A New World Order

warning....please don't read if you are easily offended, the management




A New World Order. Those are scary words for a lot of people, but in many ways the birth of Christ turned the Western world upside down. Many have claimed that Jesus never existed and is only a man of myth. Or at best a Poet Peasant. But many who have studied myth and history have taken notice that the Gospels are not written as Myth and are meant to be taken in a historical context. Dates, events, names and cities are prominent throughout all the Gospels, most noteably Luke , which is the most vivid account of Jesus's Birth.

For a little background , History back in the time of Jesus had an oral as well as a written tradition. A lot of Roman history was written by Tacitus and a secular history of the Jews was written by Josephus. But even with the best of evidence and relevant accounts of an event there are usually differences. And this is key and you should pay close attention here. Lets say you stumbled upon an accident and wondered what happened. If there were witnesses and you talked to each person separately and individually, you would become suspicious if they all said the same thing word for word and with the same emphasis. Our experience tells us that as unique persons, we tend to see things from " our perspective". We would start to wonder ,did they conspire? Were they collaborating? As humans, not everyone's analysis and view of an account is 100% similar. Another way of looking at it would be that as Americans , we see our Independence from England as a good and patriotic event. England would "document" the battle as treason and an insurrection. Events in Bible times are no different. There is evidence where there were battles where each side claimed victory to its people. It was easier then. Now days we have cameras and even then there are differences of opinion. Such as the case of Global Warming. I think you are getting the picture. Arriving at the truth is pretty complicated and often subjective. It can depend on who is writing the account.

So, here we have Luke writing about the birth of Jesus stacking his account with names, places, dates and events. Pretty foolish really, if you are trying to pass a fraud to the people where they can easily disprove your claim then and now. What has happened with archeology and the sophistication of dating and discovery of old manuscripts, historians can and do piece accounts together and considering their temperments arrive at conclusions, sometimes differing with the same evidence. Remember OJ's glove? Well the prosecution thought they had him. But his struggle to put them on left the impression of doubt. See what I mean?

I mean even with eye witnesses there are those that think the Pentagon was hit with a missle and not an airplane on 9/11. Please...no CIA bringing down the Twin Towers here....

So I always find it a little ridiculous when skeptics put the Scriptures through the hoops when 100% certainty is not really possible. Did John Wilkes Booth really assasinate Lincoln and who really shot JFK?

Some doubted that there was ever a census taken by Augustus Caesar of the Palestinian province. And they had reason to believe this until a papyrus was uncovered that showed evidence of a census. Hey, some even doubted Pontius Pilate was real until a monument was excavated with his name on it . ...but I am getting ahead of myself. It seemed that Augustus was disappointed that the Romans were not having babies. Men were staying bachelors ( like today alarmingly ) He even wrote..

What shall I call you? Men? But you aren't fulfilling the duties of men. Citizens? But for all your efforts , the city is perishing. Romans? But you are in the process of blotting out his name all together! ... What humanity would be left if all the rest of mankind should do what you are doing? ... You are committing murder in not fathering in the first place those who ought to be your decendents! ( recorded by Dio Cassius )

A census would not only work to gather taxes but would also indicate the multiplication of its citizens. Some claim that the census date is too early ( 8BC ) to coincide with the birth of Jesus around 5 -6BC. But there was no FEDEX back then and the process was slower in gathering information and it is within reason that the census would start in Rome first and spread out to the provinces next.

Also, the dating process of Christs birth is pretty hard to determine . What we are sure of is that it is not December 25 although there is strong evidence that it was late fall or winter. That it falls during the festival of " Io Saturnalia" is a result of Christianity becoming the official religion of Rome after Constantine declared it so. Many trappings that Christians are fond of are really carry overs from this Pagan Festival. This includes Holly, mistletoe , evergreens, the exchange of gifts , and much feasting and drinking. Things really have not changed much...really.


So what about that star. Dr. Maier claims that the greek word used for "star", aster, can mean any luminous body, including a comet, meteor, nova or planet. Nothing impressed the ancients more than comets and planets. Also , Superstition and omens were a big deal in ancient times and how the stars lined up in the Heavens had a huge impact on decision making. Cicero writes that the Roman Senate, for one, never made a decision without looking for good omens and consulting oracles. Weeks would go by without a decision if the signs were not favorable ( maybe we should return to that practice....hmmmm) . Astrology was serious business and was practiced by the Persians ( Iran ) and the Babylonians. Just imagine what it was like back then. No city lights at night to obscure the Milky Way and other astral displays. Many have wondered if the conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter around 7BC was the star. But data compiled by ancient Chinese astronomers are now giving us evidence that there was a significant comet in 5 BC. In any event it would not be unrealistic to have " Magi" or astrologers seeing this display as a significant event. The rotation of the Earth would give the appearance of the star moving towards Palestine.

The fact is, we all make decisions based on the best existant evidence at the time. No one, and I mean no one would get married if they had to be 100% sure about how it would turrn out in the future. As Kierkegaard famously postulated, eventually we must make the leap of faith.

More to come. What about Mary? And why is Bethlehem significant?