gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) (03/19/91)
I just obtained a book called _The Archko Volume_. Actually, looking on
the title page of the book, here is what it says:
The
Archko Volume
or, The
Archeological Writings of the Sanhedrim
and Talmuds of the Jews
(Intra Secus)
These are the official documents made in
these courts in the days of Jesus Christ.
Translated By
Drs. McIntosh and Twyman
of the Antiquarian Lodge, Genoa, Italy.
From manuscripts in Constantinople
and the
Records of the Senatorial Docket taken from
the Vatican at Rome.
It was entered into the Library of Congress by Rev. W. D. Mahan in the
years 1887 and 1896. Then again by Mrs. J. M. Green in 1929.
The current copyright (Special contents copyright) is 1975 by Keats
Publishing, Inc., 212 Elm Street, New Canaan, Connecticut.
The ISBN is 0-87983-067-0. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
74-33199.
If anyone has information on this book, please email me. If I can
verify this book and its contents as truthful, I will share it. If it
turns out to be bogus, I will also share that.
Thanks.
En Christo,
Genekeith@uunet.uu.net (Keith McIntyre) (03/20/91)
In article <Mar.18.11.53.37.1991.8461@athos.rutgers.edu>, gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) writes: > I just obtained a book called _The Archko Volume_. > > It was entered into the Library of Congress by Rev. W. D. Mahan in the > years 1887 and 1896. Then again by Mrs. J. M. Green in 1929. > > If anyone has information on this book, please email me. If I can > verify this book and its contents as truthful, I will share it. If it > turns out to be bogus, I will also share that. Sorry to reply through the newgroup - I hope the moderator doesn't mind - but email is sometimes unreliable from my machine. The Archko Volume has been around for quite awhile, going in and out of print. The first half of the book gives the historical background for the archeological "find." I don't know enough to say whether or not the book is authentic. It sure is entertaining reading though. And that is my problem with it, I could sit down and write extra-Biblical stories that are just as plausible and entertaining. In other words, who knows whether it is fabricated or not? As a result, it is less interesting to me than the writings of the early church fathers. I certainly would not look at it as inspired by the Holy Spirit, even if it is factual. -Keith McIntyre
barry1@ihlpa.att.com (Barry O Olson) (03/22/91)
In article <Mar.20.03.52.30.1991.9430@athos.rutgers.edu>, ccicpg!keith@uunet.uu.net (Keith McIntyre) writes: > In article <Mar.18.11.53.37.1991.8461@athos.rutgers.edu>, gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) writes: > > I just obtained a book called _The Archko Volume_. > > > > The Archko Volume has been around for quite awhile, going in and out of > print. The first half of the book gives the historical background for the > archeological "find." I don't know enough to say whether or not the Archeological find is a misnomer. The book is supposedly a collection of statements made by Jesus's contemporaries gleened from the libraries of the Vatican, and the Byzantine church*. The underground vaults are full of old manuscripts which do not surface until someone takes the time to research them. *I can get a clearer detail of names of those who stumbled on these manuscripts if anyone is interested, as well as the name of the Byzantine church where some of them were kept(I can't recall off hand). barry olson
wcsa@iwsgw.att.com (Willard Smith) (03/30/91)
There have been a number of articles inquiring about the _Archko Volume_.
Just last night, I was looking through back issues of _BYU Studies_ for an
article describing the origins of ex nihilo in Christian thought and
stumbled upon an article by Richard Anderson, "The Fraudulent Archko
Volume," _BYU Studies_ 15 (Autumn 1974):43-64.
Anderson's article suggested the most critical analysis of the background
and contents of the work can be found in Edgar J. Goodspeed, _Famous
Biblical Hoaxes_ (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book, c1956), Chapter 4.
Earlier versions by Goodspeed that have related chapters are _Strange New
Gospels_ (U of Chicago Press, 1936), and _Modern Apocrypha_ (Boston: Beacon
Press, 1956). Anderson also pointed out material contemporary to Mahan that
investigated his claims and searched for his sources.
The author, Rev William Dennes Mahan, wrote this work in three stages:
the first stage (in 1878) was a work called "A correct Transcript of Pilate's
court" which he claimed was available from Vatican Records and for which he
claimed to have paid thirty-five darics for a copy of the transcript (a daric
is a coin that was unknown in modern Italy, but was used in ancient Persia).
Mahan reissued the same work several years later, but this time it was
expanded by about 1400 words. Later investigation has shown that the "record"
seems to have been lifted from a 1842 pamphlet (available in Boston) called
"Pontius Pilate's Account of the Condemnation of Jesus Christ," purporting to
come from "an old Latin manuscript recently found at Vienne."
The second stage was in 1884, in which Mahan issued _Archaeological Writings
of the Sanhedrom amd Talmuds of the Jews_. Mahan claimed to have gotten these
writings from all sorts of specific places in Italy, Europe, and
Constantinople. Analysis of these writings, however, suggest strongly that
his source was actually _Ben Hur_. Anderson demonstrated this by setting up
in parallel columns Mahan and _Ben Hur_, and the similarity is not simply a
phrase now and again, rather, whole paragraphs are lifted word for word from
_Ben Hur_ and incorporated in Mahan's work.
This plagarism was quickly identified and Mahan was investigated by the New
Labanon Presbytery and was suspended from his duties as a minister for 12
months. Mahan publically apologized and promised to remove all the
undistributed copies of _Archaeological Writings_ at once. Instead, Mahan
reissued a slightly shortened version of work (third stage) as the _Archko
Volume_ (thought to be short for Archaeological Volume). Because Mahan
continued to portray his work as authentic, the New Labanon Presbytery made
his suspension permanent.
Investigations in the 1880s (and currently) have found a number of major
problems with Mahan's claims: First, although he made specific claims about
when and where he found the manuscripts, noone else has been able to locate
ANY of them. Moreover, dispite his claim of having traveled to Europe,
there is no evidence that he ever left the country. There is evidence
that during the time he claimed to be in Constantinople, he was actually
in the US.
Finally, there are all sorts of associated problems (not the least is
the plagarism from _Ben Hur_). For instance, he has his characters using
certain types of 19th century colloquialisms that may not have had
ancient equivalents. In "Gamaliel's interview with Joseph, Mary and
Messalian," Mahan has Gamaliel saying Jesus came from a "third rate family,"
concerning Jesus, Joseph doubts that "he will ever amount to much," and Mary
reports that Jesus always prevails, "no odds what was the subject," though he
takes "little interest in ... the great questions of the day."
Another problem concerns the accuracy of the accounts. For example, Mahan's
"documents" have Pilate reporting that he had only one hundred soldiers at
Jerusalem, when it is fairly certain that he had over a thousand.
For more detail, refer to the sources listed in the second paragraph.
--
Willard C. Smith att!cbnewsc!iwsgw!wcsa wcsa@iwsgw.att.com
"It's life, Captain, but not as we know it."cattanac@cs.uiuc.edu (Scott Cattanach) (04/04/91)
wcsa@iwsgw.att.com (Willard Smith) writes: >The second stage was in 1884, in which Mahan issued _Archaeological Writings >of the Sanhedrom amd Talmuds of the Jews_. Mahan claimed to have gotten these >This plagarism was quickly identified and Mahan was investigated by the New >Labanon Presbytery and was suspended from his duties as a minister for 12 Actually, I have a copy. To the best of my recollection, Mahan gave someone a check and that person sent him hand written copies of documents from the Vatican (according to the book, that is). It sounded like a scam to me and that Mahan got taken. I can give ISBN number, publisher, and highlights (namely the modern court looking Sanhedrin records and the first century Pharisees refering to "natural law" being violated by miracles) if anyone really cares. It is a recent publishing, the book I have is no antique. I even found it in a "normal" bookstore. -- -catt (Scott Cattanach - catt@uiuc.edu) "Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis" - Ralph Waldo Emerson