacher" (or " Ascended Master ") similar to Buddha , and teach that Christhood is something that all may attain. At the same time, many New Age teachings, such as Reincarnation , appear to reflect a certain discomfort with traditional Christianity. Numerous New Age subgroups claim Jesus as a supporter, often incorporating contrasts with or protests against the Christian mainstream. Thus, for example, Theosophy and its offshoots have Jesus studying Esotericism in the Himalaya s or Egypt during his "lost years." There are others who emphasize Jesus' moral teachings. , Atheists and Agnostics empathize with these moral principles. Thomas Jefferson , a Deist , edited the Jefferson Bible to include only Jesus' ethical teachings. CULTURAL IMPACT OF JESUS shows Mary holding the dead body of Jesus.]] See Also: Images of Jesus Dramatic portrayals of Jesus Jesus in Pop culture According to most Christian interpretations of the Bible , the theme of Jesus' preachings was that of Repentance , forgiveness of sin, grace, and the coming of the Kingdom Of God . Jesus extensively trained disciples who, after his death, interpreted and spread his teachings. Within a few decades his followers comprised a religion clearly distinct from Judaism . Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire under a version known as Nicene Christianity and became the State Religion under Constantine The Great . Over the centuries, it spread to most of Europe , and around the world. Jesus has been Drawn, Painted, Sculpted , Portrayed On Stage And In Films in many different ways, both serious and Humorous . Many of the Sayings Attributed To Jesus have become part of the culture of Western Civilization . There are many items purported to be Relics Of Jesus , of which the most famous are the Shroud Of Turin and the Sudarium Of Oviedo . Other legacies include a view of God as more fatherly, merciful, and more forgiving, and the growth of a belief in an Afterlife and in the Resurrection Of The Dead . Jesus and his message have been interpreted, explained and understood by many people. Jesus has been explained notably by Paul Of Tarsus , Augustine Of Hippo , Martin Luther , and more recently by C.S. Lewis . For some, the legacy of Jesus has been a long history of Christian Anti-Semitism , although in the wake of The Holocaust many Christian groups have gone to considerable lengths to reconcile with Jews and to promote inter-faith dialogue and mutual respect. For others, Christianity has often been linked to European Colonialism (see British Empire , Portuguese Empire , Spanish Empire , French Colonial Empire , Dutch Colonial Empire ); conversely, Christians have often found themselves as oppressed minorities outside of Europe and the Americas. NOTES SEE ALSO
REFERENCES
EXTERNAL LINKS
Historical and skeptical views
|