Copyright:
September 1989
Renewed: January 2004
By: Thomas E. Blaylock,
Jr.
Posted: 02/26/02
Updated: 03/04/05
CHAPTER 6
Now
let's roll up our sleeves and get serious about the Christian Bible. This study
about the Bible will help you understand how some of your beliefs got to you
and how most religious people view the Bible today. The purpose is to help you
know and understand the difference in the Clear Thinker's approach to the Bible
and the religious believer's approach to it.
If
you were a sculptor with great talent and had a beautiful block of marble, what
would you make with it? The block of marble is six feet by four feet by four
feet. You may describe what you would make out of it in as few as one word, or
you may describe it in detail, or even draw a picture if you wish. So stop
right here and decide what you would make out of that block of marble before
reading any farther.
In
asking a group of thirty people there will usually be at least twenty or more
different objects or uses for the block of marble. A few typical uses for the
marble will be such items as large praying hands, beautiful woman, hunting dog,
athletic man, a vase, a rooster, a horse, a bird, a book (the Bible), some type
of cat, a bath tub, the ten commandments and one innovative idea of a stack of
large children's blocks spelling out "go gators.” Even in the ones that
are alike, let us say a beautiful woman, the image that the maker has in mind
will differ. One will have the woman with a baby in her arms, another will have
her in a nude pose, one will have her doing something, others will have her
sitting, or standing, or praying, or singing or even in some sexy pose. There
will be no two who have seen the same identical thing in the block of marble.
Someone
asked me what I saw in the stone. I saw a tombstone in it with this epitaph.
HERE LIES
BELIEF.
IT DIED FROM HONEST CLEAR THINKING.
You
have seen what each person saw in the block of marble will be different from
what others saw in it. What Is The Point?
The
point is people all use the Bible in the same manner as we used that block of
marble. A sculptor approaches the block, looks it over and sees something in
it. Different sculptors see different images (pictures) in it. So the sculptor
begins to discard and chip away at everything that Doesn’t Conform To the Image
He Sees In It.
That
is exactly how denominations, religions and individuals use the Bible. They
approach it with the image already in their heads. They chip away, discard or
ignore everything that does not agree with and conform to the image (doctrines)
they see in it.
Think
for a moment of all the Christian denominations, sects and cults, all of which
get their teachings straight from the same one and only, Holy Bible. Yet some
of the doctrines they see in it are so diverse that some of the things they see
in it are mutually exclusive. That is, if one doctrine is correct the other one
cannot possibly be true. So they all chip away everything that doesn't agree
with the preconceived image, picture or notion (belief) that they bring to this
Holy Book.
Take
a look at a few parts of the Bible that different denominations chip away,
explain away, distort the meaning, or refute and discard. Some chip away the
ban on women speaking and teaching in church, foot washing, Mary having other
children, God telling lies to his people. Some chip away speaking in tongues,
salvation by works, salvation by faith, salvation by marriage. Did you know
according to the Bible, women are to be saved by bearing children? (1 Timothy
2:15.) Is that chauvinistic or what?
Others
chip away some of the miracles or permanent salvation. Some chip away national
salvation or universal salvation. Some chip away this prophecy or that
prophecy. Some even chip away the divinity or the humanity of Jesus. Some
denominations chip away the creation of the universe, or even the whole of the
Old Testament. And of course some chip away whole books or parts of books of
the New Testament. The Jews chip away the whole of the New Testament. Some
leading church denominations chip away, or ignore, all of the writings
attributed to someone called Paul, or of someone called James, or of books
called Peter or John. Some chip out the earth standing still, or this miracle,
or that one and some exclude the book of Revelation of Saint John, or all the
miracles in the whole Bible. Some chip out (explain away) all literal references
to hell.
In
fact if there were only one Bible and each Christian denomination were allowed
to remove the parts that they do not believe, that they believe to be in error,
that they believe do not apply to them, or that they ignore, there would hardly
be a scrap of the Bible left. And that mind you is what happens when we listen
to All the Christian denominations that say they believe in the Holy Bible, who
tell us it is the Word of God and some who tell us they believe it from cowhide
to cowhide.
CONSTANTINE'S BIBLE
Can
you imagine ten sculptors all working on the same block of marble? One is
trying to chip out a bird, another a woman, one a flower, others a dog, a
child, a vase, one a book, one a star, a horse or a hand. What happens? Before
anyone has a chance to do a bit of work they all start protecting the image
that they see in the marble by chipping away at one another with their hammers
and chisels.
If
you can see that, you now have the best seat in the house for watching the
Council of Nicaea (Nice) set up by Constantine in 325 AD. In establishing his
state religion, Constantine needed to bring several feuding and persecuted
religions together, all of which worshiped a Jesus Christ (a Savior Anointed)
into one strong central organization that could be controlled from the top by
the state. The idea was to bring together all these large and small, scattered
religions that worshiped a Savior Anointed (a Jesus Christ), incorporate their
sacred writings, unite their leadership and form a single strong organization
that would have a deep and broad appeal.
This
new composite (federated) religion would become the official state (political)
religion. It would be coequal and fused with the Mithraic religion (worship of
God through his crucified, anointed, savior Son, Mithra). It would also be
fused with the official Roman derivation of the Mithraic religion, the Sol
Invictus religion. This was the worship of God through Apollo and/or Mithra as
the Savior Anointed (the Jesus Christ). Apollo and Mithra were symbolized as
the Son of the Sun. The Sun was the visible sign of the invisible God. The
soldiers and Greeks worshiped through the Persian name, Mithra, while the elite
Romans worshiped through his Roman name, Sol Invictus.
Sol
Invictus was the religion that worshiped God through Apollo or Mithra. This
savior God also carried the title of Savior Anointed (Jesus Christ in English).
Constantine’s new religion would become the only religion the state would
recognize. All other religions that refused to join would become outlawed,
persecuted and eradicated - and it became so.
Now
Constantine (who was a Sol Invictus worshiper) attached himself, as a student,
to the Eastern part of the early Jewish church called "The Way." They
taught a Spiritual Jesus. He become friends with Eusebius of Caesarea who
worshiped this Spiritual Jesus. He also became friends with Hosius of Rome, who
worshiped a materialized Human Jesus. Note this conflict!
These
men were interested in solving the question of the divinity of the Savior (the
Jesus). Was this Savior (Jesus) just a regular man with special powers, or was
he a spiritual being of God who did his work in the spiritual realm. Was he
from God, or was he God himself? Eusebius was in favor of the reasoning of one,
Arias, who said the Spiritual Jesus was begotten. He was coequal with God but
was not the God himself. Jesus was the Son of God. Therefore, he could not be
The God. This Spiritual Savior did all his work in the spiritual realm.
However,
the religion of Mithra, whose doctrines were being studied by the leaders of
The Way, also worshiped their Jesus Christ (Savior Anointed) named Mithra. They
had already solved this problem. Their Savior Anointed (Jesus Christ) was
Mithra, a human man divinely born, in whom God (at his baptism) had been
incarnated into his flesh to suffer and die for the sins of man. Thus, Mithra
died in the Flesh to save the world from sin and Satan. Up to this point in
time the church of The Way never claimed that their Spiritual Jesus (Savior),
or that their human Jesus was a God.
It
is said that Constantine, while in battle, looked up one day and saw a sign in
the heavens. That sign was a "Cross " (the Persian instrument of
death upon which Mithra died). Then into his head came the notion (or
revelation) that said, "In this sign (of the cross) conquer." Without
doubt Constantine was well acquainted with the Mithraic Church because he was
also a soldier and Mithras was known as the soldier's religion (the earlier form
of Sol Invictus). They worshiped God though Mithra, the Persian crucified Jesus
Christ (Savior Anointed).
The
problem Christians of today must face at this point is this. The sign of the
"Cross" was not used at all by the early Jewish church (called, The
Way). They worshiped the Jewish Spiritual Savior Anointed (Jesus Christ) who
resided and acted only in the spirit world and they used the symbol of the Lamb
or the Fish. The Only religion in the Roman Empire that used the
"Cross" (the Persian instrument of death) as its symbol of faith was
the Mithraic religion, called "Christian” (little anointed ones) by their
enemies. Christians were “little-know-it-alls” who worshiped a Savior Anointed
(Jesus Christ). The Sol Invictus religion used the image of a sun spray that looked
a bit like a cross but it was never intended to represent an instrument of
death. Rather it symbolized the divine connection between heaven and earth with
Apollo at the center.
Even
before the Council of 325 AD, leaders of "The Way" were envious of
the Cross used by the Mithraic church because it indicated a physical life for
Mithra, their Jesus (Savior). The Mithraic religion worshiped Mithra, their
Persian Human, crucified Jesus Christ (Savior Anointed). Their Jesus Christ,
Mithra, physically died on a "Cross" in the old Persian method of
execution several hundred years before the Jewish Jesus Christ (Savior
Anointed) was later claimed to be executed in the Roman method of execution.
The Romans executed their victims by "poling" (impaling).
Constantine
was a worshiper of Sol Invictus, Apollo being their Savior Anointed (their
Jesus Christ). He wanted to combine all the saviors to make One Soul Saving
Savior (one Jesus) and make him into a Christ God Man (a Christ or Savior like
Apollo or Mithra). In fact he wanted to name the new savior, Apollo and worship
him as The God (The Deity) to give status to his New Church. This New Church
would then mesh with his own religion and become one with it.
To
deify someone was a legal process and was not difficult for a king or emperor.
Constantine had his subjects call him “Son of God” because he had recently
deified his own father and expected the same to be done for himself.
Thereafter, “Son of God” was added to the titles of Constantine. So, he
summoned the leaders of the church called "The Way" and the church
called Mithraic (or Christian) along with other scattered sects and churches
that worshiped a Savior Anointed (a Jesus Christ). He was going to choose, or
create, a savior (a Jesus), settle this question of the divinity of the savior
once and for all time and build a strong single State Church.
Constantine
began immediately to lay the groundwork for his New State Church. In 321 AD he
enacted the Edict of Tolerance. This gave Christians (Mithraic, The Way, Sol
Invictus and other Savior worshipers) new freedom. In addition, he declared
that all businesses, courts, shops, transactions and entertainments were to be
closed on Sun-day in honor of the Sun God (Apollo and/or Mithra, the
saviors anointed). All Savior Gods were to be worshiped on that day. He also
declared that all Savior Gods’ birthdays (including Mithra, the Jewish Savior
and Apollo) were to be celebrated on the third day after the winter solstice.
That is when the Sun begins to return north (by our calendar, December 24th -
25th). This is the first day astronomers can observe the return north of the
sun. All of the Gods were to be celebrated at that time with festivals and
worship.
The
leaders of The Way refused to stop their Jewish Sabbath worship because their
Savior (Jesus) had not yet been declared as a God. Only after the Council of
325 AD did they claim their Jesus was a God and change their day of worship
from Friday to Sunday. Since the regular Jews did not worship a Jesus Christ
they were allowed to continue their worship on the Sabbath.
Constantine
even decided on a name for his new religion. It was to be known (by literal
translation into the English language) as the Divine Universal Assembly. Think
about the meaning of those words as they relate to the Divine Roman Empire.
Don't forget, the Roman emperor was considered to be a Son of God and soon to
be a God, (but Not a Savior God). The Roman Empire was also considered to be
Holy, that is, divinely appointed and sustained by God.
The
religious and political language of that period was Greek. The Greek word for
"Divine" can also mean, "separate" and transliterates
(brings the sound of the Greek word) into English as Holy.
"Universal" comes into English as Catholic. "Assembly"
comes into English as Church. Thus was born the New conglomerate (confederated
and amalgamated) religion of all religions that worshiped a Savior Anointed (a
Jesus Christ). Together they became the New Holy Catholic Church.
Literally
hundreds and hundreds of priests and leaders from many other religious
organizations throughout the vast Roman Empire came to the Council at the
command of Constantine. He was the Emperor of the Roman Empire and one did not
defy the Emperor without a good reason, or even with a good reason. So all who
were able were furnished secure public transportation. They all came together
to take part in the new "political" experiment designed to make one
Divine Church organization out of Several Varied Religions that worshiped a
Savior Anointed (a Jesus Christ).
Also
the fact that the Assembly (Church) was held in the East made it easier for
those of the Eastern Church of the Way and the Mithraic "Christian"
Church to be well represented. Constantine also wanted to hide the truth of his
plan from the Romans in Rome (who would surely object - and did!) until it was
an accomplished fact.
Hundreds
who originally came to the council were killed, some before they got there.
Others were driven away, or were put in prison by those who finally succeeded
in getting the upper hand. The most ruthless were obviously the winners in that
struggle. Those who were driven away, including Arias, recorded many fights,
screaming, nasty words, objects thrown, books burned and hostilities. Almost
all of those killed, driven away or put in prison were worshipers of the Jewish
materialist Human Savior of "The Way.” Why just them? Because they were
the only ones who did not yet claim that their particular Savior Anointed
(Jesus Christ) was a God himself. Who was in charge here anyway? No one even
knows who presided over the Council. It was a free-for-all. But in the end,
Constantine got exactly what he wanted.
Those
who were left were to decide on a creed for the new church. They were also to
decide on New Gospels and which (and what parts) of over three hundred gospels
and writings would go into the new Divine Book (Holy Bible) and which would
not. They fought and fussed among themselves until Constantine finally stepped
in, appointed a head man, his friend Eusebius and said, "What he says goes
in, goes in. What he says stays out, stays out."
Very
early it was agreed that they would not name the Savior Anointed, that is,
Mithra, Apollo or the name of the Jewish savior (Judas, Jeshu, Thomas or Issa,
whichever it was). They soon found out a personal name would be too divisive.
(Many scholars think the original Jewish Jesus was based on the Man of Light
written about in the Dead Sea Scrolls about 125 BC.) The Council decided that
instead of using the personal name of one of the saviors, they would simply use
the Title, (Savior Anointed) or transliterated (bringing the sound) into
English, “Jesus Christ.” That is how the Jesus of the Bible got his name. It is
the Title of All Saviors Anointed! This way all Saviors Anointed (all Jesus
Christs) would be included into the new church and new holy book.
One
man who is thought to be the Jewish Jesus’ was called Issa (or Jissa) in the
Far East. Still other scholars claim that the only man that actually fulfills
some of the claims about the Jewish Jesus in Jewish history of that time was a
man named Judas or Jeshu of Gamla (in Galilee). This man was a Nazarene (a
title for a religious rabble type of militia that opposed Roman rule). He is
officially listed as Judas Bar Abbas. Or in another place as, Jeshu Bar Abbas
(Son of God) and yet again as, Judas Krist. He was called a rabble “Nazarene”
in all three accounts.
There
is no record of a town called Nazareth during the time of the Jewish Jesus! The
term ”Jesus of Nazareth” is a mistranslation of the literal original, “Jesus
the Nazarene.” This means Jesus belonged to a religious rogue militia that
sought by war to overthrow Roman rule in Judah.
The present town of
Nazareth was established after the Jewish and Roman war (70 AD) and later named
Nazareth by the Catholic Church’s Knights Templar. The Jewish histories claimed
this Judas Jeshu was anointed Messiah (Christ, there have been many). A woman
who used a fortune in prized spices anointed him and dried his feet with her
hair. He led a strong and costly rebellion against the Romans. He was
supposedly “Impaled” by the Romans and the only charge against him was,
"The King of the Jews.” He is also rumored to have escaped (a secret legal
provision for those of royal birth who then lost their birthright). A
substitute was allowed to take his place. In all of Jewish or Roman history, no
other person has ever been killed by the Romans under the charge, "The
King of the Jews.”
This
Judas had a contractor father, Joseph, of royal Davidic blood, a mother named
Mary, brothers named James, Joses, Simon and Judas Thomas and sisters not
named. (See Mt.13:55-56.) He also had sons named Jacob and Simon (both later
arrested by the Romans) and a son named Menahim. This son, Menahim, was the one
who led the final rebellion against Rome that ended the nation of Israel in 70
AD. (See: The Wars of the Jews by Josephus Flavius, Book XVIII.)
Meanwhile
back at the Council (the free for all), the hostility and problems continued.
They finally solved the problem by agreeing on a creed. This gave them a
standard by which to discuss the divinity of the New Jesus (the Savior) and to
make selections of those books and sections of books that could be updated
(rewritten) or Created to conform to the new creed and that were not too
offensive to the majority of those who were left. As a result we have a book
that says drinking is good and one that says drinking is bad. It says making
money is good and making money is bad. It says charging or paying interest is
good and it says paying and charging interest is bad.
This
Book says everyone will be saved and it says no one will be saved. It says
follow the orders of your political leaders and it says not to follow the
orders of your political leaders. It says to leave all and follow God and it
says to stay where you are. It says don't drink. It says it is ok to drink. On
every issue of life except one, it takes both sides of the question. The only
issue about which the Bible is certain (and I might mention the one issue that
Rome could not do without) is the issue of slavery. Slavery is regulated,
defended and supported by the Almighty, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Bible, the
Jesus and the Divine Universal Assembly, according to Constantine's Bible.
In
other words there is something for everyone in the Bible. You can
"prove" anything by it and you can "disprove" anything by
it. Where do you think all the many sects and denominations in Christendom came
from? They came straight out of the Bible, every last one of them. Even the Jehovah's
Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, Seventh Day Adventist and Christian Science
Practitioners, who wrote their own holy books, still use the Bible to
"prove" many of their points (doctrines).
I
am trying to make a point. I am trying to show you the Clear Thinking
philosophy as it examines the founding of the Catholic Church and the Holy
Bible.
The
first thing the Clear Thinker notices when he approaches a problem, whether it
is religious, political, social or personal is, few people actually study the facts
or look in the right places for the truth of the matter. If you want to find
out if a man (a group or an organization) is a thief and a liar, you don't ask
his family and his buddies. You ask the victims! Ask yourself, "Who were
the victims of this un-Godly movement and the conglomeration of these various
churches and religions?" Are people still made victims of this
confederation of churches?
Most
people read the Bible or any reference work for only one purpose. That purpose
is to prove a preconceived point of view. They will search the Bible, the
newspaper, reference books, any source, looking for those statements that back
up or tend to "prove" their views and beliefs. They will even lift
out of context, they will distort, they will misread, so determined are they to
prove themselves right. They will also ignore and hide those things that prove,
or tend to prove they are wrong.
Religious
people believe they are right and cannot possibly be wrong. Therefore, any
contrary evidence must be in error and is something that the Devil is using to
try to deceive the faithful. These same people believe it is also permissible
for them to use a lie, or to tell a lie to "prove" that their belief
IS correct. After all, since their belief IS correct, in the long run it is not
really a lie. Once the whole truth is made known the lie is really just an
insight into a truth that others have not yet clearly seen. That is another
type of chaos that Belief produces.
On
the other hand, the Clear Thinking philosophy demands of its followers that
they find and know what the correct position is, not that they prove some
position to be correct. So we study the surrounding histories of that period of
time. We study what the religious leaders had to say and what the civil authorities
had to say. We study what the opposition had to say. We study what individuals
wrote about the issues. We compare, we analyze and we stand flabbergasted and
in awe at the differences between the historical records of the civil
authorities and the claims and writings of the religious authorities of the
church.
Finally,
when the evidence is actually overwhelming, we draw our conclusions. We find
the Council of Nicaea to be a hatchet job by Constantine to renovate, update
and create a New Political State Religion out of the doctrines and writings of
the Mithraic religion called Christian and the Jewish and Greek religion called
“The Way.”
Many
Clear Thinkers have died or been tortured because they revealed and proved
these same things in the past. Truth is sometimes a very dangerous commodity to
possess. I Salute the United States! The Clear Thinking philosophy does not
necessarily demand that an Honest Clear Thinker puts his safety in danger in
order to explain or follow the position he finds to be correct. It does demand
that he knows what he is doing and what the facts are.
Truth
is always hated by the lie. Read any history book and find out who it was that
tortured and killed whom. Why? It would have been simple enough to produce
evidence showing the truthfulness of the Church's position and claims. But when
you have No truth on your side and No evidence, the best you can do is to kill
the messenger, the truth teller and hope thereby to prove your point. Of course
it does prove one point. That is, there is No proof of the claims, or of the
truthfulness of the official church records about the Council of Nicaea of 325
AD (and this includes most other claims).
The
big question that comes now is, "How can we know the facts?" Half of
the answer is summed up in the word "Honesty.” The other half is found in
locating and testing the various claims against each other and against known
science, facts and good acceptable morals. One could use the words
"research" and "thinking" to describe the second half. First,
honesty demands that one looks in the right places for the Truth of the matter.
This is actually harder than the work of research. It also means one will
accept the answer once it has been laid open to him. One must lay aside
preconceived notions, beliefs and biases. It is hard work, but it is Right!
As
for how the Clear Thinker sees the Bible, he must honestly conclude the Bible
is the work of many men. No one knows who wrote a single line of it. The Bible
has been revised, edited, added to and subtracted from since the inception of
each of its many little books. A short study of the Babylonian Tablets, Dead
Sea Scrolls, the Gnostic and Mithraic writings and literature, prove beyond
doubt, there is little conclusive original work in the New Testament or Old
Testament. Every major aspect of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ (the
Jewish one) in the New Testament was written hundreds of years earlier about
Mithra in the Persian and Indian Holy Books.
Many
of these same things were also written around 125 BC about the Man of Light in
the Dead Sea Scrolls including the New Testament miracles and the Sermon on the
Mount. Many scholars think the Man of Light in the Dead Sea Scrolls is the
model for the Jewish Jesus Christ - miss dated and modified by using known
names of political leaders of the later period. Some scholars conclude, with
ample evidence, that the Man of Light was not even a Jew.
The
last writings of the Jewish histories of that period were stored about 100 AD.
They include the history of Judah through the supposed lifetime and death of
Jesus and the claimed beginning of the early church of the Jews, called The
Way. They wrote about every other religion, every other God and every other
political and religious movement. Yet not one word is mentioned about a human
Jesus, or the apostles, or the church. Not One Single Word! They wrote about
everything else but not the early church, or this Jewish Jesus (Savior). Why?
It
is claimed Mithra did many of the same things that the New Constantine Bible
claims a human Jewish Jesus did. And that claim for Mithra was made hundreds of
years before Jesus (the Jewish one) was supposed to have lived. In fact the
Crucified Savior, Mithra, was called, Iesus Christos (Jesus Christ) or
"Savior Anointed" (his title). Mithra also instituted All of the
so-called Christian ordinances and sacraments such as the Eucharist (Communion
or Lord's Supper), Baptism, Foot Washing, Forgiveness of Sin, Unction, Holy
Matrimony, Mass and all the rest of the modern Christian Sacraments. All of
this was no less than eight hundred years before the Jewish Jesus was supposed
to have been born. Crishna (one of the Indian Jesus Christs) also did these
same claimed things over four thousand years ago as did Hesus (Jesus by modern
translation) in the west a bit later.
For
that matter, anyone buried under the sign of the Cross before the fifth century
AD, was buried as a Mithra worshiper (called, Christian). Those of the early
Jewish and Greek church (called The Way) were buried under the sign of the fish
or the lamb. From my studies, it seems the Jewish Jesus was Not crucified. If
he actually lived and was killed at all by the Romans, then he was probably
poled. The Romans usually poled their victims. The Persians were the ones who
crucified. Mithra was the Crucified Savior. There are tile floors, murals and
pictures in Iran, Iraq and India that are more than three thousand years old.
They show a crucified God (or man) on the cross with a hole in his side, nails
in his hands and feet and thorns on his head.
The
Jewish Jesus was the “Poled” Savior. The word translated “crucified” in the
English Christian Bible is the word that literally means "poled" (or
impaled). Why did they not use the Greek word for crucified? Look it up! There
is little historical evidence that the Romans ever crucified anyone. However
they poled or impaled thousands and Later the church called that poling,
"crucifixion.” I will leave to your research or imagination the type of
death this was. Count Dracula of the Balkans was the last to use this Roman
method of execution.
The
Mithra celebrations of Christmas, All Saints day, Lent, Easter, etc., were
incorporated into the New Christian mythology by Constantine's New state
church. The early pre-Nicean Jewish church (The Way) held only Jewish
ceremonies and holidays. Their worship on the Jewish Friday evening or Sabbath
was replaced by the Mithraic Lord's Day or Sun-day worship. This too
came from Constantine and the Mithraic religion when many Mithraic doctrines
were incorporated into Constantine's new religion called the Holy Catholic
Church.
However,
the early Jewish church had already been drawn to some of the Mithraic
teachings since that church also worshiped a Jesus Christ (Savior Anointed).
Mithra worshipers suffered the same tortures and discriminations that the
Jewish and Greek worshipers of The Way suffered under the Romans. The Romans
made little to no distinction between the two religions. Both worshiped a
Savior "Anointed" (Christ). They called both groups, "Christians.”
At
the time Constantine was forming his new church at the Council of Nicaea in 325
AD, other than Sol Invictus (Emperor worship of the Sun as the symbol for God),
Mithras was the largest religion in the Roman Empire. Its doctrines had also
begun to intermingle with the early church (The Way) of the Jews. It is known
they often swapped guest priests. At first in Rome, Mithras was known as the
"Soldier's Religion," brought to them from Persia to Rome by the
Greeks. Constantine's plan was to so integrate the religions of Mithras, The
Way and Sol Invictus that all their symbolism, creeds and history became one.
This enabled Constantine to now possess the one and only “Soul Saving” religion
in the Roman Empire. Though he wanted the savior's name to be Apollo, he did
settle on “Savior Anointed” (Jesus Christ), the Title, to obtain unity.
Following
the Council of Nicaea, the New Holy Catholic Church did everything in its power
to stamp out all old records and histories of both the earlier Mithraic church
and the earlier Jewish church, called "The Way.” They substituted new
records to give Constantine's new Church both a "Divine" book and a
"Sacred" history.
Even
today one must go to translations of scholarly works by Jews, Germans, Greeks,
Persians, Indians and the Dutch to find information on the Mithraic Church.
Catholic Rome did a good job of destroying and hiding the information. [See:
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge and its Bibliography.
Early editions (pre 1900's) of Encyclopedia Britannica have some of this
information, as do early Catholic Encyclopedias.) (Read the life of Constantine
by at least two different authors.]
Some
scholars say there is no record of these things in the Christian writings of
that day. Certainly there isn't! They were destroyed! But there are many
Non-Christian records. Besides, if the Mithraic church had nothing to do with
the Council of Nicaea, why did the New church go on a five hundred-year
campaign to destroy every record of both the Mithraic church and the early
Jewish church? And why did they even destroy or hide the records of the Nicean
Council itself?
One
of the most difficult historical events to research is the 325 AD Council of
Nice (Nicaea). The accounts are conflicting. Many accounts were written one or
two hundred years After the Council. The letters from Council attendees to
friends or other ministers or church leaders give differing dates, differing
accounts, differing numbers, differing results and differing information.
There
are No official public reports from the meetings - only Eusebius' book. The
council lasted two months or three months or four months depending on whose
account one reads. Many clerics and Bishops came early and/or stayed late while
they worked on writing or rewriting and compiling the new, New Testament books.
Some
of the letters written by priests to each other were supposed to be written
before the Council, but there is proof that some were written much later after
the Council. The lowest number of official attendees is given as two hundred
and eighty. The highest number of official attendees is given as one thousand
and eight hundred. The unofficial attendees (scribes, grooms, students, lesser
clergy, sons, friends, cooks, grooms, etc.) numbered into the thousands. This
was a big "blowout" and extravaganza to show off Constantine's new
city (Constantinople) that he was building. He also built his new temple. It is
reported by some that his new temple was the eighth wonder of the world.
Constantine wanted a new religion to go along with his new temple and his new
Capitol City of Constantinople. And he got all three.
In
many of the accounts there is criticism over the fact, not one single prayer
was offered during the entire Council (two or up to four months). Constantine's
opening remarks did use the name of God in a general way, but no one counted it
as prayer. Even Eusebius notes, “There were no prayers.” This prayer business
was one of the meanest and hotly contested debates at the Council as recorded
by the dissenters. Why?
THEY HAD NOT YET SETTLED ON TO WHOM THEY SHOULD PRAY
AND IN WHOSE NAME TO DO IT.
After the Council, the church (the winners) destroyed thousands of letters and accounts. To possess a letter, or an account, or a record about the Council of Nicaea was Punishable By Death. And a large number were killed. The church established a reward system for anyone turning in such letters and accounts, or for turning in their friend or enemy for possession of some of this material. This diabolical attack on truth lasted well over five hundred years! Thank goodness numbers of the accounts survived. Is this religion? Has it changed any since then? Or is this something else?
Clearly
and certainly, The Holy Catholic Church was not trying to hide the information
that they tell us today about the Council. What they were trying to hide was
the Truth about the Council, why it was called, who attended, what went on and
what the results were. I hope the true account is hidden somewhere in the
Vatican and some brave and honest priest will show it to the world.
We
can be sure that the official information given to us by the church today about
the Council has very little truth in it. We must glean for the real purpose by
studying the political and religious powerful forces prior to the Council. The
religious power was in the hands of the state religion, Sol Invictus, the
Mithraic church and to a smaller degree in the hands of The Way of the Jews.
Both of the latter religions were called "Christian.”
It
is interesting that scholars, who have not bothered to examine these facts, are
very confused over how and why such a strong and prolific religion as the
Mithraic Church should fade from western history in less than fifty years. They
attribute the demise to the fact that the new Divine Universal Assembly (Holy
Catholic Church) simply overshadowed it. Not so! The old Mithraic Church
“Became” the New Holy Catholic Church. It was the Jewish sect called "The
Way" that was absorbed and disappeared.
Before
the new conglomerate church became the official Holy Catholic Church, the
Mithraic priests had been baptizing in the name of their Father, Son (Mithra
their Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit of God for several hundred years. They
had been calling themselves followers of the Christ for centuries. Those who
opposed their religion also called them “Christians” as a derogatory term.
Centuries ago these Mithraic priests had adopted the term Christian for themselves
and simply continued to call themselves and their church members, Christians.
Constantine
wished to separate Mithras from its Persian roots and reform it into a Roman
religion so it would be more easily accepted and propagated among the Romans.
The Mithraic priests, seeing the advantage to enlarge their church, fully
accepted the New rewrite of their religion. And the amazing thing about it was
they did not lose any of their doctrines, claims or ceremonies. In fact, we
still have them today. They are Still called Christianity.
The
Mithraic priests preached the same sermons they had been preaching for hundreds
of years, used their same Christian symbols, read some of the same sacred
writings that were now being called the New Divine Book (New Testament) or Holy
Bible. Their Bible stories were reworked so that the Persian stories and Jewish
stories were mingled and now set to read as though they happened in more recent
times rather than hundreds of years earlier. They preached the same Jesus
Christ that they preached in Persia for hundreds of years, changing only the
time and place of his life and death and some names of his followers and
officials. They incorporated the stories of their Jesus Christ (Mithra) into
the gospels and letters of the New Testament. They also incorporated some of
the teachings of Appollonius, called Pol of Tyana. In 325 AD Mithras went from
a religion where they worshiped mostly in secret caves and homes (due to the
persecutions) to a Temple religion called The Holy Catholic Church.
There
were many manuscripts circulating in the early Jewish church of "The
Way" and some of them were writings by Gnostic and Mithraic priests or
clerics. Nearly illiterate traveling preachers wrote some of the others. There
were several different Matthews, Marks and Lukes. There were about two hundred
gospels. There were letters written by leaders of the various congregations
(both Mithraic and The Way) that were read and discussed. But the Mithraic
church refused most of these and only those that could be rewritten to conform
to the New Creed and New sacred history were accepted. The others were hunted
down and destroyed, often along with the owners.
Now
it was not the power or influence of the Mithraic priests that caused their
doctrines to dictate the outcome of the Council. It was not the power or
influence of the church called The Way. It was the power and will of
Constantine, who had Already Decided what the outcome should be. It was he who
had decided that the Savior (the Jesus) must be The Highest God in order to
give great and holy status and prestige to his New Holy Catholic Church, his
new Holy Temple and his new Holy City, Constantinople (now Istanbul).
In
other words, the worshipers of Mithra did not change anything much, accept to
change the date and place of their Jesus Christ and give their allegiance to
the New official state Holy Catholic Church that the emperor Constantine had
newly formed. It also meant that the Mithraic priests now had new bosses from
the former church of The Way.
On
the other hand, those who had been a sect of the Jewish religion (that they
called - The Way) had to change everything. They had to change every single one
of their Jewish holidays. They had to adopt the new (old) symbolisms of the
Mithraic church including the "cross.” They had to change their day of
worship from Friday evening to Sunday morning (The Sun God, Apollo's, day).
They had to change their terminology to conform to the new terminology adopted
from the Mithraic religion. They had to allow sculpture in their churches as
well as paintings. Up to this time such imagery was forbidden by God and
considered one of the worst kinds of sin. They had to change their doctrines
and accept the New Creed of the Holy Catholic Church. Those who didn't accept
were killed or banished. And many, many were!
One
thing the Jewish sect won was the inclusion of the Old Testament in Greek into
the New Divine Book. The Old Testament was the only Bible that the early Jewish
church possessed. Since the Mithraic priests held the Jewish writings in high
esteem, there was little opposition to its (OT) inclusion. It was from this Old
Testament book and from the spiritual writings of the Hellenistic and Gnostic
philosophies from which the early Jewish church, first Evolved.
For
more than seventy-five years after the fall of Judah and the scattering of the
Jews in 70 AD, there was no Human Jesus Christ known. Up until this time, these
displaced and disillusioned Jewish Holy Men studied their Old Testament Bible.
There (in the OT) it was revealed to them that this Spiritual Christ, (the
Jewish one) was a Spiritual being and could bring hope and salvation to them.
As they interpreted it the deeds of this Spiritual Christ happened and existed
only in the spirit world. This Spiritual Christ defeated death and Satan in the
spiritual world. It was the ignorant preachers and converts who thought that
what God did in the spirit world, he must, or should have also done on the
physical earth.
Since
the Mithraic priests held the Jewish writings in high esteem, there was little
opposition to its (OT) inclusion. Where as the worshipers of Mithra had to make
few changes in their worship, the Jewish sect had to make a great multitude of
changes.
Another
thing the leaders of the earlier church (The Way) accomplished was to get their
own self-appointed Bishops and leaders into the highest places of the New
church. They were able to do this because they were more wealthy, more
educated, more ruthless, more determined and already had a system of hierarchy
in place. There were few Mithraic priests who had the experience of ruling over
a large organization. The early church of The Way swapped their Spiritual
Savior (Jesus) for a Human Jesus Christ God. These Jewish leaders swapped their
historical foundations and their claimed apostolic teachings for New Power over
their own people and those not yet in their New religion. Power quickly becomes
oppressive - and wealthy.
The
Clear Thinker looks at all of this and reaches a conclusion: The Bible and the
religions are man made. Much of the Bible, the gospels and some of the letters,
were just a fusion and rewrite of accounts about Mithra, Crishna, Apollonius
and the Man of Light known to us from the Persian, Gnostic and Escene writings.
We
will stop here and look at some of the other claimed Jesus Christs of the
world. These Saviors Anointed have about the same evidence for their claims as
do the Christian religions for the claims of their Jesus Christ (Savior
Anointed).
OTHER SAVIORS ANOINTED (OR JESUS CHRISTS)
One
of the problems that Bible Christianity must face is there is not a single
precept or claim in the Christian Bible that was not already being taught by
ancient religions for thousands of years prior to the advent of modern
Christianity. They even had their "plans of salvation,” usually called,
The Path, The Way or The Mysteries.
The
early historical records in India and Tibet tell of the Hindu Jesus Christ
(Savior Anointed) who was claimed to be a God. He descended to be born of a
virgin. He worked miracles in his youth and early life, including the raising
of the dead. He preached moral concepts, said he was God's Son, had twelve
students who followed him, was betrayed by one of them, was killed on a tree,
run through with a spear, rose again on the third day, was seen by many people
and after preaching for forty days he ascended into heaven from the top of a
mountain in full view of hundreds of people. This would be no less than four
thousand years ago.
His
"gospel" was preached in Israel many years before and even during the
time the Jewish Jesus Christ (Savior Anointed) was supposed to have been born.
The Escenes carried on debates (and recorded them) with these teachers of
Hinduism and they taught each other their doctrines and beliefs. The Escenes
were looking for a Jewish Messiah, not a universal Messiah. Is there a
connection? This Hindu Jesus Christ died "once and for all time" to
redeem All mankind from their sins and the evils of life. By believing in this
Hindu God, when one died and qualified, he would go to the judgment and then to
heaven to be with Chrishna, the Savior Anointed (Jesus Christ) for eternity. If
one had not received Chrishna and his teachings, he was reincarnated again.
The
paintings and murals of this God Man show that soon after his death, he was
pictured with nail holes in his hands, feet and a spear hole in his side, as
were earlier saviors. Yet secular civil accounts claim that an arrow went
through his heel and penned him to a tree. He was speared in the side and died
penned to the tree. This hearkens back to an even earlier savior (about 8000
BC). Of this savior we have little knowledge except that he died on a cross for
the sins of the world and is pictured the same as the Jewish Jesus. He was
pictured as being black.
One of these Hindu Saviors Anointed was named Chrishna (Krishna). Some say in
one Indian dialect Chrishna, means, "anointed or appointed.” There are
sculptures and paintings (some are over three thousand years old) of Chrishna
nailed on the cross that are exactly the same as modern pictures of the Jewish
Savior Anointed (Jesus Christ). Chrishna was often pictured as blue
(representing the alien blood line of the Gods). Is this not "copy cat” or
what?
Mithra
was also crucified on a cross, first in the spirit world and later it was
claimed the deed was done in the real world. He likewise did all of these God
like things. He is also pictured the same as Chrishna. In one mural he is
pictured as hanging in the heavens on a cross, arms outstretched and with a
caption saying, "Come unto me all you who are burdened."
In
fact, including Chrishna and Mithra, there are known to have been many
crucified anointed saviors claimed. They were killed on a cross, pole or tree.
All were claimed to be Gods who were born in some divine way to a virgin on or
about the third day after the shortest day of the year (December 24th or 25th).
They were saved in infancy from some evil death, showed divine genius in youth,
later taught divine precepts, worked miracles (healed the sick and raised the
dead), had twelve students or followers, was betrayed by one of them, was
killed on a cross (tree or pole), entombed, raised again on the third day,
appeared to their followers and told their followers of their divine sacrifice for
the evils and sins of the world. They then ascended into the sky where they
intercede on the right hand of God in behalf of all men. Here is a short list
of those Saviors.
These
few names are copied from the book, Sixteen Crucified Saviors, by Kersey
Graves. There is some dissension over the proper names of some of these God Men
and over the dates. These are not here to defend the claims. These are here
only to show, many have made the same claims as was later made for the Jewish
God Man. There are many more, some of local origin but many are of more
general reputation. Some of these claimed God Men (Christs) in English are:
NAME AND APPROXIMATELY THE DATE THEY DIED.
Chrishna (Krishna) 2000 B.C.
(2500 B.C. or before)
Sakia
600 B.C.
Thammuz
1160 B.C.
Wittoba
552 B.C.
Ioa
600 B.C.
Hesus
834 B.C. (Jesus, by new translation.)
Quexalcote
587 B.C. (Claimed not to have died.)
Quirinus
506 B.C.
Aeschylus
Prometheus 547 B.C.
Thulis
1700 B.C.
Alcestos
600 B.C.
Atys
1170 B.C.
Crite
1200 B.C.
Bali
725 B.C.
Mithra
1800 B.C. (OR EARLIER)
Jesus
Christ 34 AD
Appollonius
(Pol of Tyana) 98 AD
There
were also many lesser or more local saviors and this list does not include the
Egyptian Gods. Osirus should be included because he seems to have been the
first western God who did most of these Christ like activities.
We
need to look at Apollonius of Tyana (known as Pol of Tyana) because some of his
many deeds, travels and teachings are preserved for us in the Holy Bible. Pol
was the Cappadocian Savior who worked miracles, preached morals, preached a
Gnostic Spiritual Christ who was a spiritual being in the world, who did not
ever become corruptible flesh. Instead this spiritual Christ, taught by Pol,
entered Mithra the Christ, (as a dove) at his baptism and left him at his
crucifixion. He then became the sacrifice of God’s Son, the Christ, for all
mankind.
Some
reports said Pol himself died (upside down) to save mankind. Much of his
activities are recorded in the Bible as those things attributed to a man called
Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament. Some of Pol's known letters (to the same
towns listed in the Bible as letters from Paul) were known and quoted in the
fourth century by Greek historians. These fourth and fifth century historians
claimed Pol's letters are the basis for the letters that the (possibly
fictitious?) Paul of the Bible was supposed to have written. They accused the
Christians of Plagiarism (stealing someone else's work) and denied that there
was any evidence that a Paul of Tarsus ever lived!
Many
of these writings that are attributed to someone called Paul in the New
Testament, came straight out of known Gnostic texts and other writings. It has
been well demonstrated that the Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament is claimed
to have done many of the same identical deeds, spoke some of the same words and
made the same claims as was earlier attributed to Apollonius, who was called
Pol of Tyana (a suburb of Tarsus).
Pol
was a real man, a Mithraic and/or Gnostic philosopher who was written about in
a number of Official court histories by both the Romans and the Greeks. Also
recording him were the Egyptians and others. Pol preached his Gospel all over
the Middle East, Europe and even over in India and Persia. The Holy Catholic
Church succeeded in destroying much of this material, or of infusing Paul’s
name where Pol was listed. Today we must depend on the writings of
Philostratos, several others who eulogized Pol and the Christian writers who
tried to discredit the claims of Pol and his works and teachings. These
defenders of Christianity tried to show that there really was a Paul even if he
did do some of the same things credited to Pol of Tyana.
Many
of the events that were supposed to have happened to the Paul of the New
Testament, were events that were Known (and recorded) to have happened to Pol
of Tyana. Some of the same words that were recorded officially as statements of
Pol were reported to have been said later by Paul in the New Testament. There
is not one single scrap of non-Christian evidence that Paul of the New
Testament was a living person. (There is some disputed genealogical evidence in
early Jewish and British manuscripts of a man that escaped to Britain called
Saul that may have been the Paul of the Bible.) There are No civil historians
who record him as they do Pol of Tyana. Yet, in spite of the extensive efforts
of the early Holy Catholic Church to wipe out every trace of Pol of Tyana, they
did not completely succeed. His deeds, his travels and even some of his
teachings have been saved in the East from the censorship and destruction that
the Holy Catholic Church pursued for several hundred years.
Some
scholars say that not only did Paul not exist, but that All of the original
writings and teachings attributed to him in the New Testament are the teachings
of Pol of Tyana. Pol is known to have traveled widely. It may have been Pol who
preached and wrote all of the letters to the early church that claimed to help
the early church of The Way to understand Jesus (the heavenly spiritual savior,
whose work was all done in the spiritual world, not as a physical presence on
earth). He is credited also with helping the church (The Way) understand the
teachings of the Old Testament and the spiritual truths of The Way. Without
doubt, whoever wrote these letters (or if they were copied by Paul of the New
Testament), they certainly diverted the whole course of the early church and
created doctrinal differences that still exist today.
I
am not saying that a man called Paul, mentioned in the New Testament, did not
live, though many scholars do give strong evidence that Paul was only a
mythical character patterned after Pol. Nor am I saying that a man called Paul
did not do some of the things written about him. I am saying that another
well-known man, Pol of Tyana, also did many of the same things. He did these
things during the same period as credited to Paul. He did these things for
another Gnostic religion, possibly Mithras, whose followers were called
Christians, whose symbol was the cross, who worshiped a divine Jesus Christ who
did all of his deeds in the spirit world. There are secular and civil records
that give details of Pol, his letters, sermons and life. Pol was worshiped as a
Savior in Cappadocia. There is no mention of the Bible Paul in any civil
writings or accounts.
Finally,
the Clear Thinker discovers, as he studies the Bible, any short honest effort
in the Old Testament or the New Testament will uncover scores of errors there.
(See Chapter 28.) To open a real can of worms on the subject, there is not one
single bit of substantial Western evidence that the Jewish Jesus Christ or
Joshua Messiah of the New Testament ever lived or did what is claimed for him
(especially during the period claimed). The only remaining possibility is that
his commonly used name was Judas Thomas (meaning twin), Jeshu or Judas Krist.
Of those there is a record.
This
was a telling blow to the early Holy Catholic Church. It's adversaries,
especially among the Jews, denied and still do (doctrinally) that the Jewish
Messiah (Christ) ever lived. Constantine's New Catholic Church did the three
things that it could to stop their adversaries. They killed those whom they
could catch. They tried to destroy all of the writings that tended to oppose
the falsehoods of the new church. Finally, they "manufactured" what
proof they thought would be accepted by their own worshipers and tried to use
this new "Proof" in support of their newly created religion.
The
Holy Catholic Church inserted an account about a Human Jesus into the work of
the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus. They did the same thing in Tacitus,
Pliny the Younger and later they did the same to the writings of Suetonius
among others. These forgeries are blatant (bold and obvious), written in
language and styles unknown to the earlier historians. The forgers used words
and spellings that did not come into vogue until centuries after the original
historians were dead. Names for towns were used that did not come into being
until after the original historians themselves were dead. The term
"Christian" was used in some of the forged passages. This could have
made them Mithraic or Gnostic worshipers, not members of the Jewish sect called
"The Way" who worshiped the Jewish "Savior Anointed.”
Also,
these civil histories and works, before they were altered, were well known to
the early defenders of the Holy Catholic Church. Yet for more than seven
hundred years not one single Christian writer ever mentioned these interpolated
(fake) passages in defense of Jesus being a real person. It was only in the
eighth century AD and later in the sixteenth century when they are first used.
However before the eighth century, those who opposed the new church spoke and
wrote often of the fact that of All the historians who covered the supposed
period of the life time of Jesus Christ and the early church, not one ever even
mentioned Jesus, Paul, or the Apostles. Neither did they find any mention of
the great turmoil that was claimed to surround Jesus, his disciples, or the
early church. And these were scholars of the histories of that period. The
defenders of the early church used the most outlandish arguments one could
imagine trying to prove that Jesus was a real person and not just a composite
of several mythological "Christ" characters as the Jewish and Greek
scholars charged.
In
the final analysis, the Christians had to rely on the New Holy Bible that
Constantine got the Council of Nicaea to put together. All these religious
defenders of the faith could say was, "The Bible says, the disciples, who
would not lie, said Jesus lived and did this and that." Thus, it remains
today! They said you must believe and not doubt. It was the late Seventh
Century AD before the church found the First "Proof" that Jesus was a
real person. That is when the old copies were destroyed and updated versions
written to conform to the new "Facts.”
It
is interesting that there was no Holy Bible for years and years after the
Council of 325 AD. There was simply a list of approved texts and writings that
floated among the clergy. Many clerics had some copies of the letters or
gospels in scroll form. It was
much later that all the letters, gospels and writings were bound together in
book form for some special churches, clergy and scholars. Individual copies of
the scrolls differed widely from each other and it was only with the advent of
printing in the 1600’s that the church got serious about making all the tests
the same.
In
old Persia, Tibet and India there exists ample evidence that Jesus (the Jewish
one) was a real historical person. They do give an earlier date for him (that
might make him the Man of Light in the Dead Sea Scrolls). There exist books,
scrolls and legends concerning the teachings and activities of this Jesus
(called Issa or Jssa in the East). He sojourned in the East from his fourteenth
year through his twenty-ninth year. He first spent his time at the feet of
Brahman priests whose doctrines he rejected. They sought to kill him because he
insisted on teaching the common people (the untouchables). He escaped possibly
to Brit (Britain). Returning, he was next accepted by early Buddhist type
priests and learned their language and holy books. He became a great Buddhist
type teacher and is referred to today as Saint Issa. Until the 1700's there was
no "J" in the English language. Thus, "I" and "H"
in the old languages are generally translated with a "J" today. So
Issa would be Jssa, their word for "savior.”
When
Jesus left these Holy Men, it is recorded that he said, "I must be about
my Father's business." When he was thirty years old (the earliest age for
a Holy Master, or Buddhist priest) he went back to Judah, raised such a stink
with the Pharisees that within three months they sought to have him killed. The
Buddhist's accounts agree on this. They also say that Saint Issa (Jesus) was of
royal blood or a King.
Some
accounts claim there were two Jesus’ and they were twins and the New Sacred
Book combined both of their lives, making the two different lives into one
account. One Jesus escaped and went west to Britain and the other escaped to
the East. The Buddhist's accounts do not agree on whether Issa was actually
killed or not. Some say he escaped to the west, married and had children. Those
who say he was killed, say it was reported to them hundreds of years later that
he was killed by the Pharisees against the will and law of the Romans. They
know nothing of a resurrection or ascension. (All those added stories came
later, after 325 AD.)
In
fact, the Buddhists in Japan Insist to this very day that Jesus (one of them)
left his family in Europe (Spain), came to Japan, married and they can point
you to the very house in which Jesus (Issa) lived out his last years and the
place where he is buried. This they claimed before western men and Christianity
arrived in the Orient. They maintain that claim today.
The
Christian churches in the west still seek to deny and hide this valuable proof
of a Jewish Jesus as a real historical person. Such evidence, publicly
accepted, would undercut their doctrines, destroy their plans of salvation and
contradict large portions of Constantine's New Holy Bible.
Not
a single book in the gospels can be honestly and confidently attributed to the
person whose name appears at the beginning of each book. All these books were
written by persons unknown. Many Christian scholars say the names at the
beginning of these books were simply to whom the books were dedicated, not who
wrote the books. Not a single eyewitness to any of the marvelous tales told
about Jesus in these books wrote a single word of the Bible. To give testimony
or to be a witness, one must tell what he has Personally seen or heard. He may
not officially tell what someone told him about the event. He cannot say it is
the truth because he cannot know. The only book really claimed by some
religious scholars to be by an eyewitness is the book John. We will examine
that shortly.
In
addition, these books about Jesus disagree not only with each other but even
with statements made in one part of the book with statements made in a later
part of the same book. Jesus stayed in the grave three days and three nights
(from sundown Friday night, which was Saturday to the Jews, until before sunup
Sunday morning). Add those religious numbers up. There was an angel at the
tomb. There was not an angel at the tomb. Jesus first appeared to one. He first
appeared to two. He first appeared to the eleven. Which account tells the
truth? Are they all wrong? Look it up.
Matthew,
Mark and Luke (the synoptic gospels) record the ministry of Jesus as being
about Three Months long (from his baptism to his death). Also say the Buddhists
that in three months Jesus had to escape being executed. If the Buddhist's
records and the synoptic gospels are true, the ministry of Jesus in Judah
lasted just three months. “Synoptic” means “in agreement.”
The
Gospel of John, on the other hand, claims the ministry of Jesus lasted over
Three Years. All four accounts make separate and opposing claims as to when
Jesus was poled (crucified), who was there when it happened, what time he died,
who was at the tomb, who saw the apparitions of Jesus and under what
circumstances. All disagree over whether Jesus ascended or not. Those who say
he did, differ on where it happened, when it happened and who was present.
All
these death and resurrection accounts were added later, some even After the
Council of 325 AD. The earliest known Christian writers claim Jesus lived over
fifty years, well into manhood, before he died, presumably stoned or in some
normal way. They were disputing the claims of some that Jesus was poled
(crucified) buried and resurrected. They claimed Jesus was a Man, the Jews or
the Romans did not kill him and he did not rise from the dead.
(This
came to my attention just before publication. There are accounts in old
Medieval English manuscripts that claim Jesus was stoned in London for stealing
the Torah from the Rabbis). See: The Bible Fraud, by Tony Bushby.
If
Jesus was a real living person, how is it even possible that close friends of
his could have differed so wildly in their account of his life, ministry,
teachings and death? The only honest conclusion at which one can arrive is that
the writers neither knew him personally, nor did they have any first hand
information from anyone who did know him. If we were to say one of them knew
him personally it would be impossible to say which one. The one who can be
eliminated for sure is the writer of the book called John. He didn't even have
a third hand account of a human Jesus. Is the Holy Spirit responsible for these
differences? If not, who is guilty of it?
One
could go on and on with the different accounts of the genealogies of Jesus, the
time of the poling (crucifixion), the copying from the Gnostic texts, the
copying of the miracles, the copying of the teachings of Jesus, the copying of
the sermon on the mountain from the Man of Light, the earthquake that caused
the saints to wake up out of their graves and walk around Jerusalem, the
killing of the children of Bethlehem, the copied Lord's Prayer, Jesus going
into Egypt, etc. All said to be true in one book and contradicted in another
one. Not one single Roman or Jewish record confirms or even mentions a single
one of these tales. There are hundreds of items like these and you should read
the mishmash written by priests, professors and preachers who try to find some
acceptable explanation for these inconsistencies and errors. They avoid even
talking about the fact that there is No Civil Record or evidence at all. Not
one line! Not one word!
The
Bible is only a book of Testimony, or as some have called it, "A book of
gossip.” That is, the writers are testifying to certain things and events as
though they personally experienced them. They testify to certain events as
being true and therefore, they are asking you to believe that what was written
by them are the True accounts of those events. Let us interview some of those
who are giving witness and testimony about these unusual and wonderful religious
claims.
It
is claimed that you wrote the book called, Matthew. Why did you use spellings
in your book that did not come into practice until after the third century AD?
The
Holy Spirit led my writing.
Why
in Matthew 28:15 did you write, "And this story has been widely circulated
among the Jews to this very day." Doesn't that indicate the story was
written a long time after the man called Matthew was dead? If you were not at
least two hundred years old, you were not an eyewitness to any of the events in
Matthew. Only an eyewitness can give testimony about an event.
It
is claimed you wrote the book called Mark? Were you an eyewitness to any of the
events described in this book? How do you know those things are true?
No.
Peter, Paul and Barnabas told me.
But
you were not a witness? Was Paul a witness?
No,
Paul was told by God who whispered in his ear - in a vision.
Why
did you use so many Latin words in your gospel and why are several of these
words spelled as they were spelled in the third century and not spelled as they
were spelled in the first century?
I
was writing to the Romans.
Then
the book that bears your name was written much later than is claimed. Unless
you lived to be well over two hundred years old, you could not have written the
book called Mark.
No
need to call the writer of the book called Luke. He got all of his information
from Paul (possibly a fictitious character) who got his information in a vision
- in his head. Luke was not an eyewitness.<
So
next, we call the writer of the book called John. It is claimed that you wrote
the book called John. Were you an eyewitness to what you wrote?
Yes.
You
said Jesus was God?
Yes.
Did
you say a man must believe what you wrote about the Savior (Jesus) and if he
did not believe in Jesus, he would be condemned by God and forever cast into
hell and separated from God? And why are these the very Same words used by the
Mithraic Church about their Jesus Christ called Mithra?
I
don't know.
Then
we must look deeper into what you have said.
The
Gospel of John begins with, "In the beginning was the Word . . ."
This and many more sections of John are direct quotes from the Hindu and
Buddhist holy books. These quotes were also copied by some of the Greek
religious writers and philosophers at least two centuries before the Christian
era. Other parts of John come from Gnostic writings, many of which were also
copied from Hindu or Buddhist scriptures. What do you have to say about this?
You
must believe and not doubt!
There
is a major problem with the Gospel of John. It is an altogether different
religion than Matthew, Mark and Luke describe. John's religion is almost
totally Mithraic and follows Hindu, Buddhist and Gnostic texts, while the other
gospels are somewhat more Jewish in nature. The combination of Hindu, Buddhist
and Gnostic philosophy is Mithraic in tone and fact. It is the Gospel of John
that sets the theology of most Fundamental Protestant doctrines. All scholars
agree that John was written much later than the other gospels and letters and
that it does Not conform to the other books of the gospel, or to the letters of
other Bible writers. It is very, very different.
There
must be a reason why the book, "John" follows the Mithraic doctrines
so closely. Why? No eye witness to the life and teachings of Jesus could have
accidentally, or even on purpose, changed those Jewish accounts into a
different Mithraic type of religion as happened with the book called John and
certainly not if he ever knew the man Jesus. It is interesting that the
ministry of Mithra lasted three years. According to John, the ministry of Jesus
lasted the same amount of time. Is there a connection?
Someone
who did not know the truth about the New Testament events in the life of Jesus,
or who sought to change those events, wrote the book called John (whatever
those events were, IF there were events). He may have been a Mithraic or
Gnostic priest. He may have written the book called John as late as the
beginning of the fourth century AD and certainly not earlier than the middle of
the third century. The Mithraic doctrines began to penetrate the religion of
"The Way" quite early in its history.
The New Testament gives us three different religions.
First,
there is the Jewish type found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. That is a type of new
covenant between God and all the Jewish believers as a whole. Then there is the
Gnostic and Mithraic type found in John. That is a despotic and rigid type of
religion with magic formulas and dire threats against disbelievers. Finally, there
is the religion of Paul that is sort of a middle of the road between the other
two. It is a spiritual and philosophical religion between God’s Spiritual Son,
Jesus Christ (Savior Anointed) and the individual believer. There is no
evidence that Paul (or Pol) knew of a physical man called Jesus (Savior) who
lived on earth. Paul’s (Pol’s) Christ was a divine Son of God whose work and
sacrifice happened in the spiritual sphere. The Holy Scriptures (Old Testament)
revealed this Spiritual Christ through whom the believers could find salvation.
Later Additions to the writings attributed to Paul, attempted to add the
element of a physical Jesus. Most scholars agree that these additions were much
later and were not added until after the sixth century.
Clear
Thinkers accept the Bible as a unique book that has widely affected western
culture of the past and present. They see no evidence a God inspired a single
word of it. They do see a great deal of evidence that the Bible was copied from
earlier accounts, from different religions and from men who lived a long time
before the Christian era. They do see a multitude of errors in it (see Chapter
28 on errors). They also find scores and scores of added bits of information
and statements that were not even present in Constantine's first Holy Book.
Many other sections were later deleted from Constantine’s first Holy Book.
All
in all, Clear Thinkers find the New Testament unreliable in the areas of
history, ethics, morals, science, economics, education, psychology, political
science, social relationships, justice, family relationships, and yes, even in
religion. The Holy Bible is the work of many men therefore men must judge it.
Why
are there so many errors still in the Bible? The leaders of the religions have
had hundreds of years to rid their Holy Book, their doctrines and their
teachings of those things that are "dead giveaways" that the Bible
and their religion itself are simply man made. Why have they not taken out
those internal statements that expose their stories as being false? The reason
is, because They Haven't Had To. The believers have been quieted and kept in
servitude by the simple fear that to honestly and seriously study into these
things would be to doubt and to doubt is to Sin Unpardonably. To sin this Sin is
to lose their salvation and all of the good things that their religion has
promised.
The
gullible, the fearful and the guilt ridden shall inherit the Holy Bible and the
Holy Catholic Church and its offshoot - Protestantism. (And maybe they deserve
it.)
FEAR MAKES GOOD BELIEVERS.
To
rid yourself of fear and guilt learn to think Honestly. To embrace the Clear
Thinker's philosophy one must desire to know the truth over and above any
emotional attachment that he may have to any belief. In fact, there are Clear
Thinkers in many of our churches today. Good work can be done almost anywhere,
in or out of religious organizations. (Later, in chapters 7 - 8, we will be
discussing the Clear Thinker's view of staying in the church.) But before one
can embrace honesty and the philosophy of the Clear Thinker, he must honestly
ask and honestly answer some questions.
"If
I found out much or even all I have been taught by church, priests, preachers,
Bibles, mother, etc., were proven false, could I stand up under the emotional
strain? Could I stand up under the bitterness of finding out I have been lied
to and deceived? How would I react if I suddenly found there is no heaven or
hell as taught by the religions? If I am one who makes my living from those who
support the church (a priest, minister, teacher, professor, etc.), could I give
up my job, or stay on as a Clear Thinker? Could I work things out with my
spouse, children, parents, friends, mistress and others?"
There
are only two reasons or drives for being a Clear Thinker and actually they are
one in the long run. You must be Honest, at least with yourself. And you must
have a strong desire to know the truth about God, religion and those things
called spiritual. You must use your mind the best you can. The key phrases to a
Clear Thinker are, "Honest Doubt" and "Logical Thought.” No one
will ever know all the answers so forget a lifetime hunched over reference
books in dozens of foreign languages.
HONEST DOUBT IS THE BEGINNING OF
WISDOM
What
you will be looking for are the principal criterions (standards) for judging
life within you and around you. You will be looking for the standards by which
you can judge the claims of the past and the present. You will be looking for
the moral and ethical standards that will be the correct and compatible guides
for your activities as long as your life shall last on this earth. And in any
hereafter you will do the same there. Here is that standard!
Do not do to others that which you would not have done
to yourself!
If
you are looking for the philosophy that will allow you to be the best person
you can possibly be, you will find it in Clear Thinking. If you are looking for
the philosophy that will set you free from all the garbage that controls your
actions and inhibits your logical thinking and creativity, you will find it in
the Clear Thinking philosophy. Honest Clear Thinkers shall inherit freedom,
justice, peace of mind and above all, sanity.
Sanity
is a nice, desirable commodity to posses. But if a person has a delusion, or makes
one up (false concept or lie), that the normal cultural sanity does not accept
as being true, then that person is considered to be somewhat insane (a
disbeliever) by that culture. However, if that deluded person can convince
others that the delusion is real, then that delusion (lie) becomes a Religious
Belief and is tolerated. If more and more accept the lie, then soon it becomes
a Religion and is granted status. If enough people over time can be convinced
that the delusion is true, then that delusion (lie) becomes a Culture Truth.
That delusion then becomes a standard culture norm by which sanity is now
measured.
Finally,
the cycle becomes a full circle. The person who does Not believe that delusion
(lie) is now considered as insane to some degree by that new modified culture.
Christians consider Atheists to be somewhat insane because they do not accept
their Christian delusions as being true.
So
by our New Christian cultural norm, I am considered to be somewhat insane. I
have a question about this. Does Honest Clear Thinking make a person insane? Or
does believing (instead of thinking) make one insane? Honest Thinking provides
stability for the mind. Believing removes all protective filters and
rationality from the mind. Believing mingles reality with delusions to such an
extent that it produces fear, guilt and delusions of all sorts - Just Like
Drugs. No! Worse than drugs, because the druggy Knows he is on drugs.
DID JESUS DIE TO MAKE US STOP THINKING AND START
BELIEVING?
Men
created the Holy Bible and the Holy Catholic Church for selfish, political,
economical and personal reasons! What a powerful bunch!
DOES HONEST CLEAR THINKING SCARE YOU?
BELIEF SCARES ME!
The
Honest Man’s Philosophy Index
Index
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