"Zeitgeist" Online Movie: Part One
Refuted©
Posted: August 23, 2007
Was Jesus Based on Joseph, an Old Testament
Figure?
The narrator claims that Joseph, an Old Testament figure, was a prototype of Jesus. He then mentions a number of parallels, assuming that parallels imply fiction. However, are parallels necessarily indicative of fiction? As historian Michael Licona points out, “One can likewise see striking parallels between the lives of Jesus and John F. Kennedy:
1. Both had followers who adored them.
2. Both were leaders of a kingdom.
3. Both were opposed.
4. Both were killed publicly
5. in a dramatic fashion
6. at the pinnacle of their careers
7. in the presence of the woman closest to them.
8. Both received head wounds. A crown of thorns was placed on the head of Jesus. JFK was shot in the head.
9. Both were pronounced dead by authorities (soldier, physician).
10. Both were mourned.
11. Both were buried in a tomb.
12. Both had names beginning with the letter “J.”
13. Both were interested in freedom.
14. Both had a father named Joseph
15. who was self-employed.
16. Both families had a prominent and immediate member who provided wine.
17. Both Jesus and JFK had brothers who were murdered.
18. after their prominent brothers were murdered (James, RFK).
Here are eighteen parallels between Jesus and JFK that are more striking than those cited by Carrier. Some even seem too bizarre to be mere coincidence. Nevertheless, the entire comparison is true and no would conclude that it is too much to be a coincidence. Neither are we compelled to conclude that JFK was a myth, invented to embody Christian ideology in the 20th-century!
Consider the following often-cited parallels between Lincoln and Kennedy:
Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.
Both of their wives lost their children while living in the White House.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot in the head.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Both successors were named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.
Both assassins were known by their three names.
Both names are comprised of fifteen letters
Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.
Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.
Before Lincoln was assassinated, he visited Monroe, Maryland.
Before Kennedy was assassinated, he visited Marilyn Monroe.
…One can begin to understand why parallels have not persuaded the majority of today’s scholars.”
Thus, mere parallels between the accounts of Joseph and Jesus do not necessarily indicate that either, or both individual were fictitious.
Continue to: Did Jesus Even Exist?
