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n the first centuries of Christianity it was widely believed that Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier named Pantera. The pagan philosopher Celsus writes of this belief in his attack on Christianity in 178 A.D.
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| He accuses Jesus of making up the story of the Immaculate Conception to cover the secret shame of his mother's adultery. Celsus derives this from a Jewish tradition so strong as to compel the Christian historian Epiphanus to give Pantera a place in the holy family as Jesus' paternal grandfather. This version of Jesus' genealogy makes him more human and helps to explain his inner turmoil. When he attacks Roman domination of the Jews while denying his own Roman blood, his internal struggle becomes a life's mission.
This image shows the Roman soldier Pantera about to penetrate the shamelessly naked Virgin Mary. At their feet is the cloak of the Immaculate Conception which Mary will put on to cover her shame. But cracks to her story break through the wall behind them. The man who watches them from above is the Jewish tradition who bears witness to the truth. |
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