Gino,
If Jesus was a myth, then why where the people of Isreal dissappointed to find out this new messiah of theirs did not preach the overthrow of the Romans, but a message of brotherly peace.
What messiah? Remember Jesus is a myth and the myth making took place over the first several hundred years. The Jews are still waiting for a messiah. They can’t be disappointed at something that never existed. You are quoting Christian propaganda as if it is historical fact, it isn’t.
This world has never really understood peace. History is littered with the fact.
Well not quite. In the Christian view perhaps but Hinduism was teaching brotherly tolerance and love 1500 years before Christianity and Krishna even stated 'one who is equal to friends and enemies... is very dear to me' (BG 12:18) is reminiscent of 'love your enemies' (Matt. 6:44 ). There are many references to the similarities between Krishna (a.k.a. Chrishna) and jesus, and there is a good chance that many of those similarities were the result of typical Christian plagiarism.
But even if Jesus did exist and originated the idea of brotherly love, why would you conclude that this message had to be divine? Mankind has grown from the stone age and onwards learning all the time. The way to learn seems very often to be from mistakes, and usually expensive ones. We have grown in terms of economics, politics, science, and morality from those early barbaric times. It seems quite reasonable to assume that we can reason our way through the futility of war and aggression as many have already reasoned independently of Christianity. I.e. we don’t need a deity to tell us what we are perfectly capable of discovering for ourselves. As a valid philosophy brotherly love is great, but there is no need to stretch it into a religion.
But again if Christianity had originated brotherly love then fine but it didn’t stop there. What has made Christianity so effective over the past 2000 years was not the teaching of love but the enforcement of punishment. The current emphasis on Christian love is relatively new (the past two hundred years perhaps). For most of the past it has been the fear of hell that many political regimes have enjoyed so much. Note that hell did not exist before Christianity. Hell is a Christian creation. You should ask yourself why such an alleged perfect God who teaches love has any need of a place that uses eternal torment? Even the modern day legal system in Christian countries request that witnesses state; ‘tell the whole truth so help me God’. Curious don’t you think? This is not love that is being taught but an emphasis on fear of hell if one tells a lie. What wonderful power those early regimes had. It was not enough that people could be threatened with hanging or crucifixion for their crimes, but instead the eternal damnation of your soul. Note that the more refined and mature religion of Hinduism has no concept of hell.
But has the teaching of Christian love succeeded? The pope, I believe, has now apologized for the mistake of the crusades and the Spanish inquisition. But what of the current born again Christian George Bush in his obnoxious haste to wage war on Iraq?
Why did the people ask for Barrabus to be freed, and death to Christ? Barrabus was a murderer and a rebel. Christ could have hardly fullfilled the needs of the Jews as a mythical deliver in their eyes, if they chose the freedom of a criminal. It is not hard to believe those who would make this choice would also choose to murder the innocent.
It took Christianity 400 years to decide when the alleged Jesus was born. That indicates some of the accuracy (or lack thereof) of the Jesus myths. There are no credible historical records of the event of Jesus’ alleged trial and claimed events of that period. To then claim details such as the name of a particular criminal is absurd. This is pure myth making. But what of
Josephus and his alleged Testimonium Flavianum, you might say? This is the least disputed of about three claimed proofs for the existence of Jesus.
The claimed TF –
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ . And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.
Here is a link to a comprehensive analysis and further links
http://www.concentric.net/~Mullerb/appe.shtml
The conclusion reads - In all likelihood, Josephus never wrote any Testimonium Flavianum.
The Josephus texts had been so manipulated by enthusiastic Christians desperately looking for proof of Jesus that if the text had at any time any authenticity it is now lost.
The alleged details of the Jesus trial did not surface in Christian writings until the second century and the existence of Pilate did not surface for some 80 years in the letters of Ignatius, and even that date is dubious. Given the technology of today with our claims to objective reporting and we still cannot accurately report much of what occurs within the past few years, then what chance is there that any events 2000 years ago would have been accurately reported 100+ years later? It isn’t credible. I’m afraid you are not quoting history but just mythology.
Thank you.