RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION OF JESUS

The resurrection and the following ascension of Jesus Christ, is fundamental for the Christians. He not only left them his teachings, but also a miracle. In his brutal death and resurrection, Jesus washed away our sins and opened the road to Heaven for his followers. The crucified Messiah appeared 6 times, after his death. The first one Jesus appeared to, was Maria Magdalen, whom he asked to inform his disciples. Theologians comment, that this is highly unlikely. A woman was held in low esteem (does that ever change) and a testimony in court, made by a woman, was not valid. Maybe they met, because they loved each other and knew that their days together were counted?

But was Jesus dead, when he was taken of the cross? Was he drugged or had he the power of a yogi? They are capable of performing seemingly impossible deeds: to die (stop all body functions), stay “dead” for days, before they awake out of what they call a “trance-state”. Drugs derived from plants can have the same effect. Some say, that Jesus stayed in India and Nepal, during the lost years. If so, was he influenced by Buddhist teachings? He would surely have seen and met yogi's and saddhu's (wandering holy men). He even might have visited yoga lessons!

In the Gospels Jesus appeared and presented himself after his death a total of 6 times, before he disappears into Heaven on the Mount of Olives.

It certainly were decisive days. The apostles got inspired after the desillusion of Jesus' death and often found a violent death. Peter was crucified (up-side down) f.i. and the Romans threw his followers to the lions. Still the miracle of the resurrection and ascension became a central dogma after the Counsil of Nicea. The official doctrines were formulated and the content of the Bible was decided. Now the Christian church started persecuting and even killing dissidents, while alternative texts were left out and disappeared. Jesus proved to be the son of God, by ascending into Heaven, to await his return at the End of Time.

Is there more evidence, except the stories from the Bible. Little is said about Jesus in other, Jewish, sources.

The Catholic Church had, from the start, an insatiable appetite for relics. These varied from tiny bones of Saints to parts of the Cross, on which Jesus was crucified. Artifacts, that had touched Jesus during his life and especially during his suffering, had immens spiritual powers. Pilgrims came from all around and this garanteed hugh profits for clergy and church. Many of these artifacts are still worshipped and are an accepted “factum” in religious practices. Emperor Constantine's wife went treasure hunting in Jerusalem and dug up the real Cross, complete. This gave an enormous boost to the new state-religion Christianity. The real cross disappeared during the fall of Constantinople and the Byzantine empire. The “Aya Sophia” was turned into a mosque.

Another important artifact was “The Spear of Destiny”, als called the “Spear of Longistus”. With this spear, the Roman soldier Longistus pierced Jesus' side,to make sure he was dead.

There are four of them. One in the Vatican, one in Spain, one in Armenia and the most famous one is in Vienna. It was one of the first things, Adolf Hitler laid his hands on, when he annexed Austria. It would make him win the war. In Israel an ossuary (stone box, with the bones of the diseased), was found. An inscription said: Jesus, brother of James, son of Josef. If this box was authentic, it could mean that Jesus was a historical figure and the Bible correct. It also meant, that Jesus had not risen from the death. The box was authentic, but the inscription was a forgery.

There is one more important Roman Catholic relic, that is linked to the death of Jesus: the Shroud of Turin.

The shroud appeared during the Middle Ages, but some trace it back to Constantinople and/or Spain and was always acknowledged to be a Holy Relic. It became “hot”, when it was photographed for the first time. The negative show an image of Jesus. This piece of linnen had covered his dead body. The imprint of his body, his face, his bloody scars and his pierced hand and feet, could clearly been seen. How this image appeared on the cloth, remained a mystery. If it was a forgery, how could this been done? Was it produced by Leonardo da Vinci? New photographic research has produced perfect 3-dimensional images. The resemblance to the biblical tale is striking. The headwounds, the effect of the whip on his back and he looks like Jesus! His face is the face we know from churches, cathedrals, art and bibles.

There is only one problem. Pieces of the cloth have been carbon dated by several scientists. The outcome? The piece of cloth dated back to the first half of the 11^th century! You can understand, that these data are disputed as is the method of carbon dating.

The Russian mathematician Anatoli Fomenko could see this as a support for his theory, that our history is a fraud and a Medieval construct. In his “New Chronology” he concludes that Jesus lived and died on the cross in that period. If true, it explains the unity between the face on the Shroud and the face of Jesus, appearing everywhere in Europe. European (Byzantine) Artists may have seen him “at work”.