01-17-2008, 12:06 PM
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Mr. Atwill suggests that some of the Romans concocted Christianity as a way of co-opting part of the Jewish population to accept a pacifist religion that would "Render unto Caesar" while appearing to fulfill the predictions of the Hebrew prophets about a messiah. If they were successful in this the occupation of Judea would be much easier for the Romans. Atwill made textual comparisons between the gospels and other writings of the period, particularly Roman writings that mocked the Macabees, who were in revolt against Rome, and found a lot of parallels that were statistically unlikely unless there was a clear connection between the two texts. He concluded that Christianity had been invented for political reasons.
<b>In response to a question about Dan Brown's novel, The DaVinci Code, Mr. Atwill said that that book is a work of fiction and not nearly as threatening to Christian beliefs as his own critique. It might even deflect interest in a deeper critique of Christianity. </b>
http://hagsa.org/meetings/2006/index.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Mr. Atwill suggests that some of the Romans concocted Christianity as a way of co-opting part of the Jewish population to accept a pacifist religion that would "Render unto Caesar" while appearing to fulfill the predictions of the Hebrew prophets about a messiah. If they were successful in this the occupation of Judea would be much easier for the Romans. Atwill made textual comparisons between the gospels and other writings of the period, particularly Roman writings that mocked the Macabees, who were in revolt against Rome, and found a lot of parallels that were statistically unlikely unless there was a clear connection between the two texts. He concluded that Christianity had been invented for political reasons.
<b>In response to a question about Dan Brown's novel, The DaVinci Code, Mr. Atwill said that that book is a work of fiction and not nearly as threatening to Christian beliefs as his own critique. It might even deflect interest in a deeper critique of Christianity. </b>
http://hagsa.org/meetings/2006/index.html<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->