Category Archives: Salm

Blog returning to sleep mode…

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I will be taking a break from regular blogging once again, the last time having been a little over two years ago. I hope to return to blogging in the future, but the essentials of my case regarding Yeshu haNotsri have been pretty much set out in the many posts on this site, together with chapter 14 of NazarethGate. Essentially, I am proposing not only a new (i.e. ‘virtually unknown’) figure at the incipience of Christianity, but also an entirely new chronology, one that moves the chronological goal posts back a whole century. I propose also that intimate connections existed between original (gnostic) Christianity and Buddhism. These novel theories will take time to be heard, understood, and digested. The radical … Continue reading →

Blog returning to sleep mode…

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In March 2022 I began the latest series of posts, “A New Account of Christian Origins.” Numbering sixteen entries, the series has covered a lot of territory—from my views regarding the emergence of the Catholic religion in the middle of the second century CE, to the non-existence of Paul, of Marcion, and of the earliest Church Fathers (Clement of Rome, Papias, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna). While freely admitting that I may not be correct regarding all of these propositions, I am fairly confident that the most important will stand the test of time. At the very least, the onus is shifting onto the tradition to demonstrate to an increasing number of skeptics that the major figures in … Continue reading →

A review…

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A New Account of Christian Origins / pt. 20 Below is my summary of the birth and development of Christianity in the first three centuries. Of course, just about everything regarding the points below differs from the ‘received tradition’:   • I begin ca. 100 BCE rather than at the turn of the era; • I propose a different prophet than Jesus of Nazareth (namely, Yeshu ha-Notsri); • for me neither Paul nor Marcion existed—nor did the earliest Church Fathers until Justin Martyr; • the ‘Pauline epistles’ came after the canonical gospels, not before; • the canonical gospels themselves are products of the second half of the second century. The tenets above are fleshed out in slightly greater detail in the 22 points below, each … Continue reading →

My new 2021 article on archaeological shenanigans in Nazareth

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I have just uploaded a 29 page rebuttal to Academia.edu. My article refutes a 2020 “primary report” by Yardenna Alexandre, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). Her article concerns the site in Nazareth commonly known as “the house from the time of Jesus.” The abstract of my rebuttal article follows: In 2020 the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) published an extensive article in its journal ‘Atiqot authored by one of its archaeologists, Dr. Yardenna Alexandre, a name familiar to readers of my books and to those interested in the archaeological history of Nazareth, Israel. The IAA article goes far beyond a standard excavation report and functions also as an updated history of Nazareth. I point out that many of … Continue reading →

In memoriam: Dr. Hermann Detering—Pt. 1

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With great sadness I learned yesterday of the passing of Dr. Hermann Detering, an event that took place already over three months ago. In translation from the Italian, the post from Pier Tulip reached my FaceBook timeline as follows: For those who may be interested: Dr. Hermann Detering, one of the great scholars of the New Testament, died on October 18, 2018. I only learned of it today. His work is only readable in German and English.Let me say that I’ve had several exchanges of ideas with him—one of the very few who, like me, proposes the Buddhist origin of Christianity.For those who read English, there is a long commentary written by René Salm on his page.Here is the link to … Continue reading →

This blog is now entering ‘sleep’ mode…

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Well, it probably comes as no surprise—after all, my most recent post to Mythicist Papers was over one month ago. That post terminated a long, detailed commentary on Dr. Hermann Detering’s recent ground-breaking work linking Buddhism and early Christianity. It is understandable that both Detering’s work and my own have received no acknowledgment from traditionalist Christian circles. However, the present lack of any significant ‘Jesus mythicist’ community places engagement with these incisive views out of reach. Such engagement would have permitted the discussion to go forward. The original—and continuing—purposes of this website/blog are to provide reliable information and objective consideration of Christian origins. Those purposes are as valid today as they were yesterday, and they will continue to be valid … Continue reading →

The Detering Commentaries: Table of Contents

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Dr. Hermann Detering “The Gnostic Meaning of the Exodus and the Beginning of the Joshua/Jesus Cult” (2018)   Commentary by René Salm This extensive series of posts explores literary, religious, and historical links between Buddhism and Christian origins. It argues that Christianity emerged from a gnostic substratum, and that the figure Jesus of Nazareth and the New Testament gospels are second century CE developments. Table of Contents Pt. 1. Some background — Structure of Dr. Detering’s article ★ Pt. 2. The later (Jesus Mythicist) chronology Pt. 3. Water, water everywhere — Materialism vs. gnosticism Pt. 4. Sacred water and hidden meaning below the surface — The serpent — Passing through the upside-down vortex — The moon — The moon, water, and … Continue reading →

Blog on furlough…

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I’ve decided to use 2017 as an opportunity–long overdue–to actually read the scores of books in my library that are still unread, and also to cross-reference the hundreds of articles in my bulging file cabinets. All this is preparatory to formulating a (hopefully) comprehensive view of Christian beginnings, a view I’ve been tentatively working towards for years. Eventually, I hope to write a long-envisioned book, “A New Account of Christian Origins.” Being almost 65 years old, little precious time may be left to waste… Stepping back like this feels surprisingly good, and it may also be a natural development of the changed political climate that is taking up so much of our attention these days. I’ve given up the Internet … Continue reading →

Ehrman and Nazareth archeology—2

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In a prior post I discussed Bart Ehrman’s comments on Nazareth archeology made during the Price-Ehrman debate. Here I rebut a number of Ehrman’s errors regarding Nazareth expressed recently on his semi-private weblog. General considerations I’ve often wondered why Bart Ehrman expresses any opinion at all on the archeology of Nazareth. After almost a decade (my first book came out in 2008) he obviously has not taken the time to acquaint himself with my work or with the subject. And yet he expresses himself on both counts with ill-founded confidence. His training was “in the study of the Greek manuscript tradition of the New Testament” under Bruce Metzger, among others. There is nothing in Ehrman’s background, training, or personal study … Continue reading →

Christianity in the Light of Science—Book announcement

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A couple of days ago I received my author’s copies of the forthcoming anthology of essays, Christianity in the Light of Science: Critically Examining the World’s Largest Religion (Prometheus Books, 399 pp, US $19). The book goes on sale July 26, 2016, and it is available at pre-order discount on Amazon.com. The volume should also be available soon through Prometheus Books (whose website is currently in upgrade mode) and, of course, via your favorite local bookstore. My contribution is Chapter 12 (of fifteen), entitled “Pious Fraud at Nazareth.” Christianity in the Light of Science is edited by John Loftus (his fourth such anthology) and has a Foreword by Frank Zindler. It is dedicated to the late Victor Stenger, whose New … Continue reading →