Varieties Of Jesus Mythicism

Author : John W. Loftus
Publisher : Ockham Publishing Group
Page : 1072 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2022-06-29
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781839191596

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Varieties of Jesus Mythicism by John W. Loftus Pdf

To most people on the planet, the existence of Jesus is a given: “Of course he did!” They take it for granted that he existed simply because it reaffirms their faith. But to the rest of us who don't believe in a supernatural Jesus, the question of the historicity of Jesus is not simple. There are thousands of different ideas about to what extent the Jesus tales were based on a real man, or men, or woman... Did Jesus even exist, and if not, what best explains the rise of such a character in the New Testament? That is where John W. Loftus and Robert M. Price come in. Each with decades of experience in the fields of theology and Christian history, Loftus and Price have compiled essays from some of the top authorities on Jesus mythicism to establish the world's first academic catalogue of mythicist beliefs. Experts who provided chapters include David Fitzgerald, Joseph Atwill, Michael Lockwood, and more! The question is no longer simply, "Did Jesus even exist?" In this compilation, you'll find yourself questioning everything about the Christ story and how it truly began.

Author : John W. Loftus,Robert M. Price
Publisher : Hypatia Press
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2021-11-18
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1839191589

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Varieties of Jesus Mythicism: Did He Even Exist? by John W. Loftus,Robert M. Price Pdf

To most people on the planet, the existence of Jesus is a given: "Of course he did!" They take it for granted that he existed simply because it reaffirms their faith. But to the rest of us who don't believe in a supernatural Jesus, the question of the historicity of Jesus is not simple. There are thousands of different ideas about to what extent the Jesus tales were based on a real man, or men, or woman... Did Jesus even exist, and if not, what best explains the rise of such a character in the New Testament? That is where John W. Loftus and Robert M. Price come in. Each with decades of experience in the fields of theology and Christian history, Loftus and Price have compiled essays from some of the top authorities on Jesus mythicism to establish the world's first academic catalogue of mythicist beliefs. Experts who provided chapters include David Fitzgerald, Joseph Atwill, Michael Lockwood, and more! The question is no longer simply, "Did Jesus even exist?" In this compilation, you'll find yourself questioning everything about the Christ story and how it truly began.

Author : G. A. Wells
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 258 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2010-11-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781615923809

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Did Jesus Exist? by G. A. Wells Pdf

Professor Wells argues that there was no historical Jesus, and in thus arguing he deals with the many recent writers who have interpreted the historical Jesus as some kind of political figure in the struggle against Rome, and calls in evidence the many contemporary theologians who agree with some of his arguments about early Christianity. The question at issue is what all the evidence adds up to. Does it establish that Jesus did or did not exist? Professor Wells concludes that the latter is the more likely hypothesis. This challenge to received thinking by both Christians and non-Christians is supported by much documentary evidence, and Professor Wells carefully examines all the relevant problems and answers all the relevant questions. He deliberately avoids polemic and speculation, and sticks so far as possible to the known facts and to rational inferences from the facts.

Author : Raphael Lataster
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 508 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2019-07-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9789004408784

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Questioning the Historicity of Jesus by Raphael Lataster Pdf

This volume explains the inadequacy of the sources and methods used to establish Jesus’ historicity, and how agnosticism can reasonably be upgraded to theorising about ahistoricity when reconsidering Christian origins.

Author : Danila Oder
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 216 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2019-06-10
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0578505312

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The Two Gospels of Mark by Danila Oder Pdf

A new theory: The Gospel of Mark began as a play performed in Rome 90-95 CE, and produced by Flavia Domitilla, a Roman aristocrat. Author takes a director's point of view to systematically uncover the play beneath Mark's condensed, literary text. Illuminates early Christianity. For scholars in biblical studies or ancient theater.

Author : M. David Litwa
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 311 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2019-08-06
Category : Bible
ISBN : 9780300242638

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How the Gospels Became History by M. David Litwa Pdf

A compelling comparison of the gospels and Greco-Roman mythology which shows that the gospels were not perceived as myths, but as historical records Did the early Christians believe their myths? Like most ancient--and modern--people, early Christians made efforts to present their myths in the most believable ways. In this eye-opening work, M. David Litwa explores how and why what later became the four canonical gospels take on a historical cast that remains vitally important for many Christians today. Offering an in-depth comparison with other Greco-Roman stories that have been shaped to seem like history, Litwa shows how the evangelists responded to the pressures of Greco-Roman literary culture by using well-known historiographical tropes such as the mention of famous rulers and kings, geographical notices, the introduction of eyewitnesses, vivid presentation, alternative reports, and so on. In this way, the evangelists deliberately shaped myths about Jesus into historical discourse to maximize their believability for ancient audiences.

Author : Robert M. Price
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 389 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2009-09-25
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781615920280

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Incredible Shrinking Son of Man by Robert M. Price Pdf

"This book should be mandatory reading for all scholars concerned with Christian origins ... nothing of comparable importance has been written for at least a decade." - Freethinker For more than a century scholars have been examining the Gospels and other traditions about the life of Jesus to determine their historical accuracy. Although the results of these scholarly efforts are sometimes controversial, the consensus among researchers today is that the four Evangelists'' accounts cannot be taken at face value. In fact, a team of more than 100 scholars called the Jesus Seminar has come to the conclusion that on average only about 18 percent of the four Gospels is historically accurate.An active member of the Jesus Seminar, Dr. Robert M. Price presents the fruits of this important historical research in this fascinating discussion of early Christianity. As the title suggests, Price is none too optimistic about the reliability of the Gospel tradition as a source of accurate historical information about the life of Jesus. Indeed, he feels that his colleagues in the Jesus Seminar are much too optimistic in their estimate of authentic material in the Gospels. After an introduction to the historical-critical method for nonspecialists and a critique of the methods used by the Jesus Seminar, Price systematically discusses the narrative and teaching materials in the Gospel, clearly presenting what is known and not known about all of the major episodes of Jesus'' life. He also examines the parables for authenticity as well as Jesus'' teachings about the Kingdom of God, repentance, prayer, possessions and poverty, the Atonement, and many other features of the Gospels.Written for the general reading public in a lively and accessible style, Dr. Price''s highly informative discussion will be of interest to anyone who has wondered about the origins of Christianity.

Author : Bart D. Ehrman
Publisher : Harper Collins
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2012-03-20
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780062089946

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Did Jesus Exist? by Bart D. Ehrman Pdf

In Did Jesus Exist? historian and Bible expert Bart Ehrman confronts the question, "Did Jesus exist at all?" Ehrman vigorously defends the historical Jesus, identifies the most historically reliable sources for best understanding Jesus’ mission and message, and offers a compelling portrait of the person at the heart of the Christian tradition. Known as a master explainer with deep knowledge of the field, Bart Ehrman methodically demolishes both the scholarly and popular “mythicist” arguments against the existence of Jesus. Marshaling evidence from within the Bible and the wider historical record of the ancient world, Ehrman tackles the key issues that surround the mythologies associated with Jesus and the early Christian movement. In Did Jesus Exist?: The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth, Ehrman establishes the criterion for any genuine historical investigation and provides a robust defense of the methods required to discover the Jesus of history.

Author : A. Jordan
Publisher : Wipf and Stock Publishers
Page : 187 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2023-04-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781666750843

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Jesus the Nazarene by A. Jordan Pdf

The historical Jesus is as elusive as he is appealing. Everyone wants to find who the man really was. Scholars pour over the pages of the New Testament and apocryphal literature for any clue about his true identity. People have looked in all places for answers—accept one. The Talmud contains a powerful counter-narrative to the Christian and scholarly consensus about Jesus. Did Jesus live in the first century BCE? Was he the son of a Roman soldier? Did he perform magic? Why was he executed? These are all questions that the Talmud answers, pointing us closer to knowing who the historical Jesus was and when he lived. Within these pages, you will find a clear presentation of the Talmud’s narrative and some of the implications of this narrative for our understanding of Jesus as a Jewish man from Greco-Roman Palestine.

Author : Richard C. Carrier
Publisher : Prometheus Books
Page : 361 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2012-04-03
Category : History
ISBN : 9781616145606

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Proving History by Richard C. Carrier Pdf

This in-depth discussion of New Testament scholarship and the challenges of history as a whole proposes Bayes’s Theorem, which deals with probabilities under conditions of uncertainty, as a solution to the problem of establishing reliable historical criteria. The author demonstrates that valid historical methods—not only in the study of Christian origins but in any historical study—can be described by, and reduced to, the logic of Bayes’s Theorem. Conversely, he argues that any method that cannot be reduced to this theorem is invalid and should be abandoned. Writing with thoroughness and clarity, the author explains Bayes’s Theorem in terms that are easily understandable to professional historians and laypeople alike, employing nothing more than well-known primary school math. He then explores precisely how the theorem can be applied to history and addresses numerous challenges to and criticisms of its use in testing or justifying the conclusions that historians make about the important persons and events of the past. The traditional and established methods of historians are analyzed using the theorem, as well as all the major "historicity criteria" employed in the latest quest to establish the historicity of Jesus. The author demonstrates not only the deficiencies of these approaches but also ways to rehabilitate them using Bayes’s Theorem. Anyone with an interest in historical methods, how historical knowledge can be justified, new applications of Bayes’s Theorem, or the study of the historical Jesus will find this book to be essential reading.

Author : Arthur Drews
Publisher : Good Press
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 2023-10-12
Category : Fiction
ISBN : EAN:8596547601173

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The Christ Myth by Arthur Drews Pdf

The Christ Myth by Arthur Drews is a comprehensive exploration into the historical and mythological narratives surrounding Christ. Through meticulous research and analysis, Drews challenges traditional beliefs, offering readers a fresh perspective on the origins, interpretations, and implications of the Christ narrative in religious and historical contexts.

Author : Robert M. Price
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 427 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Religion
ISBN : 1578840171

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The Christ-Myth Theory and Its Problems by Robert M. Price Pdf

Author : David Fitzgerald
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 248 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2010-10-01
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0557709911

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Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All by David Fitzgerald Pdf

Why would anyone think Jesus never existed? Isn't it perfectly reasonable to accept that he was a real first century figure? As it turns out, no.NAILED sheds light on ten beloved Christian myths, and, with evidence gathered from historians across the theological spectrum, shows how they point to a Jesus Christ created solely through allegorical alchemy of hope and imagination; a messiah transformed from a purely literary, theological construct into the familiar figure of Jesus ' in short, a purely mythic Christ.

Author : Thomas L. Brodie
Publisher : Sheffield Phoenix Press Limited
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Religion
ISBN : 190753458X

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Beyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus by Thomas L. Brodie Pdf

In the past forty years, while historical-critical studies were seeking with renewed intensity to reconstruct events behind the biblical texts, not least the life of Jesus, two branches of literary studies were finally reaching maturity. First, researchers were recognizing that many biblical texts are rewritings or transformations of older texts that still exist, thus giving a clearer sense of where the biblical texts came from; and second, studies in the ancient art of composition clarified the biblical texts' unity and purpose, that is to say, where biblical texts were headed. The work of tracing literary indebtedness and art is far from finished but it is already possible and necessary to draw a conclusion: it is that, bluntly, Jesus did not exist as a historical individual. This is not as negative as may at first appear. In a deeply personal coda, Brodie begins to develop a new vision of Jesus as an icon of God's presence in the world and in human history.

Author : Maurice Casey
Publisher : A&C Black
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2014-01-16
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567592248

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Jesus: Evidence and Argument or Mythicist Myths? by Maurice Casey Pdf

Did Jesus exist? In recent years there has been a massive upsurge in public discussion of the view that Jesus did not exist. This view first found a voice in the 19th century, when Christian views were no longer taken for granted. Some way into the 20th century, this school of thought was largely thought to have been utterly refuted by the results of respectable critical scholarship (from both secular and religious scholars). Now, many unprofessional scholars and bloggers ('mythicists'), are gaining an increasingly large following for a view many think to be unsupportable. It is starting to influence the academy, more than that it is starting to influence the views of the public about a crucial historical figure. Maurice Casey, one of the most important Historical Jesus scholars of his generation takes the 'mythicists' to task in this landmark publication. Casey argues neither from a religious respective, nor from that of a committed atheist. Rather he seeks to provide a clear view of what can be said about Jesus, and of what can't.