Sir Laurence Gardner

by leeza 6 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  leeza

  Has anyone ever heard of Sir Laurence Gardner? I have read about his lecture at www.karenlyster.com/body_bookish.html and I find it intriguing. It is a rather long read; but, I find it neccessary to explain his credentials etc.

  He goes into different aspects of history such as the origination of "heresy", church conspiracy, the view of women in the church, the criteria for selections of the gospels, the existence of the book of Jasher, editing of the Bible to apease the cardinals etc. It also explains the claims of Jesus and Mary Magdelene being married and having children.

  I have always thought that these things were just entirely false; but, after reading the information contained on each page of this website (over, and over, and over,) I am questioning several of the things that I was once sure. If anyone feels like reading this info and giving me your take on it, I would be very interested in your assessment. If you do read it, and end up reading its entirety, does it not bring up the question of Jesus dying for our sins? It states on Page Three, "As for Jesus' death on the cross, it was perfectly clear that this was a spiritual death, not a physical death, as determined by the three-day rule that everyone in the 1st century would have understood." It discusses that in length.

  Page Three is very interesting. It gives details concerning rules, regulations, and customs of the day; especially concerning a Messiah, Messianic marriages, and Messianic bridal conditions and traditions.

  If anyone reads this, I hope it does not affend. Please view the reading of it as purely investigative research and let me know if you find any of it viable. Thanks, Leeza
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  glenster

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Laurence_Gardner

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudohistory
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  leeza

  Glenster, Thank you for the wikepedia links. They are very informative and the references are very well documented. I tend to be a little leary of wikepedia; however, again, these instances seem to be properly document etc.

  I expected that he may be considered a psuedohistorian with a tendency towards conspiracy theories. But, the reason I wanted to look into his claims, is because so many of what used to be viewed as conspiracy theories concerning historic events and relious have since proven to be true. We have learned about countless c.theories within the Catholic church involving, cardinals and bishops ect.; not to mention the seemingly endless accounts of cover up and denial within the Kingdom Halls and the Watchtower Organisation. So much of what has been exposed about the organisation is said to be considered as "conspiracy theories" to those searching for answers. In fact, Raymond Franz' writings are said to be "lies" and are to be considered as "discredited" So, I don't want to just write off this Laurence Gardner's ideas without finding out for myself if the things he states as facts are true . . . For instance, is it true that there were annointing rituals that the messianic brides followed?

  Thank you, again, for giving me more information to consider.
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  transhuman68

  I guess you have to be a little bit careful with the supposed history of Bible characters. Roughly a thousand years ago or so, there was a booming industry supported by many churches in Europe, particularly in France, in holy relics, and thousands of pilgrims would visits these churches and cathedrals annually, making it a very lucrative industry. To maintain this, many "holy" relics were manufactured, and stories were written to explain their origin. Now these stories seem like real history, and provide the basis for books like Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” With the work that has been done with archaeology and Higher Criticism, it is possible to discard all these fabrications, and get a more factual understanding of 1st century Christianity in the Bible lands. But the conspiracy theories are still fun…
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  leeza

  I'm reading about his works now and think that they might just be great literature similar to JJR Tolkein. Maybe not. You are so right. They are fun! It would be nice to learn about and understand the actual history, though. I've always loved the folklore, fables, even the stories of the ancient gods. I would like to be able to find the true events that lead to the stories.
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  transhuman68

  It is interesting to read different theories, but for me I have enough trouble remembering the real history, without reading the pseudo-history! Generally, anything with a European connection: the Holy Grail, the Holy Family, the Mary Magdalene myths, etc; is a product of medieval times, and has no real basis. John Dominic Crossan is a good author and historian, if you want to read more factual-based books.
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  leeza

  Thank you. That's what I was looking for!