Quake reveals day of Jesus' crucifixion, researchers believe
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Anonymous
Article states AD … but I was confused by this designation and also how the earthquake verified the date of Jesus’ death when there was no agreement on year before that. Still very cool findings … I am not a biblical literalist anyway and look for underlying messages .. |
Anonymous
It’s extremely cool. Tons of stuff like this out there! |
Anonymous
| This is almost as convincing as the time cube. |
Anonymous
😂 is this a 2023 version of Dr Who’s red phone booth/ Time Machine ? |
Anonymous
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Fascinating!
How does this fit in with the knowledge that Christian religious holidays were set to coincide with already existing Pagan holidays? e.g., Christmas is set right after the winter solstice, the Yuletide festival, when days were just starting to get longer again, and Easter, whose date changes yearly, is the 1st Sunday, after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox. Also, it's interesting that science is being used as a method to verify the Crucifixion. Faith, not science, is the basis of religion. Faith is required to believe in the resurrection, which defies science. |
Anonymous
Easter is set to align with Passover. Passover is aligned with spring, but the NT is pretty clear that Jesus was crucified at Passover. |
Anonymous
Also Easter dates change each year and also differ between mainstream churches and orthodox churches. Christmas is always December 25. The symbolism of Easter is strongly connected to spring/ regeneration, which is also celebrated by Pagan faiths. Christmas date is unlikely to be actual birthday of Christ in winter (indicated by when Roman census count in Jerusalem took place) . However the symbolism of birth of light in the darkness did pay tribute to pagan winter solstice celebrations. I believe that much of the symbolism is transcendent. |
Anonymous
The Crucifixion was an actual event recorded in history. Faith is the basis of a relationship with God and beliefs that are religious, but that doesn’t mean science can’t back up historical events. |
Anonymous
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Except the researchers don't say that the quake reveals the day of Jesus' crucifixion. It's just a poorly written article with a misleading headline.
The actual journal publication says that an earthquake occurred some time between 26 and 36 AD, and it may have been the event recorded in Matthew, it may have inspired the event in Matthew, or it may have been weak enough that it has nothing to do with the event recorded in Matthew, and the earthquake was probably allegorical. |
Anonymous
+1. |
Anonymous
As per Wikipedia, on Easter and Passover: the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus (Latin for 'computation').[3] Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (a fixed approximation of the March equinox). Determining this date in advance requires a correlation between the lunar months and the solar year, while also accounting for the month, date, and weekday of the Julian or Gregorian calendar.[4] The complexity of the algorithm arises because of the desire to associate the date of Easter with the date of the Jewish feast of Passover which, Christians believe, is when Jesus was crucified.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_of_Easter These are the facts regarding when Easter and Passover are observed;. |
Anonymous
The practice of crucifixion is well documented, but the particular crucifixion of the supposed King of the Jews was only written about in the Bible, many years after it supposedly happened. |
Anonymous
Passover's dates change too. There is no doubt that Christians incorporated local pagan traditions into their celebrations, and chose to celebrate Christmas, a holiday that involves the coming of light into the world, around the winter solstice. But the reason for Easter's date is to align with a Jewish holiday, not a pagan one as was posted. |
Anonymous
Reporting on Emperor Nero's decision to blame the Christians for the fire that had destroyed Rome in A.D. 64, the Roman historian Tacitus wrote: Nero fastened the guilt ... on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of ... Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome.... Tacitus, Annals 15.44, cited in Strobel, The Case for Christ, 82. Tacitus reports Christians derived their name from a historical person called Christus (from the Latin), or Christ. He is said to have "suffered the extreme penalty," obviously alluding to the Roman method of execution known as crucifixion. This is said to have occurred during the reign of Tiberius and by the sentence of Pontius Pilatus. This confirms much of what the Gospels tell us about the death of Jesus. Another important source of evidence about Jesus and early Christianity can be found in the letters of Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan. Pliny was the Roman governor of Bithynia in Asia Minor. In one of his letters, dated around A.D. 112, he asks Trajan's advice about the appropriate way to conduct legal proceedings against those accused of being Christians. Pliny says that he needed to consult the emperor about this issue because a great multitude of every age, class, and sex stood accused of Christianity. At one point in his letter, Pliny relates some of the information he has learned about these Christians: They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang in alternate verses a hymn to Christ, as to a god, and bound themselves by a solemn oath, not to any wicked deeds, but never to commit any fraud, theft or adultery, never to falsify their word, nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up; after which it was their custom to separate, and then reassemble to partake of food – but food of an ordinary and innocent kind. Perhaps the most remarkable reference to Jesus outside the Bible can be found in the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. On two occasions, in his Jewish Antiquities, he mentions Jesus. The second, less revealing, reference describes the condemnation of one "James" by the Jewish Sanhedrin. This James, says Josephus, was "the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ." F.F. Bruce points out how this agrees with Paul's description of James in Galatians 1:19 as "the Lord's brother.” And Edwin Yamauchi informs us that "few scholars have questioned" that Josephus actually penned this passage. As interesting as this brief reference is, there is an earlier one, which is truly astonishing. Called the "Testimonium Flavianum," the relevant portion declares: About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he ... wrought surprising feats.... He was the Christ. When Pilate ...condemned him to be crucified, those who had . . . come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared ... restored to life.... And the tribe of Christians ... has ... not disappeared. There are only a few clear references to Jesus in the Babylonian Talmud, a collection of Jewish rabbinical writings compiled between approximately A.D. 70-500. Given this time frame, it is naturally supposed that earlier references to Jesus are more likely to be historically reliable than later ones. In the case of the Talmud, the earliest period of compilation occurred between A.D. 70-200. The most significant reference to Jesus from this period states: On the eve of the Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald ... cried, "He is going forth to be stoned because he has practiced sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy." Lucian of Samosata was a second century Greek satirist. In one of his works, he wrote of the early Christians as follows: “The Christians ... worship a man to this day – the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account.... [It] was impressed on them by their original lawgiver that they are all brothers, from the moment that they are converted, and deny the gods of Greece, and worship the crucified sage, and live after his laws.” Josephus and Lucian indicate that Jesus was regarded as wise. Pliny, the Talmud, and Lucian imply He was a powerful and revered teacher. Both Josephus and the Talmud indicate He performed miraculous feats. Tacitus, Josephus, the Talmud, and Lucian all mention that He was crucified. Tacitus and Josephus say this occurred under Pontius Pilate. And the Talmud declares it happened on the eve of Passover. There are possible references to the Christian belief in Jesus' resurrection in both Tacitus and Josephus. Josephus records that Jesus' followers believed He was the Christ, or Messiah. Both Pliny and Lucian indicate that Christians worshipped Jesus as God. |
Anonymous
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Thallus (52AD)
Thallus is perhaps the earliest secular writer to mention Jesus and he is so ancient his writings don’t even exist anymore. But Julius Africanus, writing around 221AD does quote Thallus who previously tried to explain away the darkness occurring at Jesus’ crucifixion: “On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.” (Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) Sometime after 70AD, a Syrian philosopher named Mara Bar-Serapion, writing to encourage his son, compared the life and persecution of Jesus with that of other philosophers who were persecuted for their ideas. The fact Jesus is known to be a real person with this kind of influence is important. Mara Bar-Serapion refers to Jesus as the “Wise King”: “What benefit did the Athenians obtain by putting Socrates to death? Famine and plague came upon them as judgment for their crime. Or, the people of Samos for burning Pythagoras? In one moment their country was covered with sand. Or the Jews by murdering their wise king?…After that their kingdom was abolished. God rightly avenged these men…The wise king…Lived on in the teachings he enacted.” Julius Africanus also mentions a historian named Phlegon who wrote a chronicle of history around 140AD. In this history, Phlegon also mentions the darkness surrounding the crucifixion in an effort to explain it: “Phlegon records that, in the time of Tiberius Caesar, at full moon, there was a full eclipse of the sun from the sixth to the ninth hour.” (Africanus, Chronography, 18:1) Phlegon is also mentioned by Origen (an early church theologian and scholar, born in Alexandria): “Now Phlegon, in the thirteenth or fourteenth book, I think, of his Chronicles, not only ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events . . . but also testified that the result corresponded to His predictions.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 14) And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Caesar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place … ” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 33) “Jesus, while alive, was of no assistance to himself, but that he arose after death, and exhibited the marks of his punishment, and showed how his hands had been pierced by nails.” (Origen Against Celsus, Book 2, Chapter 59) Suetonius was a Roman historian and annalist of the Imperial House under the Emperor Hadrian. His writings about Christians describe their treatment under the Emperor Claudius (41-54AD): “Because the Jews at Rome caused constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus (Christ), he (Claudius) expelled them from the city (Rome).” (Life of Claudius, 25 This expulsion took place in 49AD, and in another work, Suetonius wrote about the fire which destroyed Rome in 64 A.D. under the reign of Nero. Nero blamed the Christians for this fire and he punished Christians severely as a result: “Nero inflicted punishment on the Christians, a sect given to a new and mischievous religious belief.” (Lives of the Caesars, 26.2) There is much we can learn from Suetonius as it is related to the life of early Christians. From this account, we know Jesus had an immediate impact on His followers: They were committed to their belief Jesus was God and withstood the torment and punishment of the Roman Empire. Jesus had a curious and immediate impact on His followers, empowering them to die courageously for what they knew to be true. Celsus was quite antagonistic to the claims of the Gospels, but in his criticism he unknowingly affirmed and reinforced the Biblical authors and their content. His writing is extensive and he alludes to 80 different Biblical quotes, confirming their early appearance in history. In addition, he admits the miracles of Jesus were generally believed in the early 2nd century: “Jesus had come from a village in Judea, and was the son of a poor Jewess who gained her living by the work of her own hands. His mother had been turned out of doors by her husband, who was a carpenter by trade, on being convicted of adultery [with a soldier named Panthéra (i.32)]. Being thus driven away by her husband, and wandering about in disgrace, she gave birth to Jesus, a bastard. Jesus, on account of his poverty, was hired out to go to Egypt. While there he acquired certain (magical) powers which Egyptians pride themselves on possessing. He returned home highly elated at possessing these powers, and on the strength of them gave himself out to be a god.” https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/is-there-any-evidence-for-jesus-outside-the-bible/ The above are hostile, non-Christian accounts, btw. |