If you wanted to restore peace to a pond, It would be better to convince the stone thrower of the error of his ways, rather than try and deal with the ripples.
Three key Biblical stories are allegedly prophetic. The Book of Isaiah, The Book of Daniel and The Book of Revelations.
Yet there is emerging evidence with scholarly support that they are not prophesies at all. Rather they were written after the fact. But why?
The answer. To support the ambitions of Empire.
If this can be proven. Judaism, Christianity and Islam may be found to be on very shaky grounds.
Let's see shall we.
First the Book of Isaiah.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Isaiah
Most scholars for at least the past 100 years or so agree that the Book of Isaiah was written in three parts. They suggest that at least two of those parts were not written when the Bible suggests they were but around 538BC or later. This just happens to be the time that one of the key actors within the Book of Isaiah was in Babylon liberating the Jewish Captives. That person, listed as a Saviour of the enslaved Jewish people, was known as Cyrus the Great. A major empire builder, back in the day.
Now, if you asked a Samaritan, what he thought of the returning Jewish people, he'd most likely tell you, that they brought back a new version of their traditions.
But, where it gets interesting, and we start to see a common pattern, is with the 1800's discovery of the Cyrus Cylinder. On this cylinder we are told that Cyrus liberated the Babylonians just two years earlier in 540BC and just like in the Book of Isaiah, Cyrus is cast as a good friend of the locals god. In the Babylonians case it was Marduk. In the captive Jewish folks case it was Yahweh. It's also in the Book of Isaiah, part 2, that Yahweh is identified as the supreme God of Gods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_Cylinder
This is but 1 or 5 related events, that may challenge the notion that prophecies and miracles are a part of human reality. Don't you just love history :-)
To be continued ...
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To be continued? Come on, it was just getting interesting and I had almost settled in for an afternoon of reading enjoyment! It starts out very interesting and I really do want to read more. :)
I'm not convinced :-) But regardless, I continue.
The next episode in our Saga, occurs when Alexander the Great, our the fourth beast, takes over 10 Kingdoms (or 10 horns if you have a Biblical perspective) to his east. It's Alexander that introduces reason, some of it platonic, perhaps, to the lives of the Jewish folks, who buy now are perhaps tiring of the overly zealous nature of the Cyrus tradition and its righteous satraps and their bogus rituals.
Enter the Hellenized Jew and the Pharisees. The Pharisees or their predecessors are the caretakers of the Cyrus tradition. They are not fond of losing the weekly contributions and with falling profits they, lead by the Maccabees start a civil war with the Hellenized Jews that lasts 6.5 - 7 years . That's equivalent to 2300 days if you like a biblical count of the length of the war. Now, the King of the region, aka the little horn that came from three horns which was four other things (Alexander's 10 kingdoms became 4 with his passing, one of the 4 was made up of three of the 10 of which Antiochus IV became the supreme ruler of king of the Jewish Folks and others ), backed the Hellenized Jews. He dies 3.5 years in which has a Biblical count in the vicinity of 1290 or 1335 days. These periods of time are in the Book of Daniel.
Now read the Book of Daniel, and notice how all the mythical reference relate to the historical events leading up to 160BC.
Interestingly there is a body of scholars who are drawing the same conclusion.
So, who wrote the Book of Daniel and when. Well, it was most likely the Maccabees. They were using a Cyrus technique of false prophecy, just like the Book of Isaiah and the Cyrus Cylinders account of Cyrus propaganda to the Babylonians. The Maccabees were trying to make the Hellenized Jews take the fall for their(the Maccabees) savage ways and tie it all back to Go(o)ds vengeance.
Again, Cyrus tactics, just like in the Book of Isaiah. To show that the Pharisees weren't that sharpest tools in the shed, you just need to compare the historical leaders in play, back around the times of Cyrus and Darius, with the leaders and their relatives as recorded in the Book of Daniel. They simply don't line up.
But if you think that's interesting, consider this. The Angel Gabriel is first mentioned in the Book of Daniel. Now if Daniel is a made up story, it should follow that the Angel Gabriel is made up as well. What are we to make of Muhammad and his cave experience. In his defence there may be a valid explanation, given the prophetic precedents and the military issues of the day. At least from his perspective.
But before we progress something to consider ahead of the Roman fabrications and the Bibles real author, the talented and twice lauded Emperor Nerva .
In the Book of Revelation, written sometime after 60AD, the following information was presented as one of the apostle John's later predictions. This particular "prediction" relates to an event that occurs during the third of three woes. To some people, these three woes have been taken to mean that the author of "revelations" was predicting or prophesying the 3rd of three world wars and an Armageddon scenario.
“14:20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.”
Yet, from another independent source from the same era, the Jewish Talmud, we have this historical event recorded.
“The struggle lasted for three years before the revolt was brutally crushed in the summer of 135 CE. After losing Jerusalem, Bar Kokhba and the remnants of his army withdrew to the fortress of Betar, which also subsequently came under siege. The Jerusalem Talmud relates that the numbers slain were enormous, that the Romans "went on killing until their horses were submerged in blood to their nostrils".[10]The Talmud also relates that for seventeen years the Romans did not allow the Jews to bury their dead in Betar”
The Bar Kokhba revolt occurred between 132-136AD. It was the third of three Jewish conflicts with Rome.
These "wars" occurred during the first and second centuries AD.
To be continued ...
Those were really interesting historical facts. Thanks for sharing them to us here! History can really prove that all these religious books were more of being fictional and doesn't worth our time.
Ahhh... but wait there is more and it is very much worth our time :-)
Really? What is it? Can't wait to know!
Spill the beans man! Where is this knowledge coming from?
History, read it. :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel.
Stay tuned for the next gripping installment. Or not. It is really all about choices.
“An old Cherokee told his grandson “There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is go(o)d. It is joy, love, peace, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.”
The boy thought about it, and asked “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”The old man quietly replied. “The one you feed.”
The next instalment explains why Miracles are fake. Who made them up and why.
To prepare, look at the seven known letters of Paul/Saul the Pharisee and ask yourself two questions. One, why does he not mention any Jesus miracles and two, why did he not write his old testament evangelism down until after 51AD. Preferring an oral interpretation up until then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_the_Apostle
Also acquaint yourself with Roman Emperor Nerva's story, mysterious awards and literary talents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerva.
But, is there sufficient genuine interest, to warrant the effort. Choose your wolf :-)
Oh... A clue. It's all connected, and relates to the two wolf story. The answers are not in the smaller stories, they lay in the patterns that a big picture reveals. The song is not one note. Rather its in the patterns of the notes. Its not in the particles, but the wave patterns that the particles participate in. May the force be with you :-)
This is actually all very interesting. I will have to get into it later though. Really like the 2 wolves story!
And now for some light entertainment, while Rome burns (or at least its goose is cooked) :-)
http://www.upworthy.com/a-religious-leader-tries-to-tell-the-wrong-woman...
Cool video, Good for her!
Paused. It's still poorly worded.
Ok. Take 2. You have a 15 page free preview. It's not what you might first think. But I definitely think it will help your cause, assuming you all have peaceful intentions at heart :-)
http://blur.by/15rM2re
Lots of information on this thread. :)
The edited bible can be perfect since it was just translated by people and I could agree that some might alreay manipulate it for their good or in order to get power.
Well, if you like information. I've set the free preview to give you the full summarized story. Enjoy. Consider paying the $10.00 for the pdf if you see it's potential. It took some effort to get to the final 5 "Great" corruptions theory :-)
http://blur.by/15rOspO
So Rob, was this all just an attempt to get us to buy this book?
The preview and full theory is a free read. You decide it's value. The research is difficult and took quite some time all at my expense this far. :-)
Fair enough, I like that you set the preview to give the full summary. As a researcher myself ( mainly investment research) I am aware it takes time and can be tedious. I can tell by just what you put forward here that its well put together though. Do keep in mind that most atheist are natural skeptics and prepare to be scrutinized. Good luck with you book sales, I hope to see more input from you in other discussion in the forums though. I am sure you can bring a lot to the table in terms of food for thought. Does your book explain your graphic?
Ok, everyones a critic, so I got around to reading your book preview! It seems from the impression that I got, like a positive reinforcement piece. I honestly was expecting something different based on what you put forth here. I was thinking more along the lines of mind-blowing/bending correlations and balance of religion to make make the reader see religion of all sorts in a new light one that put it all in perspective. I thought it would break down the bible and books of other cultural influence and really boil them down into a careful analysis. I was wondering are you a biblical scholar or is this a hobby of yours? I see you quoted Wikipedia a few times in there I would consider using the sources from Wikipedia and then actually quoting the actual source which can usually be found at the bottom of a Wikipedia page. If you want to cite Wikipedia for research or just basic online chatter this fine but if you want to come across more thorough in your book follow and verify the sources you find at Wikipedia by leaving this to the reader it just basically shares an opinion and tells them to look up and verify on their own. However that being said I do like your style of citing sources as you go along rather than in footnotes. People tend to buy and read books with more direct sources than Wikipedia though. By quoting Wikipedia in your book it make the book come across like it was written by an armchair commando much like myself. I am not stating this to pick your book apart but rather to try and help you achieve better book sales.
I like the parts where it points out women are equal to or greater than men at least not when distracted by competition and the part where it says Jesus said "for every women who make themselves male will enter the kingdom of heaven." I find those lines quite interesting and would like to look deeper into that.
Over all I think i may have missed the summary's point I do like the idea of using the war monies to end poverty but unfortunately I don't think that would be as lucrative for the politicians who thrive of the monies they are given and the reason they can thrive is varying levels of lifestyle people currently have if people had no poverty they would have little to work for and overall become lazier. to put it another way, it's the have-nots that make it worthwhile to be a haves. Lots of ideas are nice to think about but honestly not so nice in practice I would agree though war is far worse than worldwide hunger which ultimately leads to war anyways but far less excess. Money is infinite people just don't like when it's printed because people who have saved all their lives for retirement don't like seeing their retirement fund dwindle down to worthlessness. We can and will always print more money but in the end other more tangible things are limited that's why value fluctuates. the real problem is greed not the money that is spent here or there.
Thanks for taking the time to have a look.
Quite rightly observed, I am what you'd call a hobbyist. And yes, the summary, will require people to follow up on the claims. I have the detailed work of my research, 400 pages, due out in October/November. It's currently with my publishers editors. The reason for writing the summary edition is explained in the introduction. Fundamentally, I was trying to present the big picture and the "other" side of the Jesus story that the discovery in 1945 in Egypt reveals.
Without this big picture perspective, I was afraid that people and critics would allow the debate to get lost in the "devils" details.
That broader perspective (538BC to 325AD) shows how Empires used the religious story to control the population. That broader perspective also allows one to see the repeating patterns at work. The emperors, starting with Cyrus the Great and his MAGI, created the illusion of prophecy with the Bibles's Book of Isaiah. The Maccabees did the same thing with the Book of Daniel. The Book of Daniel was another fabricated story. That has implications for the Islam story , because Muhammad said he spoke to the Angel Gabriel in a cave. Gabriel was a notion created by the Book of Daniel story, so I'm afraid Muhammad must have made his interpretation up as well.
Paul, was always a Pharisee and he and Mark were evangelist's who took the teachings of the bloke we know as Jesus, who was most likely the righteous teacher from Qumran, and re-spun his philosophy/interpretation of this thing called Go(o)d to lure the Jews and Gentiles that were abandoning the Pharisee traditions and taking their tithes with them.
Enter Agrippa 1 (another person to consider himself a Great - another pattern the broader perspective reveals) and his son Agrippa II. They, in connection with the shadowy Pharisee priests, had been subtly trying to undermine Rome's authority by spreading this new Jewish sect that Paul and Mark were returning to their control.
Future Roman Emperor Nerva received two mysterious and prestigious awards. One under Nero and the other under the Flavians. He is also credited for his work against the Pisonian conspiracy of 65AD. This event is dated as after the Rome fire of 64AD and pre the deaths a significant number of "Christian" Bishops around 66-68AD and an all out assault on everything Jewish, except for certain Pharisees and Agrippa II. My conclusion, Nerva uncovered the Pharisee plot under Nero and for this he received his first award.
Nerva was also known for his literary talents and hence his second "big gong" award . I suggest that he used those talents when he goes missing for a period to write the Gospels of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John and the Book of Acts. I also think he wrote or orchestrated the incredulous Works of Flavious Josephus on behalf of the Flavian Dynasty. That is, Rome was the author of the Bible and it did so to wrestle the Cyrus corrupted Jewish religion from the Pharisees. In 166 and 189AD to simultaneous events occurred that suggest Rome was still very much in control. A mysterious character by the name of Theudas, makes a connection between Paul, The Pharisees, and a near miss Pope called Valentinius. I go into more detail in the research book.
It's in Nerva's interpretation that we see the first mention of miracles. If you look at the 7 "genuine" letters attributed to Paul/Saul, no mention of a Jesus Miracle. Also note, that Paul/Saul did not put pen to paper until 51AD preferring an oral tradition until Rome must have put some pressure on. Oral traditions are a Pharisee hallmark and invention. It makes it tougher to pin down the deception.
The authentic Jesus story came to our attention with that discovery of the Gospel of Thomas in 1945 in Egypt. 114 sayings that can be seen to parallel a wisdom , save the use of the Jewish traditional terms, close to that of Plato. This story is one of personal self awareness. This story would not only threaten the fabrications of Pharisaic Judaism, it also would have challenged the story Rome was spinning to its people about their Gods. Poor old Jesus had to go. Such was the threat that they not only had to own the story, they needed to obscure any trace of this Essene righteous teacher.
Some where along the track, The Book of Revelation was born and amended perhaps after 136AD, the third, (as in three world wars) last time the zealous Pharisees tried to challenge Roman authority. I provide evidence connecting the conflict and the revelations nonsense and you also have to weigh in that the Book of Daniel was a fraud.
So, we have three biblical prophecies that can be shown as frauds (some Scholars are already drawing the conclusions on the first two) and in so doing, demonstrate that the religions themselves are based on corruptions designed by and for authority.
The last corruption, in the series up to 325AD, occurs when Constantine (you guessed it ) the Great, tells about another "miraculous vision" and he uses the rising number of Christianity to secure full control of the Roman Empire. A simple divide and conquer ploy perhaps. The rest is a more reliable history, perhaps. However, I think there is more to this story...
Patterns to a simple story of people feeding the evil wolf.
“An old Cherokee told his grandson “There is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies and ego. The other is go(o)d. It is joy, love, peace, hope, humility, kindness, empathy and truth.”
The boy thought about it, and asked “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”The old man quietly replied. “The one you feed.”
So, when you take out the MAGIc all spirituality etc... are all talking about the same efforts to understand and guide decisions on these wolves, albeit some sugar coating.
What, I don't get from your feedback, is acknowledgement of the historical evidence. Can you help me understand why that is or how that can be improved? :-)
I've read the Bible several times, and I've always hated the book of Isaiah. It's so full of hateful anger and vengeance and just general nastiness that I can barely finish it (though I have several times). My mother, who is much more patient with general human nastiness than I am, has urged me to look at it as a history rather than a morality lesson, but I still never saw the worth in it until you anchored it with these awesome contextual facts. I look forward to reading it again with your work in mind! I love new perspectives :)