G. R. S. Mead (1863–1933)
Author of Pistis Sophia: The Gnostic Tradition of Mary Magdalene, Jesus, and His Disciples
About the Author
Works by G. R. S. Mead
Thrice-Greatest Hermes, Studies in Hellenistic Theosophy and Gnosis - Volume I vol 1, Prolegomena (1906) 9 copies
Some mystical adventures, 5 copies
Quests old and new 4 copies
The Dream of Ravan : a mystery 2 copies
Algumas Reflexões Místicas 1 copy
Oriental Department Papers 1 copy
The Subtle Body 1 copy
The Unpanishads, volume II 1 copy
Associated Works
The Orphic Mysteries: Digest (Rosicrucian Order AMORC Kindle Edition) (2015) — Contributor — 5 copies
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There ARE Jewish records of someone who may be Jesus, but they all point to his living around 70 BCE, around 100 years earlier than the dates ascribed to him in the Bible.
But this Jesus, or Jeschu, is accused of being a sorcerer for his miracles, and he is condemned by the Jews and stoned to death.
Mead finds references in early Christian sources to Jesus' stoning and analyzes how the crucifixion was not a central part of early Christian belief.
Mead also looks at later Jewish mentions of Jesus, often as part of attacks on Christianity in response to extreme Christian attacks on Judaism, to see if any historical information can be gleaned.
The claim that Jesus' was a virgin birth was a late addition to Christian belief, he explains, and the Jewish response was to claim he was instead the bastard son of Mary and a soldier named Pandera. He finds several Christian references to the Pandera claim in early Christian writers, indicating they were aware of the accusation, and pushed back against it.
In the end, he concedes that the information is incomplete snd often contradictory. For example, the Christian bishop and writer Epiphanius, writing about 150 AD, insists that Jesus lived during the reign of a ruler who lived around 70 BCE, but he also then insists that Jesus lived in the reign of Pontius Pilate.
Mead is a follower of theosophy, a belief that at heart, all religions are based on the same basic truths, but his analysis of Judaism and Christianity is generally free of bias and he appears to be very knowledgeable about the source material.
His basic problem is the same one facing any analysis of early Christianity: there is very little information, and when it can be dated, it comes from a period many years after Jesus death. But much of the material by early Christian and Jewish commentators cannot be dated at all, either because the writings themselves have no date or because the dates when the authors lived are uncertain. Beyond that, he notes, Jewish and Christian writers of that period loved puns and plays on words, and often referred to Jesus or other personalities by allegorical names. Given that their writing was in Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin or Greek, there are ample opportunities for speculation as to who is being referred to by a given author.
All in all, however, Mead's book is worth a read if you are interested in the field. He will not convince you, but he raises many questions for which, unfortunately, we will likely never have answers.… (more)