7 Controversial Theories about Christianity and Judaism

Some of these fringe theories about religion are extremely controversial, but at the same time, they are just too fascinating to ignore. They also offer us a brand new perspective on what would’ve been just another boring orthodox doctrine, regardless of how kooky that perspective could be.

The Roman Empire Invented Jesus

Even though there has already been considerable evidence that supports the existence of Jesus, there are still doubts as to whether or not he even lived at all. There is one of those Christ Myth theories which claim that Jesus was created by the Roman Empire during the first century to suppress Jewish insurrections. , the controversial biblical academic Joseph Atwill claims that the Roman Empire created Jesus in the first century to quell Jewish insurrections.

According to Joseph Atwill, who is a controversial bible academic, the Romans already knew the Jews were eagerly waiting on their messiah to lead a revolution against their rulers. Rather than starting up yet another physical campaign, the Romans tried using psychological warfare, and created a religious system that emphasized the total opposite of rebellion.

Black People Are Cursed Because Ham Sodomized Noah

All through history, black people have put up with different versions of oppression and discrimination. One main reason for this was due to an old belief that they directly descended from Canaan, who was the grandson of Noah, whom Noah was said to have cursed right after the great Flood.

The Bible claims that Noah’s son Ham saw him naked and drunk while in his tent. Noah was then said to curse Ham’s son Canaan by making him serve the direct descendants of his other two sons, Japheth and Shem. The Bible is very fuzzy on whether Ham did other things to bring on this curse. Some texts merely claim that Ham mocked his father’s nudity and drunkenness. Others say that he actually slept with Noah’s wife, who was his own mother. And then others believe that Ham sodomized his father.

Devil Had Sex with Eve

In a very bizarre interpretation of the biblical book Genesis, this “Serpent Seed Theory” states that the devil actually tricked Eve to do more than just eating the forbidden fruit, he convinced her to have sex with him as well.

Eve later informs God that this serpent “beguiled” her, and there are those who say that these words really meant “seduced” and not only “deceived.” The punishment that the serpent received from God (where he lost his legs and now crawls on his stomach for all of eternity) implies that he once had a human-like body.

Jesus Used Marijuana to Help Work His Miracles

There are several different religions all over the world that have utilized psychoactive plants or entheogens for their sacred rituals. Jesus himself could have used some of these plants to conduct his miracles, according to some theories.

Proponents claim that the anointing oil used by Jesus consisted of a large amount of “keneh-bosem.” This mystery substance is believed by some to be either cannabis or calamus. Jesus actually could’ve healed thousands of people by using the medicinal properties of marijuana. By anointing himself along with his disciples with this cannabis mixture could have created the religious experiences that propelled him as a miraculous man.

Buddhism actually Influenced Christianity

Similar to the way that Jesus spent “lost years” traveling about the Near East prior to studying in India and Tibet, this amazing theory claims that Buddhism and Christianity are similar enough for monks to preach their Buddhist tenets directly to natives of Palestine. And then these doctrines were adopted by Jesus along with his followers in their brand new religion.

Even though Buddhist monks contacted the Western world several centuries prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, extending into parts of the Mediterranean and as far as Greece, there are actually very few scholars who really believe Buddhism influenced Christianity, at least throughout the inception of the latter.

Today’s Jews Didn’t Directly Descend From The Tribes Of Israel

In another controversial argument that undermines the Israeli claims on Palestine, Tel Aviv University’s Shlomo Sand believes that today’s modern Jewish people are not able to claim Palestine as their own land. This is because that they did not descend from those ancient Israelites to begin with.

Sand believes in the theory—which first appeared during the 19th century—that the Jews of today came from the Khazar Khaganate. This empire from central Europe existed from the 7th to the 10th centuries, and their peoples converted to Judaism in a very big way. After the empire perished, their peoples dispersed into various areas of Europe and converted many of the locals around them, resulting in a very non-homogenous Jewish group comprised of several races. Sand also makes the claim that Palestinians are the true descendants of these ancient Israelites, and then they converted to Islam later.

Evidence opposing Sand’s claim includes DNA tests that indicate today’s Jewish people have common genes that are easily traced back to the Levantine area—which includes Israel.

All Peoples Descended From The Jews

There is one interesting fringe theory which states that the British are actually descendants of the Jews. This Two-House or Ephraimite Theory goes even further, as it claims that the non-Jewish Christians of today, along with all of mankind actually descended directly from the Israel’s ten lost tribes.

This belief comes from the very fringes of Messianic Judaism, where their followers believe that Jesus is the Messiah. It’s based on many passages from the bible where God has promised to have Jewish people’s descendants be as “numerous as the sands of the sea.” Thus, the ten tribes of Israel scattered after their defeat at the hands of the Assyrians as a fulfillment of that promise.

They believe that the Jewish descendants further scattered and settled into different regions of the globe all through the ages.

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