Nailed!

David Fitzgerald, author of Nailed: Ten Christian Myths That Show Jesus Never Existed at All, nailed it with his book.  He covered a vast amount of subjects to show how the Jesus in the Bible never existed.

Fitzgerald discussed in detail how there are no external contemporary accounts of Jesus and the supposed historical events in the Bible are either inaccurate or non-existent.  He also showed how the Biblical accounts of Jesus do not corroborate and even contradict each other.  Included in the book are the supposed events of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which are not found in any other source outside the Bible.  He also made note that there are no eyewitness accounts of the story, by referring to various Christian historians.  Most of the accounts are hearsay that probably would not be admissible in a court of law, of which he followed up with a timeline of supposed witnesses.  None of which add up, especially after one sees the dates that the supposed witnesses lived and wrote.

Also covered in the book is quite a bit about Josephus, the infamous Testimonium Flavianum.  Finally, Fitzgerald tied it all together with one last conclusion at the end.  He does a marvelous job of taking us through history, or lack thereof, as he attempted to dispel various myths about Jesus.

Robert Price, Ph.D, author of Deconstructing Jesus and The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man stated, on the back of the book, “Fitzgerald summarizes a great number of key arguments concisely and with new power and original spin.”

Richard C Carrier, Ph.D., author of Not the Impossible Faith: Why Christianity Didn’t Need a Miracle to Succeed and On the History of Jesus, said, “When it comes to the ten modern myths about Jesus dissected here, Fitzgerald has hit the nail on the head.”

David Fitzgerald is a writer and historical researcher who actively investigated the Historical Jesus question for over ten years.  His degree is in history.  He was also an associate member of CSER (Committee of the Scientific Examination of Religion).

This is one of the many books, which put the final nails in the Jesus myth, and the arguments in this book are very well constructed and well researched.  Whether you like Price, Carrier, or a mythist concerning Jesus, this is a great read.

Below is David Fitzgerald's talk about his book at this year's Skepticon 3.  Great talk and he has a wonderful sense of humour.

Mriana

Mriana is a humanist and the author of "A Source of Misery". She has two grown sons and raises cats. She enjoys writing, reading, science, philosophy, psychology, and other subjects. Mriana is also an animal lover, who cares for their welfare as living beings, who are part of the earth. She is a huge Star Trek fan in a little body.

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  • http://www.goddiscussion.com admin

    The Josephus argument is always played by apologists and as Fitzgerald and others point out, is taken out of context and does not prove anything.

    I remember in third grade we were having an "overview of world history" for our level of understanding and I asked the teacher why Jesus was not part of the history. She said that Santa Claus was more real.

    This looks like an interesting book that I'll need to read.

    Deborah

  • http://www.goddiscussion.com admin

    I'm listening to the video while working. He's a great speaker. That's fascinating why there were four gospels. I didn't know that. I've read a number of the others, such as the Gospel According to Thomas, and am working through the one as told by Mary.

    Unfortunately, the video wouldn't play anymore after about 34 minutes for me. I'll need to revisit it later.

    Deborah

    • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

      I wonder why it wouldn't play more than that. Anyway, he is a great speaker. :) You didn't know that there are 4 gospels for the 4 corners?

      Thomas is great and while I like Mary, I'm not as fond of it as I am Thomas. Something about Thomas is a little pantheistic- split a piece of wood… lift a rock… Sounds pantheistic to me, which doesn't bother me in comparison to a barbaric killing.

      • http://www.goddiscussion.com admin

        Thomas seems to be less patriarchal, too. I like it better than what I've read of Mary so far, that seems to be a repeat of the others. I also have Peter's, which is pretty good and very short! I can definitely see why the churches did not include Peter's gospel — if it's under public domain, I should reproduce it here on God Discussion because I think some Christian folk would be shocked at its content.

        Yeah, I didn't know about the 4 corners, which I guess demonstrates my level of ignorance. But I learn something new every day.

        Finally got the rest of the video to play. I had to keep reloading it about 7 times to get it "unstuck."

        Deborah

        • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

          I'm glad you got to see it all. I don't know if Peter is under public domain or not. Are you talking about the Act of Peter found in the Nag and the Other Bible?

          The Acts of John, Peter, Paul, Andrew, Thomas (yes there is an Act of Thomas) are Xian apocryphas. Now there is an Apocalypse of Peter, which is short too, there are many Apocalyptic stories actually, even Adam (spouse to Eve and Lilith) and Paul has one.

          I read too much don't I? Anyway, if you are interested in reading such things, I suggest getting "The Other Bible" and "The Nag Hammadi Library". The Act of Peter is short in the Nag, but longer in The Other Bible. Anyway, it's all fascinating reading.

          Oh wow! You're right there is a Gospel of Peter, which I don't have. I even found an .edu commentary on it too.

  • http://armariummagnus.blogspot.com/ Tim O'Neill

    I've written a detailed critical review from an atheist perspective here:

    http://armariummagnus.blogspot.com/2011/05/nailed-ten-christian-myths-that-show.html

    Let's just say I wasn't impressed. The book might read well as a piece of rhetoric, but as scholarship it's deeply flawed, sloppy and highly amateurish.

    • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

      Tim, I'm a humanist (AKA atheist), so mine is one of many atheist perspectives. I am also a mythicist- I do not believe Jesus ever existed.

      • http://armariummagnus.blogspot.com/ Tim ONeill

        I don't doubt you are a humanist and atheist. As am I. Unfortunately we rationalists can also fall victim to confirmation bias – the Mythicist thesis is flawed and has little or no academic respectability at all. Yet a lot of rationalists still accept it? Why? After several years of debating Mythers I have to conclude that they do so for largely emotional reasons not rational ones – Mythicism gives them a bigger stick with which to hit Christianity.

        Mythicism is rapidly becoming the Humanist equivalent of Creationism – a flawed, fringe idea fervently believed in out of ideological bias.

        • http://www.houseofbetazed.com Mriana

          Because it is a myth. Jesus never existed and there are scholars and theologians who do back that up. Those who don't are placating the religious.

          Do you really believe that the creation story in the Bile really happened? Do you really believe there was a flood? There are even Jews who will say these stories never happened. There was never a mass exodus either. Try reading Victor H Matthews' book Parallels of the Old Testament and you will see these stories were taken from other cultures, such Babylonian, Assyrian, Egyptian, etc mythology and written to a specific culture.

          Moving on, do you really believe the virgin birth happened? It did not, even Bishop John Shelby Spong and the Archbishop of Canterbury have stated it is a myth. Again, it is rewritten mythology taken from other cultures. The same goes with the Cruxifixion and Resurrection stories. They never happened. If none of that ever happened then the Jesus in the Bile never existed and that is just for starters as to how JC never existed. The book is purely mythology and not history. None of it ever happened any more than the story about the said president chopping down a cherry tree and telling his father "I cannot tell a lie". None of it happened any more than John Jakes' North and South actually happened.

          It is pure mythology and I have no clue how people cannot see that. To state otherwise, seems to me that even some atheists (there are some who believe he existed as stated in the Bile) who still buy into the delusion, even though they do not believe in a god, thinking that JC actually existed. Jesus Christ never existed. He no more existed than Casper the Holy Ghost existed.

          BTW, Victor Matthews is a prof at the local university, who I took a couple classes with. He is an excellent scholar.

  • http://metalfilecabinets.weebly.com kali

    Yet lots of rationalists still accept it? Why? After several years of debating Mythers I must conclude that they do so for largely emotional reasons not rational ones Mythicism gives them a bigger stick with which to hit Christianity.