Posted on 11/25/2007 8:17:37 AM PST by Zakeet
Hollywood producers are to film a movie about Jesus as a mystic travelling across India living in Buddhist monasteries and fighting injustice. They drew on revisionist scholars to flesh out the "missing years" of Jesus, between the ages of 13 and 30, which are untouched in the Bible.
"The Aquarian Gospel," a $20 million movie, portrays Jesus as a holy man and teacher inspired by eastern religions in India. It takes its name from a century-old book that examined Christianity's eastern roots and is in its 53rd reprint, the Guardian reported Monday in a story carried on BuddhistChannel.tv.
Producers say the movie will be shot using actors and computer animation as in the movie 300 and will follow Yeshua, Jesus in Aramaic, from the Middle East to India. Casting has begun both in Hollywood and India's Bollywood.
"The Bible devotes just seven words to the most formative years of Yeshua's life saying: 'The boy grew in wisdom and stature'. The [film] will follow Christ's journey to the east where he encounters other traditions, and discovers the principles that are the bedrock of all the world's great religions," said Drew Heriot, the film's director, whose credits include the cult hit The Secret.
The film, due out in 2009, is to be a fantasy action adventure with the three wise men as Jesus' mentors. The producers say it will feature a "young and beautiful" princess, but it is not clear whether she is Jesus' love interest.
Luke 3:23 (KJV) And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli [...]
Joseph (Mary's husband) was son of Jacob:
Mattew 1:16(KJV) And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Joseph of Heli IS Joseph of Aramathea, and Mary's brother (she being of the house of Heli).
Basically I agree with the exception that Mary was of Judah and Levi.... Elizabeth was full blood Levite, and a cousin to Mary... means Mary's father was of Judah (Throne of David literally) and her mother was of Levi.... hence Christ fulfilling the promise of King and Priest. That blood line was protected all the way back to the Adam.
Based on what? The Catholic Encyclopedis does not appear to agree with you.
It is also highly significant that all the Gospels agree that Joseph was a secret follower of Christ, implying no other connection between the two. If he was indeed a blood uncle or some such, you would think it would have been mentioned. Also the connection would have been widely known, not secret at all.
Also, why would the opinion of the time be that he was the son of his mother's brother? I doubt you intend any aspersion on Mary and her brother, but that's pretty much what you're saying.
The ‘Aquarian Gospel’ was a big literary hit on campi in the early 70s. I’m surprised it took so long to get to the screen.
______________________________________________
TIME ragazine floated that idea circa 1967/8.
The problem is that there is no scriptural evidence that any such adoption took place. Also, unlike the Romans, I don't think adoption was widely used by the Jews, since I don't recall running across it in reading the Bible and other texts of the period.
However, I'm willing to be enlightened on this last point. :)
Agreed, and how... This subject matter requires a back porch, a bucket of ice tea, and hour upon hour... Hard to do it justice on a forum.
It is often overlooked, but it is necessary that Jesus' claims are exactly correct- Not for Himself, but in order to preserve every bit of the prophecy.
Here is a fun link regarding the family of Jesus, and an awesome reason why Mary Magdalene was of great value, and could NOT have been the wife of Jesus... Comments welcome
http://petragrail.tripod.com/mm.html
PS, and disclaimer: The rest of this site is weird and I make no specific endorsement. Just a pretty neat idea and explanation on this specific page. YMMV
In Judeo-Christian it a core belief you do and can not and can not be or become a(budding)Diety ...God is God that always has, alway was, and alway will be
(the Trinity is diffrent it's aspect of the same God ... we are not God but are in his image IE Tri-part beings )
As a Christian, I’ve always wondered how to reconcile His creation of Adam & Eve and the discoveries of skulls, etc of cavemen. Any links? (no pun intended)
If St. T homas ended up in India, it was because the Jews had been trading in the region for a long while. Hard to see him going there if there was no Jewish community already. Given that the Jews were dispersed from their land more than 700 years before Christ, and given that they could be found everywhere from Persia(China?) to Britain, Jewish establishments in India seems quite possible. Westerners infatuated with the East always forgot that trade is always an exchange.
You think that others are tolerant of Christianity? The Hindu mobs in Idia ought to put that myth to rest.
It maybe that they even made it as far as Japan:
http://www.biblemysteries.com/library/tribesjapan.htm
Amen brother!
The tourist trade was alive and well in Glastonbury in 1986 when we stopped there on our honeymoon. Pretty place. Don’t need to go back, but a nice ruin- with good landscaping.
Very few ancient religions have survived as long as Hinduism, if there are any, and there are reasons for that.
.
The long passages below are from a translation of the Bhagavad-Gita. Witness the interesting lines/ similarities, highlighted in red.
Arjuna:
Of those who love you as the Lord of Love,
Ever present in all, and those who seek you
As the nameless, formless Reality,
Which way is sure and swift, love or knowledge?
Krishna:
For those who set their hearts on me
And worship me with unfailing devotion and faith,
The way of love leads sure and swift to me.
Those who seek the transcendental Reality,
Unmanifested, without name or form,
Beyond the reach of feeling and of thought,
With their senses subdued and mind serene
And striving for the good of all beings,
They too will verily come unto me.
Yet hazardous
And slow is the path to the Unrevealed,
Difficult for physical man to tread.
But they for whom I am the goal supreme,
Who do all work renouncing self for me
And meditate on me with single-hearted devotion,
These will I swiftly rescue
From the fragment's cycle of birth and death
To fullness of eternal life in me.
Still your mind in me, still yourself in me,
And without doubt you shall be united with me,
Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart.
But if you cannot still your mind in me,
Learn to do so through the practice of meditation.
If you lack the will for such self-discipline,
Engage yourself in selfless service of all around you,
For selfless service can lead you at last to me.
If you are unable to do even this,
Surrender yourself to me in love,
Receiving success and failure with equal calmness
As granted by me.
Better indeed is knowledge than mechanical practice.
Better than knowledge is meditation.
But better still is surrender in love,
Because there follows immediate peace.
That one I love who is incapable of ill will,
And returns love for hatred.
Living beyond the reach of I and mine
And of pleasure and pain, full of mercy,
Contented, self-controlled, firm in faith,
With all their heart and all their mind given to me –
With such people I am in love.
Not agitating the world or by it agitated,
They stand above the sway of elation,
Competition, and fear, accepting life
Good and bad as it comes. They are pure,
Efficient, detached, ready to meet every demand
I make on them as a humble instrument of my work.
They are dear to me who run not after the pleasant
Or away from the painful, grieve not
Over the past, lust not today,
But let things come and go as they happen.
Who serve both friend and foe with equal love,
Not buoyed up by praise or cast down by blame,
Alike in heat and cold, pleasure and pain,
Free from selfish attachments and self-will,
Ever full, in harmony everywhere,
Firm in faith – such as these are dear to me.
But dearest to me are those who seek me
In faith and love as life's eternal goal.
They go beyond death to immortality.
Krishna:
Those who are free from selfish attachments,
Who have mastered the senses and passions,
Act not, but are acted through by the Lord.
Listen to me now, O son of Kunti,
How one who has become an instrument
In the hands of the Lord attains the Absolute,
The supreme consummation of wisdom.
Unerring in discrimination,
Sovereign of the senses and passions,
Free from the clamor of likes and dislikes,
They lead a simple, self–reliant life
Based on meditation, using speech,
Body, and mind to serve the Lord of Love.
Free from self–will, aggressiveness, arrogance,
From the lust to possess people or things,
They are at peace with themselves and others
And enter into the unitive state.
United with the Lord, ever joyful,
Beyond the reach of self–will and sorrow,
They serve me in every living creature
And attain supreme devotion to me.
By loving me they share in my glory
And enter into my boundless being.
All their acts are performed in my service,
And through my grace they win eternal life.
Make every act an offering to me;
Regard me as your only protector.
Make every thought an offering to me;
Meditate on me always.
Drawing upon your deepest resources,
You shall overcome all difficulties
Through my grace. But if you will not heed me
In your self–will, nothing will avail you.
If you say, “I will not fight this battle,”
Your own nature will drive you into it.
If you will not fight the battle of life,
Your own karma will drive you into it.
The Lord dwells in the hearts of all creatures,
And he whirls them round on the wheel of time.
Run to him for refuge with all your strength
And peace profound will be yours through his grace.
I give you these precious words of wisdom;
Reflect on them and then choose what is best.
These are the last words I shall speak to you,
Dear one, for your spiritual fulfillment.
Be aware of me always, adore me,
Make every act an offering to me,
And you shall come to me;
This I promise, for you are dear to me.
Leave all other support, and look to me
For protection. I shall purify you
From the sins of the past. Do not grieve.
Do not share this wisdom with anyone
Who lacks in devotion or self–control,
Lacks the desire to learn, or who scoffs at me.
Those who teach this supreme mystery
Of the Gita to all those who love me
Will come to me without doubt. No one
Can render me more devoted service;
No one on earth can be more dear to me.
Those who meditate on these holy words
Worship me with wisdom and devotion.
Even those who listen to them with faith,
Free from doubts, will find a happier world.
Have you fully understood my message?
Are you free from your doubts and delusions?
Arjuna:
You have dispelled my doubts and delusions
And made me ready to fight this battle.
My faith is firm now, and I will do your will.
Krishna:
I am the same to all beings. My love
Is the same always. Nevertheless, those
Who meditate on me with devotion,
They dwell in me, and I shine forth in them.
Even the worst sinner becomes a saint
When he loves me with all his heart. This love
Will soon transform his personality
And fill his heart with peace profound.
O son of Kunti, this is my promise:
Those who love me, they shall never perish.
I doubt it would- No offense, but the Catholic thought gets a bit odd when talking of lineage, especially where Mary is concerned... There are Catholic texts which recognise him as an uncle to Mary, that being artificial, IMHO, in order to maintain the purity of Mary (who in Catholic thought was an only child AFAIK).
It is also highly significant that all the Gospels agree that Joseph was a secret follower of Christ, implying no other connection between the two. If he was indeed a blood uncle or some such, you would think it would have been mentioned.
But it was Joseph of Aramathea (and Nicodemus with the women) who claimed the body of Christ and prepared Him for the Grave. Who has the right to claim the body? The Elders of His House. Who MUST handle the body, making themselves unclean for the upcoming Sabbath? The elders of his house. Speaking of Joseph particularly:
Luke 23:50-56(KV)
50 And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor; and he was a good man, and a just:
51 (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
52 This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
53 And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
55 And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher, and how his body was laid.
56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
It is evident that Joseph was a member of the counsel... It is no far stretch to suggest that he was Joseph of Heli who by heritage would hold the High Seat (David's, Judah's) on the counsel- After all, the only two dissenters seem to have been Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea... One would suppose that Joseph of Heli (Mary's direct kin), if different than Joseph of Aramathea, would also have dissented, as Jesus is of his House.
Also, why would the opinion of the time be that he was the son of his mother's brother? I doubt you intend any aspersion on Mary and her brother, but that's pretty much what you're saying.
If Joseph, Mary's husband were dead, or in cases of abandonment, Who's responsibility is the care of his widow and his son? That falls first to his own house (Brother, father), but if they were not able to care for her and assume the responsibility (unlikely cursed of Jeconiah, as they were), that responsibility will fall upon Mary's house, upon her father's house. If Heli was dead, or of significant age that resonsibility would fall to his heir instead, namely his son.
Joseph of Heli did not marry Mary, but she would live in his house, and her son, being without a house of his own, would be adopted into that house. This sees to be the case, as the passage I quoted supposes him to be of the house of Heli. No other explanation serves as well.
Also, the passage quoted could be read "(as was customary)", or roughly "(by the custom)" as easily as "(as was supposed)"
I am no authority on Jewish custom, but I have read that the age of 30 years has some significance- Perhaps the adoption must occur at 30 years by custom... I have read it elsewhere, but cannot provide a link to the argument, nor do I recall it fully.
Ditto, Its Blasphemy. I have read portions of the book. It is in a word occult.
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.