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.

The Message and the Kingdom: How Jesus and Paul Ignited a Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World

Average customer rating:

Distinguishing the forest from the trees....
Finally!
Social Reform

The Message and the Kingdom: How Jesus and Paul Ignited a Revolution and Transformed the Ancient World
Richard A. Horsley , and Neil Asher Silberman
Manufacturer: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History of Religion | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0800634675

Amazon.com

In a time of social upheaval resulting from rapacious Roman taxation, Jesus's message to resist through communal cooperation was welcome to rural Galilean Jews who were expecting a return to their covenant with God. When Paul extended this message to similarly dispossessed urban Gentiles, the stage was set for a Jesus movement that would take hold in the empire and transform the world. Richard A. Horsley and Neil Asher Silberman put recent archaeological and textual research to good use in an original but reasonable interpretation of Jesus and Paul as religious and social reformers. The result is a picture of Christianity that makes sense Biblically as well as historically.

Book Description

Set against the backdrop of Roman imperial history, The Message and the Kingdom demonstrates how the quest for the kingdom of God by Jesus, Paul, and the earliest churches should be understood as both a spiritual journey and a political response to the "mindless acts of violence, inequality, and injustice that characterized the kings of men." Horsley and Silberman reveal how the message of Jesus and Paul was profoundly shaped by the history of their time as well as the social conditions of the congregations to whom they preached.

Customer Reviews:

Distinguishing the forest from the trees...........2007-07-23

Horsley's book here reads more like a narrative social history. There aren't footnotes and citations, no minutia to contend with, which for an academic guy, is pretty good.

The thing that I liked most about the book was that he pointed out what are apparent tensions within the text of the New Testament -- not in a bitter way like some liberal scholars (cough, cough, "Bart Ehrman," cough, cough) who lost their faith and are now angry that they feel duped -- but in a way that was tactful and thoughtful.

Was Paul, the hero and main interpreter of Jesus of Nazareth (by the inclusion of so much of his writing into the New Testament, including that which probably isn't his but a disciple of his) really rejected by the Jerusalem community? It kind of sounds that way in Horsley's story. If Galatians (which is considered authentically Paul)is written in 48/9 C.E. and Paul's mission to the Gentiles hasn't really been clarified to the Jerusalem council, then some of Paul's letters in Corinthians and the subsequent attack on "Judaizers" makes sense. The Jerusalem community wasn't buying what Paul was selling -- pagans may become God-fearers (sons of Noah abiding by Noachide laws see Acts 15) but if they want in they should go all the way and convert. They are welcome to sojourn, but that doesn't make the gentiles converts. Paul disputes this -- Torah observance isn't necessary. James says he's wrong. Israel is defined by its relationship to Torah that was given by God -- and affirmed by Jesus. Paul's basis for his gospel? Personal revelation. That is where it gets sketchy.

Overall a good read and thought provoking. I'd recommend it, though it probably isn't for some younger undergrads.

Finally!.......2002-07-17

Professor Horsley has repeatedly offered us books impeccably researched and annotated in great detail. Yet despite the promise of those works, Horsley has too often hidden his gifts behind an impenetrable wall of technicalities and minutia. In his attempts to demonstrate his intelligence, Horsley has sometimes made his writing obtuse and inaccessible to the average reader.

This, however, is not one of his failures. Here Horsley finally gets it right. Here Horsley fulfills the promise of his other works.

Examining the politics, sociology, psychology and religion of the renewal movements founded by John the Baptist, Jesus of Nazareth, and Paul of Tarsus, Horsley and Silberman weave an exhilarating narrative that exposes the historical roots of Christianity. Thoroughly comprehendible by the lay reader, without sacrificing scholarship, this book demonstrates that the authors can strike an appropriate balance between academia and popular reading.

Social Reform.......2000-02-19

Harsley and Silberman provide a social and economic setting of the time of Jesus and Paul (10 BCE - 70 CE) and the "Jesus Movement". Without addressing the religious truth of Christianity, they describe its social context and the impact it had on Palestine and the eastern Mediterranean.

The authors draw on recent archaeological finds to present a picture of life during this time. Along with the Bible and writings of Josephus, they use non-canonical early Christian writings, and Roman documents and inscriptions.

Bibliographical Notes in addition to the Bibliography make it easy to refer to more original sources in topics of interest.

Book Description

The noted political philosopher offers a moving meditation on the political meanings of the biblical story of Exodus -- from oppression to deliverance and the promised land.

"A rewarding book -- elegantly written, subtly argued, full of stimulating suggestions". -- John Gross, New York Times

"An important book. . . . Walzer shows the real power of the Exodus story as a political document an convincingly demonstrate how it has shaped later thinking about revolutionary alternatives". -- Robert Alter, Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley

Customer Reviews:

Covenant Theology = Social Contract Theory?.......2006-11-20

Walzer is a Princeton Professor who writes in this book that Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Rousseau have their precursors in the Torah's Exodus narrative. Walzer is not interested in the implications of Biblical Higher Criticism, nor is he interested in theology per se. Rather, he looks at how the Exodus narrative out of Egypt has been used for social arguments. He then goes on to find those aspects within the narrative and elaborate. He writes, "I don't mean to disparage the sacred, only to explore the secular: my subject is not what God has done but what men and women have done, first with the biblical text itself and then in the world, with the text in their hands."
Walzer does a good job writing how covenant theology developed in the Torah: from Noah, to Abraham, to Moses and the Israelites. He says that the post-Sinai covenant is in "good Rousseauian fashion, out of the wills of independents."
He says that "revolution" is the narrative of "oppression, liberation, social contract, political struggle, new society (danger of restoration)." Thus the process of revolution is adeptly reveled in narrative. This is why the Exodus narrative has been a milestone for Western culture's progress.
Walzer concludes with an adept discussion on Zionism, where he finds that two broad arguments: "Exodus Zionism" and "messianic Zionism" (the former, politically left, the latter, politically right) both appeal to canonical text. According to Walzer, these two competing views and how they interpret the Torah are responsible, in large part, for the current tensions in Palestine.
There is too much here to review (e.g. the provocative critique in the Exodus narrative that Walzer sees as an implicit critique of Hegel), this book is recommended for those interested in the intersections between theology, political theory, philosophy, and biblical studies.

Revolution in Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow's Church (Ministry for the Third Millennium)

Average customer rating:

Good Book
A Must Read!

Revolution in Leadership: Training Apostles for Tomorrow's Church (Ministry for the Third Millennium)
Reggie McNeal
Manufacturer: Abingdon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0687087074

Customer Reviews:

Good Book.......2007-05-07

Good read and had some really good insights and knowledge of how and what it takes to follow Christ.

A Must Read!.......2000-03-12

If you are a church leader and are tired of the status quo, read this book. Reggie McNeal challenges us, not with new ideas and programs but with a fresh view of what made the early "apostolic" church so vibrant and relevent to its day.

A Testament of Revolution (Eastern European Series, 13)

Average customer rating:

Good but False
If you realize it's one-sided, it's good enough
Street fighting men (and women) in 1956
Retrospective and engaging personal history
A much-needed perspective of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution

A Testament of Revolution (Eastern European Series, 13)
Bela G. Liptak
Manufacturer: Texas A&M University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Austria | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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Hungary | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1585441201

Book Description

Terse, staccato, like a dispatch from the front, BÃ©la LiptÃ¡k's A Testament of Revolution gives readers a vivid, firsthand look at the brief, doomed struggle of Hungarian freedom fighters against Russian oppressors.

Written in 1956 in an Austrian refugee camp, where the author had fled to escape reprisals for his role in the rebellion, LiptÃ¡k's memoir compellingly sketches the conflict between university students, factory workers, and Hungarian nationalists on the one side and the hated Hungarian secret police and Russian army troops on the other.

In a memoir that is both history and a saga of his coming of age, LiptÃ¡k relates his transformation from carefree university student to impromptu revolutionary leader. His story unfolds with unsparing honesty as he makes the reader privy to his conflicts, faults, and failures of judgment and courage, laying bare his struggles with the enemy and with himself.

Customer Reviews:

Good but False.......2005-04-05

I unfortunatly have to say that this books eyewitness accounts may be false. My gradparents took part in this revolution and know this man. He is an excellent writer i must say but sometimes uses to much falseties. Many times he puts himself in other people shoes to make a great book. I must say this is a good book but is not entirely true.

If you realize it's one-sided, it's good enough.......2005-03-31

If within the US a working class person could easily find a number of perspectives on this event, I would say this is not a bad contribution to the panorama of views one could read on the topic. Unfortunately, if one goes to the local bookstore and/or library, this sort of text is the only type of thing one can find on the events in Hungary of 1956. Only one perspective on this event is allowed, not even one book sympathetic to Kadar is allowed among the multitude condemning him, the AVH and the USSR, all must condemn them - but remember, they're the ones with a party line and commissars, not us.

This person is honest about his background - his family is so well-connected that despite having problems because of that background, he is able to pull strings to get into the local university. At that university he leaps to fight against the political changes going on in the country as soon as he can. What does he say he wants? That the landlords regain their rights to extract rents from tenants they used to collect from, that business owners regain the right to extract profits from their workers and so forth. He also wants to pull out of the Warsaw Pact. He says he's willing to compromise with the workers if they don't want to return the large-scale enterprises, he thinks they should be privatized, but would accept worker management if necessary. All of this shows how he considers the workers alien to someone from his background, the kind of class difference that led the Hungarian workers to have a soviet revolution far before (1919) the Red Army pushed the Nazis out.

The reader may wonder why he is reading an account from someone as ritzy as this - what did the average working class Hungarian think of what's going on? Well, don't expect to find out at your local bookstore or library - only upper middle class fellows such as this or people like Henry Kissinger's perspectives count. These are the questions to be asked when we read accounts not by working class people like ourselves, but those of landlords, business owners, and privileged college students from families who were once well-to-do. It's telling that at the end of the Cold War his main bitterness is that the old landlords did not regain their rights to collect rents from tenants. He shows what he and many others were fighting for in 1956.

Street fighting men (and women) in 1956.......2003-08-03

Liptak's memoir compares favorably with Sandor Kopacsi's "In the Name of the Working Class." SK explains his role as the Budapest deputy chief of police who switched sides and aided the rebels; BL offers the view from a student leader's encounters on the pavement below the offices where SK and his counterparts worked to advance the aims of 1956. While SK insists that the revolt was for a purer, worker-dominated type of communism (perhaps akin to an anarcho-syndicalist model) free of Soviet imperialism, this argument dims in BL's account. He gives the points that the students and workers distributed and proclaimed, but the whole question of how the Hungarians' new state would contrast with both the capitalist and the communist systems appears rather muddled in his narrative. Maybe such nuanced planning could not be taken in the heat of the moment, as the Hungarians struggled in a few days to drive out the Soviets.

Where it excels is in simply telling it like it was: the hunger, the generosity, the giddy sleeplessness, the state of his corduroy jacket, the grease-slicked rifle he hoists. You become so caught up in his vivid descriptions that you wonder why so little about this revolution has reached the West in easily accessible form. His footnotes add valuable details about the fate of his fellow revolutionaries and the mental framework of a "typical" young man hearing the demands of the leaders for the first time at the university conveys itself here unforgettably.

As well, the emotion of encountering liberating and opposing troops in the street, the fear of entering the AVH (secret police) headquarters and the shock of what he and his fighters find there, and the sheer amateur heroics coming up against the jolt of a Soviet muzzle at one's neck makes for an honest re-creation of what Liptak and his young fighters encountered as the counter-attacks flattened the idealistic students waiting for NATO to arrive. Liptak, to his credit, narrates all of the conflicting emotions that result once these guerrillas faced the Soviet troops--some in the latter's ranks thought that they faced the Nazis or Israelis on the Suez Canal!

Liptak clearly tells how the Suez crisis overshadowed the Hungarian revolt--and how the Hungarians believed that the West engineered it to distract the world from the revolt. Also, Liptak reminds us of Eisenhower's upcoming election, and why Ike might have wanted to avoid the issue of sending aid to Budapest as he faced re-election.

A couple of points that would have benefitted from more in-depth analysis: first, the role of the CIA in infiltrating the National Student Association and the Hungarian students assisted in their education after they fled to the US is not mentioned. As one who participated in this process, Liptak, given his smarts, either keeps silent out of loyalty or ignores the pressures faced by these students to spy for the CIA as perhaps tangential to his own story. Still, given the importance of this whole event of the 1956 rebellion in Cold War terms, Liptak's silence on this topic surprises me.

Second, the lack of comparative bibliographical references appears to weaken the wider impact of his testimony. Why does BL not mention SK's own memoirs, published about a decde earlier in North America? I'd be interested in what BL thinks about the previous work, and other first-person accounts and third-person studies of 1956 and its aftermath. He does not fit his own detailed account into any broader tradition of such narratives.

Overall, Liptak's account, in its verve and freshness, remains worthwhile reading and I recommend it as one non-fiction book that kept me up late in the night to finish it! Inevitably, all of our own individual accounts rely upon our own limits of evaluation and Liptak does present the tale at its heart as one from "Ocsi," his younger self. But the older self might have stepped into the conclusion and presented how he had changed and evolved in his historical understanding of the events which his younger self helped shape. Maybe a sequel is in order?

Retrospective and engaging personal history.......2001-07-12

Very engaging, thoughtful and critically reflective personal story about being a major participant in the Hungarian revolution. The book is well written and moves along quickly. What I gained most from the book is an understanding of the emotions, values and personalities of the "revolutionaries." The insights provided could only be done by someone who was there and had to make the choices. And, to understand the context of those choices, the author gives us his perspective on Hungarian history.

A much-needed perspective of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.......2001-07-05

I read Liptak's book with particular interest because, based on the first-hand experiences of the eyewitness and the participant, it gives an excellent and authentic insight into the Revolution and events leading up to it. I have had a personal interest because, within my means and circumstances, I was one of the Revolution's chroniclers, if not its participant. As an announcer, then reporter, at the Voice of America, I had often broadcast the speeches and statements of Eisenhower and Dulles, promising that "If you liberate yourselves, we will be with you." With my youthful naiveté and enthusiasm I, too, believed them. I believe it is safe to say that in November 1956, my generation lost its political innocence.

Elijah's Revolution: Power, Passion and Committment to Radical Change

Average customer rating:

Come Lord Jesus with your Revival Fire
well pleased
Letting the Fire Burn For Jesus!
For Such a Time as This

Elijah's Revolution: Power, Passion and Committment to Radical Change
Jim W. Goll , and Lou Engle
Manufacturer: Destiny Image Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0768420571

Customer Reviews:

Come Lord Jesus with your Revival Fire.......2007-06-19

If you are looking for a book to edify and encourage your spirit, this is the one to read. The authors, mighty men of God with hearts for intercession and revival, passionately decree that this is the time to seek Jesus through prayer, repentance, fasting and holiness. My heart and my soul long for Him even more after reading this book.

Let this be the hour that the church would arise, to be passionate for the things of God, that He may reveal His good pleasure. When we seek His face, He rewards us with His presence and sweetness. Nothing else satisifies but Jesus...NOTHING.

Indeed, Elijah's Revolution will strengthen your resolve to abide in Christ, fast, pray without ceasing and calling upon the Father to bring revival and His kingdom - NOW!

well pleased.......2006-11-06

This book is truly dangerous to the kingdom of darkness,I really enjoyed it

Letting the Fire Burn For Jesus!.......2005-04-15

Jim Goll writes this book with an eye on the passion of the saint for their God. Goll is not writing to create fans or to sale books but to call the Church to be all that God created her to be. For far too long we have not responded to the cries of books, sermons, and teachings such as this and taken up our cross to follow Jesus (Luke 9:23-25).

I enjoyed Goll's book for several reasons. First, Goll is very open. He shares his heart. He is not trying to hide his own faults in the pages of a book but he is open in his own struggles for God. Secondly, the book is full of Scripture. While I didn't necessarily agree with Goll totally in all his uses of Scripture, Goll does offer many passages for the reader to "chew" on.

The negative side of this book is not too bad. Again, while I didn't agree with some aspects of Goll's book, I do feel that his message is one we need to hear. We need to be zealous for Jesus (Romans 12:11-12). We need passion for prayer (Acts 2:42; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2; 1 Thess. 5:17). We need a passion for the lost (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 10:45; 16:15-16; Acts 1:8). And we need a passion to truly worship God (John 4:24; Php. 3:1-2).

Overall, this book is worth the purchase and the reading.

For Such a Time as This.......2003-02-04

This book is for the day we live in. As the book states, God is calling out passionate Esthers, and He is releasing the Spirit of Elijah upon us. There is an excitement in the body of Christ as we tap into what God is doing in our midst. This book helped me discover how God is moving by His Spirit, and where I fit into His plan.

Average customer rating:

Exciting and in-depth continuation of Two Crosses.

Two Testaments (Two Crosses Series #2)
Elizabeth Musser
Manufacturer: Chariot Victor Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1564766101

Customer Reviews:

Exciting and in-depth continuation of Two Crosses........1997-08-23

Elizabeth Musser's latest novel, Two Testaments, is an exciting continuation of her first novel, Two Crosses. Set in France and Algeria at the climax of Algeria's war for independence from French rule, Musser weaves an intricate tale of faith amidst the terror of war and racism. There are no easy answers here, no trite responses to the horror of human atrocities. Two Testaments is fast-paced, historically accurate fiction not without its share of suspense and romance. Elizabeth is a missionary currently working in France and her love for the country and its people is evident. I knew nil about the French-Algerian War and was shocked to learn that American culture didn't write the book on racism and inequality. My faith in Christ was strenghtened as I followed the lives of these characters and found hope--in a God who cares about his creation, in a God who isn't finished with his tapestry..

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Good History...Bad Opinions
A 'Jewish' Jesus
Solid scholarship supplemented by plausible speculation
...
Antidote to Mel Gibson film portrayal of life of Jesus

Revolution in Judaea
Hyam MacCoby
Manufacturer: Taplinger Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Judaism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 080086784X

Customer Reviews:

Good History...Bad Opinions.......2007-03-05

There is alot of good historical information in this book but it is clearly tainted by the author's biased attitude toward Christianity.

Maccoby is well versed in Josephus and the early Rabbinic writings. There is no doubt that Jesus' messianic movement was a protest of Roman tyranny and he was crucified for sedition against Rome. The Kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was the antithesis of the Roman Empire. The Jews should never have been libeled as "Christ killers". That term only pertains to the corrupt High Priest, and Pontius Pilate acting on behalf of Caesar. I would add that the Book of Revelation (which the author hardly touches on) is a veiled and scathing indictment of the Roman Empire which proves that Christianity was never pro-Roman in the very beginning.

I commend Maccoby for not trying to connect Jesus with the Dead Sea Scrolls or the violent Zealot movement. Jesus believed Rome would be defeated by Divine intervention according to the Prophets. Jesus saw his initial role as prophetic, to prepare Israel for the Kingdom of God through prayer and repentance. (I would add that if Jesus' followers were violent Zealots, they would not have been able to establish a community in Jerusalem). Maccoby makes the excellent point that the Zealots rejected the idea that Israel would be presided over by a kingly messiah which is a role that Jesus undoubtedly took for himself.

Maccoby also makes a convincing argument for Jesus being a Pharisee. His parables reflect the Pharisaic style of teaching. In addition, Jesus was allowed to teach in the synagogue and was referred to as a rabbi.

However, Maccoby arrogantly believes that by being a Rabbinic scholar he can teach us about Christianity. Therefore, he gets to pick and choose what is authentic in The New Testament.

If gentile Christians were mostly Jew-hating Greeks why would they exalt a Jewish messianic leader? If they were so clever and inventive, surely they could have created their own Greek god-man instead of deifying a crucified Jewish messianic leader. If the early church was so compromising with Rome, it's strange how so many Christians were martyred by the Romans prior to Constantine.

Another Rabbinic scholar, Daniel Boyarin, wrote in the introduction to his book about Paul, "A Radical Jew", that there is no definite connection between Rabbinic Judaism which started in the second century C.E. and the first century Pharisees. This is an assumption which Maccoby makes throughout his book. Boyarin also states that the Talmud does not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the Pharisees of Jesus' generation.

Maccoby suggests that the mystical elements of Christianity such as cosmic dualism and the spirit over the flesh found in Paul's letters which are so foreign to Rabbinic Judaism came from Hellenistic mystery cults...WRONG!!! The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Enoch, and the Jewish Apocalyptic literature which were written long before Jesus are rampant with these ideas. If Paul was influenced by anything it was this form of Judaism which predates Rabbinic Judaism and the Talmud. You cannot use the early Rabbinic writings to define Jesus.

In pages 90-91, Maccoby states tht the books of Enoch and the Jewish Apcalyptic writings were on the lunatic fringe of Jewish life and were never accepted by the Pharisees. In that case, Jesus and his original followere were part of that lunatic fringe!!! Enoch was quoted by Jesus' brother Jude and was used by the earliest Christians.

Jesus radical ascetic teachings to break all ties to the present world, his passifism, and his nonchalant atitude about paying Roman taxes are better explained by Bart Ehrmann in his outstanding book, "Jesus, The Apocalyptic Prophet...". Jesus' radical teachings could not have been invented by an established church. The early monastic movement which started in Egypt was a veiled protest against the wordliness of the church and a return to the original teachings of Jesus.

Maccoby denies that Jesus predicted his own suffering and death and that his crucifixion was a salvationary atonement in preparation for the Kingdom. I believe that Jesus identified himself with Isaiah's "Suffering Servant" and believed that his death was an atoning sacrifice. This was the earliest core belief of the movement Jesus started which goes back to Jesus himself. Paul didn't invent this, it was given to him by those who knew Jesus before he was crucified.

Modern Rabbinic Jews like Maccoby may scoff at all of this, but...
JESUS WAS NOT A MODERN RABBINIC JEW!!!

A 'Jewish' Jesus.......2006-09-20

Somehow,I stumbled onto this,years ago-and then went on to read several of Maccoby's other books.Maccoby makes a terrific case that Jesus was tried and executed for sedition against Rome-and if Hollywood is interestewd in making another 'Jesus' movie,this is the one.

Solid scholarship supplemented by plausible speculation.......2004-04-14

`Revolution in Judaea' was first published in London in 1973 by Ocean Books as a paperback original, then in the U.S. in 1980 by Taplinger in hardback.

Maccoby locates Jesus as a more-or-less mainstream Pharisee - a term which, to be properly understood, has to shed the pejorative accretions of the Gospels - who held quirky opinions on a few relatively insignificant doctrinal issues. The Pharisees, as explained in this book and in Maccoby's `Jesus the Pharisee' (2003), were men of religious stature; they were the antithesis of the `Establishment' Sadducees, who operated a policy of appeasement and accommodation with the Roman occupiers. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the religious representatives of the mass of the Jewish people, and were as a matter of fact the party of resistance to Rome (the Zealots were Pharisees). Jesus, whose beliefs establish him as a Pharisee, advocated a "half-way-house" approach for expelling the Romans and paving the way for the kingdom of God on earth. He confidently expected God's intercession on behalf of the Jewish people, which would however only be forthcoming as a result of prayer and repentance (the presence of swords at Gethsemane was to be merely symbolic).

Jesus is plausibly portrayed by Maccoby as a somewhat manic, charismatic preacher (Rabbi) who first saw himself as a precursor figure (like John the Baptist). He then assumed the mantle of apocalyptic Prophet, and finally that of messiah, or anointed one, i.e. king of the Jews (not, strangely enough, "lord of the Christians"). In the capacity of king of the Jews he became a conspicuous threat to Rome, which crucified him.

I want to correct some factual errors in the review posted on April 2, 2004. The writer cites "two serious flaws"; here's the first: "1. Prof. Maccoby is slightly off his rocker when it comes to his hatred for Christians: " I do not blame the Germans for the Holocaust, I blame Christendom"". Now any reader would infer that Maccoby wrote the words in the reviewer's quotation marks; he did not. This is what Maccoby wrote: "In a civilization based on the Hebrew scriptures, a civilization whose languages are permeated with Hebrew idioms, the Jews have been treated with extraordinary hate, culminating in the Holocaust of 6,000,000 Jews during the second world war". And that is all Maccoby writes on the subject. Why the reviewer felt the need to lie, I do not know.

Later, though still under the heading of the first "flaw" (coherence is not a quality of the reviewer in question), he writes: "For example he [Maccoby] points out that in Luke Jesus appointed 72 followers, sent them ahead in pairs to visit places WHICH HE INTENDED TO VISIT HIMSELF. This, Maccoby argues, is an indication that Jesus did not intend to die in Jerusalem but instead to be crowned there and that the 72 were preparing for his Inaugural Procession as King, but he then ruins the argument by overkill, stating that another incident that 'slipped through Luke' was Jesus distributing swords to his followers before Gethsemene. This makes him sound like Wyatt Earp before the gunfight at the OK Corral; It's a ludicrous interpretation of that passage, which is contradicted by Luke's next sentence". End of quote. First of all, Maccoby points out 70 followers, not 72. Next, note how the reviewer connects the episode of the emissaries to that involving the swords at `Gethsemene' (sic). Maccoby allegedly "then ruins the argument by overkill"; here the reviewer is implying that these two arguments are connected by Maccoby. Not only are they not connected factually, they are separated in the book by thirteen pages (pp. 129 & 142)!! The reviewer totally fails to understand the point. As Maccoby explains, Jesus believed that, like Gideon and his "tiny band", the Jews would have to fight, in accordance with the prophecy of Zechariah: "And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem". Thus it is written in Luke (22, 38), "And they said, Lord, behold, here [are] two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough" - i.e. God will intercede miraculously on our behalf. The reviewer continues "It's a ludicrous interpretation of that passage, which is contradicted by Luke's next sentence". Here's the next sentence from Luke: "And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him"(22, 39). Anyone see the contradiction? I don't.

Revolution in Judaea is a masterpiece.

..........2004-03-03

A decent book, with some interesting arguments.

However, if you are open minded, then i would suggest "The Case for Christ", or if you are willing to delve deeply into this subject then "The New Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell as supplements to this book.

Antidote to Mel Gibson film portrayal of life of Jesus.......2004-02-24

This book provides an important antidote to the anti-Semitic message of Mel Gibson's film "The Passion." Gibson accurately expresses sentiments authors of the Gospel apparently intended for fundamentalist readers. Maccoby provides a counter to this fundamentalist view with an historical argument that these authors painted the Jews rather than the Romans as the bad guys because the Romans wanted it that way.

As Maccoby points out, the Disciples did not write the Gospels bearing their names. The Gospels were given disciple names to mislead pre-Guttenberg flocks into believing they were written by actual witnesses to the life of Jesus, which many Christians still tend to believe.

As Maccoby makes clear, intense Roman hostility against Judaism was the environment for the Gospel authors in the period of their writing some generations after Jesus, when the Romans were kicked out of Judea by a revolt led by Bar Kochba. The Romans responded by laying seige to the Holy Land for 7 years, then marching upon a demoralized people, ransacking their temple, and marching in chains what Jews weren't killed thru the streets of Rome in a triumphal parade. Thereafter the practice of Judaism was a capital offense throughout the Roman Empire.

Thus Christianity can be seen as shaped and promoted by Rome as part of their campaign to wipe out Judaism from the Roman Empire, why Christianity is the negation of so many Old Testament principles although claiming to be a fulfillment of their law, and why the Jews are presented as participating in the crucifixion in condemning terms, shouting with one voice, "Crucify Him!" and accepting blood guilt. Maccoby makes his case with clear and concise reasoning based on early historical sources.

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In Defense of Revolution: The Elohist History
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