At the Revathi vigil at dataran merdeka earlier this year, a good humored gentleman was passing around tracts debunking the Christian faith. he's none other than my good ol' friend Mr Jambunathan (in fact I was the one who invited him there)
Some of the points he made about "Liberating facts about Christian Beliefs. Sources from within the Bible ( the four gospels ) and other relevant reseach"
- GOOD NEWS. He did not die on the cross.
- The resurrection grossly misunderstood
- He was human only - not God- just an ordinary guy.
Curious, I asked what evidence he got to back up those claims. Unsurprisingly he cited the 'research' of Michael Baigent, the off-the-wall sensationalist co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
So I wrote Mr Jambu a brief letter:
"Mr Jambunathan... I hope it wud be of interest to the people here, and i'm sorry if it bores you to tears...
I agree with you absolutely tat scholarly consensus does not automatically prove anything, but when i see scientists of all religious persuasions convinced that the world is NOT flat, that gotta count for something la! hehehe...
If only a handful of pseuso-scientist wackos argue for a flat earth, I'd not waste too much time in their theories...
Similarly, virtually all historians of various religious persuasions - Christian and nonChristian - attest to the crucifixion of Jesus and his death except for some discredited individuals like michael baigent whose research was based on plantard's hoaxed forgeries were fully documented on French courts.
Sadly, the 'proof' you cited came from 'sources' like baigent who already conceded in a public NBC interview that he has no evidence for his theory. But he still insists it's possible that Jesus did not die bcos...
If we read the Gospels, the earliest records of jesus' life, we find that Joseph asked for Jesus' body (soma) and Pilate gave him Jesus' corpse (ptoma)... Does that mean anything?
Since Mr Jambu doesn't trust scholars who believe in Jesus' deity/resurrection, let me quote a scholar who like him reject them. A scholar who opposed the deity of Christ and champion of the gnostics of da vinci code! You wud expect her to agree with radical fringe folks like Baigent...
But even Elaine Pagels is a staunch feminist critic of christianity and distinguished Princeton University says Baigent is wrong
Pagels: If you’re talking about the removal of a body of a friend of yours, you would ordinarily not talk about “a corpse.” You would not say, “my father’s dead corpse.” You would talk about “my father’s body.” It’s just a bit more respectful and intimate on the whole.
Joseph asked for Jesus' body (soma), Pilate gave him the corpse (ptoma)... that's exactly the kind of evidence, really, that we expect if Jesus died on the cross."
Some of the points he made about "Liberating facts about Christian Beliefs. Sources from within the Bible ( the four gospels ) and other relevant reseach"
- GOOD NEWS. He did not die on the cross.
- The resurrection grossly misunderstood
- He was human only - not God- just an ordinary guy.
Curious, I asked what evidence he got to back up those claims. Unsurprisingly he cited the 'research' of Michael Baigent, the off-the-wall sensationalist co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
So I wrote Mr Jambu a brief letter:
"Mr Jambunathan... I hope it wud be of interest to the people here, and i'm sorry if it bores you to tears...
I agree with you absolutely tat scholarly consensus does not automatically prove anything, but when i see scientists of all religious persuasions convinced that the world is NOT flat, that gotta count for something la! hehehe...
If only a handful of pseuso-scientist wackos argue for a flat earth, I'd not waste too much time in their theories...
Similarly, virtually all historians of various religious persuasions - Christian and nonChristian - attest to the crucifixion of Jesus and his death except for some discredited individuals like michael baigent whose research was based on plantard's hoaxed forgeries were fully documented on French courts. Sadly, the 'proof' you cited came from 'sources' like baigent who already conceded in a public NBC interview that he has no evidence for his theory. But he still insists it's possible that Jesus did not die bcos...
If we read the Gospels, the earliest records of jesus' life, we find that Joseph asked for Jesus' body (soma) and Pilate gave him Jesus' corpse (ptoma)... Does that mean anything?
Since Mr Jambu doesn't trust scholars who believe in Jesus' deity/resurrection, let me quote a scholar who like him reject them. A scholar who opposed the deity of Christ and champion of the gnostics of da vinci code! You wud expect her to agree with radical fringe folks like Baigent...
But even Elaine Pagels is a staunch feminist critic of christianity and distinguished Princeton University says Baigent is wrong
Pagels: If you’re talking about the removal of a body of a friend of yours, you would ordinarily not talk about “a corpse.” You would not say, “my father’s dead corpse.” You would talk about “my father’s body.” It’s just a bit more respectful and intimate on the whole.
Joseph asked for Jesus' body (soma), Pilate gave him the corpse (ptoma)... that's exactly the kind of evidence, really, that we expect if Jesus died on the cross."
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