Sunday, December 29, 2013
A CHALLENGE
In
a way, I feel like the post below this is the last word. Protest. What else can
I say after that? Until people protest the lies that are told about this
history, there is no point in saying anything else. You can uncover all the
great evidence you want, but if people are content to let the traditional
theory stand, unsupported by any solid pattern of evidence, further discovery
is meaningless.
By protest, I do not mean just complaining that blaming ancient Jewish leaders for the death of Jesus is a calumny on Jewish culture. It is a calumny, that is true, but the constant repetition of this does no good. It is absolutely meaningless to keep repeating that Jewish leaders have been unfairly blamed unless you back this up with evidence. The supporters of the traditional theory of how Jesus died are not at all bothered by general protests because they know that without a presentation of evidence, the traditional theory will always win by default. It is important to protest that the evidence has been messed up by scholars and to remind everyone that the evidence in the Gospels tells us that Jewish leaders tried to save Jesus from a Roman execution.
I just want to add an interesting challenge, if anyone could arrange this. Some of the best writing I have ever seen on scientific reasoning can be found on the TV detective shows. I am thinking of shows like Monk, The Closer, The Mentalist, Elementary, Numbers, probably all the CSI shows but especially CSI NY and the original CSI, currently with Ted Danson. The writers of these shows really get scientific method.
Here is one rule of science you will occasionally see demonstrated on these shows: If a theory does not explain the evidence well, try another theory. New Testament scholars are stuck on one theory, no matter how many contradictions in the evidence. On these detective shows, if the evidence does not fit someone’s theory that one particular suspect committed the crime, somebody will suggest that they go over the evidence again and try another theory, look for another suspect. But NT scholars never do this. They just keep spinning the same theory of Jewish hostility towards Jesus in different ways, even though none of them explains the evidence.
Here is my suggestion: If a dozen writers from these shows read my book True Jew, I am willing to bet that an overwhelming majority would fully approve. The reason I say a majority and not all of them is because one never knows when prejudices might appear in an otherwise rational person. Not just religious prejudices, but atheistic ones too (atheists constantly deny there is any history in the Bible). Barring that, I am sure most of these writers would realize I have given an evidentiary, rational argument that is hard, if not impossible, to beat.
One never knows who might be reading a blog like this one. I don’t place high hopes on a TV writer coming across this blog, but one never knows. If more people took an interest in this, maybe we could begin to get rid of the influence of theology and ideology in historical study. Maybe it could be the beginning of the end of the obnoxious lies that are told about ancient Jewish culture. It won’t happen until enough people take an interest in the evidence and see for themselves what happened.
And people will discover some amazing things. Like, for example, the historical truth about how Jesus died is not a threat to Christianity, it is a great boon. And Jews don’t have to live in constant fear that Jewish culture will always be denigrated. But these are consequences. The main thing is to get back to the root of it.
© 2013 Leon Zitzer
