The Christ Files

What is unique about Christianity from an historical perspective?

· The central claims of Christianity can be checked out- such as the resurrection and the accounts of Jesus’ life.

· There is tangible historical evidence.

What types of academic research into Christianity are usually reported by the media? Why do you think this is?

· Sensational and scandalous claims made by scholars sceptical about Christianity. This is because the people are more interested in these controversial issues more than the research carried out to defend Christianity.

When were the Gnostic Gospels written and what was their focus?

· During second and third centuries.

· The focus is on Gnosticism. They were written by Christian cult groups. They mainly consist of discussions on the post-resurrection of Jesus; nearly no information about the accounts of Jesus’ life before Easter. The Gospels were fundamentally based on the belief that you needed ‘special knowledge’ to go to heaven.

Some people claim, on the basis of the Gospel of Phillip that Jesus married Mary Magdeline. On what basis do they reach this conclusion and why do mainstream scholars challenge this thinking?

· Because of the missing word, which they assume to be ‘mouth’.

· The mainstream scholars are challenging this idea as the word may not have been ‘mouth’ and even if it was, it does not necessarily place Jesus as a romantic as in the olden times it was a tradition to kiss the disciples.

What did Celsus in the late second century claim and how do his claims aid the case for Christianity?

· He wrote “True Doctrine”

· He wrote two controversial plays in the late second century.

· He claimed that Jesus’ birth was suspicious; he stated that Jesus was the ‘illegitimate’ birth from his mother and a Roman soldier. He also declared that the miracles were Egyptian sorcery.

Who was Tacitus, when did he write and how is his writing helpful to the Christian cause?

· He was a Roman historian; he wrote in 114 CE.

· His disdain about Christianity did not prevent from showing accurate details of Jesus’ life. He told the audience where and when Jesus lived, he described Jesus was known as Christ, meaning ‘Special One from God’ and that Jesus was executed by Pontius Pilate.

Who was Pliny, when did he write and why is his writing helpful to the Christian cause?

· He wrote in 110 CE.

· He was a Roman soldier and wrote to ask whether they should continue executing the Christians.

· He stated that the Christian followers were worshipping Jesus as God.

What can be reliably claimed by historians on the basis of Greco-Roman writings?

· Historical figure

· Teacher, from Palestine.

· Supposed king/Christ

· Worshipped as divine

· Executed under Pilate.

Who was Josephus and when did he write his history of the Jewish people?

· He was writing in the second half of first century

· He was a historian and a Jew.

What did Josephus have to say about Jesus?

· Jesus was a wise man along with other wise people such as Mohammed and Confucius.

· He performed baffling deeds; regardless of foes or supporters, everyone acknowledged that Jesus performed miracles or if seen from a negative view, sorcery.

Which part of Josephus’ writing are considered to have been tampered with?

· The section where Jesus is described as the ‘Messiah’, as a Jew would not have described Jesus in this very Christian perspective.

How does the discovery of possible tampering increase your confidence in the findings of historians?

· This means that as they can find the tampering, they will also not give false information.

What can be known about Jesus from Greco-Roman writing?

· Mary, James

· Ambiguous birth

· Palestine, c.26-35 AD

· Teacher, miracle worker/sorcerer

· Roman/Jewish trials, crucifixion

· Messiah, worshipped as divine.

What was the point of the football match analogy?

· Through the biased views, facts can still be found.

How do scholars regard the Gospels and the New Testament and why does it not concern them that the authors were biased?

· They would say that the Gospels are the best historical sources in existence.

· Even though they are biased, reliable information can still be found.

· Historians do take biased perspectives in consideration.

When were Paul’s letters written?

· They were written in 1464.

Briefly explain the criterion of multiple attestation.

· Combining supporting facts from multiple sources to make a claim more reliable.

· That more than one person is saying the same thing.

Why didn’t people write about Jesus sooner?

This was because in Jesus’ time, the stories were told through verbal communication. It wasn’t until 20 years later that written documentations started to appear.

Why was oral communication regarded as much more reliable in Jesus’ time?

A lot of people did not know how to write and therefore they could communicate better verbally.

Why is the Old Testament important to historians in understanding Jesus and his activities?

The Old Testament shows many prophecies related to Jesus and his activities throughout the passages. The historians can therefore relate the events in pre-Jesus time to the happenings that occurred during Jesus’ life.

Son of God

Son of God

Note the interesting facts or points and your thought and reflections on these points.

The real man....

• Jesufi was one of the 80 sources to write about Jesus, confirms Jesus was a real man.

• From simple pathways specialist are able to build and picture what the town was like before it was covered in water.

• Some believed that there no journey to Bethlehem.

• There were ideas that said Jesus born in a cave.

• Bethlehem was built on a hill and there were caves under houses where they were used for stables.

• Scientists claim that Jesus was not born on 1 A.D; that Jesus was born 6 years earlier than what the history currently says.

• Scientists are using archaeology, science and history to find more evidence.

• ‘Murk’, scented oil, used 2000 years ago to anoint kings.

• Expensive, hard to find.

•

• Controversial discussions on how Mary was unmarried when she conceived Jesus.

• Discussions on why Christians believe Mary was conceived when it is biologically impossible.

• People who are not Christians are skeptical; they believe that there is something dodgy about Mary’s conceiving of Jesus.

• In the Middle East, the traditions from thousands of years ago must still be followed or face brutal death.

• Rules such as forbidding losing virginity before marriage.

• In Mary’s days, a woman who had lost her virginity before marrying would have been stoned to death.

• Upturning the market tables at the temple- a symbolic act.

• Jesus believed that the temple was not the place for exploiting people to obtain money but the place to worship God.

• Jesus calls Judas His ‘friend’; this impacted on the disciples to be shocked when Jesus told Judas to ‘do what he has to do’ at the Passover meal.

• Jesus was in great agony when He was in city of Bethany, as he understood what He had to be done. He sweated blood.

• It was proved that the physical condition of sweating blood was actually possible under great anxiety, where the arteries burst.

• This showed that Jesus was suffering very human emotions.

• He was in turmoil because He knew He was going to die.

• Judas was portrayed as a traitor for many years due to his act of selling Jesus over.

• However, there is a new theory about Judas: the word ‘betrayal’ has been translated incorrectly and that Jesus chose Judas to carry out the act due to Judas’ high reliability and the connection to the high priest.

• The receiving of thirty silver coins by Judas was because there was no other way of handing someone over in the Jewish system, not because of greed.

• Kaiafus (?) had to accuse Jesus of a sin to condemn him to punishment. He therefore stated that Jesus was causing disruption by acting as the Messiah. He was therefore charged of blasphemy (bringing God down by stating that someone was equal to God).

• Arguments about where Jesus was nailed; experts say that it could not have been His hand and must have been the wrist as the weight of Him would have torn Him off the nail.

• Jesus’ mother, Mary and Mary McDillan watched Jesus’ painful execution.

• People say that Jesus was slightly frustrated when He was dying, as if He was saying: “God where are You? Where are You now when I need You?

• Women came to visit His tomb three days after His death; however they did not find His body and ran away, terrified.

• Theory 1: The body was never taken down to the tomb.

• Theory 2: Jesus’ body was stolen.

• Mandrake, a strong anaesthetising plant, was stirred into the vinegar that Jesus drank and hence, Jesus survived the crucifixion.

• This theory has many flaws; Jesus would not have survived even with anesthetics due to loss of body fluids and extreme physical injuries. Also, He had been pierced on His side, where blood and clear liquid (the sac around the heart) flowed out. This proved that He was dead after crucifixion.

• Another reason why this would be true is the fact that the women had discovered the tomb; if the story had been altered, it would have been altered to men discovering the tomb due to sexism in the society.

• A crucial piece of evidence is shown through the early followers’ minds; from being skeptical they were changed to being prepared to sacrifice their lives for their beliefs. This would show that they strongly had faith in Christianity and therefore, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Compile a list of your thoughts/reflections about the findings/discoveries

I believe that through the various research scholars have done on the passages from the Bible does not make me skeptical about Jesus and the events that occurred as stated in the Bible. I think it makes me understand that the events and passages in the Bible can be interpreted differently by people. However, I don’t think it really helped me with my appreciation of Christianity because I honestly could not comprehend why we would go to such an extent to explore about the life of Jesus. I think that it actually confused me as I wasn’t really sure what the DVD was ultimately portraying; it wasn’t really clear on whether the events in Jesus’ life really occurred or not. I think that Christianity is about personal belief and experience with God and therefore I don’t really think I need to understand and know every aspect of Jesus’ life that happened. I believe what is in the Bible as it has been stated literally. Nevertheless it was interesting that excerpts from historical documents could be related to the time in Jesus’ life.