So If Jesus Didn't Exist…?

52 Pages·2012·1.79 MB·English

So...if Jesus Didn’t
Exist, Where Did He
Come from Then?
Richard Carrier, Ph.D
www.richardcarrier.info
Friday, July 13, 12
Three Horses in the Race
Christian Historicity Secular Historicity Secular Non-Historicity
Jesus was the name
Jesus was an
Jesus was an ordinary of a celestial being,
amazingly famous
nobody, whom no subordinate to God,
superman who could
one noticed but a few with whom some
walk on water and
fanatical followers. people hallucinated
shit.
conversations.
The Gospel began as a
On Jesus, Gospels
mythic allegory about
The Gospels are are mostly fiction but
the celestial Jesus, set on
the straight dope! there are kernels of
earth, as most myths
truth in them.
then were.
Friday, July 13, 12
Three Horses in the Race
Forget All Other
Christian Historicity Secular Historicity MSeyctuhlairc iNsotn T-Hhisteoorirciiteys
Jesus was the name
Jesus was an
Jesus was an ordinary of a celestial being,
amazingly famous
nobody, whom no subordinate to God,
superman who could
one noticed but a few with whom some
walk on water and
fanatical followers. people hallucinated
shit.
conversations.
The Gospel began as a
On Jesus, Gospels
mythic allegory about
The Gospels are are mostly fiction but
the celestial Jesus, set on
the straight dope! there are kernels of
earth, as most myths
truth in them.
then were.
Friday, July 13, 12
The Divine Analogy
Islam: Mohammed “hallucinates”
conversations with the angel Gabriel and the
Koran records the spoken teachings of Gabriel.
Mormonism: Joseph Smith “hallucinates”
conversations with the angel Moroni and seeing
words on magical plates, and the Book of
Mormon records what the latter two said.
Friday, July 13, 12
The Divine Analogy
Islam: Mohammed “hallucinates”
conversations with the angel Gabriel and the
Koran records the spoken teachings of Gabriel.
Jesus was originally a
celestial being like Gabriel
Mormonism: Joseph Smith “hallucinates”
or Moroni, and taught his
conversatiofnolsl owwiethrs tihne t haen sgaeml Me woaryo. ni and seeing
words on magical plates, and the Book of
Mormon records what the latter two said.
Friday, July 13, 12
The Divine Analogy
Islam: Mohammed “hallucinates”
conversations with the angel Gabriel and the
Then he was
Koran records the spoken teachings of Gabriel.
“JeEsuuhse wmaesr oizreigdi”n a(slltyo rai es
celwesetriea lc rbeeaitnegd ltihkae tG palabcreiedl
Mormonism: Joseph Smith “hallucinates”
orh Mimo roonn ei,a artnhd i tnatuergahctt hinisg
conversatiofnolslw owwitihethr hs i tishnteo tr haiecn asgla efimlg Meu rweoasry)o. ni and seeing
words on magical plates, and the Book of
Mormon records what the latter two said.
Friday, July 13, 12
The Divine Analogy
Islam: Mohammed “hallucinates”
conversations with the angel Gabriel and the
Then he was
Then people started
Koran records the spoken teachings of Gabriel.
“JeEsuuhse wmaesr oizreigdi”n a(slltyo rai es
believing or selling those
celwesetriea lc rbeeaitnegd ltihkae tG palabcreiedl
stories as true.
Mormonism: Joseph Smith “hallucinates”
orh Mimo roonn ei,a artnhd i tnatuergahctt hinisg
conversatiofnolslw owwitihethr hs i tishnteo tr haiecn asgla efimlg Meu rweoasry)o. ni and seeing
words on magical plates, and the Book of
Mormon records what the latter two said.
Friday, July 13, 12
Why Is That
Credible?
Friday, July 13, 12
Trends in Hellenistic Religion
Petra Pakkanen, Interpreting Early
Hellenistic Religion (1996)
Four big trends in religion in the
centuries leading up to Christianity
Christianity conforms to all four
Friday, July 13, 12
The Four Trends
Syncretism: combining a foreign cult deity with
Hellenistic elements.
Monotheism: transforming polytheism into
monotheism (via henotheism).
Individualism: agricultural salvation cults
retooled as personal salvation cults.
Cosmopolitanism: all races, cultures, classes
admitted as equals, with fictive kinship (members
are all “brothers”); you now “join” a religion
rather than being born into it.
Friday, July 13, 12