The Jesus Itinerary

[Godscreated]

Well if you insist DP can you prove it's not history?

A slaughter of all the infants around Jerusalem with no mention of it anywhere else.

Yeah, sounds like a history book to me.

First of all I did not say the Gospels were books of history, I've never said the Bible is a book of history, what I have stated was that it contains history and archaeologist have used the Bible to find many places because there were no other reliable sources. No the Bible is not meant to be a history book, yet it contains history within it.

Let's take a look at Herod the Great and the infants that were killed and why there was no supposed recording of the event.
First we'll look at Josephus and his lack of good historical record keeping. Josephus writing at the end of the first century AD may have not heard of the slaughter of the boys. Also, there was pivotal events in the first century AD Josephus did not record.
1) The Golden Roman Shields in Jerusalem which was the cause of the bad blood between Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, Philo of Alexandria recorded this event. ( Embassy to Gaius 38:299-305; Maier 1996:109-121)
2) Josephus got some of his information from Nicolas of Damascus, who was Herod the Great's friend and personal historian. Nicolas may not have recorded such a tragic event to protect his friend and his own life. ( Brown 1993:226, footnote 34)

Professor William F. Albright, the dean of American archaeology in the Holy Land, estimates the population of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus birth to be around 300 people. (Albright and Mann 1971:19) The number of male children from new born up to 2 years old, 6 or 7. (Maier 1998:178, footnote 25) The killing of these boys would not be very note worth considering what was going on at the time.

Herod's reputation by history: Josephus did not record the murder of the boys by Herod the Great, however he recorded a number of murders by Herod the Great in order to keep his throne secure.
Herod's killings after he captured Jerusalem- his Hasmonean predecessors- Mattathias Antigonus executed, Herod killed 45 leading men of Antgonus party in 37 BC. (Antiquities 15:5-10; LCL 8:5-7)
Herod killed by strangling the elderly John Hycanus II in 30 BC. (Antiquities 15:173-178; LCL 8:83-85)
Herod killed his brother-in-law Aristobulus who was an 18 year old High Priest. He had him drowned in 35 BC. (Antiquities 15:50-56; LCL 8:25-29; Netzer 2001:21-25)
Herod killed his mother-in-law, Alexandra in 28 BC (Antiquities 15:222-236; LCL 8:107-113.
Herod setup a spy network to eliminate people suspected of revolt, most disappearing at Hyrcania. (Antiquities 15:365-372; LCL 8:177-181)
Herod killed three of his sons, two in 7 BC, one five days before Herod's death. (Antiquities 16:392-394 and 17:182-187)
Herod became very paranoid the last 4 years of his life, (8-4 BC) in 7 BC he had 300 military leaders executed. (Antiquities 16:393-394; LCL 8:365)
On another occasion Herod killed several Pharisees for a prophecy against him. (Antiquities 17:42-45; LCL 8:393)
Herod tried to kill many notable Jews upon his death, however his sister Salome rescind the order to kill them at the moment of his death.
Herod had a historical/psychological analysis and he was diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder. (Kasher and Witztum 2007:431) In the early 1980's psychiatrists and psychologists examined Herod's life and diagnosed him as a paranoind schizophrenic.

Now for what you said was never recorded in history: Macrobius in 400 AD, who was one of the last pagan writers in Rome wrote: When it was heard that, as a part of the slaughter of boys up to two years old, Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered his son killed, he the Emperor Augustus remarked, it is better to be Herod's pig, than his son. Herod would not kill a pig because he kept kosher among the Jews; yet he had no problem killing his own sons.

I believe it's more reasonable to believe Herod did murder those boys because of the history recorded and expert diagnosis of his mental health, than to believe Joseph had a house in Bethlehem. Can you bring this kind of evidence about the house you suppose Joseph owned in Bethlehem.

GC

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There is no unbroken day-by-day chronology of events in the Johannine Gospel which would prevent Jesus from having been out in the wilderness prior to John 1:29.

What Bible are you reading? JtB makes it clear he is seeing JC for the first time at that point. JC couldn't have had his wilderness adventures with Satan prior because the Synoptics maintain this happened after his meeting with JtB.

John
1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;
1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.
1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me
1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

I don't know how he could be more clear that this is the day the two met and the next day...

You Both are reading the same Bible, you DP need to carefully read those passages again, they do not state that John is meeting Jesus for the first time. What John is saying, that at some past point they met and he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus and he says this is when he knew this was Christ the Son of God. There is no reference to the Holy Spirit coming upon Jesus at the time of these verses, it's clear the experience happened some time earlier than this. These verses most likely occupy the time right after the 40 days in the desert and the ministry of Jesus by the angels.

GC