Dom
2010-08-20 13:56:17 UTC
According to some writers, Bethlehem--the birthplace of David and the
predicted birthplace of the Messiah--contained a cave that was a
shrine to Adonis-Tammuz. This cave provided a convenient location that
would be identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth.
In "The Life of Jesus," Grove Press (1967) p. 35-36 [translation of:
"La vita di Gesù," Feltrinelli Editore, Milano (1966)] Marcelli
Craveri wrote:
"The belief that this is the exact spot on which the Messiah was born
goes back to Justin Martyr, the second-century apologist, and was
endorsed, about a hundred years later, by the philosopher Origen. The
Church Father Jerome, who died in Bethlehem in 420, reports in
addition that the holy cave was at one point consecrated by the
heathen to the worship of Adonis, and a pleasant sacred grove planted
before it, to wipe out the memory of Jesus. Modern mythologists,
however, reverse the supposition, insisting that the cult of Adonis-
Tammuz originated the shrine and that it was the Christians who took
it over, substituting the worship of their own god."
For the last sentence, Craveri provides a reference to Giuseppe
Ricciotti, "Vita di Gesù Cristo," Rome:Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana
(1948) p. 276 n. [1st edition, Milan: Rizzoli (1941)].
Are there any other references that support the claim that the shrine
of Adonis-Tammuz predated the Christians' takeover of this location?
predicted birthplace of the Messiah--contained a cave that was a
shrine to Adonis-Tammuz. This cave provided a convenient location that
would be identified as the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth.
In "The Life of Jesus," Grove Press (1967) p. 35-36 [translation of:
"La vita di Gesù," Feltrinelli Editore, Milano (1966)] Marcelli
Craveri wrote:
"The belief that this is the exact spot on which the Messiah was born
goes back to Justin Martyr, the second-century apologist, and was
endorsed, about a hundred years later, by the philosopher Origen. The
Church Father Jerome, who died in Bethlehem in 420, reports in
addition that the holy cave was at one point consecrated by the
heathen to the worship of Adonis, and a pleasant sacred grove planted
before it, to wipe out the memory of Jesus. Modern mythologists,
however, reverse the supposition, insisting that the cult of Adonis-
Tammuz originated the shrine and that it was the Christians who took
it over, substituting the worship of their own god."
For the last sentence, Craveri provides a reference to Giuseppe
Ricciotti, "Vita di Gesù Cristo," Rome:Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana
(1948) p. 276 n. [1st edition, Milan: Rizzoli (1941)].
Are there any other references that support the claim that the shrine
of Adonis-Tammuz predated the Christians' takeover of this location?