John was Jesus? (Price) Pt. 1

Posted on by
Posted in baptism, Christian origins, John the Baptist, Paul | Tagged , , , ,

“Was Jesus John the Baptist Raised from the Dead?” by Robert M. Price, Ph.D. Being Chapter Seven of Jesus is Dead (American Atheist Press, 2007) Reproduced by permission, in three parts. With occasional added footnotes in green by R. Salm Part One There are several New Testament passages which over the years have struck me as being pregnant with implications far beyond those scholars usually reckon with. These texts seem to me to be held in check by the conventional ways in which we read the documents in which they occur. They are “anomalous data” (Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions) which somehow seem “left over” in the context of the paradigms which seem to make such excellent … Continue reading →

Basic Mythicist Bibliography

Posted on by
Posted in bibliographies/biographies, mythicism

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

Posted on by
Posted in bibliographies/biographies, mythicism | Tagged , , ,

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 →

The impotence of biblical studies

Posted on by
Posted in contemporary commentary, Salm | Tagged , ,

Jesus mythicism and the impotence of Biblical Studies, or: biblical scholars and gradeschoolers A statement by René Salm In his book The End of Biblical Studies (2007) Hector Avalos writes that “attending a session of an annual meeting [of the SBL] is a study in irrelevance” (p. 308). It’s probably one of the milder statements in the book. In fact, scholars have only themselves to blame. For decades now they’ve not only busied themselves with minutiae in which no one else is interested but have (more egregiously) confined their vision to the safe parameters of Sunday School and synagogue—which is, after all, the historical vision of your average gradeschooler. I submit that this linkage between scholars and gradeschoolers should be … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 5: Jewish history rewritten

Posted in B.C.E. times | Tagged , , , , ,

The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Five With editorial material added in green and significant statements in red. Zechariah 12:9-11 It was remarked above that in the Jewish tradition one passage of Old Testament prophecy has been expressly declared to refer definitely to the death of the warrior Messiah, the Son of Ephraim. This is Zech 12:10, a picture of bitter lamentation in Jerusalem for a slain hero. The whole chapter deals with the closing scenes of the great conflict of Israel with the hostile nations of the world. Yahweh says in 12:9: “In that day I will seek to destroy all the … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 4: Slain by the gentiles

Posted in B.C.E. times | Tagged , ,

The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Four With editorial material added in green. I have also taken the liberty of highlighting some significant statements in red.—R.S. Daniel 9:24-27 /24/ “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city: to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy one. /25/ Know therefore and understand: from the time that the word went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks; … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 3: The union of man and God

Posted in B.C.E. times | Tagged , , , , , ,

The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Three With editorial material added in green and significant passages in red.—R.S. Apocalypse of Baruch, Chapters 29, 30, and 40 All those who have knowledge of the intimate relation existing between Second Esdras (IV Ezra) and the Apocalypse of Baruch will expect to find in the latter work the same Messianic teaching as in the former. And in fact, its representation of the lesser Messiah agrees in all respects with that which was given in the “Shealtiel Apocalypse” (II Esdr, chaps. 3-13).11 The material in Ap. Bar. taken over from Ap. Sheal. (i. e., from the core … Continue reading →

Torrey Part 2: The two messiahs

Posted in B.C.E. times | Tagged , , , ,

The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 Part Two With occasional added notes in green and important points in red.—R.S. In this section Prof. Torrey delineates two messiahs: a “Son of Ephraim” (who is also known as “Son of Joseph”) and a “Son of David.” The former is essentially human, the latter essentially divine. The basic roles of these two different messiahs are as follows: First in history will come the very human Son of Joseph/Ephraim (the precursor): – In the last days of the world but before the Messiah Son of David (and, in a sense, ‘in preparation’ for the Messiah Son of David). … Continue reading →

Torrey Part One: The Slain Messiah

Posted in B.C.E. times, Nazarene, Samaritans | Tagged , , , , ,

The Messiah Son of Ephraim by Charles C. Torrey, PhD. Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Sep., 1947), pp. 253-277 HIGHLIGHTS This important article provides astonishing—and unexpected—insight into the Jewish background of the Christian conception of the slain messiah. I have arbitrarily divided Torrey’s article into five parts. The major points (highlighted in red in the pertinent posts) are as follows: Part 1: – Contrary to general belief, there were two expected messiahs (“anointed ones”) in Second Temple Judaism: the Messiah Son of Ephraim, and the Messiah Son of David. The latter is well known, while the former has languished in obscurity since ancient times, suppressed in both Judaism and Christianity. However, Torrey argues that the Christian messianic … Continue reading →

Samaria: The Messiah’s Homeland (Ory) Pt. 1

Posted on by
Posted in Christian origins, Dositheus, Gospel of John, Ory, Simon Magus | Tagged , , , ,

by Georges Ory Cahiers du Cercle Ernest Renan, no. 11 (1956) Edited and translated from the French by R. Salm (April, 2012) Note: Bracketed editorial additions are in green and signed “R.S.” Original page numbers are in brackets. Part One The Simonian origins of Jesus and the woman at the well (Jn 4) Several indications have suggested—as Prosper Alfaric proposed—that the messiah of Samaria had become subordinated to the Judean messiah. It appears to us, also, that the Judean messiah eventually totally replaced the Samaritan while appropriating the latter’s gospel and his various writings. Towards the year 30 of our era, the opposition between Judea and Samaria was at its height. At the same time, Jesus showed an extraordinary goodwill … Continue reading →