Holger Kersten

Last updated

Holger Kersten
Born1951 (age 71–72)
Magdeburg
OccupationWriter
LanguageGerman
SubjectSpeculation on the life of Jesus Christ
Notable worksJesus Lived in India

Holger Kersten (born 1951) is a German writer on myth, legend, religion, and esoteric subjects. He is best known for speculative books about time Jesus spent in India. [1] Kersten's views have received no support from mainstream scholarship. [2]

Contents

Jesus Lived in India – 1983

Jesus Lived in India [3] promotes the claim of Nicolas Notovitch (1894) regarding the unknown years of Jesus between the ages of twelve and twenty-nine, supposedly spent in India. The consensus view amongst modern scholars is that Notovitch's account of the travels of Jesus to India was a hoax. Kersten also promotes Ahmadiyya founder Ghulam Ahmad's claims regarding time spent by Jesus in India between the age of 33 and 120, and his burial at the Roza Bal shrine in Srinagar. Kersten additionally draws on earlier material by Louis Jacolliot, Andreas Faber-Kaiser, and German novelist Siegfried Obermeier (1983). [4] The book was translated into Chinese in 1987. [5]

Like others before him, Kersten follows Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in his sources, such as a passage in the Bhavishya Purana, which refers to Jesus as "Isa-Masih" (Jesus the Messiah). The passage describes the Hindu king Shalivahana travelling to mountains, where he meets a man who calls himself Isa, son of a virgin. Isa says he has ministered to the Mlecchas, explaining that he has reformed their lives by recommending principles of mental purity, using japa by chanting holy names, and meditation. Kersten interprets this as a record of Jesus in Kashmir. In reality, the passage is an 18th-century dialogue also featuring Muhammad, and not an early source, as Ahmad claimed. [6] Most scholars consider this part of the Purana to be a 19th-century interpolation. [7]

The book achieved great popularity in Germany and overseas, though it competed with the better-known Obermeier's book in Germany. Indologist Günter Grönbold included a highly critical debunking of Obermeier and Kersten's interpretations of Buddhist sources among various expositions of Jesus in India theories in Jesus in Indien. Das Ende einer Legende (Jesus in India, the end of a Legend, 1985). [8] Wilhelm Schneemelcher, in introducing the subject of New Testament Apocrypha (1991), uses Kersten by way of illustration of the development of legendary Gospel traditions and notes how Kersten "attempted to work up Notovitch and Ahmadiyya legends, with many other alleged witnesses, into a complete picture." [9] Douglas T. McGetchin notes that once his story had been re-examined by historians, Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence. [10]

However, in 1922, Swami Abhedananda visited the Hemis monastery and corroborated much of Notovitch's story. Given access to the manuscripts on Jesus Christ, Abhedananda later published an abbreviated version of Notovich's translated account. [11] After Abhedananda's death in 1939, one of his disciples inquired about the documents at the monastery but was told they had disappeared. [12]

The Original Jesus – 1994

In a later work, co-written with parapsychologist Elmar R. Gruber (b. 1955), Der Ur-Jesus (1994), translated as The Original Jesus (1995), Kersten argues that Buddhism appears to have had a substantial influence on the life and teachings of Jesus. [13] [14] [15] They hold that Jesus was influenced by the teachings and practices of Therapeutae, described by the authors as teachers of the Buddhist Theravada school then living in Judaea, although the only account of this group, an extensive description by Philo of Alexandria, describes the Therapeutae as a charismatic Hellenistic Jewish community following the Law of Moses. Gruber and Kersten assert that Jesus lived the life of a Buddhist and taught Buddhist ideals to his disciples. In doing so, their work draws on earlier comparisons between Buddhism and Christianity, including that of Oxford New Testament scholar Burnett Hillman Streeter (1932), who argued that the moral teachings of the Gautama Buddha hold four remarkable resemblances to the Sermon on the Mount.[ citation needed ]

The Jesus Conspiracy – 1997

Kersten and Gruber later developed the ideas of the two earlier books and connected them to the Turin Shroud in Das Jesus-Komplott: die Wahrheit über das Turiner Grabtuch – The Jesus Conspiracy: The Turin Shroud and the Truth About the Resurrection. [16] and Jesus starb nicht am Kreuz — Die Botschaft des Turiner Grabtuchs (1998) (Jesus Did Not Die on the Cross: The Message of the Shroud of Turin). [17] The Jesus Conspiracy proposes that the Vatican interfered with the 1988 Radiocarbon 14 dating of the Shroud of Turin to show a medieval date for its origin. The authors propose that the shroud is the authentic burial cloth of Jesus, but that evidence, including blood tracks, shows that Jesus was alive following his crucifixion. They argue that the Mandylion, or Image of Edessa, known from the sixth century, was the shroud, but folded to only show the face of Jesus. Because Jesus surviving the cross would contradict the teaching of the Resurrection, the central belief in Christianity, the authors allege that the Vatican used a piece from a 13th-century cloth with a similar herringbone weave to the Shroud of Turin as a substitute in the carbon dating. In part three, Gruber attempts to explain many details concerning what happened in "that dramatic hour of Good Friday". The book repeats Kersten's earlier arguments that after the crucifixion, Jesus moved to India. [18] [19]

Critical response

None of Kersten's works have found any support in mainstream scholarship — either Biblical or Indologist. Noted German scholar of New Testament Apocrypha Wilhelm Schneemelcher, in a revision of his standard work prior to his death in 2003, and in unusually strong language for the scholarly community, states that Kersten's work is based on "fantasy, untruth and ignorance (above all in the linguistic area)" and "has nothing to do with historical research." [2] Gerald O'Collins and Daniel Kendall opined that "Kersten's discredited book" is simply the repackaging of Notovich and Ahmad's material for consumption by the general public. [20]

Bibliography

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam</span> Jesus in Ahmadiyya Islam

Ahmadiyya Islam considers Jesus (ʿĪsā) as a mortal man, entirely human, and a prophet of God born to the Virgin Mary (Maryam). Jesus is understood to have survived the crucifixion based on the account of the canonical Gospels, the Qurʾān, ḥadīth literature, and revelations to Mīrzā G̲h̲ulām Aḥmad. Having delivered his message to the Israelites in Judea, Jesus is understood to have emigrated eastward to escape persecution from Judea and to have further spread his message to the Lost Tribes of Israel. In Ahmadiyya Islam, Jesus is thought to have died a natural death in India. Jesus lived to old age and later died in Srinagar, Kashmir, and his tomb is presently located at the Roza Bal shrine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Testament apocrypha</span> Writings by early Christians, not included in the Biblical Canon

The New Testament apocrypha are a number of writings by early Christians that give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, the nature of God, or the teachings of his apostles and of their lives. Some of these writings were cited as scripture by early Christians, but since the fifth century a widespread consensus has emerged limiting the New Testament to the 27 books of the modern canon. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant churches generally do not view the New Testament apocrypha as part of the Bible.

Modern pseudepigrapha, or modern apocrypha, refer to pseudepigrapha of recent origin – any book written in the style of the books of the Bible or other religious scriptures, and claiming to be of similar age, but written in a much later (modern) period. They differ from apocrypha, which are books from or shortly after the scriptural period but not accepted into the religion's canon. Exposing modern pseudepigrapha is part of the fields of palaeography and papyrology, amongst others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicolas Notovitch</span> Russian journalist

Shulim or Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich, known in the West as Nicolas Notovitch, was a Crimean Jewish adventurer who claimed to be a Russian aristocrat, spy and journalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhism and Christianity</span> Comparison of the belief systems

Analogies have been drawn between Buddhism and Christianity, and Buddhism may have influenced Christianity. Buddhist missionaries were sent by Emperor Ashoka of India to Syria, Egypt and Greece beginning in 250 BC and may have helped prepare for the ethics of Christ. Others have noted the significant differences between the two religions beginning with monotheism's place at the core of Christianity, and Buddhism's orientation towards nontheism which runs counter to teachings about God in Christianity; and extending to the importance of grace in Christianity against the rejection of interference with karma in Theravada Buddhism, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roza Bal</span> Shrine located in the Khanyar quarter in downtown area of Srinagar in Kashmir

The Roza Bal, Rouza Bal, or Rozabal is a shrine located in the Khanyar quarter in downtown area of Srinagar in Kashmir, India. The word roza means tomb, the word bal mean place. Locals believe a sage is buried here, Yuz Asaf, alongside another Muslim holy man, Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemis Monastery</span> Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Hemis, Ladakh, India

Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, in Hemis, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, it was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honouring Padmasambhava is held there in early June.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buddhist influences on Christianity</span> Hypothesized impacts

Buddhism was known in the pre-Christian Greek world through the campaigns of Alexander the Great, and several prominent early Christian fathers, including Clement of Alexandria and St. Jerome, were aware of the Buddha, even mentioning him in their works. However, the majority of modern scholars who have studied both Buddhism and Christianity hold that there is no direct historical evidence of any influence by Buddhism on early Christianity. Scholars generally consider any such influence implausible given that first century Jews are highly unlikely to have been open to far eastern concepts that appeared opposed to some of their basic beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unknown years of Jesus</span> Period in the life of Jesus

The unknown years of Jesus generally refers to the period of Jesus's life between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry, a period not described in the New Testament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuz Asaf</span>

Youza Asaf, Youza Asaph, Youza Asouph, Yuz Asaf, Yuzu Asaf, Yuzu Asif, or Yuzasaf, are Arabic and Urdu variations of the name Josaphat, and are primarily connected with Christianized and Islamized versions of the life of the Buddha found in the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gospel of Basilides</span> Lost text circulated among the followers of Basilides

The Gospel of Basilides is the title given to a reputed text within the New Testament apocrypha, which is reported in the middle of the 3rd century as then circulating amongst the followers of Basilides (Βασιλείδης), a leading theologian of Gnostic tendencies, who had taught in Alexandria in the second quarter of the 2nd century. Basilides's teachings were condemned as heretical by Irenaeus of Lyons, and by Hippolytus of Rome, although they had been evaluated more positively by Clement of Alexandria. There is, however, no agreement amongst Irenaeus, Hippolytus or Clement as to Basilides's specific theological opinions; while none of the three report a gospel in the name of Basilides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swami Abhedananda</span> Indian Hindu mystic (1866-1939)

Swami Abhedananda, born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Swami Vivekananda sent him to the West to head the Vedanta Society of New York in 1897, and spread the message of Vedanta, a theme on which he authored several books through his life, and subsequently founded the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, in Calcutta and Darjeeling.

Günter Grönbold is a German Indologist and Tibetologist. He was head of the Oriental Section at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich. He is an authority on the Pāli Canon and the Buddhist art of the Silk Road and has translated various Sanskrit and Tibetan texts into German.

Norbert Klatt was a German scholar of Buddhism and Christianity and publisher; he was the founder of Norbert Klatt Verlag, Göttingen.

Siegfried Obermeier was a German author of historical novels and popular history books. He was editor of The Secret Diaries of Ludwig II of Bavaria 1976. In 1978 he issued his first novel, initially under the penname Carl de Scott, a novelisation of the second life of Judas Iscariot. His Jesus in India book "Starb Jesus in Kaschmir?" made it to the Year Bestseller List of the Spiegel in 1983.

<i>Jesus in Indien</i>

Jesus in Indien. Das Ende einer Legende is a 1985 book by the German indologist Günter Grönbold investigating the Islamic, Christian and Buddhist source material used by the Ahmaddiya Muslim founder Ghulam Ahmad in his book Jesus in India. The book is Grönbold's best known book among the general public in Germany, and is the most cited scholarly text about the sources of Ahmad's interpretation and the Roza Bal shrine among subsequent academic and popular writing. Following consideration of the original context and history of the literary sources cited by Ahmad and later Ahmaddiya supporters of the theory that Jesus of Nazareth survived the crucifixion and made a journey to India and was buried in Srinagar Kashmir, Grönbold concludes that Ahmad misidentified material about the putative Christian saint "Yuzafa" from the Barlaam and Josaphat traditions telling a Christianized version of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, as being material concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Grönbold's work was revisited, cited and developed by Norbert Klatt (1988) and Mark Bothe . Bothe regarded Grönbold as the first and only scholar in the area to have developed a history of the origination of the various "Jesus in India" legends.

<i>Acts of Thaddeus</i> Letters between King Abgar V and Jesus (544-944 CE)

The Acts of Thaddeus is a Greek document written between 544 and 944 CE which purports to describe correspondence between King Abgar V of Edessa and Jesus, which results in Jesus' disciple Thaddeus going to Edessa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mai Mari da Ashtan</span>

In recent Ahmadi Muslim belief, the Mai Mari da Ashtan is the burial place of Mary, mother of Jesus, at one extremity of Muree in Pakistan.

References

  1. ↑ Reinhard Feldmeier Die Bibel: Entstehung - Botschaft - Wirkung 2004 Page 164 "In Deutschland war es vor allem Holger Kersten, der mit seinem Buch »Jesus lebte in Indien« (zuerst 1984, Neuauflage 1993)23 die These vom Indienaufenthalt Jesu populär machte. Die bereits oben angesprochene »Lücke im Leben Jesu«"
  2. 1 2 New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. Mcl. Wilson (1 December 1990) ISBN   066422721X page 84. "Such works, in which fantasy, untruth and ignorance (above all in the linguistic area) are combined, and which are in addition marked by anti-Church feeling, have nothing to do with historical research."
  3. ↑
    • Jesus lebte in Indien – Sein geheimes Leben vor und nach der Kreuzigung. Ullstein-Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN   3-5483-5490-4, (1. Auflage: Droemer Knaur, München 1983, ISBN   3-426-03712-2).
  4. ↑ Mark Bothe Die Jesus-in-Indien-Legende Über eine alternative Lebensgeschichte des Jesus von Nazareth 3 Die modernen Autoren. Wie eingangs erwähnt sieht Grönbold diese Quellen als Grundsteine für die moderne JiIL an. Choudhury, Faber-Kaiser, Obermeier und Kersten hätten die Idee für ihre Theoreme aus diesen Quellen entnommen und ihre Beweisargumente gingen auf die Autoren der ersten Phase wie Jacolliot zurück.
  5. ↑ Chinese edition: 霍尔根·凯斯顿, translators 赵振权 and 王宽湘 title:《耶稣在印度》, published 国际文化出版公司 1987
  6. ↑ Holger Kersten, Jesus Lived in India: His Unknown Life Before and After the Crucifixion, Penguin Books India, 2001, p.260.
  7. ↑ See Swami Parmeshwaranand, "Christ in the Bhavisya Purana", Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Purānas, Sarup, 2001, pp.278ff; Wendy Doniger, Purāna Perennis: Reciprocity and Transformation in Hindu and Jaina Texts, SUNY Press, 1993, p.105.
  8. ↑ Daniel Kendall – 1996 On reissuing Venturini in Gregorianum — Page 258 Pontificia università gregoriana (Rome) "The whole story of how this legend was simply created (without a shred of evidence in its support), spread widely among a gullible public and still finds such latter-day exponents as Holger Kersten is splendidly told by Günther Grönbold. In Jesus Survived Crucifixion Soami Divyanand offers a recent repetition of the legend originally fashioned by Ghulam Ahmad. Divyanand draws on Kersten' s discredited book, Jesus Lived in India."
  9. ↑ New Testament Apocrypha: Gospels and Related Writings – Page 84 Wilhelm Schneemelcher, R McL Wilson - 1991
  10. ↑ Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism by Douglas T. McGetchin (1 January 2010) Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ISBN   083864208X page 133 "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich confessed to fabricating his evidence."
  11. ↑ Chaitanya, Brahmachari Bhairab; Swami Abhedananda's Journey into Kashmir and Tibet; Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, Calcutta, 1987 (first published in Bengali in 1929) pp.119-121, 164-166; ISBN   0874816432
  12. ↑ Richard, Hooper; Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, and Lao Tzu; 2012 p. 176 ISBN   1571746803
  13. ↑ Der Ur-Jesus — Die buddhistischen Quellen des frühen Christentums. Langen-Müller Verlag, München 1994, ISBN   3-7844-2504-6.
  14. ↑ Gruber, Elmar; Kersten, Holger. (1995). The Original Jesus. Shaftesbury: Element Books.
  15. ↑ Zohar, Danah (9 July 1995). "In search of the gospel truth". The Independent . London. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  16. ↑ Das Jesus-Komplott: die Wahrheit über das Turiner Grabtuch. Heyne-Verlag, München 1997, ISBN   3-453-12307-7.
  17. ↑ Jesus starb nicht am Kreuz — Die Botschaft des Turiner Grabtuchs. Langen-Müller Verlag, München 1998, ISBN   3-7844-2688-3, (mit Elmar R. Gruber).
  18. ↑ Sengupta, Reshmi (22 September 2005). "When Jesus came to India!". The Telegraph (Calcutta) . Calcutta, India. Archived from the original on 13 May 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "The curious trail of Christ". The Telegraph (Calcutta) . Calcutta, India. 4 April 2006. Archived from the original on 14 May 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  20. ↑ Gerald O'Collins Daniel Kendall Essays in Christology and Soteriology 1996 p169
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.