Since there remains much confusion about this artifact, I have updated my old article on the subject. Please feel free to pass it around or link it wherever you see a discussion of the shroud.

Is the Shroud of Turin Real?

I am delighted to announce that I have had an article published in a scholarly reader called Anahita: Ancient Persian Goddess and Zoroastrian Yazata, which contains the articles of many respected scholars in the field of history and Iranian studies. My article, "Was the Persian Goddess Anahita the Pre-Christian Virgin Mother of Mithra?," was closely read and edited by Iranian Oxford scholar Dr. Payam Nabarz.

From the book's promotion:

Anahita is a collection of academic papers, essays, artwork and prose.  You can find out more about this unique collection on the publishers website, http://www.avaloniabooks.co.uk - more information and pre-order information will soon be published. Until then, we leave you with this list of men and women who contributed to Anahita: Ancient Persian Goddess and Zoroastrian Yazata :

Contributors Biographies

Payam Nabarz is the editor of Mithras Reader An academic and religious journal of Greek, Roman, and Persian Studies, Volume 1 (2006), Volume 2 (2008), and Volume 3 (2010). He is author of number of related books, for further info visit: http://astore.amazon.co.uk/pan05-21

In Part 1 Academic Papers

Dr. Israel Campos Méndez is Assistant Professor in Ancient History at the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain). His lines of research are related to the History of Religion, and in particular to the Cult of Mithra in Ancient Iran and the Roman Empire. His PhD thesis was entitled: The God Mithra: Analysis of the processes of adjustment of his worship from the social, political and religious frame of the Ancient Iran to that of the Roman Empire. He has written two books in Spanish about the cult of Mithra in Ancient Persia, and many others papers and articles about the Zoroastrian Religion and the Mithraic Mysteries.

Kaveh Farrokh (PhD) is at University of British Columbia -Continuing Studies – History Lecturer, & Reader Head of Department of Traditions & Cultural History – WAALM School of Cultural Diplomacy (nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2011). He is a Member of Stanford University’s WAIS (World Association of International Studies) and Member of Iranian Studies for Hellenic-Iranian Studies.

Dr. Matteo Compareti studied oriental languages in the University of Venice and after graduation he obtained his PhD from the University of Naples, L’Orientale. He specializes in the art history of Iran and Central Asia. His latest publications are Samaracanda Centro del Mondo – Proposte di Lettura del Ciclo Pittorico di Afrasiyab, Minesis, (2010), and Iranians on the Silk Road: Merchants, Kingdoms and Religions by Touraj Daryaee, Khodadad Rezakhani, and Matteo Compareti, Publisher: Afshar Publishing, Beverly Hills, California (2010). He is an independent scholar not affiliated to any institution, Italian or foreign.

Sheda Vasseghi has a Masters in Ancient History – Persia and a Masters in Business Administration.  Ms. Vasseghi focuses on Iranian national identity.  Her special interest encompasses Iranian philosophy as it applies to modern day social, political and religious issues.  She believes history provides the answers to current problems, and lack of knowledge in the field leads to poor decision-making by citizens and policymakers.  Ms. Vasseghi is a regular contributor to political and history publications on Iran’s affairs.  She is an adjunct Professor of History at the Northern Virginia Community College.  Ms. Vasseghi is also on the Board of the Azadegan Foundation and a member of www.persepolis3D.com.

D.M. Murdock is an independent scholar of comparative religion and mythology, specializing in nature worship, solar mythology and astrotheology. An alumna of Franklin & Marshall College and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Greece, Murdock is the author of several controversial books about the origins and relationship of religious ideas dating back thousands of years to the earliest known evidence. Her work can be found at TruthBeKnown.com and StellarHousePublishing.com.

Sam Kerr is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (London) and of several Colleges of Surgery. A Zoroastrian by birth, he migrated to Australia in 1968. He was Surgeon/Lecturer at the University of New South Wales and its College Hospitals, Sydney, Australia from 1968 to 2003. He is now Emeritus Surgeon at the University and its College Hospitals.

Rahele Koulabadi, has an MA in Archaeology, and is based at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran.

Dr. Seyyed Rasool Mousavi Haji was born on December 30, 1967, in Savadkouh, Iran. He received his PhD in Archaeology in 2003 from Tarbiat Modarres University of Iran. He is teaching as an Associate Professor in the Archaeology Department in the University of Sistan and Baluchestan. He also is the Dean of the Faculty of Art and Architecture. He has published four books and several articles about the archaeology of the Sassanian and Islamic periods. His main fieldworks are: Archaeological survey in Sistan plain in 2007 and 2008, archaeological survey in Zahedane Kohne (capital of Sistan during 5 to 9 A. H.) in 2002 and excavation to estimate size of the Zahedane Kohne in 2007.

Morteza Ataie has an M.A. in Archaeology, and is based at the University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran.

Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology at Tarbiat Modares University.

Seyed Sadrudin Mosavi Jashni is an Assistant Professor in the Research Institute of Imam Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution.

Farhang Khademi Nadooshan is an Associate Professor in the Dept of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Hassan Nia is an academic member of the Islamic Azad University Savad Koh unit, Iran.

Masoud Sabzali is a Post graduate student, in the Dept of Archaeology, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

Dr. Masato Tōjō Born in Niigata City, Japan in 1957. Earned his PhD in Information Technology from the Dept. of Information Technology (now Information Science), Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo in 1985. Japanese committee member of ISO/IEC JTC1 SC18 WG9 from 1992 to 1996. Chairman of Mithraeum Japan (Founded in 1997). Author of books: Qewl – Holy Book of Mithra (MIIBOAT Books, 2006), Mithraic Theology (Kokushokankōkai, 1996), Dictionary of Gods of the World (Gakken, 2004), Esoteric Astrology of Mithraism (MIIBOAT Books, 1998), Let’s Read the Secret Doctrine (Shuppanshinsha, 2001), Encyclopedia of Tarot (Kokushokankōkai, 1994).

Behzad Mahmoudi is a Post Graduate student, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran.

Amir Mansouri is a Post Graduate student, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Iran.

Dr Kamyar Abdi is an Iranian archaeologist.  He received his M.A. from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of Chicago, and his PhD in Archaeology/Anthropology from the University of Michigan.

Dr Gholamreza Karamian is an Associate Professor at Dept of Archaeology, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran branch.

Saman Farzin M.A is based at Iranology Department of History, University of Shiraz, Iran.

Maryam Zour M.A. is based at Archaeology University of Sistan and Baluchistan Zahidan-Iran.

Babak Aryanpour M.A. is based at Iranology, University of Shiraz, Iran.

Reza MehrAfarin is an Associate Professor, University of Sistan & Baluchestan.

Partial Index

Part 1: Academic Papers 45

Anahita and Mithra in the Achaemenid Royal Inscriptions by Dr. Israel Campos Méndez 47
Exploring the Possibility of Relationships between the Iranian Goddess Anahita and the Dame du Lac of the Arthurian Legends by Kaveh Farrokh (PhD) 54
The Representation of Anahita in Sasanian Art: The Case of Taqi Bustan Rock Reliefs and Figurative Capitals by Dr. Matteo Compareti 87
Anahita and William Morris Hunt by Sheda Vasseghi 106
Was the Persian Goddess Anahita the Pre-Christian Virgin Mother of Mithra? by D.M. Murdock 115
An-ahit
m Purity undefiled - a primal spiritual tradition in the way of life among the Indo-Iranian peoples by Sam Kerr 140
Sasanian Rock Reliefs Attributed to Anahita by Rahele Koulabadi, Dr. Seyyed Rasool Mousavi Haji, Morteza Ataie 155
A New Look at the Sasanian Silver Ewer with Mythical Depictions by Rahele Koulabadi, Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Kouhpar, Morteza Ataie 193
Politics of hot and mineral springs and Anahita: A short study in Parthian and Sasanian period by Seyed Sadrudin Mosavi Jashni; Farhang Khademi Nadooshan; Hassan Nia; M Sabzali 221
Anahita's Water Ritual In Mahayana Buddhism by Dr. MasatoTojo 227
Sassanid stucco discovered in the Barz-e-qawela in Lorestan province of Iran by Behzad Mahmoudi, Amir Mansouri, Farhang Khademi Nadooshan 241
Review the role and importance of women in ancient Elam (According in archaeological and historical evidence) by Maryam Zour, Saman Farzin, Babak Aryanpour 258
Terrbal: Water or Fire Temple by Reza MehrAfarin 284

Further Reading

Mithra: Born on December 25th of a Virgin

I have returned from a marvelous trip to Mexico, where I spent 10 days amid Maya (and "Toltec") ruins in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo. The main archaeological site we visited repeatedly was Chichen Itza, a Maya site in the Late Classic period (c. 600-900 AD/CE) built over extensively during the later period of apparent Mexican influence that produced the merger between the serpent deities Kukulkan and Quetzalcoatl, the syncretized god whose worship became the central focus at Chichen. When we are discussing Mesoamerican culture, it is important to distinguish between the native Maya and the Mexicans, a distinction that became obvious to me during my journey. Another obvious distinction, of course, is that between the Maya and the even later Spanish conquerors.

I became acutely aware of the fact that, in addressing the Maya in their "own language" of Spanish, in fact we were using the tongue of the Conquistadores who had nearly sounded the death knell of Maya culture. Fortunately, all was not lost, and the Mayans are slowly regaining much of their original culture. In my presentation, I hoped to help them restore their roots, and I believe I was successful to a small but perhaps meaningful extent, as a Mayan elder who attended seemed very pleased with my emphasis of pre-Spanish Maya religion and mythology, with its focus on the "living cross," at once a very earthy and cosmic concept.

I will be putting together a DVD of my presentation, so I will not go into great detail here. One of my main thrusts is to show the pre-Columbian religion and mythology, with emphasis on parallels between Mesoamerican and other religions and mythologies. I focused on the pre-Maya Olmecs and pre-Toltec, pre-Spanish Maya, revealing that these peoples possessed some very important religious and mythological concepts that can be found in Christianity, among others, including the abundant use of the cross. To the Maya, the cross represented a number of germane theological ideas, including as a solar symbol, as well as symbolizing the Milky Way and the primordial World Tree.

Toltec or Maya?

The Maya beliefs regarding the cross also predate apparent influence by the Mexican peoples, who evidently brought with them into the later amalgam a more violent cult than that of the native Maya. While the Maya engaged in human sacrifice, their religious violence was more measured and not as extensive as that of Mexicans from the north and northwestern regions, who included the Toltecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs and Aztecs. The physical differences between the Mexicans and Maya are striking, with the former resembling the more northerly Native American tribes such as the Navajo or Apache, while the Maya are shorter people with more heart-shaped or round heads with sloping profiles, features one can still see abundantly in the villages of the Yucatan and Quintana Roo.

The Mexicans also emphasized more warlike animals, apparently bringing with them from the northern mountainous regions the cult of the eagle, as well as a seemingly more aggressive version of the jaguar cult. In the "Toltec" imagery that covers much of the famous site of Chichen Itza, for example, one sees fang-bearing jaguars and sharp-beaked eagles devouring hearts, while there is also a platform of the skulls where sacred ballgame "losers" were depicted by the dozens. The Mexican "cult of death" with its emphasis on skulls is obvious here, and one can find many skull replicas for sale by the countless friendly Maya vendors at Chichen Itza, for instance, as one runs the "one dollar-almost free" gauntlet that surrounds the massive site.

As concerns the purported "Toltec" influence at Chichen Itza, Mesoamerican anthropologist Dr. John Hoopes kindly has read this article and advised that the Toltec domination theory presented by some Chichen guides is considered "outdated." Although some scholars have abandoned the Toltec origin of the later facades at Chichen Itza, in their book Twin Tollans (262) art historians Drs. Jeff Karl Kowalski and Cynthia Kristan-Graham propose a "Tula-Chichen Itza collaboration" to explain the "Toltec" characteristics:

While many scholars now feel that the earlier Toltec conquest explanation for the correspondences between Chichen Itza and Tula is no longer persuasive, there is still compelling evidence that the Itza rulership of Chichen Itza did maintain ongoing elite-level contacts with the Toltec rulers of Tula at a time (the Terminal Classic through Early Postclassic periods) when both cities served as important regional capitals.... This Tula-Chichen Itza collaboration is reflected by their shared architectural, artistic and iconographic repertories, and by the probable introduction of new warrior orders and religious cults and ritual practices, particularly during the period after AD 900...

While it seems the Maya were not subjugated by the "Toltecs," the former apparently incorporated various Mexican elements into their conglomerative religious effort at Chichen Itza. This sort of syncretism can be explained by either invasion/domination or deliberate incorporation, over a period of years to centuries. It is possible that both factors were at work here, but the current guides at the site are definitely explaining the facades as Toltec, possibly through the employment of Toltec architects and builders.

From Kukulkan to Quetzalcoatl

The emphasis on the War Snake Kukulkan, expressly said to represent also the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl, is an important factor in surmising a Maya-Toltec collaboration or confederation. This cooperation includes an obvious signal to the Mexicans that they were being accepted, with the "Vatican" of the Maya world incorporating the then highly important Quetzalcoatl as a central focus in their main religious center, which possessed the largest sacred ballcourt in the Maya world. This confederation seems so obvious to scholars like Belgian professor Dr. Annie Dorsinfang-Smets that she speaks of "toltéco-maya" in reference to Chichen Itza. ("Les aspects multiples de Quetzalcoatl." Mélanges 3.48. ed. Armand Abel. Leiden: Brill, 1978)

In this regard, the rumors of Toltec influence appear in legends centuries old that depict a Toltec leader named Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, supposedly a more peaceful priest-king who stood against human sacrifice but who was opposed and left the land with a promise to return. Legend holds that this "peaceful" Quetzalcoatl migrated to the Chichen Itza area, but the facts indicate this purported era of Toltec influence was no improvement as concerns human sacrifice and violence. This tale of Quetzalcoatl's return led to the uncritical acceptance of the Spanish leader Cortez, presumed to be the prophesied "second coming," so to speak.

As concerns this puzzle of "Toltec" influence on the later edifices of Chichen Itza, Dr. Hoopes advises to look towards the massive pre-Classic and Early Classic Mexican site of Teotihuacan, where there is a "Feathered Serpent Pyramid" of the third century AD/CE that he states is "more similar to El Castillo than any other in Mesoamerica." Hoopes also states:

I'm skeptical of a strong Tula-Chichen connection and actually suspect influence trended to both Tula and Chichen from Teotihuacan, emphasized by later reconstructions at the hands of enthusiastic archaeologists. Teotihuacan is the key, but it's too often ignored. For ancient Mesoamerica, it was like Jerusalem, Rome, and Mecca all rolled into one.

In any event, we do find this "Toltec" or Teotihuacano influence at a later period, overlaying strictly Maya edifices and artifacts. It is interesting to note that, while the Aztecs used the term "Toltec" to denote anything ancient, the article on Teotihuacan at Wikipedia states that the Nahuatl word "Toltec" means "craftsman of the highest level," a term that in turn connotes a highly skilled mason.

Serpent and Turtle Cults

While, again, the Maya did engage in more limited religious violence such as human sacrifice and self-wounding, the Classic and pre-Classic Maya religion emphasized worldly and cosmic ideas outside of the human being. One such fascinating notion has to do with the esteem for serpents and turtles, the former of which, of course, can be fierce, like the jaguar and eagle, particularly as there are several poisonous species of snakes in the jungles of the Yucatan peninsula. (A jungle, by the way, that is very flat and extremely humid, two factors that likewise must be kept in mind when analyzing Maya culture.) One finds the serpent represented in many instances, both in the Maya and later Toltec/Aztec cultures, as it symbolizes, among other things, fertility, an all-important element of life to the ancients.

The turtle, however, is a far more peaceful creature, a delight of children everywhere, who rarely feel threatened by them, other than snapping turtles, naturally. In some instances, the turtle or tortoise - called áak in Maya and tortuga in Spanish - appears to have been combined with the serpent, possibly as at the great ballcourt at Chichen Itza. In traditional Maya cosmology, the turtle represents a sacred mound with a hole or crack in its shell, through which grows the World Tree. This motif connects the earth to the cosmos via the Milky Way. The First Father, Hun Hunahpu, also the solar maize god, is depicted as resurrecting through the turtle's split shell, like a seed giving birth to the world tree, which was represented by the local ceiba tree.

The turtle cult also apparently tied into the phallic cult, with the turtle's tail and head possessing a phallic appearance and attributes. At the pre-Classic and Classic site of Old Chichen Itza, occupied before the Toltec influence or incorporation, the Maya elite lived in luxury and evidently practiced the old blood-letting and sacrificial ritual of piercing their penises with stingray spines. This latter violent religious practice was apparently foremost at Old Chichen, as there is also an unusual temple there covered with phallic imagery.

In contrast to the more earthy, less violent and roundly softer Maya artifacts, the apparently Toltec-influenced buildings and imagery at the larger site of Chichen Itza are more angular and violent, again with depictions of jaguars and eagles devouring hearts, and the main temple of Kukulkan/Quetzalcoatl eventually becoming the site of tremendous carnage, with many thousands sacrificed upon its summit, their bodies thrown down its extraordinarily constructed and ordered sides.

Chichen Itza at Solstice 2012

In my journey with Power Places Tours, I spent several hours over a period of some days at Chichen Itza, including as one of only a few groups allowed on the site a couple of hours before the gates were opened to the public on December 21st, the day of the winter solstice. We were fortunate to be standing right below the south corner of the enormous Quetzalcoatl temple, also called "El Castillo," as the sun rose at the temple's eastern alignment. It was a glorious moment, as one imagined oneself to be on the same spot occupied by Mayans and Mexicans a thousand and more years ago, greeting the solar orb and sun god as he rose to bring his soothing light and life-giving rays to the world.

As we stood in front of the temple at 6:00 AM or so, with our arms raised or in other positions, we could hear entering the site a procession consisting of Mexican dancers in feathered costumes with drums and bells. This group, also wearing red headbands and various artifacts indicating animals such as eagles, jaguars and serpents, spent some hours dancing and singing, with many foreigners looking on and participating. What was very striking about this group of ritual dancers and musicians is that they were clearly not Maya; nor were their practices. They appeared to be the descendants of Toltecs or other Mexicans, originally from the north and northwest regions. They were much taller, with angular faces, and their costumes and music were similar to those of the Native American tribes of Navajos, Apaches, Comanches or others. While I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, I found it unfortunate that most tourists will come away with the impression that what they had witnessed and participated in was Maya, when it was not.

Maya Language

Moreover, there appeared to be no real Maya ceremony other than the relatively small one by the Maya elder who accompanied us, Hunbatz Men. I also found it disturbing that these ritual performers sang in Spanish, the language of the conquerors, this latter fact I had remarked upon to a taxi driver as I arrived initially in Cancun. Everywhere we turned, of course, including on the Mexican currency, we found Spanish, and I longed continually to hear and see more Maya. In this regard, whenever we were serenaded by Maya guitar-players and singers, I requested songs in Maya, with which our amicable hosts happily complied. In this way, and by virtue of the Mayan elder who accompanied us, as well as the numerous vendors at various sites, I learned a few germane bits of Maya, such as áak for "turtle," pek for "dog," balam for "jaguar," ch'en for "spring" or "well," ol for "heart" or "spirit," uh for "moon," malo-kim for "good morning" (lit. "good sun"), while I already knew that kin meant "sun" and that ek meant "star" and "Venus" but also apparently "darkness," as in the starry night. It should be noted that there are several Maya dialects, and it is curious that the Yucatec word for "hole" is hool and interesting that the words for "bee" and "earth" are pronounced the same: chab or kab.

In any event, there is much more to this subject, a significant amount of which will be included in my forthcoming DVD.

Further Reading

Preclassic Maya Funerary Patterns in Northern Belize (e.g., cross imagery)
World Tree as Milky Way growing out of the back of a turtle
A Basic English-Yucatec Mayan Dictionary
Why do the Maya believe Christ is the sun?
Jesus as the Sun throughout History
2012: A New Beginning
Our Lord and Savior Quetzalcoatl
Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan and Christ
Maya watchtowers discovered to align with solstices and equinoxes
December 21, 2012 is coming - are we all going to die?
The Mayans and the Milky Way (radio program)
Astronomers catalogue 84 million stars from a new image of our Milky Way galaxy
The 2013 Astrotheology Calendar: The Wonders of the Milky Way
Parallels between Mesoamerican and Middle Eastern/Egyptian Religion and Mythology

Welcome to the Planet of the Apes.

"Nearly half (47%) of the countries and territories in the world have laws or policies that penalize blasphemy, apostasy (abandoning one's faith) or defamation."

47% - Laws Against Blasphemy, Apostasy and Defamation of Religion Are Widespread

...Laws against defamation of religion were far more common worldwide than laws against blasphemy and apostasy. They were most prevalent in Europe, where 36 of the region's 45 countries (80%) had such laws or policies in 2011. In most of these countries, these laws tended to penalize religious hate speech rather than defamation of religion.

Anti-blasphemy laws are particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa; 13 of the 20 countries in that region (65%) make blasphemy a crime. In the Asia-Pacific region, nine of the 50 countries (18%) had anti-blasphemy laws in 2011, while in Europe such laws were found in eight out of 45 countries (18%).

Measures against apostasy were in effect in more than half the countries in the Middle East-North Africa region (11 of 20, or 55%) as well as in five of the 50 countries in the Asia-Pacific region (10%) and four of the 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (8%).

"In a range of other countries - such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan - publication of atheist or humanist views on religion are totally banned or strictly limited under laws prohibiting 'blasphemy.'"

Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination

GENEVA (Reuters) - Atheists and other religious skeptics suffer persecution or discrimination in many parts of the world and in at least seven nations can be executed if their beliefs become known, according to a report issued on Monday.

The study, from the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), showed that "unbelievers" in Islamic countries face the most severe - sometimes brutal - treatment at the hands of the state and adherents of the official religion.

But it also points to policies in some European countries and the United States which favor the religious and their organizations and treat atheists and humanists as outsiders.

The report, "Freedom of Thought 2012", said "there are laws that deny atheists' right to exist, curtail their freedom of belief and expression, revoke their right to citizenship, restrict their right to marry."

"Other laws 'obstruct their access to public education, prohibit them from holding public office, prevent them from working for the state, criminalize their criticism of religion, and execute them for leaving the religion of their parents.'"

The report was welcomed by Heiner Bielefeldt, United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, who said in a brief introduction there was little awareness that atheists were covered by global human rights agreements.

The IHEU - which links over 120 humanist, atheist and secular organizations in more than 40 countries - said it was issuing the report to mark the U.N.'s Human Rights Day on Monday.

According to its survey of some 60 countries, the seven where expression of atheist views or defection from the official religion can bring capital punishment are Afghanistan, Iran, Maldives, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

The 70-page report lists no recent cases of actual execution for "atheism" -- but researchers say the offence is often subsumed into other charges.

In a range of other countries - such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and Jordan - publication of atheist or humanist views on religion are totally banned or strictly limited under laws prohibiting "blasphemy".

In many of these countries, and others like Malaysia, citizens have to register as adherents of a small number officially-recognized religions -- which normally include no more than Christianity and Judaism as well as Islam.

"Atheists and humanists are thereby forced to lie to obtain their official documents without which it is impossible to go to university, receive medical treatment, travel abroad or drive."

In Europe, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin and North America, countries which identify themselves secular give privileges to or favor Christian churches in providing education and other public services, the IHEU said.

In Greece and Russia, the Orthodox Church is fiercely protected from criticism and is given pride of place on state occasions, while in Britain bishops of the Church of England have automatic seats in the upper house of parliament.

While freedom of religion and speech is protected in the United States, the report said, a social and political climate prevails "in which atheists and the non-religious are made to feel like lesser Americans, or non-Americans."

"In at least seven U.S. states, constitutional provisions are in place that bar atheists from public office and one state, Arkansas, has a law that bars an atheist from testifying as a witness at a trial, the report said."

Further Reading

IHEU report highlights discrimination against atheists
Study: Atheists Most Discriminated Minority
Proper Definition & Meaning of 'Atheist'
Why I Am a Mythicist
The Mythicist Challenge Petition

By Tawfik Hamid
www.tawfikhamid.com

The recent violence that erupted in Cairo was an inevitable result of the recent illegal declaration by President Morsi. This declaration essentially concentrated all governmental powers (executive, legislative, and judicial) in his own hands. This dictatorial act, which is eerily reminiscent of the Nazi power grab in 1930s Germany, has created a new reality that needs to be addressed by U.S. policy makers.

"Many Egyptians now strongly believe that the U.S. is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood's attempt to enforce an Islamist agenda on the country. Some people in Egypt also wonder why the U.S. so quickly supported the removal of Mubarak while he was not against U.S. interests in the region."

Many Egyptians now strongly believe that the U.S. is supporting the Muslim Brotherhood's (MB) attempt to enforce an Islamist agenda on the country.

Some people in Egypt also wonder why the U.S. so quickly supported the removal of Mubarak while he was not against U.S. interests in the region.

The answer to this question in the mind of many Egyptians is either that the U.S. really wants democracy in the region or that the U.S. believes that the MB will advance U.S. interests more than Mubarak.

If democracy is the genuine aim of the U.S., Egyptians are wondering why the U.S. administration is not standing unequivocally against Morsi's tyrannical and anti-democratic decree. In fact, Egyptians are quite reasonably wondering just how the U.S. administration expects the MB to advance U.S. interests more than Mubarak, especially in light of their performance to date. Some of the MB actions that appear to be rather incompatible with, if not injurious to U.S. interests include, for example, releasing the Jihadists from prisons, allowing Hamas radicals into Sinai, and suppressing women rights - as evidenced in the released draft of the new constitution.

"Some of the MB actions that appear to be rather incompatible with, if not injurious to U.S. interests include, for example, releasing the Jihadists from prisons, allowing Hamas radicals into Sinai, and suppressing women rights - as evidenced in the released draft of the new constitution."

The recent violence in Cairo poured more salt in the wound.

Not only did President Morsi do nothing to prevent his supporters from shutting the Egyptian Supreme Court, and blocking the judges from entering it. He (or at least his supporters and the MB leadership) also encouraged a violent Islamist response to otherwise peaceful protests in front of the presidential palace. As a result, Islamists actually declared Jihad on the anti-Morsi camps-spreading their poisonous agenda through social media and comments on mainstream Arabic media. Pro-Morsi Islamists thus justified waging holy war on the opposition. Thousands of Islamists wielding makeshift weapon-and even guns-poured into the streets of Cairo to brutally attack the liberal groups who were peacefully demonstrating in front of the presidential palace. Several liberal demonstrators were killed and hundreds were seriously injured, while the few police on the scene did nothing.

"Many moderate Egyptians believe that Morsi ought to join Mubarak in prison, and for precisely the same crime: failure to protect innocent demonstrators."

Many moderate Egyptians believe that Morsi ought to join Mubarak in prison, and for precisely the same crime: failure to protect innocent demonstrators. Mubarak was guilty of this during the January 25 Revolution; Morsi is guilty of it now with the current Jihad against his peaceful detractors

It is also important to mention that following the vicious attack on the peaceful anti-Morsi demonstrators, at least seven of President Morsi's top advisors have resigned in protest. They hold him responsible for this heinous crime against the liberal Egyptian opposition.

"While most Egyptians regarded the U.S. as the champion of democracy and freedom during the initial stages of the Jan 25 Revolution, most now regard the U.S. as a supporter of a bloodthirsty Islamo-fascist dictator. The U.S. needs to correct this image immediately."

While most Egyptians regarded the U.S. as the champion of democracy and freedom during the initial stages of the Jan 25 Revolution, most now regard the U.S. as a supporter of a bloodthirsty Islamo-fascist dictator. The U.S. needs to correct this image immediately, before the perception materializes into actions against U.S. interests in the region. This is a serious issue, especially in light of the fact that 68% of Egyptians[i] chose secular candidates in the first round of the presidential election, while Morsi only got 25% of the vote. This seems to suggest that the new constitution of the country-prepared mainly by Islamists-does NOT in fact represent of the will of the masses in Egypt.

The U.S. needs to remind the Egyptians that they - NOT the U.S. - chose Morsi in the final round of the elections (which Morsi won with 51% of the votes, according to official government estimates). In other words, the U.S. needs to shift the blame to those Egyptians who boycotted the elections or those who chose Morsi only to settle scores with Shafik. Failure to improve the tarnished U.S. image at this stage is deleterious to the already ineffective U.S. efforts to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world.

President Morsi's most recent address to the Egyptian people was utterly counterproductive. He placed all the blame on the shoulders of the opposition, rather than admitting to the obvious reality that it was his power grab, his supporters and his inaction that brought all this bloodshed to the streets of Cairo.

"Any U.S. support for the Morsi government at this stage will not only allow an Islamist dictator to rule the country against the will of most of its people, but will also damage the U.S. image and will turn most of the Egyptians against its interests."

Any U.S. support for the Morsi government at this stage will not only allow an Islamist dictator to rule the country against the will of most of its people, but will also damage the U.S. image and will turn most of the Egyptians against its interests. Ironically, given popular resentment of U.S. intervention in Egypt, standing clearly against Morsi may actually improve his image in the country. The U.S. needs to go beyond individuals and simply stand strongly behind the principle of separation of powers as a basic democratic value. On this account, Morsi's dictatorial policies are as bad as -if not much worse than-Mubarak's. In fact, perhaps pointing to the parallels between Morsi and Mubarak policies is one of few ways that the U.S. can stand against Morsi while not improving his image in the country. The U.S. also needs to support a constitution for the country that represents the secular opposition to Morsi - who are at least 68% of the population, as clearly seen in the first round of election results.

"The U.S. needs to go beyond individuals and simply stand strongly behind the principle of separation of powers as a basic democratic value. The U.S. also needs to support a constitution for the country that represents the secular opposition to Morsi - who are at least 68% of the population, as clearly seen in the first round of election results."

To conclude, the U.S. is currently at a critical crossroad in the future of the region and the expansion of Islamist fascism. If the Islamists succeed in crushing the moderate opposition in Egypt, then the U.S. will be faced with the prospect of Egypt potentially becoming the equivalent of a Sunni Iran in the region. On the other hand, if the moderates gain the upper hand and succeed in toppling the Islamist regime and start building a better Egypt, then this will be a historical blow to Islamists everywhere. Just like Tunisia did for the Arab spring, Egypt will give hope to moderates and will put the Islamists in jeopardy in places like Iran, Somalia, and especially Morsi's friends in Gaza. The Arab spring can just as quickly turn into the Islamists fall.

"The Arab spring can just as quickly turn into the Islamists fall."

Dr. Tawfik Hamid (aka Tarek Abdelhamid), is an Islamic thinker and reformer, and one time Islamic extremist from Egypt. He was a member of a terrorist Islamic organization Jammaa Islameia (Egypt) with Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became later on the second in command of Al-Qaeda. Dr. Hamid is currently a Senior Fellow and Chair of the study of Islamic Radicalism at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in the United States. His website can be found at www.TawfikHamid.com.

A very interesting motif exists in mythology from Mexico to New York and Canada: The World Tree and the turtle. In Maya mythology, the First Father or Hun Hunahpu as the Maize God is depicted as emerging or resurrecting through the shell of a turtle, symbolizing the earth. This reborn or resurrected figure is also solar, associated later with the feathered serpent, Quetzalcoatl/Kukulkan who is the morning star/Venus, as well as possessing many solar attributes. The motif symbolizes the solar "awakening" of the all-important and sacred maize shoot from the seed. This plant represents the World Tree, which is in turn the Milky Way in Mesoamerican mythology.

Far away in what is now New York and Canada, Native Americans of the Oneida tribe were depicting the sun at the top of a world tree growing out of the back of a turtle, while America itself was considered to be "Turtle Island."

Interestingly, in Hindu mythology, the solar god Vishnu is portrayed as standing on the back of a turtle (himself) while churning the Milky Way using a serpent wrapped around the World Mountain (Mandara).

The Milky Way with the Maya World Tree superimposed on it, as the Maya viewed it. This configuration is the Place of Creation. The tree sits on the back of "the turtle of rebirth," represented by three stones, which symbolize the stars in Orion's belt.

"Clearly Orion was the turtle from which the Maize God rose in his resurrection (Fig. 2:17). The Milky Way rearing above the turtle had to be the Maize God appearing in his tree form as he does on the Tablet of the Foliated Cross at Palenque." (Freidel, Maya Cosmos, 82-83)

For more information about Milky Way (and World Tree) myths, see The 2013 Astrotheology Calendar.

About a decade ago, I wrote a harsh review of a book called The Christ Conspiracy by one Acharya S. The book set forth the Christ Myth theory, of which I am also an adherent, but it took a very different approach. I felt the need to distance myself from her work lest I be painted with the same broad brush that tarred her in many quarters—and still does. This review, I am sorry to say, caused Acharya considerable sorrow and trouble.

Some years ago, I happened to get in contact with her via an e-mail we both received on a list from a mutual acquaintance. Actually, Acharya contacted me, commenting that she was surprised I seemed somewhat open to changing my mind on a certain point that had also come up in my review of her book. I took advantage of this friendly feeler to join in conversation with her, to clear up a couple of misunderstandings, and, most of all, to apologize for the anguish I had caused her. I did not retract any critical judgments I had made of her work, but I was very sorry to have caused her such pain. Acharya was quite forgiving, and we have become friends. Since that time, a number of people, some of whom hold critical opinions closer to mine, have expressed astonishment, even anger, that I removed my review of her The Christ Conspiracy from my website. I withdrew from the chorus of denunciations of my new friend. Why? And have I come to recant my criticisms?

I disliked what I deemed the militantly anti-Christian tone of the book and considered it a sign of adolescent or village atheist behavior (not that my own writings are always without it!). Now I think such things are utterly beside the point. It is the content that matters. Plus, she no longer writes with such evident and understandable rage. If it was immature to begin with, she has matured since then. (I hope I have, too!)

There were a number of issues she mentioned in a kind of too-encyclopedic survey approach, speculations about the Masons, ancient civilizations (a la Colin Wilson, whom I also know and much respect), and the like. I still think these matters did not belong in the same book with her Christ Myth arguments. They are entirely unrelated questions, and I have no expertise at all in evaluating them. Still don't. I should have ignored them in my review, and I do not care what she may believe about these things now. The beliefs of devout Christian scholars (e.g., Joachim Jeremias, T.W. Manson, and Vincent Taylor) do not make me hesitate to learn from their work, and it should be no different with Acharya. And, in case you had not noticed, all such issues are absent from her subsequent, much more tightly focused books such as Suns of God and Christ in Egypt.

Astrotheology of the Ancients

To me, the most interesting aspect of Acharya's work is her pursuit of old, now ignored theories by comparative religionists and mythologists suggesting that Christianity embodies a perennial theology of the heavenly bodies, their motion and the common reflection of this astrotheology in the myths of all nations. The implications of this theory led its advocates to draw parallels between New Testament mythemes and those gathered from much farther afield, e.g., Hindu, Mexican, Egyptian and Chinese religion. This was the approach taken by the Christ Mythicists of past generations, including James M. Robertson and Kersey Graves. I find that such multiplication of supposed parallels reaped from so wide a field tends to deflate the value of closer, more easily demonstrable parallels between Christianity and historically, geographically adjacent phenomenon like Gnosticism and the Mystery Religions. Acharya's approach seems to me to make everything tantamount to everything else. I still have this hesitancy and prefer to argue from within a narrower framework. But this isn't much of a criticism. And if it is, let me mitigate my criticism in two ways.

First, Acharya has made me rethink the astrotheology business. Ignaz Goldziher had already convinced me of the propriety of F. Max Müller's (now unfashionable) "solar mythology" hermeneutic: that many Old Testament (and maybe even New Testament) figures began their narrative lives as fictive personifications of the heavenly bodies. Samson, Elijah, Enoch, Esau, Moses were plainly, like Hercules, Mithras and Apollo, sun gods. So it is no great leap to trace at least some prominent features of the Jesus myth to solar faith.

And how else do we explain the occurrence of the cross as a religious symbol all over the ancient world unless it was based on something all races had access to: the phenomena of the night sky? Makes sense!

I took issue with some of her older sources, where she found claims of icons and effigies of crucified gods or heroes, alleged to be Krishna or Indra. I still think the evidence is sketchy, but it has to be explained some way. There must be something going on there, as when we discover nearly identical bas reliefs featuring a horned man in the lotus position, surrounded by forest animals—in both India and Ireland!

Primary Sources

Second, my criticisms and others in the same vein seem to have sent Acharya back to the drawing board, determined to unpack and display the evidence for parallel cases of solar symbols and mythology shared between Christianity and other religions. She has delved into the arguments of the old Mythicists to ferret out their sources and how they formed their opinions. I love this history of scholarship approach, and the most interesting part of my original review to write was a similar investigation of the alleged parallels and the evidence cited by these old scholars. The variety of old, now-ignored sources, on the fringe of the better-known Higher Criticism, was fascinating, too, and it was Acharya's use of them that introduced me to much of this material. I am grateful. But my point here is that Acharya is no longer uncritical about these old authors, if she ever was.

I find the books of Acharya S/D.M. Murdock to be researched in amazing depth, comprehensive with a scope that fairly makes my head spin, and written blessedly without the stuffy technical jargon present in much mainstream scholarship. Is she "reduced" to publishing her own books? So what? So was Hume.

I am very glad to call her a friend. I admire her work and learn from it. And if that were not so, I wouldn't lie about it just because we are friends. I am very sorry I once vilified her, and I wish that anyone associated with me would stop vilifying her, too. Grow up. If you reject her thinking on this or that point, fine. There's no need to get nasty about it.

Response to Robert M. Price by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S

Many thanks to my wise and classy friend Bob Price for his ongoing interest and inspiration. His original criticisms did cause difficulties for me, not necessarily because of perceived and correctable errors but because of the viciousness with which my critics jumped upon them and pilloried me relentlessly across the internet and beyond. In any event, as Bob notes, I have spent the past decade+ backing up many of my major and minor contentions, as well as citing various errata and issues that have developed since that time.

Righteous Indignation at Atrocity and Deceit

As concerns the tone of my first book The Christ Conspiracy (1999), I doubt that anything I wrote therein - the vast bulk of which was factual and not vitriolic in the least - ranks as any more "immature" than a good Christopher Hitchens rant. As a woman, I continue to be perturbed by the destruction of women's spirituality that has resulted in an incredible amount of abuse and suffering heaped upon females. As a human being, I remain disturbed by the blatant injustice in having a deleterious hoax thrust upon humanity that has resulted in bloody atrocity and tremendous destruction globally.

In my forthcoming second edition of The Christ Conspiracy, I don't know that I will lessen all of the "anti-Christian" sentiment, as most of it is directed at Christian institutions and a few individuals I continue to maintain were very unpleasant, such as the early Church fathers, who castigated and pummeled their opponents with more calumny than I could muster in a dozen lifetimes. Nor could my brief ranting approach anything like the horrors of the Inquisition, witch burnings, pogroms against "Christ-killing" Jews, invasions of foreign lands and the slaughter of millions in the name of Jesus Christ. I began my book with exposure of these atrocities, and, yes, I do believe a modicum of irritation at such a legacy is appropriate. As is my personal annoyance at having been fooled by an ideology - I was raised a Protestant and briefly became a born-again Christian many years ago - which involves rabid misogyny, sexism and derogation of my gender. This denigration of the female permeates the Bible, and trying to fit into the subservient position laid out therein, when such subjugation is based on falsehood and myth, should make anyone angry.

Over the years since I've been online, beginning in 1995, I have heard from many people who are likewise angry at having been defrauded, wasted their lives, alienated themselves from the rest of humanity, parted with a significant portion of their income, and all the rest of the trappings associated with being a regular church-going devotee. In this regard, not a few people have thanked me for the caustic bite now and again. As is said, one doesn't run from a menacing dog - one must shake a big stick at it and shout for it to go away.

In any event, I should add that I have never claimed for myself the epithet of "atheist," or "theist" for that matter, so my work is not a reflection of a "village atheist," whatever that may be. I am a person who was once deceived but who can now see. I prefer the moniker of "freethinker," so that I may be able to think freely in any given moment. But, again, I highly doubt that my relatively few zingers directed at this abusive ideology compare to the stark and often shrill arguments against Christianity by the vast atheistic cacophony of Dawkinsians and Hitchenites, et al.

Masonry and Avocation Cults

As concerns the more speculative and esoteric aspects of my first book, such as my discussion of masonry, there remains much to be considered, including the fact that mason cults can be found all over the world, along with carpenter cults (Nazarenes), smithy cults (Hephaistos), undertaker cults (Mithraism), merchant cults (Pochteca), farmer/planter cults (Mesoamerican), seamen cults (Poseidon/Neptune), hunter cults (Artemis/Diana, Mixcoatl) and so on, with virtually every occupation and vocation, including and especially masonry. Wherever there is a religious building in stone, you will find the product of a cult engaged with masonry, and Christianity with its "cornerstone that the builders have rejected" is little different. (Matthew 21:42)

In this regard, it was the great freethinker Thomas Paine who linked Christianity, Masonry and the sun, in an essay I included in Christ Conspiracy entitled "Origin of Freemasonry":

The Christian religion and Masonry have one and the same common origin: Both are derived from the worship of the Sun. The difference between their origin is, that the Christian religion is a parody on the worship of the Sun, in which they put a man whom they call Christ, in the place of the Sun, and pay him the same adoration which was originally paid to the Sun...

Paine continues in his discussion of Christianity and Masonry, and it is difficult to ignore his commentary. (See my ebook Jesus Christ: Mason of God for scriptural and other evidence of the masonic imagery and influence within the Bible and Christianity. See also my ebook Jesus as the Sun throughout History.)

Global Comparative Religion

It should be noted that, for the second edition of Christ Con, I have removed the chapter, "Evidence of an Ancient Global Civilization." Not at all entirely unrelated to the quest of Christian origins, this "global civilization" chapter remains very important in the studies of comparative religion and mythology worldwide, as my work since then has demonstrated. This subject deserves a monograph of its own, using the most modern research and data, including a more scientific and sophisticated analysis based on discoveries since the first publication in 1999.

Charles Dupuis and Classical Education

Regarding the astrotheological origins of much religious and mythological ideation, I hark back to one of the earliest mythicist scholars in a modern Western language, Charles Dupuis (1742-1809). In his multivolume composition in French, Origine de tous les cultes ou religion universelle or Origin of All Cults or Universal Religion, the extremely erudite Dupuis laid out the numerous parallels between ancient religions and Christianity, and he showed where they come from and what they mean. Dupuis was followed by many learned scholars writing on these subjects, such as Volney and Taylor. (Heck, even Thomas Jefferson got in on the action, translating Volney's Ruines into English.)

These earlier scholars in Europe and America were very well educated in Classics, Roman and Greek Civilizations, and they were fluent and well read in Greek and Latin, as well as European languages. When they cited their contentions, these sources were so well known that the authors often assumed their equally erudite audience would know them already. We are discussing an age, of course, when in general only the elite were able to afford such an education, and the whole conversation took place in the hallowed halls of academia, as well as among clergy, rulers, kings, politicians and so on. The masses were largely left out of the equation.

Today we find a similar situation, in that relatively few people are educated in the Classics and can read Greek and Latin. I am one of these few, so I am able to drill down from where these earlier pioneers had led us, to bring forth their evidences, which, again, they had right in front of them because everyone was reading them at the time. Indeed, for centuries Classics was the education many academics pursued, and one could hardly be considered learned without it. All Churchmen of any worth studied the ancient Greek and Roman classical writers. They knew this material very well, and many of them contributed to the mythicist literature, as they came across startling similarities and disturbing developments.

Using these sources, Dupuis was able to follow the dots and tie everything together - astonishingly, his work remains quite valid in many ways, and that fact is because he used valid primary sources from antiquity. In my first book, I did not consider that so many people would be unfamiliar with the sources that I was indirectly citing by quoting these later authorities. Hence, I did not dig down and include all of them in my first effort, which did not benefit at the time from the immense current reach of the internet but was limited largely to books at hand.

I have spent the past more than a decade finding and providing these numerous primary sources in a wide variety of languages dating back to the remotest ages. As I have demonstrated in these later works, most of Christ Con is sustainable through ancient sources or erudite exegesis. Hence, one need not resort to any of these authors found objectionable whom I cited previously, albeit for the most part they themselves have been the subject of undue calumny, as I have essentially proved in the case of Gerald Massey, for example. (See Christ in Egypt.)

Universal Archetypes and Patterns

Concerning the numerous parallels between Christianity and other religions, since Bob's piece was written, I have continued to bring forth the research which shows these similarities to be real and significant, in both hemispheres of the world. (See "Why do the Maya believe Jesus is the sun?" as but one example of numerous such analyses.) These patterns or archetypes can be explained in a few ways: 1. They are shared between cultures (diffusionism); 2. They are part of the mass human psyche and develop independently (isolationism); and 3. They are a combination of both. This debate requires a great deal of space and figures significantly in my "global civilization" or "lost religion" research previously discussed.

These patterns unquestionably are based on nature worship and, significantly, astrotheology, which is simply astronomy and religion combined, the exact formula we find all over the world, in countless human artifacts, including massive pyramids, temple complexes, statuary, wall carvings and hieroglyphs, as well as, most importantly here, myths galore. Here is a major reason the commonalities exist: Because we can all see the sun, moon, stars and various constellations from different parts of the world. We all feel the wind and thrive on the same things, such as food and water. I am interested in this underlying archetype and its numerous expressions worldwide. This pattern or archetype jumps out at one from the pages of the Bible as well, both Old and New Testaments.

Crosses and Cruciforms

Regarding the widespread and ancient motif of gods on crosses or in cruciform, in my book Christ in Egypt I discuss the solar deity Horus with wings outstretched and as a forerunner of the Gnostic figure of Horos-Stauros or "Boundary-Cross." As I explain in CIE, the antiquity of Horos and Stauros as pre-Christian philosophical concepts, as well as this idea of deity in cruciform, can be found in Plato (Timaeus 35 A-36 D). Gnostic expert Jean Doresse discusses this Platonic passage thus:

…Plato imagines the creation by the Demiurge of the circles of "the same" and of "the other"—i.e., of the celestial equator and of the ecliptic intersecting in the form of a cross. Taking over this notion, the Gnostics saw this imaginary cross, traced upon the celestial vault which is the utmost bound of our eyesight, as "the limit" separating the higher universe from the material world in which we are confined. A Christian interpretation of this idea, analogous to that which Valentinus develops, is already to be found in the Apology of St. Justin (I. 60) who puts it this way—"Plato with a cross upon the universe."

The original in Plato is as follows (Tim 35a, 36b):

Midway between the Being which is indivisible and remains always the same and the Being which is transient and divisible in bodies, He blended a third form of Being compounded out of the twain, that is to say, out of the Same and the Other; and in like manner He compounded it midway between that one of them which is indivisible and that one which is divisible in bodies. And He took the three of them, and blent [sic] them all together into one form, by forcing the Other into union with the Same, in spite of its being naturally difficult to mix....

Next, He split all this that He had put together into two parts lengthwise; and then He laid the twain one against the other, the middle of one to the middle of the other, like a great cross...

In his book The Spirit of Liturgy (180), Cardinal Ratzinger, the current pope, explains further:

The Fathers belonging to the Greek cultural world were more directly affected by another discovery. In the writings of Plato, they found the remarkable idea of a cross inscribed upon the cosmos (cf Timaeus 34ab and 36bc). Plato took this from the Pythagorean tradition, which in its turn had a connection with the traditions of the ancient East. First, there is an astronomical statement about the two great movements of the stars with which ancient astronomy was familiar: the ecliptic (the great circle in the heavens along which the sun appears to run its course) and the orbit of the earth. These two intersect and form together the Greek letter Chi, which is written in the form of a cross (like an X). The sign of the cross is inscribed upon the whole cosmos. Plato, again following more ancient traditions, connected this with the image of the deity: the Demiurge (the fashioner of the world) "stretched out" the world soul "throughout the whole universe."

"Plato took this [idea of a cosmic cross] from the Pythagorean tradition, which in its turn had a connection with the traditions of the ancient East."

As we know, rumor had it antiquity that Pythagoras traveled to India, which is likely the "ancient East" where he procured this notion of a cosmic cross. This cosmic concept also exists independently and significantly in Mesoamerica, where crosses were so abundant and so much a part of Maya religion, for example, that the invading Spaniards were completely flummoxed by their existence and meaning. As it turns out, the Mesoamerican crosses are permeated with meaning, as they are considered representative of the sun, the cosmos, the Milky Way, the World Tree, the king, sacrifice, resurrection, immortality, the afterlife, salvation and practically everything Christianity likewise attributes to its cross. My argument, of course, is that the Christian cross is a very pale imitation of the earlier and more cosmic "pagan" cross. The Maya usage of the cross essentially proves this fact.

Moreover, the Mesoamerican cross itself was viewed as alive, so it too represented a divine figure in cruciform, an idea we discover, in reality, in numerous places, such as demonstrated in my forum post here: "Cruciforms/Gods on Crosses." One usage of cruciform gods and goddesses is over doorways, while another is in crossroads. Both of these uses are logical and undeniable, and this tradition must be very old, found in India and elsewhere, whether or not as concerns Krishna per se. (In Suns of God, I included a lengthy chapter entitled, "Krishna Crucified?" which traces the history of this contention and discusses the pre-Christian motif of deities on crosses or in cruciform.)

Regarding me having my own publishing company, it was a logical choice, as there is no real industry that deals well with mythicist literature; hence, I have created my own. My publishing company is not limited to my own works, as I have also edited and published a fabulous book by the great mythicist Barbara G. Walker, Man Made God, and there are several others that I hope to have time for, including of the Buddhist mythicist school as well as, hopefully, something by Bob Price!

All of this being said, I thank Bob Price for taking the time to prod me in the right direction, as his criticisms and input have not gone ignored. I consider him a friend, colleague and muse in a shared endeavor to raise up this fascinating debate and the colorful cornucopia and unifying undercurrent it exposes, to the world's great benefit.

Further Information

Robert M. Price's website
D.M. Murdock with Robert Price on Point of Inquiry Radio
Did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson Believe Jesus was a Myth?
Jesus as the Sun throughout History
Why do the Maya believe Jesus is the sun?
Jesus Christ, Mason of God
Astrotheology of the Ancients
Gods on Crosses and in Cruciform

What Pat says here.

A debate at New York University on October 25, 2012 between FTN guestwriter Farhan Qureshi, an ex-Muslim, and Christian apologist David Wood.

As are the rest of this cast of characters. Sounds like the pope took a swig of truth serum recently. He has also admitted the dating of 0 AD/CE does not represent the "real" year of Christ's birth. What is the world coming to? Next he'll be calling Christ the "Sun of Righteousness." (Mal 4:2)

Nativity donkeys and cattle are a myth, says Pope

With just over a month to go before Christmas, the Pope has declared that the presence of animals like cattle and donkeys in traditional Nativity scenes is based on little more than a myth....

Jesus was born years earlier than thought, claims Pope

The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed....

"The whole idea of celebrating his birth during the darkest part of the year is probably linked to pagan traditions and the winter solstice."

Basically, the pope has just admitted Jesus wasn't born in 0 AD/CE and the nativity scene is fake. That's two mythicist premises down - many more to go!

One must ask, of course, why the pope needs to cite scholarly consensus when raising the issue of Jesus's alleged birth date - has not God, the Holy Spirit or Jesus himself informed the pope, who is supposed to be the direct pipeline for the Trinity in Unity?

See also the article, "The real story of Christmas," in which it is stated:

History suggests that Jesus actually wasn't born in a stable — or on Dec. 25.

It's a great start. Now, if only they had stopped here: "History suggests that Jesus actually wasn't born." LOL. I crack myself up.

Of course, as a sun god, Jesus would have been born at the winter solstice or the sun's "standing still" that ended at midnight on December 24th. Hence, this solar deity is born on December 25th every year, as are countless other sun gods. When it is claimed that "history" suggests Jesus was born on December 25th, the writer is acknowledging that this date is the winter solstice and that any "historical" Jesus likely wasn't born at that time. As we know, however, when the mythological and midrashic layers are removed from the gospel story, there remains no historical core to the onion.

The "Jesus Christ" of the New Testament is a fictional composite of characters, real and mythical. A composite of multiple "people" is no one.

Further Reading

Christmas is an ancient celebration of light, with many gods born on December 25