Page 22 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • January 15, 2014 The Gospels & Josephus The Village of Ridgewood recently changed its policy and allowed Van Neste Square Park to display a menorah for Chanukah and a Nativity scene for Christmas, joining a number of other communities in honoring both holidays on public property. Last month, All Saints Episcopal Church in Glen Rock held an ecumenical concert by four-year-olds in the nursery school. The program featured Christmas carols, Chanukah songs, and standard songs about Frosty the Snowman. My son, daughter-in-law, and “co-grandfa- ther” enjoyed the celebration along with people of many different races, ethnicities, and religions. We will all need cooperation among all groups in the United States as we struggle to cope with the great unspeakable: The United States is no longer the world’s only economic superpower and may remain the world’s only military superpower only as long as we avoid being perceived as the biggest bully on the block. Starting to understand our neighbors’ religions could be a good start. Most religions have more in common than some tenden- tious people like to acknowledge. The need to help those in need, and the need to avoid senseless violence are two common threads. During the 20 th century, the world forgot this, first under the influence of Marxism -- a perhaps unconscious blasphemy in which Karl Marx, spoiled brat and failed poet, declared himself the Messiah, as some of his contemporaries like Nikolai Bakunin pointed out. The world also forgot under the influence of Darwinism and its first cousin, eugenics, especially as applied on a racial rather than an individual basis. Fredric Wertham pointed out the irony in “A Sign for Cain.” When certain Europe- ans believed in Christianity, they built the cathedrals and took care of harmless mentally ill patients under church auspices. When they switched over to Darwinian-style eugenics, they built the concentration camps and murdered the people they saw as unfit. The most prominent religions of the Western world, Christianity and Judaism, now being celebrated in parks around northwest Bergen County, have an intermediary who deserves to be better remembered: Josephus, a first- century Jewish writer who never wavered in his own faith but provided some solid evidence about the founding gen- eration of Christianity, not to mention some testimony of great interest to all biblical archeologists. Flavius Josephus, as his Roman audience called him, wrote his own works essentially confirming versions of the Old Testament and much of the New Testament for a Roman audience. The single most famous passage in Josephus is in “Antiquities of the Jews,” Chapter III, Section 3. “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at first did not for- sake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and 10,000 other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Chris- tians, named for him, are not extinct to this day.” Skeptics have argued that this passage was added many years later by a pious Christian. The section, however, is integral based on a manuscript of Josephus discovered as recently as the 1970s by Schlomo Pines in a Syriac ver- sion. The passage also fits with several other events cov- ered in the Gospels. Herod “the Great,” mentioned at the beginning of the Gospels and extensively in Josephus, is a power-made murderer in both sources. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, more thoroughly described in Josephus than in the New Testament, is described as headstrong, arrogant, and insecure politician. One of Pilate’s outrages against the Jews is also recounted: When the Jews objected to the Roman attempt to build an aqueduct into Jerusa- lem, apparently funded by money looted from the temple, perhaps also because the aqueduct “did work” on the Sab- bath, the Jews staged a massive but peaceful demonstra- tion. Pilate sent his soldiers among the demonstrators with daggers concealed under their clothing. At a given signal, the soldiers pulled out their weapons and killed or wounded the noisy protestors and the peaceful spectators with impartial fury. This event was mentioned in the Gospels: At the begin- ning of Luke XIII, “Now it came at that very time some who brought him word about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.” Josephus also supplies us with the story of John the Baptist, which parallels the Gospels, and gives us the name of the princess who danced for his head. Salome, in this context, is not mentioned by name in any of the Gos- pels, only in Josephus, who lists her in a genealogy as the daughter of Herodias, but does not mention her role in the execution-style murder of John the Baptist, revered alike by many Jews and by the first Christians. Josephus also mentions Simon Magus, a magician who tried to infuse his act with religious overtones and was rebuked by Peter in the New Testament, specifically The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter VIII hen he tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. One allusion that no one else may have noticed is from “Wars of the Jews,” Book VII, Chapter II. Simon, son of Gioras, one of the defenders of the doomed city of Jeru- salem in AD 70, was trapped in the ravaged city after the Roman siege, but attempted to escape so he could fight again. Josephus tells us that after hiding in a mine tunnel near the wall, “Simon, thinking he might be able to astonish and elude the Romans, put on a white frock, and buttoned upon him a purple cloak, and appeared out of the ground in the place where the temple had formerly been. At first, indeed, those that saw him were greatly astonished, and stood still where they were; but afterward they came nearer to him and asked him who he was. Now Simon would not tell them, but bid them to call for their captain...” Simon was arrested and reserved for the triumphal parade in Rome, which was generally followed by execu- tion. Notice that Simon attempted to astound the Romans by wearing a white coat (frock) and a purple cloak. Jose- phus does not point this out, but coming out of the ground dressed as Jesus had been at the time of the crucifixion sounds as if Simon were trying to astound the Romans with a counterfeit resurrection, in which he only narrowly failed. The Gospels report that the darkness at noon and the earthquake at the crucifixion had frightened the Romans. The events must have been well known. Skeptics used to argue that the Gospels were written hundreds of years after the events, but in the late 20th century, superior scholarship based on the fixed styles of ancient scribal penmanship and the place names used in the Gospels, which had changed by the end of the first century substantially confirm that the Gospel texts were written by people who saw what they described -- just as they said they had in the texts. Tolerance of other religions and the appreciation and understanding of the cultures they developed pose no threat to anyone who understands the basic beliefs of his or her own faith. The Roman historians Tacitus and Sueto- nius, writing in the second century, mention Jesus by name and describe the early Christians, though the Roman writ- ers did not evince any approval or understanding such as Josephus offers. Advanced knowledge today predicates that some sort of religious belief is not only possible, but pretty much man- datory: Pim van Loven, a Dutch researcher, recorded a few years ago that 135,000 people had seen themselves from the outside when they were “dead” or dying and generally returned as more enlightened and more tolerant individu- als. I have met some of them. One had two degrees in engi- neering and one had two degrees in biochemistry. They were not making this stuff up. Improved and more comprehensive radio-carbon dating of the Shroud of Turin now reports that the cloth was woven at a date that would have made it available for the Resur- rection, and the attempts to produce an image by natural means have turned up a couple of preposterous fakes, but nothing convincing. The story is all there for anyone who wants to believe it. So is the story of how the Maccabee brothers defended a sane and moral religion against a blas- phemous tyrant. The truth is the common property of all humanity. ECF’s signature fundraiser, the Fourth Annual Bash, will be March 7. Please contact us if you would like to be involved. We need volunteers to help get corporate spon- sorships and donations of sports tickets and memorabilia. We also need people to help sell ads for our journal. Proceeds from this event go directly to providing coun- seling and financial assistance to 70 families in northern New Jersey. Tickets are $75. The event will be held at the Brick House in Wyckoff, and includes food, drinks, dancing, an auction, and a spe- cial guest speaker. E-mail laura@emmanuelcancer.org for tickets or to help. Thank you to the “Irish Mafia Bridge Group” from Ho- Ho-Kus. This group helped make a special Christmas for some of our families. Meet the Scoop family: This family decided to make a big change in 2011. Mom, dad and their four children packed up their things and moved to South Carolina, while they rented out their home. When they arrived, their son, Mark, who was five at the time, was diagnosed with leu- kemia. They started him on treatment right away. They tried to come back to New Jersey, but had nowhere to stay because of the renters. So they ended up living in a Ronald McDonald House, where they remain today. Their lives now consist of multiple trips back and forth between South Carolina, where Mark’s treatment is taking place, and New Jersey, where he has follow-up appoint- ments. To make matters worse, they have lost their place in South Carolina, and must stay in a hotel while they are there. The Scoops have been paying multiple medical bills and find themselves struggling to pay for normal day-to-day things. Their car needs a new transmission so they can’t drive to South Carolina. They are in need of airplane miles to help them get back and forth. They are trying to find a place to rent there and could use gift cards to Lowes or Home Depot to get things for the apartment. Throughout all of this, the family is looking ahead and patiently waiting until their lives become “normal” again. ECF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to pro- vide a variety of specialized services, at no charge, to any New Jersey family facing the challenges of caring for a child with cancer. We do not raise money for cancer research. We provide direct in-home care for our families. Our primary focus is providing counseling by a professional case worker, material goods (such as household items, toys, and monthly grocery deliveries), and emergency financial assistance. These individually tailored services are critical. ECF does not receive government funding. We rely on donations from the community, including financial support, in-kind donations, and volunteers’ time. Call the North- ern Regional Center at (201) 612-8118 or e-mail Laura at laura@emmanuelcancer.org to see how you can help. Here are a few ideas: • We need volunteers who can deliver groceries to fami- lies in Bergen and Essex counties. Spanish-speaking driv- ers are in particularly high demand. • Turn your event into a fundraiser for ECF, and collect checks or gift cards for our families. • Kids are welcome to get involved. Proceeds from sales and other activities help make a difference. (continued on page 25)