Origins of Christianity

A study of Buddhist sculptures of women at Sāñchī and Kanaganahalli, with profound implications for Buddhism and for the understanding of the origin of Christianity. (A revision which I recently made is this: I have replaced the earlier example of Buddhism’s occasional tendencies toward emphasizing the grotesque and unpleasant aspects of the human physical body [pp. 51-53] with a far more significant quoted description and illustration of the ghastly, midnight ‘Harem Scene’, which, in fact, represents the major turning point in the life of the Buddha-to-be [Prince Siddhārtha], and which, in this study, I am proposing as the very source of the enigmatic, so-called ‘Sheela-na-gig’ sculptures.)

This book debunks the myth that the cross was never used as a visual symbol in pre-Constantinian Christianity, bringing together the relevant material evidence demonstrating Christian use of the cross prior to Constantine. The artifacts presented in this book interlock with literary witnesses from the same period to provide a consistent and robust portrait of the cross as a pre-Constantinian symbol of Christian devotion. The material record of the pre-Constantinian period illustrates that Constantine did not invent the cross as a symbol of Christian faith; for an impressive number of Christians before Constantine’s reign, the cross served as a visual symbol of commitment to a living deity in a dangerous world.

From Jesus to the Internet examines Christianity as a mediated phenomenon, paying particular attention to how various forms of media have influenced and developed the Christian tradition over the centuries. It is the first systematic survey of this topic and the author provides those studying or interested in the intersection of religion and media with a lively and engaging chronological narrative. With insights into some of Christianity s most hotly debated contemporary issues, this book provides a much-needed historical basis for this interdisciplinary field.

To understand Jesus of Nazareth, it is essential to read the writings from the four-century gap between the Old and New Testaments. Matthias Henze introduces this period and its writings, discusses how they have been read through history, guides students' encounters with select texts, and introduces key ideas in New Testament texts that can't be understood without these early Jewish writings.

Background: The mathematical idea of Jesus Christ is ­ ~ ≤ X ≤ ~ and X = Y. Other mathematical ideas are the Cartesian coordinate system, n⁰ = 1 and ~, and n⁰ = 1 (X for the Lord ‘s day) and n ^n + 2 (Y for human’s day). Mathematically, it is scholarly that Christ came from heaven to earth and the dead people, and then came back to heaven through the earth. The gospel does not introduce a new Lord. There is no other Lord in Christianity, except Christ. The mathematical idea of - ~ ≤ X1 < ~ and X1 = Y1 is for Satan and the false prophet.
Objectives: To show mathematically that Jesus Christ is Lord and journey of Jesus Christ from heaven to earth and the world of the dead, then returned to heaven through this world. This journey is scholarly.
Methods: The n⁰ (X) and 10 ^2+n is mathematical ideas of days in God and human. The n⁰ = 1 and ~ in which -~≤ n ≤ ~ is for mathematical idea for one God. The ­ ~ ≤ X ≤ ~ and X = Y is mathematical idea for the spiritual journey of Jesus Christ. For the false prophet and Satan are - ~ ≤ X1 < ~ and X1 = Y1, and Cartesian coordinate systems were described.  Searched verses in the Bible manually and via the internet. Keywords included such as Christ, and the false prophet. 
Results: God in the Old Testament is the same as God in the New Testament. In mathematics, God is the same as one and ~. Mathematics can show who is God. Christ is the same as God. There is no other Christ. God became man in Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to humans. He went to the earth of the dead to preach the gospel 3 days, returned to the earth, and then to the heaven. This is the spiritual journey. Emmanuel is God with us.  A Christian could catch up into paradise as Paul’s vision. It was from the earth. It was not from heaven. It is different with Jesus Christ’s journey. Paul’s vision shows that the man catch up from the world to heaven, returned to the earth and died. He needed to wait the advent of Christ to rise up him from the death. Christ is eternal forever. The man in Paul’s vision still needs to be rise by Christ on the day of the Lord. The - ~ ≤ X ≤ ~ and X = Y fills Quadrant 1, Quadrant 2, Quadrant 3, and Quadrant 4 in the Cartesian coordinate system. Mathematical idea of -~ ≤ X=Y ≤ ~ is first the evidence as spiritual journey of Jesus Christ as the Father, Son, and the Spirit. The Cartesian coordinate system is the second evidence of the journey. Another evidence in mathematical idea, the third evidence, of the Father, Son and the Spirit is n⁰ = 1, ~. For example, if n is 1, 2, 3, the result is 1⁰ = 2⁰ = 3⁰ = 1. It shows that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is one. The forth evidence is day in the Lord and day in human. Its mathematical idea is n⁰ = 1 (the Lord’s day) and n^n+2 (human’s day). Satan was from heaven and was thrown into the earth. It was not a spiritual journey. Satan, his angels and the false prophet have been thrown into the hell.  The mathematical model of the false prophet is - ~ ≤ X1 < ~ and X1 = Y1.
Conclusions: Jesus Christ is the Lord and scholarly. There is only one Lord Jesus Christ. The ­ ~ ≤ X ≤ ~ and X = Y shows that Jesus Christ is the Lord. Ten mathematical ideas or evidences can demonstrate the relationship between God, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit. This relationship also shows the Spiritual Journey of Jesus Christ. These include n⁰ = 1and~ , n0⁰ (X) and n^2+n, -~ ≤ X=Y ≤ ~, and the Cartesian coordinate systems. The false prophet has mathematic idea as - ~ ≤ X1 < ~ and X1 = Y1.

Introduction to Messianic Judaism provides a description of what the Messianic Jewish community looks like today at its center and on its margins. The first section of the book traces the ecclesial contours of the community, providing a socio-historical and theological snapshot of the community's origins, where it is presently and where it is heading. Alongside these chapters, the book also includes a number of essays on biblical and theological issues central to the identity of Messianic Judaism. The twelve contributors to the first part of the book are recognized leaders in the Messianic Jewish community. They work with various organizations, including the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, the International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues, the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council, Tikkun International, Chosen People Ministries, Messianic Jewish Theological Institute, Israel College of the Bible and the New School for Jewish Studies. Fourteen scholars from a wide spectrum of Christian backgrounds have written essays for the second part of the book. Their participation signals a growing academic and ecclesial interest in Messianic Judaism. Since the 1970s, a sea change has taken place in New Testament studies that has far-reaching implications for how the church evaluates Messianic Judaism. A broad reassessment of the New Testament writers’ view of Judaism has occurred since the publication of E. P. Sanders’s seminal work Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977), and this reevaluation continues unabated. The contributors to the second part of Introduction to Messianic Judaism draw from this recent scholarship and demonstrate how post-supersessionist interpretation of the New Testament results in readings of the biblical text that are consistent with Messianic Judaism. The final section of the book is written by Joel Willitts who provides a summary and synthesis of the essays, explaining how they shed light on the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of Messianic Judaism.

This paper, concluded on Aug. 11, 2020, is a summary of my work with Professor Gift Siromoney on the invention of the Brāhmī script, up till the time of his death in 1988, as well as my independent discovery, decades later, of where and when the invention took place. In my paper, I challenge those scholars who argue that the origin of the Brāhmī script pre-dates the Mauryan dynasty!

This is a paraphrased transcription of the conversation between Lennox and Dawkins that can be seen in YouTube with the title “Richard Dawkins vs John Lennox: Has Science Buried God?” (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVEuQg_Mglw&t=3578s), to which I have added my own commentaries included between brackets):

This book explores how first- and second-century Christians read the Old Testament in order to differentiate the one God as multiple persons. The earliest Christians felt they could metaphorically “overhear” divine conversations between the Father, Son, and Spirit when reading the Old Testament. When these snatches of dialogue are connected and joined, they form a narrative about the unfolding interior divine life as understood by the nascent church. What emerges is not a static portrait of the triune God, but a developing story of divine persons enacting mutual esteem, voiced praise, collaborative strategy, and self-sacrificial love. This conversational divine story is explored as it ebbs and flows across the cosmos and through time. The result is a Trinitarian biblical and early Christian theology. While tracing this story, it is simultaneously argued that a new historical model is required for the New Testament and other early sources to explain how the doctrine of the Trinity first emerged—a model rooted in a little-known person-based ancient reading technique called prosopological exegesis. It is shown that prosopological exegesis is present throughout the earliest strata of Christian literature. This calls into question proposals that suggest Christology developed over time in the earliest church from low—Jesus as merely a messianic claimant—to high—Jesus as the preexistent Son of God. To the contrary, in agreement with Richard Bauckham’s Christology of Divine Identity (but simultaneously taking a different approach), it is argued that the earliest Christology was the highest.  Keywords:  Trinity, Christology, Christology of Divine Identity, prosopological exegesis, person, dialogue, Son of God, New Testament, Old Testament, early Christian

The separation of Church from Synagogue was not a one-time act, but a long-lasting, multi-layered, and diversified process. The attempt to explain this process, namely the process of parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity in the years 30 – 313, constitutes the main research subject of this publication.

The aim of this study is the presentation of the dynamism of Christian-Jewish relations in the first three centuries of the existence of the Church taking into account mainly historical and theological (but not only) factors which influenced these relations and finally led to the creation of two separate religions.

It must be added: religions existing side by side, in many aspects connected with each other mostly because both originate from biblical Judaism.

Paper exposes and details the usage of rhetoric & propaganda. Knowing this also exposes the purposes and motives involved in the creation of such texts. Which, in turn, leads us to information about the true authorship of these texts. Emphasis is upon the importance of recognizing literary devices.

References to baptism in the New Testament and the early church writings.

See related book on academia http://collegemhc.academia.edu/DanielKeeran/Books/446453/Ancient_and_Medieval_Baptismal_Fonts and at http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Medieval-Baptismal-Daniel-Keeran/dp/1441471618

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem has been actively studied since the middle of the 19th century. At the same time, the opinion was formed that the building passed through four construction stages. This periodization was developed and first proposed by Melchior De Vogüé in 1859. Later, it was developed in the research works of L.-H. Vincent and F.-M. Abel (1914-1922), Ch. Couasnon (1974), V.C. Corbo (1981-1982). However, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre has undergone much more destruction and local restoration works, as reported by written sources. The goal of this paper is to get a more complete picture of the shrine history by analyzing the medieval descriptions of it.

Keywords: the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; Church of the Resurrection; Church of the Anastasis; Eugene-Melchior De Vogüé; the architectural reconstruction; Jerusalem; Holy Land

Abstract:
Ptolemy’s Epistula ad Floram assesses the proper use of the Pentateuch by Christians. Ptolemy’s argument was that the law had been given by different agents. Thus, depending on the lawgiver, on the origin of the law, and on whether Christ fulfilled, abolished, or interpreted the particular law figuratively, Christians should carefully discern between the various levels of normativity of the Old Testament law. Nevertheless, in Epistula ad Floram, Ptolemy either proposed or merely used several hermeneutical principles which eventually became the accepted exegetical devices in Christian exegesis.

A briefer, more colloquial summary of the formal peer reviewed study in On the Historicity of Jesus, this work pares the argument down to its bare essentials, showing why it's likely the historical Jesus was invented, how that happened, and why attempts to deny this fail in both facts and logic. (See "File" drop-down link to purchase.)

The Athanasius-Arius conflict is a major debate of, as well as in, the history of Christianity. Being more of a phenomenon than an event, it took place in the fourth century. The controversy it brought about started raging throughout the Christendom, particularly in the major city of Alexandria and the Middle East, almost immediately. The pivotal point of the controversy was the true nature of Christ, which triggered an enormous debate throughout the Roman Empire after the conversion of Constantine the Great to Christianity and his promotion of Christian religion under discreet official patronage.

La 'perfectio' costituisce nella prima età moderna un obiettivo-cardine del cattolico impegnato e colto nel suo itinerario verso il trascendente. In tale contesto, la letteratura d’impianto controriformistico e la produzione ascetica esortano vivamente ad abbracciare la «milizia cristiana», ponendosi come meta la «perfezione della vita spirituale».
In questo libro l’autore prende in esame tematiche strettamente connesse tra loro: Filippo Neri e i suoi discepoli alle prese con l’ideale della ‘perfezione’ negli esercizi dell’Oratorio; la storia della milizia cristiana in età tridentina e postridentina; il modello di agonismo religioso espresso dal Combattimento spirituale dei Teatini, composto in forma anonima da Lorenzo Scupoli; l’impegno militante del gesuita Roberto Bellarmino e la fortuna europea del suo austero programma ascetico; la diffusione della letteratura del «soldato cristiano», dovuta essenzialmente all’influenza di un’opera come Il soldato christiano di Antonio Possevino e prerogativa quasi esclusiva della Compagnia di Gesù, come testimoniano gli altri autori ignaziani Pedro de Ribadeneira, Thomas Sailly, Francisco Arias, Piotr Skarga e Matthaeus Bembus.
Mentre la Controriforma devota amministra a fini pedagogici itinerari individuali di fede e di comprensione dei simboli religiosi, facendone l’esaltazione del sacro, Caravaggio riporta invece il dibattito sul terreno drammatico della testimonianza religiosa di vita intesa come ricerca. Nella Deposizione Merisi conferisce assai probabilmente a Nicodemo il volto del Baronio, che indica un ulteriore percorso della ‘perfezione’: ritornare alle fonti più autentiche della fede e alla purezza della Chiesa apostolica.
Ne deriva un libro che esplora temi e problemi nuovi, o meritevoli di approfondimento, nel quadro tutt’altro che omogeneo della Controriforma e di alcune particolari esperienze di riforma religiosa caratterizzate, nel caso della sensibilità oratoriana, da un ritorno alla ‘perfezione’ della Chiesa primitiva.

The New Classical Scholarship: The New Forensic Study Of History (Roman Piso, 11-25-2016, edited & updated 03-22-2017) [Note: To fully understand this, it is recommended that other related papers be read as well, as this is a complex subject, and the study of this employs methodology not generally taught yet.] This paper is meant to introduce the subject of the forensic study of history. And therefore, a Summary. The reason for this new way of studying ancient history is the discovery of it in an entirely difference context; that of being written from within a closed or controlled environment, which consisted of royalty who comprised a sustained Oligarchy. That condition is now known as 'Royal Supremacy'. The New Classical Scholarship, or the NCS was developed and founded by Roman Piso. Some of the ideas for it originated from methodology by others who, through their work had managed to reach the conclusion of a Roman authorship for the New Testament texts. [a] However, the main procedures and methodology (as well as some terminology) was developed by the author of this paper. In the 1800's, Professor Bruno Bauer had reached the conclusion that the New Testament was authored by Romans. He was not able to go much further than was reflected within his papers and books, and so, he was not able to actually name just who those Romans were. But, he (Prof. Bruno Bauer) did identify "word usage" and phraseology, as well as conceptual and ideological comparisons between the gospels and the works of Seneca and Flavius Josephus. Thus, paving the way for further research into their probable association with the creation of Christianity. And our research, has now verified his suspicions. Particularly, that of Abelard Reuchlin, who was the very first to name the authors of the New Testament texts in his 'The True Authorship of the New Testament' (1st printing, 1979; 2nd printing, 1986). In the early part of the 20th century, several scholars of the time were making great strides in terms of word meanings and word usage in the New Testament; and in fact, the Bible as a whole. One of those scholars was James Ballantyne Hannay, a contributor to the 'Encyclopedia Biblica', which was produced by Oxford university and various scholars of the time. [b] There were several books written by scholars and researchers of the time, which shed light upon words and word usage in the Bible; many of which are very rare, out of print, and/or non existent today. [c] Much of that earlier work was destroyed by many people who did not like what it revealed or what it would do in terms of scholarship should it become more widely known. At the time, Christians destroyed copies of these books and many were destroyed due to two world wars. The Vatican hierarchy knew about various discoveries made by researchers both in and out of Academia, and likewise, did not want that material to get out to other scholars or the public in general. Hitler and his followers too, had destroyed many thousands of books which, of course, included anything that the Vatican did not like and/or which revealed Christianity in a bad light. Many rare and one-of-a-kind books and other materials were destroyed simply because some people did not like that material for whatever reason. One of the main things that has been wrong with academia for so long is that many of its members have always consisted of the religious and thus, it has been strongly "Christian" in nature. That has alarmed many of us who realize the problem that that has been to getting at the truth in history and religion.

This summer (2019), I came across Paul Carus’s article, “Buddhism and Christianity”, in ‘The Monist’, vol. 5 (Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Co., 1894-95), pp. 65-103, and realized that much of his thinking and attitude, more than a century ago, reflects very much my own present approach to the study of the relation of Buddhism to Christianity. In his opening remarks, he says:

¶ "The idea of a Buddhistic origin of Christianity has been suggested more than once; but it is incumbent upon us to state that some of the men who must be regarded as the most competent to judge this matter are either extremely reticent or scorn the suggestion as quite impossible. While it is true that Arthur Lillie and Rudolf Seydel, who have done most to make the theory popular, introduce many vague speculations, we cannot regard a refutation of some of their vagaries as sufficient to settle the subject. No argument has as yet been offered to dispose of the hypothesis, which possesses, to say the least, a great probability in its favor. It is our intention here to enumerate some of the most salient facts so as to show them in their full importance, in the hope that specialists will give us more light on the subject” [p. 66].

¶ Curiously, Rev. Dr. Charles Aiken did not include this important Carus article in the Fifth Section of the bibliography, listing ‘Authors Comparing Buddhism with Christianity and Treating of Their Alleged Relationship’, located in his magnum opus, his published doctoral dissertation, 'The Dhamma of Gotama the Buddha and the Gospel of Jesus the Christ' (1900).

Aiken does, however, make brief, scornful mention of Carus elsewhere in his dissertation:

¶ "There are some, indeed, who would have us believe that Buddhism is a religion of enlightenment, the enemy of ignorance and superstition. This judgment is not warranted by the facts. On the contrary, Buddhism is a system that appeals only to the ignorant and the superstitious. I do not now speak of the emasculated Buddhism of writers like Dr. Carus, which is nothing more than a polite agnosticism under the thin veil of Buddhist terminology; but I have in mind the historic teaching of Buddha” [p. 310].

Sad misjudgments from such an exalted member of the Church.

I hope to get around to writing a brief, appreciative commentary on Carus’s important article.

Jesus speaks three words - or sayings - to Thomas in a moment of revelation, and when his comrades urge Thomas to reveal them he issues a warning: "If I tell you one (...) you will stone me (...)"

Which are these words that have such a profound impact?

The 'where' can be disclosed already; they're right in the text where they have been hiding in plain sight all along, for two millennia

“Part II: J. Edgar Bruns’ Christian Buddhism!” is the third, and concluding, section of “Buddhist Influence in the Gospels: Two Catholic Views – Part I: Charles Francis Aiken” and the “Interlude: How Crypto Buddhism Won the West!” ¶In contrast to Catholic priest Rev. Dr. Aiken, whose published doctoral dissertation was an all out effort to deny that there was any Buddhist influence whatsoever on Christianity, Catholic priest Rev. Dr. J. Edgar Bruns, simply demonstrated that there was, indeed, massive Buddhist influence on Christianity. Of course, even Bruns did not comprehend the real genetic links between Buddhism and Christianity.

Il Pellicano - Fonti e testi della storia del cristianesimo -----

La Passione di Perpetua e Felicita è un documento che narra il martirio di un gruppo di cristiani avvenuto a Cartagine nel 203 d.C.
Scritto da un anonimo compilatore, racchiude un testo di straordinario interesse: il diario redatto dalla giovane Perpetua durante la detenzione; una testimonianza pressoché unica di scrittura femminile e di prigioni che non cessa di appassionare non solo gli specialisti del settore, ma anche studiosi e semplici lettori di diversa provenienza. Spaccato vivissimo sulla condizione femminile nel cristianesimo delle origini e sulle valenze accentuatamente testimoniali e comunicative del martirio antico.

For those who are new to the work of the New Classical Scholarship (NCS), we have discovered that history at least before the 1500's, was an "inside job". What that means is that it was being written only by royals who were either closely related to each other, or had royal ancestors in common with each other. That in turn, meant that in order for that to have been the case, a closed or controlled environment existed (my term is 'Royal Supremacy') that amounted to a royal oligarchy. Everything that was being written was tightly controlled, and no one other than royalty could write anything for publication under penalty of death. There were several reasons for why they had demanded such tight security over the material that was allowed to reach the public. Much of that is explained in many of my other papers. Suffice it to say that all that was being written was being written by this royal oligarchy, and not by just anyone. There was no freedom of speech, only the illusion of it which was created by these royals. In fact, since they were the only ones who were writing for publication, they were writing BOTH the biblical texts and the non-biblical texts. It means that in order to understand history correctly and biblical texts, that we must now consider it in an entirely different context. Before anything can happen to me and/or my notes, I have been trying to save as much of that information as possible, in the form of research papers and compilations. From time to time, people will ask me just who the authors of the Gnostic gospels and other material were. This paper gives the most probable authorship and dates for 20 non-canon and/or Gnostic New Testament texts. The term 'Gnostic' has been used to describe some of the Christian material that was not included in the canon New Testament texts. Since I see that material as having been written by the same individuals as the canon material, I generally refer to it as the 'Apocryphal New Testament' material or non-canon New Testament texts. People have thought of this material or these texts as having been "rejected" from the NT canon for reasons known to those who were compiling what would be included in the "official" New Testament or texts that were ordained by the early Christian Church. But the real reason that much of that material wasn't included was because it either revealed too much, or it contained items that did not represent Jesus or other NT characters in the best light. Over the course of the years in which I had studied this material, at times I had worked with others in order to make more precise determinations regarding not only various component parts, passages, word usage, but several other factors which were involved in the creation of said material. And, one of those whom I had worked with was one of the most knowledgeable individuals on the subject of the New Testament and its authors, Abelard Reuchlin. As a result, I have many notes, some of which were the early opinions or conclusions of Abelard Reuchlin, along with my own notes with opinions and preliminary conclusions. Working together, Reuchlin and I were able to make more, and better determinations. There are various reasons for the conclusions that Reuchlin and I had reached regarding this material, not the least of which is that we knew just who was doing the writing of the canon NT texts and who those individuals were, as well as who they were writing as (i.e., their aliases and pen names).

Syriac and the Qurʾān - Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān - 2018

**Syriac was an Aramaic dialect spoken by Christians in and around Arabia during the time of the Qurʾān’s appearance. It or…

**Article Table of Contents

The place of Syriac in Islamic tradition
Modern theories on Syriac and the Qurʾān
Jewish-Christianity between Syriac and the Qurʾān
Syriac intertext, subtext, or urtext?
Syriac rhymed homilies and Qurʾānic prose
Examples of Syriac in the Qurʾān
Syriac vocabulary
Unconnected letters
Rephrasing the Syriac Bible and Apocrypha – The Last Judgement and next life
Rhyme and rhetoric
Echoes of Syriac homilies – The case of Paradise
Bibliography

Melchizedek is first and foremost a warrior, born before the daystar (morning star or Venus) like the dew. Revelations 22:16 reads: “I, Jesus… am the bright morning star.” 2Peter 1:19 reads: “It is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.” Combine the passages with the description in Psalm 110:2-4 and view the image that results -- countless drops of dew (each a divine king according to the order of Melchizedek) covering the earth waiting to reflect the first light of Jesus “…the bright morning star.” He is born a prince (and future king). Having embodied the oral tradition and made learned behavior intuitive, Melchizedek is a priest forever.

For a further immersion in Melchizedekian theology, please follow The Biblical Significance of Melchizedek with The Biblical Significance of Walking on Water
(for Skeptics, Boys on the Verge of Manhood and Real Men) also on this page...

This is an extensive introduction to the third volume of the John, Jesus, and History Series (Atlanta: SBL Press, forthcoming in early 2016) written by Jaime Clark-Soles and Paul N. Anderson. A total of twelve volumes of collected essays are projected as the fruit of this international project, now in its 15th year at the national Society of Biblical Literature meetings.