Jesus

Jesus has been featured in many films and media forms, sometimes seriously, and other times satirically. The sutra itself, however, does not directly employ the phrase "eternal Buddha"; yet similar notions are found in other Mahayana scriptures, notably the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, in which the it is said the Buddha presents himself as the eternal ("nitya"/ "sasvata"), unchanging, blissful, pure Self (Atman) who, as the Dharmakaya, knows of no beginning or end. According to historians, forensic scientists, and genetics experts, he was most likely a bronze-skinned man—resembling a modern-day man of Middle Eastern descent. From the human perspective, it seems as though the Buddha has always existed. Often he is portrayed as looking like a male from the region of the artist creating the portrait. That sutra has the Buddha indicate that he became Awakened countless, immeasurable, inconceivable myriads of trillions of aeons ("kalpas") ago and that his lifetime is "forever existing and immortal". Jesus has been portrayed in countless paintings and sculptures throughout the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and modern times. The idea of an everlasting Buddha is a Mahayana notion popularly associated with the Mahayana Buddhist scripture, the Lotus Sutra.

Indeed, this skepticism has been around for centuries, with Erasmus joking that so much wood formed parts of the True Cross, that Jesus must have been crucified on a whole forest. In the holy Tripitaka—the core sacred texts of Buddhism—the numerous past Buddhas and their lives are spoken of, along with the next Buddha-to-be, who is named Maitreya. Many modern Christians, however, do not accept any of these as true relics. Emphasizing this universal availability, Buddhism refers to many Buddhas and also to many bodhisattvas - beings committed to Enlightenment, who vow to. The most famous alleged relics of Jesus are the Shroud of Turin, which is claimed to be the burial shroud used to wrap his body, the Sudarium of Oviedo, which is claimed to be the cloth which was used to cover his face, and the Holy Grail which is said to have been used to collect his blood during his crucifixion and possibly used at the Last Supper. The awakened bliss of Nirvana, according to Buddhism, is available to all beings—although orthodoxy holds that one must first be born as a human being. There are many items that are purported to be authentic relics of the Gospel account. The Buddha is solely an exemplar, guide, and teacher for those sentient beings who must tread the path themselves, attain spiritual Awakening, and see truth and reality as they are.

He may also have spoken other languages of the time, such as the Jewish liturgical language Hebrew, and the administrative language, Greek. Gautama Buddha stated that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant spirits and gods are themselves subject to karma in decaying heavens. Jesus' language was most probably Aramaic; see Aramaic of Jesus. He claimed to be a teacher to guide those who chose to listen, rather than a personal saviour. ^[13] See also Pharisees and Christianity.
Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, did not claim any divine status for himself, nor did he assert that he was inspired by any god. Some scholars have asserted that, despite the depictions of him as antagonistic towards the Pharisees, Jesus was a member of that group. Hence, Gautama Buddha (known by the religious name Shakyamuni) is one member of a spiritual lineage of Supreme Buddhas going back to the dim past and forward into the distant future.

Roman reaction to the Zealots eventually led to the destruction of Herod's Temple by Vespasian in August of 70 CE, and the subsequent decline of the Zealots, Sadducees and Essenes. From the standpoint of classical Buddhist doctrine, the word Buddha denotes a type of person of which there have been many in the course of cosmic time. They were founded by Judas of Galilee and Zadok the Pharisee in the year 6 against Quirinius' tax reform and "agree in all other things with the Pharisaic notions; but they have an inviolable attachment to liberty, and say that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord." (18.1.6) They believed that the kingdom should be restored immediately, even through violent human action, and advocated direct action against the Romans. Siddartha Gautam born in Lumbini, Nepal, brought the light to the world. Josephus' Jewish Antiquities book 18 states there was a "fourth sect", in addition to Sadducees, Pharisees and Essenes, which scholars associate with those he called Zealots. Generally, Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama, who lived from about 623 BCE to 543 BCE and attained enlightenment around 588 BCE, to have been the first or the last Buddha. Some, like John the Baptist in the first half of the century, and Yehoshua ben Ananias in the second half, claimed that a messianic age was at hand. The attainment of Nirvana is exactly the same, but a Samyaksam-buddha expresses more qualities and capacities than the other two.

Therefore the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king only through divine intervention. Buddhism recognises three types of Buddha, of which the simple term Buddha is normally reserved for the first type, that of Samyaksam-buddha (Pali: Samma-Sambuddha). Most people at that time believed that their history was governed by God, meaning that even the conquest of Judea by the Romans was a divine act. A Buddha is one who rediscovers the Dharma (that is, truth; the nature of reality, of the mind, of the affliction of the human condition and the correct "path" to liberation) by enlightenment, which comes to be after skillful or good karma (action) is perfectly maintained and all negative unskillful actions are abandoned. Many Jews hoped that the Romans would be replaced by a Jewish king (or Messiah) of the line of King David — in their view the last legitimate Jewish regime. Buddha (Sanskrit, Pali, others: literally Awakened One or Enlightened One, from the root: √budh, "to awaken") is a title used in Buddhism for anyone who has discovered enlightenment (bodhi), although it is commonly used to refer to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. In addition, isolated in small communities from these main groups, by choice, some even taking to remote desert caves in anticipation of the end times, lived the Essenes, whose theology and philosophy are thought, by some scholars, to have influenced Jesus and/or John the Baptist. Neumaier-Dargyay.

They resented Roman occupation, but, according to historian Shaye Cohen (1988), were in Jesus' time relatively apolitical. by E.K. According to Josephus, within 1st century Judaism there were several sects, primarily the Sadducees, closely connected with the priesthood and the Temple, and the Pharisees, who were teachers and leaders of the synagogues. The Sovereign All-Creating Mind: The Motherly Buddha (Sri Satguru Publications, Delhi 1992), tr. No gold, silver or imported goods have been found in it by archaeological excavation. Tony Page. It had no synagogue, nor any public buildings. and revised by Dr.

At this time Jesus' childhood hometown of Nazareth (Hebrew, Natserath) was, as revealed by archaeology, a tiny hamlet of a few hundred inhabitants. Yamamoto, ed. Galilee, where Jesus grew up according to the Gospels, remained under the jurisdiction of another of Herod's sons, Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, from 4 BC/BCE to AD 39/39 CE. by K. This situation existed, more or less, till 64 and the start of the Great Jewish Revolt. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Nirvana Publications, London, 1999-2000), tr. He combined Judea, Samaria, and Idumea into Iudaea Province which was placed under direct Roman administration and supervision by a Roman prefect who appointed a Jewish High Priest for Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. Del Campana.

In AD 6/6CE, Octavian, recently designated Roman Emperor and renamed as Augustus, deposed Herod's son Herod Archelaus. Schiffer, and P. It was directly ruled by the Idumaean Herod the Great who was appointed King of the Jews in Rome in 39 BC/BCE by Mark Antony and Octavian. Soothill, W. All of the land of Israel belonged to the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus' birth. Miyasaka, revised by W. This situation led to new interpretations of the Torah, influenced by Hellenic thought and in response to Gentile interest in Judaism. Tamura, and K.

Culturally, Jews had to grapple with the values and philosophy of Hellenism, and the imperialism of Rome, together with the paradox that their Torah applied only to them, but revealed universal truths. Kato, Y. The world in which Jesus lived was volatile, marked by cultural and political dilemmas. by B. Main article: Cultural and historical background of Jesus. The Threefold Lotus Sutra (Kosei Publishing, Tokyo 1975), tr. It is often translated Jesus of Nazareth to support the former hypothesis. A third eye (also denoting superb perception).

The title Jesus the Nazarene may be a reference to a place of origin called Nazareth, or to a Jewish sect called the Nazarenes. Long earlobes (denoting superb perception). Some historians argue that when used in other Hebrew and Aramaic texts of the time, these titles have other meanings, and therefore may have other meanings when used in the Gospels as well. A protuberance on the top of the head (denoting superb mental accuity). Together, the majority of Christians understand these titles as attesting to Jesus' divinity. This figure is believed to be a representation of either a medieval Chinese monk who is associated with Maitreya, the future Buddha, and it is therefore not technically a Buddha image. In the Gospels, Jesus has many other titles, including Prophet (a title that he applied to himself, unlike others), Lord, and King of the Jews. Hotei, the obese, laughing Buddha, usually seen in China.

Evidence for these positions is provided by similar use by other persons than Jesus at a similar time to the writing of the Gospels, such as Jewish priests and judges. Standing Buddha, as shown below. However, some scholars have argued that Son of Man was an expression that functioned as an indirect first person pronoun, and that Son of God was an expression that signified "a righteous person". Reclining Buddha, as shown to the right. The Gospels record Jesus referring to himself both as Son of Man and as Son of God, but not as God the Son. Seated Buddha, as in the above Tang Dynasty Amitabha sculpture The Reclining Buddha in Phuket, Thailand depicts the spiritual leader on the verge of death. . The title Christ is also sometimes identified with the Greek chrestos, meaning "good", although the words are unrelated in terms of etymology, and Chrestus was often used as a pet name for slaves. (from the Mahayana view) secure Awakening/Nirvana for themselves first and thereafter continue to liberate all other beings from suffering for all time.

In fact, it would seem prima facie that an inherently divine being would not be in need of being anointed. (from the Nikaya view) postpone their own Nirvana in order to assist others on the path, or. The title does not imply, either in Greek or in Hebrew, a divine nature for the possessor of it. The word mashiach in Hebrew means anointed (a cognate in English is "massage," from the Arabic for "vigorous rubbing with aromatic oils") , because the Israelite kings were anointed with oil. The Greek form is a liberal translation of Messiah from Hebrew mashiach (משיח) or Aramaic m'shikha (משיחא), a word which occurs often in the Hebrew Bible and typically refers to the "high priest" or "king".

Christ is not a name but a title, which comes from the Greek Χριστός (Christos) via Latin, meaning anointed with chrism. Muslims, following Qur'anic usage, refer to him by the name `Isa (possibly cognate with the Hebrew name Esau). The Arabic form of the name used by Christians, following Syriac, is Yasu`. Such speculations are largely in connection with further theories concerning Barabbas.

The Aramaic word for "father" (Abba) survives still untranslated in Mark 14:36. Some scholars speculate that Jesus was also known as "Bar Abba" ("Son of the Father") because many times in the Gospels he addressed God as "Father". His patronymic would have been, bar Yosef, for "son of Joseph". Other Aramaic forms of the name include Yeshu`, Ishu`, and Eshu`.

Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, mentions no fewer than nineteen different people with this name, about half of them contemporaries of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus' original name is not reported by contemporary or near-contemporary sources, but modern scholars have suggested that Jesus' name was the Aramaic ישׁוע / Yēšûaʿ (as in the Syriac New Testament) a shortened form of Yehoshua used in Ezra, Nehemiah and Chronicles), which was a fairly common name at the time. The earliest uses of Iēsoûs are found in the writings of Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, and the Septuagint, as a transliteration of the Hebrew name Yehoshua (יהושע — known in English as Joshua when transliterated directly from Hebrew), and also Yeshua (ישוע). Jesus is derived from the Koine Greek Ιησους (Iēsoûs) via Latin.

Main article: Names and titles of Jesus. ^[12]. Most Christians who hold that Jesus' miracles were literally true, not allegory, think that the Apostles gained the power to perform healing for both Jews and Gentiles alike after they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit of Truth (to pneuma tēs alētheias, John 14:17, 26; Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8, 2:4) that he had promised the Father would send them after his departure – a promise that according to Acts 2:4 was fulfilled at Pentecost, poignantly the Jewish feast that, in addition to other Scriptural events, commemorates also the giving of the Law to Moses. During his public ministry Jesus extensively trained twelve Apostles to continue after his departure his leadership of the many who had begun to follow him mainly in the towns and villages throughout Galilee, Samaria, and the Decapolis.

According to most Christian interpretations of the Bible, the theme of Jesus' preaching was that of apocalyptic repentance. John Shelby Spong). However, some liberal Christians do not accept that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead, or that he still lives bodily (e.g. Therefore, belief in the resurrection is one of the most distinctive elements of Christian faith; and defending the historicity of the resurrection is usually a central issue of Christian apologetics.

Most Christians — even those who do not hold to the literal truth of everything in the canonical Gospel accounts — accept the New Testament presentation of the Resurrection as a historical account of an actual event central to their faith. The resurrection of Jesus is almost universally denied by those who do not follow the Christian religion. Thereafter he went to Galilee and showed himself to several of his disciples by the lake and on the mountain; and they were present when he returned to Bethany and was lifted up and a cloud concealed him from their sight. To his assembled disciples he showed himself on the evening after his resurrection, when Thomas was however absent, though he was present when Jesus repeated his visit to them a week later.

Just hours after his resurrection he appeared to two travellers on the road to Emmaus. The Gospel accounts and the Acts of the Apostles tell of several appearances of Jesus to various people in various places over a period of forty days before he "ascended into heaven". John 20:11-18 states that when Mary looked into the tomb, two angels asked her why she was crying; and as she turned round she initially failed to recognise Jesus – even by his voice – until he called her by her name. Mark 16:9 says that Mary Magdalene was the first to whom Jesus appeared very early that morning.

Matthew 28:2-4) that according to Matthew 27:62-66 the high priests and Pharisees, with Pilate's permission, had posted in front of the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen by Jesus' disciples. The sight of the same angel had apparently left the guards unconscious (cf. The Synoptic Gospel accounts further state that an angel was waiting at the tomb to explain to them that Jesus had been resurrected, though the Gospel according to John makes no mention of this encounter. However, the women who had witnessed the entombment and the closure of the tomb with a great stone, found it empty when they arrived on the third day to anoint the body.

No one was a witness to the event of the resurrection. This article of faith is referred to in Christian terminology as the Resurrection of Jesus Christ; and each year at Easter (on a Sunday) it is commemorated and celebrated by most groups who consider themselves Christians. In accordance with the four canonical Gospel accounts Christians believe that Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. This was observed by Mary and other women, notably Mary Magdalene.

Following the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea obtained Pilate's permission to take down Jesus' body and lay it into his own new tomb. In art it is often written as INRI, the Latin acronym for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.". (See Barabbas.) All four Gospel accounts mention that the charge noted on the tablet called the titulus crucis, attached by orders of Pilate atop the cross, included the term "King of the Jews". Some scholars argue that it was an ordinary Roman trial of a rebel, whose Messianic claims made him especially dangerous.

According to the canonical gospel accounts (Matthew 27:24-26, Mark 15:15, Luke 23:24-25, John 19:16a), Pontius Pilate, bowing to the Jewish religious leaders' pressure, handed Jesus over (paredōken) (to his Roman soldiers) to be crucified. He was condemned for blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and turned over to the Romans for execution - not for blasphemy, but for sedition against the Empire. He was identified to the guards by one of his apostles, Judas Iscariot, who is portrayed as having betrayed Jesus by a kiss. He was subsequently arrested on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest, Joseph Caiaphas.

Jesus came with his followers to Jerusalem during the Passover festival, and created a disturbance at the Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychangers there.
. (This section of Josephus contains obvious Christian interpolations in most texts, but the Arabic version seems to be free of these.) There seems to be a very high probability that the organizer of the Caesarea resistance was Jesus himself - it is very hard to come up with an alternative candidate - and this was at least one major reason why Pilate ordered his Crucifixion. Josephus does not say who inspired and organized this major act of Nonviolent Resistance, but in the third paragraph, just two paragraphs later, he tells of the Crucifixion of Jesus by Pilate - though he does not say for what crime was he executed, if any.

Pilate gave in and ordered the standards removed. They replied they would rather die than see the Torah violated. Pilate threatened them with death. Thousands of Jewish people descended on Caesarea to ask the standards' removal.

In Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 1, we learn that Pontius Pilate began his administration of Judea by ordering Eagle Standards set up in Jerusalem. Some interpretations of the text, particularly amongst Protestants, suggest that Jesus opposed stringent interpretations of Jewish law, supporting the spirit more than the letter. Jesus also preached the imminent end of the current era (αίών) of history, or even the literal end of the world; in this sense he was an apocalyptic preacher. Jesus preachings included the forgiveness of sin, life after death, and resurrection of the body.

In his role as a social reformer, and with his followers holding the inflammatory view that he was the Jewish Messiah, Jesus threatened the status quo. His teaching castigated the Pharisees primarily for their legalism and hypocrisy, although he also had followers among the religious leaders (see Nicodemus). Jesus frequently put himself in opposition to the Jewish religious leaders including the opposing forces of Sadducees and Pharisees. According to the New Testament, Jesus also performed various miracles in the course of his ministry, including healings, exorcisms, and raising Lazarus from the dead.

His closest followers were twelve apostles, headed by Peter. Jesus had a number of disciples. His parables (or stories with a hidden meaning) include the parable of the Good Samaritan, and the Prodigal Son. Some of his most famous teachings are in the Sermon on the Mount, which also contains the Beatitudes.

His teaching frequently centered on the Kingdom of God, or Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus used a variety of methods in his teaching, such as paradox, metaphor and parable. Just after he was baptized by John the Baptist he began his public teaching; he is generally considered to have been about thirty years old at that time. On being missed, he was found 'instructing the scholars in the temple'.

At the age of twelve, Jesus was left behind by his parents after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Only one incident between his infancy and his adult life is mentioned in the canonical Gospels (although New Testament apocrypha go into these details, some quite extensively). Nazareth in Galilee is represented as his childhood home. The Bible, however, does not exactly reveal how Mary and Elizabeth were related.

Luke's Gospel records that Mary was a relative of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1:36). This was based on the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition that Mary remained a perpetual virgin, thus having no biological children before or after Jesus. However, Jerome argued that they were Jesus's cousins, which the Greek word for "brother" used in the Gospels would allow. The 1st century Jewish historian Josephus and the Christian historian Eusebius (who wrote in the 4th century but quoted much earlier sources now unavailable to us) refer to James the Just as Jesus' brother (See Desposyni).

Mark 6:3 (and analogous passages in Matthew and Luke) reports that Jesus was "Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon," and also states that Jesus had sisters. Magi ("Wise Men") from the East were guided by a star to his location some months later. In the Gospels, Jesus' birth is attended by visits from shepherds who were told of the birth by angels. Joseph, Mary's betrothed husband, appears only in stories of Jesus' childhood; this is generally taken to mean that he was dead by the time of Jesus' ministry.

According to the texts of Christianity, Jesus was born in Bethlehem to Mary, a virgin, via the Holy Spirit. There could have been confusion due to a misunderstanding, or a deliberate change due to doctrinal points. It is possible that the Entry (and subsequent events, including the Crucifixion and Resurrection)in historical reality took place at this time - the month of Tishri in the Autumn, not Nisan in the Spring. Hyam Maccoby and other scholars have pointed out that several details of the Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem - the waving of palm fronds, the Hosanna cry, the proclamation of a king - are connected with the Festival of Sukkot or Tabernacles, not with Passover.

Meier's A Marginal Jew, allowing for the time of the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate and the dates of the Passover in those years, his death can be placed most probably on April 7, 30 or April 3, 33 or March 30, 36. According to John P. Further, the Jews followed a lunisolar calendar with phases of the moon as dates, complicating calculations of any exact date in a solar calendar. The Gospel of John depicts the crucifixion just before the Passover festival on Friday 14 Nisan, called the Quartodeciman, whereas the synoptic gospels describe the Last Supper, immediately before Jesus' arrest, as the Passover meal on Friday 15 Nisan.

As for Jesus' death, the exact date is also unclear. Having fewer sources and being even further removed in time from the authors of the New Testament, details surrounding Jesus' birth are regarded, even by many believers, as less likely to be historical fact, and therefore establishing a reliable birth date is particularly difficult. This estimate itself relies on the historicity of the New Testament story involving Herod around the time of Jesus' birth. However, based on a lunar eclipse that Josephus reports shortly before the death of Herod the Great, the birth of Christ would have been some time before the year 4 BC/BCE, probably 5 or 6 BC/BCE.

This system made the then current year 532, and almost two centuries later it won acceptance and became the established calendar in Western civilization due to its championing by the Venerable Bede. Dionysius then set Jesus' birth as being December 25 1 ACN (for "Ante Christum Natum", or "before the birth of Christ"), and assigned AD 1 to the following year — thereby establishing the system of numbering years from the birth of Jesus: Anno Domini (which translates as "in the year of the Lord"). In the 248th year of the Diocletian Era (based on Diocletian's acsension to the Roman throne), Dionysius Exiguus attempted to pinpoint the number of years since Jesus' birth, arriving at a figure of 753 years after the founding of Rome. Before then, Jesus' birth was generally celebrated on January 6 as part of the feast of Theophany, also known as Epiphany, which commemorated not only Jesus' birth but also his baptism by John in the Jordan and possibly additional events in Jesus' life.

However, as early as 354, Roman Christians celebrated it following the December solstice in an attempt to replace the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia. Based on the accounts in the Gospels of the shepherds' activities, the time of year depicted for Jesus' birth could be spring or summer. Few, if any, scholars claim to know either the year or the date of his birth or of his death. There is considerable debate about the details of Jesus' birth even among Christian scholars.

The most detailed information about Jesus' birth and death is contained in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. Brief timeline of Jesus
of important years from
empirical sources. As a consequence, some secular scholars believe he was simply a Jewish apocalyptic teacher and faith healer who was crucified, and was subsequently the inspiration for Christianity. As such, scholars are interested in providing an historical context to the beliefs and tenets of Jesus' apparent Kingdom of God movement.

It is not the case that all scholars reject Jesus' divinity, yet some may choose to describe the social and cultural implications of claiming divinity in the 1st century. The question of the divinity of Jesus was discussed and decided on by Ecumenical Councils, starting with the First Council of Nicaea and others of Constantine I's attempts at producing unity, enforcement of the resulting decision thus suggesting an air of politicisation to the religious issue. The Christological argument attempts to prove the existence of God based on the existence of Jesus and his claims about himself as presented in the Gospels. The discipline of Christology discusses who Jesus was or was not from a philosophical and theological perspective.

The Multidinarian Doctrine teaches that Jesus is not one of three Persons in God (as taught by Trinitarian Doctrine), but one of a hundred trillion Persons in God. A Zen Buddhist interpretation of Jesus, based on the Gospel of Thomas, is also possible. He has also been claimed as an Ascended Master by Theosophy and some of its offshoots; related speculations have him studying mysticism in the Himalaya or hermeticism in Egypt in the period between his childhood and his public career. The New Age movement has reinterpreted the life and teaching of Jesus in a large variety of ways (e.g, see A Course in Miracles).

Mandaeanism regards Jesus as a deceiving prophet of the false Jewish god Adunay, and an opponent of the good prophet John the Baptist (whom they nonetheless believe to have baptised him). Many in the Surat Shabda Yoga tradition regard Jesus as a Sat Guru. Some Buddhists believe Jesus may have been a Bodhisattva, one who gives up his own Nirvana to help others reach theirs. The Bahá'í Faith considers Jesus to be a manifestation (prophet) of God, while not being God incarnate.

Some doubt he lived, some regard him as an important moral teacher, and some as a historical preacher like many others. Atheists, by definition, have no belief in a divinity—and thus not in any divinity of Jesus. The primary reasons why Jesus is not accepted as the Jewish Messiah are as follows:. Joseph Klausner, a prominent Israeli scholar, was vigorous in asserting the Judaism of Jesus.

Some Jewish scholars believe that Jesus is mentioned as Yeshu in the Jewish Talmud, although other scholars dispute this. As for the historical personality of Jesus, Judaism has fewer objections to quotes attributed to him than they do with subsequent confessions by early Christian adherents, Paul in particular. Religious Jews are still awaiting the coming of the Messiah (a notable exception concerns many members of the Chabad Lubavitch sect, who view their last Rebbe as being the Messiah). Judaism does not see Jesus as a messiah and also rejects the Muslim belief that Jesus was a prophet.

The Hare Krishna sect of Hinduism believes that Jesus is the son of Krishna (who they believe is God the Father that Jesus spoke of), and they accept many of his teachings. A great deal of earlier inclusion of Jesus within the Hindu pantheon is connected to the emergence of the Saint Thomas Christians. Hinduism is divided on the issue of Jesus—some hold that it is unlikely he existed, or that he was just a man, others say he was a great guru or yogi, still others equate Jesus with an avatar. Ahmadiyya Muslims also believe that references to the Second Coming of Jesus in religious scriptures are allegorical and refer to the arrival of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

The book uses historical documents to evidence Jesus' travel to Nasibain (Nisbis), Afghanistan and then to Kashmir, India in search of some of the lost tribes of Israel, who had settled in the east some 700 years prior. Drawing from Biblical, Quranic and Buddhist scriptures, Ahmad wrote that Jesus appeared to Mary, his apostles and others with the same (not resurrected) human body, evidenced by his human wounds and his subsequent clandestine rendezvous over about forty days in the Jerusalem surroundings. A medicine known as Marham-e-Issa (Ointment of Jesus) was applied to his wounds and he revived. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement, wrote in his book Jesus in India (April 1896) that Jesus survived the crucifixion and later travelled to India, where he lived as a prophet (and died) under the name of Yuz Asaf.Ahmad argued that when Jesus was taken down from the cross, he had lapsed into a state similar to Jonah's state of 'swoon' in the belly of a fish [Matthew 12:40] (see swoon hypothesis).

Mainstream Muslims believe that:. Unitarian Universalists who consider themselves Christian can be found throughout the denomination and in such groups as the Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship, certain congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and the American Unitarian Conference. Some Unitarians consider themselves Christian because they are followers of the teachings of Jesus, while others do not self-identify as Christian. Most Universalists believe in universal reconciliation — that eventually everyone will be saved.

Today few Unitarian Universalists define their religion solely based on this theological characterization. This historical argument gave birth to the Unitarian denomination and later the Unitarian Universalist Association. Trinitarians coined the term 'unitarian' to describe the arguments of those who believed God, as one being, is a single person and not three. Unitarianism developed out of theological arguments about whether or not Jesus is God.

The Arians believed that the Father was the only true God based on John 17:3. They followed Jacob ("James" in the English New Testament), the brother of Jesus, and insisted that Paul's teachings were without authority and totally alien to what Jesus taught. Other than that, they were observant Jews and did not believe in Jesus as God. The Ebionites believed in Jesus as a great prophet who had commanded the end of animal sacrifices and the end of the eating of animal flesh.

The Montanists believed in the Paraclete promised in John 14:16. The Marcionites believed Paul and Jesus rejected the Law of Moses and revealed a greater Supreme God than the creator god of the Old Testament. The Gnostics believed in the secret wisdom that they say Paul received during his road to Damascus experience (Romans 16:25; 1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Corinthians 12:2-4; Acts 9). The Docetics, an early Christian sect, believed (as Muslims do today) that Jesus never died and the Crucifixion was a type of illusion done by God.

The majority of lay Christians, theologians and clergy hold that the Bible shows Jesus both as divine, and claiming divinity. There are differing views within Christian groups as to whether or not Jesus ever claimed divinity. Some groups identifying themselves as Christian, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, and Christian Scientists, believe Jesus was divinely inspired but not God incarnate. The vast majority of Christians believe that Jesus is God according to the nature, as the only begotten Son of God the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, who was Incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, that is to say, who took on a human body and became also man according to the nature, and who came to earth to save mankind from sin and death through the shedding of his own blood in sacrifice and his rising from the dead on the third day and who later ascended into Heaven.

As reflected in the different Christian denominations, Christianity has undergone several schisms in its understanding of Jesus. ^{[10] [11]}. In contrast, Roman Catholics believe that even non-Christians can receive the grace needed for salvation if they live a just life. The Lutheran position on justification is nearly identical.

Jesus says (John 13:15) that his life was given as an example or role model for followers. Although most members of the various Christian denominations believe that faith in Jesus is necessary (based upon John 3:16), good works are certainly expected. Protestant Christians generally believe that faith in Jesus is the only way to receive salvation and to enter into heaven, and that salvation is a gift given by the grace of God. Stevenson, Creeds, Councils and Controversies, (London 1989); note that the above quotation follows Stevenson in italicising those phrases that do not occur in the Creed of Nicaea).

J. In addition to the belief in "one God, the Father, Almighty, maker of heaven and earth ..." and in "the Holy Spirit, the Lord and life-giver, Who proceeds from the Father ...", this Creed confesses the belief in "one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things came into existence, Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures (see: Bible prophecy) and ascended to heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, and will come again with glory to judge living and dead, of Whose kingdom there will be no end" (for both the Greek text and the above quoted English translation, cf. The vast majority of Christian denominations (generally including Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and most forms of Protestantism, but not Restorationism) derive their beliefs from the agreement reached at the First Council of Nicaea in 325, known as the Nicene Creed, in the form of the Creed of Constantinople (381).
.

However, many interpretations of the Synoptic Gospels suggest only one year; and to achieve consistency with the Gospel of John, one theory suggests that the last Gospel describes a timeline which depicts a ministry time period of approximately one year. It is commonly thought that Jesus preached for a period of three years, yet this is never mentioned explicitly in any of the Gospels. For example, the contributors to the Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies maintained that the only area which has any historical detail with regard to the influence of Mithraism on Christianity was in the area of art. However, not all agree.

Tolkien, believed that such myths were created by ancient pagans with vague and imprecise knowledge of Gospel truth. R. R. Lewis and J.

S. Devout Christian thinkers, such as C. There are many similarities between stories about Jesus and myths of Pagan Godmen such as Mithras, Apollo, Attis and Osiris Dionysus, leading to conjectures that the pagan myths were adopted by some authors of early accounts of Jesus. Those who have a naturalistic view of history do not believe in divine intervention or miracles without any evidence for them, such as the resurrection of Jesus mentioned by the Gospels.

Some say that the Gospel accounts are neither objective nor accurate, since they were written or compiled by his followers. Even among those who do believe in his existence there are divisions over the extent of historicity of the canonical Gospel accounts. Nevertheless, these scholars reject supernatural elements in the Gospels and other early texts about Jesus. They draw on the canonical Gospel accounts, but also on other historical sources and archaeological evidence to reconstruct as best as possible the life of Jesus in his historical and cultural context.

Consequently, scholars like Sanders, Geza Vermes, Paula Fredriksen, John Dominic Crossan and John Meier, argue that although many readers are accustomed to thinking of Jesus solely as a theological figure, whose existence is a matter of theological debate, the source documents (see Two-Source Hypothesis, and Gospel of Mark), on which several modern source hypotheses argue the four canonical Gospel accounts are based, were written within living memory of Jesus's lifetime and therefore provide a basis for the study of the "historical" Jesus. ^[9]. He notes that modern history and ancient history are two separate disciplines, with differing methods of analysis and interpretation. Paul Barnett has also pointed out that "scholars of ancient history have always recognised the 'subjectivity' factor in their available sources" and that "they have so few sources available compared to their modern counterparts that they will gladly seize whatever scraps of information that are at hand".

Nevertheless, he concludes, "the sources for Jesus are better, however, than those that deal with Alexander" and "the superiority of evidence for Jesus is seen when we ask what he thought" (1993:3). Sanders considers the quest for the "historical Jesus" to be much closer to that of Alexander than to Jefferson or Churchill. In some cases, and Sanders presents Alexander the Great as paradigmatic, the available sources tell us much about his deeds, but nothing about his thoughts. In many cases (Sanders provides the examples of Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill) historians are fortunate to have access to a good deal of documentation, although much of it has to be interpreted critically.

Sanders explains that historians often have to contend with documentation of differing quantity and quality. The historicity of Christ is as axiomatic for an unbiased historian as the historicity of Julius Caesar." In The Historical Figure of Jesus, E.P. Bruce, Rylands professor of biblical criticism and exegesis at the University of Manchester, has said: "Some writers may toy with the fancy of a 'Christ-myth,' but they do not do so on the ground of historical evidence. For example, F.F.

Thus, many have suggested that one treat the existence of Jesus and the accuracy of the New Testament as distinct questions. Several historians have observed that historical documentation is often partial and second hand, and must be interpreted with care. In addition, Bible scholar Bruce Metzger wrote regarding the Canon formation, "Although the fringes of the emerging canon remained unsettled for generations, a high degree of unanimity concerning the greater part of the New Testament was attained among the very diverse and scattered congregations of believers not only throughout the Mediterranean world, but also over an area extending from Britain to Mesopotamia.". It may be surmised that the early church leaders took for granted that historicity was not an issue to be debated, any more than debating the historicity of the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution would be major issues today.[6][7] [8] (Last footnote uses a PDF file).

However, noted scholars FF Bruce, Bruce Metzger and others argue that many considerations (including historical considerations) were taken into consideration regarding New Testament cannon. The debates that went on in the 4th century regarding which works should and should not be included in the canon were not known to include modern techniques of historical analysis, and generally tended to center more upon theology than upon historicity. [5]. [2][3][4] In addition, some scholars see the Gospel of Thomas as being very unlike the others Gospels and cite its lack of a resurrection of Jesus, despite the fact that the gospel of Mark originally may have ended without a resurrection as well.

However, other scholars date the Gospel of Thomas as late as 150, see gnostic influences in it, cite the lack of any definitive support that any church fathers quoted it, and believe it suffers from a paucity of manuscripts. The Gospel of Thomas is included with the canonicals in the Five Gospels of the Jesus Seminar. The dating of the Gospel of Thomas is believed by some scholars to possibly predate the canonical Gospels, and therefore this non-canonical Gospel may not rightly be called apocryphal, or be said to have any greater or lesser level of scholarly certainty existing about its authenticity, than any of the four canonical Gospels. Also, considered as important by a handful of scholars, though arguably not as authoritative sources for the Christian faith, are several apocryphal writings such as the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of Mary, the Infancy Gospels, the Gospel of Peter, the Unknown Berlin Gospel, the Naassene Fragment, the Secret Gospel of Mark, the Egerton Gospel, the Oxyrhynchus Gospels, the Fayyum Fragment and some others compiled in The Complete Gospels.

However, noted scholars reject the arguments of critics based on various historical and textual issues (see: Augustinian hypothesis). Some critics speculate that the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) used as sources a Q document, Logia, M-Source, and Oral tradition, and that the Gospel of John used a Signs Gospel though none of these are currently extant. The four canonical Gospel accounts are the primary sources about Jesus received by the Church and the Christian faith. [1].

Although the exact level of the historical accuracy contained in these texts is debated, the vast majority of scholars agree that the actual existence of a historical Jesus is likely. However, some scholars argue for a high degree of historical reliability of the key New Testament events, and some also for early dates of the entire New Testament. Some believe that these texts may not have retained the same level of historical accuracy as direct first-hand accounts written during or soon after the life of Jesus. Many modern scholars hold that the works describing Jesus (primarily the Gospel accounts) were initially communicated by oral tradition and were committed to writing as soon as several decades after the Crucifixion.

The only recorded times when Paul saw Jesus were in visions, but he claimed they were divine revelations and hence authoritative. The earliest New Testament texts which refer to him are Paul's letters, which are usually dated from the mid-first century. The historicity, teachings and nature of Jesus are subject to debate. A faulty 6th century attempt to calculate the year of his birth (which according to recent estimates could have been from 8 BC/BCE to 4 BC/BCE) became the basis for the Anno Domini system of reckoning years (and also the chronologically-equivalent Common Era system).

The canonical Gospel accounts focus primarily on Jesus' last one to three years, especially the last week before his crucifixion, which, based on some historical data mentioned, would have been anywhere from the years 27 to 36 in the current era. Muslims believe that he was one of God's most important prophets and also the Messiah, though they attach a different meaning to this than Christians, as they do not share the Christian belief in the divinity of Jesus. Most Christians also believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, and that through him they can be saved. Most Christians believe in one God that is a trinity composed of three persons, that Jesus is the second person of that trinity, and also that he is the Messiah (Greek: Christos) prophesied in the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible).

In addition to the four Gospels, a dozen or so non-canonical texts also exist, among which the Gospel of Thomas is believed by some textual critics to predate the Gospels of the traditional canon. The primary sources about Jesus are the four canonical Gospel accounts, which depict him as a Jewish preacher, healer and God himself; often at odds with Jewish authorities — who was crucified in Jerusalem during the rule of the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate. In Islam and the Bahá'í Faith, he is regarded as a major prophet. Jesus, or Jesus of Nazareth, also known as Jesus Christ, is Christianity's central figure, both as Messiah and, for most Christians, as God incarnate.

. (Available online in PDF format - http://www.quicknet.ch/urech/online.htm). and Panakal L.: "The Ancient Mother – I : The Key to the bible" and "The Ancient Mother – II : The Key to the bible", Identity Publishers, Switzerland, 1997. Kumar V.

Kierkegaard, Soren: "Training in Christianity", Vintage Spiritual Classics. Hart, The 100, Carol Publishing Group, July 1992, paperback, 576 pages, ISBN 0806513500. Michael H. The author is now Bishop of Durham (Church of England).

Second in a projected massive five or six volume series on Christian origins, dealing with the life and death of Christ from a very open Evangelical perspective. Jesus and the Victory of God N.T.Wright, SPCK (London), 1996 ISBN 0281047170. The Arabic version of Josephus is free of these apparent Christian interpolations, but still makes it clear that Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus. Most scholars believe that these passages were added to Josephus's text by later Christians.

In some editions of Jewish Antiquities by the Jewish historian Josephus Book 18, chapter 3, paragraph 3 www.josephus-1.com refer to Jesus. The Superhuman life of Gesar of Ling — Alexandra David-Neel (A divine hero still in oral tradition). On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History. Carlyle, Thomas.

In Quest of the Hero:(Mythos Series) — Otto Rank, Lord Fitzroy Richard Somerset Raglan and Alan Dundes, Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0691020620. Yogananda, Paramahansa: The Second Coming of Christ, ISBN 0876125550. The Politics of Jesus ISBN 0-8028-0734-8. Yoder, John H.

Wilson, Ian Jesus: The evidence ISBN 0297835297. ISBN 0802443265. Jesus Christ Our Lord. Moody Press, 1969. Walvoord, John F.

Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels ISBN 0800614437. Vermes, Geza. Mere Christianity ISBN 0060652926. Lewis, C.S.

Tolstoy, Leo The Kingdom of God is Within You ISBN 0803294042. Fortress Press. The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form. Theissen, Gerd.

An amazing book, tough but rewarding, exceptionally detailed. The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide, Fortress Press, 2003, ISBN 0800631226. Theissen, Gerd, and Annette Merz. Illegitimacy of Jesus: A Feminist Theological Interpretation of the Infancy Narratives.

Schaberg, Jane. More specialistic than the previous book, though not inaccessible. Jesus and Judaism, Fortress Press, 1987, ISBN 0800620615. Sanders, E.P.

An up-to-date, popular, but thoroughly scholarly book. The historical figure of Jesus, Penguin, 1996, ISBN 0140144994. Sanders, E.P. Incredible Shrinking Son of Man: How Reliable Is the Gospel Tradition? ISBN 1591021219.

Price, Robert M. Jesus Through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture, Yale University Press, 1985, hardcover, 270 pages, ISBN 0300034962; trade paperback, HarperCollins reprint, 304 pages, ISBN 0060970804; trade paperback, Yale University Press, 1999, 320 pages, ISBN 0300079877. Pelikan, Jaroslav. Press, 1975.

Manchester U. Mithraic Studies: Proceedings of the First International Congress of Mithraic Studies. Miller, Robert, The Complete Gospels, the Scholars Version translation of gospels from the first three centuries, includes canonical gospels, thomas, james, mary, infancy gospels, fragments, ISBN 0944344305. Metzger, Bruce, The New Testament Canon, page 254.

The author is also famous as one of the rare who did an interview with Pope John Paul II. An amazing and very readable book that shows how Vittorio Messori, a recognized Italian historian who didn't care about faith, explores the question of Jesus, starting from two points of view, mythical (Jesus never lived) and critical (Jesus was not God) and finally comes to the third hypothesis, the one of the faith. Jesus hypotheses, St Paul Publications, 1977, ISBN 0854391541; The translation from Italian Ipotesi su Gesù. Messori, Vittorio.

Another, less technical, study of the earliest traditions of Israel from linguistic and archaeological evidence which also treats the teachings and followers of Jesus in that context. ISBN 0-664-22313-3. Ancient Israel's Faith and History: An Introduction to the Bible in Context, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001. Mendenhall, George E.

A study of the earliest traditions of Israel from linguistic and archaeological evidence which also treats the teachings and followers of Jesus in that context. ISBN 0-8018-1654-8. The Tenth Generation: The Origins of the Biblical Tradition, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. Mendenhall, George E.

A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus ISBN 0385264259. Meier, John P. II: ISBN 0918956730. Vol I: ISBN 0918956463 , Vol.

Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Two volumes looking at Jesus from the point of view of evidence. McDowell, Josh. ISBN 0060652926. "Mere Christianity" A book on Christianity and logical support for Jesus as God.

Lewis, C.S. The Unvarnished New Testament, A new translation from the original Greek free of doctrines and dogmas, ISBN 0933999992. Gaus, Andy. The Five Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say? The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus.

Funk, Robert W. From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ ISBN 0300084579, ISBN 0300040180. Fredriksen, Paula. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity ISBN 0679767460.

Fredriksen, Paula. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, ISBN 0195154622. Ehrman, Bart. Jesus: apocalyptic prophet of the new millennium, ISBN 019512474X.

Who Killed Jesus?: Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus. Crossan, John Dominic. 1988 From the Maccabees to the Mishnah ISBN 0-664-25017-3. Cohen, Shaye J.D.

Pseudodoxia Epidemica, 6th edition, 1672, V:vi. Browne, Sir Thomas. Does the NT call Jesus God?, Theological Studies #26, 1965. Brown, Raymond.

Christ the End of the Law, Romans 10.4 in Pauline Perspective, ISBN 0905774930. Badenas, Robert. Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: An Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths, ISBN 0931464013. Albright, William F.

Akers, Keith, "The Lost Religion of Jesus," ISBN 1930051263. The Apostolic Fathers, Lightfoot, Harmer, Holmes. Teach Yourself NT Greek, Hudson, ISBN 0844237892. A Textual Commentary on the Greek NT, Metzger.

The Greek New Testament, Aland, United Bible Societies. The New Testament of the Bible, especially the Gospels. We find no criticism of the law which would allow us to speak of his opposing or rejecting it.". Sanders in Jesus and Judaism, pp.264-269, states: "I am one of a growing number of scholars who doubt that there were any substantial points of opposition between Jesus and the Pharisees ..

P. ^ E. ^ Jewish Encyclopedia on Pentecost. ^ Joint declaration ELCA Vatican.

Nostra Aetate, declaration of Vatican II. ^ catechism entry on grace and justification catechism. ^ Paul Barnett, "Is the New Testament History?", p.1. The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Left Behind popular End Times books on Apocalyptic Jesus: "It was as if the very words of the Lord had superheated their blood, causing it to burst through their veins and skin.". Lewis: Jesus is either "Liar, Lunatic, or Lord". S. Josh McDowell proponent of Trilemma of C.

Jesus Seminar modern scholars attempt to find Historical Jesus, solely using first stratum sources (those dateable to 30-70 CE) and only considering events and sayings with multiple independent attestations. Tom Wright Anglican Bishop of Durham. Marcus Borg Oregon State University Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture. John Dominic Crossan retired former DePaul University Professor of Biblical Studies.

Dunn Durham University Emeritus Lightfoot Professor of Divinity. G. James D. Sanders Duke University Professor of Religion.

P. E. Jacob Neusner scholar of Judaism, author of A Rabbi talks with Jesus. Geza Vermes Oxford University Professor of Jewish Studies.

Hyam Maccoby 1924-2004, British scholar. Brown 1928-1998 Union Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus, Does the New Testament call Jesus God?, Theological Studies #26, 1965, pp.545-573. Raymond E. Bruce 1910-1990 British Evangelical scholar.

F.F. Albert Schweitzer 1875-1965 Quest for the Historical Jesus. Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826 Jefferson Bible. John Calvin 1509-1564 French theologian Calvinism.

Martin Luther 1486-1546 German theologian Lutheran. Augustine of Hippo 354-430 Catholic Doctor of the Church. Marcion ca.110-160 called "most dangerous" heretic. Dramatic portrayals of Jesus.

Sermon on the Mount. Historical Jesus. Maimonides rules (Laws of Kings 11:4) concerning one who is killed that “it is certain the he is not the one whom the Torah has promised.”. According to the New Testament Jesus was killed.

According to the New Testament Jesus' father is God, but according to the Hebrew Bible, the Messiah must descend patrilineally from King David. The many Biblical prophecies regarding the Messiah (bringing the Jews back to the Land of Israel and bringing peace on earth, the dead rising, all people knowing God, the Messiah ruling from the throne in Jerusalem, etc.) have not been fulfilled. Jesus is alive in heaven and will return to the world in the flesh with Imam Mahdi to defeat the dajjal (the anti-Christ in Islamic belief), once the world has become filled with injustice. Some Muslim scholars (notably Ahmad Deedat) maintain that Jesus was indeed put up on the cross, but did not die on it, but was revived and then ascended bodily to heaven, while others say that it was actually Judas who was mistakenly crucified by the Romans.

Jesus was neither killed nor crucified; but God made it appear so to his enemies. Almost all non-Muslim scholars regard this text as a medieval production, and thus not an authentic text. Some Muslims accept the Gospel of Barnabas as the most accurate testament of Jesus. However, Muslims hold that the New Testament we have today has been changed and does not accurately represent the original.

Jesus received a Gospel from God, called (in Arabic) the "Injeel", and corresponding to the New Testament. Jesus renounced all worldly possessions and lived a life of strict nonviolence, abstaining from eating animal flesh and from drinking alcohol. The Qur'an mentions, among other miracles, that he raised the dead, restored sight to the blind, and cured lepers. Besides his miraculous birth, his first miracle was when, although only a few days old, Jesus spoke and defended his mother against accusations of adultery.

Jesus was able to perform miracles, but only by the will of God. His mother, Mary ("Maryam" in Arabic), is among the most saintly, pious, chaste, and virtuous women ever. Jesus was born miraculously without a human biological father by the will of God. Jesus' message to mankind was originally the same as all of the other prophets, from Adam to Mohammad, but has been distorted by those who claim to be its adherents.

He was neither God nor the son of God, but rather a human prophet, one of many prophets sent over history to guide mankind. He was sent specifically to guide the Children of Israel. Jesus (Isa in the Qur'an) was one of God's highest ranked and most beloved prophets.