Prof. Barbara Thiering died in 2015. Her book "Jesus The Man,"
was a revolutionary and controversial work which became an
international Bestseller, translated into nine foreign languages.
This book was a radical challenge to the established orthodoxy
about historical Christianity, the virgin birth, the miracles,
and the Resurrection.

It predictably met with a storm of controversy. Prof. Thiering
coped with courage and strong mindedness. She had a clear vision
and would not compromise. It was a mark of her belief in the
importance of her insight over social acceptability. She wrote
many other books and she received both adulation and of course
hostility but she kept going nevertheless.

Unless you have read the book you are in no position to comment
on it or to judge its contents.

Dr Leonie Star writes:

The views of innovative thinkers add value to every society. Only
by questioning traditional beliefs can those beliefs be either
reaffirmed or modified. That the connections between the Dead
Sea Scrolls and the gospels have been either downplayed or totally
rejected by other scholars does nothing to invalidate Thiering's
argument. There is no doubt that some find difficulty in accepting
her reasoning, despite its meticulous documentation, because what
is being examined is a matter of faith as much as a scholarly
hypothesis. But to many, who recorded their reactions to the
documentary, Jesus emerges from her investigations as greater than
he appeared before.

This is Thiering's approach. She sees the fresh view of the
origins of Christianity which emerges from the integration of
diverse material as an exciting chapter in the history of
Christian thought - it subsequently forms an integral part of the
necessary and ongoing reform of the religion.

Whatever religious conclusions are reached by individuals, what
remains unimpeachable is the quality of Thiering's scholarship.
With the background to her research presented in her book in
fine detail, her hypotheses deserves the serious attention of all
those interested in a concept fundamental to western civilisation,
the origins of Christianity."

I've never read Thiering's work BUT you can see Issy attack like the Pharisees do with all women...

Don't be a woman in Christianity with an opinion and studies to back it up they'll attack you like they did Mary Magdalene...

They may not call you a prostitute but they will always invoke evil Paul to shut women up. How do women fall for these evil Paulians let alone attend their churches...

Talk about undermining your own gender and letting the male believers walk all over you. WAKE UP! Ladies!

As I said earlier the religions defamed Mary Magdalene so people wouldn't think of investigating the facts. Then you add Pharisee Paul's oppression of women to the mix and voila... almost a perfect storm against women...

Three small things and you have it.

A bunch of Bible scholars, like Josephus, who are led by the nose all around the truth by their wrong beliefs, and men like menstrual man NNN who stop thinking completely and then finally women who will believe anything and accept the oppression and away you go.

The Abrahamic religions were always anti-women and guess what if you don't believe it they will destroy you with false stories until you do...lmao If they get really upset they'll call you a prostitute and say you defile men.

Voila...Oppression 101

Paul was so bad he even taught the opposite to Jesus' wonderful teaching of the Prodigal son.

Hebrews 6:4-4 For IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

Paul lied about everything!... And the lies by believers and Preachers continue....They love the money!

Seeing the cold hard facts have been laid bare for hoodwinked Paulians, let's finish up with more truths about Paul the Oppressor.

He was a thief who got caught with his hands in the collection plate...

2 Corinthians 11:8 I ROBBED OTHER CHURCHES, taking wages of them, to do you service.

All's good though, it's Paul.....He stole for your sake...lmao

And what of Paul's supposed conversion...

WHO HEARD AND SAW WHAT?

Acts 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; BUT THEY HEARD NOT THE VOICE OF HIM THAT SPAKE TO ME.

OR

Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, HEARING A VOICE, BUT SEEING NO MAN.

Both can't be correct...BUT I know you believers will get it wrong anyway!...I have faith in you all!

I'm telling you...You have all been hoodwinked and you refuse to see it...The power of the lies you have been indoctrinated with can only be defeated by the facts that people like me show you.

Jesus hated the Pharisees...and you believers have become them...lmao

Having been down this road to enlightenment now....You guys have a simple choice...Follow your Jesus or continue denying him through your religion.

Believers should not trust Methane John of Patmos and his transparent lined streets of gold and the 144,000 gay guys for Jesus...lol

It's all rubbish and it continues in the Pharisaical discrimination of women...

And you dare call yourselves Christian...lmao

REMEMBER! You heard it here first!

Jesus isn't coming back...You guys simply aren't worthy whatsoever...lmao

Men don't come back from death and Jesus was just a man that you evil ones promoted to God...lmao

So there is still intreast in the origional topic. Glad to see that. Though I'd like to read and be part of that discussion I'll leave. There's at least one poster here that can't talk about anything else except lies and slander itowards Christianity, if there's a Christian in the conversation. He's already tried to bury the conversation topic once. He won't quit until I leave the conversation.

Good luck on the topic. There is life after death.

Hi Foxy, a real piece of wisdom by Dr Leonie Star;

"The views of innovative thinkers adds value to every society"

Unfortunately there are those in society who deride any innovative thinking, and that includes many of the religious. Those that close their minds, and rely on archaic teachings which promote falsehoods and superstitions. We have a number of those on this forum.

I liked your bit on Jesus, maybe the whole crucifixion story is a big lie. Possibly Jesus did live beyond 70 years of age and died peaceably in his bed at some retirement village for old messiah's in Rome, while watching a re-run of 'Bubba Ho-Tep' or possibly the 'Life of Brian'.

Something rarely mentioned, besides the accepted Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, there are numerous other Gospels hidden away by the Catholic Church in Rome. These include text by Thomas, Philip, James, even Judas and Mary among others.

"In a pastoral letter of AD 367, Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria specified 27 books to be read in churches. This list eventually came to be generally accepted as the canon of the New Testament, although the matter was not finally settled until the fifth or sixth century, and even then was not accepted by all."

"The four familiar gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were the specific gospels of specific factions. For example we know that the Ebionites used Matthew, certain Gnostics used Mark, the Marcionites used a form of Luke, and the Valentinians used John2. In some cases gospels may well have been written by, and for such factions."

Interesting the origins of the Gospels, they certainly were not written by anyone directly associated with Jesus.

Again we have the speculators and mockers voicing their opinions. Because it suits their personal agenda. I have all the contemporary writings to the OT from 600 BC, the Dead Sea scrolls, official letters from Rome, Josephus, Philo, Pliny and Church fathers to the fourth Century AD. In these there are quotes given by writers in the second century AD from NT documents. Luke a converted Gentile and reputable Doctor in the second century using existing script compiled a full account of the life and death of Jesus from birth to death, and disappearance. The three eye witnesses of Jesus Matthew, Mark and John have not collaborated on the story. They are forensic accounts of what they heard and witnessed, hence the small discrepancies in minor details, and different accounts. No account has Jesus married to Mary Magdalene, that is a modern story line of a movie, and doctoring of scripts.