Talk:Christ myth theory
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Christ myth theory was one of the Philosophy and religion good articles, but it has been removed from the list. There are suggestions below for improving the article to meet the good article criteria. Once these issues have been addressed, the article can be renominated. Editors may also seek a reassessment of the decision if they believe there was a mistake. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Historicity from the Epistles
Historicity from the Epistles is typically asserted from:
- Jesus was born of the seed of David (Rom. 1:3).
- Jesus was born of a woman (Gal. 4:4).
- Paul knew people called Brothers of the Lord (1 Cor. 9:5 & Gal. 1:19).
- On “the night” before he died Jesus handled bread and wine and taught Christians the theological ritual of the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 11:23).
- In “the days of his flesh” Jesus cried and prayed to God to save him (Heb. 5:7).
Perhaps the mythicist′s arguments on these points should be more fully featured in the article? – 74.138.111.159 (talk) 00:19, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
- Paul knew people called Brothers of the Lord (1 Cor. 9:5 & Gal. 1:19)Galatians 1:19 says Paul met with James, the "Lord's brother", not "people called Brothers of the Lord." Josephus also refers, as you are very well aware, to "the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James.". Having two independent attestations like that for someone from antiquity who is not an Emperor or military hero or queen or some such member of a super-elite is exceedingly rare. This is one of the major reasons why classical historians do not take the Christ myth theory seriously, we can say for sure, with certainty, as much as any event in history can be sure, that Jesus had a brother named James and as I have already quoted Bart Ehrman on this page "If Jesus didn't exist, you would think his brother would know about it". I think that point could be strengthened in this article. Of course "mythicists" attempt desperate and convoluted arguments to try to make these two clear confirmations of each other that Jesus had a brother called James go away but it doesn't convince actual historians, only other "mythicists" or gullible members of the public who know nothing about ancient history.Smeat75 (talk) 04:08, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
- Per http://biblehub.com Interlinear Greek:
- 1 Corinthians 9:5 —the brothers of the Lord
- Galatians 1:19 —the brother of the Lord
- 74.138.111.159 (talk) 09:14, 8 June 2018 (UTC)
- Prince Philip is the brother of John Frum, a man who as currently presented by his followers likely didn't exist, so even if the "Lord's brother" is read the way you claim it doesn't prove anything. In fact, the noted anthropologist Peter Worsley stated in an 1957 paper "Belief in Christ is no more or less rational than belief in John Frum." Heck, Jean Guiart's 1952 paper "John Frum Movement in Tanna" not only documents three natives using the name "John Frum" but the various statements made about John Frum, various people claiming to be his son (last I check non existent people don't have kids), and a letter from 1949 that states "The origin of the movement or the cause started more than thirty years ago." which would put the real John Frum in the 1910s somewhere rather then the 1930s that is currently claimed by the believers.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:23, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- And that argument will start to gain some traction just as soon as ole Phil starts preaching the good news of John Frum. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:32, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Sarcasm doesn't help as this is a perfectly valid method in anthropology. I should mention that even the article on James the Just acknowledges Paul uses the exact same Greek word ("adelphos" ie brother) in 1 Corinthians 15:6) so either Jesus had one huge family (more than five hundred brothers) or the word is not being used in the biological sense. Q.E.D.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:39, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- The Historicity of Jesus (which is what this concerns) is not anthropology. it's history. And round here, "Q.E.D." usually translates to "I have no idea what I'm talking about" so I would advise not ending your comments with that tired old canard. Also, your sidetrack about the etymology of "adelphos" doesn't address my point. Finally, your argument about it isn't even coherent. Just being a Greek word doesn't mean it can only be used in one sense, every single time it's used. For crying out loud, my 5-year old could figure that one out. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 13:18, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- As the article on anthropology itself points out over in Europe is is sometimes "grouped under other related disciplines, such as history." In fact, even in the United States there are fields that directly connect anthropology with history. I would go so far as to say given what the many versions of the Christ Myth theory try to do (ie get into the minds of the Christians of 1st to 4th century) that Ethnohistory and Historical anthropology are more the fields in play here then straight up history.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 18:06, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- The Historicity of Jesus (which is what this concerns) is not anthropology. it's history. And round here, "Q.E.D." usually translates to "I have no idea what I'm talking about" so I would advise not ending your comments with that tired old canard. Also, your sidetrack about the etymology of "adelphos" doesn't address my point. Finally, your argument about it isn't even coherent. Just being a Greek word doesn't mean it can only be used in one sense, every single time it's used. For crying out loud, my 5-year old could figure that one out. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 13:18, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Sarcasm doesn't help as this is a perfectly valid method in anthropology. I should mention that even the article on James the Just acknowledges Paul uses the exact same Greek word ("adelphos" ie brother) in 1 Corinthians 15:6) so either Jesus had one huge family (more than five hundred brothers) or the word is not being used in the biological sense. Q.E.D.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:39, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- And that argument will start to gain some traction just as soon as ole Phil starts preaching the good news of John Frum. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:32, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Prince Philip is the brother of John Frum, a man who as currently presented by his followers likely didn't exist, so even if the "Lord's brother" is read the way you claim it doesn't prove anything. In fact, the noted anthropologist Peter Worsley stated in an 1957 paper "Belief in Christ is no more or less rational than belief in John Frum." Heck, Jean Guiart's 1952 paper "John Frum Movement in Tanna" not only documents three natives using the name "John Frum" but the various statements made about John Frum, various people claiming to be his son (last I check non existent people don't have kids), and a letter from 1949 that states "The origin of the movement or the cause started more than thirty years ago." which would put the real John Frum in the 1910s somewhere rather then the 1930s that is currently claimed by the believers.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:23, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Per http://biblehub.com Interlinear Greek:
The Greek term "ἀδελφός" has several different meanings, depending on context. See: http://perseus.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.1:7:22.LSJ:
- 1) "son of the same mother", "brother"
- 2) "kinsman", "tribesman"
- 3) "colleague", "associate", "member of a college"
- 4) "term of address, used by kings... esp. in letters...as a term of affection, applicable by wife to husband"
- 5) "brother (as a fellow Christian)", "of other religious communities, e.g. Serapeum"
- 6) metaphorically, "fellow".
- 7) In adjective form, "brotherly or sisterly"
- ) In adjective form, "of anything double, twin, in pairs".
The feminine form is "ἀδελφή", which also has multiple meanings. See: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=a)delfh/
- 1) "sister"
- 2) "kinswoman"
- 3) "term of endearment", ; "applied to a wife"
Since the term is still in use in Modern Greek, I would assume you are aware that you can call just about anyone "brother". Did you thing that the popular Greek song "Αδέρφια μου, αλήτες, πουλιά" (1970), “My Brothers, Footloose Tramps, and Birds” was talking about biological siblings? Dimadick (talk) 13:25, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- I'm not sure who you're responding to. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 13:35, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Professor Phantasm and his/her definition of "adelphos" as brother. Dimadick (talk) 14:45, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- User:Professor Phantasm, please note that at the top of the page is a banner that says This page is not a forum for general discussion about personal beliefs, apologetics, or polemics. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article so discussing Prince Phillip, John Frum,natives of Tanna, or what you think the word "brother" means, does not belong here.Smeat75 (talk) 15:21, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Its not "my" definition and these are not my points either. Read some of Carrier's 2014 On the Historicity of Jesus. Sheffield Phoenix Press. ISBN 978-1-909697-49-2 (you know the only freaking peer reviewed Christ myth book out there) and blog comments on material he missed finding regarding his book before trying to invoke nonsense. The John Frum connection (as well as the Prince Phillip one) is on pages 9-10 and 160. Carrier goes the route of a gloss that was inserted into the main text at a later date in addition to the other reading of "brothers" as alternative hypothesizes.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 18:05, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- If you're just here to argue that mythicism is real, I know an admin that would be happy to topic ban you. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 21:28, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Its not "my" definition and these are not my points either. Read some of Carrier's 2014 On the Historicity of Jesus. Sheffield Phoenix Press. ISBN 978-1-909697-49-2 (you know the only freaking peer reviewed Christ myth book out there) and blog comments on material he missed finding regarding his book before trying to invoke nonsense. The John Frum connection (as well as the Prince Phillip one) is on pages 9-10 and 160. Carrier goes the route of a gloss that was inserted into the main text at a later date in addition to the other reading of "brothers" as alternative hypothesizes.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 18:05, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- User:Professor Phantasm, please note that at the top of the page is a banner that says This page is not a forum for general discussion about personal beliefs, apologetics, or polemics. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article so discussing Prince Phillip, John Frum,natives of Tanna, or what you think the word "brother" means, does not belong here.Smeat75 (talk) 15:21, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Professor Phantasm and his/her definition of "adelphos" as brother. Dimadick (talk) 14:45, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
Article title and first sentence
Please note this op-ed on excess parenthetical "metadata" in lead. I just removed one of the "alternative names", plain "mythicist", as ridiculous. Obviously, in context, as Maurice Casey was writing in the "citation", the term "mythicist" can be used to refer to supporters of this theory, but only in context. Do we really need to burden the opening sentence with a list of variant names? (I really do not believe this is how normal encyclopedias are written.) Then we should consider the title: as I understand it, theologically speaking "Christ" is more a title than a reference to the person. In this case the title would more correctly be "Jesus myth theory"; the list of alternatives could be removed, and perhaps a sentence added about historical variation in the names used. Imaginatorium (talk) 04:32, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
- I could agree that "Jesus myth theory" may be a better title, considering that many scholars accept that a historical Jesus likely existed but that there was also a mythological one (with the powers attributed in the Gospels, the Christ of the Christians). It is probably somewhat contentious and would require a proper move discussion (WP:COMMONNAME also taken in consideration). —PaleoNeonate – 09:36, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
- Yes, per WP:COMMONNAME the title should stay as the "Christ myth theory" as that is what its proponents call it. It is a silly term, I agree, it uses the word "myth" inaccurately, but that is what it is known as.Smeat75 (talk) 10:58, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
Section:Opponents
New user Lygu1560 blanked the section "Opponents" which reads "Few scholars have bothered to criticise Christ myth theories, regarding them as too outlandish to be worthy of serious criticism. Some notable exceptions are Bart Ehrman, Maurice Casey and Philip Jenkins" with an edit summary "Removing clear religious bias from phrasing"along with other changes that I reverted. He was adivised on his talk page by User:PaleoNeonate not to reinstate those edits without opening a discussion on this talk page. Today he blanked the same section again, ignoring this advice referring again to "clear religious bias" which is ridiculous, it is a matter of established historical fact, not religion, and those writers are historians. So I put it back again and user Imaginatorium took it out again with an edit summary "No, there is no consensus (among thinking people, not your "scholars") for this abusive and loaded description. Do no revert again without attempting to justify on talk". According to WP:BRD it is Lygu1560 who should have opened a discussion on talk after I reverted him, not me. And "thinking people" do not matter one little bit on WP, "your "scholars" are everything. I did not write that section but it is strictly accurate and should stay. I can expand it if wanted with more quotes from "your scholars" on what absolute nonsense the Christ myth theory is.Smeat75 (talk) 19:36, 7 August 2018 (UTC)
- I went ahead and added a quote, with a reference, to that section from another one of "your scholars" - " Paul L. Maier, former Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and current professor emeritus in the Department of History there has stated ""Anyone who uses the argument that Jesus never existed is simply flaunting his ignorance." I have many more along the same lines if desired.Smeat75 (talk) 19:54, 7 August 2018 (UTC)
- I rewrote the sentence that Lygu1560 and Imaginatorium object to with a direct quote from Robert van Voorst.Smeat75 (talk) 01:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- The paragraph is still ludicrously biased. Of course you have "many more along the same lines", but they are all faith-based, and fundamentally inadmissible. I will edit the paragraph again, and remove the "bothered" word; please do not put it in without a neutral source that says that an independent survey found that a majority of these "scholars" said nothing because they "couldn't be bothered". Imaginatorium (talk) 07:44, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- While I understand that the scholarly consensus is against the myth theory, which the article should portray, I also agree that the tone of that sentence was problematic. —PaleoNeonate – 08:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- Yes, thank you Imaginatorium, that is fine. I agree that it is better to have a specific quote from a scholar rather than saying they "couldn't be bothered". This is how achieving consensus is supposed to work, not through edit-warring. (Though it really, really isn't "faith-based" to say that Jesus certainly existed, it is history-based, there are many professors and scholars of classics and ancient history quoted in the article and you will not find a single one who says anything different. Do you really think it is "fundamentally inadmissible" to cite what a "Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and current professor emeritus in the Department of History" says on this matter of ancient history?)Smeat75 (talk) 12:11, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- You do not seem to be very familiar with the empirical method: one of the rules is that you are not allowed to Know the answer before you look for it. The paragraph below from Maier is classic apologetics: he knows the answer, so he repeats it a lot, and hopes that will be convincing. (His text might need copy-editing if it is a transcript.) This article is (supposed to be!) about people who have actually looked at the evidence, and found it extremely flimsy. The only evidence I have yet seen is, well, the Bible, plus about three sentences (paragraphs) in Roman writers. The counter to this never seems to be to point to any more evidence: either we are told we "don't know how modern schoarship works" (well, how does it work?) or we are told that this extremely flimsy evidence is immensely strong by the standards historians use, which leaves me wondering quite what historians are doing. Maier in particular appears to claim that there is as much evidence for both JCs, Christ and Caesar, which I do not think many (real) historians would accept. Imaginatorium (talk) 09:21, 9 August 2018 (UTC)
- Yes, thank you Imaginatorium, that is fine. I agree that it is better to have a specific quote from a scholar rather than saying they "couldn't be bothered". This is how achieving consensus is supposed to work, not through edit-warring. (Though it really, really isn't "faith-based" to say that Jesus certainly existed, it is history-based, there are many professors and scholars of classics and ancient history quoted in the article and you will not find a single one who says anything different. Do you really think it is "fundamentally inadmissible" to cite what a "Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University and current professor emeritus in the Department of History" says on this matter of ancient history?)Smeat75 (talk) 12:11, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- While I understand that the scholarly consensus is against the myth theory, which the article should portray, I also agree that the tone of that sentence was problematic. —PaleoNeonate – 08:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- The paragraph is still ludicrously biased. Of course you have "many more along the same lines", but they are all faith-based, and fundamentally inadmissible. I will edit the paragraph again, and remove the "bothered" word; please do not put it in without a neutral source that says that an independent survey found that a majority of these "scholars" said nothing because they "couldn't be bothered". Imaginatorium (talk) 07:44, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
- I rewrote the sentence that Lygu1560 and Imaginatorium object to with a direct quote from Robert van Voorst.Smeat75 (talk) 01:43, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
On WP we as editors do not decide that a professor of ancient history and emeritus professor of history isn't a "real"historian because he does not follow the empirical method. All we do is quote what scholars such as Maier say. This article allows the mythicists to make their case and then says why the scholarly consensus rejects it. There is a very big difference between ancient history and more recent history, sources for ancient history are very few, independent multiple attestation of an event from antiquity such as there is for the crucifixion is exceedingly rare.Smeat75 (talk) 10:21, 9 August 2018 (UTC)
- one of the rules is that you are not allowed to Know the answer before you look for it. - It is the Christ mythicists who do that, not historians. Anyone who knows anything about ancient history and examines the evidence with an open mind will conclude that Jesus certainly existed. It is the mythicists who have made up their minds and will not let the evidence get in their way.Smeat75 (talk) 10:34, 9 August 2018 (UTC)
Maier quote
Maier, Paul L. (2010) ap. "Historian Interview: Paul L. Maier". Apologetics 315 podcast. (13 December 2010) @ http://apologetics315.blogspot.com/2010/12/historian-interview-paul-l-maier.html
[Per the argument that Jesus never existed] anybody who is using that argument is simply flaunting his ignorance, I hate to say it but it's about that bad. We have more documentation on Jesus Christ then anybody in the ancient world as far as that's concerned. There is no question whatever in the mind of any serious scholar anywhere in the world that there certainly was a historical personality named Jesus of Nazareth.
Now you can argue about whether he [Jesus] was the son of God or not, you can argue about the supernatural aspects of his life. But in terms of the historical character there is absolutely no evidence to the contrary and all the evidence is in the favor and I just can't stand the computer blogs and so many other would-be authorities trying to use this argument: "He's only a myth, he never lived." Well that's simply ridiculous on the face of the facts.
Cf. Ben Stanhope (2 March 2015). "Salon.com's Remarkably Bad Historical Jesus Article". Remythologized. [Maier cited:] The following quotes are taken from a video and audio compilation "Do Historians Believe Jesus Existed." YouTube video, 6:05. Dec 27, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP15Pc2Lljc
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:a000:160c:a232:c5ea:e9b4:d2f9:f543 (talk) 23:25, 8 August 2018 (UTC)
Once Again (sigh), It Seems that I need to Post This - Sources Saying that "most scholars agree"
Citations
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— Preceding unsigned comment added by Bill the Cat 7 (talk • contribs) 00:38, 10 August 2018 (UTC)
- This contribution does not appear to be signed. Please say if you added it. Otherwise it could be removed. It is of zero significance, because "Most scholars have to agree" in order to keep themselves in employment. Imaginatorium (talk) 12:33, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
- I added the user's name and timestamp. —PaleoNeonate – 12:45, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
It is of zero significance, because "Most scholars have to agree" in order to keep themselves in employment.
Non sequitur. Most US-based lawyers have to agree that individual constitutional rights trump statutory law in order to keep themselves in employment. That doesn't change the fact that it's true.- Most contractors have to build to code in order to keep themselves in employment. Most police officers have to follow statutory guidelines and respect suspect's constitutional rights in order to keep themselves in employment. Most physicists have to avoid contradicting the standard model in order to keep themselves in employment. The list goes on and on. Attempts like this to reframe the scholarly consensus as a "party line" that must be toed ignore the blatantly obvious question of why that because the consensus to begin with. And in the modern age of growing secularism and outspoken atheism (including more than one of the world's leading Jesus scholars), attempting to answer that question with "religious dogma" is one of the most ignorant assumptions one could make. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:54, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
- I added it, yes. And if you remove it, I'll just add it back in again because it is of great significance. If you can't see that, I can't help you. On the other hand, if you want to discuss it further, feel free; I'm willing. Bill the Cat 7 (talk) 12:47, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
- Oh, and I was the one who added the humorous image near "expressions of contempt". —PaleoNeonate – 12:52, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
We do not use self-published material as sources
IP 71.218.57.83 added material from a book "Deciphering the Gospels: Proves Jesus Never Existed" by a non scholar, R G Price, printed by Lulu Publishing Services which is a self publishing service. See WP:SPS Anyone can create a personal web page or publish their own book, and also claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published media, such as books, patents, newsletters, personal websites, open wikis, personal or group blogs (as distinguished from newsblogs, above), content farms, Internet forum postings, and social media postings, are largely not acceptable as sources... if the information in question is suitable for inclusion, someone else will probably have published it in independent reliable sources. I am removing the references to that self-published book.Smeat75 (talk) 11:59, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
- Agreed, I also left a similar message on their talk page. Thanks for the comment, —PaleoNeonate – 12:23, 12 September 2018 (UTC)
Appropriate for Wikipedia?
"The Christ myth theory is a fringe theory, supported by few tenured or emeritus specialists in biblical criticism or cognate disciplines." Does not seem to me to be a balanced comment whatever the evidence. "specialists in biblical criticism" is surely a biassed sample. Hughwill (talk) 12:36, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
Does not seem to me to be a balanced comment whatever the evidence.
How it seems to you, me or any other editor is irrelevant. What is stated by reliable sources is what matters, and the bit you quoted is stated by multiple reliable sources."specialists in biblical criticism" is surely a biassed sample.
No, it is not. "Criticism" in that sentence does not mean what you think it means. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:48, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- What ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants says is correct. 'Biblical criticism' is an academic field, in which many leading experts are explicitly non-Christian, and have published widely on aspects of biblical criticism going against a religious view. No bias whatsoever. All this sentence say is that almost every expert in the relevant field consider it a fringe theory, just as almost every biologist consider intelligent design a fringe theory, almost every geographer consider flat earth a fringe theory etc. Jeppiz (talk) 15:23, 5 October 2018 (UTC)
- Far too much certainty there. I know you believe it's justified, but many see it differently. HiLo48 (talk) 04:16, 6 October 2018 (UTC)
- Believe what is justified? ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:52, 8 October 2018 (UTC)
- My issue is when you go through the material on how "Christ myth theory" is defined it is not all in the 'Jesus didn't exist as a human being' camp.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:01, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- We finally have a clear definition after years of arguing about this. "In the peer-reviewed scholarly Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Daniel N. Gullotta" states that "The Christ myth theory is "the view that the person known as Jesus of Nazareth had no historical existence." See WP:RS and especially the section WP:SOURCETYPES "When available, academic and peer-reviewed publications, scholarly monographs, and textbooks are usually the most reliable sources." We do not argue with reliable sources here and the Gullota quote is exactly that, we just reference the reliable sources. If you want to dispute them you have to start your own blog or go to another website.Smeat75 (talk) 13:43, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
when you go through the material on how "Christ myth theory" is defined it is not all in the 'Jesus didn't exist as a human being' camp.
[citation really needed] ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 14:19, 10 October 2018 (UTC)- Bart Ehrman (who we cite in the article as a reliable source) states that a Jesus who existed but "had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity" would also qualify as part of the Christ Myth. So a Jesus who preached a form of Judaism that Paul and others turned into Christianity (Remsburg's position) or someone who took over an already existing movement (ala Michael O. Wise or Israel Knohl) would both quality as Christ Myth theories. Eddy and Boyd's 2007 Jesus Legend conflates the idea of Jesus didn't exist (at all) with Jesus existed but the Gospel account is so legendary that the actual man is totally different but just on this side of recognizable; they also state a work by Wells that clearly accepts the Gospel Jesus as an actual person was in the same world as those who side Jesus didn't exist as a human being. Side note, Mike Bird, who serves on the editorial board for the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, stated "I can tell you that the Jesus mythicist nonsense would never get a foot in the door of a peer-reviewed journal committed to the academic study of the historical Jesus." So here was have a person on the editorial board of the journal you are presenting clearly stating that his journal is bias against the "Jesus mythicist nonsense" position.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 19:46, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- I would have been happy with just a reference to Ehrman. Yeah, I guess that's true. Good job. As for the rest of your comment: Yeah, I would certainly hope that everyone on the editorial board of a journal that we regularly used is biased against nonsense. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 21:27, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Professor Phantasm, what's the source for the Mike Bird quote? --Akhilleus (talk) 01:28, 11 October 2018 (UTC)
- Bart Ehrman (who we cite in the article as a reliable source) states that a Jesus who existed but "had virtually nothing to do with the founding of Christianity" would also qualify as part of the Christ Myth. So a Jesus who preached a form of Judaism that Paul and others turned into Christianity (Remsburg's position) or someone who took over an already existing movement (ala Michael O. Wise or Israel Knohl) would both quality as Christ Myth theories. Eddy and Boyd's 2007 Jesus Legend conflates the idea of Jesus didn't exist (at all) with Jesus existed but the Gospel account is so legendary that the actual man is totally different but just on this side of recognizable; they also state a work by Wells that clearly accepts the Gospel Jesus as an actual person was in the same world as those who side Jesus didn't exist as a human being. Side note, Mike Bird, who serves on the editorial board for the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, stated "I can tell you that the Jesus mythicist nonsense would never get a foot in the door of a peer-reviewed journal committed to the academic study of the historical Jesus." So here was have a person on the editorial board of the journal you are presenting clearly stating that his journal is bias against the "Jesus mythicist nonsense" position.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 19:46, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- My issue is when you go through the material on how "Christ myth theory" is defined it is not all in the 'Jesus didn't exist as a human being' camp.--Professor Phantasm (talk) 12:01, 10 October 2018 (UTC)
- Believe what is justified? ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants Tell me all about it. 12:52, 8 October 2018 (UTC)
- Far too much certainty there. I know you believe it's justified, but many see it differently. HiLo48 (talk) 04:16, 6 October 2018 (UTC)
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