Michael Paulkovich, a Biblical historian, has come forward with a study that found Jesus Christ did not exist. The study showed that Christ is a myth fabricated by the gospel writers reports The Daily Mail. While Paulkovich is far from the first scholar to make this claim, his announcement is getting a good deal of national and international press. To come to the conclusion that Jesus did not exist, Paulkovich examined the writings of 126 ancient historians who he says should have mentioned Jesus in their documents. As has been noted by a number of scholars, no ancient historian mentions Jesus at all, except for Josephus Flavious. However, even some Christian scholars acknowledge that Flavious’ mention of Jesus was a forgery placed into the tome in question at a later date. The study was published in the journal Free Inquiry.
Paulkovich claims that the only mention of Jesus comes from the Bible itself, and not from any writers or scholars of the time other than the people who wrote the gospels. He says that the 126 writers should have known who Jesus was, and furthermore, they should have carefully recorded his miracles and messages.
Prior to Paulkovich saying that Jesus did not exist, many additional historians have written numerous books making the same claim. Author Acharya S. has detailed her own claims in the books The Christ Conspiracy and Suns of God, which examines Jesus as a sun deity fabricated by ancient people as a personification of the sun. Acharya S. maintains that Jesus did not, in fact, exist as a person but only as a myth and as an idea.
Joseph Atwill, a Biblical scholar, has also posited that Jesus did not exist. He says that the myth of Jesus was fabricated, and he claims that the fable was created to unite the Roman kingdom under a singular leader. Last year, Atwill presented evidence that Jesus did not exist at a conference in London . His book, Caeser’s Messiah, details his claims.
John Jackson wrote a book called Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth, which explores how ancient pagan religions are reflected in the Jesus myth. There are numerous identical stories that exist in paganism and the gospels, such as the miracle of a deity changing water into wine, for example.
Countless scholars and historians have noted the parallels between the story of Jesus and earlier Gods. There are many deities who were born of a virgin, for example, and many who performed miracles identical to those Jesus performed. The idea of the holy trinity can be found in numerous ancient Egyptian religions. Acharya S., writing under the pen name D.M. Murdock, goes into great detail about the stunning similarities between Jesus and the ancient Egyptian god Horus in the book Christ in Eygpt: The Horus-Jesus Connection.
Author Tim Leedom details the mythological Christ in his book The Book Your Church Doesn’t Want You to Read. In fact, the list of scholars, historians and independent researchers who have detailed evidence that Jesus did not exist is quite extensive.
While there is vast and impassioned disagreement from religious scholars who look to the Bible as a historical text, Paulkovich’s assertions join a long line of historians who say Jesus is a myth and that Christianity is rife with fraud. The topic is sure to stir intense debate as clashes between independent freethinking historians and Biblical scholars of the religious persuasion increase.
