Christianity Based on a Lie
 

The NT Jesus is simply a combination of Dionysus and Osiris. There is nothing new or unique about his story. :madfire:

The only evidence that there even was a religious leader called Jesus is in the secular Jewish records and it tells quite a different story

Yeshu (Esau), or Yeishu (sometimes called Yeshu Ha-Notzri The Nasoraean) was the name of a notorious Jewish sectarian of the second century BCE (approximately 120-80 BCE) mentioned in the Mishna. Yeshu is used as an acronymic curse meaning "May his name be erased" and Ha-Notzri means The Watcher. He was originally the student of Yehoshua Ben Perachiah but was sent away for judging a woman by her physical appearance. After several returns for forgiveness he mistook Perachiah's signal to wait a moment as a signal of final rejection, and so he started his own school of thought. He gathered five disciples Matai, Nekai, Netzer, Buni, and Todah. Because of his connections with the house of King Jannaeus a town crier was sent to call for witensses in his favour for forty days before his execution. No one came fourth and in the end he was stoned and Hung on the Eve of Passover and ended up in Hell.


He is criticised in the Talmud for "burning his food publicly". In the uncensored Rosh Hashanah 17a text of Rashi certain apostate minim (literally "gnostics" the same meaning as Mandaeans) heretics are described as "the students of Yeshu HaNotzri who have twisted the words of the Torah". In some versions of Gittin 57a and Sanhedrin 43a as well as one version of Sanhedrin 107b (Sotah 47a?) the Yeshu mentined is further identified witrh the title Ha-Notzri.

Sanhedrin 103a Berakoth 17b


Mentioned in

Talmud Sanhedrin 107b & Sotah 47a (Ben Perachiah sends Yeshu away)
Talmud Sanhedrin 43a (his disciples and exectution)
Talmud Gittin 57a (summoned from Hell)
He is not the same person as the second century CE Ben Stada neither is there any basis for the assumption that he may have also been called Ben Pandera. Many amateur or overenthusiastic historians in an attempt to find historical evidence besides the christian bible concerning the existence of Jesus have sought to merge all these characters into one person. Such historians do not hold all responsibility for this confusion since many elements from their individual stories were already merged together (for the first time perhaps in the sixth century) in the Sepher Toledoth Yeshu (Yeshu's Lineage Book) -a satirical mockery and cautionary tale concerning would-be messiahs. Contrary to popular belief, this book is considered as folkloric and is not part of the talmud or mishnah never having been awarded official status due to its suspect nature. It is simply a cautionary tale not intended to be a representation of any historical reality nor a derogatory writing about Christianity's central figure.

That was quite interesting. I have not heard of most of that data. I would appreciate a book or web reference for my further study. I do recall reading from several sources of a Yeshua Ben Pacheria or Pantera from the Talmud. And Michael Martin in "The Case Against Christianity" page 40 that there was a Yeshua in the 2nd century BC who some considered a Holy Man. But he was executed. Other versions by Gerald Massey "Historical Jesus and Mythical Christ" mentions that Yeshua in the Talmud has a mother Mary (Miriam) of Magdala but that Yeshua was convicted of sorcery, stoned to death, and hung on a tree. I wonder if the wooden cross of the Romans was incorporated in the Jesus Legend as a metaphor for a Tree.

I have long thought that the Jesus cult of the third century AD was essentially Mithraism (Roman division) incorporating the popular virgin born son of God, human and divine, born in a cave (i.e. stable), placed in a manger, and visited by three Magi (Zoroastrian Priests). Then Mithra-Jesus is slain but resurrects in three days. Mithra and Jesus both bring "salvation", saving grace, the Lamb of God, the Light of the World, having 12 apostles (the Zodiac).

There were many different Jesus cults of which Robert Price notes were present in Jerusalem before the arrival of the Romans. Most of them did not deify Jesus. My personal view is that evolving Christianity had sects that absorbed Mithraic beliefs but substituting Jesus for Mithra. Athanasian Christianity favoured by Constantine (and Constantine's Mother) had already adopted Mithraism's 7 sacraments, baptism, Eucharistic meal, and a bit later adopted the Mithraic Celibate Priesthood. The decree of priestly celibacy came after Christianity was well established in Celtic Ireland and Scotland as well as the Eastern Roman Empire. Orthodox Christians still allow married priests. In Ireland, isolated from Catholic Italy, a form called Celtic Christianity incorporated much Druidic philosophy and married priests. They refused the Pope's command. It only ended in the 12th century when the Normans (Roman Catholic) conquered Ireland and parts of Scotland/Pictland the married priesthood was outlawed.


Amergain

There was a Yehoshua Ben Peryach. Yeshu Ha Notzri was his disciple.

The name Pantera comes from a record of a Jewish woman named Miriam who married a Roman soldier. There is nothing to indicate that this couple was related to anyone named yeshu. It's also worth noting that they were legally married. There were elaborate slanders concocted tying this Miriam to the mother of Jesus in the Bible. This also involved creating a composite character based on Yeshu Ha Notzri and Yeshua Ben Stada. The slander goes like this: "Stada" means unfaithful. Ha Notzri and Ben Stada were the same person. He was an illegitimate child called Ben Pandira after his Roman father with whom Miriam had an affair.

The story is complete nonsense though. There are no historical records of a Ben Pandira. Yeshu Ha Notzri and Ben Stada are known to be two different persons. And it's not known if Pandera and Miram had any kids named Yeshu.

Here are some sources.

http://www.worldhistory.com/search/?q=yeshu&ps=10

http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/Y/Yeshu.htm

These are earlier versions of the above page:

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache...Pandeira&hl=en

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache...en&lr=&strip=1

Here's a good source.

http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/index.html

Here is probably the best online source for information.

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/index.html

Didn't the pre-Christian Britons have a forest god called yesu?

Here's osme info refuting the Testimonium Flavianum.

http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/J/J...s-on-Jesus.htm

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/josephus-etal.html