I'd like to deal with this one.
Studied where? "Jesus" if he ever existed (which I doubt) was referred to as a "tekton" which pious xtians have tried to translate as "carpenter" but which really seems to mean "builder." Here is a photo of Sepphoris, a city re-built during jesus' alleged lifetime and just a few kilometers from the purported site of "Nazareth."
http://wakeforestpilgrimage.files.wordpr...l4-018.jpg
See a lot of trees that would be suitable for "carpentry?" People built houses out of stone. Calling jesus a carpenter soothes xtian vanity by putting their godboy into a whole other social class of tradesmen rather than a common worker...no "prosperity gospel" for this fellow! The absence of any obvious "city" for Nazareth in the early first century is another nail in the coffin of this myth. There might have been some books in a city but a miserable agricultural hamlet? No way. Books were exceedingly expensive and some shlepper would not be found with one nor, given the general illiteracy rates of ancient societies, would he have been able to read it.
I'm afraid this image of jesus the great torah scholar was stolen from Josephus' "Life" in which he made similar claims for himself. The obvious difference is that Josephus was from a wealthy family and WAS literate.
Quote:3. Jesus studied scripture to such an extent he was able to offer plausible reinterpretations of the old testament consistent with his own moral observations of the real world.
Studied where? "Jesus" if he ever existed (which I doubt) was referred to as a "tekton" which pious xtians have tried to translate as "carpenter" but which really seems to mean "builder." Here is a photo of Sepphoris, a city re-built during jesus' alleged lifetime and just a few kilometers from the purported site of "Nazareth."
http://wakeforestpilgrimage.files.wordpr...l4-018.jpg
See a lot of trees that would be suitable for "carpentry?" People built houses out of stone. Calling jesus a carpenter soothes xtian vanity by putting their godboy into a whole other social class of tradesmen rather than a common worker...no "prosperity gospel" for this fellow! The absence of any obvious "city" for Nazareth in the early first century is another nail in the coffin of this myth. There might have been some books in a city but a miserable agricultural hamlet? No way. Books were exceedingly expensive and some shlepper would not be found with one nor, given the general illiteracy rates of ancient societies, would he have been able to read it.
I'm afraid this image of jesus the great torah scholar was stolen from Josephus' "Life" in which he made similar claims for himself. The obvious difference is that Josephus was from a wealthy family and WAS literate.
