Author: Acharya S
Was the historical Jesus a carpenter?
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In the fictional mishmash of the gospel story, one supposedly biographical detail pointed to by bibliolaters and historicizers is the designation of Jesus and his stepfather Joseph as “carpenters.” This purported biographical detail is mentioned only twice, briefly at Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3, the former in which Jesus is…
Read MoreChildren of the Sun trailer
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Awesome! My Croat friends have finally released a trailer for their film “Children of the Sun,” which all about solar mythology! Look for me at 1:58. The first part is in Croat, but from my part onward most of it’s in English. If you have any Croat friends, be sure…
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Best and worst countries for women
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(According to Newsweek magazine, out of 165 countries.) No. 165 is Chad, in Central Africa. Iceland (#1) gets a 100 rating overall, and the U.S. (#8) receives an 89.89, while Chad gets a 0. Israel is #51 on the list, with a 78 rating, not far above Mexico (53) with…
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Archaeologists find oldest artifact to mention Bethlehem, traditional birthplace of Jesus
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Here we go again: Archaeologists in Israel have found an allegedly biblically relevant artifact, an ancient seal with the Hebrew word “Bethlehem” on it that apparently dates to the seventh century BCE. Bethlehem, of course, is represented in the New Testament (Mt 2:1) as the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Well,…
Read MoreDid Mohammed exist?
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The question dared to be asked and answered in a new book by the indefatigable Robert Spencer: Did Muhammad Exist? And he does a great job of answering that question, very scientific, based on serious documentation. He has all the bases covered well, indeed, from what I have seen, which…
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Amazing cactus and succulent photos!
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This post is off-topic, but I’m partial to cactii and succulents, so my eyes bugged out over these images! These photos were taken by Tony Agee. I opened my Google+ page and found this first one staring me in the face – stunning! Took my breath away! For more images,…
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Councils for God and the development of the biblical canon: Another response to Bart Ehrman
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Among the dozen or so criticisms of my book The Christ Conspiracy by Bart Ehrman in his book Did Jesus Exist? (24) appears the following, regarding the time and effort spent on the canonization of the New Testament part of the Bible. In this criticism, Ehrman quotes my book and…
Read MoreA brief explanation of how the Jesus myth was created
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Here’s a brief explanation of the subject of mythicism as it applies to Jesus and others. It is well known that, upon contact with the Greek culture as it spread east, into Persia, etc., during the first centuries surrounding the common era, many cultures began applying attributes of Greek gods…
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Does early Church father Justin Martyr quote the gospels?
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In his new book Did Jesus Exist? (23), referring to my discussion in The Christ Conspiracy of the second-century dating of the New Testament gospels, Bart Ehrman summarizes a contention in my work about whether or not the early Church father Justin Martyr (fl. 150 AD/CE) mentioned or quoted the…
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Does Josephus prove a historical Jesus?
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(The following is part of a 30+page rebuttal to the material in Bart Ehrman’s book Did Jesus Exist? directly discussing my work.) Ehrman on Josephus’s Testimonium Flavianum Here I will address Ehrman’s section on the Jewish historian Josephus’s supposed mention of Jesus in the “Testimonium Flavianum” (Antiquities 18.3.3 [Whiston]; 18.63).…
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The Son-Sun pun strawman
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In his book Did Jesus Exist?, Bart Ehrman singles me out for especial berating, suggesting repeatedly that I am “making things up” and placing me in a category of mythicists whose writings constitute “sensationalist claims that are so extravagant, so wrongheaded, and so poorly substantiated that it is no wonder…
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Bart Ehrman: Jesus mythicists’ arguments are ‘fairly plausible’
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In a interview with NPR (April 1, 2012), Did Jesus Exist? the interviewer summarizes New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman’s views on the debate about whether or not Jesus Christ is a mythical figure: Mythicists’ arguments are fairly plausible, Ehrman says. According to them, Jesus was never mentioned in any Roman…
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The phallic ‘Savior of the World’ hidden in the Vatican
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In the first edition of my book The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold (1999), I included a chapter entitled “The Bible, Sex and Drugs” (275-295), at the end of which I provided a line drawing of a bronze, rooster-headed bust with a phallus for a beak. Under the…
Read MorePat Condell: Tell the truth about Islam
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Pat Condell speaks truth once again. Instead of trying to hush up the bad publicity, if Muslims are so concerned about Islam’s reputation, how about stopping these criminals from committing crimes? Sound good? Then there will be nothing to report. M’kay? Not going to happen soon, I gather. Therefore, we…
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Archaeologists unearth ‘unparalleled’ pre-Christian temple in Norway
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A fascinating discovery is shedding light upon pre-Christian Scandinavian religion and early Christian inroads into Norway. In the Norwegian press, this highly important find is being called “unparalleled,” “first of its kind” and “unique,” said to have been “deliberately and carefully hidden” – from invading and destructive Christians. Located at…
Read MoreIs Jesus’s nativity an Egyptian myth?
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In my first published book, The Christ Conspiracy (1999), I provided an image from the birth cycle of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III (1386/1388-1349-51 BCE), found in the temple of the god Amun at Luxor, Egypt. Like many others before me, including professional Egyptologists, I contended for a possible influence…
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Nigerian Freethinkers Association
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Here’s a group of Nigerians who contacted me about bringing attention to their issue. As you may know, Nigeria is under siege by violent religious extremists who are slaughtering the people by the thousands. Please support the efforts of the freethinkers to bring peace to their land. If you know…
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New Kindle French translation of ‘Origins of Christianity’
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I’m delighted to announce that I now have a new French edition of my popular essay “Origins of Christianity and the Search for the Historical Jesus Christ” available via Amazon’s Kindle format! That fact means the ebook Les origines du christianisme et la recherche du Jésus-Christ historique can be downloaded…
Read MoreAre the New Testament gospels history? Where’s the proof?
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Happy Day! A new video clip for your entertainment and edification – enjoy! For more information, see this post: D.M. Murdock/Acharya S on DVD! Go to this link directly to purchase the DVD “Great Minds of Our Time: D.M. Murdock.”
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Muslim authority plans megamosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
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“The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers…” -Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan Oy gevalt! When I read the article below about the planned megamosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, I buried my head in my hands and said,…
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1st-century Gospel of Mark fragment found?
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The New Testament blogosphere is all abuzz with news of a purported papyrus discovery that comprises fragments of some 19 or more different Bible manuscripts, including a small piece of the Gospel of Mark. A Christian professor relates that “one of the world’s leading paleographers” has dated the Mark fragment…
Read MoreAcharya S on Red Ice Radio discussing the Christ Conspiracy
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I am delighted to announce the release of my new interview with Red Ice Radio! I think you’ll really enjoy this one, because my Swedish host Henrik is very knowledgeable about this subject, so the program moved quite fluidly, IMO. For part 2 of the interview, please go to the…
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Russians reach 20-million-year-old ‘Lost World’
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Fascinating! “After decades of drilling, Russian scientists in the arctic have uncovered a rare piece of nature, an ancient lake buried thousands of feet under the ice. RT’s Sean Thomas, toured the frozen continent exactly a year ago, and now explains what this discovery could mean.” Lake Vostok, Sealed in…
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Jesus and Paul: Figurehead and founder of Christianity?
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When the facts of comparative religion and history are known, typical perspectives of Christian origins and history sometimes sound unsophisticated and uninformed. For example, in the article below Huffington Post writer Robert Orlando raises up a number of “Christian” elements that derive from pre-Christian Paganism. However, he also comments: “There…
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Arabic word for ‘nakedness,’ ‘shame’ also means ‘woman’
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Do we wonder why there is so much sexism and misogyny in the Arab world and elsewhere? It’s embedded in the language: In Arabic, for example, an important word for “shame” and “nakedness” – which represents a grievous sin in Islam – also commonly connotes “woman,” according to Wikipedia and…
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