Yeah. This "Pandera/Panthera/Pantera issue" really intrigues me. Especially because I have found some claims that the story was just invented by Jews to discredit Jesus. A was able to found quite a lot accounts about Pandera, but all of them are quite "new" (150-200 CE). So I would like to ask whether anyone here knows some older reference about him.
Also, after reading this thread, I would like to bring your attention to this:
In Romans Paul writes:
001:003 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
001:004 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead..
This is interesting, because here Paul explains quite clearly what he understands as "being the Son of God" - Jesus was born human and was human and nothing but human through his entire life. Only after he was resurrected, he was "adopted" by Holy Spirit.
This makes me think about something...
In 1799, Handsome Lake had the first in a series of visions while lying in his bed deathly ill. A messenger from the Creator appeared to him, giving him instructions for the Iroquois. Handsome Lake recovered and preached these messages to the Seneca in what became known as the Code of Handsome Lake.
Handsome Lake was inspired by Christian religion, of course, but why I mention this here - he was regarded dead by many people, including his half-brother Cornplanter. So when he recovered, he was regarded as "resurrected".
So - is it possible, that somebody, who is now known as Jesus Christ, was indeed crucified, took from the cross while still alive but regarded as dead and buried in cold cave, where he recovered because he was not actually too seriously injured but merely exhausted by being exposed to sun? In such case, his ministry would start not before, but AFTER his "death".
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Life has no meaning but itself.