Book Description
The Jesus Family Tomb tells the story of what may very well be the greatest archaeological find of all time – the discovery and investigation of the Jesus family tomb. The tomb in question houses ossuaries (bone boxes) with inscriptions bearing the names of Jesus of Nazareth, the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Judas, the son of Jesus. This crypt has been overlooked and ignored for years and exists today under a patio just outside of Jerusalem. The authors have tracked down the location and been granted unequaled access to inspect the findings within the tomb. The artifacts were found, recorded and catalogued by professional archaeologists in a controlled setting. There is no question of their authenticity.
A fascinating combination of history, archaeology, and theology, the revelations inside the book will change the way we think about God, religion, and everything we have learned about the life and death of Jesus.
With a foreword by James Cameron.
Customer Reviews:
whose in the boxesThe Jesus Family Tomb.......2007-08-23
The Jesus Family Tomb
The Jesus Family Tomb by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino reads like a murder mystery or a cheap spy thriller. It is interesting and holds the reader's attention despite a glaring misrepresentation of accepted investigative procedures. Jacobovici and Pellegrino have an agenda and the facts are made to fit.
There are several misleading and non-factual theories presented. The alleged "Jesus, son of Joseph" ossuary may actually be inscribed "Hanan" according to Dr. Stephen J Pfann, a noted expert in Semitic languages who agrees with ancient phonetic writing scholar, Dr. Rochelle Altmann, about the inscription on the alleged Jesus bone box.
There are also experts in disagreement with the so-called Mary Magdalene ossuary inscription. Both Richard Bauckman of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and Ben Witherington, a professor at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky, believe the inscription speaks of two people placed in the same bone box, a common practice in first century Judea.
The authors state that by statistical analysis the chances are 600 to 1 in favor of this being the Jesus Family tomb. However, the reliability of the assumptions made prior to the analysis, along with the way they are stated in words, is critical to the acceptability of the results of the analysis. Any statistical analysis that accepts disputed data and rhetorical debris-"In"-; will produce garbage-"Out."- What are the numerous assumptions accepted as fact concerning the ossuaries? This is the relevant analysis question to be addressed before the statistics are reviewed.
The use of DNA analysis in The Jesus Family Tomb provides a popular appeal in addition to a scientific aura. The subsequent DNA analysis of two ossuaries in the Talpiot tomb showed that they were not linked by DNA. However, there had been looters in the tomb and in the ossuaries. Dr. Ian Barnes of the University of London says that there is a good chance that "the DNA belongs to someone who excavated the tomb." It is totally absurd to do a mitochondrial DNA analysis on two ossuaries that have disputed inscriptions, (out of the ten ossuaries present in the Talpiot Tomb), then theorize that Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene were married and had a son, Judah.
"Patina" testing is a method of analyzing mineral deposits, which build up on artifacts over years to determine the archaeological origin of those artifacts. The James ossuary, displayed in 2002, is linked by Jacobovici and Pellegrino to the Jesus tomb by patina testing. The James bone box has a forged inscription which says "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Dr. Ronny Reich of Haifa University in Israel says that the inscription patina of James ossuary is fraudulent.
The most disturbing inconsistency in The Jesus Family Tomb is the selective reliance on New Testament scriptures. The genealogy of Mary is cited (Luke 3:23-38) as an example of numerous "Matthews" in Jesus' family. It is an attempt to rationalize the Matthew bone box and its auspicious presence in the Talpiot tomb (p.78). Jacobovici also cites Acts 1:23-26 as though it carries historical authority (p.78). He also quotes Mark 6:3 which names Joseph as one of Jesus' brothers. Jocobovici and Pellegrino use this canonical scripture to reference Joseph as historical fact (p.77). The authors quote the New Testament as authoritative in saying Philip was the apostle to the Greek-speaking Jews (p.206). Jocobovici quotes Mark 15:26 saying the Romans referred to Jesus as King of the Jews (p.90). The authors quote John 2:19 about Jesus claim to rebuild the temple in three days (p.28). The aforementioned citing are a sampling of Jocabovici and Pellegrino's selective splicing of their tale with New Testament scriptures which are, historically, the only support for their background information. No justification is presented for trusting certain texts over others. As illustrated above, the authors rely on certain portions of the accounts of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John while simultaneously ignoring other portions. It is an attempt to "have it both ways." The authors use the New Testament text (especially historical data), as support for their hypothesis while at the same time ignoring the message and contradicting the world- view of the whole New Testament canon.
Archaeologist Dr. Jonathan Reed, Professor of Religion at the University of La Verne says, "It's what I would call archeo-porn. It's very exciting, it's stimulating, you want to watch it, but deep down you know it's wrong."
What do you do when your proof is shaky at best? Get a famous Hollyowood director to sign on!.......2007-08-12
First off, this isn't really a book about the alleged Jesus Family Tomb. Rather, it's about the making of the Discovery Channel special. If that kind of "behind the scenes" stuff interests you, you will probably enjoy this book.
I myself was rather disappointed with this book. I really wanted to see proof of a historical Jesus. Unfortunately the best the authors can come up with is the names on the tomb. Since the names "Jesus," "Joseph," and "Mary" were among the most common names at the time, that's not very compelling proof. Even the so-called "stastical analysis" presented is not very convincing. I felt like they brought director James Cameron aboard to lend some credibility to this project, knowing that they could not present any convincing proof.
A nice little read.......2007-08-04
A nice little summer read. Simcha is great, I love his enthusiasm. Not a hard-core scholarly book, but lots of info that will make you go hmmmmmmmm.
Fiction or fact?.......2007-07-26
I read to be informed, inspired, entertained, amused, shocked, and hopefully, enlightened. It is hard to find a book that can encompass all of the above. But this book did just that.
Not only does the author claim to have found the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, but that we also now have Jesus' DNA. The first thing that went through my mind was, you guessed it, can we bring Jesus, or a copy of him, back to life? After all, both Christianity and Islam claim that Jesus will come back to earth! Will this be the way?
More fascinating is that in the tomb were supposedly Jesus' wife Mary Magdalene and their son Judah. So were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married as has been proposed by many recent scholars (as well as by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code)?
If this is really the tomb of Jesus, how will this affect Christianity? And how will this affect Islam? According to Islamic belief, Jesus Christ did not die on the cross, and both his body and spirit were lifted to heaven in order for him to return again to earth before the Day of Judgment. According to Islam, Jesus' body is not on Earth, but in Heaven together with his spirit.
There are many skeptics to the claims in this book. The names in the tomb are common names. In the era of Jesus many were called Mary, Joseph, and Judah (the author does calculate the possibility of these names together and comes with a very convincing probability). Why would Jesus have a family tomb when such tombs were a practice of the wealthy, which Jesus was not? Why would his tomb be in Jerusalem, and not in his home town of Nazareth? If this is really the tomb of Jesus, why was it kept a secret throughout the centuries? The author does give his own opinion to those questions, and they are very convincing, but a more important question is how were Jesus' followers able to keep Jesus' tomb a secret when they kept burying Jesus' descendants in it. First, Jesus was buried, then his brother, then his wife, and probably his son last. Regardless of the sequence to the burials, all those burials and the tomb were kept a secret, especially when we are talking about a city with only about 100,000 citizens?
However, one has to keep an open mind and come to his own conclusions. I found the book very convincing, but I also found other books claiming that Jesus was buried in Pakistan and India just as convincing. So who is right? Or is no one right? Or are the scriptures alone right? But which scriptures are right, the Christian scriptures or the Islamic scriptures, which came later and attempted to correct the earlier misconceptions and errors in past religions?
The documentary and the subsequent book did anger a lot of people, and that was expected. A quick visit to amazon.com in this book review section will reveal very hostile people towards the author, which I personally don't think is right or moral. Worse than the simple hostile reviews are the threats against the author which forced him to seek police protection. Those threats forced the entire second printing of the book to be pulled from the shelves of bookstores, and sent back to the publisher. According to the author, "this was the first time in the entire history of American publishing, that a book was pulled from distribution while it was still on the New York Times Best Seller List, and that a film was pulled from a network while it was still ranking in the Neilsons as the highest rated show that the network had aired in nearly two years."
God is great! I love God, no matter what name one gives Him and no matter who His prophets or chosen religion is. I live by the universal MESSAGE of all religions, and if one looks carefully, it is all one and the same. The MESSAGE! The rest is interesting and historical, but the message is the core. We should concentrate on the message of Jesus and all live together peacefully and in the pursuit of other's happiness and well being!
Good documentary.......2007-06-27
This book and The Jesus Dynasty by Tabor just about wrap up the story about the real Jesus.
Average customer rating:
- An important window on historical Christianity
- Fantastic book about the greatest church
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Church of The Holy Sepulchre
Martin Biddle
Manufacturer: Rizzoli
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Eyewitness Travel Guide to Jerusalem & the Holy Land
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The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 (Oxford Archaeological Guides)
ASIN: 0847822826
Release Date: 2000-07-07 |
Book Description
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the most popular pilgrim destination in Christendom, and this gorgeously illustrated volume is the ultimate guide to the site. Produced in association with the Israel Antiquities Authority, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre covers the Church's history, its transformations, and the different Christian communities associated with it.
In 325-326 A.D., Christians looking for the site of Golgotha demolished the Temple of Aphrodite and found what they believed to be the Tomb of Christ. Emperor Constantine ordered the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the site. During a visit while the church was under construction, Empress Helena discovered what is believed to be the remains of the cross on which Christ was crucified in the same area. Consecrated in September of 335, the church has had a complex and fascinating history. It has fallen victim to fires, riots, lootings, earthquakes, and numerous attacks, from its first attack by the Persians in 614 to its almost complete destruction by King al-Hakim of Egypt in 1009. The church has always been restored and renovated, however, and additional buildings and modifications to the interior and exterior have made it a fascinatingly intricate complex. Today, it is a site of worship for six different denominations of Christianity, each with its own rites and rituals, and it remains a destination for innumerable pilgrims from all corners of the world.
Customer Reviews:
An important window on historical Christianity.......2004-07-09
Every Christian with a sense of the sacred and also historical sense--and that should be every Christian--would benefit from this book. It is even better than I expected. The photos are as beautiful and moving as advertised. Especially good are the essays showing the continuity of understanding about the historicity of the site of Christ's tomb. The text also explains the various positions of the Christian churches with possession or rights within the Sepulchre/Resurrection complex. The book also does not shy from the embarrassing fact that ancient divisions within orthodox Christianity continue to this day. How wonderful it would be if these divisions could be put aside, especially in light of the current cultural and religious onslaught against Christians. I recommend that the book be ordered through Daedalus books (beware--Daedalus the book catalog, not the kinky publisher) because Daedalus has it in stock at a much reduced price.
Fantastic book about the greatest church.......2000-10-19
Some day I should like very much to visit Jerusalem. Until I do, I'll probably wear this book out.
This is a history of Christendom's holiest shrine, the church built over what was believed to be the site of Jesus' burial and resurrection. This book contains the church's complete history along with some of the most spectacular photography of the church, its various communities, and its ceremonies that I've ever seen.
Pricey, but I've never seen a better one. If you don't think you'll ever make a Jerusalem pilgramage, click on "Add to Shopping Cart" right now.
Book Description
Radical Islam has long desired to seize Jerusalem and cut it off to Christian and Jewish believers. In his revealing new book, The Fight for Jerusalem, bestselling author and former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold explains why the battle for Jerusalem is intensifying today. Gold shows why only Israel can preserve its holy places for Christians, Jews, and even Muslims, and why uncovering Jerusalem's past-and the truth of biblical history-can be the key to saving its future.
Customer Reviews:
More In This Vein Needed.......2007-07-12
Mr. Gold has had an intriguing history of exposing through historical precedents and context the most interesting institutions. This book is no exception with Jerusalem, the city in the Middle East that can perhaps be said to represent the modicum of freedom and Western values that exists there, and why it's imperative that it be held and protected against any antithetical forces surrounding it, either there or abroad.
Dore Gold does the reader and novice (or even university-educated) reader a great and grandiose service by documenting not just how long the Jews have been living in modern Israel, but showing us just how long they've been under attack, kept as slaves, as Dhimmis, whipped commodities of Europe's countries, and generally how it all started. The Bar-Kochba revolution against the just-turned Roman imperialists is a great account, told with brevity, but demonstrating what the Jews have been through just to hold on to their tiny piece of land, and how many empires have swept through it.
A previous writer said that there's blame on both sides to the conflict, and that giving away land to the anarchistic Palestinian terror groups is being open minded. I would pose the question that Dore Gold answers for us: If Jerusalem and its surrounding environs were given over eventually to Arabic, Islamic forces, there would be no tolerance of religion whatsoever for any soul in the land. Already, the last Christians are fleeing any part of Israel that is controlled by Palestinian faction groups, whose version of Islam doesn't even allow for Fatah's to promulgate.
There are previous accusations that Gold's sources are flimsy. Since when are speeches of those involved, podcasts of the same, and books irrelevant and not conducive to research? What's omitted from some critics' reviews is the presentation of vast amounts of historical and recent archeological surfacing that has vindicated those who taught us about the unified Davidic Kingdom and the tribes of Israel before his time. If you don't read more than the first 2 chapters, you're already richly rewarded by gaining a historical eye covering about 1400 years of Israelite history.
I think one of the most important misnomers that have stuck with us is that the land of ancient Canaan/Israel was only named Palestine by the Romans once they began establishing exploratory garrisons. They aptly named it after "Philistines" who had residence there still after so many quasi-empiric swaths through Israel.
Dore Gold might be a nationalist-rightist when it comes to Israel, but how do we coin the conservative label when Gold's main theme for the conflict is encouraging us to look at what happens every time Israel DOES cede land that THEY held onto by being the victor of a grossly-agressive war by the major Arabic countries. Look at Hamas in Gaza, exterminating all their Fatah "brothers," showing us that the muhajadeen applies to their own kind as well.
Gore's book is a real justice and service that lends some researched wisdom as to what's been happening in Israel, and how other Arabic nations are overwhelmingly complicit in the plight of the Palestinians. What else can we expect from a people who declare all of Palestine theirs by right, have rejected statehood 3 times, and have it in their charter (Hamas, Fatah) and educational materials (The PA) to disregard Jews as human and an unregognizing of Israel's right to live and survive? As we've seen, we can't expect much, only chaos, wasted Western money that helped almost no Palestinian when it's in their hands, and a drive to throwback tribalism that knows no bounds as to the glories of fighting Jews and infidels. This is a great history book that should be on everyone's shelves, even if you wish to "hear no evil,see no evil," which I like to call "disagreeing" with it.
Again, if there is to be any alternative to religous and secular tolerance in the Middle East, it has proven only to be in Israel, and the state's poliltical and religious flag, Jerusalem, cannot be given over or divided if it is to remain that way. Dore Gold has made that painstakingly clear, and it gives us great hope to see the victories of Israel against forces that would see it otherwise--which is most of the world.
excellent analysis of issues about Jerusalem.......2007-06-27
Dore Gold writes with typical clarity concerning the issues concerning Jerusalem, including the battles going back through the ages. If you want to get a readable, informative history, then get this book.
Propaganda passing for scholarly research.......2007-06-05
Dore Gold is one of the hardline political opeatives who worked for Ariel Sharon and found Sharon's moderating politics towards the end of his political careeer not to his liking. Gold's view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is quite close to the ultra-nationalist politics of Likud. For him, any compromise with the Palestinians enourages more terror. Hamas are no better than the Taliban. If Israel gives them an inch of Jerusalem they will take a mile and turn Jerusalem into the capital of the new world-wide Muslim caliphate.
Despite miles of footntoes, Gold relies for evidence on surprisingly flimsy reeds: podcasts, websites, sermons and books are the proof he uses to claim that there is a worldwide Muslim conspiracy to take over Jerusalem and the rest of the western world.
If you're a neocon or a hardline supporter of the Israeli right, you'll love this book. It will confirm all yr worst fears of Arabs. But if you try to keep an open mind about this conflict and find both fault and favor with both sides, then steer clear. This is a propaganda tract that passes itself off as a thoroughly researched scholarly tome.
The fight for Jerusalem and the clash of civilizations .......2007-05-16
This book is divided into three sections. In the first the religious dimension of Jerusalem is considered. The meaning of Jerusalem for Ancient Israel, for Christianity , and for Classical Islam are accurately and fairly outlined. In the second part of the book which considers the diplomatic struggle over Jerusalem, there is chapter devoted to the Birth of 'Modern Israel', one to 'Jerusalem, the Palestinian Arabs and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan', and one to the 'Arab- Israel Peace Process.' The third and most important section of the book is devoted to Radical Islam and Jerusalem. There is a chapter on 'Destruction of the Holy Sites', one on 'Jerusalem as Apocalyptic Trigger for Radical Islam, one 'The West and the Freedom of Jerusalem'.
In this third section of the book Gold gives a short history of the development of Radical Islam. He tells of the Islamic destruction of the religious sites of other faiths, from the largest Buddhist statues in the world in Afghanistan to sites in the heart of the Arab world. He shows how Western diplomatic concessions have not led to moderation but rather an intensification of fanaticism by radical Islamists. He tells the story of the Muslim destruction of important archaeological remains in Jerusalem. He shows how radical Islam's obsession with Jerusalem is another manifestation of the clash of civilizations between radical Islam and other religious faiths and civilizations.
The demonstrating of Islamic disrespect and destruction for the Holy Places of others is at the heart of his argument that Jerusalem must remain undivided under Israeli rule. Additional evidence for this claim is given by the Palestinian reaction to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the Shiite Hizbollah's reaction to Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Both of these withdrawals did not lead to moderation and peace, but rather to more violence against Israel. Gold shows how the Islamist Palestinians have when given civilian control over a city or area persecuted and led to the exile of its Christians .The most blatant example is Bethlehem which has not simply lost its Christian majority but seen the greatest share of its Christian population leave the City. Gold says that had Israel in September 2000 relinquished control over the Old City of Jerusalem to the Palestinians the result would have been the destruction of a a good share of it. Gold also considers the possibility of internationalization of the Holy City , and provides convincing evidence that the U.N. could not handle this job effectively any more than it handled the job in Rwanda or Bosnia. Gold also points to the inherent prejudice of the U.N. against Israel, and says it could never be a fair and efficient manager of the Holy Sites.
This book makes a very strong case for Israel's maintaining exclusive control of the city.
But the arguments it presents focus more on the negatives of Islamic control than the positives of Israeli control. I would have liked to see more expansive treatment of how Israel has enhanced the city since taking over the Old City in 1967.
Nonetheless this is a must read for those for whom Jerusalem, and its future, is dear.
A fascinating book worth reading or hearing the audio version.......2007-04-26
If anyone complains about bias in this book, it hardly seems warranted seeing that all journalists and writers summarize events from their own standpoint or passion, as it were. Why would Dr. Gold be any different, if indeed he is? Besides, it is a known fact that about 95% of world opinion is sympathetic to the more militant Palistinian/Islamic view which attempts to wrest Jerusalem away from Israel, if not erase Israel off the map altogether. If certain powers that be don't outrightly say that they promote erasing Israel off the map, the intent to favor the Arab/Palistinian view is heavily weighed in upon constantly in newspapers and media both in the U.S., in Europe, and in the Middle East.
Dr. Gold's book gives the reader a thorough account of the history concerning Jerusalem and the Jewish people, the Muslims and the Christian interests and involvement with this ancient city. As he delves into the history from David and Solomon's time, clear up to 1948 when Israel became a state, I was fascinated and better understood just what had transpired with regard to Jerusalem for the last 3000 years or so. The unfolding of the convoluted events with regard to the Arabs, the Israelis, militant Islam, Europe and the U.S. is detailed all the way up to the present time (late 2006).
I have to commend Dr. Gold for his boldness in so thoroughly making his case concerning Jerusalem weighing in with excellent documentation to back up his perspective - you will know as you read that he is not just out there flinging around some populist opinion to stoke up the masses.
I am almost finished listening to the audio (in MP3 format), as I drive or do daily chores around the house. I have ordered the hardbound version of the book just as of today. Nadia May narrates the audio beautifully in her British accent and excellent diction.
I would highly recommend anyone to read this book or hear the audio for a thorough review of the complex Middle East situation. Whatever your viewpoint on the Middle East, you will find this to be a very informative book.
Book Description
Bestselling authors and Jesus experts John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg come together to explore the last seven days of Jesus's life. Using the best of biblical and historical scholarship, they rediscover a new way of understanding the Passion Week and its monumental events. True to form, they turn the traditional understaning of Passion Week on its head to reveal its true significance in history and for faith.
Jesus's kingdom message was revolutionary in that it questioned people's basic loyalties at a time when those loyalties were jealously guarded by the Roman Empire. Jesus knowingly entered his last week knowing he'd be directly challenging the Romans. For example, the first day of the last week of Jesus's life (Palm Sunday), there were two triumphal entrance parades that occurred. One was a peasant rabbi with a revolutionary message, the second an imperial Roman army escorting the Roman governor to Jerusalem to oversee the holiday festivities. This initiated a week of growing tension in which people were asked to chose which way they would follow – the current Roman empire, or Jesus's revolutionary way of love, forgiveness, and grace.
These brilliant authors reveal the moving story of someone who dared to face imperial wrath to bring a new way of life.
Customer Reviews:
What the Gospels Really Say About Holy Week.......2007-07-06
Borg and Crossan, in this slim readable volume, set out a simple proposition: to understand Jesus and what was important to him, it is vital to understand the week leading up to his crucifixion and resurrection. And the only way to really understand that week is to read what the Gospels actually say, not what we've been told they ought to say.
In some ways Borg and Crossan are biblical literalists. They try to sweep away traditional interpretations that have accrued to the Bible stories and instead try to read them in the context for which they were written. To do this they bring to bear a knowledge of biblical history that makes clear some parts of the Gospel story, which appear opaque to modern readers who don't know the milieu. Especially when Jesus is preaching in the temple, this explication really helps clear up common misunderstandings associated with Christian teaching.
There are times when the authors veer from the strictly literal, however. This is most apparent when they write about the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Since the Gospels slide over that day with only a fleeting mention, the authors fall back on legends of the Harrowing of Hell. There's nothing wrong with this in principle, but when the authors bring in references to the Gospel of Peter, which is little more than a late anti-Semitic forgery, they risk descending into silliness.
Also, many readers may object to the strongly political aspect of this book. Though the authors don't blow their noses on the spiritual importance of Jesus and his teachings, their emphasis in this writing lies on his anti-imperial politics. Some readers may balk and think the authors are devaluing the spiritual teachings; I think the authors are just shining a spotlight on a theme they believe has been neglected.
On balance this book is, for the most part, eye-opening. By peeling away later doctrine to couch the Holy Week story in its historical context, this book makes it possible to cast a clear eye on the spiritual and the social importance of Holy Week. For instance, I've never had anybody previously explain that Jesus' peaceful entry into Jerusalem on a donkey was a deliberate contrast to Pilate's military entry on the same day from the other direction. But I have seen many preachers who wrongly think the worshipful crowd on Palm Sunday is the same bloody-minded crowd on Good Friday.
This book is not without its flaws. The authors sometimes get caught up in trivia and lose sight of their central thread. And the authors' liberal politics may put off some potential members of their audience. But this book is definitely worth reading for both clergy and a lay audience. Not only is it a concise overview of Christian theology, it is also helpful to peel back the myth and obfuscation that has fallen over what the Gospels really say about Holy Week.
Contradictions, Assumtions, False Statements, Omissions.........2007-05-27
Here is my main objection: The authors first adopt an idea and then reconstruct their story to fit that idea. I divided the authors' "misdeeds" into four classes: Contradictions, Assumptions, False statements and Omissions.
A) Contradictions:
1)In preface pVIII we read: ..."We intend [a much simpler task:] to tell and explain, against the background of Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control, the last week of Jesus's life on earth as given in the Gospel According to Mark.
1a) However in a subtitle is printed: "What the Gospels REALLY Teach About Jesus' Final Days in Jerusalem".This "deceit" allows them to use other Gospels when the authors can support their claims. But it is worse, when they omit the passages in Mark which do not support their claims.
2)Throughout the book Pilate is described as a sovereign ruler having the Jewish hierarchy
under his control.
2a) However in Mk15:9 we read: "Pilate answered, " "Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?"" and in v.12 "... Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" These perplexed questions are NOT what one would expect from a supreme commander...
2b) If Pilate were convinced about Jesus' role as a leader of an actual political insurgency, he
would have executed at least some of his disciples.
B) Assumptions:
On p.2 we read :"Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30".
However Mark's gospel says NOTHING about this coincidence or a planned thing. Moreover, there is NO support elsewhere that it happened the same day
On p.4 authors write about "...a planned political demonstration."
The only scientific support is the following sentence: "As one of our professors in graduate school said about forty years ago,.."
C) False statements:
1) p.144 reads "Both Barabbas and Jesus are revolutionaries. Both defied authority. But the first
advocated violent revolution and the second advocated nonviolence."
1a) From the other reliable historical documents we learned that Romans were rather tolerant
occupants with regards to the religious beliefs; they even accepted Greek gods. Therefore
we can assume that only violent uprisings were recognized and considered dangerous for
the Romans. The itinerant rabbis proclaiming nonviolent utopias were probably taken
for "religious cranks" and to the Romans posed no danger.
D) Omissions:
1) Mk 14 chapter tells the story about Jesus being anointed by an unknown woman, about apostles complaints of wasting money. But Jesus answered in Mk 14:7 (p.85)."....For you always have the poor with you, and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish; but you will not always have me..."
We ought to agree that Jesus's answer deserves a deeper analysis.
2)On p.150-151 the authors regard imperial centurion's words "Truly this man was God's Son"
simply as an "empire testifying against itself"..
2a) However, this centurion entrusted to lead the execution squad must have had a very
deep spiritual awakening besides a simple change of political view.
3) p.154 "It is common to refer to Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Gandi , Oscar Romeo, and
Dietrich Bonhoffer as sacrificing their lives for the causes they were devoted ."
3a) Ignoring the heroes fighting the "domination system" of communism is more than a
simple omission.
Conclusion: The authors proposed to discuss the last Jesus's week according to Mark's Gospel. However, by focusing on the Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control they lead us to see Jesus mainly as an earthly revolutionary, although a non-violent one. This is in my view a dishonest simplification and selling Jesus short. We know that according to the MARXIST philosophy we were born into two certain antagonist social ranks, rich and poor and the history is progressing through this irreconcilable class struggle. However, Jesus gave us an example NOT to follow so called "history necessity", but to "die to ourselves", to be "born again" and that way to transcend that class awareness and to build the "Kingdom of God " regardless of the class, race, nationality AND religious differences.
A Holy Week Reader.......2007-04-09
I just finished reading The Last Week as a daily reader during Holy Week. Unlike some readers, I really did not find it to be great. Borg and Crossan do a great job in unearthing the political tensions behind the events of Holy Week. This sheds a new light on Jesus' final week in Jerusalem. However, I kept wondering why a rebel against the Roman authority should be the center of our Christian belief. In overemphasizing the political Jesus, I really felt that Borg and Crossan de-emphasized the spiritual Jesus to too great a degree. If Jesus was no more than he is made out to be in The Last Week, he is not worth following.
I am glad to have a deeper understanding of the political Jesus, but am equally glad to experience the spiritual Jesus in the services of Holy Week - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, the great Easter Vigil and finally Easter Sunday. These act as a counterweight to The Last Week.
The book is worth reading, but it is limited by the fact that it only speaks to a part of What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem (the subtitle of the book).
Excellent Book.......2007-04-06
The authors bring a new light to the Gospel of Mark. What did the Gospel of Mark say to the people in 90 C.E.? Jesus' story becomes even more powerful when studied in the time period it occurred.
Jesus is reduced to a Jewish Che Guevara.......2007-04-03
I am in full agreement with the main premise of this book:
Jesus' last week was laden with the tension between 'The Kingdom of God' and Empire's Domination System.
On this point, the book is a good one. What is most disappointing about it is the writers' aversion to the miraculous.
The multi-dimensional Jesus is flattened out in order to fit their political-historical-rational mindset:
Jesus is reduced to being no more than a Jewish Che Guevara.
Jesus did/does embody the full spectrum of being-human, and that includes
his opposition and resistance to power-over-the-other; be it political, religious or personal.
By stoping there, the book falls short;
there is a lot more to this story and thus it is lamentable
that so much of that is left out or just simplistically explained away!
Good history, weak theology, nothing mystical.
For the whole story of the 'Politics of the Cross':
Jacques Ellul (The Politics of God & The Politics of Man) and William Stringfellow (Conscience & Obedience);
Dorothee Soelle (The Silent Cry) and John Howard Yoder (The Politics of Jesus);
Richard Rohr (Hope Against Darkness) and Walter Brueggemann (Peace);
Simone Weil (Gravity and Grace) and Christopher Blumhardt (Salt and Light), to name just a few.
Book Description
Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion.
Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings.
The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues. Informed, challenged, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.
Download Description
"
Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion.
Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings.
The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues. Informed, challenged, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.
"
Customer Reviews:
Not be confused with the facts..........2007-05-28
My main objection: The authors first adopt an idea and then reconstruct their story to fit that idea. I am aware that we are dealing with a popular, NOT an academic book, but still I consider that unfair, since most of us are learning from such books.The authors made several contradictions, assumptions, false statements and omissions. They contradict themselves by writing in the preface that they will use Mark's Gospel only and they present good reasons for it. However, in the subtitle it is printed: "What the Gospels REALLY Teach About Jesus'...".This contradiction allows them to use other Gospels when the authors can support their objectives. What is worse, they omit the passages in Mark which do not support their objectives. Throughout the book Pilate is described as a sovereign ruler having the Jewish hierarchy under his control. However, even from the authors' quotes taken from the Mark's Gospel the Pilate's questions to Jesus are NOT what one would expect from a supreme commander. Furthermore if Pilate were convinced about Jesus' role as a leader of an actual political insurgency, he would have executed at least some of his disciples. Among the farfetched assumptions: :"Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30". However, Mark's gospel says NOTHING about this coincidence or a planned thing. Moreover, there is NO support elsewhere that it happened the same day. Among the false statements I would classify the authors' conclusion that Jesus had to be executed since he was a revolutionary, although a non violent one. It is well established truth from the other reliable historical documents that the Romans were rather tolerant occupants with regards to the religious beliefs; they even accepted Greek gods. Therefore one can assume that only violent uprisings were recognized and considered dangerous for the Romans. The itinerant rabbis proclaiming nonviolent utopias were probably taken for "religious cranks" and posed no danger to the Romans.Indeed such a view was taken by Pilate at the beggining of the trial, as recorded by all four Gospels.
In conclusion one can say that the authors by focusing on the Jewish high-priestly collaboration with Roman imperial control lead us to regard Jesus as an earthly revolutionary, although a non-violent one. This is in my view a dishonest simplification and selling Jesus short. It is well known that according to the MARXIST philosophy we were born into two certain antagonist social ranks, rich and poor and the history is progressing through this irreconcilable class struggle. However, Jesus gave us an example NOT to follow so called "history necessity", but to "die to ourselves", to be "born again" and that way to transcend that class awareness and to build the "Kingdom of God " regardless of the class, race, nationality AND religious differences.
.
Useful for Bible teaching, preaching.......2007-05-13
A scholarly, but accessible treatment of the biblical account of Holy Week. Well worth it: either to read straight through, or to use it as a reference book.
A Loving account by non-believers.......2007-05-07
Two deep friends and New Testament scholars combine to review this last week of Jesus. Both have previously written extensive scholarly works clarifying their non-belief in the supernatural story of Jesus. In this work they are not challenging the main account in Mark, but adding simply written expansions of what happened. While denying the divinity of Jesus, they clearly love the man and are advocates for his intent to establish "The Kingdom" on earth--a wish for fairness and justice.
Interactive Christianity: transcendence through service and justice.......2007-04-08
"The Last Week" by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan address several problem areas in the traditional interpretations of the Passion of Jesus Christ and the events of Easter Week. Rather than seeing his teachings and purposeful orchestration of his last week as metaphor, most Christians have come to accept Jesus himself as metaphor. His suffering, death and resurrection have become a "passion" sacrifice or atonement for the failings of humankind. Crossan and Borg re-examine this metaphor. These authors describe the passion as an intensely and profoundly fundamental belief that the current, normal societal norm of political and economic dominance of government (legitimized by religious authority) be challenged and replaced. What Jesus offers in its place is human compassion and human service -- resulting in a transcendence of humanity itself. It is a solution that replaces man's kingdom and priorities with those of God and his kingdom, stressing that the work is not done by Jesus alone, but by Jesus as he inspires and transforms others to be him. As transformed, humans recognize "the dominant life of human normalcy versus the servant life of human transcendence." Focusing on Mark as the earliest and "cleanest" version (before the elaborations added by Matthew, Luke and John), Crossan and Borg stress a second theme: to quote St. Augustine, "We without God cannot, and God without us will not." The key to the mystery of Easter Week is identification of God as within humans and the acceptance of responsibility by humans to take on Jesus' role. No doubt, this is a radical interpretation and one that requires the most of our time and effort on this earth. The one drawback of the text (why it rates a four and not a five star standing) is that points made are often repeated. Perhaps, however, they need to be restated to bring full attention to them.
Jesus's last eight days.......2007-03-15
In this simple exposition written for a general audience, two leading New Testament scholars use the Gospel of Mark to explain what happened to Jesus during his final week. They use Mark because most scholars consider it the earliest of the four Gospels, the primary source for Matthew and Luke, and because when you read carefully you see that Mark details the last eight days of Holy Week, from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday. He even specifies "morning" and "evening" for three of these days:
Palm Sunday: "When they were approaching Jerusalem" (11:1)
Monday: "On the following day" (11:12)
Tuesday: "In the morning" (11:20)
Wednesday: "It was two days before the Passover" (14:1)
Maundy Thursday: "On the first day of Unleavened Bread" (14:12)
Good Friday: "As soon as it was morning" (15:1)
Holy Saturday: "The Sabbath" (15:42, 16:1)
Easter Sunday: "Very early on the first day of the week" (16:2).
Mark even describes what happened at five three-hour intervals on Good Friday (pp. ix-x). The book, then, consists of eight chapters, one for each day of Holy Week.
For Borg and Crossan the gospels are not records of straightforward historical facts remembered by the author, but stylized interpretations of the believing community. There's an element of truth in this, of course; you could say the same about nearly all written history. But I'm sometimes dubious about historical reconstructions two millennia after the events that claim to know more and to know better than the first witnesses, or that do not give compelling explanations about how and why the first recorders got things so badly wrong and yet attracted the allegiance of so many converts (who must have known they were "wrong" about the literal facts).
Borg and Crossan do a wonderful job of illuminating the religious background of first century Judaism and especially the centrality of the temple, and the cultural and political background of the Roman empire, showing how the Biblical texts and these two contexts interact. If you've read any of Borg's many books, it will come as no surprise that the authors understand the "passion" of Jesus not as a sacrifice or substitution (as it has been understood by much if not most of Christendom), but as an incarnation of God's justice which subverts the status quo of political oppression, economic exploitation, and religious legitimation. The 2007 edition of this book has the sensational sub-title What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem.
Book Description
Winner of the 1989 National Book Award for nonfiction, this extraordinary bestseller is still the most incisive, thought-provoking book ever written about the Middle East. Thomas L. Friedman, twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting, and now the Foreign Affairs columnist on the op-ed page of the New York Times, drew on his ten years in the Middle East to write a book that The Wall Street Journal called "a sparkling intellectual guidebook... an engrossing journey not to be missed." Now with a new chapter that brings the ever-changing history of the conflict in the Middle East up to date, this seminal historical work reaffirms both its timeliness and its timelessness. "If you're only going to read one book on the Middle East, this is it." -- Seymour Hersh. "From Beirut To Jerusalem is the most intelligent and comprehensive account one is likely to read." -- New York Times Book Review.
Download Description
Winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction, this extraordinary bestseller is still the most incisive, thought-provoking book ever written about the Middle East. Thomas L. Friedman, three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Foreign Affairs Columnist for The New York Times, drew on his extensive experience in the region to write a book that The Wall Street Journal called "a sparkling intellectual guidebook . . . an engrossing journey not to be missed." As the conflict in the Middle East continues unabated, this seminal historical work reaffirms both its timeliness and its timelessness.
Customer Reviews:
From Beirut to Jerusalem.......2007-09-17
Best intellectual book on the Middle East that exists. Friedman is an experienced, thoughtful genius. A must read.
Still relevant.......2007-08-29
Tom Friedman occupies a unique place in the American Foreign Policy establishment elite. Not since Walter Lippman has the voice of a journalist been more influential in Washington DC. "From Beirut to Jerusalem" was his first foray into full-length treatment on critical international issues -- and it is still his best. Moreover, although it was written two decades ago and during a very different time, it is still incredibly relevant to current events.
What makes Friedman's narrative so powerful is his liberal use of personal anecdotes from his time as a New York Times coorespondent in the Middle East in the early 1980s. The story crackles with life as Friedman reconstructs the events of the Lebanonese civil war and Palestinian intifada from a broad spectrum of perspectives, from ultra-ortodox rabbis to American Jewish peace activists, Yasir Arafat and Palestinian schoolchildren, Washington policymakers and enlisted Marines. Friedman's description of life as a journalist at Beirut's Commodore Hotel is especially noteworthy and, on occasion, hilarious.
At the core of Friedman's analysis is the contrast between American naivete and the almost primordial savagery of tribal relations endemic to the Middle East. Friedman uses "Hama Rules" (after Syrian president Hafez al-Assad's brutal 1982 repression of a nascent Muslim Brotherhood insurgency in the Syrian city of Hama) as short-hand for the nature of power politics that shaped the flow of events in the region during his time there. The common demoninator in group identification is religion (by sect and by clan) and the gravest sin is to show weakness to your enemies. Friedman argues that the Reagan administration completely failed to understand this fundamental nature to life in Lebanon in the early 1980s when they committed Marines to help bolster the newly elected Maronite Christian president Gemayel, who was, in fact, more the leader of the Phalangist militia than true representative leader of the polyglot country.
Interestingly, Friedman writes that Israeli leaders often make the same mistakes as the US about the region, although some Israelis, such as Ariel Sharon, understand Hama Rules and act accordingly. Friedman describes the Israeli army reaction to the kaleidoscopic factional environment they found in Lebanon after their 1982 invasion as quite similar to the US army experience upon entering Baghdad in 2003.
Indeed, comparisons to Iraq are what struck me most when reading this book. After reading "From Beirut to Lebanon," I was amazed how optimistic Friedman was about the Iraq invasion in early 2003. He was relatively supportive of the war -- a position most likely held out of a deep desire and hope that it would succeed in bringing democracy to the Middle East, a position he passionately promotes, rather than any reasoned belief that the mixed Iraqi population would welcome a new US-installed regime. The civil war in Lebanon in many ways mirrors the intense factionalism of warfare in Iraq where religious identification -- Maronite, Druse, Shiite -- defines the membership of warring militias and undermines any attempt to use a national army to provide stability and bolster a central regime.
Many of the details about the war in Lebanon or the intifada make the book feel outdated, but the central underpinnings of conflict and discord in the region so lucidly explained by Friedman will not change anytime soon. The reader gets a sense of division and pure hatred that divides the people of that troubled land and seem to guarantee that the "peace process" is a meaningless charade.
Friedman's habitual "cuteness" thankfully absent here.......2007-06-28
As of this writing, 168 reviewers have reviewed this book, so I will be brief. Thomas Friedman, for all his real acumen and gifts with language (both spoken and written) tends to be cute or trite too much for comfort. That said, this book suffers from precious little of this. It is definitely in the genre of "New Journalism" now quite old, where the reporter is part of the story, maybe even the story itself at times, but this does not detract from the boldness of this work in the form of its written style, which is free, easy, yet complex, handling each topic with a certain grace and style and formal beauty. Friedman brings a complex topic to a general audience without sacrificing nuance (in fact, this is his main thrust) to show both Lebanon and Israel as cultures of almost impossibly subtle nuance, where small difference of sects and creeds can be the difference between war and peace, bliss and pain
Just not very good at all........2007-06-08
The writing wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't good either. Much of the book read as if it was filler and stories he heard from someone else. The author's account of his time in Beirut was not informative and rather bland. I have read other accounts that really go in depth into either the political, military or personal experiences of those on the ground, but this book did not add anything to what's been written. His analysis of the Beirut conflicts left much to be desired.
I remember a part of the book where Friedman writes about his time in the Commodore Hotel and how this hotel was the place to be for any journalist in Beirut, and then reading Robert Fisk's Pity the Nation where he talks about all the hack journalists hiding out in the Commodore writing their stories from second hand accounts instead of going out and reporting the story with their own accounts. I don't know if Fisk was right, but I thought his book was much better than Friedman's.
I did find his writing on Israel to be informative (still bland though). His analysis of the psychology of the Israeli people I found to be highly insightful, and it gave me a perspective which I had never seen before. The only way to understand the Israeli people is to try and understand how the Holocaust and being surrounded by hostile people has affected their national psyche. The Israeli perspective was the best thing I took away from this book, but not even this was able to redeem the work for me.
One of the reasons I like reading reporter's books is that they are usually well written, entertaining and written with a passion or flare that the academics usually lack. This book had none of that. I felt bored and found myself having to concentrate pretty hard to stay in touch with what I was reading. I would have been fine with the shoddy writing had the analysis or the history been better but it just wasn't. There are just many books out there that treat the subject with much more competency.
If you're looking for a good book to learn more about this topic, keep looking.
The Middle East Illuminated.......2007-06-05
Tom Friedman is a master at using charming, funny and fascinating anecdotes to illustrate broad historic events and cultural phenomena. His grasp of history is profound, and his observations are always spot on. The events he describes in this book may, indeed, be limited to only a very small part of the planet, but the human dynamics involved are universal and have profound implications for us all.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
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.
Customer Reviews:
Very Revealing!.......2007-09-13
If u want to know, the second coming of Yeshua Hamasia, You must buy this book for further reference. No book like it.
jewish legacy.......2007-09-06
Any serious Christian, or anyone who wants to know the history of the Jewish struggle,needs to read John Haggee's book, Jerusalem Countdown.
If you have ever thought that the Jews were not in sync with the Christians because of their stand on Jesus as the Messiah, then you need to know the truth. Jesus was a Jew. that is our legacy as Christians. Paul was a Jew but spent his life making Gentiles and Jews in to believers in Jesus Christ.
We can no longer say that Israel and the Jewish world is not our concern.
I saw the author on CNN, some days ago.......2007-08-25
I'll be sincere.I didn't read this book.And I don't want to read it.About ten years ago, I tried to read another book, from the same author.The book was nothing more than a trash.
Thinking there was possibility that the author had changed, I watched his interview on CNN some days ago.The interview was about this book.And the author if had changed anything, became even worse.
Please, don't waste your time, money or perhaps even your mind, following the fool ideas from this trash-book.
He's nuts. He's a rapturist. He's wrong........2007-08-24
Saw him on CNN's "God's Warriors", and the boy's got problems. He says he isn't, but he's a stone rapturist. All these people who are prepared to see the "end times", and do what ever they can to hasten them, like starting a nuclear war with Iran, are just as wrong and delusional as the jihadists they decry. Let's get this straight once and for all:
ALL religions are man's attempt to put god in a bottle, put that bottle on a sacrificial altar, build a temple around the altar, create rubrics and rituals making "my god is bigger than your god" the means to separate "US" from "them", and attempt to destroy everyone who disagrees, just to prove their point, even if they must die trying. All of you rapturists: Please stop trying.
"Rapture" is nothing more than the out-growth of a "dream sequence" inserted at the end of one gospel written in the late second century CE not by John the evangelist who was long dead, but Iraneus and his cronies who were trying to solidify the fractious early christo-sects, most notably by supressing the gnostics who followed the gospel of Thomas, Joshua Ben Joseph's "twin" brother. In this gospel, written much earlier, JBJ says nothing about the eschaton (end times) but does say right up front in saying #3 "Don't believe the priests who say: god is in heaven, or: god is in the temple. Know that god is within you, and without you."
The Jews created their own Abrahamic myth to unite the tribes of nomads 3000 years before that, becoming "the chosen people", the first and ultimate expression of a people making god in their own image and likeness. Again, gives "US" the perfect excuse to feel superior to all the "thems".
Islam had to one-up the Jews and Christians, inventing their own Abrahamic-based version of events, so THEY (former "thems")could become "US", and dictate their own rubrics and rituals over everybody, showing "allah akbar", or whatever "my god's bigger than your god" in Arabic comes out as.
So please EVERYBODY (Hagee, are you listening?): Just LOVE one another.
Love EVERYONE. EVERYONE ALWAYS. Even Michael Vick.
'I will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel'.......2007-08-17
In this incredible book John Hagee describes, from the perspective of a righteous Christian the dangers facing Israel and the world, and describes how G-D will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel.
As a believing Jew, I will not comment much on the theology and will rather concentrate on issues of commonality with righteous Christians like Pastor Hagee, except to make the sharp distinction between righteous Chritians who recognize G-D's eternal bond with the Jewish people, and who respect Israel and Judaism, and anti-semitic Christians who espouse replacement theology and believe that G-D's covenant with Israel has been replaced by that of the Church.
Pator Hagee does a very good job of exposing replacement theology for the evil fraud which it is , and explaining that the bond between G-D and the Jewish people is eternal and unbreakable, and that the Land of Israel was given to the Jewish people as an eternal and unconditional gift.
Hagee begins the book by focusing on perhaps the greatest threat currently facing the free world today, the building by Iran of a nuclear weapons arsenal.
Hagee records the testimony of dissident Iranian sources and Israeli sources, and reveals that Iran's nuclear weapons programme is now in place, and can be used for genocidal purposes at any time.
Iranian president and modern day Hitler, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has countless times made clear the purpose of Iran's nuclear arms programme, promising that Israel will be wiped off the map, and making ugly threats that Iran has the capability to destroy Israel i.e incinerating five million Jews in a second holocaust.
Hagee reproduces an interview by Ronen Bergman, a journalist with Yediot Achronot newspaper, of Dr Manoucher Ganji, former Iranian Science Minister under the Shah of Iran, before the Islamic fundamentalists seized power.
Dr Ganji reveals that the Islamist regime no longer enjoys popular support in Iran and the Ahmadinejad regime believs that the only way out is nuclear war to prevent other from assisting the Iranian people.
The Islamic fundamentalist regime in Iran see's it's primary goal as the liquidation of Israel and then the USA. And the Iranians are working with Russian, North Korean, Syrian, China South Africa and others to make this genocide a reality.
A source of Dr Hagee's in Israel also reveals the lie that Iran needs nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as a result of oil shortages. Those who know the volume of oil in Iran admit they have enough oil to last over 130 years.
Hagee reminds the world that it is not Israel's international obligation to commit national suicide for the sake of world peace.
any decent and reasonable person will concur that Israel is fully within her rights to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities.
Hagee documents the long time United Nations hatred of Israel, and the UN objective to destroy Israel.
He warns that a major war of armageddon is on it's way if the world does not act against Iran and her allies now.
He also outlines the history of Israel and the Jewish people, and explains through a painstaking analysis of scripture that G-D favours the Jewish people and will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel.
He warns that G-D judges gentiles for the abuse of Jews, and rebukes President Bush for, at the same time as waging a war on terror, pressing Israel not to retaliate for Arab terrorist atrocities commited against the tiny Jewish State.
Pastor Hagee ends the book with a reproduction of the magnicent speech by Senator James Inhofe explaining the 'Seven Reasons why Israel is Entitled to the Land".
This document of truth can be found at the following URL:
http://www.internationalwallofprayer.org/A-007-Senator-Inhofe-Peace-In-Middle-East.html
Pastor Hagee includes a timeline of the history of Jerusalem,
Pastor Hagee is a truly righteous man in the mould of Pastor Niemoller and Raoul Wallenberg.
May G-D bless this man.
Book Description
The guide that shows you what other travel books only tell you!
Flanked by Africa, Asia, and Europe, the Holy Land encompasses Israel, Palestine, and parts of Jordan and Egypt. Jerusalem is the walled city at its center divided into three parts: Modern Jerusalem, The Mount of Olives and Mount Zion, and the Old City -- the Old City is made up of the Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter. Experience the Western Wall, Hurva Square, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and many other important sites. With more than 800 full-color photographs and detailed street-by-street maps DK's Eyewitness Guide: Jerusalem and the Holy Land details the history and beauty of this land from the Sea of Galilee to the Negev Desert. Whether you're visiting St. Catherine's Monastery or exploring the coral reefs in the Red Sea, this one guide is the only reference you will ever need.
Customer Reviews:
Too Early for review.......2007-06-08
I will tell you more about this book once I am back from the holy land
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