Jesus and Christ. Artur Zadikyan

God to assert that God exists. After all, atheists believe they are right too. It may seem strange to hear me, a representative of the church, say this, but it is the lack of entitlement of atheists to be equal to those who believe in God that speaks to the fear of their faith. Okay, let's not talk about arguments, although the whole story and its subsequent application is based on an argument. After all, disputes exist within Christian denominations as well. What to speak of different faiths among themselves. For me, all these disputes give birth to the truth or at least give an alternative point of view on the statements taken as a basis. And all the more from the scientific side they open the picture of the world in different perspectives, including its mythological hypostasis. Here, for example, is an interesting one. The usual symbol for the four Gospels is the mysterious chariot seen by the prophet Ezekiel at the river Hovar, which consisted of four creatures that resembled a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle. These creatures, taken individually, became emblems for the evangelists. Christian art since the 5th century depicts Matthew with a man or angel, Mark with a lion, Luke with a calf, John with an eagle. Of the four Gospels, the content of the first three – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – is much the same. They are called synoptic, from the Greek word "synopsis," which means "an account in one general pattern." The Synoptic Gospels tell mainly about the activities of the Lord Jesus Christ in Galilee, while the Evangelist John tells of them in Judea. The Synoptics write nothing about Jesus' life in the early years. Nothing about his life in Judea or Jerusalem. Although we can understand from their narrative that he had supporters and friends there. For example, the owner of the upper room where the Last Supper took place and Joseph of Arimathea. The main difference between the Synoptics and the Evangelist John lies in the conversations of the Lord. With the Synoptics these conversations are very simple, easy to understand; with the Evangelist John, they are deep, mysterious, and often difficult to understand. The Synoptics bring out the more human side of Christ, while John mostly brings out the divine side. To better interpret and understand the Gospels, we need to become more familiar with the personality, character, and life of each of the four evangelists and the circumstances under which each of the four Gospels was written.

      The scientist took a few moments to catch his breath and began to speak with renewed vigor:

      – Let's begin with the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew was one of the 12 apostles of Christ. The evangelists Mark and Luke call him Levi. It was the custom of the Jews to have several names. Before his call to apostolic ministry, he was a tax collector, and as such was certainly disliked by his fellow Jews, and especially by the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people, the scribes and Pharisees. However, having received the favor of Christ, having seen in him the possibility of repentance and change of his essence, he became his devoted follower and especially took to heart the cause of salvation of his native Jewish people, so saturated by that time with false notions and Pharisaic views. Therefore, his Gospel is considered to have been written primarily for the Jews. In his presentation, Matthew's main goal is to prove to them that Jesus Christ is the Messiah spoken of by the prophets of the Old Testament; that the Old Testament revelation, which had been obscured by the scribes and Pharisees, is clarified and given its perfect meaning only in Christianity. Here I must make it clear: the Jews themselves, the adherents of the Jewish religion, do not in any way take Christ for the Messiah, or even for a prophet. Matthew preached in Palestine for a long time. Then he went to other countries to preach, and ended his life as a martyr in Ethiopia.

      Ffitnop habitually looked around the audience and announced:

      – Let's turn to the Gospel of Mark. Many people believe that all the authors of the Gospels are apostles of Christ. But this is not the case. Mark, for example, was not one of the twelve apostles. By the way, this is an important indicator that makes us doubt the full reality of all the stories given to the world from the evangelists. For some reason, the Gospels from the apostles themselves, those who were directly involved, are hidden. Or are off-limits for public perusal. But Mark was not a constant companion and listener of the Lord, as, for example, Matthew was. He wrote his Gospel with the words and under the guidance of the apostle Peter. By the way, Mark also bore the name of John. By the way, in this regard, pay attention to the revolutionary nicknames of Lenin's associates and in general, ask about their real surnames, and their first names and patronymics too. All right, let's not get distracted. I'll tell you about it sometime later.

      The scientist smiled enigmatically.

      – Mark accompanied the apostle Paul on his first journey, along with another companion, Barnabas, to whom he was either a nephew or a cousin. According to tradition, the Apostle Peter made Mark the first bishop of the Church of Alexandria. There Mark was martyred, I would say killed. As I said, Mark wrote his Gospel from the words of the Apostle Peter. It says very little about the relationship of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Old Testament and makes very few references to Old Testament holy books. For some reason he does not even write about the Sermon on the Mount. But in his Gospel he wrote inspiringly about the miracles of Christ. The miracles he allegedly performed, or maybe not even allegedly. But here I must remind those who know, or explain to those who do not know – miracles are forbidden in Christianity. Remember the fires of the Inquisition. And in general, there is such a cool technique, it is aimed at preventing the appearance of the messiah not by the will and not under the control of those who control the church, and through it the believers. So, this is such a tricky trick, which says: when the messiah comes, as if the Second Coming will be accomplished, before that there must be the Antichrist, he will proclaim himself the messiah, and those who are waiting, almost all of them, will accept him. And one of the reasons why he will be accepted will be the performance of miracles. And it is a cunning move, because always a "stranger", that is not from the clan of his confession, can be called a false messiah, even if he complies with all the canons. And in this tactical move, anyone can be called an antichrist, even if he conforms to the doctrine of the second coming. First recognized, and then, if out of control, branded the devil and Satan. At worst, a sorcerer. This technique is another component in the complex formula of the divine definition of creation. And Mark has made a very important contribution there. In his Gospel Jesus is already presented as a deity. If Matthew still perceives him as a "son of David", because, according to tradition, the Messiah, i.e. the savior, must be from this family, Mark calls him the Son of God, the Lord and Master, the King of the Universe.

      This was followed by another scanning gaze of the listeners in the best traditions of the gendarmes of the Inquisition. It seemed that Nomor saw something else behind the holographic images of experts, penetrated through their virtual gaze into real souls. Apparently satisfied, he exhaled. The effect created by the muffled sound had a strange, slightly unpleasant, but magical impression, as if the scientist held something inside him that hypnotized the audience.

      – Next is the Gospel of Luke," said the servant of God with a smile. – What can be said about him? B was a physician as well as a painter. His Gospel contains Jesus' instructions to the 70 disciples in great detail, which is a logical indication that he belonged to them. By the way, many are convinced that there were only 12 supporters of Christ. In fact, there were many more. Luke often accompanied the apostle Paul in his travels, and after his death he preached, then took martyrdom in Achaia. His holy relics were transferred to Constantinople in the 4th century along with the relics of the Apostle Andrew. Luke wrote his Gospel at the request of a nobleman, Theophilus, who lived in Antioch. That's modern-day Antalya, by the way. What is interesting is that he used not only oral recollections of Christ from people who knew the story of Jesus, but also pre-existing records of him. It is difficult to determine when he wrote his gospel. There are different estimates. Some scholars date it hundreds of years after the events described. He himself writes of his painstaking analysis of existing records and oral traditions about Christ. In addition, he wrote his Gospel as if to order, at the request of Theophilus, who, by the way, did not live in Judea and did not visit Jerusalem, because Luke makes various geographical explanations about this area. But on such points as Syracuse, Rigia, Puteol in Italy, Appian Square and three inns in Rome, the evangelist Luke makes no explanations at all. It is logical to assume the client knew these places. According to Clement of Alexandria, who lived at the beginning of the third century, Theophilus was a rich and noble resident of Antioch, he was most likely the head of the local Christian sect. In his house he set up a temple for the Antioch Christians. Paul's ideology and worldview is evident in his Gospel. This is expressed, among other things,