HOW THE HRCC (Catholic Church) GOT STARTED

How did the HRCC (Holy Roman Catholic Church) get from the Cross on Calvary to Rome?

work in progress, near completion

I took a course:  the Dead Sea Scrolls, at Adventures in Learning, Colby Sawyer College, given by Art Rosen, a retired business executive, who indeed is a scholar as well.   I finally found the pieces showing where the seeds of Catholicism came from, as well as the trail of events leading from Calvary to Rome.  I was sold on the theory of the existence of God from the get-go; I was into astronomy at a very young age.  I had lots of questions for the nuns that were never answered.  But it didn't matter since i was sold on the Jesus story in the first grade. 

I now believe that there is a prime mover.  St. Anselm's proslogium finally convinced me.  I know that the famed mathematician, logician and philosopher, Bertrand Russell, an atheist,  was stuck on the proslogium. Earlier in 2011I took a course on the Philosophy (Metaphysics) of God at Dartmouth Adventures in Learning.

Note that Joshua = Yoshua or Yahushua because there is no "J" sound in Hebrew. The letter "J" is only about 500 years old and isn't even found in the original 1611 King James version


the rapture index is now at xx.  the higher the more likely the day of last judgment.

zoroaster;  about 600 bc

1.        After God created the universe,  then came Zarathustra (Zoroaster). [A mythical or real person born circa 3000-400BC; some scholars believe in India.] Because God was good, and there was evil in the world, Zoroaster reasoned that there must be a God of Darkness (Satan).  Zoroaster was born of a virgin (Spitama), he withdrew into the wilderness, and resisted the temptations of an evil force, he promised heaven and hell, and a clash of good and evil at the apocalyptic end of time,  and was consumed in a flash and ascended into heaven. At the end of time his son, the messiah (as savior) will appear, a general bodily resurrection will take place, bodies and souls will be reunited, the righteous will receive eternal life and the wicked will feed eternally on poison.

2.        Ancient Persia was the first and the largest world empire. Zoroastrianism became the state religion. When?   On or before 538BC when Persia conquered the Babylonians and Judah became a Persian district.  There still exist about 80,000 people who practice Zoroastrianism living in India.  

3.       Judah (Israel) was at the cross roads of the middle east, and was conquered by the Babylonians, then Persia, then the Greeks (Alexander the Great, in about 333BC), followed by the Ptolomies, Seleucids (followers of Alexander the Great) and finally the Romans. About 500 years of captivity.

5.        Did someone say cross roads?  Jerusalem has been destroyed completely at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked an additional 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times.  It has been the scene of 20 revolts and innumerable riots, has had at least 5 separate periods of violent terrorist attacks during the past century, and has changed hands completely peacefully only twice in the past 4000 years.  Eric Cline, "Jerusalem Besieged."    [Go to Amazon.com and read the reviews.]   [I took a course on the Arab-Israeli ConflictIt is impossible to understand the tensions between the Arabs and the Israelis unless one reads the book  by Benny Morris: " Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881-2001."] [Read the reviews of Righteous Victims on Amazon.com;  they are informative.]

      

6.        The first five books (the holy books, the Pentateuch or Torah) of the Old Testament, dating as far back as Solomon's Courts (900 BC), [which were compiled as part of the book of Ezra (also known as the Torah) in 397BC when Ezra returned from his training in the Persian Courts.] The Torah did not mention heaven or hell or or soul or eternal life or the end of time.  These were introdcuced later by the Jewish priests and scholars after their studies at the Persian Courts.   

7.        During the Persian occupation, the Jewish scholars were educated at the Persian Courts.  Gradually, the later books of the Old Testament reflected some of the philosophy (or beliefs or myths) of Zoroastrianism including the beginning and end of time, the messiah, the last judgment, etc.  Eastern and Celtic religions, by contrast,  believed that life was cyclical, an infinite wheel of existence.

8.        The Dead Sea Scrolls were written between 200BC to about 68AD; note the later date.  The writers or keepers were Essenes, an ascetic group living in a commune. John the Baptist was an Essene or was educated by them; and it is believed Mary had contact with them. The community was located in the Northwest corner of the Dead Sea, now known as the West bank at the lowest point on the earth:  1378 feet below sea level.  Cache from Cave 1 contained 230 biblical texts, including the old testament which precisely agreed with the earliest known copy: the Leningrad scroll c1000-1100AD; 250 more recent writings, 350 DSS community writings, 100 fragmentary texts.  Eleaszar Sukenik, a Hebrew scholar dressed as an Arab, purchased them in Bethlehem for $324. Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Samuel purchased a second cache from Cave 1 for $97 and later sold them to Sukenik's son for $250,000.  Additional scripts were recovered from Caves 2-11. [note: Pope B16 said  (when did he say it?): "it appears that not only John the Baptist, but possibly Jesus [note: Jesus' name was actually Joshua] and his family as well, were close to the Qumran Community (of Essenes).....it is a reasonable hypothesis that John the Baptist lived for some time in this Community and received part of his religious formation from it."]


9.        Belief in God and the Torah were universal among the Jews. But there was considerable diversity of beliefs among the Jews, including [1] the Pharisees (awaited the messiah, and resurrection, and eternal life of the soul;  the Essenes faulted the Pharisees as builders of the Wall), [2] the Sadducees (believed in free will and God's justice, but not in resurrection, nor eternal soul;  the Essenes faulted the Saducees as Usurpers of the Temple); [3] the Nazarenes (sectarian, but resembled Essenes, believed Jesus was the Messiah); [4] the Essenes (pacifists, but feverishly apocalyptic with stringent initiation and novitiation rites; used immersion, ritual baths and baptismal fonts for purifiation and remission of sins); [5] the Zealots (sectarian, militant peasants sharing similar values of Pharisees); [6] Ebionites;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebionites,  regarded Jesus as messiah but insisted on following the Jewish religion and rites, and rejected Paul, Saul of Tarsus.


10.        The Jews grew weary of 500 years of pagan control over their lands.  A belief of an apocalyptic event grew to a fever pitch particularly among the Essenes.  The Essenes believed that angels and messiahs were living among them. The Essenes, along with John the Baptist (repent the Kingdom of God is at hand) believed that a messiah would lead them, assisted by armies of angels, against the Romans. John did not expect to die before the kingdom at hand.  The Roman occupation was seen as "the new abomination that makes desolate" and the DSC Community and the entire Jewish people were in the birth pangs of a millennial revolt:  [a] the priesthood was usurped by the Maccabees, [b] the government was controlled by procurators, [c] the temple was looted by the romans, [d] pagan symbols were placed on temple grounds, and [e] finally they believed that a revolution would hasten the coming of the messiah, and restore the throne of David, and usher in a new age of peace.  

11.        The Essenes made pesher interpretations. [taking a scripture out of context and applying it to the age of the interpreter.]  The believed the "World to Come" was imminent.  The believed that Belial (Satan) controlled the earth but God would soon intervene.



12.      The First Revolt: 66-70AD:  The Jews massacred the Roman garrison; a priestly aristocracy assumed leadership; and Josephus (the historian) became a General.  The Twelfth Legion from Syria was nearly destroyed and its Eagle standard captured; the proletariat attacked both Romans and priests; a second Roman intervention was repulsed. Finally Vespasian arrived in 67AD with 4 of the 28 legions in the empire, and
subdued the north; the Essenes were totally annihilated, [and so the knowledge of the existence and whereabouts of the Dead Sea Scrolls was lost in antiquity after their attack on the Romans and subsequent annihilation of the Essenes.]  Josephus was taken prisoner, claimed that Vespasian was the messiah and would become emperor.  Zealots from the north entered Jerusalem; "the great insanity of those desperate men prevailed," wrote Josephus. Vespasian became emperor in 69AD, then in 70AD Titus led 10 (of 28) Legions (60,000) troops.  The Temple was razed and Jerusalem fell.  The outcome:  600,000 Jews were killed, a million fled; Rabbinic Judaism replaced priestly Judaism;  Pauline Christianity replaced Judean Christianity.  [that is how it happened folks -- but there is more;  you cannot crush the Jews - they are a resilient people.]

13.      The Second Revolt  132-135AD: The Jews were crushed during the first revolt;  but by 90AD a viable Jewish community was established and a code of law and biblical canon was completed. The apocolyptic vision with messiah remained, just the timetable was changed. The great temple was replaced by synagogues, priests replaced by scholars (rabbis), the sacrificial cult was replaced by prayer, and a new expectation that
God would establish a new kingdom for his people at the end of time. By 132AD, Hadrian had outlawed the teaching of Judaism and planned a shrine to Jupiter on temple grounds. Simon bar Kokhba emerged as a revolutionary leader and regarded as the new messiah.  A three year millennial revolt followed.  The Romans were driven out; Judah was established as an independent nation.  The Romans returned with 13 (of 28) Legions. More than 500,000 Jews died in battle; Judaism was outlawed again; the temple mount was sown with salt; Judea was renamed Palestina.  [Folks enter Palestine - here is where the Arab Israel conflict had its origins.]  The Romans dispersed the Jews and they became a stateless people [until 1948.]  The early Christians were Jewish and so they too were persecuted for being Jewish.  

15.      Apocalyptic word views emerge during periods of stress and oppression.  Anabaptists, peasant's revolution in Luther's time.  English Utopianism in Cromwell's time - the Quakers.  The American Great Awakening - the Adventists.  Those expecting an imminent ending:  Seventh Day Adventists; Latter Day Saints; Jehovah's Witnesses.  Those that have declared an ending date:  Branch Davidians - siege and conflagration; Heaven's Gate - castration and mass suicide;  People's temple - greatest mass suicide in US History.  

16.      Two web sites currently exist on the internet that provide information on the coming apocalypse.  http://www.countdown.org/ and http://www.raptureready.com/rap2.html.


17.      About 20 years ago, when i was a trustee of St. Joseph College, West Hartford, CT,  (run by the Religious Order of Sisters of Mercy, from Ireland), I had the good fortune to meet Judy Perkins, a professor at St. Joseph and author of the book: The Suffering Self: Pain and Narrative Representation in the Early Christian Era.  Judy was the daughter of John Moran Bailey, the power behind John F. Kennedy.  Judy's sister was Senator Barbara Bailey Kennelly.


18.      The Suffering Self studied the spread of Christianity across the Roman empire. Judy showed how Christian narrative representation worked to create a new kind of human self-understanding - the perception of the self as sufferer,  explaining why forms of suffering like martyrdom and self-mutilation were so important to early Christians. This study crosses the boundaries between ancient history and the study of early Christianity, portraying Christianity in the context of the Greco-Roman world. By highlighting the roles of healing and charity, she helps us to see how Christianity may have grown in part by creating 'the subject of its concern' - a sympathetic place for the sick and the poor in the ancient world.  [Castration:  St. Jerome castrated himself:  why this is an acceptable act of faith: need to finish.]

19.      In the ancient world there was no room for the sick, suffering, disabled, aged, or the poor—it was not part of the cultural consciousness of societies (Perkins 1995). Early methods of protection involved charity; religious organizations or neighbors would collect for the destitute and needy. By the middle of the third century - the beginning of the Nicene Church -  1,500 suffering people were being supported by charitable operations in Rome (Perkins 1995).


17.        The Council of Nicaea (around 325AD): the Nicene church used the power of the Roman military, under the protection of Constantine, to disband and eliminate 84 heretical groups.  There were in fact 34 gospels.  30 were deemed heretical and eliminated by the council of Nicaea around 325AD.  The remaining Jews were not dispanded out of existence  by the Nicean church.  Augustine said:  "Do not slay them, or my people will forget; Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield."  psalm 59:11.  There are many versions of Psalm 59:11;  see some popular versions at end of this document.
Brophy Sunday 27 November 2011 - 10:05 am | | Brophy Blog

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