Category Archives: B.C.E. times

The Natsarene and Hidden Gnosis – Pt. 1 (Salm)

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Foreword I wrote this 6-part essay in 2011, to be read in conjunction with Ditlef Nielsen’s groundbreaking and long forgotten book The Old Arabian Moon Religion and the Mosaic Tradition (1904). The original essay is available complete in PDF form here. The first five chapters of Nielsen’s book (in my translation from the German) are available in a series of PDF’s here. To get the most out of this essay, the reader is urged to also read Nielsen’s writing, which explores a number of still novel themes that are foundational to the origins of Christianity—such as: the influence of North Arabian religion on early Israelite origins, and in turn on Christianity; the gnostic nature of the religion of Midian, where … Continue reading →

Pre-Christian gnosticism

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In the last few years the fundamental historicity of the canonical gospels has been increasingly brought into question not merely through the work of a few “mythicists” but now also through the work of mainline scholars such as Thomas Brodie and Dennis MacDonald. The work of other scholars, too—scholars who are not ‘mythicist’ at all—is inexorably leading the entire field towards a new paradigm: “Jesus of Nazareth” was a fiction. This new paradigm is still far from being even a minority consensus among scholars, but that may largely be due to the reticence of many scholars to espouse what is extremely unpopular and still politically suicidal. In other words, the mythicist position is far stronger than may appear when the … Continue reading →

The Natsarene (“Nazarene”) Religion – Pt. 8

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Early Buddhist influence on the West It is hardly acknowledged by Christian scholarship that Buddhism potentially exercised considerable influence in the Western world as early as the third century BCE. In the middle of that century, Ashoka (r. 269-232 BCE)—the Mauryan “Emperor of Emperors” who conquered most of the Indian subcontinent—sent a Buddhist missionary contingent to Alexandria at the official request of the curious and enterprising emperor Ptolemy II of Egypt (r. 283-246 BCE)—the same emperor who founded the great Library of Alexandria (eventually destroyed, probably by Christians in 391 or 415 CE).   Both Ashoka and Ptolemy II were extraordinary figures. After a particularly bloody victory against the Kalingas, Ashoka Maurya converted to Buddhism and became a pacifist. Surrounded … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 5: Jewish history rewritten

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The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Five With editorial material added in green and significant statements in red. Zechariah 12:9-11 It was remarked above that in the Jewish tradition one passage of Old Testament prophecy has been expressly declared to refer definitely to the death of the warrior Messiah, the Son of Ephraim. This is Zech 12:10, a picture of bitter lamentation in Jerusalem for a slain hero. The whole chapter deals with the closing scenes of the great conflict of Israel with the hostile nations of the world. Yahweh says in 12:9: “In that day I will seek to destroy all the … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 4: Slain by the gentiles

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The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Four With editorial material added in green. I have also taken the liberty of highlighting some significant statements in red.—R.S. Daniel 9:24-27 /24/ “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy one. /25/ Know therefore and understand: from the time that the word went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks; … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 3: The union of man and God

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The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Three With editorial material added in green and significant passages in red.—R.S. Apocalypse of Baruch, Chapters 29, 30, and 40 All those who have knowledge of the intimate relation existing between Second Esdras (IV Ezra) and the Apocalypse of Baruch will expect to find in the latter work the same Messianic teaching as in the former. And in fact, its representation of the lesser Messiah agrees in all respects with that which was given in the “Shealtiel Apocalypse” (II Esdr, chaps. 3-13).11 The material in Ap. Bar. taken over from Ap. Sheal. (i. e., from the core … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 2: The two messiahs

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The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Two With occasional added notes in green and important points in red.—R.S. In this section Prof. Torrey delineates two messiahs: a “Son of Ephraim” (who is also known as “Son of Joseph”) and a “Son of David.” The former is essentially human, the latter essentially divine. The basic roles of these two different messiahs are as follows: First in history will come the very human Son of Joseph/Ephraim (the precursor): – In the last days of the world but before the Messiah Son of David (and, in a sense, ‘in preparation’ for the Messiah Son of David). … Continue reading →

Torrey Part One: The Slain Messiah

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The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 HIGHLIGHTS This important article provides astonishing—and unexpected—insight into the Jewish background of the Christian conception of the slain messiah. I have arbitrarily divided Torrey’s article into five parts. The major points (highlighted in red in the pertinent posts) are as follows: Part 1: – Contrary to general belief, there were two expected messiahs (“anointed ones”) in Second Temple Judaism: the Messiah Son of Ephraim, and the Messiah Son of David. The latter is well known, while the former has languished in obscurity since ancient times, suppressed in both Judaism and Christianity. However, Torrey argues that the Christian messianic … Continue reading →

PDF’s

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PDF’s are not subject to the Search and Category features of this website. Hence, their valuable contents are often hidden. My hope is to convert these PDF’s to posts/pages as time permits, and thus to make their contents available to the reader via the powerful features that WordPress offers. For now, however, please click on one or more of the following to read the content. (Click on the title “PDF’s” if the list is not visible below.) Nazareth, the Caesarea Inscription, and the hand of God (E. Tuccinardi) (Complete article in English) ––––––––––––––––––– David Fitzgerald, “Ten Beautiful Lies About Jesus” ––––––––––––––––––– The Natsarene and Hidden Gnosis (Salm) A newer and expanded version of this article is available in six posts … Continue reading →