Friday, November 8, 2013
U-Predict Blog – The Covert Messiah – Jesus Christ did not exist 11/05/2013
Authors write for many reasons – some to entertain, some to
inform. Some write with the idea of
promoting their own agenda. I have to
admit that I wondered if this was the case with Joseph Atwill, who presented a
symposium on October 19, 2013 on the concept that Jesus Christ never
existed. Atwill believes his discovery
came to him while he was studying “Wars of the Jews” by Josephus (the only
surviving first-person historical account of first-century Judea) alongside the
New Testament. Atwill claims that “I
started to notice a sequence of parallels between the two texts. Although it’s been recognized by Christian scholars
for centuries that the prophesies of Jesus appear to be fulfilled by what
Josephus wrote, he saw dozens more. What seems to have eluded many scholars is
that the sequence of events and locations of Jesus ministry are more or less
the same as the sequence of events and locations of the military campaign of Titus
Flavius as described by Josephus.”
Based on this belief that the stories of this campaign
resulted in the creation of Jesus Christ, Atwill wrote the book, Caesar’s
Messiah. The book was also the basis for
a video that Atwill released. Joseph Atwill is not alone; every few years
someone steps forward and claim they have proof that Jesus never existed. This made me wonder what the tarot would say
about Atwill and Jesus Christ himself. The
readers for today’s show included: Ivy Lieberman, Jean Maurie Puhlman, Kea
Hypnosis, Joanne Matthew, and ReeNee Cummins.
So we began with the question “what is more important, the
personage of Jesus Christ and belief in him; or belief in his message?” Across the board, all readers got that the
message of Jesus is the most important.
Ivy read that "the message was presented expecting to change the
world at the time.” Considering how the
Romans treated captive nations, it is easy to see how this message would have
had a big impact. The captives were urged
to take care of each other; to grow into a family of spirit and love. This message is ageless; despite the fact
that we are a free nation, it is still valuable advice.
I then ask about Joseph Atwill. Was he just using his theory to make money,
or was he sincere with his writings. The
cards showed a man who was sincere. He
truly believes that he has made an important discovery. The Reading Room then asked about using holy
books as history. The cards stated that
the books were more about parables or stories that may give direction as to how
to live; to considering these books as factual is problematic. Joanne Matthew said “Sometimes the bible
reminds me of the game, rumor----some stories that just went viral and grew and
grew.” The cards agreed.
In turning to the synchronicities in the cards, the three
Major Arcana cards had a complete message.
We had The Magician, The Star, and the World. The synchronicity stated that the message of
the “Magician” brought hope to the world.
This is not a statement that one religion is better than another, it is
stating that loving and caring for others is a message that applies to the
whole world, no matter the culture or their beliefs. The Magician is an interesting card in this
reading. It could allude to the idea of
a master miracle worker which the Bible claims Jesus Christ had the power. It also speaks of our personal decision to
practice these ideas; that we have the ability to change the world through our
power of compassion.
When we move into the Minor Arcana we start with the Ace of
Swords and the 5 of Swords. Swords deal
with air – with concepts and ideas. The
Ace speaks to a new idea, or an idea whose time had come. The 5 of Swords is about how the idea has
been torn apart and misused. This part
of the reading was surrounded by Pentacles.
It is hard not to look back through history and see how the personage of
Jesus has been used to make money; in some cases control governments. History is riddled with death and misery when
people claim the message without practice.
The cards agree.
Speaking of the Pentacles, we received synchronicities on
the Queen of Pentacles, 4 of Pentacles, and 10 of Pentacles. In additional to the material the Reading
Room derived an additional meaning for the Pentacles – that they also represent
the root of a belief. This adds another dimension
to the reading. How much more secure (10
of Pentacles) would we all be if “love your neighbor as yourself” was the
cornerstone of all society. The 4 of
Pentacles could stand for the idea that one wouldn’t have to horde if society was
sharing. The Queen of Pentacles is the
business woman. The idea of the mother/nurturer
sharing the wealth across society.
We also had synchronicities with the Knight of Wands and the
Queen of Wands. The Queen again speaks
of the root of belief, taking things back to the simple, the root of the belief. The Knight is about making it happen. Taking our power (back to the Magician) and
using it to love others and share what we have.
Now how much better would society be?
You Predict…
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