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The Real Mary: A First-Century Jewish Mother, Not a Silent Icon
This is a long-awaited week for many of us who are passionate about Christian origins and history. The venerable and recently “retired” Dr. James Tabor’s book on the mother of Jesus is FINALLY being released. The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus will be released in the US on September 30.
Just like her son, Mary has suffered an equal amount of historical distortion over the past two millennia. Years of theology and apologetics have changed her from a young Jewish mother in a very tough social situation into a blank, obedient, pristine, mute womb. Just as her son lost every bit of his identity not useful to the faith, Mary has been transformed into a mere vessel, a means of conveyance. Just as the Church has a very inaccurate idea of who Jesus was, their picture of Mary may be even worse.
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Sede Vacante….
Stay tuned to the Youtube or TikTok Channel in the following weeks as I post updates explaining the process of choosing a new Pope. Currently we are in a rare condition known as “sede vacante ” which means “empty throne” in which there is no pontiff. The decisions that the church not push off until after the election are handled by members of the College of Cardinals. Stay tuned!
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Alien Jesus?
You’ve probably seen these guys (and girls) online. They are sometimes assembled into small congregations and even find some success in the weirder parts of the USA (Los Angeles.) They are driven by the belief in both Christianity AND Extra-Terrestrials and have merged them into one fascinating new belief system; Jesus was an alien.
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The Gospel Of Thomas…. Doubt-Free
In 1945 one of the greatest historical finds ever emerged in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. Dozens of early Christian texts suddenly came to the awareness of the western world. Called the Nag Hammadi Library, it was a collection of a 52 mainly gnostic texts along with Plato’s Republic and The Corpus Hermeticum. One theory is that they were stashed in jars and buried by a local monastery following the denunciation of non-canonical books in the fourth-century. However they got there, we have them now and they are amazing. Included in this library is the subject of our discussion today; the only complete copy ever found: The Gospel of Thomas.
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Understanding Jesus: Separating Faith from Early Christian Influence
If you grew up in (or are currently a member of) a protestant church, you have probably been allowed to believe that your faith has been relatively unchanged throughout the millennia. Catholicism (your church’s grand-pappy) has had a colorful history filled with all manner of exciting events among them the councils. The catholic councils would amend the faith from time to time; adjusting the theology and tinkering with dogmas. Most protestant churches (in USA at least) are not yet old enough to have undergone a similar process as most are twentieth-century creations. Many are incredulous that the faith they practice today is the result of a number of different faiths / philosophies that were absorbed into Pauline Christianity rather than what was believed by our twelve-disciple homeboys. In fact, he following questions launched my obsession into Christian origins and is the topic of today’s post: “If I travelled back to the time of the height of Jesus’ ministry, would they recognize my religion? Would they know all the Sunday-School stories so familiar to us in the 21st century?
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TikTok
Join me on TikTok! @Tmaxx2024
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Follow Me!
No, not in the sacrilegious Jesus-mocking way but in the predictable social-media one! I just set up this blog’s X profile @TimosTris. There’s not much there now but soon…….
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John the Baptizer, Messiah or Nah?
Darfash: Symbol of Mandaeism In the New Testament, John the Baptist was portrayed as the only person holy enough to be able to baptize Jesus of Nazareth at the inauguration of his ministry. The story (present in all four gospels) has Jesus requesting the ceremony at one of John’s baptism services. John seems to be reticent about performing the rite as he does not believe himself worthy. Jesus convinces him otherwise and shortly thereafter Jesus receives divine blessing as Messiah (in increasingly miraculous ways as each gospel tells is.) John then disappears into the unknown not being mentioned again until he is executed by the tetrarch.
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Quick Thoughts Regarding Christians and the Third Temple
I thought i would share this random thought that popped into my head after seeing videos published of the various American evangelical groups lobbying and preparing to construct the the third Temple of YWHW. These groups have brought us the CAD drawings for the edifice itself as well as red Heifers (supposedly without blemish), Menorahs, Drapes, Altars and many ceremonial vessels all in anticipation of the rebuilding. It is not out of love for the Jewish people that they are doing this though. They are hoping to prompt – kickstart the second coming of Jesus by fulfilling one of the last prophecies necessary for the return.
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The Lost Gospel: Q
First of all, No. This has nothing to do with the conspiracy theory bearing the same letter as a name. During studies of Christian origins, one is very quickly guaranteed to run into the term Q-source quite often when discussing the synoptic gospels. Q stands for “Quelle”, the German word for “source.” It is a very scholarly concept that has evolved after meticulous study of the oldest manuscripts and sources that are known to us as a theory as to how the synoptic Gospels are so……..synoptic.
Contrary to popular belief, the Gospels weren’t all written by disciples at the same time as the events occurred. They were actually written by separate people at separate times. The gospels were written after the widely circulated letters of Paul and one can see his influence all over them. The earliest gospel, Mark, was written some thirty to forty-five years after the death of Jesus and the final synoptic gospel, Luke / Acts was written between sixty and seventy years after the crucifixion. (Still later was John thought to be no earlier than 95 CE but not ever included in these sorts of studies.)
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