Is Jesus A Man, Myth or Legend? (Discussion with Dr. Robert M. Price)

Robert M Price was formerly a Baptist minister who became open-minded to the idea that Jesus was a myth after reading books by George Wells and others. He concluded that the evidence for a historical Jesus was unconvincing and that the New Testament was likely a mythological version of what a historical Jesus might have been. He believes there could have been a historical Jesus, but that it is unlikely we will ever know for sure.
Robert M Price argues that the epistles were written earlier than the Gospels and provide no evidence of a recent historical Jesus, and that the secular sources such as Josephus, Tacitus, Mar ben Serapon are likely spurious Christian editions. He believes that the narrative structure of the Josephus passage is not consistent with the rest of his work, and that the context in which it appears in Eusebius is too convenient.
Robert M Price suggests that the evidence for a historical Jesus is sparse and ambiguous, and that the Gospels may have been influenced by Hellenistic culture and the hero's journey archetype. He also suggests that the Romans may have influenced Christianity to pacify the Jews, and that the Flavian dynasty symbol may have been inherited from the Seleucid Empire.
Robert M Price discussed the similarities between the Old Testament and New Testament stories, the objections to the historical Jesus and the Christ myth theory, and the idea of memetic creation in literature. He also discussed the Jewish Maccabean revolt and the idea of forgery in literature.
Chapters & Topics Timestamps
01:03 Robert M Price's Journey from Baptist Minister to Believing Jesus was a Myth
06:15 Robert M Price and Jeramiah Giehl discuss the potential of a historical Jesus and the evidence to support his existence.
The Historical Jesus
20:40 Evidence for the Historical Jesus
Discussion of the Role of Jesus in Early Christianity
27:48 Examining the Historical Evidence for a Historical Jesus
43:07 Reconciling Jewish Christianity and Hellenistic Pauline Christianity Accommodationism of the Pharisees and Sadducees in Post-Exilic Judaism
46:55 Examining the Role of Jesus in the Gospels
52:41 Miraculous Conceptions, Healing Miracles, and Apparent Resurrections in Religious Myths
55:24 Discussion of Ancient Religious Thought and its Influence on Christianity
The relation of the dying and rising gods in the ancient world
1:01:13 Influence of Platonism and Gnosticism on Jewish and Christian Theology
1:05:36 Exploring the Origins of Paulinism and Christianity
Full Transcript Available here: jesusthejewwit...
Key Questions Timestamps
10:36 Was Jesus a revolutionary insurgent group leader?
12:00 What is the evidence to support Jesus' existence?
25:40 Was there a need for a historical Jesus at the root of Christianity?
1:08:32 What are the common evangelical objections and ways to overcome them when presenting ideas?
We discuss the following topics:
• How he went from Baptist pastor to a Christ-Mythicist.
• A little background on the historical Jesus and is there room for a historical Jesus within the Christ-Myth theory.
• What he makes of the James Tabor’s work on the Talpiot Tomb, the Lost Tomb of Jesus Family and also the James Ossuary and other attestation to Jesus’ existence.
• We also discuss James Tabor and Robert Eisenman's theory about the Essene's and Qumran connection to James and the early Jesus movement.
• The disconnect between Jesus Jewish origins and the Hellenistic Greek setting of the New Testament.
• Then we cover the main points of the Christ-Myth Theory;
1) The lack of evidence of Jesus existence, and what does he makes of Thallus, Josephus and Tacitus references?
2) How the Christ-Myth is paralleled in the dying and resurrecting "gods?
3) He states the Eusebius fabricated Testimonium Flavianum, what does he make of James Valliant “Creating Christ” and Joseph Atwill's “Caesars Messiah”?
4) What makes the plagiarism and forgeries in the New Testament plausibly argued to be borrowed? Does he see the gospels written in light of the Hero's Journey?
5) Is Jesus stereotyped as the mythic hero on the Heros Journey and the dying and rising gods of mythology.
• Paul and the Hellenistic influences on the New Testament, what role does Plato's Trinity of the Logo, Demiurge and World Spirit play into the Christ-Myth?
• And regarding Jesus later deification upon death, does it resemble the Apotheosis of Caesars upon their death? The way that Jesus became "god" was it a function of roman Apotheosis?
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