JESUS CHRIST

U.S. NEWS&WORLD REPORT (2006) 12/18/ 71-79

TOLSON

This is an exciting time to be a Christian theologian. There have been some movement over the years among the orthodox, but gnostic revisionists now claim a Christianity based on Jesus as  mystical figure that encourages one to look within. The world is a harsh place and salvation is through inner searching and good works. Jesus was not a racist or sexist or any of the other

perspective.. .The gnostic gospels are built on metaphors. Other early Christianities had similiar

struggles, but the gnostics are the most prominent at the moment.

Gnosis is the pure knowledge of God and God is the female/ male over soul of us all. Gnostic is in some way is like Buddhism and attracts western intellectuals to its movement. Athnasius tried to subdue these movements in or at the Council of Nicea in the 300's CE. However, they are being revived today.

Further Arianism is also a bit stronger. However, Jesus as the messiah and savior is still the most known and worshipped form of Christianity. It has still has a multi-faceted following of Catholic,

numerous Protestants, and Orthodox churches.

NEWSWEEK (2006) 12/18/ 52-55

MILLER

Mary was a virgin and that meant her pregnancy would mean that she would be stoned to death. Joseph is told in a dream that he should marry Mary and that the baby is from God or is God.

Early Jewish customs play strong part in early Christianity because it was a sect of Judaism for

many years. There is a union of an older Jew and a young Jewish virgin. That there may be other children is filled with controversy. Mary is moral and is the most prominent person in Jesus's life.

Unfortunately, the gospels in a subtle way overlook the Jews as if this Jewish family was not Jewish. Many readings in the gospels have Jesus talking to the Jews. Rather, it should be "And Jesus said to his FELLOW Jews" In other words, most of the gospels is an inter-Jewish dialogue.

However, the Bible does not directly address it.

Jesus is immersed in a Jewish and then Roman order of Married men with family first, married men without family second, and single men third.  Around 100 C. E. Tactitus said, infanticide and abortion were deadly sins. This is not the case for the Romans.

Jews did not practice birth control, so it is suggested that Jesus as the oldest also had 3 or 4 brothers and a number of unnamed sisters. Joseph's Jewish lineage traces back to David. Mary's

past is unknown. In the gospels, James is mentioned. There is also Simon, Judas, Joseph, Assia,  and Lydia. These children come from the unapproved books of the Bible. Some say  that these children were from a previous marriage. If that is the case, Jesus is an only child, not  the oldest son.

Mary was born from Anne. Mary was conceived without sexual intercourse. Mary then at 14 or 16

became pregnant by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to Jesus. Joseph became his earthly father. Jesus died in his 30's and was killed by the Romans. Jews wept for him and some Jews in a rabble crowd feared that if he did not die that all Jews would be killed. Others in the crowd yelled for his death, but they were of little or no faith or nominal Jews or Pagans. In other words, they were a crowd or mob and wanted blood for sport. They had little regard for who was to die.

Jesus then returned in a glorified body to some perhaps as large as 500. . The early sect was  begun. Christianity grew to be the largest religion in the world. There are 10,000 religions, but most believers belong to one of 8 or 9 world religion.

Jesus is the son of God or a extraordinary prophet that connects humans to God. He is also described in other ways, but he is not ordinary. He MAY have be implied in Jewish scriptures, he is described in the Christian Bible and in the Lost books of the Bible, and he is mentioned in the

Muslim Koran.

59/ HESCHEL

Every Jewish family believes that their son MAY be the messiah, so of course Jesus was considered the messiah to save the Jews from the persecution of the world. Further, Jesus was an extraordinary son who was able to ask questions that few others considered. His charisma attracted many to him. Jesus died as a Jew. There is a common era with acronym of CE that was shared until 300's. It was then that Christianity formally declared itself to be a world religion and that dogma was created at various councils in terms of what followers should believe.

However for 300 years, the followers of Jesus were Jews of a special sect and Jesus was one of the most incredible reformers.The nativity of the Jewish saga is the struggle. Thousands flee from

Egypt so as to be able to live and not be slaves. The journey then is the generation after generation of Jews who look for the first coming of the Messiah and for Christians the second coming.

Christianity is the faith of Jesus and for others the faith in Jesus.

COMMENT FROM JOELSNELL.COM & SOCIALVIBES.NET

It is interesting to see how Jesus and Mary are portrayed. NEWSWEEK has a picture on the cover of Joseph looking very Semitic and dark. Mary however looks Scandinavian as does Jesus.

On the cover of U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT, Jesus and Mary have brown eyes and are darker, but have Anglo features and light brown hair.

There is a strong probability that 2000 years ago, Jesus as a Jew had dark Semitic features. Jews had some intermarriage at the onset of the Diaspora, however there has been more interbreeding since the birth of Jesus as Jews out migrated to many parts of the world. So most pictures of Jesus as a Euro or Nordic are probably wrong. Semitic people  in their purer forms have brown eyes, olive skin, and dark black to dark brown hair. Jesus was a Jew.