“This is not just a discovery. It’s a detonation. Buried in ancient Roman archives, a hidden letter from Pontius Pilate has just been unearthed — and it shatters the foundation of everything the Vatican has taught for centuries.
Not to keep picking on Catholics… but yeeesh… this is getting monotonous… my preliminary search to corroborate this explosive revelation is inconclusive. As near as I can tell, there IS a letter, and the Vatican refused to release any info about it. I dunno if I want to deep dive on this or not? There’s so much crap floating around on the innernet … and I got chores to do… but in spite of myself my interest is piqued - a little bit.
I am not a biblical scholar but my reading indicates Pontius Pilate was your typical Roman prefect. He saw no guilt in Jesus Christ and said so, he knew the charges were bogus, but permitted the crucifiction to appease the jews and prevent a jewish uprising. Whether or not he saw Christ as divine has been up in the air; no doubt he at least saw Christ as an expendable political prisoner. Roman politicians were easily as skilled at corruption, betrayal and deceit as ours are today. Killing expendable dirt people would have been at least as acceptable then as it is today. I don’t think there is anything really shocking or explosively revealing here… so far.
My question is this - why is the Vatican sitting on this? And - by what right? My bush radar is going off. I think there’s a power play of some sort in progress or possibly a cover up of some kind…? With that filthy lot of clerical kiddie diddlers and faggots… who knows?
My take is pretty much the same as yours - Pilate was not necessarily a bad man (not any worse than any other politician, that is) and he saw no evil in Jesus. However he was more concerned with keeping the jewish leaders happy to prevent an uprising. Basically protecting his own job by letting a rabble rouser die. Note that he put the question to the crowd and the jewish religious leaders went into the crowds and whipped them into a frenzy. So there's that whole "let his blood be on us" thing going on too.
ReplyDeleteThere's also the whole issue with OT prophesy and that the Messiah would be hung from a tree rather than stoned. Jesus had to be executed by the Romans who used crucifixion rather than the jews who used stoning for this to come true.
Pilate was just another in a long line of non-Christian and non-jew tools used by God to accomplish his will.
There's also been the case of many old scrolls and stuff planted by the jews over the centuries to discredit the new Christian religion - quite possibly the case here too. Not to give any credit to the Catholics, just saying.
Interesting. My readings tend to suggest that while the Romans weren’t shy or squeamish about killing their adversaries - they divided on the use of crucifixion. It was so horrible a way to die, that it was only used for especially deserving criminals and adversaries. It was used mostly when they wanted to make an example of someone and underline it. There are records of Romans complaining that it infuriated some adversaries so much that they lost all fear and were so damned mad that it made it more difficult to defeat them.
ReplyDeleteIn this case it helped create a new world that swept the old Roman order aside…
I completely agree that some Romans were probably smart enough to think ahead about the effects of cruel and unusual punishment, but in this particular case they were definitely trying to make an example. I don't pretend to know the full truth, but I know enough to sift out some obvious lies.
DeleteGet ready for the "first contact" alien encounter, installation of The Antichrist, and the war against The Lord Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there were any lies involved, Glen. It was no secret, even Biblically, that Pilate didn't want to execute Jesus. He went to bat for Jesus a few times in his discourse with the Jews, who were close to rioting. In the end Pilate, who DIDN'T WANT to execute Jesus, but was afraid of the repercussions of not doing so, literally washed his hands of the matter. The Catholic Church has never taught anything different. Indeed, Pilate was indeed you, me, and every other man out there. For that matter, so were the Jews. WHO HASN'T denied Christ in the face of losing everything? Hell; even PETER, the FIRST POPE, denied Jesus THREE TIMES in ONE NIGHT!!!
ReplyDeleteAs for the "clerical kiddie diddlers and faggots," I get your point. Catholics like me have been dealing with the fallout from this for a few decades now, though we don't share in the guilt. Indeed, there are several policies of the Catholic Church that have forced me to step aside from it, one of them being the church's idolatrous preoccupation with Mary. I can't abide by that or the church's equal preoccupation with illegal aliens. Funny how the Pope wants us to let everyone into our country but lives behind a BIG, BEAUTIFUL WALL...
Yup. That notion that everyone chit the bed in the crucifixion is parallel to what our guys preach too, Pete. I personally struggle with the notion but should keep my reservations to myself. I don’t have the biblical expertise to disagree with accepted scholarly interpretations of these events…. But I do have problems with some of them. What really bothers me at this point is that they’re sitting on that letter…
Delete- I want to know why
- I want to see the authenticity of the letter verified
- I question their legal right to decide what happens with it.
Are religious artifacts governed by standard property laws? Does the Vatican the right to censure not only Catholics, but other denominations too? How does freedom of access to information apply to cases like this? Is it even worth arguing about?
As a newly minted Christian, (agnostic for decades but the naked evil I saw during the 'vid times drew me back onto the path), I appreciate your sensible views on this Pete. Even Peter denied Him three times.
DeleteThe whole point of the story is that Pilate had a choice - and whatever his motivations or thoughts - he choose poorly. He is one of the greatest examples of the free will doctrine in literature.
ReplyDeleteThere's also a letter to the Senate from a Roman centurion requesting that Rome build a temple to worship Jesus. It's disputed (of course) but interesting because it contains a physical description of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteAnother letter I found interesting was fan mail to Mary and her brief reply. She basically affirmed that the things John told him about Christ were true.
All speculation. No evidence of such a letter. Just more bullshit against Catholics.
ReplyDeleteMost so called Catholics don't even know their faith. Like the above allegation Catholics worship Mary. Wrong, they venarate her: she's the mother of God.
Luther's Turd