World - Was Jesus Christ a magician?

WASHINGTON: A team of scientists, led by a French archaeologist have discovered a bowl in Egypt, dating between the late 2nd century BC and the early 1st century AD, that is engraved with what they believe could be the world’s first known reference to Jesus Christ, reading "by Christ the magician". According to a report in Discovery News, if the word "Christ" refers to the Biblical Jesus Christ, as is speculated, then the discovery may provide evidence that Christianity and paganism at times intertwined in the ancient world. The full engraving on the bowl reads, "Dia Chrstou O Goistais", which has been interpreted by the excavation team to mean either, "by Christ the magician" or, "the magician by Christ". "It could very well be a reference to Jesus Christ, in that he was once the primary exponent of white magic," French marine archaeologist, co-founder of the Oxford Center of Maritime Archaeology, Franck Goddio, said. He and his colleagues found the object during an excavation of the underwater ruins of Alexandria’s ancient great harbor. The site also includes the now submerged island of Antirhodos, where Cleopatra’s palace may have been located. Both Goddio and Egyptologist David Fabre, a member of the European Institute of Submarine Archaeology, think a "magus" could have practiced fortune telling rituals using the bowl. The Book of Matthew refers to "wisemen," or Magi, believed to have been prevalent in the ancient world.