History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

Average customer rating:

Interesting but perhaps a rigid perspective
A good read, but better for Bible studies than academia.
Scholarship analysis
American scholarship
To be lacking in everything but intelligence

The Historical Figure of Jesus
E. P. Sanders
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140144994

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but perhaps a rigid perspective.......2007-09-22

I would totally agree with the earlier comment that "The author thinks there has to be a rational explanation for everything, and if there isn't, then it must be disregarded as untrue - it did not happen".

There is a key problem in this book of the over rigidity in applying his frame of reference.

As a historian, he is obsessed with the chronological order of events. Consequently he draws completely invalid conclusions based on absence of, or gaps in, chronological order.

Associated with this he does not allow the Gospel authors to select their material according to their themes and also to post rationalise their selection of material. This includes integrating their material into Old Testament sources. As a researcher in social science, this is not an omission by the Gospel writers but a quite normal approach. All research is by necessity highly selective and related to the purpose or themes at hand. Plus we integrate our `primary' sources into our `secondary' sources to add or elaborate meaning. Therefore one can draw no real conclusions based on this approach.

He is also I am afraid highly ethnocentric. His cultural frame of reference is modern North America. He really does make many serious errors when interpreting culture from outside this limited frame of reference. Frequently he assumes that this or that could not have happened, when in fact it was normal, even in western society, upto a few years ago. He similarly has little understanding of number or names outside the modern American context.

(If I take his arguments and apply them to myself, as I come from a different cultural background and don't conform to his stereotypes, I can conclusively prove I don't exist. Therefore do I conclude, following the direction of the good professor, that I am just an interpolation?)

The book is interesting but as a work of social science it does not really stand up. I certainly would not recommend it as an academic text.

A good read, but better for Bible studies than academia........2007-04-24

The Historical Figure of Jesus is an excellent but conservative depiction of Jesus' ministry within his historical setting. Sanders' construction of first century Judea is both believable and well researched; it breathes a historical reality into the synoptic gospels that would benefit anyone studying the New Testament. Sanders strikes a masterful balance by seeking historical truth without unduly attacking the theological "truth" in which the authors of the gospels were more interested.

On the other hand, Sanders' textual methods seem inadequate to me. He dismisses all of the non-canonical gospels and most of John, choosing only the synoptics as sufficiently reliable sources. Throwing out non-cannonical gospels is problematic because many of them, especially Thomas, have many old and authentic Jesus sayings still crystallized inside of later embellishments. All gospel materials are like this, and even the canonical synoptic gospels include late-dated layers of editing, many of which are almost certainly not authentic Jesus sayings. Sanders makes no effort to discern what might be authentic or inauthentic in the synoptics, but chooses to take the whole as equally valid. In particular, he never mentions Q (a very early sayings source that both Matthew and Luke incorporated into their gospels), and takes Q material from Matthew and Luke on equal ground with p-Matthew and p-Luke material.

Sanders says: "It is my own view that we cannot recover Jesus' view merely by picking and choosing among the sayings... I do not think that a historical reconstruction should depend on the notion that we can definitely establish what Jesus did not say" (176). This view seems sensible at first, but in preserving all the material of the synoptics and throwing out all other gospels, he is already picking and choosing among sayings; he is just doing it in a deeply arbitrary fashion. I would hypothesize that Sanders had a religious motive for preserving the canonical texts so thoroughly.

Despite Sanders' odd textual methods, I still liked his book a lot. I would recommend his book strongly for giving a rational and historical context to Bible study, but perhaps not for an academic setting.

Scholarship analysis.......2007-02-27

How difficult is to give an appreciation about religion without hurting feelings. Anyway, I really found that this book is a very interesting and scholarship analysis of the synoptic gospels based on the context of history and religion of the time. The book does not deny or confirm anything, although provides ideas and explanations of some of the most interesting parts of Jesus life such as his miracles, trial and resurrection. Of course, these explanations are just probabilities based on the life, politics and religion of the time. I agree with the author that althought, and sadly, there is no much information about Jesus but the bible, we do know Jesus whereabouts and message.

American scholarship.......2006-06-21

Based on its contents, the title of this book should have been "The Historical Figure of Jesus According to the Synoptic Gospels".

To be lacking in everything but intelligence.......2006-06-10

There is a fault in the conception of this book. Its author claims to search for the historical truth about Jesus' life only by gathering material evidence and giving it a modern (scientific) interpretation. This is all ok, but will only demonstrate who he was not, not who he really was.

I would like to quote Miguel de Unamuno's words in his "Tragic Sense of Life":
"To be lacking in everything but intelligence is the necessary qualification for thinking like you."

"There are, in fact, people who appear to think only with the brain, or with whatever may be the specific thinking organ; while others think with all the body and all the soul, with the blood, with the marrow of the bones, with the heart, with the lungs, with the belly, with the life. And the people who think only with the brain develop into definition-mongers; they become the professionals of thought (...) Take a professional boxer. He has learnt to hit with such economy of effort that (...) he only brings into play just those miscles that are required for the immediate and definite obkect of his action -to knock out his opponent. (...) And it is notorious that the Hercules of the circus, the athletes of the ring, are not, as a rule, healthy. They knco out their opponents, they lift enormous weights, but they die of phthisis or dyspepsia."

And also: "If a philosopher (read it as historian) is not a man, he is anything but a philosopher; he is above all a pedant, and a pedant is a caricature of a man."

The author thinks there has to be a rational explanation for everything, and if there isn't, then it must be disregarded as untrue -it did not happen-. The Resurrection, in the last section of his book, therefore, is not considered affirmatively nor negatively -out of respect, I guess-.

There are two levels in which life operates. The realistic level, and the fantastic. Just as every person is two things: body and soul. They both understand themselves, and read into themselves, but not each other.

This is a frustrating book, but not altogether worthless.

Jesus in the House of the Pharaohs: The Essene Revelations on the Historical Jesus

Average customer rating:

Poor
a must read for christians
Turned off by the review.
Ahmed Osman Encourages His Readers To Think On Their Own, A Rarity In The World Of Authors!
you need more than one grain of salt. . . .

Jesus in the House of the Pharaohs: The Essene Revelations on the Historical Jesus
Ahmed Osman
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1591430275
Release Date: 2004-03-31

Book Description

A provocative thesis that the historical Jesus was connected to the royal 18th dynasty of Egypt

â€¢ Contends that Jesus, Joshua, and Tutankhamun were the same person

â€¢ Provides evidence from church documentation, the Koran, the Talmud, and archaeology that the Messiah came more than a millennium before the first century C.E.

â€¢ Shows that Christianity evolved from Essene teachings

Although it is commonly believed that Jesus lived during the first century C.E., there is no concrete evidence to support this fact from the Roman and Jewish historians who would have been his contemporaries. The Gospel writers themselves were of a later generation, and many accounts recorded in the Old Testament and Talmudic commentary refer to the coming of the Messiah as an event that had already occurred.

Using the evidence available from archaeology, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Koran, the Talmud, and biblical sources, Ahmed Osman provides a compelling case that both Jesus and Joshua were one and the same--a belief echoed by the early Church Fathers--and that this person was likewise the pharaoh Tutankhamun, who ruled Egypt between 1361 and 1352 B.C.E. and was regarded as the spiritual son of God. Osman contends that the Essene Christians--who followed Jesusâ€™ teachings in secret after his murder--only came into the open following the execution of their prophet John the Baptist by Herod, many centuries later. Yet it was also the Essenes who, following the death of Tutankhamun and his father Akhenaten (Moses), secretly kept the monotheistic religion of Egypt alive. The Essenes believed themselves to be the people of the New Covenant established between their Lord and themselves by the Teacher of Righteousness, who was murdered by a wicked priest. The Dead Sea Scrolls support Osmanâ€™s contention that this Teacher of Righteousness was in fact Jesus.

Customer Reviews:

Poor.......2007-05-02

After a great book "The Hebrew Pharoahs of Egypt" Osman ruins his reputation as a scholar worth reading with this book. What a turnaround.

a must read for christians.......2006-09-19

are you decieved/brainwashed/blinded/scared of the unknown/dont wanna know the truth facts about the bible because your faith will be challengeD and that is your crutch IN LIFE TO sustain life is the christian faith( the standard bible that contradicts itself) well UNWELD YOUR BRAIN AND STOP BEING SO CLOSED MINDED SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH DONT HIDE FROM IT SEEK DONT LIVE ON BLIND FAITH RESEARCH WHAT YOU HOLDing onto AS BEING THE pure TRUTH this book might solve a few things for ya

Turned off by the review........2006-08-07

I was interested in researching this book as I believe that Egypt had an esoteric school at the time of Jesus because it was there that He was nurtured as a child. But the review claims: "Although it is commonly believed that Jesus lived during the first century A.D., there is no concrete evidence to support this fact from the Roman and Jewish historians who would have been his contemporaries." I suggest that the author study the book: "Joshephus The Complete Works" where he will find mention of Jesus by a contemporary Jewish historian.

Given that this research was overlooked by the author, I decided not to purchase the book on the grounds that his research is selective and incomplete.

Ahmed Osman Encourages His Readers To Think On Their Own, A Rarity In The World Of Authors!.......2006-07-04

I have just recently become a fan of author Osman. While some of his theories are out there, I have been intriged and amazed at both the time and research that he has put into his books. As a student of archeology and anthropolgogy, I am thrilled to finally find an author who will go out of the way and really put to tests his beliefs. I have enjoyed his earlier books, and am looking forward to his new books. T he only problem that I find in reading this authors works, is that he leaves the reader pondering more questions then ever before. I think that he does this puposely to not only encourage his fans to buy more of his books, but also to really expand the readers own ideas and beliefs. Some of Osman's earlier books are hard to find, and after having written the author, I still have not been able to find them yet.

you need more than one grain of salt. . . ........2005-09-20

The theories put forth in this work are indeed unorthodox, yet not to be dismissed because of that. The author believes the old testament scriptures especially to be deliberately misleading for the sake of covering up the theories put forth in this book.

The author certainly did his archaeological and historical homework, but contrary to his statement in the first chapter, he obviously does not believe the old/new testament scriptures to be reliable historical work. While I appreciated the new twist on these events of the bible, I must criticise this work for the inconsistent way the old/new testament scriptures are treated as reference material for Osman's theories.

For some aspects of Osman's theories, scriptures are treated as deliberate cover-ups of the truth, while other times they are treated as supportive of Osman's theories and to be taken at face value. The author's criteria for interpreting the old/new testament passages one way or the other is unclear all the way through the book.

I respect that Osman didn't ignore the scriptural passages that conflict with his theories and made an honest attempt to deal with those inconsistencies one by one. I am only saying that some of the explanations he gives are not convincing, while many of them are very convincing.

One minor note: those looking for a thorough examination of the Essenes, their views on Jesus and the Teacher of Righteousness (as I was), this book deals only briefly with the Essenes and focuses mainly on Jewish and Egytian history.

Jesus As a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee

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I was tricked
who do historians say that I am?
Understanding Jesus
Clear, scholarly, meaningful, and even devotional!
a clear explanation of a difficult and complex subject

Jesus As a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee
Mark Allan Powell
Manufacturer: Westminster John Knox Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Historiography | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0664257038

Customer Reviews:

I was tricked.......2006-11-23

This is not historical and factual - the book was theologic lies and bull. Circular Logic. YUCK. Unless you are Christian and want to read happy lies to help you sleep at night do not buy this book

who do historians say that I am? .......2006-10-20

Who was Jesus of Nazareth? Today, few scholars doubt that Jesus actually existed, that he was a real historical figure. But exactly who or what was he? A raving madman? A prophet? A self-proclaimed Messiah? Or...?

This book, written by Mark Allan Powell (who is incidentally a Lutheran) doesnt give an answer to the question "who was Jesus". Rather, it describes the views of various scholars on the matter. Inevitably, there are many different views on Jesus within the scholarly community.

Powell begins by giving a short historical background. He describes how scholars during the 18th and 19th centuries attempted to cast Jesus in a "naturalist" mold. His miracles were really natural occurances, misunderstood by the superstitious disciples. The "kingdom of God" preached by Jesus was an earthly, political entity, not something supernatural and divine. And so on. The eschatological, apocalyptic and messianic elements of the Gospels were rejected as later ideas, and Jesus was transformed into a figure acceptable to 19th century agnostics or atheists. During the first half of the 20th century, Albert Schweitzer decisively challenged these ideas, "re-discovering" the eschatological ideas of Jesus, placing him once again in a firm 1st century Palestinian context. However, Schweitzer also believed that Jesus had failed in his mission, and that 20th century Christians must adopt an ultra-liberal, Social Gospel stance.

The main bulk of the book is devoted to contemporary scholars and their views of the historical Jesus. Powell does a good job in describing the various positions, the criticism levelled against them, and the often tricky methodological issues involved. For instance, how do we know what parts of the Gospels give the most trustworthy historical information about Jesus? How should apocryphal texts like "the Gospel of Thomas" be evaluated? What about the Talmud? Etc.

A particularly tricky criterion is the one called Dissimilarity. If a statement purported to be by Jesus is very different from 1st century Jewish conceptions, while also being potentially embarrasing to the early Church, it is usually deemed authentic. However, the Dissimilarity criterion gets problematic if taken to far. If the historical Jesus was neither "Jewish" nor "Christian", its difficult to explain why he recruited Jewish disciples who eventually founded the Christian Church! Dissimilarity risk turning Jesus into an unexplicable anomaly. In reality, there must have been at least some continuity between John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul. Why else would Jesus become a follower of John? And why else would Paul claim to act in Jesus name? Powell also points out another very common problem: those who attempt to reconstruct the "real" ideas of Jesus often end up with a Jesus whose ideas are similiar to their own! Leftist radicals end up with a leftist radical Jesus, Catholics with a Catholic Jesus, vegeterians with a vegetarian Jesus... Indeed, one of the things that made Schweitzer so remarkable was precisely that he came up with a Jesus he couldnt agree with.

The scholarly opinions described by Powell include those of the Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan, Marcus J. Borg, E.P. Sanders, John P. Meier and N.T. Wright. The Jesus Seminar and Crossan represent the "liberal" part of the spectrum, with Crossan speculating that Jesus was a kind of Cynic, antinomian philosopher, more Hellenistic than Jewish, indeed, something of a 1st century hippie. By contrast, N.T. Wright has adopted an almost Biblical position, claiming that Jesus might very well have believed himself to be the God of Israel in the flesh. Of course, its difficult to escape the suspiscion that Crossan is a hippie of sorts himself, while Wright might be some kind of evangelical!

As already noted, the author of "Jesus as a figure in history" never answers that Question of Questions Jesus put to his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?". But at least, he has made it possible for the rest of us to contemplate the scholarly responses.

Five stars!!

Understanding Jesus.......2006-01-29

Powell's book might not be for everyone. If you are a hardend Christian then you may want to gloss over this book because you may become so irate that you will go medieval witch hunting for all atheists.

With that being said, Powell presents this book as a way for the reader to see the best and brightest in the field of historical studies on Jesus. From the Jesus Seminar, E.P Sanders, N.T. Wright, and more, the reader will find theirselve emersed in a book that doesn't stop delivering. Was Jesus Hellenistic or was his movement a social or political one? The numerous historians in this book will offer their expert opinions on these questions.

Another note about the book, you will notice that each chapter begins with quotes, these quotes will lead you into each chapter and should help you understand what the chapter is about. Powell provides a background for each historian so that the reader will know what and why the historian is saying what he is saying, coupled with an excellent bibliography and note source for further reference. In addition, the reader will find a critique after each historian has been presented. These critiques are from the other leading scholars on the historical Jesus.

FYI, this is not a book of theology, so do not make it one. The reader needs to keep in mind that this is a book on the historical Jesus not the Church Jesus, although, many of the concepts of the Church Jesus are mentioned, such as the pre-Easter vs. the post-Easter Jesus. Also, many things will be mentioned that run contrary to the official doctrine of the Church, such as Jesus having political motives and the apocolypse that Jesus was teaching about was really just the return of the Jewish people from what "HE" saw as a still existing exile.

With all that being said, this book possesses great scholary work, but in a condensed version of the originals.

Clear, scholarly, meaningful, and even devotional!.......2002-07-15

I couldn't get enough of this book. Powell is a wonderful writer, and he introduces us to the perspectives of Historical Jesus scholars of the last two centuries with absolute clarity and just the right details. I just had a lot of fun reading on the different scholarly views on who that ancient man of sorrows was. Powell seemingly has no axe to grind, seems completely competent to plough the terrain, and makes the whole trip worth it with the last two pages of the book....After this huge deluge of information about what Jesus did or did not say; after all of the guessing concerning Jesus message; after probing why Jesus has remained so controversial after 2000 years, Powell offers a tantalizing scenario concerning the very first Christian words ever penned on the last two pages (his only personal reflections in the book). I had to wipe the tears from my eyes after that.

This book is a 5 all the way. You won't be disappointed regardless of your view of who Jesus was (or is).

a clear explanation of a difficult and complex subject.......2002-03-14

Dr. Powell is head of the Historical Jesus section of the SBL. He not only is a New Testament scholar in his own right, he is also a respected colleague and friend of the Jesus Scholars he discusses. He not only has read their works, but he understands their positions from the inside.

In my experience, the study of the Historical Jesus is sometimes characterized by rhetoric, special pleading, and an unfruitful "us" vs. "them" attitude. While Powell is forthright about his own views when this is appropriate, he comes across as
surprisingly objective as he discusses the pros and cons of each position. This is aided by the fact that the Jesus scholars often disagree with each other - so he can just say "Wright would take issue with that", or "Crossan responds to this view
in this way."

Powell's writing style is refreshingly informal at times, and he obviously strives for clarity over the "scholar-speak" so often encountered. At the same time, he is obviously familiar with the technical concepts and not only throws the jargon around
but often explains it.

The book shows unusual restraint - Powell gives the reader room to formulate his/her own conclusions, while providing insight into both the issues and the scholars themselves.

I understand that this book is used in college courses as an introduction to the subject, and I can see why.

Book Description

During the early years of Christianity, tales of Jesus' youth flourished--from his childhood play and schooling to his early ability to heal the sick. Today, these wonderful stories are largely unknown. With this lush book, which begins with the nativity and ends with Jesus' earliest teachings, Marianna Mayer splendidly revives many of them. Illustrated with the works of such masters as Caravaggio and da Vinci, here is a stunning portrait of a boy at once ordinary and extraordinary, human and divine.

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The Historical Figure of Jesus
E.P. Sanders
Manufacturer: Allen Lane / Penguin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GLG97G

Francis of Assisi: The Man Who Gave Up Everything To Follow Jesus (Heroes of Faith and Courage Series)

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Francis of Assisi: The Man Who Gave Up Everything To Follow Jesus (Heroes of Faith and Courage Series)
Ben Alex
Manufacturer: Scandinavia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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Historical Figure of Jesus
E P Sanders
Manufacturer: UNSPECIFIED VENDOR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UCA152

Jesus and Christianity (Great Religious Leaders)

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Jesus and Christianity (Great Religious Leaders)
Alan Brown
Manufacturer: Hodder Wayland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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