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July 15, 2006 All scholars and academics pretty much agree that Jesus probably spoke Aramaic. This was a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew but different than the ancient Hebrew of the Old Testament. It was a common language of Palestine during the height of Roman power in the Middle East. Yet in spite of that fact not a single scrap of the ancient manuscripts that became the Gospels was written in Aramaic. In fact the entire New testament was written in Greek. Why is that? Well, it's probably because the gospels were written at a much later date than the events they record. In other words, Jesus may have spoken Aramaic, but the authors of the gospels wrote their stories after Aramaic fell out of use and Greek became the common language of the Empire. This would have been after the Jewish war with Rome so they would have been compelled to use the language of their oppressors rather than the common language of their Jewish heritage. Besides, Jesus never wrote anything himself. If he had, it probably would have been in Aramaic. So, if Jesus was divine, wouldn't you want his sacred words recorded in the language he spoke and used every day? Wouldn't that make it even more holy? This discrepancy between the every day language of Jesus and the written language of the Gospels casts doubt on their validity as authentic stories about Jesus. The implication is that several myths were created in the period between the actual life of Jesus and the development of the gospel legends that became the sacred literature of the new religion of Christianity. And you'll never get this information in a Sunday morning sermon anytime soon. At this point, then, a brief look at the making of the New Testament is appropriate. Even though the Gospels come first in our current versions of the New Testament, they weren't written first. The epistles of Paul came first and he wrote his letters from about 50 CE to about 64 Ce. We know he was martyred in about 64-66 CE so obviously he never wrote anything after that. The Gospels, however, were written long after Christianity had become a major belief system in the Mediterranean. That means they were based on what Christians taught and believed, not necessarily on what actually happened or was actual fact. Those details can never be recovered from the mists of time. The earliest story about Jesus is not included in the Bible because it is hypothetical. It is called "Q" and stands for "Quelle," the German word for "source." This is because scholars now believe that the Gospel writers copied each other's work as well as taking stories from a common source which has disappeared. They believe this because of the similarities between Matthew and Luke as well as their common reliance on Mark. The Book of Q, then, had to have been written or compiled soon after Jesus died in about 30 CE but before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It was probably taken from oral traditions that had been passed around and retold for many years before a solid form of the more common elements had taken shape. The earliest Gospel in our Bibles was actually the Book of Mark which was written in about 70 CE soon after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Then came Matthew in about 85 who copied from Mark as well as the Book of Q. Next was Luke-Acts in about 90 or 95 CE who also used Mark as a reference as well as the Book of Q and other sources unique to the Luke story. Finally, the Gospel of John came along sometime after 95 or 100 CE and painted an entirely new picture of Jesus. To be sure, there were other gospels written during this time but the long and bitter process of canonization eventually eliminated them from inclusion in the final version of New Testament scripture. The language of the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament was Greek simply because that was the most common language of the followers of this new faith. This was especially true after Christianity spread from Jews to Gentiles in Asia Minor, Greece and Rome. Again, the point is clear. The Gospels and the New Testament were not anymore divine than any other literature of the period. The early Christian writings were simply emphasizing that a new generation had developed a new way of thinking about God. So now, after 2000 years, it's time to reconsider the real meaning and purpose of this ancient religious literature. Since it was the result of a purely human struggle to define God, we should be wise enough to move beyond its archaic attitudes and develop an entirely new and modern vision of our place in the universe. The survival of the human race depends on it. ------------ 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. 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