Edwin Herbert's Blog - Posts Tagged "christ"
Endorsement!
Renowned atheist speaker, historian, and author of "On the Historicity of Jesus," Richard Carrier, has recently endorsed my new novel "Mythos Christos." He perused it over a year ago while making suggestions for historical accuracy. His words will surely grace the back of my print edition (which is coming soon).
“…an engaging novel that plays on the possibilities, moving between ancient events and modern.”
— Richard Carrier, PhD
Now, if I could only get Dawkins...
http://www.amazon.com/Mythos-Christos...
“…an engaging novel that plays on the possibilities, moving between ancient events and modern.”
— Richard Carrier, PhD
Now, if I could only get Dawkins...
http://www.amazon.com/Mythos-Christos...
Silence Speaks Louder
According to the Gospels, Jesus was famous. His renowned ministry and high-profile healings drew huge crowds from Syria to the southern Decapolis. He miraculously fed 5000 people at one sitting and 4000 at another. He even purportedly raised the dead. During his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he was followed by multitudes throwing palm fronds and shouting, “Hosannah!”
Luke, who by his own admission was not an eyewitness, claims Jesus ascended to heaven before crowds, his fame spreading rapidly to Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
First century Judea was a relatively well-documented time and place. Yet, curiously, known writers around the region failed to chronicle these momentous events. Many discuss far less interesting would-be messiahs but ignore the Jesus who really performed the magic.
Listed below are just a few of the prominent writers who should have chronicled the life and miracles of Jesus, as they lived in the same general era and region. But strangely they remained silent about the demigod named Jesus:
Nicolaus of Damascus (d. early first century) As secretary to King Herod, he would have documented the Star of Bethlehem, the magi, and the killing of the infant males had such events actually occurred.
Seneca the Younger (3BCE – 65 CE) and his brother Gallio (d. 65 CE)
Justus of Tiberias (d. 101 CE)
Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE – 50 CE) – From a wealthy and prominent family intimately connected to the royal house of Judea, Philo created Hellenistic Judaism—a synthesis of Greek and Jewish philosophy—and expounded upon the Greek idea of Logos, the Word made flesh. So one would expect an actual flesh and blood Logos might invite comment by Philo. He even specifically documented fringe Jewish cults like the Essenes and Therapeutae, yet penned not a word about the Biblical Jesus.
Flavius Josephus (94 CE) – In his Antiquities of the Jews, a brief, disputed paragraph about Jesus exists. However, the vast majority of scholars agree it’s a later insertion. The only debate is how much is forgery. About the year 250, Church Father Origen complained that all that was known of Jesus came from the Gospels. He was frustrated by the scarcity of corroborating evidence and criticized Josephus for not having mentioned Jesus in his Antiquities. Had the disputed passage been in the original writing, it would have been seized upon by Christians like Origen who were hungry for this kind of confirmation.
2nd century writers Pausanias, Maximus of Tyre, and Aelius Aristides also failed to cite Jesus or his teachings.
Some try to hang their hats on the scraps that do exist, like the 2nd century chronicler Tacitus who briefly reported on the rising Christian cult. However, he also documented the widespread Isis cult, yet few would argue this lends credibility to the goddess’ historical reality.
So when is absence of evidence, evidence of absence? Contemporary writers should have known what Jesus said and did, and they certainly had reason to discuss it. Considering the multitudes who supposedly witnessed the miraculous events, the lack of non-biblical corroboration for the Gospels and Acts is a serious problem. The silence is deafening.
Believers defend the silence by claiming Jesus was not well-known until much later. But you can’t have it both ways. In the end we’re left with two choices: Either Jesus was just another wandering preacher with a meager following and the Gospels grossly exaggerated his life events, or, like Osiris and Romulus before him, he was a mythical character historicized.
To learn more about the Christ myth argument, check out my new historical suspense / archaeological adventure Mythos Christos at www.mythoschristos.com .
Luke, who by his own admission was not an eyewitness, claims Jesus ascended to heaven before crowds, his fame spreading rapidly to Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
First century Judea was a relatively well-documented time and place. Yet, curiously, known writers around the region failed to chronicle these momentous events. Many discuss far less interesting would-be messiahs but ignore the Jesus who really performed the magic.
Listed below are just a few of the prominent writers who should have chronicled the life and miracles of Jesus, as they lived in the same general era and region. But strangely they remained silent about the demigod named Jesus:
Nicolaus of Damascus (d. early first century) As secretary to King Herod, he would have documented the Star of Bethlehem, the magi, and the killing of the infant males had such events actually occurred.
Seneca the Younger (3BCE – 65 CE) and his brother Gallio (d. 65 CE)
Justus of Tiberias (d. 101 CE)
Philo of Alexandria (20 BCE – 50 CE) – From a wealthy and prominent family intimately connected to the royal house of Judea, Philo created Hellenistic Judaism—a synthesis of Greek and Jewish philosophy—and expounded upon the Greek idea of Logos, the Word made flesh. So one would expect an actual flesh and blood Logos might invite comment by Philo. He even specifically documented fringe Jewish cults like the Essenes and Therapeutae, yet penned not a word about the Biblical Jesus.
Flavius Josephus (94 CE) – In his Antiquities of the Jews, a brief, disputed paragraph about Jesus exists. However, the vast majority of scholars agree it’s a later insertion. The only debate is how much is forgery. About the year 250, Church Father Origen complained that all that was known of Jesus came from the Gospels. He was frustrated by the scarcity of corroborating evidence and criticized Josephus for not having mentioned Jesus in his Antiquities. Had the disputed passage been in the original writing, it would have been seized upon by Christians like Origen who were hungry for this kind of confirmation.
2nd century writers Pausanias, Maximus of Tyre, and Aelius Aristides also failed to cite Jesus or his teachings.
Some try to hang their hats on the scraps that do exist, like the 2nd century chronicler Tacitus who briefly reported on the rising Christian cult. However, he also documented the widespread Isis cult, yet few would argue this lends credibility to the goddess’ historical reality.
So when is absence of evidence, evidence of absence? Contemporary writers should have known what Jesus said and did, and they certainly had reason to discuss it. Considering the multitudes who supposedly witnessed the miraculous events, the lack of non-biblical corroboration for the Gospels and Acts is a serious problem. The silence is deafening.
Believers defend the silence by claiming Jesus was not well-known until much later. But you can’t have it both ways. In the end we’re left with two choices: Either Jesus was just another wandering preacher with a meager following and the Gospels grossly exaggerated his life events, or, like Osiris and Romulus before him, he was a mythical character historicized.
To learn more about the Christ myth argument, check out my new historical suspense / archaeological adventure Mythos Christos at www.mythoschristos.com .
Early Christ-mongers
The apostle Paul complained about the diversity of beliefs among early “Christians” and railed against rival apostles who preached another Jesus. He accused them of being agents of Satan and laid curses on them.
The Didakhe, an early manual of church doctrine and practices, also warned against false preachers and “traffickers in Christs”. So what did these other Christ-mongers preach?
• Some members of the Baptist cult argued that John the Baptist was the Christ. In fact, his nativity tale had been co-opted for Luke’s Baby Jesus scene.
• There is speculation that James the Just was believed by some to have been the Christ. The 2nd century chronicler Hegesippus wrote that when James was flung off a roof and then killed by stoning in the year 62, his last words were, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” – words later put in Jesus’ mouth.
• The pre-Pauline Thomasine sect believed salvation came from embracing Jesus’ secret teachings. They say nothing about a death and resurrection. It is this group whom the Gospel of John targets with its “Doubting Thomas” passage (Jn 20: 24-29).
• In the Epistle to the Hebrews Jesus was a heavenly high priest who offered his sacrifice in the heavenly temple.
• Some thought the Messiah had been Jesus ben Pandira, who was stoned for sorcery a century before the supposed lifetime of the Gospel Jesus.
• The Docetists believed Jesus was never a fully physical being but only an illusory figure.
• And there were those (possibly Paul’s sect) who claimed there was no earthly Jesus at all, rather a cosmic Christ who descended to the underworld and back up through the layers of heaven – where he tricked demonic spirits into sacrificing him.
• The pre-Pauline Kenosis Hymn, which Paul quotes in Philippians, seems to say that God named Jesus only after his death!
So if Jesus actually existed as a man who died around the year 30, how came there to be so many bizarre and disparate beliefs about him before the Gospels were even written?
By the author of MYTHOS CHRISTOS
The Didakhe, an early manual of church doctrine and practices, also warned against false preachers and “traffickers in Christs”. So what did these other Christ-mongers preach?
• Some members of the Baptist cult argued that John the Baptist was the Christ. In fact, his nativity tale had been co-opted for Luke’s Baby Jesus scene.
• There is speculation that James the Just was believed by some to have been the Christ. The 2nd century chronicler Hegesippus wrote that when James was flung off a roof and then killed by stoning in the year 62, his last words were, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” – words later put in Jesus’ mouth.
• The pre-Pauline Thomasine sect believed salvation came from embracing Jesus’ secret teachings. They say nothing about a death and resurrection. It is this group whom the Gospel of John targets with its “Doubting Thomas” passage (Jn 20: 24-29).
• In the Epistle to the Hebrews Jesus was a heavenly high priest who offered his sacrifice in the heavenly temple.
• Some thought the Messiah had been Jesus ben Pandira, who was stoned for sorcery a century before the supposed lifetime of the Gospel Jesus.
• The Docetists believed Jesus was never a fully physical being but only an illusory figure.
• And there were those (possibly Paul’s sect) who claimed there was no earthly Jesus at all, rather a cosmic Christ who descended to the underworld and back up through the layers of heaven – where he tricked demonic spirits into sacrificing him.
• The pre-Pauline Kenosis Hymn, which Paul quotes in Philippians, seems to say that God named Jesus only after his death!
So if Jesus actually existed as a man who died around the year 30, how came there to be so many bizarre and disparate beliefs about him before the Gospels were even written?
By the author of MYTHOS CHRISTOS
FATHER OF LIES
Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea (260 – 340 CE), the first Christian historian and “father of ecclesiastical history,” is responsible for most everything we know about the early centuries of Christianity. And yet more than two dozen complaints by his contemporaries have surfaced about his poor scholarship, dishonesty, and hypocrisy. Below is a list of what many scholars believe to be his accomplishments for the Church:
• Forged two letters between Jesus and King Abgar of Edessa
• Forged a letter by Marcus Aurelius
• Borrowed from a Roman novel to create Christian martyrologies
• Prime suspect for inserting the Testimonium Flavianum - a paragraph that mentions Jesus as messiah - into Josephus’ book, “Antiquities of the Jews”
• Wrote a manual for clerical preparation entitled “How it may be lawful and fitting to use falsehood as a medicine for the benefit of those wishing to be deceived”
As Emperor Constantine’s posthumous biographer, Eusebius concocted the tale of the “Labrum” – the battlefield vision Constantine supposedly experienced in 312 CE of a chi-rho symbol floating in the sky with the words: “By this sign, conquer!” Eusebius claimed the miracle immediately converted Constantine to Christianity, won him the battle, and led to dominance over pagan religions. (Strangely, this life-changing event didn’t find its way into the bishop’s earlier book, “Ecclesiastical History,” penned while Constantine was still alive.)
The problem with this story is Constantine actually did claim to have an earlier divine vision in 310 CE prophesying victory – by the god Apollo. Not only that, but the emperor continued to worship the invincible sun, Sol Invictus, until his death. And the chi-rho emblem did not represent Christ at that time, but Chrestus, which signified good, worthy, and useful – a common epitaph in those days.
Eusebius may even have escorted Constantine’s mother, the empress Helena, to the Holy Land – resulting in the discovery of Jesus’ tomb, pieces of the Holy Cross, nails, and relics. This is when the pilgrimage and phony relic trade got their start.
Eusebius: instigator of pious fraud, father of lies.
• Forged two letters between Jesus and King Abgar of Edessa
• Forged a letter by Marcus Aurelius
• Borrowed from a Roman novel to create Christian martyrologies
• Prime suspect for inserting the Testimonium Flavianum - a paragraph that mentions Jesus as messiah - into Josephus’ book, “Antiquities of the Jews”
• Wrote a manual for clerical preparation entitled “How it may be lawful and fitting to use falsehood as a medicine for the benefit of those wishing to be deceived”
As Emperor Constantine’s posthumous biographer, Eusebius concocted the tale of the “Labrum” – the battlefield vision Constantine supposedly experienced in 312 CE of a chi-rho symbol floating in the sky with the words: “By this sign, conquer!” Eusebius claimed the miracle immediately converted Constantine to Christianity, won him the battle, and led to dominance over pagan religions. (Strangely, this life-changing event didn’t find its way into the bishop’s earlier book, “Ecclesiastical History,” penned while Constantine was still alive.)
The problem with this story is Constantine actually did claim to have an earlier divine vision in 310 CE prophesying victory – by the god Apollo. Not only that, but the emperor continued to worship the invincible sun, Sol Invictus, until his death. And the chi-rho emblem did not represent Christ at that time, but Chrestus, which signified good, worthy, and useful – a common epitaph in those days.
Eusebius may even have escorted Constantine’s mother, the empress Helena, to the Holy Land – resulting in the discovery of Jesus’ tomb, pieces of the Holy Cross, nails, and relics. This is when the pilgrimage and phony relic trade got their start.
Eusebius: instigator of pious fraud, father of lies.
ARCHETYPAL HERO
Saviors in the ancient world tended to conform to a hero narrative. One such narrative is known as the Rank-Raglan mythological hero archetype, or mythotype. Named for Otto Rank and Lord Raglan, the two scholars who first described it, the mythotype is a list of 22 traits or incidents which occur with regularity in hero myths of most western cultures:
His mother is a virgin, father is king or rightful heir, the hero is reputed to be the son of a god, an attempt is made to kill him as an infant…and 18 other characteristics.
In his 1936 book, The Hero, Raglan notes that historical figures rarely achieved more than six of these traits. Even Alexander, Caesar Augustus and Mohammed with all their legendary accretions couldn’t manage half.
For those heroes who meet more than half of the Rank-Raglan criteria, a special category exists. Historian Richard Carrier, who refers to the hero narrative as “the fable of the divine king,” finds fifteen ancient figures who make the grade, fulfilling twelve or more of the elements. They are listed below with their R-R score:
Oedipus (21)
Theseus (20)
Moses (20)
Jesus (20)
Dionysus (19)
Romulus (18)
Perseus (18)
Hercules (17)
Bellerophon (16)
Jason (15)
Zeus (15)
Osiris (14)
Pelops (13)
Asclepius (12)
Joseph, son of Jacob (12)
Notably, every one of the fifteen was at one time regarded as a historical person. That is, each had been placed in a historical context and was believed to have been an actual divine or semi-divine being who lived on earth. Each would have had followers willing to kill and die for them.
Yet, it would be exceedingly improbable for any living person to have made the list. None of the Egyptian, Greek, or Roman demigods listed are now thought to have existed. In fact, most mainstream scholars think Joseph and Moses were purely legendary characters as well.
That leaves only Jesus, who, when the Gospel of Matthew is taken into account, scores 20. However, if we use only Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ score falls to 14, on par with Osiris. In other words, Matthew, who is known to have copied 90% of Mark’s Gospel nearly verbatim, further “legendized” Jesus’ narrative, making him appear even more of an archetypal hero.
For more on the Christ myth, visit:
www.mythoschristos.com
His mother is a virgin, father is king or rightful heir, the hero is reputed to be the son of a god, an attempt is made to kill him as an infant…and 18 other characteristics.
In his 1936 book, The Hero, Raglan notes that historical figures rarely achieved more than six of these traits. Even Alexander, Caesar Augustus and Mohammed with all their legendary accretions couldn’t manage half.
For those heroes who meet more than half of the Rank-Raglan criteria, a special category exists. Historian Richard Carrier, who refers to the hero narrative as “the fable of the divine king,” finds fifteen ancient figures who make the grade, fulfilling twelve or more of the elements. They are listed below with their R-R score:
Oedipus (21)
Theseus (20)
Moses (20)
Jesus (20)
Dionysus (19)
Romulus (18)
Perseus (18)
Hercules (17)
Bellerophon (16)
Jason (15)
Zeus (15)
Osiris (14)
Pelops (13)
Asclepius (12)
Joseph, son of Jacob (12)
Notably, every one of the fifteen was at one time regarded as a historical person. That is, each had been placed in a historical context and was believed to have been an actual divine or semi-divine being who lived on earth. Each would have had followers willing to kill and die for them.
Yet, it would be exceedingly improbable for any living person to have made the list. None of the Egyptian, Greek, or Roman demigods listed are now thought to have existed. In fact, most mainstream scholars think Joseph and Moses were purely legendary characters as well.
That leaves only Jesus, who, when the Gospel of Matthew is taken into account, scores 20. However, if we use only Mark’s Gospel, Jesus’ score falls to 14, on par with Osiris. In other words, Matthew, who is known to have copied 90% of Mark’s Gospel nearly verbatim, further “legendized” Jesus’ narrative, making him appear even more of an archetypal hero.
For more on the Christ myth, visit:
www.mythoschristos.com
