• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Jesus theories

TheTerminator

New Member
Hi all,

I am looking for books which present Jesus as other than son
of god, Mary, etc.
Alternate history of Jesus you might say, such as him being an alien
or a time traveler from the future.
Also, any theories that explain as to why he is a white man with blue eyes and blonde hair. There was a book which said his mother was raped by a Roman soldier and to avoid being stoned, she made up the story of her
still being a virgin.
anyone read these:
Jesus Video - Andreas Eschbach (novel)
Philip Jose Farmer's 'Jesus On Mars'
"The Fable of Christ" - Luigi Cascioli
 
Hi all,

I am looking for books which present Jesus as other than son
of god, Mary, etc.
Alternate history of Jesus you might say, such as him being an alien
or a time traveler from the future.
Also, any theories that explain as to why he is a white man with blue eyes and blonde hair. There was a book which said his mother was raped by a Roman soldier and to avoid being stoned, she made up the story of her
still being a virgin.
anyone read these:
Jesus Video - Andreas Eschbach (novel)
Philip Jose Farmer's 'Jesus On Mars'
"The Fable of Christ" - Luigi Cascioli

Um, who says he is a blue-eyed aryan? That idea is far-fetched at best..if he'd been so different, the neighbors would not have referred to him as someone they knew..instead he was regarded as just another local kid. When he was 12, and was accidently left behind in Jerusalem, and his family found him in the temple talking theology with the priests, the priests were only astonished that this whippernapper was so knowledgable..not that his white kid dared to talk to them and knew so much.

Anyway..for a book of far fetched notions about Jesus' origins, you might try Erik von Daniken's books..there was one in the line that reasoned that Jesus must have been an alien since he assended up to heaven after his ressurection..and some artist pictured it in a way that Von Daniken interpreted as he left in a UFO..of course his scholarship was pretty lax...but you get the idea.
 
Not far fetched notions but an interesting read would be Holger Kersten's Jesus Lived In India. At least this one has a grave at the end which still exists to this day.
 
Anyway..for a book of far fetched notions about Jesus' origins, you might try Erik von Daniken's books..there was one in the line that reasoned that Jesus must have been an alien since he assended up to heaven after his ressurection..and some artist pictured it in a way that Von Daniken interpreted as he left in a UFO..of course his scholarship was pretty lax...but you get the idea.

I read von Daniken's books years ago ABC. As you say, very far-fetched but fascinating reading all the same.
 
I recently read a very interesting take on it by a Swedish writer named Lena Einhorn in her book "What happened on the road to Damascus" (not available in English AFAIK). According to her hypotheses - and she has a lot of research to back it up, even if some of the connections she makes seem a lot shakier than others - here's what might be what:
1. The events in the NT actually take place about 20 years later than the official count; this way, they match up much better with events described in other sources such as Josefus and the Talmud. It would also explain why there are some obvious anachronisms in the gospels - such as Jesus being born under both Herod and Quirinius, though Herod died some 10 years before Quirinius took power...
2. Jesus was crucified, but he didn't die on the cross - he was drugged (the sponge on the end of the spear), taken to a cave to be healed (hence the huge amounts of balm and myrrh and stuff - used for cleaning wounds). This would explain that it only took him six hours to "die" (some people could spend up to 48 hours on the cross before dying) and was still strong enough to scream just minutes before he supposedly died. It also matches up with verses in the Talmud and the Quran that hint that Jesus/Isa did not die on the cross.
3, and this is the biggie: she hypothesises (and is very clear about it being a hypothesis, not a claim of fact) that Jesus and Paul are identical. That once Jesus had escaped from the crucifixion, he had to assume a different identity. This would mean that the letters of Paul - the oldest writings in the NT, the gospels being a few decades younger - were written by Jesus in the years after the failed crucifixion, and deliberately backdated the story to obscure his true identity.

Not saying I believe that's what happened, and like I said some of her arguments are little more than pure guesswork, but it makes for fascinating reading. If the book is ever translated, it's definitely recommended.
 
While the entire story isn't about Jesus, Anne Rice has a couple great passages of Lestat's interaction with Jesus in Memnoch The Devil (#5 in the Vampire Chronicles).
 
I recently read a very interesting take on it by a Swedish writer named Lena Einhorn in her book "What happened on the road to Damascus" (not available in English AFAIK). According to her hypotheses - and she has a lot of research to back it up, even if some of the connections she makes seem a lot shakier than others - here's what might be what:
1. The events in the NT actually take place about 20 years later than the official count; this way, they match up much better with events described in other sources such as Josefus and the Talmud. It would also explain why there are some obvious anachronisms in the gospels - such as Jesus being born under both Herod and Quirinius, though Herod died some 10 years before Quirinius took power...
2. Jesus was crucified, but he didn't die on the cross - he was drugged (the sponge on the end of the spear), taken to a cave to be healed (hence the huge amounts of balm and myrrh and stuff - used for cleaning wounds). This would explain that it only took him six hours to "die" (some people could spend up to 48 hours on the cross before dying) and was still strong enough to scream just minutes before he supposedly died. It also matches up with verses in the Talmud and the Quran that hint that Jesus/Isa did not die on the cross.
3, and this is the biggie: she hypothesises (and is very clear about it being a hypothesis, not a claim of fact) that Jesus and Paul are identical. That once Jesus had escaped from the crucifixion, he had to assume a different identity. This would mean that the letters of Paul - the oldest writings in the NT, the gospels being a few decades younger - were written by Jesus in the years after the failed crucifixion, and deliberately backdated the story to obscure his true identity.

Not saying I believe that's what happened, and like I said some of her arguments are little more than pure guesswork, but it makes for fascinating reading. If the book is ever translated, it's definitely recommended.

Stumbled across this old thread and it turns out this book has indeed been translated now:

Amazon.com: The Jesus Mystery: Astonishing Clues to the True Identities of Jesus and Paul: Lena Einhorn: Books
 
This looks interesting. Especially the last part. I thought that Paul (Saul) was pretty well known even prior to his change of belief, having studied under a member of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem named Gamaliel.

Like I think I said above, that conclusion is fascinating, but also by far the weakest part of the book - she has to come up with some pretty far-fetched assumptions (and she agrees that they're no more than that) to make it work. The rest of the book, however, when she goes into what we can feasibly know about one poorly documented person and exactly what happened or didn't happen to him 2000 years ago, is very much worth reading.
 
Once upon a time, there was The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer. Not exactly "alternative," but at least refreshing with respect to what one thinks one might know about the real Jesus.
 
Then there's this:
When Jesus Christ was 21 years old, he came to Japan and pursued knowledge of divinity for 12 years. He went back to Judea at age 33 and engaged in his mission. However, at that time, people in Judea would not accept Christ’s preaching. Instead, they arrested him and tried to crucify him on a cross. His younger brother, Isukiri casually took Christ’s place and ended his life on the cross.

Christ, who escaped the crucifixion, went through the ups and downs of travel, and again came to Japan. He settled right here in what is now called Herai Village, and died at the age of 106.

On this holy ground, there is dedicated a burial mound on the right to deify Christ, and a grave on the left to deify Isukiri.

The above description was given in a testament by Jesus Christ.

afreethoughtblogs.com_pharyngula_files_2011_08_Shingo.jpeg

Sounds like it would make a wicked manga.
 
The Mormons aren't going to be happy about that since was supposed to be in the New World at that time talking to Mayans and Incas and stuff.
 
I love this comment:
And did those feet, in ancient times,
Walk upon Nippon’s mountains white;
And did the holy Lamb of God
Learn all the ninja ways to fight?

And did he eat unheated fish,
Served up on plates of plain bamboo,
And did he, like Keanu Reeves,
Proclaim to all: “I know kung-fu”?

Bring me my books of manga art,
Bring me Akira, new-reborn;
And though it stirreth PZ’s heart,
Bring me my tentacles for porn!

I will not wail when ground doth quake;
Nor shall tsunamis e’er be feared;
For it is true, what people say:
Japan is really bloody weird!
 
Back
Top