I'm curious to know what your thoughts on the idea of Jesus mythicism. Basically the idea is that Jesus was an pre-existent archangel that took on human form and was crucified by Satan and his angels instead of The Romans. The main crux of the idea is that this all happened in Heaven not on Earth and we were to know it through revelation by the Holy Spirit. There is more to it but I think that's a good enough summary. I find Richard Carrier's thesis to be the most detailed so if you're interested in learning more about it, he would be the best source.
By the way, I'm not posting this to debate. I just want to know your thoughts. Thanks
If we take a reductionist method to New Testament analysis, and look at the earliest Christian writings available--those of St. Paul--and look only to the undisputed letters of St. Paul--Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon--I simply cannot see how this thesis has merit.
Looking only to the undisputed letters of Paul we find these kinds of statements:
- Jesus was born of a woman, born under the Law (i.e. Jesus was a Jew).
- Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
- Jesus was crucified on a cross, His body was broken and His blood was shed.
- Jesus died.
- Jesus rose from the dead and was seen by many people.
- Jesus' mortal body was given life.
What we don't see:
- Jesus was an archangel.
- Jesus was crucified by Satan "in heaven".
Further statements that need to be recognized:
- Paul is not the originator of the Gospel he proclaimed, but taught what he himself was taught, "For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures..."
- Paul recognized the authority of the other Apostles, such as Peter and James, though reports that he scolded Peter once when he was intimidated by some representatives sent by James from Jerusalem.
The lack of certain details in Paul's letters is easily explained simply by acknowledging that he was writing to fellow Christians, and thus people who would have already been familiar with the Jesus story: that Jesus' mother's name was Mary, the role of John the Baptist early on in Jesus' ministry, the trial under Pontius Pilate, etc.
Jesus Mythicism requires a great deal of mental gymnastics and a massive suspension of Occam's Razor. There's a reason why Jesus Mythicism isn't taken seriously by the overwhelming majority of scholars and historians. Not just Christian scholars and historians, but scholars and historians of all backgrounds.
That there was an historical Jesus who was regarded by His followers to be the Messiah and who was crucified by the Romans under the authority of Pontius Pilate is pretty universally agreed upon and is the most reasonable position to take considering all available data. The particular faith claims made by Christians about Jesus are something altogether different, but that there was a Jesus at all isn't a huge claim. It's not exactly like a person going around claiming to be the Messiah and getting killed by the Romans is out of the ordinary--what is out of the ordinary is that followers of Jesus and the movement surrounding Him didn't simply just fade into obscurity.
-CryptoLutheran
