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Aug. 22, 2006 First of all it is imperative that we realize that the only information we have about Jesus is written in the Gospels as we know them. Secondly, we must acknowledge the simple fact that they were not written at the time the events in them happened nor were they written immediately after. Scholars unanimously agree that the earliest of the four Gospels to be written was the Book of Mark and it wasn't penned until at least 70 AD (C.E.), forty years after Jesus died. Furthermore, it's pretty obvious and widely accepted that the writers of both Luke and Matthew copied extensively from Mark and added stories of their own from other sources. This is how the resurrection story got started. If we look again at the Book of Mark we find something interesting at the end of the last chapter. After verse 8 of chapter 16 there is some sort of footnote in virtually every modern translation of the Bible. In the New International Version it says, "The two most reliable early manuscripts do not have Mark 16:9-20." So, let's back up and set the stage for this famous story. Chapter 16 opens with Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome bringing spices to the tomb early in the morning on the first day of the week to anoint the body of Jesus. They are concerned because they don't think they will be able to remove the heavy stone covering the entrance. However, when they reach their destination they find the stone has already been removed. When they enter the tomb they find a young man dressed in white sitting on the right hand side who informs them that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead. He further instructs the women to go tell his disciples that Jesus will meet them in Galilee. The women are terrified and in fact, are so afraid that they run away and tell no one what they have just witnessed. And this is where the original manuscript ends the story. Someone at a later date added the passages we now know as Mark 16:9-20. The reason they did this is not immediately clear until we realize that the writings of Paul the Apostle came before the Gospels. What that means is that it was Paul who invented the story of the Resurrection to support his new gospel and then later Christians picked it up and used it for their benefit. To support this premise let's look a little closer at these additions. We find several discrepancies that give us clues to the intention of the writers. First of all verse 9 contradicts verse 1 of chapter 16. In verse 1 we find Mary Magdaalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome all going to the tomb together and in verse 8 they leave together. However, verse 9 says clearly that on the morning that Jesus arose he appeared "...first to Mary Magdalene." The other women are conveniently and suddenly left out of the story. Then in verse 10 it claims that Mary Magdalene "...went and told those who had been with him (disciples)." Yet verse 8 insists that the women told no one because they were afraid. Verses 12 - 14 are a list of the people Jesus supposedly appeared to but it bears an uncanny resemblance to 1 Corinthians 15:5-8. Since the Book of Corinthians was written at least 20 years earlier it appears very likely that this editor needed material with more credibility to convince skeptics of the veracity of this tale. So, he borrowed the passages from Paul, paraphrased them and tacked them onto the end of Mark's book in an attempt to silence the critics. Apparently it worked because Luke and Matthew both used this cobbled together version and even added elements of their own for further embellishment. Luke even incorporates the promise of miraculous signs from Mark 16:17-18 into his Book of Acts where new converts are recorded as speaking in new tongues and healing the sick. Supposedly Paul was even bitten by a venomous snake on his way to Rome with no ill effects. Of course this is impossible because Luke wrote about these events at least 30 or 40 years after they are supposed to have happened. Clearly, then, the story of the resurrection and the appearance of Jesus after the resurrection is a plain and simple fabrication. It is nothing more than a legend elevated to the status of mythology in an attempt to make Jesus into a deity. Incidents like these are what cast doubt on the ability of the Bible to assume the role of divine scripture. I'll continue to say it and provide evidence to support it but my central premise is that the Bible is nothing more than ancient religious literature. As such it does not belong in our halls of power and should not influence the policies of our democratic body politic. In short, our government exists by the will of the people and by the rule of law, not by an impotent God who can't even keep the stories in his book straight. ------------ About the author: Keith Cantrell lives in a small town in Oregon where he was a fundamentalist, born-again, evangelical Christian for over 35 years. After many years of questioning and research he has finally become an agnostic. He has written a book entitled "The World's Most Dangerous Book" and it tells the history and origins of the Bible. It's the only book on the market that takes the Bible from cover to cover, Genesis to Revelation and explores who wrote it, where it came from and how it all got put together. It's the 21st century. Isn't it time you knew the truth about the Bible? This book is available at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks and Amazon.com. Read it and tell me what you think! After all, I could be wrong! Email: kwcantrell@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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