Historical Myths

Things we think we knowBut…

Jesus was born in year 0..

• Not even close – we date his birth in the year 1AD (1CE)

• The day before his birth is designated as end of 1BC (BCE)

• In reality – both are historically wrong• Jesus was “probably” born around 4BC

More Jesus stuff

• Jesus was not born on December 25• This was always a Roman holiday – the Roman

Emperor Constantine changed this holiday of the Sun to Holiday of the Son of God in 323AD

• We are not sure when Jesus was born – probably in March

• It gets weirder for historians……..

Historical Jesus

• As Christians we know of the life of Jesus through the 4 Gospels in the New Testament

• But these Gospels were written many years after Jesus died

• In pure historical terms there is no historical record of Jesus’ life beyond what later Christians wrote

• Faith is stronger than History

One more Jesus thing – BC v AD

• Our dating system (2011) is based on the life of Jesus (sort of)

• BC does mean Before Christ• But AD does NOT mean After Death (wrong)• It means Anno Domini (Year of Our Lord)• Do the math

Jesus wasn’t European

• Our image of Jesus comes from European artists. He always looks European, skinny, and well muscled (that part probably correct)

• No real image or description exists• If anything he probably looked like - ??

They Burned Witches at Salem

• Of the 600 people eventually tried for witchcraft in the paranoia years in late 1600s only 20 were executed for witchcraft

• All hanged (14 women and 6 men)

Got Apples or Cherries

• Adam and Eve didn’t eat a forbidden Apple (apple not even mentioned) – forbidden fruit never identified

• Isaac Newton, smartest mathematician in 17th century, didn’t thin of laws of gravity because an apple fell on his head

• George Washington didn’t cut down a cherry tree

Let them eat cake

• These were the infamous words of Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution when Frenchmen were starving

• Marie never said these words – all propaganda

• But Marie was hated and did get guillotined

Independence Day is July 4, 1776

• We celebrate on July 4th but US not independent from Britain on that date

• Saying something doesn’t make it so• We officially became the USA by the Treaty of

Paris, Sept. 3 1783 (after winning the war of independence

Hitler was a Homosexual

• Hitler was actually a Homophobe• He had half million gays murdered• He liked women; big healthy Nordic women• Eva Braun was his long time mistress and one

day wife• But Hitler was a Vegetarian

More Hitler Stuff

• Hitler survived World War II • No, he really did commit suicide on April 30,

1945 (along with Eva – how Romeo and Juliet)• Hitler murdered 6 million Jews – yes and no.

Hitler was behind all of the anti-Semitism hysteria but there are no records tying him directly to the Holocaust (he had followers organize the dead)

Edison invented the Light bulb

• The world’s most successful inventor did invent the light bulb we ended up actually using day to day

• But Sire Humphrey Davy (Father of Modern Chemistry) invented the first light bulb many years earlier – didn’t work well

Columbus Proved Earth Round

• A round earth was known since the Greeks• In fact, Eratosthenes not only proved earth

was round but measured it using two sticks• Columbus thought Eratosthenes was wrong

and earth was smaller – Columbus wrong, Eratosthenes correct

Einstein Flunked HS Math

• This myth has legs – story has been around since 1930s

• Even Einstein laughed at it• Einstein was a math genius – did calculus at 12• Seriously, parents pulled him out of regular

school because he was bored

President Lincoln freed the slaves

• No, not at all. Even the famous Proclamation of Emancipation (1863), said to have freed slaves, really didn’t free even ONE.

• Freedom from Slavery came from 13th Amendment (After Lincoln’s death in April 1865)

• Lincoln hated slavery but didn’t free any slaves

There are many Races

• Technically there are only 3: Caucasian (whites), Asian and African

• And then it gets really messy and confusing• Indians (from India) are both Caucasian and

Asian and African (OMG)• Native Americans –Asian?

George Washington 1st President

• First under the US Constitution (1789) – yes• First “President” no• Our first government, under Articles of

Confederation, elected John Hansen as first President

• There would be five more

Mexican is Not Race

• Mexicans, originally stated as Caucasian are really mixed Native American (Asian) and Spanish (Caucasian)

• The popular 60s concept of La Raza is an intellectually, cultural affirmation of Mexico’s unique blend of many groups that make up a diverse ethnic group collectively called Mexican

Average Person is White

• No – if you put every person in world in a giant blender and generate an average looking human you would get:

• Someone who looks Indian: olive to brown skin, brown eyes, dark straight hair, stands about 5’6”, weights 140 pounds, and is about 20 years old