The problem with Jesus

The Genealogies

01-joseph-genealogy The genealogies of Jesus are given in two of the Gosplels.

The genealogy given in Matthews is assumed to be the genealogy of Joseph.

02-mary-genealogy A second genealogy is given in the Gospel of Luke. This is assumed to be the genealogy of Mary.

An obvious difficulty is that the two genealogies appear to show the same ancestors for both Mary and Joseph. In any case as Jesus is the son of God why does the Genealogy of Joseph matter?

The gospels are supposed to be the inspired word of God, immune from error, so the apparent discepancies between these two genealogies have caused much concern this has caused. The emergence of relatives of Jesus also causes concerns for the Church of Rome but is less of a concern to the Orthodox Church.

03-a-different-view There is little doubt that the objective of both Gospel writers and Eusebius was to establish that Jesus was descended from both King David and the tribe of Levi, a necessary qualification for a high priest, thus giving Jesus the perfect credentials to be King of the Jews and the Messiah.

In turn this perfectly fitted Jesus with the ability to shape the Jewish people into any mould he devised.

The issue is complicated by the fact that the people who figure in this genealogies are in many cases real people who can be found in Jewish records.

This has lead to many attempts to produce alternative genealogiesWhich honour both the jewish records and the content of the gospel genealogies.

St Eusebius Solution

04-eusebious St Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 325) attempted to resolve the issue. Of course wether these ideas did originate in 325 or were introduced much later during a copying process is open to doubt! He, or someone using his credentials concludes that Heli and Jacob are what he describes as “uterine brothers” that is they had the same mother. When Heli died Jacob married Heli’s wife and according to Eusubius
when Jacob married Heli’s wife his son Joseph though Jacob’s biological son was Heli’s legal son. However the Gospel of Luke indicates that Heli was Mary’s father, so that Mary and Joseph were half brother and sister.

These genealogies still cause difficulty. A somewhat disingenuous question sent to the Pope by a Jewish organisation produced a less than convincing response.

The Question

questions vatican-response ecole-response

raymond-brown-response

All Lies

There is of course always the possibility that he did not exist at all, that he was simply an invention intended to divert the Jewish nation from the path of conflict. If so it was the most successful manipulative invention ever created

The most dangerous woman in the world

The Treasure of Trencavel

List of Characters

Table Of Contents

References

characters

List of Places

Table of Contents

Pseudo History

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

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Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

Available February 2020
The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.