[SunkenCiv]

Franck Goddio/ Hilti Foundation, photos: Christoph Gerigk | 'By Christ the Magician' -- A bowl, dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., is engraved with what may be the world's first known reference to Christ. The engraving reads, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," which has been interpreted to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ."

[SunkenCiv]

thanks Blam.

‘Jesus was a Palestinian,’ claims U.S. history text
World Net Daily | October 03, 2008 | Bob Unruh
Posted on 10/03/2008 5:09:03 AM PDT by Sopater
17 posted on 10/03/2008 6:11:32 AM PDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2096530/posts?page=17#17

[SunkenCiv]

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[RabidBartender]

Are you sure that doesn’t really say “Starbucks”?

j/k - thanks for posting this story - I love reading the archeology stories that get posted here.

[SunkenCiv]

The Historicity of Jesus Christ [Open Thread under Religion Moderator’s Guidelines]
History | August 3, 2008 | Kevmo
Posted on 08/04/2008 1:19:19 PM PDT by Kevmo
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2056400/posts

[Preachin']

I don’t mind saying He’s done some magic on me!

Thaank you Jesus.

[Claud]

Interesting. Some of the early non-Christian sources that refer to Christ often label Him a “magician” or a “wonder worker”, cf. Josephus and the Talmud.

Myself, I’m convinced that the miraculous exploits of Christ were well-known to contemporary pagan and Jew alike.

[unspun]

Is it any wonder that the apostle John warned against the gnostics?

Funny it didn’t say, “the 20th Century reinterpreters’ historical Jesus....”

[Philo-Junius]

Colour me unimpressed. Many people claimed to be the Messiah, which is all “Christ” means.

It’s like finding a football signed “for the Champs” and assuming it must have belonged to Bart Starr.

[bonnieblue4me]

Could be the Holy Grail. Or not. It would be from early 1st century and someone could have engraved it after the Last Supper. Definitely more possible that this is the HG, than that BHO is the one!

[so_real]

I’m under the impression the greek word for magician or sorcerer is “magus”. I have no clue what “goistais” is ...

[BlueStateBlues]

Oh please, this looks like the letters were carved into it last week, or a few minutes ago. It hardly seems the wood chips have been blown away. “By Christ the magician”, three-card monty and sawing a woman in half, pick a card—any card. Carve me another bowl about Moses and the bush, or Bush for that matter, but the media is giving this fake an undeserved 15 minutes.

[r9etb]

This bowl is probably a forgery ... but it's in keeping with the passage from Acts 8:

But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. (Acts 8:11)

To a non-Christian, the miracles attributed to Jesus would have been magic, also.

[2banana]

I translate it to say “World's #1 Lord and Savior”

[evets]

O RLY

[VRWCTexan]

http://www.tonycartledge.com/

It’s also possible, however, that the “o” (which alone would mean “the”) should be read with the following word, so that the inscription may indicate that the bowl was donated by someone named Christ or Chrest, who may have belonged to a postulated religious group called “ogoistais.” It is known that some people of the time worshiped a god named “Osogo” or “Ogoa.”

The evidence at present is not sufficient to answer the question definitively. The inscription may refer to Christ, or it may not. It’s a very interesting find, but unlikely to have any impact on the Christian faith.

[lunarville]

I believe it translates to; “Warning - The coffee in this cup is so hot it may cause serious burns”

[aruanan]

dating to between the late 2nd century B.C. and the early 1st century A.D., that, according to an expert epigrapher, could be engraved with the world's first known reference to Christ.

They're off by over a century.

[Claud]

They don't have a picture of the second part of the inscription, which is annoying, because the transcription of the first part given in the article, "DIA CHRSTOU O GOISTAIS," seems incorrect.

I see

DIACRHSTOU

DIACHRESTOU

[Charles Henrickson]

Here's a difficulty in taking it as a reference to Christ: The engraving actually reads, "DIA CHRESTOU" not "DIA CHRISTOU." The first vowel in the main word is an "eta" not a "iota." Therefore that would be, "Through Chrestos" not "Through Christos." "Chrestos" and "Christos" are two different words: "Chrestos" means "good," and could also be a proper name. "Christos" means "Christ" or "Messiah."

Now even in the ancient days there was some confusion between these two close-sounding words. But this inscription is NOT necessarily a reference to Christ.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks to all who have replied, great comments!