While researching the custom that freed Barabbas in exchange for Jesus, I stumbled across this website: http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/Jesus_and_Barabbas.html. It addresses claims of numerous similarities between The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark.

Is there any evidence or non-biblical historical record of such a custom?

-- Mark Advent (adventm5477@earthlink.net), February 21, 2004

Answers

Oops! And what do you ladies and gentlemen think of the above mentioned similarities?

-- Mark Advent (adventm5477@earthlink.net), February 21, 2004.

You really don't need our opinions here, read the text for yourself. I say it is a loooooooooooooong streach to try to associate the two stories. Personally, I don't see the relationship in the 2 stories at all. Jesus is not believed to be a common criminal by the crowd. Pilot didn't even call Jesus a common criminal, but the king of the Jews. The crowd knew who He was and who He said He was. Jesus didn't beat Barabas or hit him. Jesus didn't win the vote of the crowd, he lost it. The differences go on from there.

Just goes to prove you can argue just about anything if you set your mind to it.

In Christ,
Bill

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45@hotmail.com), February 21, 2004.

Thanks Bill- Was there such a custom though?

-- Mark Advent (adventm5477@earthlink.net), February 22, 2004.

This is nohting... this ispart of the recent anti-Christain Christ- Myther trend.The odea is basiclaly this, Christainity is a sham, and all of it came form Pagan godmen and liturature, then they try to convence peopel by making ridiculous similarities.

Oh well... having actually READ Homer, and a good many mmyths, I can safely say that such similarities you find on the net are dubious at best. And in some cases dishonest. ( The Christ COmspiracy, for instance, is filled with outright lies. Such as Horus being a CHild teacher, Baptised, and ricified and ressurected. None of which is extant in the myth of Horus.)

The general idea is to discredit Christainity by claiminthat Jesu was a myt, and that the Gospels wher ein fact poorly written Plagerisations of the older, more brilliantlky written Pagan texts. ( Usually, amonsgts Mythers, the Bible musy be slammed as an infirior prodict.)

However, they usually rley on people being uneducated, and not familiar wihthte myths they speak of, then they speak in broad, sweepign generalisatiosn to make their assertations fit.

Overall its just a cheap shot at Christains, which is allowed to pass as Academia because of current trends to bash Christains and soil the historical legacy.

Anyone who has ever read Homer will realise these similarities are nonexistant.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), February 22, 2004.

The choice that Pilate offers the crowd between Barabbas and Jesus is said to be in accordance with a custom of releasing at the Passover feast one prisoner chosen by the crowd (Matthew 27:15). This custom is mentioned also in Mark 15:6 and John 18:39 but not in Luke; see the note on Luke 23:17. Outside of the gospels there is no direct attestation of it, and scholars are divided in their judgment of the historical reliability of the claim that there was such a practice. [from the footnotes in the New American Bible]

-- Bill Nelson (bnelson45@hotmail.com), February 22, 2004.

Thanks Bill. You da man!!!!!

-- Mark Advent (adventm5477@earthlink.net), February 22, 2004.

I agree. Bill . . .you da man. I've wanted to say that for some time. I always enjoy your posts. You are solid and reliable! I also really enjoy the questions you start. The only thing I wonder is, where on earth do you get all that time. I can hardly read the number of posts you write, let alone try and write that many.

In praise of Bill

Dano

-- Dan Garon (boethius61@yahoo.com), February 23, 2004.