The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

The Holy Bible and The Holy Qurn Studies

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

The stories enshrined in the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran are revelations about us, the human race

MYTH IS THE GREAT STORY OF MAN

Storytelling
is an integral part of the human experience. Here is Zeus seducing Leda, mother of Helen of Troy

Stories tell something about us, about the human condition, even if the story is not true. They contain certain morales and axioms that everybody can accept. I define myth in this way. The term derives from the Greek root, mythos. I believe there are a number of origins for the Creation of Myth: Legend Allegory Personification Rites People become the stuff of legend because they affected our lives in some personal way. Simply put, that person made us happy. And around 320 BCE a mythographer by the name of () EuhmerosGreek for happy theorized that myth originated from human beings made legend. I couldnt agree more. We have the famous legends of Troy (present-day Turkey) and the Pharos Lighthouse (modern-day Egypt) for example. The historicity of all these legends are confirmed by modern archeology.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

So what of the biblical legends: e.g. Adam, Abraham, Moses, or Jesus and Muammad? Are these legends historical too? That is the theme for our presentation, to find out if the stories of the Bible are historical truths or just plain storytelling truths. This power-point presentation consists of two parts. This demonstration is part one. Part one is broken up into 10 modules to make the intake of vast information digestible.

MODULE I:

One school says that the origin of mythology is allegory.

That is, allegories were used to describe the natural world. Gradually these allegories became interpreted literally. I agree. If we look at our first civilization in Africa 5,000 years ago, Egypt, man beheld the lushness of the food plant as the key to life. Life began with sex. The Ancient Egyptian creation myth is that the gods were created by the Sun, the chief source of life. That heavenly star was personified as god Amun . Myth: Amun masturbated and from his seed he made the gods. The gods grew (as plants grew) from a seed. Life began with a single seed. A seed conceals the mysteries of life. And we have the African slave Luq'mn ( ), a black sage in the Koran who provides us the ageless wisdom of a seed. Luq'mn the wiseman taught his son (also a victim of slavery) the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Koran 31:16 (italics are mine): O my son!" (said Luq'mn), "If there be (but) the weight of a mustard-seed and it were (hidden) in a rock, or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth, God will bring it forth: for God understands the finest mysteries, (and) is well-acquainted (with them)."

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

1,000 years later a Syro-Arabian slave by the name of Y ( ,) another great sage of the al-Koran, taught the same parable in Matthew 13:31-32. Being granted hikmahwisdom (as Luq'mn), the seer revealed, the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in his field. Then he explains himself (by repeating the lesson of Luq'mn): Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. Morale of the Story: Two koranic prophet-slaves, one black, the other white: 1,000 years divide them yet they are sent by God. But, sent for what? To bid us Hagia Sophia, that is, to do an atoms weight of good (even if subdued) God will see it (Kor 99:8). The lesson? (1) We are slaves to no one, except God. (2) Treating each other well is worship. Jesus lessons of the mustard seed are encapsulated in his Sermon on the Mound as told in Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7), the first book of the New Testament. The life giving interchange was delivered on a mound because, in the ancient Egyptian formation myth, the receded waters of the Nile brought forth the mound which is life. The trilateral shape of the pharaohs pyramid, the resurrection machine, is a mound. In other words, the mound represents sacred ground. Thus, even the smallest seed planted on the earth mound can grow life everlasting, this is his discourse. Buddha conveyed a similar sermon at Benares (Vras) in the 6th century B.C.E. The traditions of the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran are melodious. The life mysteries of Luq'mn and of Yare like the ebony & ivory keys on the keyboard of Allhs grand piano that gave us the timeless rapture of the Great G minor symphony by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (a.k.a. Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550) or the ecstatic descant of Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 in two-quarter time by Ludwig van Beethoven:

Fertility in Ancient Egyptian myth was anthropomorphized as the dead and resurrected king of the Egyptians (e.g. king of the Jews), Osiris (e.g. Jesus), the son of Amun (e.g. son of Abba). He is the first to begin the physical resurrection. This concept was inspired by the annual harvest: plants die in winter and rise in spring. The plant which dies in the wintertime lies underground in the thionic realm, hell. What mythologist Joseph Campbell calls the telluric earth. Christ Jesus was in the sepulcher for two nights in the belly of the earth as Jonah was in the belly of the fish (Mt 12:40). He was in hell! To refresh your memory, simply recite the Apostles credo:

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell. On the third day he rose again.

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body St Paul

John 19:39 gives a vivid account of the king of the JewsJesus burial: Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. A burial for a king of the Jews sounds more like the burial for a king of the Egyptians as we have in the above example of Ramses II. Before John 19:39, Mark 15:46 (cf. Mt 27:60; Lk 23:53; Jn 19:40) tells us that a secret disciple (John 19:38) Joseph of Arimathaea: bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mark is describing embalming an Ancient Egyptian burial technique. Part of the rite is to mince the pharaohs carcass with medicals. Embalmers then wrap the body in a linen shroud and bury it in the belly of the earth: in a tomb that has been cut out of the rock i.e. a temple-pyramid. The entry is sealed to prevent robbery. The aim of the ritual is to mimic the first Osirian bodily resurrection with the intent to be returned to the natural world which created usfrom our mothers womb, who was made from earth, to Mother Earths womb. In Genesis 3:19 God said, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. God repeated His verso in Koran 3:59, He created him from dust. phr () in the Holy Bible and turbin ( ) in the Holy Koran mean the same thing, dust or clay.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 St Paul
Jesus is buried expensively, regally, outside the realm of a typical peasant Jewish burial. In short, all four gospels DO NOT offer us a Jewish burial account, it is, Egyptian mummification. John 19:33/36 is the proof. The two verses say that his legs were not broken. Aside from fulfilling the promise of Psalm 34:20, why does a dead man need legs? In Ancient Egypt, the afterlife is an extension of this one. That is, he needs his limbs for bodily resurrection. But, in order to rise you must die. John 19:34 solves that problem by intentionally inserting into the text that his side was pierced by a lance. It was written with the intent to alleviate doubt. Some might believe that Christ in the tomb was resuscitated (by Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus) rather than resurrected. This is our first evidence that the evangelists were Gentiles. Joseph of Arimathaea /Nicodemus are, actually, one biblical code invented by the evangelists to initiate us into Old Egypts secrecies for material rebirth in a physical universe (see John 19:2-21). In other words, the resurrection, and more, we inherited from Roman-Egypt over 2,000 years ago. Thus, myth is tied to ritual. Indeed, myth originated from ritual.

Another theory holds that mythology is the result of the personification of inanimate objects and/or natural phenomenon, e.g. Jesus in a wafer

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

The resurrection motif originated from the waters of the Nile spewing silt on the land, making the corn grow, it means that king Osiris has resurrected from the dead. Osiris has risen! The Nile flood will come again for the following harvest. And we can translate these semantics in modern terms: Christ has died. Christ has risen! Christ will come again. The homily we chant at mass has very old roots. Above is the Osiris-Nepra with wheat growing from his body. This illustration is taken from a bas-relief at Philae, the sprouting corn implies resurrection. In Holy Communion rites, the priest offers: a wafer, the grain, or a piece of cornbread to the congregation so that we may be raised with Christ (i.e. the rising of the corn. Hes the grain, our life-food sourceLord Osiris! Were Children of the Corn that is to say Children of the Resurrection.). If resurrection, however, was earthly than how is it that we possess the 3,000 year old mummy of king Ramses the Great? For in 1 Corinthians 15:44 we are told that the resurrection is mystically transcendent.

In the Eucharist we are gods (the gods are projections of us). A Christ consciousness or a Christ in you Hindu saying: None but a god can worship a god (The Power of Myth, Campbell, p. 263). We eat the wafer as gods because food comes from god. Christ said, Is it not written in your LawYe are gods (Jn 10:34)? Paul said Christs death and resurrection is our salvation: we live not under law, but under grace (see Rom 6:4-14). At dinner we say grace before we eat with an understanding that were eating divine food thanks to the divine. In turn, were divine for recognizing these otherworldly matters. The Osirian order of Old Egypt employ the same dynamics. Thus, once again quoting Paul, our body is the temple of god. MODULE II: I believe that Jesus was made a myth Christos in the New Testament has been mythologized over a period of two millennia by a) legend, b) allegory, c) rite, and d) personification. In module II, we will briefly survey the assumed memoire of the supposed founder of Christianity as reported by his four biographers: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We will see if any history can be pieced back together after 20 centuries. This segment will reveal where history ends and where mystery begins.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

Holy Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It was constructed by St. Constantine in the century. A hole on the ground marks the spot where hes said to have been born in Jerusalem. 4th

Only two gospels offer clues on the Nativity Matthew and Luke. And both offer mostly contradictory accounts of the Nativity Story with the exception that both evangelists agree that Christos was born miraculously in the holy city. Thus, the Virgin Birth in Bethlehem fulfilled the Hebrew promise that the messiah, the king of Israel, would be born in the holy city of King David (see Is 7:14 and Mic 5:2). Jesus was conceived out of wedlock. Its subtly written into the texts. The gospel writers Matthew and Luke invented a Nativity Story to give credibility to Jesus as a Jew, as the messiah. Meanwhile, Mark opens his gospel at the start of Jesus ministry. John cleverly has Jesus birth at creation instead of a D.O.B. These alterations mean: that varying cultures receive the Word in differing ways. St. Paul the Apostle informs us: To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men (1 Cor 9:22). The evangelists, Gentile followers of St. Paul, took the next literary/evolutionary step and made Christ all things to all men to win the men. Paul gives the gospels writers the blueprint for evangelism in 2 Cor 11:4.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

Above The Nativity Scene. Luke 2:8 says that shepherds where nearby out in the field attending to their sheep on the night of December 25. It is a little known fact, however, that Judaea and North America lie in the Northern Hemisphere, our winters are the same. In the print the babe Jesus is exposed as the white arrow above indicates. The temperature drops at night during winter. What do you think the artist is conveying us? It would seem the print is more consistent with a warm night. Many years ago Acharya S theorized that the Virgin Mary may be the Zodiac sign of the goddess Virgo (), August 23 to September 22. This could be evidence of a freemason message in the Bible that Christ Jesus was born in summer. Four verses earlier, Luke 2:4-5 states that Joseph the Carpenter took Mary his wife from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Jerusalem to be counted in a Roman tally. Joseph and Mary would have to journey 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey, their only means of transport. Worst, St. Luke says that Mary was pregnant. St. Matthew reports quite the reverse, that Joseph and Mary already resided in Bethlehem. At any rate, the evangelists were aware of the messianic prophesy of Micah 2:5. St. Luke was editing St. Matthews evangel concerning the state of affairs that would cause these two meager Galilean Jews to migrate to Judaea at the time of Christs birth. The problem is solved in Luke 2:1: In those days, went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. In short, the theme here is to sell religion, not to record history. The discrepancies in the Bible prove this.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

10

Still not convinced? Matthew 2:1 states that Jesus was born in the days of Herod the king. Herod I the Great died of an illness in 4 B.C.E at Jericho. The year of death is confirmed by archeological proof. Here is an aerial view of his gravesite. The large tomb was recently discovered at Herodium by Israeli professor Ehud Netzer of Hebrew University in 2007. Furthermore, Herods passing is also recorded in Antiquities of the Jews by Jewish historian Josephus (see Antiq. 17.199). Contrary to Matthew 2:1, Luke 2:5 testifies that Christ was born at the time of a registry. But, when did such a registry occur? Luke 2:1-2 states that Augustus decreed this poll tax when Kyrniou Quirini-us, a Roman senator, was governor of Syria. He took over in 6 C.E. Josephus noted the appointment in Antiquities 17.355 and 18.1-2 (cf. Mt 2:22). The German Protestant theologian Emil Schrer wrote extensively regarding when that census took place in his volume Geschichte des judischen Volks im Zeitalter Jesu Christi (18861890; 4th ed. 1901-1909). It was translated later The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ Vol I (1973-1987). The revised English version was the collective work of editors Geza Vermes, Fergus Millar, and Matthew Black. On page 424 of the revised English version, fn. 123, Schrer provides an exact date for the tax registry: It was started after the banishment of Archelaus, at the earliest in the summer of A.D. 6, and, according to Ant. xviii 2, 1 (26), completedat the latest in the autumn of A.D. 7. So the census took a year to complete under Quirini-us. But, how does the birth of Christ fit in?

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

11

Schrer further comments that the Lukan account is historically inaccurate, the underlying idea that the birth of Jesus occurred in the time of Quirinius is impossible (Schrer, 1973, p. 424). His closing argument (italics are mine): Thus the Lukan report can be justified historically only if it can be proved that Quirinius was already in the time of Herod the regular and sole governor of Syria. But such a proof can never be produced since the contrary is an established fact (Schrer, 1973, p. 425).

Quintilius Varus (Chief of Syria, c. 4 B.C.E.)

Schrer beautifully articulated the established historical fact that Quirini-us did not take office until after Herods death in 4 B.C.E. This is crucial because the witness of Matthew is that Jesus was born in the days of Herod: Luke without doubt, that is to say, considers Quirinius to be the regular legate of Syria. But it is historically established that this office was occupied in the last years of Herod, not by Quirinius, but by Sentius Saturninus (?10/9?7/6 B.C.), and then Quintilius Varus (7/64 B.C.)(Schrer, 1973, p. 424).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

12

What is noteworthy is that an inscription was found possibly showing that Quirini-us served twice as chief over Syria. It was suggested that he could have served in the days of Herod in his first term thus placing the date of his appointment to 4 B.C.E. Schrer, however, pointed out on page 423 of his commentary that the evidence doesnt hold: Indeed, the discovery of the inscription supposedly showing two governorships of Quirinius in Syria, some have thought that everything has been cleared up. But, the inscription in fact settles nothing. Even a dual governorship (which is in any case not proved by the inscription) would not justify Lukes report. For the first governorship of Quirinius cannot have begun, at the earliest, until six months after Herods death, whereas according to Luke, Quirinius, must already have been governor in Herods lifetime. ... [T]he census was started by Sentius Satrurninus (9-6 B.C.), continued by Quintilius Varsus (6-4 B.C.) and finished by Quirinius during his first governership It was from Quirinius, as the person who completed the work, that the census received its name; it is also why Luke states that it took place under him. Between 9 B.C.E and 8 B.C.E Publius Quintilius Varus was head of the province of Africa. An African coin with his image is displayed above. After this, he went to rule Syria with some Roman legions at his command. When he was governing Syria he was known for his cruelties. He placed heavy tariffs on the Jews. We also find at this time a remark in Josephus writings detailing the swift actions of Varus against a messianic revolt in Judaea following Herod Is death in 4 B.C.E (Antiq. 17.10.1 & 9, 10). After securing Jerusalem, Varus crucified two thousand mutineers (see Antiq. 17.295). Needless to say, he became the object of anti-Roman sentiment in Judaea. As we shall witness, the archaeological record seems to verify the demonstrations against Varus. ~~ In the next module we will begin to understand why there is mystery surrounding the birth of Christ ~~

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

13

MODULE III: Resulting from a vicarious leadership, Varus was recalled back to Rome (as his successor Pilate decades later) due to misconduct. This is where the story of Jesus fits in. The town where the messianic uprisings transpired was in Galilee, Jesus home. The Greek villa was called Sepphoris or Tzippori in Hebrew. Little wonder Jesus grandparents: Ann and Joachim were from Sepphoris according to Christian tradition. The villa was only 3.7 miles due north of Nazareth. And scholars believe that Jesus traded in the market place. Its possible that he may have even attended the synagogue at Tzippori and learned the scriptures.

Mona Lisa of Galilee

Galilee Theatre

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

14

Mysteries revealed ~~ Josephus describes in Antiquities how Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, sent men to assist Varus in squashing the revolt at Galilee. In the attack, the Arabs put the insurgents in flight. They made slaves of the inhabitants and burnt the city (see Antiq. 17.289). Varus successfully crushed the mutiny, but at no less the cost of enslaving the villagers, burning down a village, and executing masses of people. The city was later rebuilt into a bustling Roman villa. Christ was conceived during Jewish-Roman conflicts, a revolution. So it comes as no surprise that we know little of him. Luke stated that the betrothed couple, Joseph and Mary, moved to the Holy Land to be counted in a worldwide census. Matthew said they lived there. But, suppose he, like other messiahs before him, was not born in Bethlehem. Say he was born in the countryside, in Galilee, near the site where the burning of Sepphoris occurred. In 4 B.C.E. prior to Jesus birth, Simon of Peraea revolted against Herod at Jericho not long before the Romans decapitated him. In the Synoptic, shortly before being hanged, Christ healed many blind at Jericho (see Mk 10:46-52; Mt 20:29-34; Lk 18:35-43). Athronges fought Herods son in 3 C.E. A final messianist worth noting was that of Judas of Galilee who led an uprising against the tax of Quirini-us in 6 C.E. Josephus noted all these messiahs. Acts 5:37 recounted the latter. Note that there are no declarations of a messianic birth in Bthleem regarding these selfproclaimed messiahs from no-mans land. So why is Jesus different in the Bible? As astute historians we can fit some of the missing pieces of the jigsaw: e.g. we can infer that he was fathered by a Roman soldier, not born miraculously or asexually. He was raised a Jew. His birthplace and Jewish upbringing was in the country, not in the city. This would account for his inconspicuousness in history. After learning the Tanakh, and of the messianic protests, about the age of 30 he began to minister (Lk 3:23). He taught chiefly in the rural and desert parts of Old Palestine, avoiding the major Greco-Roman cities and gained the support of the downtrotten. Early in the third year of his ministry, however, he was caught and slain for treachery. After, the Hellenistic JewSaint Paul and Jesus Gentile biographers developed an urban legend to sell him in the city market. Jesus became a fairytale in the Bible because his true life on earth was far from ideal. He was nailed to the cross not for our sins, but for his. If you know where and when he was born, then you will understand why he was hung. Conclusion: The evangelists in their cryptic writing styles try to place Jesus Christ away from Galilee. Matthew and Luke say that he was born in Bthleem. John says he was en arch or in the Beginning. Mark the first writer doesnt care to entertain us. Lest we all forget the missing years? Eighteen years of his life at Galilee are non-existent in the Bible.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

15

~~ Do you recall Nathanaels remark to Philip in John 1:46 about the reputation of Jesus hometown, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Why the cover up with Galilee, with Nazareth? In part, because there is no prophesy for a messiah born in Nazareth. The other part is due to the fact that Nazarene as a title, not a place, has a connotation. Finally, we have Pilates writing above Christ Jesus head on the cross in the Synoptic: THE KING OF THE JEWS. But, guess what? John 19:19, the last gospel, gives the full text: And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Synoptic authors, were all writing between 65-85 and John 90-120, a period of 40 years. 60 years after the crucifixion, John was able to tell where THE KING OF THE JEWS was from. He wasnt known as Jesus of Bethlehem, he was known as Jesus of Nazareth an incubating habitat for messianism. At his trial, he refused to answer Pilates question about where he was from (John 19:9). And in the very first handout you will recall that I dealt with the issue of the term Nazorene. Nazareth may not have been on the map when Christ was born. The phrase may refer to a Zionist. At least one of his apostles was a Zionist, Simon the Zealot. (Refer to pages 2 and 8 of the first handout.) ~~ So Christ Jesus was executed by the Romans for sedition. He was an enemy-of-the-state. He was involved with a Palestinian Liberation Organizationor PLOa messianic movement. In short, Jesus who is called Christ or messiah in Hebrew saw himself as the new king David, at least from a Romanesque viewpoint. Thats why basic details are lost in the Bible. In closing, I have demonstrated how the gospel writers have blatantly confused history in their plots. But, to what end? I say to propagate. The media tool used by the early Christians to spread the Word was the written gospel. The etymology of evangel stems from Old English, gd-spell, meaning glad tidings or good news. THE NEWS is Jesus is the Christ! Its like a cover in the Sunday Times. To sell the paper journalists sensationalize. What we read in the Bible is melodrama. Its business. And the key to selling the gospel is to say its from God. To hard-sell an obscure outlaw, a bucolic Jew, is to say hes god. Who refuses God? Thats why the Bible is a world best-seller and the Koran is the worlds most recited book! Jointly, these faiths take 4 billion people out of a human population of 7 billion. Religion is a rewarding industry! The fabled Jesus is so appealing and lucrative that he makes for a great movie And one in particular did very well recently in the box office

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

16

So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from God," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn. Srat Al-Baqarah (The Cow) MODULE IV: I stated at the outset that storytelling is central to the human experience. Stories say things about us, about the human condition, even if the story is not true. They entail certain morales and axioms. This is how I defined myth. Thats what happened with the tale of the Birth. In our subconscious, the psyche, we are timidtoo afraid to admit that a sinless babe was cursed at birth. To blot out this painful reality we substitute reality with illusion by turning a curse into a blessing. Theres nothing wrong in relating the story in that spirit this is what society refers to as a white lie. A politically correct glossing of facts so that we can share stories with our kids. It starts out innocently, but overtime, innocence becomes the gospel truth. Some notes: The Nativity is a legend

Jesus as the Son of God is allegory, the Eucharist rite, lastly, Jesus is god is personification all of these traditions became historicized mythology. The gospel writers invented the sound bites e.g. Son of Man, Son of God, and Lord-Saviour, so on and so forth to sell the new religion throughout the empire. But, the real Jesus of history was unlikely to have used these slogans. In other words, these catchphrases were not part of the true Gospel. By using these aphorisms, the Jesus mythos snowballed. That giant snow ball started with his birth. The real negative aspect to embellishing the Nativity is winning a return, a profit ... And verse 79 of the second chapter of the al-Koran reminds us of this evil. The scripture says: woe to those who pen in the name of God then earn a prize. And woe to them for what they earned. The Bible says it plainly: Woe to those who call evil good (Is 5:20).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

17

I can think of no greater recent example of the evil which the holy books speak of then what was done at the box office with the PG film The Nativity Story written by Mike Rich and directed by Catherine Hardwicke. It starred: Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary, Alexander Siddig as the Angel Gabriel, and Oscar Isaac as Joseph. When the picture opened in December of 2006 it made world history as the first film to have its world premiere in the Vatican City. The show made a worldwide net profit of 47 million U.S. dollars out of a budget of 35 million U.S. dollars. 12 million U.S. dollars is a small price in worldly terms in comparison to the harm. The evil was passing off a false godly story as true and collecting money and praise for it.

Whats the real story? The Nativity Story cast from left to right: Nadim Sawalh as Melchior, Stefan Kalipha as Gaspar, and Eriq Ebouaney as Balthasar the three wise men or Magi. Matthew is the only evangelist to narrate the visit. Luke says shepherds visited. But, most notably, HEROD IS 10 YEARS DEAD WHEN THE SHEPERDS VISIT! Oddly enough, Ciarn Hinds played Herod and Ted Rusoff played an Old shepherd. Now, this is supposed to be a film that has been, meticulously researched visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale of the Nativity from director Catherine Hardwicke according to the synopsis from www.netflix.com (italics are mine). Whos missing in this researched picture? You guessed it, Quirini-us the poll tax man, the director of Syria after Herod died. There were, however, tax collectors in the film. In short, this is a movie for children.

The Nativity Story movie doesnt tell us who Jesus father was

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

18

WHO IS THE FATHER? MODULE V: Another issue in the precarious narrative of Christ is the heritage of Joseph. The evangelists give two fathers to Joseph. Luke 3:23 testifies that Joseph is the son of Heli. Matthew 1:16 testifies that Joseph is the son of Jacob Since the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke do not explicitly name either of Mary's parents, but apparently name two different fathers for Joseph, many scholars (and in particular Protestant scholars) argue that the genealogy in Luke is actually the genealogy of Mary. That is ridiculous. Luke 3:23 reads: JOSEPH, THE SON HELI. The notion that Marys line was concealed in Josephs family is cleaver reasoning, but by the same token, its utter nonsense. In Islam, her parents are Hannah and Imrn. In The Protoevangelium, an early noncanonical tradition, Marys parents are Anne and Ikem, i.e. Joachim, which means he who YHWH has established. I mentioned them earlier. What is interesting is that in Islamic custom Marys pa is called Amrm after the father of Moses because God set-up the family of Moses (and Mary) above others (see Kor 3:33). Mary is called sister of Aaron in the al-Koran (Kor 19:28) to confirm her priestly lineage and spiritual connection from the house of Amrm (which includes his daughter Mary as well as his sons Moses and Aaron). This is why the third chapter of the Koran is titled Srat l Im'rn or The Family of Im'rn. ~~ Why do we have conflicting genealogies for Joseph who was not the biological father? Read the first two chapters of Matthew and chapter three of Luke. Even the Holy Koran and Islamic tradition do not name Joseph the Carpenter as the father of Jesus. What do his descendants have to do with Jesus? ~~ Giving birth out of matrimony is strongly condemned in the Tanakh. Indeed, such an act is sinful in Jewish ethos. And weve all been indoctrinated from Christian-Muslim Sunday School that Jesus was sinless. The consequence of not inserting Joseph into the framework of the Nativity Story is obvious: A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD (Deut. 23:2, KJV).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

19

WHO IS THE FATHER? PART II I frequently quote from the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran to establish their assembly. These books originate from the same geographical location in the East. Tanakh and Koran are Semitic texts. Bible and Koran translated means book. These books are ONE and the SAME revelation sent from God. He repeated His Message! In the Koran we have the Gospel of Jesus and the Torah or the Law of the Jews. But, clergyman and rabbis are silent on this taboo theme. So, we will form our own cloister. God has a number of labels in the Old Testament. To start with is the Tetragrammaton YHWH. Without the vowels it is conjecture as to how to pronounce the immutable holy name. But among the several nomenclature for God in the Tanakh: Elah or al-Lah, for example, there is also the not so well-known Syro-Aramaic name Alh. This is a Semitic word originating from an arid region known as the Syro-Arabian Desert. The etymology for God in the Holy KoranAllhderives from Aramaic, Jesus tongue. Hebrew and Arabic are, in fact, offshoot sister languages from the Aramaic dialect. By the time the prophet was born in the 6th century, in the Arabian Desert, the Arabic dialectical was wholly developed. Hence, al-Lah (Hebrew) or Alh (Aramaic) and Allh (Arabic) is the same God, in the Bible, in the Koran, the same scriptures. Arabic translations of the Bible use the lexicon Allh which means the God. This lexis is as biblical as it is koranic. As we are on the theme of the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran as, actually, one holy book coming from one God, I call your attention to two passages. The first writ is the Bible Luke 1:34 and the second is the Koran 19:20. Both these scriptures deal with the Annunciation: when it was revealed by the Arch Angel Gabriel to the Virgin that she will bare a holy child. (I have chosen these texts to example what is meant by divine intervention in regard to the Virgin Birth from Judeo-Christian and Islamic literature.) A confused Mary responds: Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? She [Mary] said [unto the angel], "How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?

Was Jesus really born without a father?

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

20

Three verses earlier, the Koran says that Virgin Mary was greeted by an angel in the form of a well-proportioned man. The following verse in Luke says that: the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her (italics are mine). Referring to the nature by which she will conceive of course. But, what are the subtleties here? Coming to the Jewish tradition, classical rabbinic literature has a very different construal on the characters of Jesus and his mother. In the Babylonian Talmud, it states that Jesus was the offspring of Mary. But, unlike Islamo-Christian works, the rabbis claim that he did have a pa who was a Roman archer of the First Cohort by the name of Stada. Other sources refer to him as Pantera, Greek for panther. Until very recently, Christians and Muslims dismissed the Pharisaic commentary as nothing more than vile malice and rumor. The aim being to discredit him. As fate would have it, the old chap was found at a Roman cemetery in Bingerbrck, Germany. In my view, this find is the most significant biblical archeological discovery. It truly puts a human quality to the fictitious Jesus story. Its possible that he presumed, and correctly, that he was the product of a rape. To make himself legitimate he took up the mantle to fight for Jewish freedom and be the king. He could turn his bastard line into royalty. If he didnt cut it, then its better to die a hero and be immortalized through legend. All the messiahs before him, nobodies from the country, had similar motives. That is why urban Rome was successful in assassinating these messiahs because they were rustic, peasant folk, not military men. Inscription CIL XIII 7514 on the tombstone reads in Latin: Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera (c. 22 BCE AD 40 CE). From his title, he was a slave of the Romans. The caption also tells us that he was from Sidonia in Phoenicia, present-day Israel. He was with the First Cohort archers stationed in Palestine at the time of Marys conception. She would have been roughly 13 and Pantera about 18, a well-proportioned man of Jewish abstraction. In his Roman attire he would have appeared angelic to an inexperienced and impressionable Jewess. Compare this not so well known or disseminated information with the above writ. Was Pantera that spirit who came upon her and overshadowed her as the Talmud puts forward? Where is the God of justice (Mal 2:17)? Matthew, Luke, and the Koran replied. God gave HIS DIVINE COUNCIL to the inexperienced Mary. He used her, a virgin heart, as His vessel.

Mary was not a virgin, Mt 1:23. She was a young unmarried woman which is the correct reading of Is 7:14 in Hebrew. The mix-up stems from a flawed Greek translation. This means that the evangelist was reading from the Septuagint, the Greek Bible. Therefore, Matthew is definitely not an eyewitness. More proof is in Matthew 9:9

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

21

WHO IS THE FATHER? PART III

Inscription CIL XIII 7514

Tib(erius) Iul(ius) Abdes Pantera Sidonia ann(orum) LXII stipen(diorum) XXXX miles exs(ignifer?) coh(orte) I sagittariorum h(ic) s(itus) e(st) Tiberius Iulius Abdes Pantera from Sidonia, aged 62 years served 40 years, former standard bearer(?) of the first cohort of archers lies here

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

22

Above slide, the Crucifix c. 1287-1288. Panel: 448 390 cm (176.4 153.5 in). Housed in the Basilica di Santa Croce, Florence. This Byzantine-style wood painting is by Cimabue also known as Benvenuto di Giuseppe, a medieval Florentine Christian artist. DID HE DIE THEN RISE? The gospels say that Jesus was crucified by the Roman director of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, in the reign of Tiberius. Pantera was given his Roman name from Tiberius. There is, however, no recorded date for this capital punishment. All we know is that he was killed by the Romans on the Jewish Passover according to John or on Passover eve as the Synoptic and Talmud imply. We also know that Pilate was the fifth prefect from 27 to 36. In 36/7 he (like Varus before him) was recalled back to Rome for his cruelty to the Jews. Josephus noted it in Antiquities of the Jews (Antiq. 18.4.2. See also the crucifixion of Jesus, Antiq. 18.3.1).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

23

I submit that it is not a coincidence that a ten year gap clouds the date of Christs death as does his birth. Add another eighteen years that are absent from his biography, ages 12 to 30, and it soon becomes apparent that he is an enigma. In Part II, I will unravel secrets behind this messianic-masonic figurehead. I will demonstrate how a real flesh and blood messianic reformer was transformed into myth and masonic symbols by the grand builders of Western Civilization, the Romans.

Above The engraving bears the name Pontius Pilate. Israel Museum. It was discovered in 1961 at the Roman theatre in the biblical seaport of Caesarea, a Roman military dock built by King Herod as noted by Josephus (see Antiq. 15.9.6). The city served as the residence of Herod and as the capital of Judaea. In Acts, Paul was held there by the Romans for almost two years (57 59 CE) following a conflict with Oriental Jews. So Pilate, as with Herod, were real persons. But, despite the scientific confirmation of historical persons and places, it still does not warrant the belief that the tales of the Bible are historical facts. From what I have shown so far in regard to the biblical Nativity Story, my argument cannot be contested.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

24

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Peter 1:16 MODULE VI: Having only a vague knowledge of Christ, by miracles mostly, definitely caused a unique situation, it lead to his veneration. And his greatest miracle is returning back from the dead! But, is resurrection physical or spiritual? The answer lies in deciphering the inner hidden language of the Bible. The way as to go about that is to know something about the time in which the Bible was written, who wrote it, and most importantly why. In this unit we will quickly examine some textual criticisms of the death and resurrection of Christ I want to point out at the outset that it is my belief that the death of Christ on the cross and the resurrection was seen in the Ancient World as an actual and spiritual fulfillment of the classical religions. Remember Dr. Campbells supporting statement of my supposition in his last PBS series? Let me repeat the quote from The Power of Myth (italics are mine): Read the text [of the Apostolic Church Fathers] where it is declared that "those forms which were merely mythological forms in the past are now actual and incarnate in our Savior (Campbell, p. 223). Dr. Campbell explains that the risen Christ mythos was built from previous myths: The mythologies here referred to were of the dead and resurrected god: Attis, Adonis, Gilgamesh, Osiris, one after the other. The death and resurrection of the god is everywhere associated with the moon, which dies and is resurrected every month. It is for two nights, or three days dark, and we have Christ for two nights, or three days in the tomb (Ibid). ~~ Those forms which were merely mythological forms in the past are now actual and incarnate in our Savior. The Power of Myth

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

25

It is finished (Jn 19:30), one of Christs last words. In other words, the issue is settled. In a few words Dr. Joseph Campbell articulated resurrection as metaphysical. As you can see, the gospels are very sophisticated texts. Simpletons, Galilean peasant Jews, did NOT write it! Where would Jews receive the education to pen a theology that even by todays standards is perplexing? The four gospels were written in Koine Greek, not Aramaic. Koine was the tongue of the learned in the Old World. First century bone records from Israels leading centers of forensic science prove that the physiology of Palestinian Jews from antiquity are different from us. For example, male Jewish skulls are egg-shaped. This proves that there was little or no intermarriage. Analysis of the bone tissue indicated stress, the result of hard labor. Further examination also showed that the average life expectancy was below 50 due to exposure to diseases like malaria, a common killer among Jews. By the time the gospels were written (c. 64/5-70? to 90-120?), decades after Christ, the original twelve were dead. Moreover, the works of Josephus confirm that James the Just, a sibling of Christ and head of the Church in Jerusalem, was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin c. 62 for blasphemy (Antiq. 20.9.1). This was the same Jewish Supreme Court, and the same charge, that killed his brother thirty years earlier. Christian tradition places the deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, c. 67. If so, that would account for the desperate need to write gospels. The last leaders such as James, Peter, and Paul were all eliminated by 70 when Mark was written. Conclusion: The intensity of the theology involved in the canon, the Koine dialectal, the inconsistencies, along with forensic evidence from first century Jewish fossils all point to one conclusion: the four gospels were not written by the original twelve, THE GOSPELS WERE WRITTEN BY A THIRD-PARTY. Furthermore, modern Christian scholars agree that St. Luke was the personal physician of St. Paul and his disciple. Read the text in Luke chapter 1, he freely admits that hes not a disciple. St. Mark was the companion and interpreter for St. Peter, John Mark. He escorted Peter in Rome in the second year of Claudius and wrote down Peters sermons which is now The Gospel of Mark. The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus by Eusebius of Caesarea, the Bishop of Caesarea, said so himself (Eccl Hist 15-16). Why does Peter the Apostle need John Mark if he is literate? So not only does Eusebius offer crucial information that the disciples did not author the gospels, he also enlightens us that Peter did not author the two epistles attributed to him. In the case of Matthew and John, I have already dealt with this issue in the first handout. To recap, I indicated that Matthew is not the author, read Matthew 9:9. The text was penned in the third person. As for John, modern scholars agree that many persons wrote John. The final editor or redactor is called R. What you and I have been taught is tradition.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

26

I try to please everybody in every way. 1 Cor 10:33 St Paul

Pauls letters are the first writings of Christian literature. His letters place emphasis on the crucifixion and the resurrection. Contrary to the popular view, however, Paul understood spiritual resurrection as is Jewish thought. The uncanny notion of a physical resurrection does not materialize until the gospels are written. The origin of physical resurrection comes from Egypt. It began with the mythic Egyptian king, Osiris. Greeks and Romans inherited this materialistic African belief after conquering Egypt in the last three centuries leading up to Christ. In the 1st century there was a dispute in the empire as to the nature of the resurrection: Jesus says resurrection is spiritual in Luke 20:36. Four chapters later (Lk 24:36) he rises bodily to disprove Luke 20:36. Paul clearly says that the resurrection is spiritual in 1 Cor. 15:44. But, as in Luke, Paul changes the immaterial raising of YHWH to material in letter two. Here is the second letter addressed to the Corinthians around 57 C.E. St. Paul relays his vision of on the Damascus road (italics are mine): I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2, KJV). In this essential verso, Paul admits that he may have witnessed a spiritual resurrection. Now, let us compare another account about the same event. Scholars place this text at c. 54 CE, its Pauls first letter to Corinth three years earlier (italics are mine): He was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also (1 Cor. 15:4-8, KJV). Notice the difference in the tone of this letter? In the first letter, hes confident about the resurrection that he witnessed. In fact, the resurrection was seen by many. The Greek word for seen is phth which means he appeared. That is to say: he appeared to Cephas or Peter, to the twelve, to over 500, etc. In other words, we are dealing with an out-of-the-body experience. Thus, Pauls description is not physical resurrection. More importantly, he recanted his witness in letter two. And this would not be the last time Paul would retract his testimony.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

27

By positioning the account of Pauls vision side-by-side, reading it horizontally rather than vertically, it becomes evident that there are discrepancies (italics and underline are mine):

Acts 9:3-4

Acts 22:6-7

Acts 26:13-14

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined

round about him a light from heaven:

And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from

heaven a great light round about me.

At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.

And he fell to

And I fell unto the

the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him,

Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

ground, and heard a voice

saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

In the very first account, Acts 9:3-4, Paul is not the narrator. We have, again, a report in the third person, a non-witness. In the second report, Acts 22:6-7, Paul stated that a light from heaven shone around him. Then, he fell to the ground and he heard a voice. In the last detail, Acts 26:13-14, Pauls testimonial to King Agrippa (while held at Caesarea) was that a heavenly light shone around him and entourage! Everyone fell down. But, only he heard the voice. Pauls witness to the king changed. To make his story more believable, he included other witnesses in Acts 26, but ONLY HE HEARD THE VOICE. He pulled this stunt at Corinth. In other words, the risen Christ solely rests on the authority of Paul, i.e. the epistles of Paul and Acts. Modern scholars like John D. Crossan Emeritus at DePaul University contest that not all the 14 letters attributed to Paul were written by him. And most scholars agree that Acts was written by Luke. A disclaimer, in the first three centuries, the apostolic fathers doubted the authenticity of the letters of James and Peter. These letters have a late canonized date, as does the three letters of John. So we are left with testimonies from pseudonymous books in the Bible.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

28

What follows? St. Paul the Apostle had a physical reaction. He was blinded by light. How can we classify his religious experience: as a dream, a trance, an epileptic seizure, or perhaps a hallucination? I was intrigued to pursue studies of the latter. Paul was persecuting the early Christians and was no doubt in contact with them before his conversion. Many years ago British scholar John M. Allegro hypothesized in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East (1970) that early Christianity was a drug cult. Christ, naturally, was at the center of the cult. This secret society used a powerful hallucinogen, Amanita muscaria, an umbrella shaped mushroom plant. The plant is shaped very much like a cross. It was imported from the Orient and grown in the Near East. Allegro argued that this mushroom was used by the early Christians because of its potent hallucinogenic properties which contain psychoactive chemicals. He maintained that proof for this cults drug use is in the Bible. Allegro held the view that what we read in the Bible is a cover story. He beautifully articulated that there are hidden messages beneath the cover story. This is because a drug cult cannot disclose all information. Allegro documented names in the Bible which are actually the names of fertility drug plants like the Amanita muscaria. Needless to say, after writing the book in the 70s, Allegros bright academic career was finished. And this was the man who was a part of the first international team to translate the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. But, was he shunned from academe because he was hot? If there was value to his research, Paul then could have gotten mixed up in a mafioso. This leads us to the prime question, what happened to the historical Jesus after he was crucified? I will let British theologian John Hick in a lecture answer: Some scholars (e.g., Marianne Sawicki, Seeing the Lord, 1994, Fortress Press, p.180; followed by John Dominic Crossan, The Birth of Christianity, 1998, New York: HarperCollins, pp. xxvii, 528, 555) believe that the whole story of Joseph of Arimathea and his family tomb, and Jesus' burial in it, is a later creation. According to them the dead bodies of crucified criminals were thrown by the Roman soldiers into a limed pit, which dissolves the body quickly and hygienically, and this is the reason why virtually no skeletal remains have been found of the thousands who were crucified outside Jerusalem in the first century. (The Resurrection of Jesus, a talk (A talk given to ecumenical churches audience in Birmingham, U.K., 2006, http://www.johnhick.org.uk/jsite/index.php? option=com_content&view=article&id=61:resurrection&catid=37: articles&Itemid=58).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

29

Mythos I: The Mystical Life: In this series Campbell suggested reading The Road to Eleusis by Albert Hofmann the man who discovered LSD, R. Gordon Wasson, and classical scholar Carl A. P. Ruck. I recommend it too. It describes how the Old World had many secret societies. One in particular was a popular cult at Eleusis in Greece. A drink was prepared for the candidate prior to initiation. The drink was made from a barely plant that contained a parasite called ergot. People hallucinated from the barley broth (during the physical activity of the rite). Even Socrates reported that a vision was believed to have occurred there Then one day a man traveled on The Road to Damascus at midday, the hottest time of the day. He is suddenly dumbstruck. He enters an altered state of consciousnesssees a light, has a vision, then collapses. Optic nerves are shot. Three days after he fully recovered. Was it drug abuse? In all probability, he was drugged by the cartel he pursued. Shortly thereafter, he converted to Christianity. This man was Saul of Tarsus, our Saint Paul. ~~

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

30

Mythos I: The Mystical Life (Courtesy of PBS) Under Constantine I, Christianity was one of the permitted religions in the empire. Soon thereafter, under Theodosius I, Christianity was the only permitted religion in the empire. Pagan temples and shrines were destroyed. The most popular of these temples to be desecrated was that of Eleusis in 395. Two years later, Byzantium completes the present Catholic Bible.
~~

MODULE VII: Coming back to the cross do you recall the Agnus Dei of John 1:29? He was proclaimed Agnus by Yahya the Baptiser. Only John says Christos is the Lamb of God. He is the ultimate sacrifice, the final sacrifice, according to the evangelist. ~~ In Matthew, the Lamb of God prayed so earnestly at Gethsemanecrying in the knight: O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (Mt 26:39). He is praying as if unaware that he is the Agnus. What happened to his plea? Was the Lamb abandoned? He did cry on the cross: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me (Mt 27:46 cf. Psalm 22:1)?

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

31

Abraham was forced by God in the Tanakh to give up his most prized possession, his son. The sacrifice. In this slide you can see a ram next to Abrahams son on the right, the substituted sacrifice. In mainstream al-Islam, the idea of substituted sacrifice is reiterated in the Koran. In the Arabic text, the Sunnis believe that Christ was substituted on the cross in verse 157 chapter 4: wa-lakin shubi alahum that is appeared to them so. Them refers to the eyewitnesses on Good Friday who believed that it was him on the cross. The interpretation: Christ was spared as Abrahams son. HE WAS NOT ABODONED BY GOD. Sunnis find support for their view in Hebrews 5:7 and Luke 22:43. ~~ After the crucifixion, we have his burial. Christ is in the womb of Mother Earth, go read Matthew 12:40. It is dark for two nights. Hes resting in a newly hewn seplechure on a slab in a child-like state, unaware, dead! Hes in the underworld, in Hell. Come first day of the week, early Sunday morning at first light: THE TOMB IS EMPTY! Hes left, he has come out of the earth into the light raised, illuminated. Hes died and is now reborn. Its the old: come in a boy and come out a man as well as death and rebirth motif. And two chief cultures have that myth, the cave dwellers during the glaciation and planters afterward. The Origin of Sacrifice in Western Tradition: Goes way back to very old times when the responsibility for hunting food was the mans. He belonged to a group that weve been taught as the hunters and gatherers. This group existed all over, but for the purpose of the presentation I want to focus on Old Europe.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

32

The hunting and gathering group that I am concerned with lived about 20,000 years ago in the Paleolithic Age. I am taking about those people who produced those awesome paintings in the cave. Caves such as this one served as temples for hunting mysteries.

Animal sacrifices continued in the time of Abraham all the way up to the time of Christ, the ultimate sacrifice. This rite ended with Muammad, the khatam an-nabiyyeen (Koran 33:40). The Seal of the (biblical) Prophets. Myth: In animal/man covenant, animals are willing sacrifices (e.g. Christ was willing sacrifice, the Agnus, in the new covenant). In this slide: the Hall of Bulls, a grand gallery of animal sacrifices and sacrificial eating. You can easily replace the sacrament of the Eucharist and all the trappings of the inner church in this cave. This is the first cathedral of Europe. Carbon-dating tells us that the art was made over 17,000 years ago by Cro-Magnon. This is Lascaux Cave in Southwestern France. The cave paintings are the earliest evidence of mystery rites. Young boys were taught the mysteries of the hunt in dark caves like this one. The idea is to enter the abyssthe cave chamber in a child-like state, ignorant of the mysteries, and then come out of the cave and into the light as one illuminateda fully grown man. Same idea we have with Christ in the tomb. So weve come full-circle, from womb to tomb. It is Western mythology, a holdover from rites during the last Ice Age in Europe. A good read on the empty tomb is The Jesus Mysteries (1999) by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

33

In close, about 20,000 years ago the last Ice Age reached its zenith. Food, and the hunt, was extremely important. It meant survival. The animal flesh and blood provided nourishment for our physical and spiritual needs just as Jesus body is the bread and his blood is the wine of our physical and spiritual nourishment. ~~ The cave dwellers tried to capture the spirit of the sacrificed animal, the hunted animal in the cave paintings. It was done out of reverence. It was a reminder that they are eating divine food. Everyone is seated together as a family unit with the understanding that eating the food is divine grace. Pauls said that we are all living in grace. At mass we partake in the eating of the divine flesh and blood of Christ, the Agnus, its his sacrifice that puts us in grace. ~~ I explained in the previous ditto that early images of Christ: i.e. lengthy hair and beard comes down to us over 1,600 years ago from the catacombs of Commodilla in the Via Ostiensis. Below: Commodilla, Rome, late 4th century. Compare the Commodilla with Lascaux.

In the same Byzantine age, i.e. the 4th century, a mosaic from the Hinton St. Mary, Dorset depicts Jesus without beardas Apollo (slide #8). The only marker which identifies Jesus apart from the Sun-god Apollo is a Chi-Rho christogram < XP > Greek abbreviation < Ch > (Christos). Byzantine artists used the images from popular cults as a template for Christ.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

34

8. The christogram likewise appears at Commodilla. The Greek letters: Alpha () and Omega () form the Chi-Rho monogram (above right). ~~

Pauls first converts were merchantsDr Campbell Mythos I: On Being Human

In close, the foundation of mainstream Islamic eschatology is the total refutation of atonement. Adam was forgiven (Kor. 2:37). And someone else was crucified (Kor. 4:157). The foundation of Christian eschatology, however, is based on atonement. Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians states that in order to be redeemed: Christ must die on the cross (i.e. Agnus Dei) to amend sins (Col. 1:20, 1 Cor. 5:7, and 1 Cor. 15:3, 22). Without atonement Christian faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:14-19). Now, as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), Paul has some bold interpretations of the scriptures. This is not what the Old Testament teaches. Contrary to the Pauline Christology of expiation, the concept of inherited sin does not exist in the Hebrew scriptures. Ezekiel 18:20 reads: The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. Isaiah 43:25 reads: I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and I will not remember thy sins. How then can man be saved? The formula for salvation is in Ezekiel 18:21: if a man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

35

MODULE VII: In the Neolithic Age: the myth makers are human, you and me. Two archetypes of humans emerge and dominate the landscape: the Indo-Europeans or Aryans and the Semites. The Aryans gave us: Hinduism/Buddhism/Jainism/Zoroastrianism/Occidental religions and of course Christianity. The Semites gave us the nomadic tribal god of the desert: Elah or al-Lah, otherwise, Alh or Allh of Judaism/Islam, the monotheist faiths. The Holy Bible is a book about life, civilization. Its an all-inclusive politically correct understanding of god, passed down from the ages, from the Aryan and Semitic camps. My favorite example to illustrate the point is the issue regarding the nature of Christ, is he god? In the Bible, we have Jesus saying that he is and he isnt at the same time. For instance, John 5:31 reads, If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Then in John 8:14 Jesus retracts, Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid. He also says that he is the fertile food we grow, I am that bread of life in John 6:48. In another place he says that hes Sunlight, I am the light of the world (Jn 8:12). And only the Jewish God said, I AM WHO I AM as He revealed Himself to Moses in the Sinai in Exodus 3:14. But, we tend to forget that before John he also says in Mark, the earliest tradition, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God (Mk 10:18 cf. Mt 19:17; Lk 18:19). Its no surprise that John doesnt have this. About 10-20 years later Luke reads, why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say (Lk 6:46 cf. Mt 7:21)? The debate lingers, but I call your attention to Mark 12:29 the earliest Jesus tradition. Its the only verse in the entire Bible to quote his affirmation of the Jewish faith. And in the latest Jesus tradition he says, I can of my own self do nothing (Jn 5:30). The last glaciation ended about 12,000 years ago. About this time man shifts from a hunting and gathering society to a society of settlers. Man is a planter now and animals are domesticated: sheeps, goats, dogs, horses, and camels, etc. People are living in villages for the first time. The earliest villages appear in the Fertile Crescent where Jesus was born. New medals are introduced: copper, iron, bronze, etc. The calendar is made. Math, writing, and megaliths define the era. Planting societies dominate myth in this period e.g. the mystic symbols of death and resurrection as the threshold to spiritual life is represented by the food plant, the harvest, which dies and blooms every winter and spring. We spoke about the risen Christ Jesus being represented in the sacrament as the growing grain, a food plant. He is also the willing sacrifice going back over 20 millennia to our near death experience during the glaciation. All hominids or other species did not survive the New Stone Age. Neanderthals are the last on the evolutionary scale to survive. They went extinct about 40,000 years ago

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

36

~~ An interesting find in Romania was recently made, it was a 35,000 to 40,000 year old skull in temporal fluxa Neanderthal with modern human traits. The skull is a paradox, aside from hybrid traits, we cant tell the sex. In 2002/3 a team digging at Petera cu Oase (Cave with Bones; 4501N, 2150E) found the earliest modern human remains in Europe, south of Transylvania. In one cave gallery they found a partial human skull. < 14C > Late Pleistocene. Ethnicity: < 14C > 2 yields Eurasian; Southwest Asian, northeast African. Diagram: Oase 2 cranium below. ~~

Oase 2 in norma lateralis left. (Scale bar, 10 cm.)

Oase 2 in norma frontalis. (Scale bar, 10 cm.)

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

37

6.

7.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

38

It is He that has created you in diverse stages.

Photos #6 & #7 were taken from Petera cu Oase the Cave with Bones in southwestern Romania. In February 02, a speleological team was exploring the karstic system of Mini Valley in the southwestern Carpathian Mountains. They discovered an unknown bear cave chamber with a cornucopia of mammalian skeletal remains. On the first visit the team found a mandible designated Oase 1. < 14C > 35,000 BCE, 40,500 years ago. This find is considered the oldest known early modern human fossil from Europe. The specimen exhibits early modern human and probable Neanderthal morphological features (possible interbreeding). On the second visit in June 2003, an entire anterior cranial skeleton was found along with a largely complete left temporal bone and a number of frontal, parietal and occipital bone fragments designated Oase 2 (diagram on p. 16). The cave primarily served as hibernation quarters for Late Pleistocene cave bears (Ursus spelaeus). BBC aired the finding in a five-episode science documentary called The Incredible Human Journey (2009) hosted by Dr. Alice Roberts. Roberts also authored the accompanying book.

MODULE IX: Oase is important for three reasons: (A) The skeletons (Oase 1 and Oase 2 in the above photo) help us to understand the transition from Neanderthal and human living together, to just the human race living solo. (B) They also offer clues as to the racial/ethnic development of modern day Europeans. But, the significant factor for me is (C) it gives acumen into our human origins. This realization prompted me to a Koranic verso that is worth quoting here: What is the matter with you that you are not afraid of the greatness of God. Seeing that it is He that has created you in diverse stages (Kor 71:13-14)? So we evolved from a primitive state says the Holy Koran.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

39

The quote is selected from chapter 71 of the Holy Koran. Its dedicated to the prophet Noah. In the Holy Bible, Noah repopulated the earth after a Great Flood. In Genesis 9:20-27, Noah cursed his grandson Canaan, son of Ham. Negroes descend from Ham. Oase 2 is Negroid and the earliest modern human to populate Europe (c. 35,000 years before Ham repopulated the earth). Theres a high probability that modern humans interbred with Homo neanderthalensis. Evidence: Oase 2 displays archaic traits: huge molars and outsized jaws. Theory: The Negroids came by way of Turkey and entered Romania through the Danube c. 40,000 years ago. Shell beads from this period called nassarius gibbosulus (made by Negroids) were found in Turkey. Vestiges from Qafzeh Cave in GALILEE, Jesus home, date c. 80,000 to 120,000 years ago. Its our first religious human burial (w/n.g. beads). Theyre reps of the FIRST EXODUS out of Africa. The set went north of the Sahara Desert and traversed the Sinai (c. 100,000 years before Moses/Hebrew tribe). But, these forerunners are an evolutionary dead end. Were not related to < M1 > (1st migration). Other migrants, about 250 people or so (a tribe?), left Africa and CROSSED THE RED SEA. The set went over a narrow ten mile stretch of water (through the Gates of Grief and Arabian cape) 80,000 years ago. Our mitochondrial mtDNA says so. This was theorized by geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer in The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa (2004). Early stone tools from Yemen prove the exodus. Koran 3:96 says Arabia is mans oldest settlement: first house of prayer for mankind is Becca (Mecca). ALL MANKIND descends from < M2 > (2nd migration). THE HUMAN STORY: Eve leaving Eden; Moses/Hebrew tribe/Exodus; crossing the Red Sea, Muammad founds plea in MeccaIS FROM AFRICA 80,000 years ago. Eve is not 6,000 years old, multiply by factor 10(x), shes over 60,000 years old. And the Garden was in the far East, Africa! Bias and jealousy placed Eden in space. Our exit out of Africa influenced a lot of the legends in the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

40

Dr. Richard Neave

is a professor of Science and Art at the University of Manchester and a foremost expert in forensics. By using the skulls of victims, he has helped the police solve murder cases.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

41

Dr. Richard Neave was featured in BBCs The Incredible Human Journey (2009) hosted by Dr. Alice Roberts (left). Dr. Roberts gazes at Neaves reconstruction of Oase 2 (right), the first modern European.

Frontal of Oase 2. Photo is courtesy of BBC. The Incredible Human Journey (2009). Below The map indicates the location of where Oase 2s skull was unearthed in 2002/3.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

42

Qafzeh near Nazareth, Galilee (Israel)

A Qafzeh Cave burial cast. Skeleton in the fetal position, in Mother Earths womb. Est. 100 [100,000 years ago].

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

43

Newsweek Magazine, The Search for Adam & Eve MODULE X: In the January 1st 1987 issue of Nature, a controversial article called Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution was written by three biologists: Rebecca Cann, Mark Stoneking, and Allan C. Wilson (Cann, et al., 1987). The scientists announced a radical theory that all modern human beings can trace their line back to a single woman who lived about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago in Africa. She was dubbed African Eve (Mitochondrial Eve). A year later, the same findings were published in Newsweek in the article The Search for Adam and Eve (Tierney, et al., 1988).

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

44

Omo I/II unearthed by Richard Leakey

Between 1967 and 1974 the oldest modern human fossils were found at Kibish near the Omo River in Ethiopia. Est. 195 5 ka.

Dr. Roberts holds a cast of Omo (BBC)

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

45

Reconstruction of Qafzeh skull (near Nazareth)

Dr. Richard Neaves Jesus.

A reconstruction of a 2,000 year old Jerusalem mans cranium. 98,000 years separate these Galileans yet they share similar Negroid/Neanderthal or archaic features.

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

46

The Talpiot Tomb of Jesus?

Talpiot Jesus ossuary, 1st century

The ossuary reads, Jesus son of Joseph

The Holy Bible and the Holy Koran Studies

47

What little remained of Jesus after the crucifixion was placed in an ossuaryhis cursed name hastily carved at night. The scribbling proves it. The body was taken away at night by his disciples as the first book of the New Testament intimates in Matthew 28:13. This was done in secret to bury the cursed man with his cursed family at an undisclosed location, Talpiot. The chevron or family emblem and circle on the Talpiot tomb marks the spot for the resting place of the damned. After the first Jewish-Roman war in 73 when Mark was written in Rome, the shrine was abandoned and forgotten. But, the folklore of his resurrection to guide his followers continued his rise, as well as his virgin birth will signify forever that he was born and died unlike any man. And he is still among us in spirit, remembered for all time. I end with this thought, whether the Talpiot box is our Jesus or not, its historical value is not diminished. We know what happened to him. He stayed on the cross, he was not brought down before the Sabbath as the gospels say. His vestiges were quietly and respectfully placed in his family tomb.