Berserk2
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The problem with ACIM is not just that it provably does not stem from the historical Jesus, but that the impersonating spirit caused Helen Schucman to become psychotic and blaspheme ACIM. Her funeral eulogizer, a respected psychologist, deems it likely that she was demon-possesssed. As Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them." [heisenberg:] "For example in the New Testament - Matthew 1:2-17 and Luke 3:23-38 both give contradictory genealogies for Joseph Jesus's father."
Two solutions to this problem have been proposed: (1) It is at least possible that Luke's genealogy traces Jesus' ancestry through Mary's lineage since Joseph was not Jesus' biological father. (2) Luke's genealogy is not a literally exhaustive genealogy, but a theological genealogy that groups Jesus' ancestors in 3 groups of 14 and therefore omits many names.
One tradition traceable to first-century Palestine claims that Jesus' brothers used His genealogy in their missionary travels in an effort to persuade skeptical Jews that Jesus satisfies the Jewish credential that the Messiah should descend from King David. If so, Jesus' brothers probably used Matthew's genealogy.
[heisenberg:] "Also According to Matthew, Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1). According to Luke, Jesus was born during the first census in Israel, while Quirinius was governor of Syria (Luke 2:2). However, Herod died in March of 4 BC and the census took place in 6 and 7 AD, about 10 years after Herod's death."
Jesus was born in 7 BC. From Egyptian records we know that the Romans conducted a census every 14 years in their empire. This insight suggests an earlier census in 7 BC. Remarkably, the best candidate for the "Star of Bethlehem" is the triple conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars in December of 7 BC. In Near Eastern astrology, this conjunction meant that a great world ruler has been born in Palestine. When a similar conjection occurred 1,500 years later, Jewish astrologers excitedly expected the arrival of their Messiah. Whether Quirinius could have conducted the earlier census is a difficult question because we know he was a high Roman official in Syria at an earlier time. In any case, this issue is a mystery, not a contradiction.
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