I'm not a Christian but I play one on TV.

real life wrote:

Actually if you read the four Gospels together, you find that Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights, not 'just over 24 hours'.

According to Matthew 27:45-60 Jesus died after 9 hours on the cross. His body was lowered and, then "in preperation" and, that evening (the "eve of the Sabbath"), placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. That is one full day.

The next day (the Sabbath) he remains in the tomb (and guarded by soldiers as ordered by Pilate).

Then, according to Matthew 28:1-7 , The morning after the Sabbath Mary Magdalene and Mary return to the tomb and are told by an angel that Jesus has risen and isn't in the tomb. The day after the Sabbath being "the 3rd Day".

Mark 15 and 16, Luke 23 and 24 and John 19 and 20 repeat the same sequence of events and timeline. I have no idea where you get that the body was supposedly inside the tomb for 3 full days and 3 full nights. All 4 gospels have his body being placed in the tomb on the eve of the Sabbath, the guards watching the sealed tomb on the day of the Sabbath and Jesus no longer being in the tomb on the morning following the Sabbath - roughly 36 hours.

Jesus himself said He would be in the tomb three days and three nights.

Quote:

Jesus himself said He would be in the tomb three days and three nights.

He did?

Jesus himself said He would be in the tomb three days and three nights.

He's going to tell you Matt 12:40.

But maybe that was a metaphor.


Joe(That's because it's all metaphor)Nation

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. AMEN.

In the ascension, the church celebrates a great mystery: the stripped, tortured, humiliated, executed but now resurrected body of a wrongfully convicted criminal is taken into the heart of God. In the ascension, we affirm that the cruelty of empire cannot erase the vulnerable body of the Crucified. That body may be absent to us but it is eternally present in God who beckons us forward into the way of self-giving love.

Djjd, help me remember to bring along a lot of popcorn--we shouldn't have any trouble popping it . . .

Well, only the Christians would be screwed if they found the bones of Christ. The Jews have all the tombs of their prophets, and the Muslims, too. In fact, I'm sitting here wondering if there is another religion which has at it's core, the ascension of it's founder. Christianity has not one, but two, don't forget the Assumption of Mary. (she had to wait until she was dead.)

Of course, not all Christians believe that Mary was assumed into heaven. (Sister Elephantina would cry out) Rather like the Sunnis and the Shi'a, there is a disagreement as to who is disappeared.

It's a many layered myth including the Violet Flame
Joe(a cake for your consumption, accent on the CON)Nation

But that's the fun of being a Catholic, you get so much more to believe than in your basic Protestant model. For example, you get the Litany of the Saints, you can direct your prayers through a proper conduit like St. Anthony or St. Jude, rather than just asking God to subvert the Natural Laws just for your benefit. And there's the whole subject of exorcism: Satan is for Catholics just as real as Jesus, and there are a whole series of occult powers drifting about that must be dealt with.

And let's not forget Transubstantiation. That's not just bread and wine, bubbie, that's the actual physical flesh and blood those Catholics are sharing right before sitting down to a nice Sunday morning breakfast.

Gotta go.

Joe(next time we look at praying for indulgences)Nation