Jesus Christ in comparative mythology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The study of Jesus Christ in comparative mythology is the examination of the narratives of the life of
Jesus in the Christian gospels, traditions and theology, as it relates to Christian mythology and other
religions.
For over a century, various authors have drawn a number of parallels between the Christian views of
Jesus and other religious or mythical domains.[1] These include Greco-Roman mysteries, ancient
Egyptian myths and more general analogies involving cross-cultural patterns of dying and rising gods in
the context of Christ myth theory.[2]
While some scholars continue to support these analogies, others contend that the perceived similarities
are often without historical basis, that first century monotheistic Galilean Jews would not have been
open to pagan myths, and claim that the analogies are usually based on parallelomania, exaggerating the
importance of trifling resemblances.[3][1][4][5]

Contents
1 Comparative mythology
1.1 Overview
1.2 Greco-Roman mysteries
1.2.1 Mithras
1.3 Ancient Egypt
1.3.1 Resurrection analogies
1.3.2 Artistic analogies
1.4 Buddhism and Hinduism
2 Jesus myth theory
2.1 Jesus as myth
2.2 Parallels and analogies
2.3 Films and documentaries
3 See also
4 Footnotes
5 References
6 External links

Comparative mythology
Overview

A number of parallels have been drawn between the Christian views of Jesus and other religious or
mythical domains.[5][1] However, Eddy and Boyd state that there is no evidence of a historical influence
by the pagan myths such as dying and rising gods on the authors of the New Testament, and most
scholars agree that any such historical influence is entirely implausible given that first century
monotheistic Galilean Jews would not have been open to pagan stories.[5][4] Paula Fredriksen states that
no serious scholarly work places Jesus outside the backdrop of 1st century Palestinian Judaism.[6]
Scholars have debated a number of broad issues related to the parallels drawn between Jesus and other
myths, e.g. the very existence of the category dying-and-rising god was debated throughout the 20th
century, most modern scholars questioning the soundness of the category.[5][7] At the end of the 20th
century the overall scholarly consensus had emerged against the soundness of the reasoning used to
suggest the category.[7] Tryggve Mettinger (who supports the category) states that there is a scholarly
consensus that the category is inappropriate from a historical perspective.[8] Scholars such as Kurt
Rudolph have stated the reasoning used for the construction of the category has been defective.[7]
Scholars such as Samuel Sandmel, professor of Bible and Hellenistic Literature at Hebrew Union
College, view conclusions drawn from the simple observations of similarity as less than valid.[1]
Sandmel called the extravagance in hunting for similarities "parallelomania" a phenomenon where
scholars first notice a supposed similarity and then "proceeds to describe source and derivation as if
implying a literary connection flowing in an inevitable or predetermined direction" thus exaggerating the
importance of trifling resemblances.[1][4]

Greco-Roman mysteries
Parallels have been drawn between Greek myths and the life of Jesus.
An early example was Friedrich Hlderlin, who in his Brot und Wein
(18001801) suggested similarities between the Greek god Dionysus
and Jesus.[9]
Modern scholars such as Martin Hengel, Barry Powell, and Peter Wick,
among others, argue that Dionysian religion and Christianity have

Caravaggio's Bacchus (the

Roman adaptation of
Dionysus) with grapes, c. 1595

notable parallels.[10][11] They point to the symbolism of wine and the

importance it held in the mythology surrounding both Dionysus and
Jesus Christ; although, Wick argues that the use of wine symbolism in
the Gospel of John, including the story of the Marriage at Cana at
which Jesus turns water into wine, was intended to show Jesus as
superior to Dionysus.[12]
Additionally, some scholars of comparative mythology argue that both
Dionysus and Jesus represent the "dying-and-returning god"

mythological archetype.[13] Other parallels, such as the celebration by a ritual meal of bread and wine,
have also been suggested and Powell, in particular, argues that precursors to the Christian notion of
transubstantiation can be found in Dionysian religion.[14] Another parallel has been drawn to how in the
Bacchae Dionysus appears before King Pentheus on charges of claiming divinity and is compared to the
New Testament scene of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate.[11][12][14]

E. Kessler has argued that the Dionysian cult developed into strict monotheism by the 4th century CE;
and together with Mithraism and other sects the cult formed an instance of "pagan monotheism" in direct
competition with Early Christianity during Late Antiquity.[15]
Mithras
The worship of Mithras was widespread in much of the Roman Empire from the mid-2nd century
CE.[16][17] The Mithra cult in the Roman Empire was a syncretism of different religious motifs, centered
on the god Mithras who emerges from a rock. Its closest similarities to Christianity are the story of the
slaying of the bull by Mithras; a bull is captured and killed by Mithras when he plunges a knife into it
and from the dead bull grain and plants are produced, that symbolize life. Mithras was a solar deity,
closely associated with the Roman Sol Invictus.[18]
Stanley Porter notes that Mithraism took hold within the Roman Empire after its expansion and only
reached Asia minor via Roman soldiers in the latter part of the first century, after the basic elements of
the gospels were in place, and hence could not have influenced their essential elements.[19]
Early Christian authors noted similarities between Mithraic practices and Christian rituals, but took an
extremely negative view of Mithraism: they interpreted Mithraic rituals as evil copies of Christian
ones.[20][21] In the second century, Justin Martyr contrasted Mithraic initiation communion with the
Eucharist:[22]
Wherefore also the evil demons in mimicry have handed down that the same thing should
be done in the Mysteries of Mithras. For that bread and a cup of water are in these mysteries
set before the initiate with certain speeches you either know or can learn.[23]
Tertullian then wrote that as a prelude to the Mithraic initiation ceremony, the initiate was given a ritual
bath and at the end of the ceremony, received a mark on the forehead. He described these rites as a
diabolical counterfeit of the baptism and chrismation of Christians.[24]

Ancient Egypt
Early in the 20th century, Gerald Massey argued that there are similarities
between the Egyptian god Horus and Jesus.[25] Following those ideas, in the
1940s Alvin Boyd Kuhn suggested that not only Christianity, but Judaism
was based on Egyptian concepts, and more recently Tom Harpur (a former
Anglican priest who explained in his book The Pagan Christ that he
believes in a spiritual Christ, but doubts that a historical Jesus existed) has
expressed similar views.[26][27] Harpur acknowledges Massey and Kuhn as
his intellectual predecessors and theologian Stanley E. Porter states that
most of Harpur's work is directly based on quoting Massey and
Kuhn.[26][27]
Porter has pointed out that Massey and Kuhn's analogies include a number
of errors, e.g. Massey stated that December 25 as the date of birth of Jesus
was selected based on the birth of Horus, but the New Testament does not

Gerald Massey c. 1856

include any reference to the date or season of the birth of Jesus.[28][29][30] The earliest known source
recognizing the 25th of December as the date of birth of Jesus is by Hippolytus of Rome, written around
the beginning of the 3rd century, based on the assumption that the conception of Jesus took place at the
Spring equinox. Hippolytus placed the equinox on March 25 and then added 9 months to get December
25, thus establishing the date for festivals.[31] The Roman Chronography of 354 then included an early
reference to the celebration of a Nativity feast in December, as of the fourth century.[32]
Porter states that Massey's serious historical errors often render his works nonsensical, e.g. Massey states
that the biblical references to Herod the Great were based on the myth of "Herrut" the evil hydra serpent,
while the existence of Herod the Great can be well established without reliance on Christian sources.[28]
Harpur has noted that Kuhn had expected his ideas to have a Darwin-like impact on religious studies, but
that has not happened and Kuhn's concepts are generally ignored or rejected.[26] Porter criticizes Kuhn's
work based on various errors such as confusing the dates of the composition of the Mishnah and the
Babylonian Talmud when drawing conclusions.[33] Porter also criticizes Harpur's views (which are often
based on Kuhn) for their lack of rigor and consistency.[28]
Resurrection analogies
The Egyptians had specific harvesting rituals that related the rising and receding waters of the Nile river
and the farming cycle to the death and resurrection of Osiris.[34] The cutting down of barley and wheat
was related to the death of Osiris, while the sprouting of shoots was thought to be based on the power of
Osiris to resurrect the farmland.[34][35]
Osiris-beds were common in ancient Egypt and were clay representations of
a dead Osiris which when watered would sprout shoots in the spring, thus
representing his power to control nature even after his death.[34][35]
Christ myth theory proponent G. A. Wells still sees an analogy with the
Resurrection of Jesus in the Pauline epistles and Osiris, in that Osiris dies
and is mourned on the first day and that his resurrection is celebrated on the
The Osiris-bed, where he
helps the growth of grain
and renews the harvest
cycle.

third day with the joyful cry "Osiris has been found".[36] However, since
changing his position on the historicity of Jesus, Wells now states that the
personage mentioned in the Q source is not all mythical and is "not to be
identified with the dying and rising Christ of the early epistles".[37] David J.
MacLeod states that the Osiris legend is very different from the resurrection

of Jesus in that "Osiris did not rise; he ruled in the abode of the dead."[38]
Biblical scholar Bruce M. Metzger does not see a direct analogy and notes that in one account of the
Osirian cycle he dies on the 17th of the month of Athyr (approximating to a month between October 28
and November 26 in modern calendars), is revivified on the 19th and compares this to Christ rising on
the "third day" but thinks "resurrection" is a questionable description.[39] A. J. M. Wedderburn states
that resurrection in Ancient Egypt differs from the Judaeo-Christian tradition, as the Ancient Egyptians
conceived of the afterlife as entry into the kingdom of Osiris.[40] Marvin Mayer notes that some scholars
regard the idea of dying and rising deities in the mystery religions as being fanciful but suggests this
may be motivated by apologetic concerns, attempting to keep Christ's resurrection as a unique event.[41]

Artistic analogies
Artistic analogies were drawn between Egyptian myths and Christian art from the early days when
Gerald Massey proposed his theories.[28] For instance, Massey claimed that the existence of depictions
of Lazarus wrapped in cloth like a mummy proves that the Raising of Lazarus had Egyptian origins.[28]
Porter points out that Christian art produced centuries after the New Testament was written could not
have influenced it.[28]
Some scholars see similarities between the statue of Isis and Horus and later Christian depictions of the
Madonna and Child.[42] However, later artistic Christian renderings have very little to do with the
origins of biblical texts.[43] Stephen Benko states that some depictions of Mary and Jesus share
similarities with extant ancient Egyptian art depictions of Horus and Isis.[44] Egyptologist Erik Hornung
wrote that "There was an obvious analogy between the Horus child and the baby Jesus and the care they
received from their sacred mothers; long before Christianity, Isis had borne the epithet 'mother of the
god.'"[45]

6th century mosaic of

the Raising of Lazarus,
church of
Sant'Apollinare Nuovo,
Ravenna, Italy

Isis nursing Horus,

Louvre

A statue of Isis nursing

the child Horus dating
from the Ptolemaic
dynasty of Egypt

15th-century painting of
the Madonna and child
by Fra Filippo Lippi, as
the Seat of Wisdom

Buddhism and Hinduism

The story that an adult Jesus traveled to India and studied with Buddhists and Hindus before starting his
ministry in Galilee was first produced by Nicolas Notovitch in his 1894 book The Unknown Life of Jesus
Christ which was widely disseminated and became the basis of other theories.[46][47] Notovitch's theory
was controversial from the beginning and was widely criticized.[48][49] Once his story had been reexamined by historians, Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence.[49] [50]
Robert Van Voorst states that modern scholarship has "almost unanimously agreed" that claims of
the travels of Jesus to Tibet, Kashmir or India contain "nothing of value".[52]
Marcus Borg states that the suggestions that an adult Jesus traveled to Egypt or India and came
into contact with Buddhism are "without historical foundation".[53]
John Dominic Crossan states that none of the theories presented about the travels of Jesus to fill
the gap between his early life and the start of his ministry have been supported by modern

scholarship.[54]
Regardless of the rejection of travels of Jesus, analogies have been suggested, e.g. Jerry H. Bentley
wrote of similarities and stated that it is possible "that Buddhism influenced the early development of
Christianity" and suggested "attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and
deaths of the Buddha and Jesus".[55] Z. P. Thundy has surveyed the similarities and differences between
the birth stories of Buddha by Maya and Jesus by Mary and noted that while there are similarities such
as virgin birth, there are also differences, e.g. that Mary outlives Jesus after
raising him, but Maya dies soon after the birth of Buddha, as all mothers of
Buddhas do in the Buddhist tradition.[56] Thundy does not assert that there
is any historical evidence that the Christian birth stories of Jesus were
derived from the Buddhist traditions, but suggests that as an avenue for
further research.[56]
Other scholars have rejected these analogies, e.g. Leslie Houlden states that
although modern parallels between the teachings of Jesus and Buddha have
been drawn, these comparisons emerged after missionary contacts in the
19th century and there is no historically reliable evidence of contacts
between Buddhism and Jesus.[57]
Scholars such as Paul Numrich have stated that despite surface level nonscholarly analogies, Buddhism and Christianity have inherent and
irreconcilable differences at the deepest levels.[58] The central iconic
imagery of the two traditions underscore the difference in the perspectives
on Buddha and Jesus, when the peaceful death of Gautama Buddha at an old
age is contrasted with the harsh image of the crucifixion of Jesus as a
humanity.[57]

The Crucifixion (1622)

by Simon Vouet; Church
of Jesus, Genoa. The
crucifixion of Jesus is at
the center of Christian
theology.[51]

willing sacrifice for the atonement for the sins of

Buddhists
scholars such as Masao Abe and D. T. Suzuki see the centrality of
crucifixion in Christianity as an irreconcilable gap between the lives of Buddha and Jesus.[57][59][60]
Despite this, some Hindus see Jesus as a shaktavesha avatar, or an empowered incarnation.[61]

Jesus myth theory

Jesus as myth
The "Christ myth theory" is the proposition that it is highly unlikely that Jesus of Nazareth existed, or if
he did, he had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity.[63][64][65] The notion that a
historical Jesus never existed has little scholarly support.[62][66][67][68] Nevertheless, certain scholars in
Europe and North America argue that scholars should continue to research and debate this topic.[69][70]
The origins of the Christ myth theory go back to late 18th-century France, and the works of ConstantinVolney and Charles Dupuis.[71] The more methodical writings of David Friedrich Strauss caused an
uproar in Europe in 1835. Strauss did not deny the existence of Jesus, but believed that very few facts

could be known about him and characterized the miraculous accounts in the
gospels as "mythical".[72][73][74] At around the same time Bruno Bauer
began to propose somewhat similar ideas.[71][75]
By the beginning of the 20th century, Arthur Drews, William B. Smith and
John M. Robertson became the most recognized proponents of the Christ
myth theory.[71][76] Later in the 20th century, scholars such as professor of
German language G. A. Wells and Swedish professor of English language
Alvar Ellegrd produced a number of arguments to support the theory.[76]
Discussion of the Christ myth theory has seen a "massive upsurge" since the
introduction of the Internet,[77] and a number of books and documentaries
now focus on the subject. Contemporary New Testament scholars who
support the theory include former Baptist pastor Robert M. Price, Anglican
priest Tom Harpur and Roman Catholic priest Thomas L. Brodie.

David Strauss, the first

writer to argue
systematically that many
Gospel stories were
myth.[62]

Parallels and analogies

Some modern scholars have argued that the details of the life of Jesus share
similarities to ancient myths and may have been influenced by them,[2]
other scholars contend that the analogies are without historical basis.[3]
There are also arguments that go the other way, namely that the life story of
Jesus as told by early Christians during the second and third centuries gave
rise to new religious movements such as Gnosticism.[78]
Volney and Dupuis were the first modern authors to present an analogy
between Jesus and previous solar deities around the end of the 18th

The Return of
Persephone by Frederic
Leighton (1891).

century.[79] By the beginning of the 20th century, John M. Robertson and

William Benjamin Smith followed suit and made similar comparisons
between Jesus and solar deities.[80] However, these arguments were soon
criticized by others such as F. C. Coneybeare and H. G. Wood who argued
that the analogies lacked historical basis.[80]

In his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell advanced the theory that a single
myth stood behind the stories of Krishna, Buddha, Apollonius of Tyana, Jesus and other hero stories.[81]
In his later The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology Campbell stated "(i)t is clear that, whether
accurate or not as to biographical detail, the moving legend of the Crucified and Risen Christ was fit to
bring a new warmth, immediacy, and humanity, to the old motifs of the beloved Tammuz, Adonis, and
Osiris cycles."[2]
Other scholars reject the theory that the early Christian traditions related to Jesus can be explained with
parallels in non-Christian sources.[82] For instance, Paula Fredriksen, writes that no serious work places
Jesus outside the backdrop of 1st century Palestinian Judaism.[3] Biblical scholarship also generally
rejects the concept of homogenous dying and rising gods, the validity of which is often presupposed by
advocates of the Christ myth theory, such as New Testament scholar Robert Price. Tryggve Mettinger,
former professor of Hebrew bible at Lund University, is one of the academics who supports the "dying
and rising gods" construct, but he states that Jesus does not fit the wider pattern.[83]

Films and documentaries

A number of English-language films and documentaries produced between 2005 and 2008 focused on
the similarities between Jesus Christ and ancient mythological figures:
The God Who Wasn't There directed by Brian Flemming and featuring Richard Carrier and Robert
M. Price (2005)
The Pagan Christ produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and featuring Tom Harpur
(2007)
Zeitgeist: The Movie directed by Peter Joseph (2007)
The Hidden Story of Jesus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wc-ItX41FwY) produced by
Channel 4 and featuring Robert Beckford (2007)
Religulous directed by Larry Charles and featuring Bill Maher (2008)

See also
Christian mythology
Christ myth theory
Esoteric Christianity

Wikisource has original

text related to this article:
Eclogues/Eclogue IV

Historicity of Jesus
Life-death-rebirth deity
Secular theology

Footnotes
1. ^ a b c d e Sandmel, S (1962). "Parallelomania". Journal of Biblical Literature 81 (1): 113.
doi:10.2307/3264821 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F3264821). JSTOR 3264821
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/3264821).
2. ^ a b c Campbell, Joseph (2003) The Masks of God: Occidental Mythology Vol. 3 ISBN 978-0-14-019441-8
pg 362
3. ^ a b c Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ. Yale University Press, 2000, p. xxvi.
4. ^ a b c Gerald O'Collins, "The Hidden Story of Jesus" New Blackfriars Volume 89, Issue 1024, pages 710
714, November 2008
5. ^ a b c d The Jesus legend: a case for the historical reliability of the synoptic gospels by Paul R. Eddy,
Gregory A. Boyd 2007 ISBN 0-8010-3114-1 page 53-54
6. ^ Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ. Yale University Press, 2000, p. xxvi.
7. ^ a b c Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature by Jane Garry (Dec 1, 2004) ISBN 0765612607
pages 19-20
8. ^ Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. (2001). The Riddle of Resurrection: Dying and Rising Gods in the Ancient Near
East. Almqvist & Wiksell, pages 7 and 221
9. ^ Problem of Christ in the Work of Fredrich Hoelderlin (Text and Dissertations Series) by Mark Ogden (Dec
31, 1991) ISBN 0947623361 page 151

31, 1991) ISBN 0947623361 page 151

10. ^ A Short Introduction to Classical Myth by Barry B. Powell (Jan 2002) ISBN 0130258393 pages 105107
11. ^ a b Studies in Early Christology, by Martin Hengel, 2005, p.331 (ISBN 978-0-567-04280-4)
12. ^ a b Wick, Peter (2004). "Jesus gegen Dionysos? Ein Beitrag zur Kontextualisierung des
Johannesevangeliums" (http://www.bsw.org/?l=71851&a=Comm06.html). Biblica (Rome: Pontifical Biblical
Institute) 85 (2): 179198. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
13. ^ Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion, 1985 pp. 64, 132
14. ^ a b Powell, Barry B., Classical Myth Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M.
Howe. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998.
15. ^ E. Kessler, Dionysian Monotheism in Nea Paphos, Cyprus Symposium on Pagan Monotheism in the
Roman Empire, Exeter, 1720 July 2006 Abstract
(http://www.huss.ex.ac.uk/classics/conferences/pagan_monotheism/abstracts.html))
16. ^ Beard, M; North, J and Price, S (1998). Religions of Rome Volume 1: A History. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. pp. 266, 301. ISBN 978-0-521-30401-6.
17. ^ Beck, RL (2003). "Mithras". In Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. The Oxford Classical
Dictionary (revised 3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 991992. 978-0198606413.
18. ^ J (2006). Unmasking the pagan Christ : an evangelical response to the cosmic Christ idea
(http://books.google.com/books?id=NwPvu3r6ZzUC&printsec=frontcover#PPA100,M1). Toronto: Clements
Pub. pp. 100104. ISBN 978-1-894667-71-5.
19. ^ Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719 page 100
20. ^ Hopfe, Lewis M.; Richardson, Henry Neil (September 1994). "Archaeological Indications on the Origins of
Roman Mithraism". In Lewis M. Hopfe. Uncovering ancient stones: essays in memory of H. Neil Richardson
(http://books.google.com/books?id=QRfhSBLmAK8C&pg=PA147). Eisenbrauns. pp. 147. ISBN 978-0931464-73-7. Retrieved 19 March 2011. "... The Christian's view of this rival religion is extremely negative,
because they regarded it as a demonic mockery of their own faith."
21. ^ Gordon, Richard. "FAQ" (http://www.hums.canterbury.ac.nz/clas/ejms/faq.htm). Retrieved 2011-03-22.
"In general, in studying Mithras, and the other Greco-oriental mystery cults, it is good practice to steer clear
of all information provided by Christian writers: they are not 'sources', they are violent apologists, and one
does best not to believe a word they say, however tempting it is to supplement our ignorance with such stuff."
22. ^ Fritz Graf, "Baptism and Graeco-Roman Mystery Cults," in "Rituals of Purification, Rituals of Initiation,"
in Ablution, Initiation, and Baptism: Late Antiquity, Early Judaism, and Early Christianity (Walter de
Gruyter, 2011), p. 105.
23. ^ Francis Legge (1950). Forerunners and rivals of Christianity: being studies in religious history from 330
B.C. to 330 A.D (http://books.google.com/books?id=FjQ9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA260). Retrieved 12 April
2011. "Wherefore also the evil demons in mimicry have handed down that the same thing should be done in
the Mysteries of Mithras. For that bread and a cup of water are in these mysteries set before the initiate with
certain speeches you either know or can learn."
24. ^ Louis Bouyer. The Christian Mystery (http://books.google.com/books?id=SWaxjZIO2JMC&pg=PA70).
pp. 70. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
25. ^ Massey, Gerald (1907). Ancient Egypt, the light of the world (http://books.google.com/?
id=t00XAAAAYAAJ&dq=Ancient+Egypt:+The+Light+of+the+World). London: T. Fisher Unwin. pp. 728
914. ISBN 978-1-4588-1251-3.
26. ^ a b c The Pagan Christ: Recovering the Lost Light by Tom Harpur 2005| ISBN 978-0-8027-1449-7 pages
710
27. ^ a b Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719 page

27. ^ a b Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719 page
24
28. ^ a b c d e f Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719
pages 1829
29. ^ Ancient Egypt The Light of the World by Gerald Massey (Dec 11, 2008) ISBN 1595476067 page 661
30. ^ Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures by Alvin Boyd Kuhn (Jun 11, 2007) ISBN 1599868148
page 674
31. ^ Mercer Dictionary of the Bible by Watson E. Mills, Edgar V. McKnight and Roger A. Bullard 2001 ISBN
0-86554-373-9 page 142
32. ^ Faith & philosophy of Christianity by Maya George 2009 ISBN 81-7835-720-8 page 287
33. ^ Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719 page 42
34. ^ a b c Egyptian Mythology, a Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by Geraldine
Pinch 2004 ISBN 0195170245 Oxford Univ Press page 91
35. ^ a b Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt by Margaret Bunson 1999 ISBN 0517203804 page 290
36. ^ "Can we trust the New Testament?: thoughts on the reliability of early Christian testimony", George Albert
Wells, p. 18, Open Court Publishing, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8126-9567-0
37. ^ Can We Trust the New Testament? by George Albert Wells (Nov 26, 2003) ISBN 0812695674 pages 4950: "In my first books on Jesus, I argued that the gospel Jesus is an entirely mythical expansion of the Jesus
of the early epistles. The summary of the argument of The Jesus Legend (1996) and The Jesus Myth (199a)
given in this section of the present work makes it clear that I no longer maintain this position", page 50 states
that Wells does not agree with Robert M. Price: "My present standpoint is: this complex is not all postPauline (Q, or at any rate parts of it, may well be as early as ca. A.D. 50); and if I am right, against Doherty
and Price - it is not all mythical."
38. ^ David J. MacLeod. The Emmaus Journal. Volume 7 #2, Winter 1998, pg. 169
39. ^ New Testament tools and studies", Bruce Manning Metzger, p. 19, Brill Archive, 1960
40. ^ "Baptism and resurrection: studies in Pauline theology against its Graeco-Roman background Volume 44
of "Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament" Baptism and Resurrection: Studies in Pauline
Theology Against Its Graeco-Roman Background", A. J. M. Wedderburn, p. 199, Mohr Siebeck, 1987, ISBN
978-3-16-145192-8
41. ^ "The ancient mysteries: a sourcebook : sacred texts of the mystery religions of the ancient Mediterranean
world", Marvin W. Meyer, p. 254, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999, ISBN 978-0-8122-1692-9
42. ^ "Mary A central figure", Six Academic Experts, BBC Religion & Ethics, 2 October 2002, fetched 5
September 2009.BBC Religions Christianity: Mary
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/virginmary_1.shtml)
43. ^ Unmasking the Pagan Christ by Stanley E. Porter and Stephen J. Bedard 2006 ISBN 1894667719 page 28
44. ^ Benko, Stephen (1993). Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology. Brill
Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-13639-7.
45. ^ Hornung, Erik; David Lorton (2001). The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West. Ithaca, New York:
Cornell University Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-8014-3847-9.
46. ^ The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ: By The Discoverer Of The Manuscript by Nicolas Notovitch (Oct 15,
2007) ISBN 1434812839
47. ^ Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are by Bart D.
Ehrman (Mar 6, 2012) ISBN 0062012622 page 252 "one of the most widely disseminated modern forgeries
is called The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ"
48. ^ Simon J. Joseph, "Jesus in India?" Journal of the American Academy of Religion Volume 80, Issue 1 pp.

161-199 "Max Mller suggested that either the Hemis monks had deceived Notovitch or that Notovitch
himself was the author of these passages"
49. ^ a b New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R.
Mcl. Wilson (Dec 1, 1990) ISBN 066422721X page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im
Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already
unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today,
nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"
50. ^ Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism by Douglas T. McGetchin (Jan 1, 2010) Fairleigh Dickinson
University Press ISBN 083864208X page 133 "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich confessed to
fabricating his evidence."
51. ^ New Testament Christology by Frank J. Matera 1999 ISBN 0-664-25694-5 page 67
52. ^ Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence.
Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 17
53. ^ The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight 2006 ISBN 157506-100-7 page 303
54. ^ Who Is Jesus? by John Dominic Crossan, Richard G. Watts 1999 ISBN 0664258425 pages 2829
55. ^ Bentley, Jerry H. (1992). Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times. Oxford
University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-19-507640-0.
56. ^ a b Buddha and Christ by Zacharias P. Thundy (Jan 1, 1993) ISBN 9004097414 pages 95-96
57. ^ a b c Jesus: The Complete Guide 2006 by Leslie Houlden ISBN 082648011X page 140
58. ^ The Boundaries of Knowledge in Buddhism, Christianity, and Science by Paul D Numrich (Dec 31, 2008)
ISBN 3525569874 page 10
59. ^ Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue by Masao Abe and Steven Heine (Jun 1, 1995) ISBN pages 99-100
60. ^ Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki ((Aug 4, 2002)) ISBN 1605061328 page 113
61. ^ [1] (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/beliefs/jesus_1.shtml)
62. ^ a b The Cambridge companion to Jesus by Markus N. A. Bockmuehl 2001 Cambridge Univ Press ISBN
978-0-521-79678-1 pages 214215
63. ^ Bart Ehrman, ,Did Jesus Exist? Harper Collins, 2012, p. 12, further quoting as authoritative the fuller
definition provided by Earl Doherty in Jesus: Neither God Nor Man. Age of Reason, 2009), pp. vii-viii: it is
"the theory that no historical Jesus worthy of the name existed, that Christianity began with a belief in a
spiritual, mythical figure, that the Gospels are essentially allegory and fiction, and that no single identifiable
person lay at the root of the Galilean preaching tradition."
64. ^ A theory of primitive Christian religion by Gerd Theissen 2003 ISBN 0-334-02913-9 pages 2327
65. ^ Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence.
Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 pages 78
66. ^ In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, Bart Ehrman (who is a secular agnostic) wrote: "He
certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B.
Ehrman, 2011 Forged : writing in the name of God ISBN 978-0-06-207863-6. page 285
67. ^ Robert M. Price (an atheist who denies existence) agrees that this perspective runs against the views of the
majority of scholars: Robert M. Price "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in The Historical Jesus: Five Views
edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, ISBN 028106329X page 61
68. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst states that biblical scholars and classical historians regard theories of non-existence
of Jesus as effectively refuted. Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An
Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 16

69. ^ Is This Not the Carpenter?: The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus, Ed. By Thomas L.
Thompson and Thomas S. Verenna, 2012
70. ^ Davies' article Does Jesus Exist? at bibleinterp.com (http://www.bibleinterp.com/opeds/dav368029.shtml)
71. ^ a b c The historical Jesus in the twentieth century, 19001950 by Walter P. Weaver 1999 ISBN 1-56338280-6 page 45-50
72. ^ The historical Jesus question by Gregory W. Dawes 2001 ISBN 0-664-22458-X pages 7779
73. ^ The Life of Jesus, Critically Examined by David Friedrich Strauss 2010 ISBN 1-61640-309-8 pages 3943
and 8791
74. ^ The making of the new spirituality by James A. Herrick 2003 ISBN 0-8308-2398-0 pages 5865
75. ^ The Blackwell Guide to Continental Philosophy edited by Robert Solomon, David Sherman 2008 ISBN
978-1-4051-4304-2 page 64
76. ^ a b Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient
Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 pages 1115
77. ^ Maurice Casey, "Mythicism: A Story of Bias, Incompetence and Falsehood", New Oxonian, May 22, 2012
(http://rjosephhoffmann.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/the-jesus-process-maurice-casey/)
78. ^ Komoszewski, JE; Sawyer, MJ & Wallace, DB (2006). Reinventing Jesus. Kregel Publications. p. 237.
ISBN 978-0-8254-2982-8.
79. ^ The Birth of Orientalism (Encounters with Asia) by Urs App 2010 Univ Pen Press ISBN 0812242610 pages
457459
80. ^ a b Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient
Evidence ISBN 0-8028-4368-9. pages 1112
81. ^ Bennett, Clinton In search of Jesus: insider and outsider images Page 206
82. ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (ed.) "Jesus Christ," The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Eerdmans,
1982, p. 1034;
Also see Dunn, James D. G. "Myth" in Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, & I. Howard Marshall (ed.)
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. InterVarsity, 1992, p. 566.
83. ^ Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Brill, 1994, p. 70; and Mettinger, Tryggve N. D. The Riddle of
Resurrection. Almqvist & Wiksell, 2001, pp. 7, 221. *For the argument that the Christ myth theory rests in
part on this idea, see Price, Robert M. "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes
Eddy (eds.) The Historical Jesus: Five Views. InterVarsity, 2009, p. 75.

References
Bennett, Clinton (2001). In search of Jesus: insider and outsider images. New York: Continuum.
ISBN 978-0-8264-4915-3.
Burridge, R; Gould, G (2004). "Jesus Now and Then". Wm. B. Eerdmans.
Grant, Michael (1999) [1977]. Jesus. London: Phoenix. ISBN 978-0-7538-0899-3.
John Warwick Montgomery (ed.), Myth, Allegory and Gospel: An Interpretation of J. R. R.
Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, Charles Williams, Minneapolis: Bethany Fellowship, 1974.
Price, Robert M. (2000). Deconstructing Jesus. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-157392-758-1.
Price, Robert M. (2005). "New Testament narrative as Old Testament midrash". In Jacob Neusner

and Alan J. Avery-Peck. Encyclopaedia of Midrash: Biblical Interpretation in Formative Judaism.

Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-14166-7.
Sanders, E. P. (1993). The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-71399059-1.
Seznec, Jean. 1972, The Survival of the Pagan Gods, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691-01783-9
Schweitzer, Albert (2000) [1913]. The Quest of the Historical Jesus. edited by John Bowden (first
complete ed.). London: SCM. ISBN 978-0-334-02791-1.
Thompson, Thomas L. (2005). The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David.
New York: Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-465-08577-4.
Van Voorst, Robert E. (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient
Evidence. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-4368-5.
Van Voorst, Robert E. (2003). "Nonexistence Hypothesis". In James Leslie Houlden. Jesus in
History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. pp. 658660.
Weaver, Walter P. (1999). The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 19001950. Harrisburg,
PA: Trinity. ISBN 978-1-56338-280-2.
Wells, G. A. (AprilJune 1969). "Stages of New Testament Criticism". Journal of the History of
Ideas 30 (2): 147160. doi:10.2307/2708429 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F2708429).
JSTOR 2708429 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2708429).
Wells, G. A. (JanuaryMarch 1973). "Friedrich Solmsen on Christian Origins". Journal of the
History of Ideas 34 (1): 143144. doi:10.2307/2708950 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F2708950).
JSTOR 2708950 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2708950).

External links
Why Has God Incarnate Suddenly Become Mythical? (http://www.mtio.com/articles/bissart2.htm)
by John Warwick Montgomery
"A History of Scholarly Refutations of the Jesus Myth" (http://www.bede.org.uk/price8.htm) by
Christopher Price
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title=Jesus_Christ_in_comparative_mythology&oldid=621299660"
Categories: Comparative mythology Christian mythology Jesus and history Perspectives on Jesus
Christ myth Christianity and other religions
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