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Was Jesus a Mythical Figure?

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Was Jesus a Mythical Figure? View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by British Columbia's network of post-secondary digital repositories WAS JESUS A MYTHICAL FIGURE? A RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE THAT JESUS OF NAZARETH NEVER EXISTED by CHRIS CHRISTIANSEN Bachelor of Arts, Summit Pacific College, 2015 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES PROGRAM in the FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES TRINTY WESTERN UNIVERSITY March 2020 © Chris Christiansen, 2020 Abstract The purpose of this thesis is to examine and refute the arguments made by mythicists, who deny the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth. It begins by investigating the historical development of myth. Next, it explores the history of mythicism since its inception in the eighteenth century. The penultimate chapter outlines the main criticisms that mythicists level against the Gospels; the final chapter responds to these arguments. There are two major findings of this thesis. First, the mythicists’ standard for evidence is not applied consistently. Second, they fail to show why their interpretations of the available data are better than more traditional approaches. The conclusion is that they do not provide sufficient reasons for doubting the existence of Jesus as a human in history. i To Amy This thesis is dedicated to my wife, who worked so hard to support me in pursuit of my goals and dreams. I love you! ii Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The Problem ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Research Question ................................................................................................... 3 1.3 The Importance of This Study ........................................................................................ 3 1.4 The Research Hypothesis ............................................................................................... 5 2 Historical Development of the Notion of Myth ..................................................................... 7 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Two Types of Worldviews ............................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Pantheistic Worldviews .......................................................................................... 8 2.2.2 Monotheistic Worldviews ....................................................................................... 9 2.3 ANE, Greek, and Roman Myths .................................................................................. 10 2.3.1 Common Features in Pagan Beliefs ...................................................................... 10 2.3.1.1 Polytheism.................................................................................................... 10 2.3.1.2 Eternality of Matter ...................................................................................... 11 2.3.1.3 Poorly Behaved Gods .................................................................................. 11 2.3.1.4 Creation Starts with Conflict ....................................................................... 13 2.3.1.5 Humans as Second-Class Citizens ............................................................... 13 2.3.1.6 The Ongoing Cycle ...................................................................................... 15 2.3.2 How the Ancient Pagans Viewed Their Religions ............................................... 15 2.4 The Bible and Pagan Myths Compared ........................................................................ 17 2.4.1 Judeo-Christian Worldview vs. Pagan Worldview ............................................... 17 iii 2.4.1.1 Monotheism vs. Polytheism ......................................................................... 17 2.4.1.2 First Principle of Spirit vs. Matter ............................................................... 18 2.4.1.3 High vs. Low Views of Humanity ............................................................... 18 2.4.1.4 High vs. Low Views of Deity ...................................................................... 19 2.4.1.5 Linear vs. Cyclical Views of History ........................................................... 22 2.4.2 Biblical History vs. Pagan Myth ........................................................................... 23 2.4.3 New Testament Treatments of Myth .................................................................... 25 2.4.4 A Personal God vs. Personification ...................................................................... 30 2.5 Mythologizing Jesus ..................................................................................................... 30 2.5.1 The First Century to the Enlightenment................................................................ 31 2.5.2 Enter Rudolf Bultmann ......................................................................................... 33 2.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 34 3 The History of the Christ-Myth Theory ............................................................................... 36 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 36 3.2 Eighteenth-Century Mythicism .................................................................................... 36 3.2.1 Constantin Francois Volney (1757-1820) ............................................................. 36 3.2.2 Charles Francois Dupuis (1742-1809) .................................................................. 37 3.3 Nineteenth-Century Mythicism .................................................................................... 38 3.3.1 Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) ................................................................. 38 3.3.2 David Friedrich Strauss (1808-1874).................................................................... 40 3.3.3 Bruno Bauer (1809-1882) ..................................................................................... 42 3.3.4 Martin Kahler (1835-1912) ................................................................................... 43 iv 3.4 Twentieth-Century Mythicism ..................................................................................... 45 3.4.1 Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) ........................................................................... 45 3.4.2 John McKinnon Robertson (1856-1933) .............................................................. 46 3.4.3 Arthur Drews (1865-1935) ................................................................................... 47 3.4.4 Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) ............................................................................. 48 3.4.5 G. A. Wells (1926-2017) ...................................................................................... 50 3.5 Twenty-First Century Mythicism ................................................................................. 51 3.5.1 Robert Price (1954-) ............................................................................................. 51 3.5.2 Richard Carrier (1969-)......................................................................................... 52 3.5.3 D. M. Murdock (1960-2015) ................................................................................ 53 3.6 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 53 4 The Mythicist Case Against the Gospels ............................................................................. 54 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 54 4.2 The Problem of Miracles .............................................................................................. 54 4.2.1 Carrier’s Objections to Miracles ........................................................................... 54 4.2.2 Price’s Objections to Miracles .............................................................................. 55 4.2.2.1 Philosophical Objections ............................................................................. 55 4.2.2.2 Textual Objections ....................................................................................... 56 4.2.2.3 Tacitus and Josephus.................................................................................... 57 4.3 Doubts about Authorship .............................................................................................. 59 4.3.1 Too Late for Eyewitness Authorship .................................................................... 59 4.3.1.1 The Gospels and the Destruction of the Temple .......................................... 59 v 4.3.1.2 The Gospels and Events Long Ago ............................................................. 60 4.3.2 Unnamed Authors ................................................................................................. 61 4.3.3 Doubts about Papias .............................................................................................. 61 4.3.4 Doubts about Literacy ..........................................................................................
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