A Christian Response by Stephen J. Bedard
My introduction to Robert Graves was from reading his novel I, Claudius. I remember very much enjoying it and I would like to revisit it. But Graves has written much more than that, including two volumes on the Greek Myths. There are two things I like about this collection. One is that it covers a … Read More “The Greek Myths by Robert Graves” »
When it comes to responding to the Jesus Myth Theory, two of the main ways is to increase your understanding of mythology and of the Bible. Both are very important as in my experience, Mythicists tend to misrepresent both. When it comes to mythology, I generally recommend classics textbooks or other books on mythology by … Read More “Classical Mythology: Images & Insights” »
One of the key pillars of the Jesus Myth Theory is that similarities between ancient stories point toward borrowing. Thus the virgin birth of Jesus must have been inspired by the supernatural births from surrounding myths. But is that really how it is? I was recently reading the book Myth from respected classicist, G.S. Kirk. … Read More “Questioning Superficial Similarities” »
One of the parts of the Jesus Myth Theory is that the (supposed) similarities to pagan myths argues against the historicity of the events being described. There are two completely separate categories: myth and history. You can only be one or the other. But is it as clear as that? Did the ancients understand their … Read More “Did the Greeks Believe in Their Myths?” »
I believe that one of the best ways to respond to the idea that the Gospels are based on Greek myths and religion is to actually study the Ancient Greek culture. A great resource for that is Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History. This was a textbook from a classics course and so … Read More “Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History – Review” »
I have recently gone through the Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World by David Sacks. This is an extremely helpful resource for anyone interested in the world of ancient Greece. The entries are not overly long or technical but they do reflect solid scholarship. The dictionary is published by Oxford University Press and so it … Read More “Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World – Review” »
I am a firm believer that those interested in the Jesus Myth Theory should have a good background in history. A great resource is the lecture series on Ancient Greek History by Donald Kagan from Yale University. You can find it on iTunes here.
In this short video, Sean Kelly and N.T. Wright discuss the differences between Jesus and the Greek gods.
One of the important authors for a number of areas regarding the Jesus Myth is Plutarch. Among other writings, he wrote a series of lives of Greek and Roman figures. There is a collection of these bound as the Greek Lives. In a way this is an artificial way of organizing them because Plutarch purposely … Read More “Plutarch: Greek Lives” »
