Fallback Jesus
Steven Carr xtianity@infidels.org
Sun, 26 Apr 1998 20:51:42 +0100 (00893638302, +XGQYDAOB5Q1EwaN@bowness.demon.co.uk)
In message <35438C65.DE5F39FE@worldnet.att.net>, Mahlon H. Smith
<mahlonh.smith@worldnet.att.net> writes
<skip until Josephus>
>dictatorship. But there is no good reason to question Josephus' report
>that "Pilate condemned him to the cross." For that element is found in
>an Arabic version of the Antiquities that lacks the explicitly Xn
>phrases in the Greek. And it is totally consistent with Josephus'
>portrait of Pilate as one who did not hesitate to execute Jewish
>rabblerousers; which is NOT the impression of Pilate that one gets from
>any Xn source.
The translation of Josephus by a 10th century Christian Bishop into
Arabic reads 'Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die'.
Apart from the lateness of this translation, surely this is just as
polemically Christian as the other phrases, being directed against
Muslims who maintained that Jesus was not crucified and did not die on
the cross.
Does anybody believe Josephus wrote 'Pilate condemned him to be
crucified and to die'?
<skip>
--
Steven Carr steven@bowness.demon.co.uk
Visit the UK's leading atheist Web page
http://www.bowness.demon.co.uk/
========================================================
To unsubscribe from xtianity, send a message to major-ii@infidels.org with the
command "unsubscribe xtianity" in the body of your message. For assistance,
contact xtianity-owner@infidels.org.