When did Jesus die?

[Josh]

Just to be clear, I'm wasn't talking about the church calendar; the actual dates on the calendar were 4 days different. (If I recall correctly) This had to do with adjustments that Western countries made to get the calendar back in sync with the lunar events, the Spring Equinox, etc. (Maybe you are referring to the same thing.)

Well, back in the 1500s, the Roman Catholic church calendar and the "actual dates on the calendar" were one and the same thing. If you have a computer with Linux, you can see how the calendar was adjusted:

Code: Select all

josh@josh:~$ locale | grep LC_TIME
LC_TIME="en_AU.UTF-8"
josh@josh:~$ cal 9 1752
   September 1752
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
       1  2 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Different countries adopted these calendar reforms at different times. The original goal was to realign the seasons and lunar cycle, otherwise eventually we'd have spring in winter, etc.

Julian Thursday, 4 October 1582, being followed by Gregorian Friday, 15 October 1582. The Spanish and Portuguese colonies followed somewhat later de facto because of delay in communication.[28]

Many Protestant countries initially objected to adopting a Catholic innovation; some Protestants feared the new calendar was part of a plot to return them to the Catholic fold.

Britain and the British Empire (including the eastern part of what is now the United States) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, followed by Sweden in 1753.

At my job, I have to work with two calendars for business and national holidays, and also take note of a third calendar for religious holidays. It becomes very apparent that this is entirely a cultural thing, and that understanding of even what a year is is really dependent on your level of technology, mathematical, and astronomical understanding.

Software and good websites are a huge help. I can quickly see multiple Jewish calendars, the Orthodox calendar, and of course the Western calendar. I can also quickly check on when Muslim holiday observances are, including for different sects. This helps me have healthier interactions with people from different cultures.

Interestingly enough, there is no calendar (yet) I can load up for Amish religious holidays...

[Neto]

Just to be clear, I'm wasn't talking about the church calendar; the actual dates on the calendar were 4 days different. (If I recall correctly) This had to do with adjustments that Western countries made to get the calendar back in sync with the lunar events, the Spring Equinox, etc. (Maybe you are referring to the same thing.)

Well, back in the 1500s, the Roman Catholic church calendar and the "actual dates on the calendar" were one and the same thing. If you have a computer with Linux, you can see how the calendar was adjusted:

Code: Select all

josh@josh:~$ locale | grep LC_TIME
LC_TIME="en_AU.UTF-8"
josh@josh:~$ cal 9 1752
   September 1752
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
       1  2 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Different countries adopted these calendar reforms at different times. The original goal was to realign the seasons and lunar cycle, otherwise eventually we'd have spring in winter, etc.

Julian Thursday, 4 October 1582, being followed by Gregorian Friday, 15 October 1582. The Spanish and Portuguese colonies followed somewhat later de facto because of delay in communication.[28]

Many Protestant countries initially objected to adopting a Catholic innovation; some Protestants feared the new calendar was part of a plot to return them to the Catholic fold.

Britain and the British Empire (including the eastern part of what is now the United States) adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, followed by Sweden in 1753.

At my job, I have to work with two calendars for business and national holidays, and also take note of a third calendar for religious holidays. It becomes very apparent that this is entirely a cultural thing, and that understanding of even what a year is is really dependent on your level of technology, mathematical, and astronomical understanding.

Software and good websites are a huge help. I can quickly see multiple Jewish calendars, the Orthodox calendar, and of course the Western calendar. I can also quickly check on when Muslim holiday observances are, including for different sects. This helps me have healthier interactions with people from different cultures.

Interestingly enough, there is no calendar (yet) I can load up for Amish religious holidays...

Well, I spent a good part of my adult life so far living with people who did not know the days of the week, and had no idea of how old they were. One man was very possibly between 10 to 15 years younger then his wife, because in their view, when you become an adult, you are then all the same age, at least until you began to visibly age in later life. So birthdays and commemorations don't mean a lot to me, either, because when your birthday comes around, you are actually just one day older, not a whole year. (The tribal people didn't bother with calendars & years, but they always knew exactly what part of the moon's cycle it was. Westerners in general can't tell diddly squat from looking at the moon.)

But sorry folks, I took this way off topic. So just to bring it back, I think Jesus died either one or two days before the Sabbath, which in general would probably mean it was Thursday or Friday. (I didn't 'vote'. I've heard both theories, and don't think it is a big deal either way. I don't see how either understanding can be proven from Scripture. References to 'the Sabbath" are not necessarily referring to what we think of as Saturday, even accounting for the day starting at sun-down on 'Friday', because at least as I understand it, there were special sabbaths that could fall on any day of the week.)

[Hats Off]

When did Jesus die? A long time ago! A better question would be "Why did Jesus die?" Is arguing or speculating about when at all beneficial? I met a girl who was addicted to drink and drugs; she was also acquainted with the Church and wanted to return to it. She had tried various places to help her overcome her addictions with little success. She is living with a man who claims to be Christian and was trying to help her to a better understanding. She had told him of this Mennonite friend and some of the things we practised. When I met him he wanted to challenge me on some of our understandings and to correct me. I told him it is just foolishness to bicker about minor details when we have here a babe in Christ who wants to understand the basics. So many interesting discussions that we have would only serve to confuse such a person.

[Josh]

When did Jesus die? A long time ago! A better question would be "Why did Jesus die?" Is arguing or speculating about when at all beneficial? I met a girl who was addicted to drink and drugs; she was also acquainted with the Church and wanted to return to it. She had tried various places to help her overcome her addictions with little success. She is living with a man who claims to be Christian and was trying to help her to a better understanding. She had told him of this Mennonite friend and some of the things we practised. When I met him he wanted to challenge me on some of our understandings and to correct me. I told him it is just foolishness to bicker about minor details when we have here a babe in Christ who wants to understand the basics. So many interesting discussions that we have would only serve to confuse such a person.

Indeed.