Richard Aberdeen
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- Joined
- Jun 4, 2026
- Messages
- 143
Isaiah prophesies that Messiah would have "no form or comeliness. And when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him" Isaiah 53:2. Many if not most historians agree Jesus was probably dark, short, unkempt by modern standards and according to Isaiah was unattractive, having nothing exceptional in regards to his physical appearance.
Based on the two genealogies available, Jesus was mostly Jewish but of mixed ancestry, which should forever silence any foolish notion of racial superiority. It is probably safe to assume that Jesus wasn't at all like he has been portrayed in most paintings, photographs and motion pictures. Other than from Isaiah, the only legitimate description we have of Jesus is found in John 1:14: "And the logos became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth."
According to historians, there were at least three and possibly more genealogical methods in use in First Century Greco-Roman society. Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus through Mary all the way to Adam, whereas Matthew traces Joseph only to King David. In both genealogies there are some names that are identical, not because they are necessarily the same person, but because the same name was frequently given throughout Hebrew history to different individuals, just as in American society today, the name Robert has been given to many different Americans.
Jesus seems to have been born sometime between 6 BC and 4 AD, perhaps 5 BC, depending on which scholar one chooses to believe. Most likely, he was not born in December. The New Testament says he began teaching about the age of thirty and, because age estimations were not exact, Jesus probably died sometime between age 31 and 39. His twelve main chosen followers were probably either around his age or younger.
Jesus later choose many more primary followers and it is unclear whether some of them were female. What is clear is that Jesus had an inner circle of women who traveled with him and helped take care of his needs, which appears to have been contrary to what was considered socially acceptable in First Century Jewish society. Apparently, so-called 'proper' women of that society were expected to stay within the immediate vicinity of their own home unless accompanied by a male family member.
The Greek "mathetai", wrongly left as "disciples" in most English bibles, simply means students and/or followers and, it should be translated as "followers" or "student/followers" to avoid confusion. It is often unclear within the narratives of Jesus how many people are being referred to when this term is used. We know from the narratives that Jesus was the firstborn among at least four brothers and apparently three or more sisters: "Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" Matthew 13:55-56.
Although that might be considered as a large family today, it may have been about average for working-class First Century Palestine. Mary Magdalene, sometimes portrayed as a prostitute and/or lover of Jesus, was most likely not a prostitute and, neither a wife or sexual partner of Jesus. His own words strongly imply he was celibate Matthew 19:12.
Jesus in various places is said to be hungry, thirsty, tired, angry and sad and thus, there is a very human side to Jesus found in the New Testament, rather than being some kind of unbelievable superman type of character. He repeatedly refers to himself as "son of man". It appears that Jesus wanted his followers to identify with this very human side of himself, perhaps because we cannot otherwise relate to God very well in the larger universal sense, other than like Jesus teaches us, as "our father in heaven."
Unlike Catholicism insists, there is no indication in the New Testament that Mary the mother of Jesus was in any way, innately different than any other woman ever born on earth. There have been several recorded virgin still births among human populations and, many live successful virgin births among various kinds of animals.
As such, any scientist, educator or anyone else who claims they know for a fact that our Creator and father in heaven could not have been behind a human virgin birth, is truly only deceiving themselves. Mary may have been 12-15 years of age when giving birth to Jesus, an age of marriage common in her society.
It is possible there may have been successful human virgin births somewhere in the past other than Jesus, as the vast majority of human civilization history remains unknown. In many societies, a virgin finding herself with child may well have been hidden by her family, with any knowledge of such an event suppressed and never recorded.
This can be seen in the Jesus narrative of Joseph wanting to put Mary away privately, presumably a common human reaction within societies frowning upon birth out of wedlock (true of a great many historical as well as many modern societies). Experienced historians are aware that often what is thought to be 'myth' is discovered by later evidence to be true history; King David being one of many such supposed mythological examples, recently declared to have been a real historical person based on what is now irrefutable evidence.
In Search of the Real Jesus
Link Deleted
Based on the two genealogies available, Jesus was mostly Jewish but of mixed ancestry, which should forever silence any foolish notion of racial superiority. It is probably safe to assume that Jesus wasn't at all like he has been portrayed in most paintings, photographs and motion pictures. Other than from Isaiah, the only legitimate description we have of Jesus is found in John 1:14: "And the logos became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth."
According to historians, there were at least three and possibly more genealogical methods in use in First Century Greco-Roman society. Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus through Mary all the way to Adam, whereas Matthew traces Joseph only to King David. In both genealogies there are some names that are identical, not because they are necessarily the same person, but because the same name was frequently given throughout Hebrew history to different individuals, just as in American society today, the name Robert has been given to many different Americans.
Jesus seems to have been born sometime between 6 BC and 4 AD, perhaps 5 BC, depending on which scholar one chooses to believe. Most likely, he was not born in December. The New Testament says he began teaching about the age of thirty and, because age estimations were not exact, Jesus probably died sometime between age 31 and 39. His twelve main chosen followers were probably either around his age or younger.
Jesus later choose many more primary followers and it is unclear whether some of them were female. What is clear is that Jesus had an inner circle of women who traveled with him and helped take care of his needs, which appears to have been contrary to what was considered socially acceptable in First Century Jewish society. Apparently, so-called 'proper' women of that society were expected to stay within the immediate vicinity of their own home unless accompanied by a male family member.
The Greek "mathetai", wrongly left as "disciples" in most English bibles, simply means students and/or followers and, it should be translated as "followers" or "student/followers" to avoid confusion. It is often unclear within the narratives of Jesus how many people are being referred to when this term is used. We know from the narratives that Jesus was the firstborn among at least four brothers and apparently three or more sisters: "Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?" Matthew 13:55-56.
Although that might be considered as a large family today, it may have been about average for working-class First Century Palestine. Mary Magdalene, sometimes portrayed as a prostitute and/or lover of Jesus, was most likely not a prostitute and, neither a wife or sexual partner of Jesus. His own words strongly imply he was celibate Matthew 19:12.
Jesus in various places is said to be hungry, thirsty, tired, angry and sad and thus, there is a very human side to Jesus found in the New Testament, rather than being some kind of unbelievable superman type of character. He repeatedly refers to himself as "son of man". It appears that Jesus wanted his followers to identify with this very human side of himself, perhaps because we cannot otherwise relate to God very well in the larger universal sense, other than like Jesus teaches us, as "our father in heaven."
Unlike Catholicism insists, there is no indication in the New Testament that Mary the mother of Jesus was in any way, innately different than any other woman ever born on earth. There have been several recorded virgin still births among human populations and, many live successful virgin births among various kinds of animals.
As such, any scientist, educator or anyone else who claims they know for a fact that our Creator and father in heaven could not have been behind a human virgin birth, is truly only deceiving themselves. Mary may have been 12-15 years of age when giving birth to Jesus, an age of marriage common in her society.
It is possible there may have been successful human virgin births somewhere in the past other than Jesus, as the vast majority of human civilization history remains unknown. In many societies, a virgin finding herself with child may well have been hidden by her family, with any knowledge of such an event suppressed and never recorded.
This can be seen in the Jesus narrative of Joseph wanting to put Mary away privately, presumably a common human reaction within societies frowning upon birth out of wedlock (true of a great many historical as well as many modern societies). Experienced historians are aware that often what is thought to be 'myth' is discovered by later evidence to be true history; King David being one of many such supposed mythological examples, recently declared to have been a real historical person based on what is now irrefutable evidence.
In Search of the Real Jesus
Link Deleted
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