Historical researcher Michael Paulkovich has claimed that Jesus of Nazareth was a ‘mythical character’ and never existed.
The
controversial discovery was apparently made after he found no
verifiable mention of Christ from 126 writers during the ‘time of Jesus’
from the first to third centuries.
He says he is a fictional character invented by followers of Christianity to create a figure to worship.
The claims were made in an article for Free Inquiry called The Fable of the Christ and a book called No Meek Messiah.
In the article and book, Paulkovich says he found an absence of evidence for Jesus in historical texts.
And he says this is surprising despite his ‘global miracles and alleged worldwide fame.’
The
126 texts he studied were all written in the period during or soon
after the supposed existence of Jesus, when Paulkovich says they would
surely have heard of someone as famous as Jesus - but none mention him.
'When
I consider those 126 writers, all of whom should have heard of Jesus
but did not - and Paul and Marcion and Athenagoras and Matthew with a
tetralogy of opposing Christs, the silence from Qumram and Nazareth and
Bethlehem, conflicting Bible stories, and so many other mysteries and
omissions - I must conclude that Christ is a mythical character,’ he
writes.
‘"Jesus
of Nazareth" was nothing more than urban (or desert) legend, likely an
agglomeration of several evangelic and deluded rabbis who might have
existed.’
Of
the writings he examined, written from the first to third centuries, he
found only one book that contained a mention of Jesus - The Jewish Wars
by the Roman historian Josephus Flavius written in 95 CE, but he claims
it is fabricated.
Paulkovich says the mentions of Jesus were added later by editors, not by Josephus.
Even
in the Bible Paulkovich says Paul, often credited with spreading what
would become Christianity, never refers to Jesus as a real person.
‘Paul
is unaware of the virgin mother, and ignorant of Jesus' nativity,
parentage, life events, ministry, miracles, apostles, betrayal, trial
and harrowing passion,’ he writes.
‘Paul knows neither where nor when Jesus lived, and considers the crucifixion metaphorical.’
He also says that silence from Jesus himself is telling, with no personal accounts being written.
‘Perhaps
the most bewildering "silent one" is the mythical super-savior himself,
Jesus the Son of God ostensibly sent on a suicide mission to save us
from the childish notion of "Adam's Transgression" as we learn from
Romans,’ he says.
‘The Jesus character is a phantom of a wisp of a personage who never wrote anything. So, add one more: 127.’
He
continues: ‘Christian father Marcion of Pontus in 144 CE denied any
virgin birth or childhood for Christ - Jesus' infant circumcision was
thus a lie, as well as the crucifixion!
‘Reading
the works of second century Christian father Athenagoras, one never
encounters the word Jesus (or Ἰησοῦς or Ἰησοῦν, as he would have
written) - Athenagoras was thus unacquainted with the name of his savior
it would seem.’
And he claims even the book of Mark in the Bible, which contains the story of Christ’s resurrection, was doctored later on.
‘The original booklet given the name "Mark" ended at 16:8, later forgers adding the fanciful resurrection tale,’ he says.
‘Millions
should have heard of the Jesus "crucifixion" with its astral
enchantments: zombie armies and meteorological marvels recorded not by
any historian, but only in the dubitable scriptures scribbled decades
later by superstitious yokels.’
Paulkovich’s views will surely prove very controversial, as most scholars do not support the theory that Jesus never existed.
Most agree that he was a Galilean Jew born between 7 to 4 BC and who died in 30 to 36 AD.
It
is also widely agreed that he was baptised by John the Baptist and
crucified on the order of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.
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