Posts by Earnest

18

Article to discuss or argue over: Buddha, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammed: Larger-than-life historic figures or largely legends?

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

i've posted a link to an article that contains important food for thought.

as we search for information to free our minds and hearts of cult-like thinking which entails being able to critically think, we need to ponder research that is available to help us to make important decisions.

we need to allow ourselves to consider other possibilities, something that jw’s are discouraged from doing.

Earnest

Sea Breeze, you wrote:

The Nazareth Inscription is almost certainly authentic ... It was also almost certainly issued by the Emperor Claudius and most likely in 41 AD ... It is nearly certain that it was King Herod Agrippa I who wrote the letter of inquiry to the Emperor Claudius ... It is also nearly certain that it was in response to Agrippa’s letter of inquiry that Claudius wrote an imperial rescript ... It is also nearly certain that it was King Herod Agrippa I who...had the Nazareth Inscription posted in Nazareth ... Claudius almost certainly turned to his friend Agrippa I for advice and information ... it seems nearly certain that it was at this same time that Agrippa I wrote his letter of inquiry to Claudius, and Claudius consequently wrote his rescript letter ... it was almost certainly [Agrippa] who selected Nazareth as the site for the posting of the Nazareth Inscription.

That's almost certain then. Except other scholars have concluded otherwise. It was dated to :

30 – 28 B.C.E.

Hieronymus Markowski, «De Caesaris graeco titulopalaestino», Posnan 1936,128-137.

Augustus

· Franz Cumont, Un rescript impérial sur la violation de sépulture, Revue Historique 163 (1930) 241-266.
· Giuseppe Corradi, Un nuovo documento Augusteo Mondo Classico 1 (1931) 56-65.
· Raphael Tonneau, L ' inscription de Nazareth sur la violation de sépultures, Revue Biblique 40 (1931) 544-563.
· Jacques Zeiller, L'inscription dite de Nazareth, RecSR 21 (1931) 570-576.
· Salvatore Riccobono, Fontes iuris Romani antejustiniani. Pars prima: Leges, Florence 1941, 414-416.
· B. Agouridis, Τυμβωρυχία έν Παλαιστίνη επί Αυγούστου, Θεολογία 23 (1953) 122-131.

Tiberius

· Edouard Cuq, Le rescrit d' Auguste sur les violations de sépulture, Revue Historique de Droit Francais et Etranger IVe sér., 11 (1932) 109-125
· Leon Herrmann, Chrestos; témoignages païens et juifs sur le christianisme du premier siècle (Collection Latomus CIX), Brussels 1970, 12-15.

Caligula

· Gaetano de Sanctis, Il rescritto imperiale di Nazareth, RPAA 7 (1931) 13-17
· Stephan Losch, Diatagma Kaisaros.Die Inschrift von Nazareth und das Neue Testament. Eine Untersuchung zur neutestamentlichen Zeitgeschichte, Freiburg 1936.

Claudius

Margherita Guarducci, L' inscrizione di Nazareth sulla violazione dei sepolcri, RPAA, 17 (1941/42) 85-88.

Nero

Marta Sordi, L'Edit de Nazareth et la politique de Néron a l'égard des chrétiens, ZPE 120 (1998) 279-291

Vespasian or Titus

V. Capocci, Per la data del rescritto imperiale sulla violazione di sepolcro recentemente publicato, BIDR 38 (1930) 215-223.

Hadrian

Frank E. Brown, Violation of Sepulture in Palestine, American Journal of Philology 52 (1931) 1-29.

Septimius Severus

John Sylvester Creaghan, Violatio sepulchri. An Epigraphical Study, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. Princeton Univ. 1951.

18

Article to discuss or argue over: Buddha, Abraham, Jesus and Muhammed: Larger-than-life historic figures or largely legends?

by AndersonsInfo in

jw
friends

i've posted a link to an article that contains important food for thought.

as we search for information to free our minds and hearts of cult-like thinking which entails being able to critically think, we need to ponder research that is available to help us to make important decisions.

we need to allow ourselves to consider other possibilities, something that jw’s are discouraged from doing.

Earnest

Sea Breeze : But Ceasar issued an unusual type of edit (The Nazareth Inscription) reserved for special problems to make it illegal to steal bodies from tombs shortly after the Resurrection.

It is unclear which Caesar issued this "edict" and when it was issued. In an article in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Volume 30, April 2020, scientists established that the marble came from the Greek island of Kos. They propose that "the edict was issued by Caesar Augustus in response to the desecration of the grave of a famous tyrant from Kos named Nikias [who died c.20 B.C.E.], a theory which more logically fits with the provenance of the marble and the events of that time."

Palaeographically, it is dated between 50 B.C.E. AND 50 C.E. and so could have been a result of the disappearance of Christ's body, but it seems unlikely to me that Pilate would have informed Caesar of his incompetence in guarding the tomb.

5

Changed my avatar-And how did the Romans Execute You?

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

been meaning to do that for a while - and just saw an article in bar (see below) and thought - that's how i feel today (grin) i've had the flu for 2 weeks and feel really pissed off.. sunday before last, my friend visiting from china, calls up and says come to dinner tonite, meet me at darling harbour.

so did that, and even though we could've walked to the restaurant he'd selected in about 15 minutes, he decides (he's rather wealthy) we should take a water taxi to circular quay (for those who know sydney).

i protested, as i knew it was expensive - $70 for a 10 minute ride.we're no sooner in the boat, than it starts to rain like hell, and before the boatmaster could get the curtains down, i was soaked on one side.

Earnest

In 2018 English archaeologists unearthed a skeleton at a Roman settlement in Fenstanton, almost 1,900 years old, with a nail through the heel bone, suggesting the man was crucified.

There is a report by Albion Archaeology, who carried out the archaeology, and a detailed report can be read here. It says, in part :

While this cannot be taken as incontrovertible proof that the man was crucified, it seems the only plausible explanation – making it at most the fourth example ever recorded worldwide through archaeological evidence. Crucifixion was relatively commonplace in Roman times, but the victims were often tied to the cross rather than nailed, and if nails were used then it was routine to remove them afterwards. Only one other example has been found with a nail surviving in situ through the bone, discovered at Giv‘at ha-Mivtar in north Jerusalem during building work in 1968; skeletons with a similar hole have also been found at Gavello in Italy and at Mendes in Egypt, but without a nail in place and with doubt over how the holes had been formed.

38

Recent Annual Meeting - Asking for Clarification

by truth_b_known in

would someone in the know please clarify for me some alleged comments given from the governing body at the recent/yet to be streamed for the rank and file annual meeting?.

it is my understanding that samuel herd basically tells the rank and file that old light is new light and the new light of july, 2013 is now old light.

to be specific, herd states that the official stance on whether or not the annointed remaining on earth, to include the governing body, will all be in heaven prior to armageddon.. at this same annual meeting tony morris iii tells those in attendance that stephen letts' statement that "we're living in the final part of the last days, undoubtedly the final part of the final part of the last days!

Earnest

There was a thread in October on the Annual Meeting.

18

Child pornography should NOT be automatically handled by a judicial committee

by pistolpete in

new information added to the "shepherd the flock elder's book" .

they have updated their policy on viewing child pornography.. from a congregation standpoint it is not viewed as child sex abuse and is something that should not be automatically handled by a judicial committee.

it states that a person viewing child pornography should be strongly counseled.

Earnest

hoser : I would think other countries have their own laws.

Correct. Wikipedia shows legal/illegal status by country.

In the UK all forms of child pornography (real or fictional) including possession is illegal. This includes real and fictional "indecent pseudo-photographs of a child", who is defined as anyone under the age of 18. The argument that you can legally view child porn on the internet without downloading it is a fiction because the action of viewing it automatically downloads it and you are guilty of possession while it remains there. Just don't do it.

22

Request----Federal Post Office Inspector!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

atlantis:.

do you have a copy of a letter that was sent out by a congregation overseer, with a complaint from the federal post office inspector, concerning letters being sent out by jw's?.

yes, i have it, but very few people show any interest in the letters anymore.

Earnest

Bill Covert : So did the GB come to a come to Jesus moment and decide out of the goodness of their hearts forgive those loan?

Probably not. But they may well have concluded that expecting the congregants to continue to pay a loan for a building which was no longer theirs (after the transfer of ownership to the Kingdom Hall Trust) would be a pill too hard to swallow for many.

To say that the "main evidence of wickedness" is based on "elementary deduction" is not evidence at all.

22

Request----Federal Post Office Inspector!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

atlantis:.

do you have a copy of a letter that was sent out by a congregation overseer, with a complaint from the federal post office inspector, concerning letters being sent out by jw's?.

yes, i have it, but very few people show any interest in the letters anymore.

Earnest

Bill Covert : The main evidence of wickedness is the forgiving of K. H. loans, as the government put a cease and desist on the loan program.

Hi Bill, can you provide any further information (documentation) regarding this "cease and desist on the loan program" ?

21

Dr. Bart Ehrman Live Webinar Did Jesus Call himself God?

by Diogenesister in

there's a live webinar with dr. ehrman on the subject of the divinity of jesus.

folks will be able to put questions directly to dr. bart, the cost is $14.00 with the webinar covering the following topics:.

• soon after jesus’ death, his disciples claimed that he was god .

Earnest

Disillusioned JW, in his commentary on the Book of Acts, 1988, F.F. Bruce writes (p.368) :

Chrestus (Gk. xrestos,"useful") was a common name in the Graeco-Roman world, especially among slaves, and appears as a variant spelling for the unfamiliar Christus (xristos). (In Greek the two words were pronounced alike.)

This gives some credence to the suggestion of Hugh J. Schonfield to an alternative reading of Philippians 1:21 but it is unlikely. One of the principles of textual criticism is that the more difficult reading is the stronger, and the perplexing text "to live is Christ, and to die is gain" has no variants in the manuscript tradition.

However, the fact that the two words were pronounced alike may explain why sometimes non-Christians used the term chrestus. So, Tertullian writes "Concerning the Odious Title of Christian" :

But Christian, so far as the meaning of the word is concerned, is derived from anointing. Yes, and even when it is wrongly pronounced by you “Chrestianus” (for you do not even know accurately the name you hate), it comes from sweetness and benignity.

83

I understand your separating yourselves from the Org...BUT~

by Revealed in

...why have you left the god and his son?.

Earnest

truth_b_known : Does Jesus' ransom sacrifice apply to Neanderthals or just Homo Sapiens?

The 1985 book “Life – How did it get here? By evolution or by creation?” says in chapter 7 (“’Ape-Men’ – What were they?”), para.34

Neanderthal man … was undoubtedly human. … Since [the first Neanderthal fossil was found], many Neanderthal fossils have been found, confirming that he was not much different from modern humans.

If Adam was the first human then Neanderthals must be his descendants and inherit sin like us. However, that assumption does raise a number of questions as to the time of creation and the genetic differences between homo neanderthalensis and homo sapiens.

21

Dr. Bart Ehrman Live Webinar Did Jesus Call himself God?

by Diogenesister in

there's a live webinar with dr. ehrman on the subject of the divinity of jesus.

folks will be able to put questions directly to dr. bart, the cost is $14.00 with the webinar covering the following topics:.

• soon after jesus’ death, his disciples claimed that he was god .

Earnest

Disillusioned JW, I am somewhat surprised that you give such credence to the Cista Mystica website. The link you provide on the origins of Christianity says the following :

There is no evidence of Jesus, Christ, Christianity or Christians until after the end of the Western Roman Empire. The whole, claimed history for Christianity is late, first appearing - according to the accepted dates - in the 6th century, though the actual date may be as late as the 8th century (in response to the Arab Conquests).
The original New Testament (codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus) is not Christian - it makes no mention of Jesus or Christ, and one of its books - The Shepherd of Hermas - was later removed.

There is nothing true in the above statements. How can you possibly take it seriously?

The whole premise seems to be based on a correction made to the spelling of one word in one manuscript at Acts 26:28, ignoring the readings in Vaticanus and the papyri predating Sinaiticus which do not misspell Christian.