Historical Jesus and Appointment in Jerusalem

[lab]

Has anyone read this?

I just finished this book and would like to hear what others think of it.

I recently began studying christian history and really wish I had read this book before reading The Jesus Mysteries.

I enjoyed Appointment in Jerusalem.

What was the 'face' of Jesus that you most identified with?

What 'face' of Jesus did you least identify with?

I really enjoyed the Jesus as a Zealot idea - of course that is assuming Jesus was an historical figure!!!!

( I have just GOT to talk to somebody about this! - My mom told me to Shutup the other day!)

[Nelybel]

uh-oh - another book to read. I'm in the middle of 'The Jesus Mysteries' right now...and am reeling a bit. LOL I seem to have recovered my balance and am enjoying it. Would love to talk about it as well...would scare my dh and/or family silly if I talked about it to them. (Sigh) I'm hoping someone else has read the book you mention as well. Am always looking for more good stuff to read.

Thanks for the suggestion.
J

[lab]

Girl! I know exactly what you mean!

You know I wish I read Appointment in Jerusalem first.

I started this journey simply searching for answers after a lifetime of being indoctrinated in the Baptist church. The Jesus Mysteries was too much to handle, it assumes Jesus didn't actually exist and it shook me to my core. I swear, I felt so completely bare. It literally tore me down and now I feel like I'm building back up. Which is not a bad thing. I think though, that reading Appointment in Jerusalem would have been an easier start.


Good Luck! It is really freeing being able to internalize the information and feel like things finally make sense.

I should start a thread on that!

[DaryLLL]

lab, it took me a few mins to understand whaich book you were talking abut. I thought Historical Jesus was in its title.

Can I make a request? Whan reccing a book, can you (plural you) put the title in bold type or otherwise indicate its title? And maybe give the author's name? Thanks!

Now, on to your subject. Even tho I have not read the book.

I love Jesus Mysteries and its sequel, Jesus and the Lost Goddess. Frankly I find it surprising so few people in this culture can entertain the idea that Jesus is a mythological figure. And look at the gospels stories as myths with meaning, not as accurate objective history.

If you bother to read Paul, you can see (in his authentic letters), he was talking about an indwelling spirit, not a flesh and blood rabbi.

Just went to amazon to see about this book. Is the one you are talking about by Lydia Prince? It does not seem to be about a HJ, but about one woman's spiritual journey in the 1920's. It is from the 70's, out of print.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

[lab]

Sorry DarryLLL!

The guy who wrote it is Max Dimont and you actually recommended him to me by way of another book he wrote. I think it was something about the Historical Jesus? Anyway, because you had given me his name this book came up. Very interesting. It basically gives 'faces' of Jesus.

I'll post more later. I need to go do the bedtime routine now!

[DaryLLL]

thanks, lab. I have never read anything by Dimont. ???

[lab]

Hmmm, I must have gotten you confused with someone else who recommended him to me. Sorry!

Max I Dimont wrote, Jews God and History
and The Indestructible Jews

It's very interesting. He seemed to have a dim sort of view of Gnostics, which I didn't entirely agree with. He also had a very interesting take on Jesus as self-fulfilling his prophecy and the prophecy of the Old Test and literally planning his crucifixion down to the very hour. That was just one of the 'faces'. Another was Jesus as a zealot. He referred to the taking of the temple as a 'terrorist' act. I quoted that because he didn't actually say those exact words but it is implied.

I could go on but I'll wait for someone to read it!

I like it because it is a nice warm up for those who are searching. It sort of eases you into questioning Jesus. Whereas the Jesus Mysteries just jumps into the idea that Jesus never existed. Which is in fact probably true, it's just that that is hard to take for someone who really never thought outside the box!

[Nelybel]

Sorry in advance...this will be rambley as it is late and I'm really tired tonight. But I've been thinking about posting here as I'm currently reading The Jesus Mysteries (in small bits while nursing). Unlike Lab it wasn't my first exposure to the idea. I had already begun doing a lot of questioning about the nature of G-d and how much we anthropomorphize that which we call G-d. Obviously that would lead to some question about Jesus being the actual Son of....

Then, I read "Meeting Jesus again for the first Time" by Marcus Borg. Silly me, I read it right before Christmas and it sort of put a bittersweet spin on my favorite time of year. LOL It was good though...lots of food for thought. I liked how he talked about Jesus as a rebel for his time.

I just finished "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism" by Spong and thought it a good read...but annoyingly slim on sources. I think it is just meant to be an introduction but I would have liked more documentation backing up his statements. (Sorry - I'm deep into writing my thesis so tend to notice stuff like that right now. Probably wouldn't care so much normally. Its just that he makes some provocative statements and doesn't footnote a one of them.)

Anyhoo - all this to say that the "Jesus Mysteries" still threw me a bit at first. However, its really starting to make some interesting connections for me and I think it is definitely worth considering. However, it does bring up a lot of heavy stuff for me which I don't have time or energy to go into right now. I agree with you Lab - the old environment and 'conditioning' (if you will) is tough to break through sometimes.

So - just a few thoughts and questions that are occurring to me right now. Anyone feel free to jump in and address them any which way. Its really interesting learning more than a thumbnail sketch about Gnosticism. I suppose its just a semantic issue, but I do have a bit of a negative reaction to the use of the word 'secret' that comes up so much. 'Secret' knowledge somehow sets my teeth on edge. I like better the explanation that uses the idea of spiritual maturation or evolution to greater understanding...or layers of understanding. Why that word...and why does it bug me so much? Somehow it cheapens it (gnosticism) to me. Makes it sound like some sort of grade-school club.

I'm really starting to get excited about the connections between Paganism and Christianity (in its many forms). Was watching something about Buddhists tonight on TV and noticed some parallels there as well. Fits in with my gut feeling that all paths, however imperfectly followed, lead to some sort of ultimate truth or good.

Actually, for quite a few years I've carried around the fanciful notion that all the world's great religious leaders...Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, etc....(those well known and those not so well-known) are people who are somehow spiritually gifted. Somewhat like there are great geniuses (whatever that means...nother whole topic) in music or science or art. That there are some people that are just 'tuned in' to the spiritual more than others. Hope that doesn't offend anyone...to lump everyone together like that. Just an idea of mine and I'm musing tonight.

OK - this is really rambling and I really need to get some sleep. Thanks for 'listening'.

J