Movie Screening - THE GOD WHO WASN'T THERE (& discussion of St. Paul's Epistles)

Join us for a viewing of the movie "The God Who Wasn't There".

The premise of the movie is an introduction to the "Jesus Myth" theory first contemplated by 19th century biblical scholars. The theory's premise is that Jesus may not have ever existed, that the Jesus of the Gospels may have been an invention based on prior savior god stories predominant at the time, and that the Christ of St. Paul's epistles (50 a.d.) does not have any resemblance to the Jesus of the Gospels (70 - 120 a.d.), further supporting the notion that St. Paul's Christ was some form of savior god as well - not the human Jesus of Nazareth we learn of later when the Gospels are written.

As an introduction to the issues raised in the movie, keep in mind that historians generally agree that of the four gospels, Mark's Gospel came first in about 70-95 A.D., then Luke and Matthew followed, then John. If Jesus died in 30-32 A.D., what writings do we have before the gospels were written?

The answer is that we have the letters of Saul of Tarsus (known as St. Paul) to the early Christian churches. What we find in those letters is a discussion of Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension. What we don't have is a discussion of every other aspect of Christ's life described in the gospels (for example, that Jesus was a man who had been alive recently, that Jesus actually said many important things and had teachings, that Jesus was born in Bethleham, was visited by three kings, was baptized by John the Baptist, performed miracles, cast out demons, healed the sick, fed the crowds, raised the dead, in fact, that this HUMAN was GOD HIMSELF and he recently walked the streets of Jerusalem in the incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth, and was killed and resurrected on the ouskirts of town.....). Check it out yourself.

Paul's Epistles:

Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galations
Philippians
1 Thessalonians
Philemon

Ephesians*
Colossians*
2 Thessalonians*

1 Timothy**
2 Timothy**
Titus**

* considered possibly written by someone else in Paul's name (see "The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings", Oxford Press)
** considered probably written by someone else in Paul's name (same)

The movie explores some thoughts as to why Paul's writings, which were the earliest and potentially the best writings about Jesus (i.e., written before the Gospels and at a time when people were still alive that might have known Jesus), do not mention anything about what we historically think about Jesus - the stuff the Gospels tell us. Could it be that Paul didn't just omit these rather important facts, but instead was telling us in plain and unmistakable terms exactly what the earliest Christians DID believe in, and what the Christ they all worshiped REALLY was?...

An e-mail will go out to those who RSVP "yes" and "maybe" as the date approaches with location information and directions. We will be meeting downtown at a coffee shop and then, once everyone has arrived, we'll walk the 100 yards to my condo for the movie.

The movie will last about 1 hour. I'll have snacks, sodas, and beer for those interested, feel free to bring a six pack of soft drinks or beer if you have a particular favorite.