I've really only found writers like D.M. Murdock (Acharya S), Freke & Gandy, Doherty, and a hand-full of "free-thought" internet sites who hold fast to this idea of a "mythical" Jesus. Even Wells, who was huge proponent of this idea, conceded to the historicity of Jesus. One would imagine if it were such a popular idea among scholars that most encyclopedias or history books would make mention that the founder of one of the major religions may have been completely made up.
Interesting comment, since the suppposed Jesus did not "found" anything, Constantine made literalist Xianity the "official" religion during the Council of Nicaea.
Sorry, the tired old "bandwagon " theory doesn't cut it any more.
If you're so convinced a real Jesus existed, please tell me
When he was born,
When he died.
Any manuscripts of anything he wrote.
Any independent comtemporay historical references to him that are not considered to be forgeries added later on, most likely by the famed bishop forger Eusabius.
Where he was for 30 odd years from his supposed birth until his ministry - twiddling his thumbs?
Compared to evidence for the existence of Julius Caesar, for example, there is literally no evidence whatsoever that a Jesus remotely resembling the biblical one ever existed.
The gospels themselves conflict with each other so much, they could only be taken as stories of fiction, not recordings of fact, each written with an agenda.
1) Hundreds of years before Jesus, according to the Mithraic religion, three Wise Men of Persia came to visit the baby savior-god Mithra, bring him gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense.
There is no mention of wise men in the myth, nor would they be visiting a baby. Mithras was born from the rock as an adult. I don't understand the "savior" portion either. He was a mediator between Zoroaster's gods of good and evil. The only evidence you could look to is a bit of graffiti from a Mithra church that was dated 200 AD that said, "And us, too, saved us by spilling the eternal blood." That however is in reference to Mithras slaying the bull.
"Epiphany, JAN-6, was originally the festival in which the followers of Mithra celebrated the visit of the Magi to their newborn god-man. The Christian Church took it over in the 9th century. "
3) According to Mithraism, before Mithra died on a cross, he celebrated a “Last Supper with his twelve disciples, who represented the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Most of what we know about Mithra comes from artwork, and there is a relief scene showing him killing the bull surrounded by the 12 zodiac signs, but there are numerous figures also in the scene. The number could be up to 20+ people. There is no inscription either, so what the scene shows is questionable. How does killing a bull= Last Supper?
I've never heard of Mithra dying, especially on a cross...Do you have a citation for that?
An inscription to Mithras reads: "
He who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he will be made on with me and I with him, the same shall not know salvation."
1 In John 6:53-54, Jesus is said to have repeated this theme: "
...Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." (KJV)
"Early Christians were naked when they were baptized. After immersion, they then put on white clothing and a crown. They carried a candle and walked in a procession to a basilica. Followers of Mithra were also baptized naked, put on white clothing and a crown, and walked in a procession to the temple. However, they carried torches."
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This son of a god born of a virgin, was so commonly spread in those days that Philo of Alexandria (30 BCE - 45 CE), warned against this widespread superstitious belief in unions between male gods and human females. The offspring’s are known as demigods.
I'll give you the rock, but many other gods pre-existent to the supposed Jesus' mythos were born of virgins. Both being born of a rock and a virgin are about equally likely.