Tag: Richard Carrier

The Usefulness of Bayes’ Theorem for Determining the Historicity of Events

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The Usefulness of Bayes’ Theorem for Determining the Historicity of Events
Historical Jesus

Bayes’ Theorem, a mathematical formula used to update probabilities based on new evidence, has increasingly been applied in historical analysis to assess the likelihood of past events. By quantifying historical probabilities, historians and scholars can provide a more rigorous evaluation of events where direct evidence is scarce. However, while the method offers significant benefits, it … Read More “The Usefulness of Bayes’ Theorem for Determining the Historicity of Events” »

Responding to Richard Carrier and “the Brother of the Lord”

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Responding to Richard Carrier and “the Brother of the Lord”
Historical Jesus

One of the key issues for those who argue that Jesus was not a historical figure is the identity of James. Not James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, but the James that is referred to as the brother of the Lord. Traditionally this has been understood as being James, the actual … Read More “Responding to Richard Carrier and “the Brother of the Lord”” »

Did Mark Invent the Empty Tomb?

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Did Mark Invent the Empty Tomb?
Historical Jesus

The Gospel of Mark is our earliest reference to the detail of the tomb of Jesus being empty. Does that mean that Mark invented the empty tomb? Richard Carrier thinks so. Being the first to mention something does not make one the inventor of a concept. The earliest textual reference that we have of “Pharisee” … Read More “Did Mark Invent the Empty Tomb?” »

The Minimal Facts of the Jesus Myth Theory

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The Minimal Facts of the Jesus Myth Theory
Historical Jesus

The Religions Wiki has an interesting article called Jesus began as a myth and was later historicized that I think I will write a number of posts on. The first part is a section called Minimal facts. When Christian apologists hear “minimal facts”, they probably think of the method that some use to try and … Read More “The Minimal Facts of the Jesus Myth Theory” »

Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Three

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Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Three
Historical Jesus

Peter Clarke, in his article, summarizes Richard Carrier’s argument for the Jesus Myth Theory with a third point. It is a response to the argument from embarrassment that uses details that are not helpful to the story as evidence for historicity. The response is this: But the premise of this argument is false because there … Read More “Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Three” »

Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Two

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Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Two
Historical Jesus

I am continuing to respond to Peter Clarke’s summary of Richard Carrier’s case for the Jesus Myth from this article. The second argument is this: Jesus only appears as a real person in texts that are highly mythological, i.e., the Gospels. This basically means we only have one book that talks about Jesus as a … Read More “Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part Two” »

Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part One

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Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part One
Historical Jesus

Peter Clarke, in an article, provides a summary of Richard Carrier’s argument for Jesus not being a historical figure. I am going to respond to each part separately. The earliest Christian literature—in particular the letters of Paul—never places Jesus in history; instead, he is only ever seen from revelation. For example, Paul has no knowledge … Read More “Responding to Richard Carrier’s Jesus Myth Arguments: Part One” »

Scholars Who Support the Jesus Myth Theory

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Scholars Who Support the Jesus Myth Theory
General

One of the challenges that Jesus Mythicists have in claiming credibility for the idea that Jesus was never a historical figure is the lack of scholars who support their theory. Traditionally, the Jesus Myth was presented by self-taught scholars or scholars with PhDs in fields not directly relevant to the topic. In order for there … Read More “Scholars Who Support the Jesus Myth Theory” »

Richard Carrier Comparing Jesus to Other Gods

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Richard Carrier Comparing Jesus to Other Gods
Historical Jesus

I recently watched this video of Richard Carrier on the MythVision Pod. Richard Carrier is considered to be one of the top scholars in support of the Jesus Myth Theory. The question he is responding to is the comparison of Jesus to other gods of myth. Apologists (rightfully) point out the close time between the … Read More “Richard Carrier Comparing Jesus to Other Gods” »

Craig Evans vs. Richard Carrier – Did Jesus Exist?

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Craig Evans vs. Richard Carrier – Did Jesus Exist?
Historical Jesus

Richard Carrier is one of only a handful of people with PhDs who holds to the Jesus Myth Theory. Many Mythicists look to Carrier as their best hope for a scholarly argument for the Jesus Myth. In this video, Carrier goes up against Craig Evans. I studied under him during my doctoral studies at Acadia … Read More “Craig Evans vs. Richard Carrier – Did Jesus Exist?” »