Memorial Day Calculation vs. Jewish Passover Calculation

by Band on the Run 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Band on the Run

  The Witnesses teach about Nisan 14. Oh, happy days, Nisan 14 has been out of my life for decades. We always had a beautiful full moon for Memorial. It always scared me. The passing of the emblems seemed very Catholic and spooky with dead bodies. paradise on earth and heaven. My great grandfather was a remnant. Supposedly one of the last ones until new light.

  Jews have been calculating Nisan 14 since time immemorial. Maybe even before Abraham when YHW was a local god. I understand that Easter is a moveable feast. The way for calculating it is in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, which is adapted from the Catholic. Yet Orthodox Easter is different and later. The JWs and the Jewish authorities should agree but rarely do. What gives?

  I grew up in New York so I know there are many controversies and disputes among Jewry. Yet they all agree on Passover. It seems a simple enough concept if you are familiar with lunar calendars. I've pondered this since elementary school. It was embarassing saying we were celebrated Christ's passover meal when Passover was a different date. A bunch of not educated people in Brooklyn vs. thousands of years of Jewish practice. Which one is right?
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  moshe

  JWs are a perfect reverse barometer when it comes to doing the right thing.
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  drewcoul

  I just posted this on another thread. I copied it from the Yahoo homepage. Maybe the Witnesses are right. I don't know. AFP/File – "The last supper of Tongerlo" by Leonardo da Vinci is pictured during the exhibition "The … – Mon Apr 18, 12:31 pm ET

  LONDON (AFP) – Christians have long celebrated Jesus Christ's Last Supper on Maundy Thursday but new research released Monday claims to show it took place on the Wednesday before the crucifixion.

  Professor Colin Humphreys, a scientist at the University of Cambridge, believes it is all due to a calendar mix-up -- and asserts his findings strengthen the case for finally introducing a fixed date for Easter.

  Humphreys uses a combination of biblical, historical and astronomical research to try to pinpoint the precise nature and timing of Jesus's final meal with his disciples before his death.

  Researchers have long been puzzled by an apparent inconsistency in the Bible.

  While Matthew, Mark and Luke all say the Last Supper coincided with the start of the Jewish festival of Passover, John claims it took place before Passover.

  Humphreys has concluded in a new book, "The Mystery Of The Last Supper", that Jesus -- along with Matthew, Mark and Luke -- may have been using a different calendar to John.

  "Whatever you think about the Bible, the fact is that Jewish people would never mistake the Passover meal for another meal, so for the Gospels to contradict themselves in this regard is really hard to understand," Humphreys said.

  "Many biblical scholars say that, for this reason, you can't trust the Gospels at all. But if we use science and the Gospels hand in hand, we can actually prove that there was no contradiction."

  In Humphreys' theory, Jesus went by an old-fashioned Jewish calendar rather than the official lunar calendar which was in widespread use at the time of his death and is still in use today.

  This would put the Passover meal -- and the Last Supper -- on the Wednesday, explaining how such a large number of events took place between the meal and the crucifixion.

  It would follow that Jesus' arrest, interrogation and separate trials did not all take place in the space of one night but in fact occurred over a longer period.

  Humphreys believes a date could therefore be ascribed to Easter in our modern solar calendar, and working on the basis that the crucifixion took place on April 3, Easter Day would be on April 5.
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  prophecor

  I was given the info is as simple as this

  http://www.thetrumpet.com/?q=4830.6373.0.0
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  Band on the Run

  John is written much later than the Synoptic gospels. He is a theologian, not a historian. I'd go with Mark, Matthew and Luke. John's timing of the passover was written for his target audience. Mark and Matthew wrote to Jewsh Christrians, Luke to Gentile Christians. Yet they all agree.

  Scholars must have pondered this since the days of canonization - at the least. What new research could come forward at this time? The problem I have with reading scholarly articles is that I know nothing of the authors. I'd don't know their knee jerk reactions, their biases, their tenure battles. When I practice law, some scholars have more heft than others. If you read many law review articles and Sup Ct briefs, a pattern emerges. One of two treatise authors will be cited for authority. Unless a prof tells you or you are deeply engaged in research, the articles don't come with a rating. Three stars for reputable scholar, four for top in the field, one for law student. You can tell law student material, actually.

  Without this info, it is hard to put material in context. I think the distant period and its very hallowed subject matter makes perspective very impossible.

  Why are JWs always contrary to every one else? It is as though they deliberately seek to be. If a scholar can publish, maybe it means the Witnesses aren't completely looney. There is still a judgment call. Since Passover is a Jewish hollidy and Jews don't use our calendar for religious reasons, I don't see the problem. I could also argue that it does not matter. The idea is important. Their smug attitude annoys me no end.