The Passover Plot by Hugh J. Schonfield
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Read and Download Ebook The Passover Plot... The Passover Plot Hugh J. Schonfield PDF File: The Passover Plot... 1 Read and Download Ebook The Passover Plot... The Passover Plot Hugh J. Schonfield The Passover Plot Hugh J. Schonfield Finally back in print, this special 40th anniversary edition of Dr. Schonfield's international multimillioncopy bestseller is set to rock the establishment view of the life of Jesus all over again. There is probably no other figure in modern Jewish historical research who is more controversial or famous than Hugh J. Schonfield, who once said: "The scholars deplore that I have spilled the beans to the public. Several of them have said to me, 'You ought to have kept this just among ourselves, you know.'" What he did to "spill the beans" was present historical evidence suggesting that Jesus was a mortal man, a young genius who believed himself to be the Messiah and deliberately and brilliantly planned his entire ministry according to the Old Testament prophecies--even to the extent of plotting his own arrest, crucifixion and resurrection. Since Schonfield's death in 1988, his popularity and the interest in his prodigious work, which included over 40 books, has drawn increasing attention, particularly outside Judaism. In fact, it is probably fair to say that his contribution to the Gentile understanding of Jewish aspirations among those within the Christian cultural framework has been without parallel. In true Christian tradition, he has also been the cause of much contention. In the wake of resurgent interest in religious history spurred by Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ and Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, this 40th anniversary edition of The Passover Plot is set to engage a completely new generation of readers searching for truth. The Passover Plot Details Date : Published April 1st 2004 by Disinformation Books (first published January 1st 1965) ISBN : 9781932857092 Author : Hugh J. Schonfield Format : Paperback 320 pages Genre : Religion, History, Nonfiction, Christianity, Spirituality Download The Passover Plot ...pdf Read Online The Passover Plot ...pdf Download and Read Free Online The Passover Plot Hugh J. Schonfield PDF File: The Passover Plot... 2 Read and Download Ebook The Passover Plot... From Reader Review The Passover Plot for online ebook John says This life of Jesus by H.J.Schonfield was controversial at the time of publication. It displays much erudition, and it is an enjoyable read even for the layman. Not that I agree with everything that is written here. For example I don't agree with the author that the timing of the birth of Jesus was an act of God, but then I don't believe in Gods in any shape or form. So I can hardly believe that. I would take issue with the author on the central theme that Jesus connived his own death to fulfill some Jewish Messianic conspiracy. Schonfield produces copious references to support his thesis, but I was left with the feeling that almost any prophecies can be proven in hindsight. The economist Gerald Celente regularly makes predictions and the ones that come true are broadcast far and wide, but the ones that don't come true are quietly forgotten. And Nostradamus's prophecies have be worked and re-worked to fit the times we live in. Failed prophecies are resurrected to be retold some time in the future. But the book was a seminal work when it came out that spawned discussions on the Manhood of Christ, a figure who has been largely recast in the mold of a real live Santa Claus by the post-Hellistic Christian world. Christians believe the fairy tale self-raising Jesus was real. Our heritage and upbringing numbs our intellectual doubts, and makes us accept the supernatural as real. We adjust our reality to suit the fairy tale, rather than approaching the fairy tale with suitably adjusted sensibilities. Schonfield eloquently opens our eyes to the doubts we all have about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, and the way the Theologians tell the story. Antonio V says Schonfield commits the one sin never to be forgiven in the serious scholar: appropriating the ideas of an earlier scholar and claiming them as his own "new" discoveries. The first significant clue that Schonfield is preparing to recycle old ideas and present them as his own "original" research lies in his bibliography. Any serious researcher attempting an investigation into the "real" Jesus must begin with Albert Schweitzer's "The Quest of the Historical Jesus." Although over a century old, Schweitzer's work collects and summarizes the investigations of New Testament scholars from the beginning of the 18th century through the start of the 20th, and though dated remains the preeminent source for the earliest scholarly efforts to reconstruct a life of the historical person Jesus. Schweitzer's work is so well-known within the field that Schonfield must certainly have been intimately familiar with it for decades prior to writing his work. Yet he carefully avoids all reference to it, and for good reason. PDF File: The Passover Plot... 3 Read and Download Ebook The Passover Plot... One of the early chapters in Schweitzer assesses the work of Karl Friedrich Bahrdt. In "Popular Letters About the Bible" and "An Explanation of the Plans and Aims of Jesus", a series of tractates that began appearing in 1702 (over 250 years before "The Passover Plot") Barhdt outlines the essential elements of Schonfield's supposedly "original" thesis: that Jesus and his followers staged a fake death through crucifixion, administering drugs to make it appear Jesus was dead within a few hours after being nailed to the cross (crucifixion's principal appeal for the Romans was the slow and agonizing process of death, usually extending over a period of days). Schonfield knew this from his reading of Schweitzer even if he did not read Barhdt's own work. He presents no original ideas of his own. "The Passover Plot" deserves to be forgotten as another tired recycling of a centuries-old interpretation of the death and resurrection of Jesus; and Schonfield himself should be forgotten as just another talentless hack trying to pawn off the work of others as his own. For the reader who wants reliable information on the subject she or he should begin with Schweitzer rather than waste time reading Schonfield's tiresomely-pretentious ripoff of the genuine scholars who preceeded him. Ron says Read this fifty plus years ago. Intriguing theory, but I saw holes in it then. Paul says The book is divided into two sections: the first speculative, and the second a historical background to the writing of the gospels. The second section is by far the better, as it sticks to a more academic style. The first section is unfortunately very difficult to take seriously. The idea that large parts of the New Testament were composed largely to give credence to the prophecies in the Old Testament is valid, but the suggestion that Jesus planned everything that happened in Passion Week, right down to how long he would be on the cross, is very far-fetched. Dave says Very interesting book. It was written in 1965 and scholars have been actively working since then so some things Schonfield shares are out of date. His major premise is that Jesus was an active member of the Nazoreans [a messianic, zealous group], that he had deeply studied all the prophecies related to the coming of the Messiah, and then he actively managed the events so that he would fulfill those prophecies. There is a huge amount of speculation in the book without much, if any, evidence to support it. Yes, it is possible; but did it actually happen? I am not convinced. I did learn a great deal about the times and events contemporary with the life of Jesus. It is clear that Jerusalem and Judea were as bloody and violent then as they frequently are these days. That historical perspective was worth the read. Brett says The copy on the back of the paperback version of this book I have was some hilariously sensationalized bits PDF File: The Passover Plot... 4 Read and Download Ebook The Passover Plot... about the SHOCKING REVELATIONS THAT WILL SHATTER YOUR FAITH contained within. So, I was pleasantly surprised by the academic tone actually struck by the writer. Schonfield feels smart and affable when discussing the way we have to re-evaluate our understanding of ancient times in light of the Dead Sea scrolls, and his discussion of the eschatology of Judaism during the time of Jesus was interesting. Even his idea that a person could, with sufficient will and planning, attempt to live out various old testament prophecies, is interesting insofar as it puts the idea of Jesus as Messianic figure in context. But his discussion of how Jesus may have actually done this, up the swooning on the cross and briefly being revived later, is just insanely speculative. He gives much, much too much credence to snippets of the Bible or Dead Sea scrolls that he wants to use to support his arguments, generally making the same sort of error that fundamentalist believers often make in justifying their own positions. There is too much that is just unknowable from that era to make the sort of generalizations that Schonfield ultimately arrives at. I guess this book was wildly controverial when it first was published, but that seems almost quaint now. It's a fun and entertaining read for those that have some familiarity with the historical origins of Christianity, but is basically a throw away book when it's all said and done.