Newly Discovered PROOF: Jesus Was an Illusionist
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2024
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In an absolutely shocking turn of events, Bart has learned of a first-century Gospel that will overturn everything scholars think they know about Jesus, showing that he was a charlatan exposed by the Roman government for duping the Jewish crowds by sophisticated works of magic. The Gospel, set to be published this week by the NY Times, details how Jesus deliberately faked his famous miracles in an effort to seek fame and fortune. How did he go from magician-for-hire to Son of God, and was the crucifixion a tragic illusion gone wrong? Join us this week on Misquoting Jesus to find out more.
Megan asks:
-In case you hadn’t guessed, no, Bart hasn’t had some kind of academic revelation and won’t be publishing proof that Jesus was the world’s first recorded illusionist…we’re a day late, but happy April Fool’s! We will still be talking about miracles, however. Bart, why do you think it’s important for biblical scholars to examine the reports of miraculous events in the gospels, and other early Christian writings?
-Miracles happen a lot in the Bible even before Jesus. When we talk about miracles today, what do we actually mean?
-What miracles do we see in the OT, before Jesus comes on the scene?
-As a holy man, would it have been surprising for people that Jesus was reportedly performing these miracles?
-Are there any miracles that we see as being specific to Jesus, or is his repertoire in line with what we see from the rest of the ancient world?
-Do the canonical gospels differ among themselves in the kinds of miracles they report?
-What miracles do we see in the non-canonical gospels?
-Do these reports all occur in the same literary genre?
-What purpose do miracles serve in ancient literature, do they serve a different purpose in early Christian writings?
-Is the identity of Jesus as a miracle worker something that was imposed upon him after his death, or does it seem that this was happening while he was still alive?
-How should we evaluate reports of miracles? Why are they so common in religious traditions?
Are there reasons for thinking Jesus did miracles but that Apollonius of Tyana didn’t, or Simon Magus, or Muhammed?
-Is it possible to be a Christian if you doubt that Jesus did some or all of his miracles (being born of a virgin; walking on water; raising Lazarus from the dead)?
😅 This reminds me a gag in Red Dwarf (set in the future) where an archiologist discovers the heretofore lost first page of the Bible. It begins: "This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to persons living or dead is coincidence."
😂
Go London Jets ! ❤👍
Jesus says to Peter…pick a card…any card
Peter: What do I do with the card?
Jesus: Keep it. I've got 51 left.
The devil In Bart D. Ehrman!
th-cam.com/video/0j12m1HKP8A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SEqftLIaBqz3sjqw
Jesus: You are a rock-head and upon your gullibility I shall build my fanbase.
LOL XD
LMAO
Note to self, never make a ground breaking discovery early April!😂
Bart claiming "PROOF" was more than enough to make me suspicious lol.
Yeah that's not a very "Bart" word.
It's terrible that scholars don't want to write books for the general public. It holds progress back because people are denied knowledge.
general public can also read scholarly books , it’s just a difficult read
@@tawan20082008pretty much. I've been reading Mark S Smiths books on Biblical Monotheism. They're really good but very dense and hard to recommend to a casual reader. They don't do much to hold your hand.
I doubt it is that they don't necessarily want to write books for the public. It's more that they are experts writing for experts because they want to advance knowledge
Hi
There's a problem with scholars writing popular books and the public reading works of scholarship. Most of the public (moi included) can't read the source materials in the original. Actually, that's probably the only real barrier to comprehension. The ideas aren't complicated, they're just in different languages.
Being an 'April fool ' is better than being a fool the rest of the year!😉
😅
I call it the holiday we celebrate those who think the moon landing was fake
Why? Most people, myself included, are completely comfortable in our foolishness. Proof? Cause we keep doing the same foolish things year round.
I feel so stupid. I totally fell for it.
I totally did too 😂
He got me the first 5 minutes
What joke? They literally went on to argue said ‘joke’.
It WAS A DAY LATE after all.... lol. (So did I)
I got suspicious pretty quick.
I knew it was an April Fool's joke the moment I saw PROOF in all caps. I was also like, sometimes vids like these are a day late as well. Bart's face of "I'm totally serious right now" had me giggling.
They found Jesus's magic wand and top hat?!?
And the Easter bunny inside
Or his set of Marshall Brodein's TV Magic cards? 🙂
When God helped Moses to make the stick into a snake, the Pharaoh's magician can do it too.
Bart’s pretend serious face in the beginning killed me 😂😂😂
The day late April's fools is brilliant. Going to have to remember that for the future.
Don't know about April Fools, but I have ducks and chickens, so everyday has an Easter egg hunt.
It’s not an April Fool’s joke if they go on to say it is actually the case.
It was obvious. I assumed the rest of this podcast is a waste of time and did not bother to lisen to it. I'll try again next week.
@@josh2388yeah, shame on these scholars, comparing miracle stories of Jesus to other similar miracle stories from a similar time period (sarcasm)
It's what the Juse actually believe though, that he was a magician, son of a Roman soldier, a false prophet and impostor messiah and a blasphemer
I knew from her first sentence that it was a joke. She talks of a “newly-discovered” 1st century document that Bart was going to discuss, with neither of them displaying skepticism.
The title gives it away first, because Bart just doesn’t pop up with grand claims like that 🤭
I mostly fell for it, but when Megan implied the crucifixion was a trick gone bad I was like Whaaaat.....
I reported this as if it were headline news to two adult friends.... before actually playing the podcast. Thanks Bart and Meg for making me look a total idiot.
Well deserved. Learn from that ;)
Think of everything you might have taken in as truth in face value, atheists brag about being free of faith and forever entrenched in the practice of knowledge yet will immediately take anything at face value that matches their own beliefs.
What makes them any different from the Christians they call out?
By all means are we all bound to our subjectivity, yet we all claim also to be knowing of the ‘truth’
With our emotions attached to these ideas we commit errors.
One end isn’t more correct than the other, it’s merely the same thing, a belief.
That is why I cannot stand the arrogance of atheists, that is why I am an agnostic because I don’t trust myself in being able to know the absolute truth.
I need nor needed any help in that regard and should be proud to say I "If this be foolery, let us make the most of it."
Reputable academics don’t toss the word “proof” around, if they say it at all.
In the words of Obi-Wan, “you have done that yourself!”
No but seriously it’s your fault not theirs that you just spread random shit from the internet without checking it like a sheep lol
I think it would be interesting for Bart to have on an academic who specializes in magic in the ancient world. It is such an underappreciated field of study. Putting the figure of Jesus and his later following within the broader picture of the intersection of religion and magic would be beneficial for his audience and highlight an academic whose work is not usually viewed by the public.
Any academic in mind? Sounds like it would be a great discussion.
Maybe you already know them, but on TH-cam I'd recommend the channels Religion for Breakfast (the host's speciality is early christian magic if I remember correctly) and Esoterica.
@@dukeon For a general audience an interview with Earl Fontainelle of the Secret History of Western Esotericism would be my choice. He is already a public facing academic which is huge since the study of magic is often looked down upon in the larger academic community. The generalist approach of his public facing scholarship is a plus for a one off episode.
Didn't Pharaoh's magicians seem to duplicate the "miracles" that Moses and Aaron did?
Yes. And, if Moses used the magic of Yahweh, then who provided the magic for the Pharaoh's priests?
@@afaegfsgsdef Voldemort 😊
@@afaegfsgsdef Exodus 12:12, 18:11, Numbers 33:4
Go read those
This has been around plainly for a VERY long time
@afaegfsgsdef an apologist would probably say "demons have power too, but God's power is greater"
I read the title and thought 'that makes sense. It would explain how Jesus turned water in to wine.'
I struggle with anyone thinking the bible is literal history - whether they are a believer or not. Two sides to the same idiotic coin.
In Spain we celebrate something like the April fools in December, 28th calling it "The saints innocents", remembering the supposed killing of babys described in the Bible. As funny as spooky.
This is the 2nd time today that I fell for an April fools gag. 😊
For 8th grade commencement, we were required to write a speech for a contest about one of 3 topics. I chose the topic of Success, but having never written a speech before, I was stumped on what to write. My mother pointed out some quotes from a book she had by Albert Schweitzer on how to measure success. I completed the speech by turning SUCCESS into an acronym, and summing up with a little brown-nosing of our teachers. Though my only intent was to get the teacher off my back, I won the speech writing contest and had to give the speech at our commencement. I was going to get the book you recommended, but it seems I already have it.
Success: “Some people would be happy just to happy just to have one dream come true/But everything we gather is more that we can lose.” (Robert Hunter)
Jesus was the original April fools joke 😂
Just got a little outta hand 😂😂
I fell for it, but then again, I had no idea what date ot was 😂😂😂
BTW, whose voice is it who transitions between segments? Is he credited somewhere and am just missing it somehow?
Happy April 2nd!
That debate needs to be on yt. I will watch it over in the website eventually, but if it was here, I'd already be watching it
Another fantastic episode. Bart, I want you to know how much help you have given me through your writing. I was an aspiring fundamentalist preacher who began struggling with my faith at around age 30. From 30 to 40 I kind of ignored my belief system because it made me increasingly uncomfortable. At around 40 I started reading various books, including many of yours. They helped me transition into de-conversion but I regained my love for biblical studies without the crisis of faith I often had when encountering opinions different from my own. I'm now 44 with a re-ignited passion for scholarship but now as an atheist. Losing my faith was difficult but you helped me through it. Thank you.
all fundamentalists that leave the faith become atheists. On the other hand, catholics (those who understand it beyond myth) become platonists. Christianity is socratic thought combined with jewish mythology. Now that you know mythology is just that, why not go back to the basics?
Apologists who use the "the laws of nature prove a lawgiver" fallacy didn't get the memo about how natural laws just are and don't have to be "enforced".
They literally say the consistency of natural laws is evidence of a being that can set/break/change them.
Which isn't just nonsense, it's entirely backwards; they're literally saying a lack of divine intervention is evidence for god.
My hopes were so high! Especially since the first artistic depictions of Jesus often showed him holding a wand. Did he play weddings and bar mitzvahs?
In these Dark Ages, where idiocy is praised, I really thank you (Both of you) for caring about truth and knowledge so much to spread it
This topic dovetails nicely with Dr.Lena Einhorn’s theory that Jesus is ‘the Egyptian’ mentioned in Josephus and Acts. I would be interested to know if Dr. Bart read her book?
What is the Taylor podcast you mentioned? I couldn’t locate it. Thank you
I love how Bart is keeping such a straight face. :)
The first article of faith is the acceptance that this physical being is not all that we are. Whatever form this acceptance expresses itself is irrelevant, as they all play a role on our path to the revelation of our true nature as divine beings. I personally accept Jesus is still always trying to help return us to God, and while I am not a Christian, (because I don't accept that religion's interpretation of the crucifixion, not for our our sins, and resurrection, a demonstration that nothing can destroy truth), I absolutely will always be a follower of Jesus and open to his guidance.
Well… Jesus is called a magician and sorcerer in the Talmud. You can read how he performed magic with the letters of Gods name in Toledot Yeshu.
lol I got the email and was like “wonder if they will carry it the whole episode” lol
The Israeli bible historiographer Dr.Yigal Bin nun lectured recently on 'Historical Jesus' and mentioned that people in that time also ascribed him as magician among other attributes he listed that people thought of in that time
Just finished listening to this edition on Spotify - great conversation! I love the April Fools bit but may I suggest that you tweak the headline a little to make sure folks know that the subject is really about how the ancient world would have viewed "miracle" claims (miracle in quotes because of my new knowledge of the difference between "miracles" in the Synoptics and "signs" in John - fascinating)!!
Always enjoy Megan and Bart's videos. Most informative!!
I like the new subsegment. Please keep doing it. I can't wait until you get to a book that I haven't heard of yet.
I immediately checked the date. But this was one of the best April 1st claims I've seen on TH-cam haha
Megan - how do you pull off the hair color changes?😅 I love thart you change so often...keeping true to yourself is so important..Love it.
You shouldn’t forget Dr. Ehrman’s sense of humor. Thanks for another interesting program. We out here in the hinterland are quite fortunate Dr. Ehrman didn’t follow the advice to stay away from the common folk.
New gospel:
Jesus : ' Look ladies & gentlemen... He's been dead for two days and now he's alive again ! ' A small donation please '
Onlooker : 'Wait a minute ? ...That's Lazarus !. He was in fine health this morning ...;)
One of the few announcements (well, of several, actually) that I may find myself willing and completely willingly would buy in on
Gotta be April’s Fools.
No one would sign up for a pretend crucifixion.
I fell for an April Fools story yesterday, so maybe I was expecting it.
Actually, some Christians do go thru the crucifixion process as a way of demonstrating their faith. I don't understand it, but several people a year do this.
It is a regular Good Friday ritual in the Phillipines
OMG, I totally fell for this. Googled trying to find out more. Derp.
I thoight, nah. A liar woukd nit tell us to kove ourselves, our neighbours, ie every one around, and our enemies. That makes me believe Him. Genius. And most unusual.
Oh my science the hair on Megan is amazing. Bart should do a color too. Great episode by the way.
Megan Lewis and Bart D. Ehrman, I have a suggestion for an episode. Do an episode on the Church before Paul started writing letters. How was the Church different or same before Paul?
There was no “Church” prior to the character Paul believed to have written any letters. The actual so called “Church”, which is the Roman Catholic Church, was established in 590 C.E. With Pope Gregory I even though it was written that the character Peter would build Jesus’s church in Matt. 16:18. In order for the church to establish its power, it had to make Peter a “saint” only and teaches nothing of Peter actually starting the “church” at all.
What you are looking for is what were the first so called Christians were like. The truth of that will be a shocker.
Hahaha you got me!! I was so excited to see new evidence about Jesus
I can almost hear so many Christians losing their minds. Well done guys.
Prof. Bart, I admire your work. You have increased my faith in God.
I was only 1/2 taken in for about three seconds. I'm glad this April Fool tuned into you again. Fascinating as usual, thanks.
I’m disappointed that this *wasn’t* true
How do you know Jesus wasn't an illusionist, or whether the "miracles" were fabricated or exaggerated?
A day late!
Blessèd are those who disbelieve without seeing.
That's a good one 😉
I LOVE her hair and glasses, very creative and so noticeable but quaint at the same time. I did kinda fall for the joke, but I do/have read deep into the illusionist practices of the times. Learning "tricks" wasn't alien to the learned teachers of the Abrahamic educators and priests. To be able to spot con artistry being played on ones flock/tribe was a necessity, and some peoples learned more than others. Physical tricks were common. Even the Pharoahs held competitions for magic tricksters to trick the pharoah upon winning a purse if the could be stumped. (they then would have to reveal the trick). It was a way of gaining education about the natural sciences without having a word for this mental arena in ancient times. Gr8! Peace ☮💜Love
The other day Richard Dawkins said he's a Christian now.
He said he adheres to cultural Christianity. Christmas, Easter etc…
Listening to other you tubers repeat this is baffling if you watched that interview yourself. While I don’t like his language with many things, I still can infer what he was talking about.
I worked in a civvy capacity in academia for a few years. I have never in my life came across so many people who were so ego driven, it was actually quite disturbing. For to be so educationally qualified, they didn't have one ounce of common sense amongst them. I asked one of them what their actual goal was with studying for so many years. The answer: "To have a paper published about my theories" I then asked what if someone came along after you and disproved all your theories? Their answer was "Ah well, I'll just have to start on another one". Which led me to believe that it was more about satisfying their ego than the academic side of things.
In a meeting one day, they all hummed and hawed about a particular problem, they all put their cases across, and after the meeting NOT ONE OF THEM CAME UP WITH A SOLUTION. They all tried to out do one another with their take on the problem.
People in academia do not impress me in the slightest, in fact I'd go out of my way to avoid them. The more I seen of that world, the more I became convinced that it is made up of ego centric children in adult bodies.
There are extensive and numerous parallels between Greek-eastern orthodox (eg. Easter) and Masonic rituals. So maybe raising from the dead (eg.) is not related so much to miracles as to the ancient mysteries prevalent thru-out the eastern Europe - middle east. Thank you for this great podcast.
"This guy is good...he should go professional".
The colorful Megan, the laughing Bart, thank you again.
I had to laugh! This recalls the UK magician Dynamo, walking on water, and pouring a huge pile of fish out of a previously empty plastic bucket in South Africa.
The gospel being found in the Holy Grail is the most incredible part
Boo! Spoilers!
And I was so looking forward to the Megan and Bart Miraculous Biblical Comedy Hour.
Bart, we are so grateful that you have written several trade books.
Your lectures and books are so much more interesting than the other videos on the Bible.
I mean the "Truth about the shroud of Turin" was not bad when I was 15.
At 60 this is far more illuminating and interesting.
I wonder if there is survivor bias in the miracle stories in all kinds of regions. The people who survived or benefited from the miracle are more likely to write it down or tell other people. The 'failed' miracle stories were less told and documented.
Bart never disappoints! Thank you!! (oh....I was spooked...I thought you were for real! How disappointing!)
Even if you did find proof it was all magic people wouldn't believe it.
Aaahhh hahahaha I was about to tex t a friendly of mine and send him this video 😂😂😂. You got me Megan and Bart!!
maybe it's not about the power of illusionist but the intended 'out of body experience' which still can interact with human sensory realm..
I knew Dr Bart wouldn’t use the word “proof”
Nice one, Prof.
I remember when I was younger, my uncle told me that Jesus pushed a little boy off a roof and killed him, and then he brought him back from the dead. My grandmother got so mad at my uncle and scolded him for telling me that. Years later in my adult life I’m reading the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas, and I read the part that my uncle had mentioned those many years ago, and it made me laugh so damn hard. I was like how the hell did he know that? Lmao.
Your Uncle’s past life? 😂
@@aliceputt3133 No, somebody definitely told him because he pushed back and double downed on it lol, but he didn’t know where he heard it from. He just thought it was in the Bible.
Bits and pieces of apocripha have been floating around for a while. For example, Peter being crucified upside down and Mary's immaculate conception are doctrine among Catholics but appear in non-canonical writings. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas was discovered sometime in the 19th century and books were written about it in the early 20th century. So very likely that word got out about what it said.
April fools' day! There's no way in hell such a gospel wasn't revealed earlier!!!
The WTF look on Bart's face was great!
Jesus perform many miracles. But the two that stands out is the virgin birth and the resurrection. Because, this was prophecied hundreds of years before his birth. And he fulfills those two miracle prophecies, apart from other non miracle prophecies. That is why we believe he is the person whom the prophets said he was, confirm by John the Baptist and he himself claim and made reference to the writings of the prophets concerning himself.
I prefer my Easter to fall on April Fools’ day, it’s more honest that way.
I totally fell for it, but in my defence I did think, “Has he lost his mind?”
After 23 years in the military, arthritis is my middle name. Motrin FTW.
🤣 LOL I totally fell for it! Here I am sitting taking notes and looking all over the web for the news! Happy April Fool's day!
I also fell for an Estonian news article that the current PM of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, was the be the next NATO Sec Gen. But, damn, Meghan's hair is still fine!
What I find odd is we have so many unknowns, such as; what is dark matter, dark energy? which makes majority of the universe but yet certain individuals can answer with certainity the most difficult question, does God exist? And get answer of a No. Really?
Peter was like a gangster Thug
Would like to see the 7hr debate.
Link please.
Not gonna happen. Bart and Mike wouldn't make any more money.
Didn't Ms Lewis give the e-ddress in the video?
How Bart and Megan kept a straight face is literally a miracle.
This was so far, the only April Fool's that got me this year. Great lead-up I fell right in. :)
Every knee shall bow
This was one the very best episodes on this podcast so far!
What also find amazing is the science behind NDE's and the spiritual connection and such
you wanna be careful someone doesn't clip that first bit lol or hopefully doesn't do what I did and watch up until that bit then run downstairs for dinner, i'm glad i returned to continue this episode tho lol
Well shit. I wish I hadn't seen the comments first. I would've fallen for it.
Even thought this is an April Fools prank, the substance feels all too real.
I hate April Fool's Day. A waste of everyone's time. Sorry Bart.
Well I for one said, "Well there must be good, no, great evidence or Bart wouldn't publish something like this.". For once I am truly proud of myself.
Some commenters are complaining that this is an April Fool's joke, but these videos don't even have specific date on them (just so-many months ago), and I saw neither of them give any indication it was a joke while they talked about the possibility that Jesus used magic tricks or some form of illusions (among many other things). My complaint is that it appears to be a case of click bait, and that seems below Bart Ehrman to do, so I'm not sure what to make of it.
Lovely! Thank you both for sharing!
Never mind all this. What I really want to know is how Bart stands on the Shakespeare authorship question.
Everyone knows Shakespeare's plays were written by 500 monkeys hitting keys at random on 500 typewriters.
interestingly the idea of 'natural law' in science came about from the context of abrahamic divine laws. It caused massive controversy when philosophers such as david hume demonstrated the problem of induction, which completely riled the foundation of the scientific method. Even today people are to scared to talk about it.
in one sense the view of the ancient world in regard to miracles is more reasonable because it doesn't reify abstract laws
Interesting. Tolkien's Elves and his concept of magic makes so much sense now. Very much "powerful acts."
I was going to say... historians and scientists rarely use the word "proof". Glad this was an April Fools prank.
"Miracle" = "The Power of Placebo"
It is well established that he went around with his hat full of bread and his pockets stuffed with fish so that he could perform his famous bread&fish multiplication trick!