Was Jesus really a Jew?
Some say he was an Essene, a sort of non-Jew.
The Jews themselves in Jesus' time never accepted Jesus as their Messiah for their Millennium had not come with him.
The true die-hard Jews today are still waiting for their Messiah and their Millennium.
But, of course, many Jews had, over the centuries, for practical reasons, embraced Jesus. This is but one of many of their hypocritical and chameleon-like ways.... perhaps in this particular case to suggest to others they should not be hostile to the Jews but instead be grateful...
But don't forget: the Jews themselves about 2,000 years ago, crucified Jesus, and this fact (or myth, if you will) had contributed to much anti-Jew behavior over the centuries!
Others insist Jesus was a myth...... (see an excerpt below from Ken Harding's Destruction of the Bible).
Historical Problems regarding the existence of Jesus
......The bible does not conform to history as it has been revealed by historians and archeology. The bible is a circular reference with no external support. NO first century historian confirms the existence of Jesus. NO external eyewitness accounts exist. There were historians (Philo-Judaeus and Justus of Tiberius) living in or near Jerusalem during Christ's alleged lifetime, but wrote not one word about him. Then there is Flavius Josephus, who was born in 37 CE (after Christ's alleged death), and has two mentions of Jesus in his vast histories. But most scholars, including most Christian ones, agree that Josephus's accounts are forgeries- earlier versions of his work dating from before the second century do not mention Jesus at all. There are many places where the mention of Jesus would be appropriate, but Josephus makes no mention of him. (see The Jesus Problem, J. M. Robertson, M.P., 1917, chapter 4, The Silence of Josephus, page 121). The paragraph on Jesus was added to Josephus's work at the beginning of the 4th century, during Constantine's reign, probably by Bishop Eusebius (who was well known for saying that it was permissible for Christians to lie in order to further the kingdom of god). This is stated directly in the New Testament, where Paul writes in the 3rd Chapter of Romans "For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory, why yet am I also judged as a sinner?"
The claim that the Israelites were held captive in Egypt has been disputed as an historical fact. There is no substantial evidence for it, and other clues, such as the absence of any cross-contamination of languages, Hebrew and Egyptian, cast doubt on the event.
There is also no evidence for other biblical claims, such as the murder of the infants by King Herod at the birth of Jesus. Such an event would have at least merited a few lines in the works of contemporary historians, especially his enemies; those historians who were hostile to Herod wrote of his other atrocities. But no. But no one noticed the killing of all children under the age of two.
The Genesis story of creation is certainly not an historical event, as modern science has revealed, as well as the Flood of Noah's time. This flood has been conclusively demonstrated to be a piece of mythology, borrowed from the Assyrians, and probably built up upon a real, localized flood (the Black Sea flood of about 5000 B.C.E. has been proposed as the original model).
The existence of an actual Jesus is very much in doubt. The famous humanitarian Albert Schweitzer studied the problem of Jesus and concluded that he did not exist. Most of the Founding Fathers of America, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Paine, James Madison and George Washington, did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. They thought he was a man-- a teacher of morals-- but not a god, and equal to other humans who imparted wisdom. They regarded "true" Christianity as simply following the benevolent teachings of Jesus, and did not believe the miracles or salvation through Christ.
The New Testament gospels were written 65-120 C.E., and the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were attached to the books that bear their names much later by the early church. Matthew and Luke were constructed from Mark, and John is thought to be written even later by early church leaders. These books were not divided into chapters and verses until the Middle Ages. There is no evidence that these people actually lived at all. Many believe that Paul is the real figure behind the spread of Christianity, and that the Jesus story was constructed by him. The messiah construct was very common 2000+ years ago. Consider Mithra, a messianic figure who pre-dated Christ by several hundred years, and who also was born of a virgin, had a last supper and was crucified, and rose into heaven. And he had 12 apostles. Other messiah figures also had 12 followers-- representing the 12 signs of the zodiac.
But see also
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