A BBC INTERVIEW OF DIRECTOR RICHARD DENTON

Did Jesus die in Kashmir, India?

Some Evidence Suggests Jesus survived the crucifixion at 33, died at 80+, and was entombed in India.

Is the body of Jesus entombed in 
this building in Srinagar, Kashmir?

BBC - INTERVIEW
DIRECTOR RICHARD DENTON
Friday, July 11, 2003 

BBC Four: Your central question is, did Jesus die on the cross, rather than did Jesus die at all.


Richard Denton: It is, really. I originally wanted to call it, 'The Body of Christ,' because that seems to me to be the crucial question. Obviously, he died at some point, but when and how is the question.

BBC Four: How do you think he might have survived crucifixion?

RD: Crucifixion took up to three days; the maximum he was on the cross for was nine hours, it might even have been six. And even if you read the gospels, Pontius Pilate is clearly surprised that he's already dead, and wants to be reassured by the centurion that he really is dead. My personal take on it would be that he goes into a shock induced coma, and probably they thought he was dead.

BBC Four: If he did survive, why do you think it's not related in that way in the gospels?

RD: First of all, they would think it was a miraculous resurrection. You don't have to think of that as a conspiracy theory, or a lie, it's just a mistake. What you then have to do is get him out of the way. The real question doesn't hang over the resurrection, which I think is explicable. The real question hangs over him ascending into heaven.

BBC Four: You make the point that the Ascension isn't actually mentioned in the gospels.

RD: It's not in any of the original versions of the gospels, which is astonishing. It was in the last 16 verses of Mark, which were put in 300 years after, and it's inserted in a sentence, into some versions of Luke, because he was assumed to have written the Acts, and it's mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. That, I think is the lie, the cover story, to get him out of the country.

BBC Four: If Jesus was revived in this way, where then did he go?

RD: One story is that he gets out and goes to the South of France with Mary Magdalene, there is a certain amount of evidence that she went there. And the other is that he goes to India, and there are a number of versions of this. One of which, suggests that in fact, he had already been to India during the missing years, between 12 and 29.
BBC Four: It was very interesting, the parallel between the story of the three kings, and the search for a reincarnated Lama. 

RD: Absolutely, we explore that and the similarities between the miracles and the teachings of the Buddha and Jesus in the program. And of course Buddha pre-dates Jesus by about 500 years, so it's not unreasonable that he may have gone to India, learned Buddhist teaching, and brought it back. Then, when he returns to India, after the crucifixion, he carries on the ministry in Kashmir until he dies at the age of 80.
BBC Four: What actually prompted you to start exploring this topic?

RD: I was intrigued because most academic theologians and intelligent churchmen, or a very significant number of them, do not believe that the resurrection is the literal truth. It's a metaphor to tell us that there is hope. Whilst not saying that it's a literal truth, they don't actually say it's a lie, but if you're saying something's not literal truth, then you are saying it's a lie. I was shocked that none of the people we interviewed, with the exception of the Cannon of Westminster, believed it was true. Yet if they don't think it's true, what on earth do they think is the motivation behind writing the story in the Bible?
BBC Four: You say that the resurrection and the literal truth of the Gospel, have in the past, been the cornerstone of Christianity.

RD: Exactly. And the idea that you can go on preaching this to the ordinary faithful, while not believing it yourself, seemed to me truly offensive. So what I was looking for was another version of the story that had the possibility of being historically true, that could have been misinterpreted by the people at the time, so that what they said was not a lie, it was the way they understood it.
BBC Four: And in the end, have you found that to be the most credible account?

RD: Yes, I think so. On the other hand, I am a person who does not find the idea of rising from the dead and ascending into heaven credible. I'm faced with the choice, do I believe that the gospel writers were cunning liars, or do I think that they were simple men who misunderstood things, and were amazed by this man.
BBC Four: And did these feet, in ancient times, walk upon England's mountains green?

RD: I personally don't think they did walk upon England's mountains green. I think they walked upon Kashmir's mountains green. They may have walked in France, for all I know. 
See Documentary.

Did Jesus Survive The Crucifixion?

BBC - DOCUMENTARY
Monday, February 5, 2007 
12:45 AM-1:45 AM (Sunday)

This film investigates the variety of stories surrounding the New Testament account of the crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, by interviewing historians, theologians and historical researchers. This exploration of the latest theories about what really happened to Jesus 2000 years ago uncovers some surprising possibilities.

At the heart of the mystery is the suspicion that Jesus might not actually have died on the cross. The film concludes that it was perfectly possible to survive crucifixion in the 1st Century - there are records of people who did. But if Jesus survived, what happened to him afterwards?

One of the most remarkable stories concerns the charismatic preacher Jus Asaf (Leader of the Healed) who arrived in Kashmir in around 30 AD. Before he died at the age of 80, Jus Asaf claimed that he was, in fact, Jesus, the Christ, and the program shows his alleged tomb, next to which are his carved footprints which bear the scars of crucifixion.

Why were these foot carvings made and placed next to this tomb in Kashmir?

   

"The position of the scars, just behind the toes, do not match each other, but they would align if a single nail was driven through both of the feet with the left foot placed on top of the right." -- See Documentary.

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