The Gospels are not Truthful Depictions of History

To examine the Gospels objectively, we need to dig deeper than just reading well-chosen, neatly packaged snippets as typically presented in Christian books and churches. We should assess them in their entirety, who wrote them, what their connections with Yeshua (the real historical Jesus) were, when they were written, and why. Massive holes then appear in the traditional tales.

We do not know the original authors’ true identities, yet they had no known close, genuine connection with Yeshua. They wrote many decades after the events they allegedly described. They may have been under the employee of the Roman government, and they may have written the Gospels to counter messianic Judaism. If this is true billions of Christians over the centuries have been duped, and trillions of human hours have been wasted dwelling on deceitful documents.

 

The original scripts were added to and altered for two hundred years after they were first written. This was inevitable in an age when there were no printing presses and all manuscripts were hand written.

The authors borrowed attractive themes and stories of miracles from existing cults.

All four Gospels are riddled with contradictions.

The authors’ attempts to preach philosophy were amateurish, inconsistent, and frequently flawed. The resurrection is a fairy-tale.

Most of the early Christians, at least the ones who made up the numbers, were drawn from the lower, uneducated classes, and the Gospels were written for them. They were superstitious and credulous, likely to believe almost anything.

Perhaps modern readers, much better educated and informed, should recognize phony reports and poor-quality philosophy for what they are.

Most Christian preachers and apologists know very little about the social, religious and political scene at the time Christianity was created. They rarely allow their authority to be openly questioned, and in order to push their wares insist on the easy argument that faith is necessary. It’s time this stopped.

                                     Today’s Churches have Reinvented Jesus

The Gospel authors created a false Jesus, one who had little relation to the real life political insurgent. Then, throughout history, this Jesus became many different things to people, mutating to suit the needs of the era and the beholder. Today’s Churches have now modernized him again.

Spin-doctors have turned Jesus into a loveable character. Yet the Jesus in the Gospels hardly fits this manufactured image. He was intolerant of the unbeliever, whom he threatened with the sword and hellfire. It is tragic that he gave license to the killing of millions of heretics, nonbelievers and other innocents over the centuries. Christians today gloss over the fact he was a bigot who promoted violence.

Jesus was an ascetic who advocated the single life. He considered it more important to follow an ideology than to have a family, and implied that sexuality was an impediment for entry into heaven. Today, Churches rarely quote Jesus calling out to give up your family or castrate yourself to get into heaven.

Today we rarely hear Jesus say,

“Blessed are the poor” or

“Sell everything you own and give the money to the poor.”

The institutions ignore this message, as most of them have a love of money, and are always asking for more. The Vatican has amassed so many riches that it is now one of the wealthiest institutions in the world. Some Pentecostal churches have even somehow reinvented Jesus’ message to mean he wants people to be materially successful.

Jesus told people to be like children by just believing. He badmouthed the value of critical thought. In the past, this has suited churches that found it easier to control people who did not think for themselves. Nowadays, they usually cannot get away with preaching this, so after over fifteen hundred years suppressing secular education, science, and medicine, some churches have refashioned Jesus into someone who wants people to get an education, discover the world, and be proactive with their health.

Modern churches have turned Jesus into a good friend, yet he sometimes stated he was not interested in anyone who was not Jewish. They claim he is there for everyone and will help one and all in times of need. Yet dead people can’t help anyone.

Today’s churches claim Jesus provides the path to happiness, yet Jesus offered a heavenly reward to people who were poor and miserable.

Churches claim that the God of the Torah, the “God of wrath,” has been replaced by the Christian “God of love.” Yeshua, if he ever existed, was a Jew, so knew only one god; the Yahweh of the Torah. His puppet in the Gospels never claimed God had any such change in his personality.

Today’s Christian spin-doctors have created an image of Jesus that rescues him from his own story.