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Actually, a lot of the Christian theology that was codified in the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E. was neither from the Jerusalem Church nor from Paul: it originated in an entirely different religious movement, the religion of Mithra, which arose in Iran around 100 B.C.E. Mithra was a god of light who sacrificed himself for the redemption of the human race. And the religion taught that Mithra was born in a cave on 25 December. This cult gained a large following among the Roman middle classes during the centuries before Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. As far as the historic Yeshua is concerned: there is no doubt in my mind that Jesus of the gospels is what is known in literature as a composite character. One element is the wandering preacher, which in Arabic is called a "darwish." To this day, Sufi mystic preachers gather a few followers and wander about, preaching in bazaars to whomever will listen and contribute. One common feature, described in the poetry of Jalal ad-Din Rumi, the apostle of Sufism, as well as in the gospels, is writing in the sand. I saw a darwish come into the bazar in Kerman (in east central Iran) with his entourage and begin preaching. Near Kerman is one of the most revered of Sufi shrines, the Shah-e Neamatollah. There is no doubt in my mind that part of the Jesus character, as well as his cousin John the Baptist, is a darwish. Others more knowledgeable than I have discussed the Jewish nationalist whose life ended on a cross with two...what? thieves? Or zealot comrades? But that is another aspect of the composite Jesus character. And the third is Mithra himself, the light of the world, who died to redeem all humanity from evil. However, it is all speculation, because we have no written record from the time in question, which is surprising, considering the meticulous records which the Romans kept. One thing I noticed about Islam when I was traveling in the Middle East, which I think applies to all religions, especially in that part of the world: the Arabic word for religion is "ad-Din," which also means "obligation." For us in the post-bourgeois revolution West, religion is "faith." In the Middle East it is "obligation." I'm reminded of Reb Tevye in the Prologue of "Fiddler on the Roof," who explains about the Jews: "Because of our tradition, each one of us knows who he is and what G-d expects him to do." For the Muslims, and I think for the Greek (and Russian) Orthodox Christians, it is the same. And it became clear to me: religion fundamentally is a way of making people do what the ruling class would like them to do without using violence to force them. And this is what the Emperor Constantine the Great understood: the old Roman religion, based on the Twelve Gods of Mt. Olympus plus each family's "Lares et Penates" (essentially the deified ancestors), no longer was adequate to hold Roman society together. A new state religion was needed, and Constantine chose Christianity, but Christianity was so theologically varied that it was necessary to define what it was that the new religion believed. That was done by the bishops who met at Nicaea in 325. The leader of the victorious Orthodox faction was Athenasius, Bishop of Alexandria, who wrote the new religions statement of belief. It begins: "I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible..." and it is known to Christians as the Nicene Creed. It is recited by all good Catholics and Anglicans as part of the Mass. There is a lot more that could be said about Christianity in its earliest years; in fact many books have been written about it. I would recommend Professor Elaine Pagels's books as a good start. She is an expert on the texts which were discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt, which are some of the oldest Christian texts ever found and which were rejected by the Council of Nicaea to be part of the Christian canon of Holy Scripture. -Tom -----Original Message----- From: marxism-bounces+biastg=embarqmail....@lists.econ.utah.edu [mailto:marxism-bounces+biastg=embarqmail....@lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Nasir Khan Sent: Friday, December 25, 2009 5:19 PM To: Thomas Bias Subject: Re: [Marxism] Have a happy and merry December 25 ====================================================================== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ====================================================================== If I have understood Jim Farmelant correctly, then he certainly has in mind Jesus' birthday on December 25 who, in his view, is 'one of the greatest men, whose teachings continue to benefit the entire human race'. Such a postulation is based on two premises. But we don't know when that historic person, Jesus, was born. To ascribe the 25th December as his date of birth belongs to the later history of the Church. The assertion that his teachings continue to benefit the entire human race is without any historical foundation. In fact, what people assume to be the teachings of Jesus is in fact the version of Pauline theology: Jesus has nothing to do what Paul preached. Paul's teachings become known as Christianity. Whatever Jesus stood for and preached was followed in the Jerusalem Church. But with the defeat of the the Jewish revolt and the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. the Jerusalem Church came to an end. That also meant the end of the Jesus movement. But the end of Jerusalem Church was the victory of Paul and his cult of 'divine Jesus'. Jesus was replaced with Pauline theology and this subsequently became known as Christianity. It has very little to do with the apocalyptic Jewish teacher, Joshua (Jesus). I leave the discussion of the point whether the so-called teachings of Jesus benefit the entire human race. Anyone with any understanding of world history will be surprised to hear that. On Fri, Dec 25, 2009 at 1:01 PM, Jim Farmelant <farmela...@juno.com> wrote: > ====================================================================== > Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > ====================================================================== > > > > Today, as the world pauses on the birthday of one of history's greatest > men, whose teachings continue to benefit the entire human race, > let us join in toasting the memory of Sir Isaac Newton, and of all > the giants on whose shoulders he stood. > > Jim Farmelant > ____________________________________________________________ > Diet Help > Cheap Diet Help Tips. Click here. > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=ebxJW8tgEy7tFtQ3G1s-0AAAJ1BRug I4sJACAWmXIev8NAFPAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYQAAAAAA= > ________________________________________________ > Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu > Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/naskha3%40gmail.com > ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/biastg%40embarqmail.com ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
