Ella Rose Mast Newsletter – February 1994

Ella Rose Mast Newsletter – February 1994
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Hutchinson News: (By Thomas J. Billiteri, St. Petersburg Times) The Gospels: Was Jesus misquoted?

FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HAS TAUGHT that Jesus spoke certain words which form the foundation of the Christian faith. Now a group of some 78 Bible scholars, known as the ‘Jesus Seminar’ say it ain’t so.

After an 8 year study this group says that Jesus never spoke the words on judging, that he did not teach his disciples ‘the LORD’S prayer’ or predict an end of the world (order) or ask God to forgive his tormentors as he hung on the cross. In fact the conclusion published last month as to The five Gospels, that of Thomas being added to the Biblical four as to What did Jesus really say, has stirred the ire of Conservative Christians every where. These scholars also translated the scriptures into a colloquial sounding Gospel that avoids sexist language and leaves such words as Messiah, son and Sabbath uncapitalized.

The results is a portrait of Jesus who does not initiate dialogue or debate, rarely speaks about himself in the first person and makes no claim to being the Messiah. They have thus concluded that Jesus DID NOT SAY:

“I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER (SPIRIT) EXCEPT THRU ME.” HE DID NOT STILL THE WIND AND THE WAVES, NEVER TAUGHT THE DISCIPLES THE LORD’S PRAYER.

In fact according to these so called scholars, the Gospel writers were not only disciples of Jesus but skilled fiction writers who embellished the words of Jesus with borrowed lore, passages from Greek scripture and other sources to fit the times and persuade their audiences that Jesus indeed was the long awaited Messiah.