ebooks Revolution in Judaea by Hyam Maccoby in History

Review

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. A 'Jewish' JesusBy JaywiltonSomehow;I stumbled onto this;years ago-and then went on to read several of Maccoby's other books.Maccoby makes a terrific case that Jesus was tried and executed for sedition against Rome-and if Hollywood is interested in making another 'Jesus' movie;this is the one.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Take it as if you're reading a novelBy LesterOk... it was something like this ------> Jesus was a true revolutionary; and although he was a pacifist (meaning he didn't think arms should be taken to start the killing of Roman soliders) he expected that God would give the signal to start the rebellion and He himself would intervene. Jesus wanted to be king; in the fullest sense; like Herod the Great. He even had a coronation ceremony. And he was a pharisee. But his disciples were warriors and he had serious arguments with them: Jesus said no to arms; the apostles were eager to begin killing Romans. There was an original gospel describing all this. Unfortunately; it was lost and the gospels as we now have them rewrote everything; they deleted the original story and invented a completely new one.They obscured the facts —they for example rewrote the coronation ceremony as the Transfiguration— and they changed the word "sadducee" for "pharisee". And of course; there is the book's main thesis; that Jesus and Barrabas were the same person; but the fact was kind of traumatic for Mark; so he decided to split him on two and give a lesson to the Jews; so he invented a parable of the people choosing war and not peace. You see; the evangelists were all Greeks; and they hated Jews; that's why they all plotted to hide the truth.Ok; this is more or less what Hyam Maccoby proposes in this book; a page turner; a fast reading; the style itself is urgent; like Maccoby has no time to stop to explain nonsenses. That's the big; big problem: He offers no proof. He just says this must've happened; because it makes sense (to him). Unfortunately; this is not how History or serious scholarship is made.39 of 40 people found the following review helpful. An essential Jewish critique of the origins of Christianity.By A CustomerSYNOPSIS: The New Testament treats Pharisees unfairly. Pharisees were the religious liberals and reformers of their time. They were the founders of rabbinical Judaism. We know from independent sources what they taught; and it was consistent with what Jesus taught; in fact; Jesus probably was a Pharisee. The Sadducees were a puppet government that collaborated with the oppressive Romans; the Pharisees opposed them as hopelessly corrupt. Jesus was a Jew who believed he was the Messiah; and in accordance with orthodox Judaism; he saw this as a political office. Jews saw political oppression as punishment for sin; therefore; repentance was a necessary precondition for overthrow of the oppressors and establishment of a righteous government. Jesus meant his moral teachings as preparation for political revolution. Those who hoped to ingratiate themselves with the Romans expunged Jesus' political views from the NT. They distorted or changed facts to exonerate the Romans for the crucifixion and shift blame to the Jews while blurring the distinction between Jewish factions. Someone who did not understand Jewish law inserted the charge of blasphemy after the fact for this purpose. Jews had a narrow clear definition of blasphemy; and it did not include claiming to be the Messiah. Romans would not have cared whether a Jew committed blasphemy; and the Jewish punishment for blasphemy was stoning; not crucifixion. Only the Romans practiced crucifixion. They reserved it for political criminals and they did not need or seek Jewish consent to use it. OPINION: Maccoby's book is essential for a historical understanding of the origins of Christianity. Drawing on a thorough knowledge of Jewish sources; he corrects many distortions and omissions committed or accepted by Christian commentators.