The Dead Sea Scrolls were the property of a Jewish sect called the Essenes, also known as the Nazoreans. It seems that the leaders of this sect in the first century AD were Jesus, who became known as Jesus Christ, and his brother James. It also seems that Jesus was actually known as Jesus the Nazorean, not the Nazarene. Nazareth, some say, did not even exist in Jesus� time.

Jesus� younger brother James, also known as Ya�cov, was the leader of the Essenes and the �Teacher of Righteousness�. The Roman Catholic Church has denied that Jesus had brothers, although this is contradicted by the Gospel of Matthew (13:55): �Is this not the carpenters son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Simon, and Jude? And his sisters, are they not with us�?

Now the theory argues that Jesus was not simply a preacher off universal love; he wanted to get rid of the Romans, and was prepared to lead a revolt to do it. A large number of the Essenes preferred Jesus� less radical but still militant brother James. Both Jesus and his cousin John the Baptist were regarded as �messiahs�.

After the death of John the Baptist, Jesus took up his ministry (which only lasted one year), gathering followers and preaching in remote places. Then he made his biggest mistake. He rode into Jerusalem on an ass, to fulfill the prediction of the prophet Zachariah that the king would arrive on a donkey. Then he caused a riot in the temple and attacked the money changers. The Romans issued a wanted poster for him and he was soon arrested.

It seems highly probable that Jesus was hoping his act of rebellion would cause an uprising that would bring people flocking to his banner. He had announced that the end of the world occur within the lifetime of the people listening to him. He was wrong on both counts and ended up being crucified. This left James as the leader of the sect.

Now it gets interesting. St. Paul, whose name was originally Saul, became a Roman citizen and was given the job of stamping out the remains of the Jewish freedom movement. This was ten years after the death of Jesus, in 43 AD. Seventeen years later he had a vision and was converted to Christianity. The theory argues that Paul was on his way to persecute the Essenes when he had his revelation. He became temporarily blind and when he recovered he became enthralled with the doctrine that would later be labeled Christianity.

This doctrine, of Paul�s own invention, declared that Jesus was a gentle man who had died on the cross to redeem humankind from the sin of Adam, and that all who believed in Jesus would be freed of the Original Sin. James and his followers were probably ecstatic that their persecutor had become Jesus� chief admirer. But when, in due course, they learned the details of the Christianity that had been invented by Paul, they were enraged and referred to him as �the spouter of lies.�

Now both versions of Christianity � the militant version of James and the �gentle Redeemer� version of Paul � might have become rivals for centuries to come. But there was a Jewish revolt, James was murdered, and most of the rebels were slaughtered or driven into exile. Paul survived because he was abroad preaching to the Gentiles, as did his version of Christianity.

The doctrine of Christianity grew for a couple of centuries. Then in 312 AD the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire. In fact, Constantine never converted to Christianity himself and remained a follower of the sun god Sol Invictus. The empire was falling apart and he realized he needed a common force to bind it together. Hence Christianity came to power. Later, Pope Leo X was quoted as saying �It has served us well, this myth of Christ."

So there you have it. Maybe you�ll find it interesting and thought-provoking. And no, I�m not anti-religion, I just like to be informed of different ideas.

Very good point about the role of Paul - the so called Pauline Church.

Kat - history of religion is among my favorite topics too.

Constantine's mother was actually instrumental in selecting (literally!) today's "holy" sites in Christianity....there is so much to this....

didnt' Constantine's mother go on a pilgrimmage to the Holy Land after the conversion of the empire? If I remember correctly..

The mission of the Pauline church was not so much to stamp out the remnants of Jewish society. That period was only shortly after Jesus died and the Christians of the time WERE Jews, as were their families etc.

Paul's role was more along the lines of making Christianity conform to the tenets of the Roman Empire.

It was St Augustine who came along a few centuries later and declared that Jews must "survive, but never thrive" - as a message to others who would reject Jesus.

This declaration had long lasting effects - all the way to World War 2. In Poland (heavily Catholic), the (Polish) citizens had built concentration camps in preparation for the Nazi roundup of Jews. The overwhleming majority of SS soldiers were Catholic school educated.

It wasn't just there. At one point, the Germans had rounded up a few thousand Jews in the vicinity of Rome. They brought them to the Pope, and promised their release if the Pope asked for it publicly.

He did not, citing personal safety issues. (an interesting stance for the Vicar of Christ).

Anyway - I don;t want to tell you the entire book. Read it - and what is the source for your info?

1. Why did the disiples all die as martyrs for a belief they KNEW was wrong?

2. Why did the apostle Paul suddenly change heart for no apparent reason?

Just a few questions, if you want to believe Jesus was a fake, that's your problem.

I do agree that the catholic church is pure bs, anyway I could ramble on, but what's the point?

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"Mr. Phillips, are you honestly telling me that people are really going to believe that I'm the 'before,' and he's the 'after'?"

quote:

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Originally posted by Future One:
Explain these things to me then:

1. Why did the disiples all die as martyrs for a belief they KNEW was wrong?

2. Why did the apostle Paul suddenly change heart for no apparent reason?

I do agree that the catholic church is pure bs, anyway I could ramble on, but what's the point?

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1. The disciples did not die at a rate higher than that of other minorites in the Roman empire. History abounds with Jews being sluaghtered at a comparable rate as Christians. It's just that the Church controlled history for so long that people don;t generally know that. There was one well known event where Romans crucified a Jew every 50 feet or so (I know - there were no "feet" of distance then - it's an approximation) along a road in a majority Jewish settlement as a reminder to anyone who caused trouble.

Also, the early disciples were Jews. So they were also anti-Roman and willing to die for that cause. Additionaly, the church has subsequently glorified the early martyrs, when they were really Jews who followed Jesus. Christianity was at best a cult then.

2. There is a very apparent reason for Paul to have a change of heart. The Romans approached him and said, "get this Christian stuff under control or we will kill every single one of you." So he changed some of the Bible to fit in with Roman rule. The story of him being knocked off his horse is probably true - except it was probably by Roman soldiers and not a bolt of lightning.

BTW - "Juicers for Jesus" sounds funny! I like this!!

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"Mr. Phillips, are you honestly telling me that people are really going to believe that I'm the 'before,' and he's the 'after'?"