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PZ Myers and the Mythicists
PZ Myers and the Mythicists

PZ Myers and the Mythicists

Comments 90 comments

Atheist activist and blogger PZ Myers has been on a journey regarding the likely existence of a historical Jesus and has been pretty honest about its stages. After a period of finding Jesus Mythicism at least compelling, if not wholly convincing, he has passed through a fairly thoughtful period of “Jesus agnosticism”, but now appears to accept the consensus position of almost all critical scholars: a historical Jesus most likely existed. This has not gone down well with some of…

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Davidic
Jesus Mythicism 6: Paul’s Davidic Jesus in Romans 1:3

Jesus Mythicism 6: Paul’s Davidic Jesus in Romans 1:3

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The opening of Paul’s letter to the Romans contains a statement that Jesus was a descendant of King David (Romans 1:3). Most Jesus Mythicists claim that Paul only believed in Jesus as a celestial figure, not an earthly, human and recently historical one. So, as usual, they have to strive hard to find ways to make a text fit their convoluted theories. The results are typically contrived and unconvincing. Sometime in the late 50s AD Paul wrote a letter to…

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Jesus Mythicism 4: Jesus as an Amalgam of Many Figures

Jesus Mythicism 4: Jesus as an Amalgam of Many Figures

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When discussing the historicity of Jesus and debating the claims of Jesus Mythicists I often come across people who take the view that there may be at least some historical basis for Jesus, but there was no single historical person. They claim he was an amalgam of many different figures from the time, not one man. These people rarely back this idea up with evidence-based argument, but when they do, it does not stand up to critical scrutiny. The “Amalgam…

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Jesus Mythicism 2: “James, the Brother of the Lord”

Jesus Mythicism 2: “James, the Brother of the Lord”

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It makes sense that the sect which survived Jesus’ execution would be more likely to leave an early historical trace than Jesus himself, given his relative obscurity in his lifetime. Seeing that this sect seems to have been led initially by his brother James, it also makes sense that we would get early historical references to James. This is why two references to Jesus’ brother, one contemporary and one by a non-Christian historian, represent a crucial flaw in the claim…

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