Thoughtful Reflections on Faith and Life
A recent Twitter poll by philosopher Stephen Law asked atheists about their belief in the existence of God. The results were interesting. Atheists only: do you believe Jesus was real, that Jesus is a myth, or are unsure either way? — Stephen Law (@stephenlaw60) May 13, 2019 Only 30% could say with any level of … Read More “Atheists and the Jesus Myth” »
Rudolf Bultmann was no friend of evangelicals. In fact during the mid-twentieth century, we would have been seen by many as the enemy. Bultmann believed that the New Testament was filled with myth. The virgin birth, miracles and the resurrection were all myths. But how does this fit with the Jesus myth? Bultmann was no … Read More “Rudolf Bultmann and the Jesus Myth” »
Is believing in Jesus the same thing as believing in Santa Claus? It depends on what you mean by that. Jesus and Santa Claus (St Nicholas) both existed. So there is some similarity there. But people usually mean something different. They mean these individuals in their supernatural roles. Is believing in a Jesus that performed … Read More “On the Historicity of Jesus Christ and Santa Claus” »
The Jesus Myth Theory basically has two components: 1) that Jesus of Nazareth didn’t exist and 2) the Jesus of the Gospels is based on pagan myths. They would argue that their skepticism leads them to the truth. I would say they are not being skeptical enough. Jesus Mythicists look at the Gospels, Paul’s epistles … Read More “Jesus Mythicists Are Not Skeptical Enough” »
This question comes up regularly. Although I have written extensively on the theory that Jesus never existed, it might be helpful to present the primary evidence for the existence of Jesus in a concise and clear manner. I’m well aware that Jesus mythicists reject each of these sources and so I will try and explain … Read More “What Evidence is There That Jesus Existed?” »
Jesus mythicists often try and make a big deal about the twelve disciples as being related to the twelve signs of the Zodiac (even though it is really related to the twelve tribes of Israel) and so I thought I would throw together twelve things you need to know about the Jesus myth. The Jesus … Read More “12 Things You Need to Know About the Jesus Myth” »
I have been enjoying Ken Samples blog and I frequently link to it. He consistently provides good content that is theologically sound. So I was very happy when I was offered a review copy of his new book, God Among Sages. Two of my interests are that of the historical Jesus and world religions. As … Read More “God Among Sages – Review” »
A small dwelling in Jerusalem, some time in the mid-30s AD. Saul: Thank you for meeting me on such short notice. I have been watching you for a while and I think you are exactly what I need for a very special project. Simon: What is this all about? What does a pharisee based in … Read More “How the Jesus Myth Really Started” »
CNN recently republished a 2012 article Decoding Jesus: Separating man from myth, written by John Blake. It is another rehashing of the Jesus myth, the theory that Jesus never existed. There is nothing much new in this article but it is worth responding to because these questions keep coming up. I’m not going to answer every … Read More “Decoding the Jesus Myth” »
I have heard a number of skeptics argue that Paul’s lack of quotations of Jesus are a serious problem for our understanding of Jesus. Jesus was a well known historical figure, why doesn’t Paul quote him more? I have written on this topic myself, including this journal article. William Lane Craig addresses this question in this … Read More “William Lane Craig on Paul’s Epistles and Jesus Traditions” »
The Jesus myth claims that Jesus never existed and that his story is not based on history but on myth. Jesus would be no different than Horus or Dionysus. If the Jesus myth is true, we need to deal with the nature of the Gospels, which are our primary sources for the life of Jesus. … Read More “Did Luke Believe in the Jesus Myth?” »
Since I have written a book on the Jehovah’s Witnesses and a book on the Jesus Myth, I was quite interested when some ladies came to my door and gave me the latest issue of Awake! with the headline “Did Jesus Exist?”. Although I disagree with the Jehovah’s Witnesses on a number of issues, we … Read More “The Jehovah’s Witnesses Take on the Jesus Myth” »
The Jesus Myth Theory claims that Jesus never existed and that the narratives of the Gospels are based on pagan myths. In my recent book, Unmasking the Jesus Myth, I attempt to give practical advice on how to respond to the Jesus Myth. If you ever find yourself in conversation with a Jesus Mythicist, I … Read More “5 Questions to Ask Jesus Mythicists” »
If I have a specialty in apologetics, it is in responding to the Jesus Myth Theory. The JMT argues that there was no historical Jesus and the Jesus of the Gospels is based on pagan myths. My first major foray into the apologetics world was co-writing Unmasking the Pagan Christ. Since then, I have written … Read More “5 Reasons I Write About the Jesus Myth” »
I am excited to tell you about a brand new resource. My newest book, Unmasking the Jesus Myth, is now available in Kindle! What is this book and why should you buy it? In 2006, I co-wrote a book with Stanley Porter, called Unmasking the Pagan Christ. It was a response to one specific mythicist, … Read More “Unmasking the Jesus Myth” »
It is true that Paul did not speak as much about the earthly life and ministry of Jesus as we would have liked. Rudolf Bultmann claimed, “The historical Jesus plays no role or practically none in Paul.” Such conclusions have led some to see Paul as inventing a Christianity different from that of Jesus. That … Read More “Why Didn’t Paul Speak More About the Historical Jesus?” »
Somehow, I have found myself with the Jesus Myth Theory as my area of specialization. It makes sense in that I have an interest in historical Jesus studies and well as classical mythology (I was almost a classics major). In addition, I found myself at one point pastoring in the same small town as well … Read More “Top Ten Jesus Myth Posts” »
Just in time for Easter, Maclean’s magazine ran an article called Did Jesus Really Exist? written by Brian Bethune. It is a bit of strange article, blending theories by Bart Ehrman and Richard Carrier. There have been some heated discussions between Ehrman and Carrier and they definitely don’t see eye to eye. To use Ehrman … Read More “Yes Maclean’s, Jesus Really Did Exist” »
Jesus mythicists argue that Jesus never existed and the Jesus of the Gospels are based on pagan god-men, mostly Egyptian and Greek. I have examined the myths and have not found the parallels they claim. I have examined the historical evidence for Jesus and have found it more than adequate. Here are seven reasons why … Read More “A Problem for the Jesus Myth” »
I recently came across a post called The Gospels are Unreliable and the Gospel Jesus is Not a Historical Person on a blog named Naturalist Philosophy. The author of the blog does not provide their name but seems to be well educated. The author may be well read in philosophy but the post makes a … Read More “The Gospels Are Reliable and the Gospel Jesus is a Historical Person” »
I find that Christians are still surprised when they hear that there are people who doubt the historical existence of Jesus. People have always doubted that Jesus was the Christ or the Son of God, but his existence? I recently did a two part series for my Thinking Faith column for ChristianWeek. The first part … Read More “Responding to Jesus Skeptics” »
The Jesus myth theory continues to live on. Valerie Tarico recently wrote an article called “Here are 5 reasons to suspect that Jesus never existed” on Raw Story. Before going into details, it is interesting that she relies significantly on Bart Ehrman, even though Ehrman wrote an entire book against the Jesus myth. In this post, … Read More “5 Bad Reasons to Suspect That Jesus Never Existed” »
I am deeply disturbed that a recent study in the UK showed that 40% of people believe that Jesus was a mythical or fictional character and not a real historical figure. Even though 99.9% of scholars (religious and non-religious) would strongly disagree, it is still worth responding to. Here are five reasons that we can … Read More “5 Reasons Why Jesus Was a Real Person” »
In 2006, when our book Unmasking the Pagan Christ had just come out, some people were confused by why we wrote it. My friends were happy for me but were confused why we would argue that Jesus existed when everyone already knew that. I knew that there were indeed people who doubted the historical existence … Read More “1170 Reasons to Respond to the Jesus Myth” »
At the beginning of twentieth century, Albert Schweitzer wrote a book called, The Quest of the Historical Jesus. In this book (which I highly recommend), Schweitzer guides the reader through the post-enlightenment attempts of (mostly German) scholars to peel back legend and church tradition to get to the real or historical Jesus. What Schweitzer reports on … Read More “The Historical Jesus: Five Views” »
Some skeptics suggest that we do not have accurate sources in the Gospels because they were written too late (often assumed to be 40-50 years after the crucifixion). This claim makes some major assumptions. It assumes that no one was passing on the traditions in any reliable way before they were written down. It is … Read More “James Dunn on Oral Transmission” »
Not to boast, but I have read quite a few books on the New Testament in general and the Gospels in particular. To be honest, it can easily become more of the same. Not so with Kenneth Bailey’s Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. My thought as I read this book was, “This is so fresh.” … Read More “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes” »
Some Christians feel uncomfortable when discussions start about the historical Jesus. The fear is that historical Jesus studies may compromise Christian beliefs about Jesus. The truth is that many of the top historical Jesus scholars are evangelical Christians. Christians should feel at home when talking about the historical Jesus. What is the historical Jesus? Historical … Read More “5 Things to Remember When Talking About the Historical Jesus” »
Michael Paulkovich is getting some attention with his list of 126 writers who should have written about Jesus but did not. According to Paulkovich, if Jesus existed we would expect each of these writers or at least the majority to have mentioned Jesus. I suppose if this was true, then historical Jesus scholars would have … Read More “Michael Paulkovich and the 126 Who Did Not Know Jesus” »
Nigel Barber recently wrote an article called “If Jesus Never Existed, Religion May Be Fiction” in the Huffington Post. While he deals with a few religious movements, I will only deal with Jesus in this response. While I do not believe that we should dismiss views based on credentials, I do believe that we should take … Read More “If Jesus Existed, Christianity May Be True” »
The Jesus myth theory (the idea that there was no historical Jesus and that the Christ of the Gospels is based on pagan myths) has become quite popular in recent years. I have talked to numerous people who are very much convinced that it is true and believe those who accept a historical Jesus are … Read More “7 Reasons Why I Reject the Jesus Myth” »
D.M. Murdock had an article published in the Examiner titled “Top 10 Myths About the Religion of Zeitgeist.” These are ten responses to the Jesus myth that she thinks are false. I would like to respond briefly to each of the ten myths. 10. Zeitgeist has no sources. Murdock responds by mentioning her own Zeitgeist … Read More “10 Responses to D.M. Murdock and the Zeitgeist Movie” »
Was there really a historical Jesus? Was there a religious teacher that started a new movement in the first century? I’m not even talking about whether he was the Christ or the Son of God. I’m just talking about his existence as a historical figure. Or was Jesus just a myth? Was he just something … Read More “10 Reasons Why There Really Was a Historical Jesus” »
What is the Jesus myth theory? There are a number of variations of this concept. The version I originally came into contact with claimed that there was no historical Jesus and that the Jesus of the Gospels was just an updated version of other god-men such as Horus, Dionysus and Mithras. There are some who … Read More “Why Should We Care About the Jesus Myth?” »
I believe that one of the main battlefronts for apologetics at this time is in New Testament studies, more specifically in the study of the historical Jesus. In many ways, things have not changed that much since Albert Schweitzer’s overview of the historical Jesus in his famous Quest of the Historical Jesus. Thankfully, there are a … Read More “The Wrong Jesus” »
I still often come across people who deny the existence of Jesus. They suggest that believing in a real Jesus is just evangelical wishful thinking. I came across this interview with Dale Allison. Allison is no Evangelical, he would definitely be on the liberal side. In fact there are a number of things that Allison … Read More “Dale Allison on the Existence of Jesus” »
I have been talking to a number of Jesus mythicists lately and they have been putting forth something called the Raglan scale. This is a scale that puts together all sorts of categories common to mythical heroes. The idea is that the higher a person ranks on this scale, the more likely they are mythical … Read More “The Historical Jesus and the Raglan Scale” »
When I speak to critics and skeptics, it is common to hear comments about the lack of unbiased evidence for Jesus from the first century. They reject the New Testament evidence for Jesus as biased and point out that we lack the unbiased evidence for Jesus that as historians we would want. I have all … Read More “The Lack of Unbiased Evidence for Jesus” »
What do we do with those red letters in the Bible? Did Jesus really say those words? Or did the church just make up sayings related to the issue of the day and place them in the mouth of Jesus? New Testament scholar Birger Gerhardsson puts this question into perspective by looking at the example … Read More “Did the Church Make Up the Words of Jesus?” »
Fairly regularly, I hear skeptics mention Philo’s silence regarding Jesus as being devastating to claims about the historical Jesus. If Jesus really lived, then surely Philo would have mentioned him. The truth is, aside from the New Testament, the main writings of any length that we have are those of Philo and Josephus. Of those … Read More “The Apologetic Value of Philo Not Mentioning Jesus” »
People doubting the existence of Jesus is persistent theory that just does not seem to want to go away. Is there any evidence for the existence of Jesus? New Testament scholar Craig Keener wrote a piece on this topic for the Huffington Post. You can find the article here. If you are interested in more … Read More “Craig Keener on the Existence of Jesus” »
I was recently challenged on why I use the fact that the great majority of historians say that Jesus existed or that the majority of Josephus scholars acknowledge that Josephus said something about Jesus, although Christians expanded his bare description. That is a fair question. After all, critics could say that the majority of scientists … Read More “The Majority Report” »
Is believing in the resurrection of Jesus reasonable? Since we have just come out of Easter, I thought I would share why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus. These are not “proofs.” If you have already decided you do not believe in the resurrection, these reasons are not likely to change your mind. But … Read More “Why I Believe in the Resurrection” »
Among Christians, it is common to think of a trilemma in regards to the identity of Jesus. In part inspired by C.S. Lewis, the trilemma suggests that there are three options for the identity of Jesus. Jesus was either liar, lunatic or Lord. In other words, Jesus either deliberately set out to deceive people, He … Read More “Did Jesus Exist?” »
As I sit here watching the documentary on Tom Harpur’s Pagan Christ, I find myself reminded of all the problems that I see in the Jesus myth theory. I will share my top ten problems with this theory. This is not a detailed analysis but rather my opportunity to vent on the glaring problems with … Read More “Top Ten Problems With the Jesus Myth Theory” »
One of the books that I have recently read is C.H. Dodd’s The Founder of Christianity. Dodd was one of the most important New Testament scholars of a previous generation. This was his last book and it came out in 1970. Despite being an older book, it is still a good read. If you are looking … Read More “The Founder of Christianity” »
I finally got around to reading book I have been interested in for some time: The Quest of the Historical Jesus by Albert Schweitzer. Schweitzer (1875-1965) was an incredible individual with doctorates in theology, medicine and music. This is an older book (published in 1906) but it still has a very important role in the … Read More “The Quest of the Historical Jesus” »
The web-site www.bethinking.org has a great lecture by Darrell Bock on the Jesus Seminar. I enjoy Darrell’s work and I read his blog regularly. Dr. Bock teaches New Testament at a conservative seminary (Dallas Theological Seminary), but I found his presentation to be quite balanced. Even though the focus of the lecture is on the Jesus … Read More “Bocking at the Jesus Seminar” »
When we look for the evidence of the historical Jesus, we must spend time dealing with the first century Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus wrote a number of books including one called the Antiquities of the Jews. This is a history of the Jews from creation to the Jewish War of 70 AD. If Jesus existed, … Read More “Testamonium Flavianum” »
I just finished reading Craig A. Evans’ Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels. This was one of the best books on apologetics that I have ever read. Evans tackles the Jesus Seminar, John Dominic Crossan, Bart Ehrman, Dan Brown, Barbara Thiering, Talpiot Tomb, Tom Harpur and more. You might wonder how any one … Read More “Fabricating Jesus” »
I just finished reading a book called Jesus Now and Then by Richard Burridge and Graham Gould. The book is divided into two section written by each author: one on the New Testament and the other on church history. Both sections of the book focus on what Christians were saying about Jesus, especially in terms … Read More “Jesus Now and Then” »
The idea that Jesus was not a historical figure stubbornly remains in some areas. Is there truly any historical evidence for Jesus? There most definitely is. Some of the best non-biblical evidence comes from the first century Jewish historian, Josephus. Before we look at what Josephus said about Jesus, let us look at what Josephus … Read More “Josephus, John the Baptist and the Historical Jesus” »
One of my interests is the claim that Jesus was not a historical figure but rather just another myth. Despite my interest, I must confess a certain level of frustration. In many ways it is a silly argument. We deal with this in a number of ways in our book, Unmasking the Pagan Christ. However, there … Read More “The Jesus Myth” »
One of the things that I get frustrated with is the claim that the Apostle Paul never spoke of the historical Jesus. If this is true, it leaves wide open the claim that the early Christians saw Jesus not as a literal person but as a symbol for our own spiritual journey. Now it is … Read More “Paul and the Historical Jesus” »
