Listmania - Mythic-only Christ theory

Listmania! - Mythic-only Christ theory Acharya S.
The Jesus Puzzle - Earl Doherty
Peter Kirby

by Michael Hoffman (Favorite Person), Egodeath.com - theorist of ego death
More about Michael Hoffman

1.		The Jesus Puzzle. Did Christianity Begin with a Mythical Christ? : Challenging the Existence of an Historical Jesus by Earl Doherty (Mass Market Paperback) Michael Hoffman's comments: Most scientific, sober, dry, and compelling of mythic-only Christ books. The least mystical. Unique, essential work providing a shattering alternative to the Historical Jesus bandwagon.
2.		Deconstructing Jesus by Robert M. Price (Hardcover - March 2000) Michael Hoffman's comments: See my Amazon area for more information.
3.		The Christ Myth (Westminster College-Oxford Classics in the Study of Religion) by Arthur Drews, et al (Hardcover - February 1998) Michael Hoffman's comments: For religion as such, consider Jesus as mythic-only rather than mundane conventional ethicist. How insistence on physical Jesus created profitable scarce commodity for early power-establishment.
4.		The Jesus Mysteries : Was the 'Original Jesus' a Pagan God? by Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy (Paperback - September 2001) Michael Hoffman's comments: Easy, esoterically insightful book on the mythic-only Christ. Contains traces of entheogen theory.
5.		The Fabrication of the Christ Myth by Harold Liedner (Paperback) Michael Hoffman's comments: Critical legal study of origins. Patent law insight on questions of dating, priority, originality of material, infringement and copying. Contradiction, impossibility and fabrication of synoptics.
6.		The Jesus Myth by George Albert Wells (Paperback - October 1998) Michael Hoffman's comments: 1998. Straightforward, balanced argument for mythic-only Jesus. Shows the apologist motives of researchers of the historical Jesus.

7.		The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Acharya S (Paperback - September 1999) Michael Hoffman's comments: Astrotheology dimension of Christian myth-system; most rad Christ-myth'er: even Paul considered fictional; academics know Jesus is fiction but won't admit it. Surprisingly, neglects determinism/fate.

8.		The Myth of the Resurrection and Other Essays (The Freethought Library) by Joseph McCabe (Paperback - August 1993) Michael Hoffman's comments: Freethought arguments. Jesus didn't exist, or was resuscitated, or died and wasn't resurrected. Describes ignonimous rise of early authoritarian Christianity.

9.	xxx	The Myth of the Historical Jesus and the Evolution of Consciousness (Dissertation Series (Society of Biblical Literature), No. 179.) by Hal Childs (Hardcover - October 2000)

10.	yyy	Pagan Christs by John M. Robertson (Hardcover - June 1967)
Michael Hoffman's comments: Pre-Christian crucifiction rituals and mythology in the ancient world. Universality of many elements of Jesus' storyline.
11.		The Jesus Legend by G. A. Wells, R. Joseph Hoffmann (Paperback - November 1996) Michael Hoffman's comments: 1996. Explains how the Jesus legendary storyline developed from Paul to the synoptic gospels. Insights on how to critically study history.

12.	zzz	Jesus-God, Man or Myth : An Examination of the Evidence by Herbert Cutner, Paul Tice (Paperback - February 2000) Michael Hoffman's comments: 1950. Mythical nature of Jesus, summary of long ongoing debate between mythicists and historicizers/carnalizers. Mythic-only position is continuous tradition, not novel. Pagan origins of Christ.

13.		Pagan & Christian Creeds : Their Origin and Meaning by Edward Carpenter (Paperback - October 1998)

14.	www	The sacred mushroom and the cross; a study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East by John Marco Allegro Michael Hoffman's comments: Jesus-allied entheogenists will get more than they bargained for: proposes that Jesus was none other than the mushroom and experiential allegory inspired by the mystic altered state.

15.		Jesus and the Lost Goddess : The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians by Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy(Hardcover - October 2001) Michael Hoffman's comments: Very clear generalization of the ancient pagan/gnostic philosophy, including determinism.

16.		Jesus is a Myth : A Handbook To Reclaim Your Celestial Inheritance by Zain Winter (Paperback)

17.		Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" by Earl Doherty (Paperback) Average Customer Review:

18.		Jesus : One Hundred Years Before Christ by Alvar Ellegard (Hardcover - October 1999) Michael Hoffman's comments: Argues that the real Historical Jesus is the Teacher of Righteousness. Helps my proposal that instead of 0 or 1 Historical Jesus, he is a figure loosely based on many actual men & types of men.

19.		Imaginary Christs : The Challenge of Christological Pluralism by Richard Grigg (Paperback - October 2000) Michael Hoffman's comments: Proposes ways to evaluate and choose between the many proposed versions of Christ and the many proposed versions of the supposed Historical Jesus.

20.		The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts by Israel Finkelstein, Neil Asher Silberman (Hardcover - January 2001) Michael Hoffman's comments: Proposes that the Old Testament is entirely mythic allegory and edifying pseudo-historical invention.

21.	uuu	The Christian Myth : Origins, Logic, and Legacy by Burton L. MacK (Hardcover - October 2001) Michael Hoffman's comments: Rise of Greek/Roman empires and destruction of Jewish Temple State gave social need for new theology to compete in the pagan Roman world & gain Jewish history-religion.

22.		The Scepter and the Star : The Messiahs of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Ancient Literature (The Anchor Bible Reference Library) by John Joseph Collins (Hardcover - April 1995) Michael Hoffman's comments: See my Amazon area for more information.

23.	vvv	The True Founder of Christianity and the Hellenistic Philosophy by Max Rieser (Paperback - June 1979) Michael Hoffman's comments: Diaspora started Xy, soon taken over & hellenized by Roman Empire, arrived last in Palestine. Jesus, Paul etc. are fiction. Co-opted, w/ Hellenist/Jewish animosity. Also _Messianism and Epiphany_.

24.		Rebirth for Christianity by Alvin B. Huhn, Alvin Boyd Kuhn (Hardcover - June 1970)
Michael Hoffman's comments: Ancient wisdom, our animal soul vs. divine soul, later political distortion, Christ was only a symbol of divine soul in each person, anti-literalist.
25.		The Christ : A Critical Review and Analysis of the Evidence of His Existence by John E. Remsberg (Hardcover - October 1994) Average Customer Review: