Category Archives: mythicism

Basic Mythicist Bibliography

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Note: Though these books are not all “mythicist,” all provide scholarly support for that point of view. “I soon learned how little it mattered that the serious student agree with every point, even the main point, of a book. The thing is to find fresh food for thought and to encounter new perspectives not presented in the stale tomes of the orthodox and conventional.”—Robert M. Price. Thanks to Dr. Price for links to many of his reviews below, and for a number of (sometimes irreverent) comments that follow, variously by him and by myself.—René Salm. ALLEGRO, John. – The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross (1970) – The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth (Prometheus, 1984) Jesus was nothing other … Continue reading →

Paul-Louis Couchoud

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Born in Vienne (Isère) in 1879, Couchoud entered the École Normale Supérieure in 1898 and received a diploma in philosophy. He also studied medicine in Paris, receiving his doctor’s certificate in 1911 for his work L’Asthénie Primitive. Appointed lecturer at the University of Göttingen, Couchoud benefitted from a Kahn Foundation scholarship. This permitted him to visit China and Japan, resulting in his book Sages et Poètes d’Asie (1916). He translated several works from Japanese and published, in 1924, Luciole, Conte Japonais, Raconté à Marianne Couchoud par son Père. Dedicating himself particularly to the research of Christian origins, Couchoud made a name for himself among exegetes and historians in the field, leaving an abundant legacy which includes the following, all book-length … Continue reading →

80+ mythicist responses to B. Ehrman’s Did Jesus Exist?

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A collection of links compiled by Dave Mack and René Salm. The articles below are listed alphabetically by last name. The number of entries are in brackets. Please report any broken links. Thank you! THOMAS L. BRODIE On his Vridar blog, Neil Godfrey offers a resumé of Brodie’s DJE? review, which appears as an epilogue in Brodie’s recent bookBeyond the Quest for the Historical Jesus (Sheffield Phoenix Press, Sept. 2012). RICHARD CARRIER Ehrman on Jesus: A Failure of Facts and Logic Ehrman Trashtalks Mythicism Ehrman’s Dubious Replies (Round One) Ehrman’s Dubious Replies (Round Two) [Carrier on the failure of methodology in Historical Jesus studies] JERRY A. COYNE Bart Ehrman says that Jesus existed. [Several additional entries] HERMANN DETERING Prof. “Errorman” … Continue reading →

PDF’s

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PDF’s are not subject to the Search and Category features of this website. Hence, their valuable contents are often hidden. My hope is to convert these PDF’s to posts/pages as time permits, and thus to make their contents available to the reader via the powerful features that WordPress offers. For now, however, please click on one or more of the following to read the content. (Click on the title “PDF’s” if the list is not visible below.) Nazareth, the Caesarea Inscription, and the hand of God (E. Tuccinardi) (Complete article in English) ––––––––––––––––––– David Fitzgerald, “Ten Beautiful Lies About Jesus” ––––––––––––––––––– The Natsarene and Hidden Gnosis (Salm) A newer and expanded version of this article is available in six posts … Continue reading →

Frank Zindler

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Biographical note Frank R. Zindler has been an Atheist activist since 1959 when he began publicly to defend the teaching of evolution and to criticize religious encroachments upon the public sphere. A professor of biology and geology at SUNY for almost twenty years, he was forced to give up teaching when he joined Madalyn Murray O’Hair in a lawsuit that attempted to remove “In God We Trust” from American currency. A linguist and editor of scientific literature, he is a former member of The Jesus Seminar and the current Jesus Project and is the author of The Jesus the Jews Never Knew: Sepher Toldoth Yeshu and the Quest of the Historical Jesus in Jewish Sources (2003). Zindler is a veteran … Continue reading →

Georges Ory

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Georges Antoine Alphonse Ory (1897–1983) was the son of Alphonse Ory, an employee of the French public administration of postal services and telecommunications, and of Marie Guérin. Ory studied in Paris where he received diplomas in liberal studies and political science as well as a license to practice law. From the age of 19 he was active in the Grand Lodge of France (Masons). He would eventually be listed among its dignitaries. In April 1933 he married Suzanne Crozier in Neuilly-sur-Seine. It is not known if they had children. Ory was an active member of the Parti Radical (a centrist party despite its name) which upholds the principles of private property and secularism (anti-clericalism). He was elected Secretary of the … Continue reading →

Prosper Alfaric

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Born into a farming family in Aveyron, southern France, Prosper Alfaric (1876-1955) grew up Catholic and was ordained priest in 1899. He taught philosophy in the seminaries of Bordeaux and Bayeux, and later dogma in the seminary of Albi. As a academic and cleric Alfaric’s future was bright, but he gradually lost faith on intellectual grounds and was opposed to the anti-modernism of Pope Pius X, finding himself among the left leaning modernists. Alfaric sought out Alfred Loisy, who received him cordially. He abandoned the priesthood in 1909, resumed the study of history and especially the history of religions. Alfaric prepared his doctoral thesis in Germany and finally received it at the Sorbonne. Alfaric continued to study philosophy under Levy-Bruhl, … Continue reading →

The French school of biblical rationalism

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NOTE: For those who read French, an extensive website dealing principally with European Jesus mythicism can be found here.—R.S. Charles-François Dupuis (1742-1809) Constantin-François Volney (1757-1820) * Ernest Renan (1823-1892 Arthur Heulhard (1849-1920) * Alfred Loisy (1857-1940) Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) * Joseph Turmel (1859-1943) Salomon Reinach (1858-1932) Éduard Dujardin (1861-1949) * Charles Guignebert (1867-1939) Daniel Massé (1872- ?) André Ragot (1874-1971) E. Moutier-Rousset (?-?) * Prosper Alfaric (1876-1955) * Paul-Louis Couchoud (1879-1959) * Georges Ory (1897-1983) Guy Fau (?-?) Georges Las Vergnas (1911-?) Charles-François Dupuis (1742-1809) Man of letters, scientist and politician. Born in the Oise region, Dupuis was the son of a school teacher of modest means. His talents were precocious, particularly in geometry, which brought the lad to the attention of the Duc de la Rochefoucauld. … Continue reading →

Mythicists, docetists, Nazoreans (Salm)

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The present confrontation between Jesus mythicists and the tradition may seem new to some. Others may suppose that it dates as far back as the eighteenth century, when scholars began to question the historicity of Jesus. However, I suggest in this statement that mythicism is a modern name for ancient docetism—Christianity’s “twin” born along with the religion itself. In his Panarion (29.6.1) Epiphanius writes of a sect of “Nasarenes” whom he denominates as heretics. He writes that “the Nasarene sect was before Christ and did not know Christ.” The Church Father carefully distinguishes these Nasarenes (with sigma) from later “Nazoreans” (with zeta) whom he accepts as “Christians.” Other indications also exist of a pre-Christian movement somehow attached to the Greek … Continue reading →