Sidney, this is from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, dealing with Jesus' name. If I am reading this correctly, it definitely sounds like his original name is unknown:
Jesus
1st-cent. Jewish teacher and prophet; in Christian belief,
the Son of God, the second person of the TRINITY. The
name Jesus is Greek for the Hebrew Joshua, a name
meaning Savior; Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew
Messiah, meaning Anointed. Traditional
CHRISTIANITY says Jesus was God made man, wholly
divine, wholly human; he was born to MARY, a virgin,
and died to atone for humanity's sins; his resurrection
from the dead provides man's hope for salvation. The
principal sources for his life are the four Gospels of
MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE, and JOHN. There are also
several brief references to Jesus in non-Christian
sources, e.g., TACITUS. According to the Gospels,
Jesus was born a Jew in Bethlehem to Mary, wife of
Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth. His date of birth is now
reckoned have been between 8 B.C. and 4 B.C. When he
was about 30, Jesus began a public ministry as a
preacher, teacher, and healer. His activity was centered
around Galilee, and he gathered a small band of
disciples. Jesus preached the coming of the Kingdom of
God, often in PARABLES, and called on his hearers to
repent. The Gospels also describe miracles he
performed. His uncompromising moral demands on his
hearers, his repeated attacks on the Pharisees (see
JEWS) and scribes, and his sympathy for social
outcasts and the oppressed kindled popular enthusiasm.
In the third year of his mission, while in Jerusalem for
Passover, he was betrayed to the authorities by one of
his companions, JUDAS ISCARIOT. After sharing the
LAST SUPPER (a Passover seder) with his disciples, he
was arrested. The Gospels indicate that he was
interrogated by Jewish authorities and handed over to
the Romans, who crucified him, perhaps as an agitator.
On the third day, his tomb was found empty, and an
angel (or a man) announced that he had risen from the
dead. According to the Gospels, Jesus later appeared to
several of his disciples, and after 40 days he ascended
into heaven. In Islam, Jesus is highly regarded as a
prophet who restated divine religion, and Hindus
acknowledge him as an avatar.
I do think the last part of this little article is very important, the part about him being a prophet or avatar. I would agree that whoever Jesus was, he was one of the wise men who have lived. I do think that his words are mostly misconstrued, and that many of his followers have totally missed his messages.
It is simply impossible for a human to be conceived from a god, scientifically speaking. Are you aware of the virgin birth mythologies in other religions? This seems to be something that fills a need in humanity, having to do with the need to believe there is something more powerful in the universe than we are. Have you studied the sun god stories in other religions? There is much similarity between the Jesus stories and those, especially the December 25th birth date which was later ascribed to Jesus, but which we know doesn't fit in with the descriptions of stars in the sky, etc. I guess my question would be why anything about Jesus can be held up as credible, since so much is definitely not accurate at all. I think there was a person at that time who was charismatic and attracted followers. But I think he spent quite a lot of time in India studying Buddhism, and was simply used to fulfill a Jewish prophesy. I truly don't think he has much in common at all with modern Christianity. |
