Posts Tagged ‘christ’
Islam: the two messages of Jesus and Mohammad (February 3, 2009)
A challenge to all theologians: Islam is one of the Christian sects.
Islam means submission (to God, the one and only). This is a challenge to all theologians, religious researchers, and philosophers of all religious denominations (monolithic or not). My hypothesis is: The religious message of the Prophet Muhammad, during the first 13 years of proselytizing in Mecca, is identical to one of the Christian sects. Let me suggest the following procedure or protocol:
First, select all the religious Christian sects from the first to the Nicee council in 425; then select the remaining Christian sects after Nicee to the split between Rome and Byzantium around the year 1000, then the Christian sects that were formed between 1000 to the Martin Luther schism, then all the modern Christian sects from Protestantism, Calvinism, Baptism, Methodism, Episcopalian, Armenians (Catholic and Orthodox), and all the sects in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere.
Second, develop taxonomy of attributes in order to categorize all these Christian sects.
Third, allocate all the sects to one of six categories or more if need be.
Fourth, select the verses in Islam that correspond to the period before the flight of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina or Yathreb
Five, assign each verse in that period to the taxonomy of step two.
Six, allocate the message of the prophet Muhammad in one of the categories chosen in step three.
The foundation to my hypothesis stems from reading a manuscript titled “Islam in its two messages: Christ and Muhammad” The author of the book is late Antoun Saadeh, a Lebanese of Christian Geek Orthodox denomination; the book was written in 1942 and Saadeh proves that Islam is almost identical to the message of Christ when we analyze the verses of the Koran pronounced during Muhammad proselytizing of his message before the legislation period for the new community in Medina.
Since Christianity is an amalgam of many sects that split into schisms in the last two thousand years, then I figured that, from a scientific perspective, it would be more appropriate to differentiate Christianity according to sects. It would also be fitting to study Islam by analyzing the various Moslem sects; though the variations would be based more on the legislations and Hadith than the fundamental spiritual content during the first 13 years of the message.
Judas Iscariot
Posted December 11, 2008
on:Judas Iscariot (December 11, 2008)
I am not hot religiously but I like good, interesting and coherent stories. Judas Iscariot is the son of Simon (Iscariot, the leprosy, the Pharisee) whom Jesus cured from leprosy. Judas is also the brother of Lazarus whom Jesus resurrected from death. Judas is the brother of Martha and Marie Magdalena (Magdala) who poured a pound of perfume on Jesus’ feet when he visited the family in Bethany, near Jerusalem.
Simon the Pharisee was a very rich man and living in the best house and he was a highly respected and visible personality in Bethany and Judea. Simon came from a village called “Kerioth”; it is from this region that Judas Maccabee launched his successful assault on Jerusalem and conquered it from the Syrian monarch Antiochus 4 Epiphane over a century ago; thus this family’s sympathy to the zealot movement (those Jews who were intent on kicking the Romans out of Judea). Simon didn’t have to join any colony of leprosies as was the custom. Instead, as an impure by the Pharisee laws, Simon decided to move to Galilee, away from Bethany, in order not to pressure the inhabitants and to save face and he lived there comfortably.
Jesus cured Simon in Galilee and became very attached to his family; Marie Magdalena visited Jesus in her father’s house in Galilee and had cried over his feet and rubbed her hair on Jesus’ feet in repentance. Simon was curious whether Jesus would realize that Marie was “a sinner” who lived freely from society’s prejudices. Actually, Marie Magdalena, who had left her husband, a scribe in Jerusalem, and joined a Roman officer to the city of Magdala, was saved from being lapidated simply because she was from a very rich family.
Judas was the purse keeper of the apostles and he was rich and didn’t need any lousy 30 pieces of silver to sell his “Master”. Judas was a fervent “zealot” Pharisee; he was a vehement and irascible man and he stated his mind. Judas surely had Jesus’ ears and they discussed at length. Did Jesus’ plan coincide with Judas’? Not necessarily for the long term and not for the same reasons.
Judas was not happy with the Sanhedrin state of affairs: those priests were very cozy with Pilate; Judas the zealot wanted something to be done. Jesus, a high priest of the celibate, secluded, white clad and closed community Essenean caste of Qumran, was not happy with the Sanhedrin: he had the harshest words and diatribes against the Pharisee and the Sadducee sects. Jesus chased the merchants out of the temple; Jesus was on a war path when he ascended toward Jerusalem.
Jesus, the knowledgeable legist in the Jewish teaching, planned his entry to Jerusalem to coincide with the prophesies of the coming Messiah. He was welcomed as such by the whole City. Nicodemus of the Sanhedrin met with Jesus secretly and they talked; something was being prepared. During the “Cène” or Last Supper (commemorated according to the Essenean sect) Jesus dipped a piece of bread in milk and offered it to Judas (symbol of his closest friendship) saying: “Tonight, one of you will hand me over”. That was the code name for Judas to initiate the plan.
The plan was to incite the Sanhedrin to imprison Jesus and offer an excellent excuse for the Jews to revolt. Jesus knew that the Sanhedrin had no rights to put anyone to death, except Pilate. Judas was the catalyst to convince the Sanhedrin that Jesus has been claiming to be the coming Messiah and if they fail to get hold of him than it would be impossible to stop him once out of Jerusalem. Judas negotiated 30 pieces of silver to give credence to his maneuver and of the seriousness of his claims. The Sanhedrin didn’t need Judas to lead them to where Jesus was located: the whole city knew where Jesus stayed. Judas job was to make sure that Jesus was apprehended and then to spread the news for mass revolt. The Jews in Jerusalem welcomed Jesus as a legislature leader and had no patience with another prophet martyr; they sided with the power to be and let go of their “Messiah”.
Jesus had to fall back on plan B. He kept total silence with his Jewish captors in order not to be lead into any further mistakes or divulging names. He spoke to Pilate of a Kingdom not of this world; thus Jesus has no plans to revolt against the Romans. Pilate knew that Jesus plan was not against the Romans dominion as he has discovered that the Sanhedrin angst is real and serious; the Sanhedrin knew that Jesus revolt was to curb their hegemony over the Jews, to review the over 600 rules and regulations shackling the daily behavior of the Jews, and thus to weaken and destroy their businesses. When faced between liberating Barabas the zealot or Jesus Sanhedrin didn’t blink. Pilate also was not happy with a purist Jewish movement: he was very comfortable doing business with this rotten Sanhedrin. Pilate washed his hands on account of a person called Jesus but not on a Jewish purist internal movement, a revolt that would have given him huge headaches.
Pilate divulged the whole scheme in one sentence: he ordered to write on top of the crucifix “Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews” It was known that Nazareth was a hot bed for the Essenean sect that planned to become the dominant sect among the Jews.
Judas did excellent on his first job but the dissemination task failed miserably: the Jews turned against Jesus. Judas felt let down by a meek Jesus who didn’t stand up as a legislature leader such as Moses. Judas’ earthly dreams vanished; the arrogant and proud Judas returned the 30 lousy silver pieces; the Sanhedrin used that money to purchase a field since it could not recover impure and tainted money. Judas, the fervent zealot, hanged himself to avoid further investigation, retributions, and for not believing in redemption.
The Jew, Joseph of Arimathy, a rich friend of Pilate was permitted to handle Jesus body. Pilate expressed surprise for a strong young man to die so quickly but he cut on any further discussions: Jesus is dead; go home everybody. That is another interesting story.
Who is Jesus of Nazareth?
Posted December 6, 2008
on:Who is Jesus of Nazareth? (December 6, 2008)
Over a hundred of different manuscripts (Bibles) have been written on Jesus and his message in the early days of Christianity and before the four New Testaments (that were written by Mathew, Luc, Mark and John) that the Council of Nicee in 325 decided to select as the official representatives of the story of Jesus. (Ironically, the selected Bibles were written in Greek; maybe the language was one of the main factors for retaining them). There are evidences that the Bible of Mathew was originally written in Aramaic before being translated into Greek. Many of these early manuscripts were written by the disciples of Jesus and close companions like Barnaby (the spiritual guide of Paul and who accompanied Paul in his first apostolic trip in the interior of Turkey), Thomas (not necessarily the twin brother of Jesus who established the first Christian community in the port of Deb on the Indus River), Philip, Barthelemy, and others. There are many folk tales that are to be considered as more valid than the canonical “truths or facts”.
Jesus had his Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem and in between this event and his preaching adventure the Church has nothing to offer us. It is said that Jesus was 33-year old when he was crucified; that is the minimum age because Jesus was older and probably close to be forty. How Jesus spent the time in between (a span of at least 20 years) and where did he spent them?
As is the custom in Judaism, boys were married at 13 and Jesus was not to be an exception. As it turned out, Nazareth was a hotbed for the Essenien Jewish sect located in Qumran (not far from the western side of the Dead Sea). The Essenien sect, or more to the point caste, lived in a closed community, women were not included, and the members vowed celibacy; they were vegetarians, ate together, distributed wealth to the whole community, and each member worked according to his skills. The members wore a unique white dress code in summer and another outfit in winter. The members of this community were known to be excellent healers. This sect was also labeled the “Baptist”, the “Nazoreen” and “Ossene” (the Strong). The teachings of Buddhism had reached this community two centuries ago because King Ashoka of India had dispatched Buddhist monks to this region. It is very plausible that Jesus opted to join the Qumran community to avoid being wed.
The Essenien caste had branches in Alexandria (in Egypt and called Therapeutic or healers) and in Syria. The first Christian communities emulated the monastic and ascetic life of the Essenien sect. A few early Christian sects went beyond the ascetic of the Essenians; for example, the author Amine Maaluf, in his book on Mani, mentions a community called in Aramaic “Halle Haware” or white garment clad people; this caste did not eat meat or drink wine or leavened bread; the disciples wore white garments from top to bottom, were scared of fire (symbol of evil), and thus would eat only raw fruits and vegetables grown by the community. Outside food was prohibited and considered “female” food because women were banished from the community and the female names in the scriptures were not mentioned unless the names represented calamities and bad augurs. Travelers of this community carried with them the unleavened bread and produce of their home grown community because outside food was not pure.
Many monophysist Christian sects (Jesus is only divine) like the Nazarene or Nastourian (a name originated from the name Nazareth) had reached China before Islam (around 600 AC); they translated their Bible into Chinese and were permitted to preach their brand of religion and build churches. The Nastourians built churches all along the Silk Road and many of these edifices can still be found in Tibet, Mongolia, China, Afghanistan, and Persia. It is also believed that the Prophet Mohammad learned about Christianity from these sects that were marginalized by the official Byzantine Church.
John the Baptist was Essenien. The fact that the canonic testaments reveal that John the Baptist didn’t recognize Jesus at the first sight might suggests that the two men didn’t meet in the community of Qumran at the same periods. There are evidences that Jesus was a wide traveler, knew many languages and was highly versed in religions and other legal aspects of the land. It is very plausible that Jesus visited Alexandria, Syria, and even reached India; he lingered in India and Persia before returning to Syria and Galilee.
A manuscript named “Himis” was discovered in Kashmir, close to the city of Leh, which described the “Lost years of Jesus”. In that manuscript it is referred to Jesus as Issa (an Aramaic name that the Arabs adopted) who traveled to most of the Holy Cities in India such as Djagguernat, Radjagriha, and Benares, and was frequently chased out by the clergies (sacerdoce). The manuscript relates multitudes of pronouncements and teachings by Issa that are compatible to the canonic Bibles. Issa fled to Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Persia. It is plausible that a Christian sect in the vicinities of Kashmir wrote that narrative. It is also plausible that Jesus survived his wounds and headed eastward: the shroud of Milan have marks of a body still hot and not of a cadaver. I frankly cannot see why this story should be thrown out; countless adolescents tour the world nowadays; it was even more common in those times for young people trekking to learn and attend renowned schools.
Jesus knew more than three language; Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek (the language of the educated of the time) and Latin since he spoke to Roman centurions and Pontus Pilate. It is also narrated that Jesus lived for a time in Sidon (a Lebanese port) teaching in its famous law school. His mother Mary and part of her family moved to a town nearby when Jesus was a lecturer in the law school. It is no fluke incident that Jesus and Mary attended a wedding in Qana (a town close to Sidon); it is also very rational that Jesus decided to start his message after Qana when his mother removed the cover of secrecy and exposed his supernatural gifts of turning water to wine. Jesus was a high priest in the Essen sect and preached a message based in symbolism and fables and was highly spiritual and staunchly anti-Pharisee. The Jewish cabala sect is a branch of the Essen sect and is founded on the Sumerian theology and myths.
Albert Schweitzer, a theologian, physician, thinker, organ player and Nobel Peace laureate offered his version on Jesus. He said, based on the first two Bibles of Mathew and Marc, that Jesus preached his message to the general public in the last year before his crucifixion. Six months, all in all, was the period that Jesus was accompanied by the public; the remaining months he spent them among his close disciple around Caesarea of Philippi.
In the beginning, Jesus accepted the label of a prophet among the prophets but then he reached the belief that he is the Messiah of the Jews. Thus, he sent his disciples two by two to preach the message of the end of time. Jesus was very surprised when all his disciples returned safe and sound; he expected his disciples to suffer terribly and be put to death if the “prophesy of end of time” was to be accomplished. Jesus then decided that God would accept his sacrifice and save his close disciples from atrocious deaths before the first coming of the Messiah.