So he's a GREAT archeologist!

To be sure, he did get an undergrad degree in archeology. Still?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_M._Friedman

Lindsey Graham's expression says it all.

At the alleged time of Jesus, by the way, Israel was run by the Romans; who called it "Palestine."

The area had been occupied by a series of different empires, peoples. Alexander the Great, a Greek, had taken over parts of the coast from the Phoenicians, (Tyre etc.) c. 332 BC. Gradually it was taken over by the Selucids. Then the Romans. Who took it over in 63 BC. And burned Jerusalem to the ground in 70 AD. Leaving only the external wailing wall, and a few towers for its troops.

Turning ancient cities into theme parks since 1095.

the "Holy Land".

Perhaps some go for inspiration, but (this is just my opinion) if Jesus really existed and was the son of god (as I believe), I think he would want me walk amongst those around me who need help, comfort, and support...rather than walking where he once walked.

Anyway, just my thoughts - thank you again!

Wishing you well and peace.

Tim

Unsurprisingly the first century Christians wanted little to do with gentiles until Paul figured out the profit angle. Even then there was quite a bit of division within the church about bringing them into the fold.

Even in the bible, Jesus regarded gentiles as dogs. It was only after his death that the zombie Jesus kinda-sorta instructed his disciples to preach to non-Jews, but even all of them didn't buy it.

Last edited Fri Jul 5, 2019, 03:10 PM - Edit history (1)

Jesus did refer to a Canaanite women as a a dog when she asked him to cure his daughter:

“It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:26)

Here is the full quote:


22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” 23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” 25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. 26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

So it can definitely be argued (as you have) that Jesus did not care to help the gentiles, and it was only after he died and came back as a zombie that he grudgingly did so.

Personally, I see it more as Jesus using this situation to show others (initially his disciples, but ultimately any who call themselves Christians) that THEY will be the ones charged with bringing his teachings to the rest of the world - because he would only be in a particular area of the world for a short period of time (I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel) ...so it would be up to others to spread the word:

"Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people."

Of course that still begs the question: Why did he refer to her as a dog?

Again, these are just my own thoughts, but I think he did this because he understood that they (his disciples) held the belief that gentiles were undesirable "dogs", so he showed them that even after this woman was refused help and insulted, she still had faith. This was done so that his disciples would confront and acknowledge their prejudices by being shown that this woman and other gentiles are also capable of such faith (and worthy of their assistance) before they were asked to reach out to the rest of the non-Jewish world.

Anyway, that's how I view this particular episode.

In any event, thank you for taking the time to respond and for the interesting discussion.

Tim