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Date Posted: 01:18:40 03/27/02 Wed
Author Host/IP: tnt1-216-180-80-117.dialup.HiWAAY.net/216.180.80.117
Saul of Tarsus was a cruel instrument of the Sadducee Jews. The Sadducee were well known as Roman collaborators in those times. The Sadducee were at odds with those known as the Essenes, a.k.a. Nazareans, who were trying to drive out the Romans as they had the Syrians during the Maccabeean war in 168 B.C.
Saul had probably taken part in the stoning of the first offical Christian martyr, Stephen. After Stephens murder Saul and his bodyguards,(Saul was basicly an offical bounty hunter for the Romans), inhis gleeful fanatic fervour, left for Syria headed for the town of Domascus to root out more Nazareans for his Roman overlords. He also carried with him a fist full of arrest warrants issued to him from the Sadducee High Priest.
While traveling through the hot, dusty, arid land between Jerusalem and Domascus, in the mid-day sun Saul has a tramutic experience. Some have interpreted it as everything from a UFO contact, a mystical vision, an epileptic seizure, a near death experience, to heatstroke. Saul says he sees "light from heaven", and hears a voice saying "Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?". "I am Jesus the Nazarean and you are persecuting me". The voice tells him to continue to Damascus where he will be told what to do. When Saul comes out of this experience he finds he is blind. When he reaches Damascus the Nazareans restore his sight. It sounds very much like sun blindness, what skiers call 'snow blindness'. Saul, who never personally knew Jesus, interprets it as a message from Jesus. He now turns his fanitical zeal to the cause of the Nazareans and joins them. Saul abandons his former occupation and his former name and becomes 'Paul', zealot for Jesus. In Paul's, Saul's, letter to the Galations, he tells how he was not enthusiasticly welcomed into the Nazarean party by its members who distrust him and often avoid him.
James, the brother of Jesus and later founder of the Celtic Church of the British Isles, begrudgingly accepts him into the party and sends him to Paul's, Saul's, hometown of Tarsus to preach the word of Jesus. Paul does go to Tarsus to preach but he continues on at his own behest for 14 years across the Mediterranean world preaching his own version of the word. We find that James and the Nazareans are displeased about reports coming back to them about what Paul, Saul, is teaching. In his attempt to convert people to his brand of Judaism, which by then had become Christianity, Paul had turned Jesus into a magical man/god which could compete with the other gods people worshiped around the Mediterranean at that time. But Paul had a further advantage. Jesus had actually lived and some people had actually him, as compared to Zeus and Apollo. James finds it necessary to send out emissaries behind Paul to correct what Paul has taught people in his preachings. This compromises Paul with his own converts. This angers Paul and he returns to, basically, have it out with James. Before returning, Paul had dispatched his own missionaries out to the Mediterranean world to preach his new 'Christianity' and set up his Church. When Paul returned to Jerusalem a heated argument ensued between Paul and Jesus's brother James. Soon afterwords Paul's actions draw the attention of the Romans and he is arrested. Using his status as a Roman citizen Paul demands to be taken before the Emperor for a hearing. Paul is taken to Rome where he dies sometime between 64 A.D. and 67 A.D.
Jesus was not trying to start a new religion. He was trying to reform Judaism so the Gentiles would feel welcome and join their struggle to push the Romans out.
One should note that before anything in the New Testament was allowed to be included it had to be approved of by the followers, disciples, and leaders of the Church which Peter and Paul had set up. Many changes to the book had already been made by 180 A.D. as the letter by Bishop Clement of Alexandria to Theodore, states. The final draft and selection of books to go into 'the book' was made at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., at which time Jesus was also voted a god. It should be also noted that many books which contained valuable information were excluded, one of which was 'The Gospel of Mary' The Magdalene, in which is stated that Peter challenges Mary's relationship with Jesus, saying "would he really have spoken privately to a woman , and not freely to us? Why should we change our minds and listen to her?" When Peter complains about Mary preashing Mary also states "Peter makes me hesitate. I am afraid of him because he hates the female race." Jesus replies, "Whatsoever the Spirit inspires is divinely ordained to speak, whether man or woman".
Angry at the Nazareans, and the Jews in general, much of the New Testament was arranged as to create a story by which the Romans are absolved of the crucifixion of Jesus and the blame is placed squarely on the head of the Jews. One must remember that the New Testament is a book playing to a Roman audience. A bit of character assassination has also been used to destroy the image of the Magdaline. It has falsely propose that Mary was the prostitute that Jesus had saved from a stoning.
In the work Legenda Aurea (Golden Legend) by Jacobus de Voragine, published in 1483. It is stated, 'St Martha, hostess of the Lord Jesus Christ, was born into a royal family. Her father's name was Syro, and her mother's Eucharia; the father came from Syria. Together with her sister (Mary) by inheritance through their mother, Martha came into possession of three properties: the castle Magdalene, and Bethany, and a part of Jerusalem. After the Ascension of our Lord, when the disciples had departed, she, with her brother Lazarus and her sister Mary, also St Maxim, embarked ina ship, on which - thanks to its preservation by our Lord - they they all came safely to Marseilles. They thereafter proceeded to the region of Aix. where they converted the inhabitants to the faith.'
'Magdalene' (or Magdala) derives from the Hebrew noun 'migdal' or (tower).
What is not stated is that with her Mary Magdalene brought her two of her three children; her first was a girl child born A.D.33 called Damaris (Tamar) which was not onboard, the second was called Jesus II, the third was called Joseph or Josephes.
Joseph, the brother of Jesus and his wife, Ann, and his daughter also named Ann were also left out.
Please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying 'all' of the miracles were made up by Peter and Paul. I have personal reasons to believe some weren't. But I find it sad that one should hinge ones faith only on miracles. It just makes the distance between us that much greater.
teltalheart...www.voy.com/40560/
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