Where Did Jesus Die? — Page 183
Chapter Twelve—The Unknown Life of Jesus 183 If we examine it as we do in similar cases of historical events, we would face no difficulty in discovering the truth. It is obvious that the account concerning the crucifixion is not an account of an eyewitness, nor is it by one of the disciples of Jesus. It is only hearsay. It is very probable that the facts were either confused by the original writers, or that the story-teller gave wrong informa- tion based on the rumours he had heard. The author of the book himself writes in this connection: It is necessary to remark here that during this period of antiquity, as in our own days, oriental public life was con- centrated in the bazaars, where the events of the day and the news from foreign nations were usually followed by a number of dervishes who readily told all they had seen and heard on their journey, in exchange for food. In fact, this was their sole means of subsistence. (p. 150) The two manuscripts read to me by the lama of Himis Convent, were compiled from diverse copies written in the Tibetan tongue, translated from rolls belonging to Lassa Library and brought from India. Nepal and Maghada two hundred years after Christ. The information contained about Christ is oddly mixed, without relation or coher- ence with other events of that period. (p. 151) In view of the Buddhist priests’ custom of collecting their infor- mation, we cannot take their writings too seriously. In the case of the crucifixion we know nothing about the story-teller or even who he was. Was he a reliable or unreliable person? On the other hand we read in the Gospels a prophecy of Jesus concerning the