The "history" behind Maundy Thursday...?

[Ivo]

I am a strong non-believer in Christianity, and I am not afraid to admit it. So when things like this come up, I always find great amusement in them...

Christians have long marked Jesus Christ's Last Supper on Maundy Thursday but new research by a leading academic suggests they have got the wrong date.

Professor Colin Humphreys, a scientist at the University of Cambridge, has now concluded that the final meal took place on the Wednesday before the crucifixion, a day earlier than previously accepted.

He believes his findings, which are likely to cause ripples among millions of Christians, could present a case for finally introducing a fixed date for Easter. They also present a solution to apparent contradictions in the Gospels and logistical issues relating to the hours before the crucifixion.

 

[starrymarkb]

Reason for the date - Ostara!

Doesn't it strike you as odd that easter is the first sunday after then first full moon after the Equinox?

 

[SS4]

Are there any festivals Christianity hasn't hijacked? Fix Easter and give us a nice secular bank holiday in the Autumn - Battle of Britain Day for example

 

[Ivo]

Does anyone actually know EXACTLY which year Jesus apparently died in? In theory the 12th of April should be a Thursday. But there seem to be about 20 different theories for his year of birth as well, so the same would apply to his year of death! I do believe he was 33 though.

 

[SS4]

Does anyone actually know EXACTLY which year Jesus apparently died in? In theory the 12th of April should be a Thursday. But there seem to be about 20 different theories for his year of birth as well, so the same would apply to his year of death! I do believe he was 33 though.

Not to my knowledge although I do not think there is any reliable evidence for anyone to say to a decent level of accuracy, especially given experimental error in carbon (or insert any other element here) dating

 

[Oswyntail]

Not to my knowledge although I do not think there is any reliable evidence for anyone to say to a decent level of accuracy, especially given experimental error in carbon (or insert any other element here) dating

Carbon dating what,precisely?
Speaking as a Christian, the original report makes tiddly squit difference to anything, and is the sort of thing (along with the "Christians took over pagan festivals" stories) that get wheeled out at every Easter/Christmas. IMHO the "back story" and the show ceremonies are irrelevant - it's the thought behind them that counts.
Happy Easter everyone.

 

[SS4]

Carbon dating what,precisely?
Speaking as a Christian, the original report makes tiddly squit difference to anything, and is the sort of thing (along with the "Christians took over pagan festivals" stories) that get wheeled out at every Easter/Christmas. IMHO the "back story" and the show ceremonies are irrelevant - it's the thought behind them that counts.
Happy Easter everyone.

Evidence that would give us an idea of what time it happened to help authenticate it

 

[CarterUSM]

If folk want to believe something, i'd just let them get on with it.

 

[dggar]

Augustus was supposed to have called a census when the "parents" of Jesus travelled to Bethlehem. Are there any verifiable records from Roman history that can pin point the year?

 

[Oswyntail]

Augustus was supposed to have called a census when the "parents" of Jesus travelled to Bethlehem. Are there any verifiable records from Roman history that can pin point the year?

Nope! Chronology in Greco-Roman history is something of a minefield. And was the census imperial, provincial or even just local? Herod, by the way, died in 4BC, so if he was responsible for the Massacre of the Innocents, Jesus was born before then. This sort of thing makes Ancient History great fun.

 

[seagull]

This:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_Jesus

makes quite interesting reading, with regard to the arbitrariness and symbolism of certain 'dates'.