Posted on 04/07/2010 7:19:43 AM PDT by Palter
Jesus was the son of a middle-class, highly educated architect, according to a new book, which claims the previous belief that Joseph worked as a carpenter has distorted the Bible's meaning.
The book- The Jesus Discovery- claims that Jesus rose to become the most senior Rabbi of his time, thus explaining how he was able to exert such influence and why his teachings became such a concern to the authorities.
Author Dr Adam Bradford, who works as a GP, drew his conclusions after studying and comparing the original Greek and Hebrew scriptures, as well as using human psychology to analyse the behaviour towards Jesus as depicted in the Bible.
Biblical scholar Dr Bradford said: "Jesus's high ranking position as a Jew seems to have been written out of history but in fact it makes more sense of the Bible.
'If Jesus was the son of a poor itinerant carpenter with some radical ideas nobody would have been that concerned about what he said.
'But, because Jesus was trained up to become the most educated Jew of his time it gave him the chance to exert extraordinary influence and let him get away with acts that normal Jews would have been imprisoned or chastised for.
'For example, when Jesus turned the money changers out of the temple there is no mention in the Bible of the police guards getting involved or there being a backlash. The money changers were an essential part of gaining revenue for the Temple so if Jesus was an ordinary Jew he would have been arrested or physically attacked.
'Christ enjoyed social privileges that would not have been available to an uneducated itinerant carpenter.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I guess you could say that. God did architect the universe.....
Read as "as well as making stuff up to sell a book"
Yeah, that whole "Son of God" things had nothing to do with his ability to influence others.
My theory is that Joseph was a fisherman until the wise men from the East came to the family, gave them a sizable chunk of wealth, and begged them to flee.
Joseph took his family to Egypt, apprenticed himself to a carpenter using the wealth the Eastern Kings gave him, and returned to Galilee where he built boats for the fishermen.
I believe he was a poor man who became a skilled craftsman.
Art Vandelay? ;)
:::rolls eyes:::
John 7:15 — “The Jews therefore marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?” This seems to indicate that Jesus was not formally trained. His followers called him Rabbi as a courtesy.
>> If Jesus was the son of a poor itinerant carpenter with some radical ideas nobody would have been that concerned about what he said.
... until the “son of a poor carpenter” starts raising people from the dead. Miracles performed on command tend to draw attention ... even to idnviduals who are otherwise unlikely to be listened to.
SnakeDoc
You beat me to it!!!
My understanding is that the word that has been translated “carpenter” in our English bibles actually means “builder” and that, since most buildings in that time were of stone, he was more likely a stone mason.
Attempts to portray Jesus as anything other than an average Jew from a modest family in a nondescript town is counter to what scripture says.
“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Ummmmm, Jesus WAS arrested and physically attacked. And I don't believe He had a "high position" either.
I guess that's one definition of "Messiah".
I suppose if you take God out of the equation this guy's thesis makes sense, but that's a mighty big 'if'.
Yes he was.
He was the Son of the Great Architect.
this is horse hockey where’d he go? RISD? MIT? Princeton? Harvard?
In my new book coming out later this Spring, I make the argument that Jesus was Irish.
‘Attempts to portray Jesus as anything other than an average Jew from a modest family in a nondescript town is counter to what scripture says.’
Shrug, if he was poor, a ‘Rabbi’, and such does not change the reason he came to Earth.
You mean my wife is really saying to me "O'Christ" and not "Oh, Christ?"
CS Lewis had interesting things to say about “taking God out of the equation”. If we see Jesus as merely a great teacher, then we are left with nothing but a crazy man who walked around claiming to be God. Who needs such a meshuga for a teacher?? Either Jesus is the Son of God or he is someone best ignored. The middle position — that he was a Great Rabbi — is untenable.
My new book is due out in May clearly showing that Jesus one one of Mary’s octuplets. In fact I’m developing a new show called ‘8 is Enough!’.
Now there is a translation that can't be challenged!
Yup, the C.S. Lewis “Lord, Liar, or Lunatic” argument. Very well thought out, however, one has to believe that Jesus said the things he is claimed to have said in the bible in order for this argument to hold water. And just so someone doesn’t jump on me with flying accusations, yes I believe Jesus said those things.
Of Vandelay Industries?
Good one.
That's because He was right to do it! He gave His reasons for His actions and the Chief Priests were afraid to physically confront Him... because He was right. They tried to call Him out... but failed.
He was a master at making scroll top desks!
He definitely wasn't a Mason! He was Jewish!
At least we know he was NOT a politician!
Are you saying that Jesus was a Mason? Well, that will send throws through the anti-Masonic fraternity folks.
Well! ... In MY new book coming out this Summer, I make the argument that Jesus was over 20 feet tall, could run the 40 in under 3 sec and was able to say "She sells seashells by the seashore" over 10 times really fast. So there!
A guy who wants to dismiss the Deity of Jesus Christ. These guys can argue against it all they wish. They will be proven wrong. The irony of all of this is that Jesus still loves them and died and rose for their, and my, sin and sinfulness.
Sorry if that's irreverent, but this revisionism just rankles. The original Word is quite miraculous enough without all these attempts to find new truth.
Baptist ping
C’mon...everyone knows Jesus was a community organizer!!
“until the “son of a poor carpenter” starts raising people from the dead. Miracles performed on command tend to draw attention “
...which makes the quote, “He saved others, let him save himself”, all the more ironic: He PERFORMED MIRACLES.
Colonel, USAFR
Yes. C.S. Lewis wrote very elouently about how you eiher had to believe it ALL — the peace, love, etc AND that He was the son of God — or dismiss it ALL as lies or insanity —
you couldn’t just pick the “nice” part and ignore that He said himself that He was the son of god.
I’m going to have to read some CS Lewis, he’s been coming up a lot in conversation. Got any recommendations?
"Surprised by Joy" is also good.
Thank you.
I thought that argument came from Chesterton, not Lewis, or at least from Chesterton first.
In MY new book, coming out in two days, I make the argument that Jesus was a midget who married another midget and made pastries to sell to all the worshipers at the temple. I got a development deal from TLC for a new show based on all their trials and tribulations being little people.
One respected Biblical scholar claims the language issue has confused the actual occupation of Joseph and Jesus.
His reading of the Aramaic original is that the occupation is ‘stone worker’ or mason. That might be more reasonable and common in small village whose homes were known to be constructed largely of stone.
In either case, its more likely that the occupation was blue-collar than an elite architect in a poor village.
I love Free Republic!
“I believe he was a poor man who became a skilled craftsman.”
Well, at least your theory explains why his son was born in a stable. Hard to picture an architect being put in that position. Likewise, how could an architect made a living in a podunk village like Nazareth? This new theory sounds like armchair reasoning whose conclusions raise as many questions as they answer.
And all the rest, as Dylan said, ‘Don’t criticise what you can’t understand.’
I have heard a lecture on this at www.templehouse-publishing.com
Refute it if you can. Also there is an academic endorsement at
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7547540/Jesus-was-son-of-an-architect-book-claims.html
If there was never anything ‘new’, what is Jesus saying in Matthew 13:52?
Not ‘guilty til proved innocent’...
Thank you.
That must make God a city planner.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.