History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ

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Rice's Jesus is one that Fredricksen would not recognize
Paula's Daunting Question, Who wrote the Gospels?
From Jesus to Christ: A former Catholic turning Jewish Thesis
From Jesus to Christ
THE seminal work on historical Jesus

From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ
Paula Fredriksen
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0300084579

Book Description

How did Jesus of Nazareth become the Christ of the Christian tradition? And why did the early Christian communities develop different theological images of Jesus? In this exciting new book, Paula Fredriksen answers this question by placing the various canonical images of Jesus within their historical context-the Hellenistic and Judaic cultures from which the Christian communities grew. Carefully examining the New Testament texts, she provides fascinating insights into such issues as the social and religious problems facing early Christian communities, the content of Jesus' ministry, and the circumstances of his crucifixion.

Customer Reviews:

Rice's Jesus is one that Fredricksen would not recognize.......2006-10-15

"The quest for the historical Jesus has claimed many, many victims." Shaye Cohen

"Every Christian sooner or later has to ask the question, "Who was Jesus really?" And we ask this in our age in a special way because we are very historically oriented." Wayne Meeks

"Yet in some respects Rice's Jesus is one that Fredricksen would not recognize, as Rice is perfectly clear in her portrayal of Jesus as both divine and human, and most definitely as the only begotten Son of God born of the virgin Mary." Ben Witherington

Paula Fredriksen's first book, 'From Jesus to Christ': The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus, was followed by Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity, and, 'Jesus, Judaism, and Christian Anti-Judaism: Reading the New Testament After the Holocaust,' spell her agenda to which she is devoted.
In expressing 'Some Thoughts,' in Society of Biblical Literature Forum, Dr. Fredriksen wrote, "The point, of course, is that the Gospels themselves are no more 'anti-Semitic' than are the Dead Sea Scrolls, or Isaiah or Jeremiah ..., once they are in full voice. ... they are read through the 'contra Iudaeos' tradition. This reading, enshrined in centuries of church teachings and Christian interpretation, ... forgets that the historical Jesus was a first-century Jew engaged in disputes with other first-century Jews over issues important in first-century Judaism. Later Gentile Christian retrospect turned the theological Jesus into the founder of the Gentile Christian church. [His native Judaism thus shifted from being his historical context to being his theological contrast.]"

Scholars' favorite theories:
"Scholars have trotted out their favorite theories, and theories come and go. My own approach, postulates Shaye Cohen, is to say that while we cannot possibly know the historicity of any single incident related in the gospels, we can't possibly know the authenticity of any single saying attributed to him. We can't possibly identify the truth of any given verse in the gospels, nevertheless, certain large patterns do emerge, and those patterns seem to me to likely to be true, or likely to have a certain amount of historical veracity, even if you might not be happy with the patterns as being too vague or too general, but at least here I think we can see a clear consistent pattern of evidence in all the four gospels. ... So what pattern do we see? He's a holy man, a miracle man, someone who gets in trouble with the authorities, whoever they may be - Pharisees, scribes, priests, elders, he is constantly in trouble with them as a free-spirited individual. Someone who apparently preaches in the synagogue. All of [these activities] I think are the function of his power, the power as he has as a miracle worker and a holy man. And in the final analysis this is what does him in." Shaye Cohen, Professor of Judaic Studies, Brown University

Jesus' Quest to Christ's:
Wayne A. Meeks, Woolsey Professor of Biblical Studies Yale University explains, "... we want to know what was Jesus really like. And that quest to understand what he was really like has turned out to be very disappointing. So how do we really get at that? We must, first of all, understand that in history facts always lie under interpretations and we never get to the facts. They're only interpretations. There is only an interpreted Jesus, there are many interpreted Jesuses. So where do we begin? We begin not with Jesus, we have no access to him. We begin with the responses to Jesus, by his followers, by outsiders who heard about him. We begin with those reactions as they're enshrined in the text we have. ... How did we get these texts? Who wrote these texts? Where did they get the ideas?" Surely behind the written text there were oral traditions, we know that. There were oral traditions that went on after the written text, and we have evidence of those being written down later. So we try to dissect those. We say, "What kind of traditions? How were they shaped? What kinds of stories did people tell about Jesus?" ... We have reports of what Jesus said. He told parables, he told stories, he told little epigrams. Those have a shape to them. Are they like any sayings that are attributed to other people at the same time?"

What extra canonicals add?
"One of the complications most recently is the discovery in 1945 of some other gospels that we didn't know about before. One of them, the Gospel of Thomas, is nothing but sayings of Jesus. It simply goes along and says, "Jesus said this, Jesus said that." Well some of these things that Jesus said according to the Gospel of Thomas are quite familiar. They're very similar to things in the canonical gospels, but not identical. And there are other things which are quite different from any of the things that he said in the canonical gospels. Then, even among the canonical gospels, the way Jesus talks in the first three, the so-called synoptic gospels, is very different from the way he talks in the Gospel according to John. Now, which is right? Which is the real Jesus speaking here? We discovered that there are several different portraits of Jesus enshrined in the shape of the traditions about him, and that these seem to go back to very early times... We have different portraits of Jesus because from the very beginning people tried to understand the mystery about him."

Important figures & multiple traditions:
"In my own view, adds Dean Hendrix, the earliest layer of evidence is still an interpretation, so what we can know is only the range of interpretations that we first encounter in Jesus' traditions. And that is really a plurality of Jesuses. A Jesus that's understood as a sage and wise man in some traditions, a Jesus that's understood as a superhero, a great performer of miracles in another, divine person in another tradition. A Jesus who is understood as primarily the sacrificed, now risen and enthroned savior in another tradition. One finds the plurality of Jesuses even at the earliest stage of interpretation. That's why as far as we keep going and excavating the tell of Jesus, the earliest stage is still interpretation." Holland Hendrix, Union Theological Seminary

Historians on Josephus Vs Gospels:
Speaking as a historian, Harold Attridge, Yale Divinity School, explains the problem, "... in understanding Jesus, as a historian, begins with the fact that we have rather limited sources for reconstructing his life. Those sources are primarily the gospel traditions that we have in the New Testament, some apocryphal materials from the early Christian tradition, and some sources external to the New Testament. Those sources external to the New Testament are particularly valuable because they're not directly statements of faith, the way the New Testament materials are. Chief among those external sources is Josephus, a Jewish historian who wrote at the end of the first century and who in book 18 of his "Antiquities of the Jews," has a small passage about Jesus. ... Professional historians, I think, try to assemble all of the evidence that's available for reconstructing an event. And they're concerned about the bias in any of those sources that they use. And at the first stage in reconstructing an event is to analyze the bias of sources. We had to do so both with the sources internal to Christianity as well as the sources external to Christianity. So the gospels, for instance, are clearly statements of faith and they have certain takes on who Jesus was and what he meant to his followers. External sources like Josephus don't have the same faith commitment, they may have some other axes to grind, but in any case you have to see what the biases of the sources are, and try to take those into account as you do your reconstruction."

Fredriksen Vs Rice's Christ:
In a recent review posted by Ben Witherington of Anne Rice's 'Christ the Lord - Out of Egypt,' he wrote, "Rice gets to critique liberal Jesus scholars, amongst others. Rice also tells us the story of her conversion and return to Roman Catholicism, which entailed a return to investigate questions which had haunted her all her life - how did Christianity actually come about? ...I would give myself utterly to the task of trying to understand Jesus himself and how Christianity emerged."
To the reconverted Roman Catholic novelist quest, Witherington anticipated statement, seven years earlier was, "Where did all of this vast array of christological thinking come from? Ultimately, we have argued, it in many cases goes back to Jesus himself, or to the earliest Jewish Christian followers of Jesus."

Hebrew prophets Vs Fredriksen:
Christian doctrine, claims Witherington, interprets salvation as God's gradual self revelation to mankind through the Patriarchs especially Abraham, through Jewish prophets, and ultimately in the teachings of Jesus Christ. True faith of His love of mankind even to the extent of intervening into history as the only begotten Son, being tempted and suffering, as prophesied by Isaiah. The meaning of the life, death, and resurrection of the Christ, debated by the Jewish scholar, as the means of God's redemptive purpose, as foretold in biblical history, and revealed by the Hebrew prophets is refuted by Fredriksen.

Dr. Paula Fredriksen:
Fredriksen holds a Ph.D. in history of religions, ancient Christianity, and Greco-Roman religions from Princeton University and a theology diploma from Oxford University. She served as historical consultant for the BBC production The Lives of Jesus and was a featured speaker and historical consultant for "The Life and Times of Jesus. Specializing in the history of early Christianity, Paula Fredriksen is author of half a dozen books and a few dozen articles on early Christianity. Among her numerous awards and honors are a National Endowment for the Humanities grant and a Visiting Professorship of Ancient Christianity, at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She received the Yale Press Governors' Award for Best Book in 1988.

Paula's Daunting Question, Who wrote the Gospels?.......2006-02-18

Paula's Daunting Questions:
Who was Jesus of Nazareth?
How did he fit into his native religious context, late Second Temple Judaism? Why does such a manifestly Jewish religious figure end up dying a political, Roman death? Does the unarguable fact that some of his close disciples were convinced that God had raised Jesus from the dead stand in any meaningful relation to the message he proclaimed during his lifetime?
How does the itinerant mission of an Aramaic-speaking Galilean Jew relate to the triumphant cosmic agent whose imminent apocalyptic return was so blazingly announced, within twenty years of his crucifixion, by his apostle, Paul? :Introduction

From Jesus to Christ:
In her study, Dr. Fredricksen who admitted avoiding an in depth treatment of the issues that occupied her Judeo-Christian mind, has initially focused her analysis of the of New Testament's variety portrayals of Jesus of Nazareth. Her attempt to give sound reasons for the early Christian surging movement, which she has attributed in her reconstruction, to a crafty adjustment to the surprising success among the pagans gentiles. As the Kingdom's realization suffered a serious delay, the new move failed to convince but too few Jews. This deduction could be proven wrong, based on the conversion of the largest and most informed Diaspora, the Jews of Alexandria, who led Egyptians into the new faith, and formed the core of leadership in the most important center Alexandria, as a parallel to Antioch.
Her version of the growth of different images of the historical Jesus himself, has played a central role in her views on images of Jesus of Nazareth, sifting through later Christian traditions that rendered him seriously more elusive, in her own judgment.

How did Jesus die?
In many ways the author owes to Duke's professor E. P. Sanders' Jesus as the eschatological prophet reconstructed as the obedient servent in Isaiah's prophecy, but while for Sanders Jesus was killed for undermining the temple priest's authority, Fredriksen thinks Jesus was executed because Caiaphas wanted to avoid Pilate's "itchy trigger-finger" when dealing with the acts of popular preachers. Her contribution to the historical-Jesus studies and should be considered by all interested in the field.

Has her mind really changed?
Since publishing From Jesus to Christ, Professor Fredriksen has confessed she changed her mind on several issues, writing a new introduction, to explain what she later came to think, and why she changed her mind. She concluded, "The end result, perhaps, was inevitable: I too have added yet one more book to the growing pile on the historical Jesus. Working on Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews (Knopf, 1999) created for me a critical promontory from which I could survey recent scholarship, critique my own, and see afresh the problems of evidence and argument that shape the field."

Who wrote the Gospels?
To the core question of her motivated study, and if they were Jews or Gentiles? She bluntly replies, "No one knows!" Though she was uncertain, contrary to scholars views, based on internal evidence, propose non Jewish identifications. The author of Matthew is universally regarded as Jewish; she says adding also the author of John. She assumed that at least Mark and Luke were Gentiles. Luke's author was fluent with the Septuagint, inclined her to suppose that he, too, was a Jew. Fredriksen has committed to a narrow unsupported argument on revelation that undermines Judaism because Moses was an Egyptian! The great Orientalist James H. Breasted has genuinely expressed his own feelings, "When that experience began, it was a dark day for my inherited respect for the theological dogma of revelation."

From Jesus to Christ: A former Catholic turning Jewish Thesis.......2006-02-04

"A Look at the Old Covenant unified course of historical events by which God prepared, accomplished, and applies redemption for His people and thereby advances His saving kingdom. The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New. " Augustine, AD 354-430

Rise of Christianity:
To present to the non specialist a discussion of the NT images of Jesus, the author represents her notes on Christian Origins, as she conceived and taught. Archaeological finds have provided new understandings of Jesus' mission and Jewish social environment; with fresh interpretations of earlier ideas about the identity of early Jewish believers (later called Christians) and their communities. For the non specialist the historical evidence could be interpreted differently. FRONTLINE series, "From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians" challenges Fredriksen's similiar assumptions and assumed notions about Christian origins. The Gospels as products of social and religious reconstruction in the period after the destruction of Jewish hope, roughly 70 to after 100 CE examines how these stories were passed down before they were written. And how the writing of each Gospel reflects the experiences and circumstances of early Christians. The secular PBS documentary, interviews with twelve scholars; New Testament theologians, archaeologists, and historians exploring the life and teachings of Jesus, and his disciples, whose belief, and conviction up to martyrdom established the religion, now known as Christianity. They talk about the quest for the historical Jesus. The twelve scholars representing a range of viewpoints and diversity of faiths and a shared new scholarly ways of thinking about Christ and Christianity.

Fredriksen Thesis:
Dr. Paula Fredriksen, allegedly raised a Roman Catholic turning Jewish, explains the stray of New Testament images of Jesus through the exploration of the venue that new Christian communities wrestled with, in different locations, interpreting his mission in light of their understanding of his message on the Kingdom of Heavens. (The Kingdom of heaven is at hand; Matt. 10:7) Her thesis is defended in light of the delay of the physical coming of a promised Kingdom, which He never declared, (the kingdom of God is within you; Lk 17:21) .
Fredriksen shows the NT images of Christ from Johns "Logos", to the earliest Paul's writings on Christ, the cosmic redeemer.
Christian theology interprets salvation as God's self revelation to mankind in the person of Jesus Christ, and faith as His love of mankind even to the extent of sending His only begotten Son in their likeness, being tempted and suffering, as prophesied by Isaiah. The life, death, and resurrection of the Christ, refuted by the Jewish scholar, being the means of God's redemptive purpose, as foretold in biblical history, and revealed by the Hebrew prophets. But not all Jewish scholars belief in their own bible prophesies.
The author debates that the present perception of the Christian message evolved over time through doctrinal dispute and compromise, cultural concepts and imperial power politics. The basic idea of God to be born by a Jewish girl is to her, and many a myth that was provoking to Jews, who considered Paul and his writings as heretical. They never accepted that their waited Messiah would be human, nor that his rule is not to their dream of world dominance, not unity with the pagan Gentiles. The split between Christians and Jews in Antioch was final as soon as Jesus was claimed 'Son of God.' Early Church banned Ebionites, a sect of Jewish believer in Jesus who did regard him a great prophet were to establish Islam.
Book's new Introduction reviews the most recent scholarship on the historical Jesus, mainly in support of her thesis.

From Jesus to Christ.......2004-09-04

"From Jesus to Christ" is the best single volume introduction to Christian origins ive come across. Fredriksen writes with a lively, intelligent and sometimes humorous style that keeps the readers attention through even some of the more mundane material. The books primary strength is the way it covers all the bases by showing not only the historical Jesus but his world and the evolving traditions about him. Most of its kind simply focus on the life of Jesus without giving the overall context of the Church in which the traditions were devloping.

Part 1 begins by describing the Hellenistic NT world, the result of Alexanders conquests, showing both Pagan and Jewish versions. Next, Fredriksen shows the NT images of Christ from the latest, Johns "Logos", to the earliest, Pauls apocalyptic cosmic redeemer.

Part II describes Jesus's context, the world of Second Temple Judaism and gives her view of the historical Jesus whose death as a insurgent is best explained by his role as an apocalyptic prophet.

Part III shows the developing Christ through the tradition and teaching of the Church after the original resurrection experience

The book also contains a helpful glossary and suggested reading section for those new to the material.

THE seminal work on historical Jesus.......2003-11-14

If you only read one book on the historical Jesus this should be it. Although I think that Fredriksen oversteps in her analysis in a few cases, overall her analysis and conclusions are right on the money. She is one of the best New Testament scholars working in the field and her careful presentation of the evidence and support for her conclusions is strong and reliable. Her reasoning is exceptionally careful and for the most part simply allows the text to speak for itself with exceptional clarity.

Fredriksen first lays out the world of the New Testament. A brief introduction on the nature of the documents and the challenges that they present begins her discussion. For those who have done a careful reading of the gospels it is apparent that there are minor as well as significant differences between them. Far from being slight changes to previous copies, they represent different understandings of who Jesus was. In many cases they represent vastly different conceptions of theology, and the future for the followers of the risen Jesus. One must delve deep into the documents with an understanding of their history and transmission in order to gain a clear perspective on this. She has done this precisely and the reader is the one who benefits from her work. Extremely helpful for understanding this is a comprehension of the Hellenistic world that Jesus was born into, the enduring legacy of Alexander's conquests that we ourselves live in the shadow of to this day. History often turns on a dime and vast changes for posterity sometimes depend on the smallest of events: the birth and rise of Alexander of Macedon is one such event.

Fredriksen moves backward in time, beginning with the highly developed esoteric Christology in the gospel of John at the turn of the century back to the very Jewish, earthy, eschatological Mark, written between 65 and 75 AD. Carefully laying out the evidence of the texts, Fredriksen incisively reasons a very likely history of the development of the ideas of Jesus and takes us back to the most probable reconstruction of who the man of history truly was. She then evaluates Paul, who represents a sort of anomaly compared to the gospel development and demonstrates that the theological development wasn't necessarily as smooth a trajectory as one would presume.

In order to gain a proper understanding of the context all this takes place in and why indeed it even occurs one must have a modicum of knowledge about the history of Israel, and the development of messianism that began with the experience of the Babylonian Exile and the subsequent influence of Persian religious ideas on historical Judaism. Indeed it was this time, from the sixth century through the second, that proved formative to Jewish ideas, which when mixed with Hellenism produced the Christian religion that we know today, which subsequently greatly influenced Islam. (What an amazing time in history!) This book describes that process. For a more complete analysis of the particularities, I recommend Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come by Norman Cohn.

Fredriksen then proceeds to the development of the Christian faith and its process of evolving away from Judaism that occurred as a result of the experience of the resurrection (whatever that was). This experience and an exegesis of the Hebrew Scriptures led the first followers to make some dramatic conclusions about what had really happened and what Jesus' mission was. Also significant in this process was the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD, which had a profound effect on the subsequent development of the tradition. Fredriksen lays this out for the reader concisely and thoroughly. She then summarizes by building a smooth trajectory from what we know about Jesus, the earliest gospels, to what the tradition came to be at the beginning of the second century.

Book Description

John D. Witvliet and David Vroege offer this outstanding collection of Christmas messages from giants of the Christian faith, such as John Calvin, St. Augustine, Martin Luther, Bernard of Clairveaux, and more. Each classic sermon includes a brief introduction to and interpretation of the message, along with an appropriate hymn text. Layreaders will appreciate the wisdom and insight that these beautiful sermons impart for devotional reflection and pastors and teachers will find wonderful classic ways to express the meaning of Christmas to contemporary listeners.

Gospel Images: Guided Meditations from the Stories of Jesus

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Gospel Images: Guided Meditations from the Stories of Jesus
John Henstridge
Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
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ASIN: 0687098378

In His Image (Book One of The Christ Clone Trilogy)

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Alone Good, As trilogy not so good!!!
Clone Cold Sober
Not impressed but interested.
Wish I hadn't bought it.
So Jesus is cloned again

In His Image (Book One of The Christ Clone Trilogy)
James BeauSeigneur
Manufacturer: FaithWords
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0446613274

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It's the end of life on earth as we know it in this page-turning apocalyptic novel In His Image, the first installment of the Christ Clone Trilogy. Newspaper editor Decker wangles his way onto a scientific expedition that examines the Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ. When body cells stuck to the shroud are found to be "alive," they are cloned, and the resulting baby, Christopher, changes the course of history. The book is an interesting mix of fact and fiction (when was the last time you read a novel with footnotes?). There are nice touches of humor, and a dollop of prophetic scripture. It's difficult to peg who's "good" and who's "evil," which admirably sustains the suspense. A good edit might have smoothed some of the rough spots, and the use of bold type for emphasis is distracting. However, those less interested in the nuances of fine literature than in a fast-paced thriller will find that this novel covers all the bases. --Cindy Crosby

Book Description

Based on the actual scientific expedition to examine the Shroud of Turin, author James BeauSeigneur creates a fictionalized story that links ancient DNA to the coming of the Antichrist. While examining the Shroud of Turin-believed by many to be the burial shroud of Jesus Christ-Professor Harold Goodman makes an incredible discovery: a cluster of skin cells still alive after 2000 years. Faced with such a startling find, Goodman conspires to carry out what may be the most earth-shattering experiment ever attempted: the cloning of Jesus Christ. When the experiment proves successful, the child born of the ancient cells soon sets in motion forces which trigger worldwide cataclysms, and could end the world as we know it....

Customer Reviews:

Alone Good, As trilogy not so good!!!.......2007-09-01

After reading the first two books I was very happy with my purchase. The story was great, the imagery was good, and it was deffinately controversial. I'd say worth reading except I don't want to promote the third.

Clone Cold Sober.......2007-08-16

Voltaire said that if God didn't exist, it would be necessary for Man to invent Him.

In "In His Image", Man does exactly that.

James Beauseigneur may very well have put literary form to the old bumper sticker "Christ is Coming: Look Busy!", with "In His Image", the first little broadside in a wickedly absorbing trilogy that dares ask the question: "hey, izzat JESUS you got in this here petri dish, Doctor?"

Bottom line: bewhiskered professor of Genetics Harry Goodman goes on a little combo Holy Land walkabout & research project to do a full genetic & biological scrape of the Shroud of Turin, supposedly the cerement of Jesus Christ, which bears the image of Christ left from the energy unleashed in His supposed Resurrection.

The Shroud doesn't mind. The genetic Scrape & Peel, I mean. About the Resurrection, I have no idea.

Anyway, let's just say while they're scraping the Shroud, a little something extra comes off. And let's just say that the Good Professor saves that little something extra, because in this life, if it's not about getting the Little Something Extra, it's about nothing at all.

Faster than you can say "beam me up Scotty!" you've got a precocious kid running around, a smart little tyke with a keen interest in the UN and an astonishing ability to levitate and walk on water.

I'm kidding about those last two things, but I couldn't help myself.

Look: I think it's awesome that something called "Christ the Clone" exists. I *dig* the idea. And whereas the "Left Behind" series from LaHaye & Jenkins concerns itself with the tactical of the New Messiah and his foes, BeauSeigneur is focused more on the strategic: the book reads more like the highpoints of an Apocalyptic powerpoint presentation than the down & dirty everyday drama of a Left Behind.

If that sounds bad---well, depends on what you're after. I found "In His Image" completely absorbing and compulsively readable: indeed, I polished it off in about three hours and I'm getting ready to dig into #2.

But be warned: BeauSeigneur might as well be writing what amounts to a Pentagon briefing: his style is pulpy but bland, and the characterization---particularly, oddly, of the 'Christ' child---is brief and shallow. Actual physical descriptions, of locations, events, and characters, are either non-existent, or told secondhand---from a news report, for example, as happens when Moscow learns an entirely new meaning of "Scorched Earth". BeauSeigneur is a much better plotter than he is a writer.

Those glaring weaknesses would normally doom a book for me, but "In His Image" is furiously engaging, bristingly with a lot of very juicy, intriguing ideas, ample Machiavellian gamesmanship at the UN, and an interesting subplot developing about the Messianic Jews.

There's even a dastardly, scheming French villain; speaking of which, there's a moment where BeauSeigneur takes his characterization gloves off & bobs and weaves with the story---you'll know it when you read it. It's a wicked moment, but all too brief: here's hoping the author loosens up going forward.

Whether you're pulpy tales of Apocalyptic doom (who isn't?), or always wondered what a test-tube Jesus would look like, "In His Image" is juicy stuff.

JSG

Not impressed but interested........2007-07-02

After reading this book I felt like I only had part of a whole. This must be a trilogy (The Christ Clone Trilogy) that you have to read together. `In His Image' by itself is interesting but not very impressive. The time lags and story switching are not smooth, but I again must stress that the concept is thought provoking. Many readers seem to draw comparisons between this series and the `Left Behind' series. I have not read the `Left Behind' books but none of its advertisements, movies, or word of mouth ever interested me. This series, on the other hand, still has my attention and respect.

Wish I hadn't bought it........2007-05-07

This book is totally wack. The research was impressive, but that's about it. The only reason I even finished was because I bought the book and felt obligated to finish it- I'm not even interested in finishing the trilogy. Decades are skipped and connection to the characters is non-existant. On the back of the book one reviewer wrote, "C.S. Lewis couldn't have done it better." C.S. Lewis wouldn't do it in the first place.

So Jesus is cloned again.......2007-03-24

The idea of having Jesus cloned is a compelling theme for any story. I have read some of them, and they are quite original. One book had Jesus cloned as a female!

BeauSeigneur's story lacks interest. The characters are just a little too shallow, the beginning is full of "convenient coincidences," and I thought these coincidences were just used to get the story started. But just when the story gains momentum, there is a gap. Then another, and in every other chapter, there are gaps everywhere. There's nothing better than a story with a sound continuity and a structured development.

Then the story takes place in the UN, and it just becomes monotonous. It was around here when I gave up.
The dialogs are too contrived, forced, and contributes very little to the story.

But not all of it is bad. Loved Rosen and his theory of the Covenant and loved also the footnotes.
BeauSeigneur researched this topic very well, but he just can't write a novel.

I recommend "Divine Blood" by Martinez Helwett or "The Miracle Strain" by Michael Cordy

Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art

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Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art
Neil MacGregor , and Erika Langmuir
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300084781

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None of Jesus' contemporaries made written descriptions of his appearance. Nevertheless, his image is among the most frequently and variously rendered--and perhaps the most instantly recognizable--of all the characters of Western history. Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art is a richly illustrated survey of the ways that artists have imagined Jesus' appearance. Brief essays by Neil MacGregor, director of London's National Gallery, and Erika Langmuir Obe, a noted art historian, elaborate the following notion, from the book's introduction: "The greatest artists, in representing the life of Christ, did something even more difficult: they explored the fundamental experiences of every human life. Pictures about Jesus's childhood, teachings, sufferings and death are--regardless of our beliefs--in a very real sense pictures about us." Seeing Salvation offers pointed insights regarding the relationship between artists' representations of Christ and the evolution of Christian culture. This sweeping account of centuries' worth of history is enlivened by a wealth of detailed observations--such as MacGregor's essay about the ways that Michelangelo's several sculptures of the pieta record the artist's personal evolution of faith and doubt. Still, the most extraordinary things in Seeing Salvation are not its arguments but its beautifully printed illustrations of paintings and sculptures in galleries, private homes, catacombs, market stalls, and churches around the world. --Michael Joseph Gross

Book Description

Without contemporary accounts of Jesus' appearance, artists through the ages have been free to create many images of him--images that sometimes reflect the spiritual world of the artist and other times the desires of the patron or the needs of the spectator. In this magnificently illustrated book, Neil MacGregor traces the life of Christ and the development of Christian culture in the work of artists from different times and diverse cultures. Copublished with the National Gallery, London

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Study Study Study but no one PRACTICES!!
Meatless theory
Some people seem to have misread this book...
No Respect,, some good info
A New Look at History

Tut-Ankh-Amen: Living Image of the Lord
Moustafa Gadalla
Manufacturer: Bastet Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0965250997

Book Description

This book provides the overwhelming evidence from archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Talmud, and the Bible itself, that Tut-Ankh-Amen was the historical character of Jesus. The book examines the details of Tut's birth, life, death, resurrection, family roots, religion, teachings, etc., which were duplicated in the biblical account of Jesus. The book also reveals the world's greatest conspiracy and cover-up, which re-created the character of Jesus, living in another time (Roman era) and another place (Palestine, Israel).

Sample Highlights:
- King Tut's birth name was Tut-Ankh-Aton, meaning The Living Image of the Lord.
- King Tut was, like all Egyptian kings, the spiritual Son of God.
- King Tut was, like all Egyptian kings, called the Messiah/Christ, meaning the "Anointed One".
- The Bible affirms that Jesus was of royal descent, was born to govern, and ruled and died as a king. This contradicts the popular notion that Jesus was of humble roots.
- The Jews affirm that "Pinhas/Phinehas (a contemporary of Moses) killed Jesus" and they did not mention Jesus' presence in Palestine/Israel.
- The spiritual message of the Christian revelation, as told in the Gospel story, is exactly the same as told thousands of years earlier in the ancient Egyptian Osiris/Isis/Horus legend.
- The Christian Easter is a mirror image of the largest ancient (and modern) Egyptian holiday in timing and purpose.
- The Bible, or book, was derived from byblos, which is the Egyptian hieratic word for papyrus.

Customer Reviews:

Study Study Study but no one PRACTICES!!.......2005-04-20

This author has done a lot for the deprograming of Africans from the disease of Christianity. I have been studying African Legecy for 10 years and been practicing for 3 years. Most Africans who do study, do just that STUDY. But do not apply what they have learned in everyday life. Basically seeds fallen on rock! Gadalla writes this book on the same idea that my greatest teachers taught Africans how to study our history. Stay away from Europeans dates and times!!! They mean nothing to us!- Dr. Ben & Dr. Clarke
Thats what was done here in this book and once this is accepted your are open to the truth Gadalla has brought to Us. TUA NTR !
This is a book for the student who still has a grip on Christ and the bible, but still are energized when speaking of Our Legecy! This book is not finish work! The rest is for us to do. Someone comment that Gadalla research on King David and Solomon are false and this and that. But have you read EVERYTHING out there about the Kemetic Kings and their Legecy?? Oh but you thought Gadalla was going to lay it all out for you? Shame Shmae! In my studies alone I realized that Ankenaten was also known as Moses and King Ezana the first Ethiopian King. No one told me this in a book but thru many books reading and putting one and one together. Now this connection by Biblical times is about 3,000 to 3800 years off each other. But now world religions authorities are agreeing with Gadalla theories. What will be next? This book can give you a insight! TUA NTR for Gadalla!

Meatless theory.......2004-07-15

I came to this theory via the Caesar/Christ parallels. And of the two, Caesar wins out. The oriental archetype of the 'king' is no conspiracy or coincidence. What great hero wasn't born under divine supervision, fought opposition and died a venerated death? One could make a similar argument with the similarities between Jesus and Superman (or Kennedy, or Charlie Brown), requiring the reader to suspend disbelief less frequently. Worst of all is the offensively thin scholarship pertaining to the Qumran scrolls and the Talmud.

Some people seem to have misread this book..........2002-10-12

I noticed a that couple criticisms of this book are not quite accurate. The author did not say that Tut-Ankh-Amen means the Living image. He said Tut's birth name, Tut-Ankh-ATON, means the living image. This is a correct translation as the Aton (or Aten) was an abstraction. I can understand someone not agreeing with the author, but let's not mislead his potential audience by misquoting him.

And many of the ideas here are borrwed from Ahmed Osman. But the author doesn't try to hide this. I recommend this book.

No Respect,, some good info.......2001-07-31

After about page 35, I lost respect for the author and this book. I study history, Egyptology and Theology. However, it appears to me that facts are certainly twisted in this book.

The author USES scripture when it is advantageous to his theory. The scripture used is followed by his PERCEPTION of it taken out of context. The author also purposely misplaces biblical figures in time to make his theory feasible.

I'm a firm believer in God and Spirituality. I am not into orthodox religion or doggedness, so I wasn't turned off because of that aspect. I was turned off because the author made facts irrelevant when it was suitable for his theory.

A New Look at History.......2000-10-03

It is trully amazing when you can find a book that sends you in a totally different direction of thought. I found this book very interesting and would strongly recomend it to anyone who wants a fresh look at the history surounding the bible.

Growing in His Image: The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis : A Reinterpretation of the Great Devotional Classic

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Growing in His Image: The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis : A Reinterpretation of the Great Devotional Classic
Bernard Bangley
Manufacturer: Harold Shaw Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Jesus: Images of Christ in Art

Manufacturer: BCL Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1932302050

Product Description

Large hardcover book, pictorial narrative life of Jesus Christ through 95 large color reproductions.

Loving Your Body: Embracing Your True Beauty in Christ (Focus on the Family)

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Loving Your Body: Embracing Your True Beauty in Christ (Focus on the Family)
Deborah Newman
Manufacturer: Focus on the Family Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1589970055

Book Description

A recent Focus on the Family poll of women indicated that one of the primary reasons for low self-esteem is a negative body image. Using stories of women who have struggled with a negative body image, explanations backed with research and statistics, and scriptural evidence, the author helps readers understand that they are wonderfully and beautifully made in God's image. Includes study questions for individuals and small groups.

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