Jesus from Outer Space: What the Earliest Christians Really Believed about ChristThe earliest Christians believed Jesus was an ancient celestial being who put on a bodysuit of flesh, died at the hands of dark forces, and then rose from the dead and ascended back into the heavens. But the writing we have today from that first generation of Christians never says where they thought he landed, where he lived, or where he died. The idea that Jesus toured Galilee and visited Jerusalem arose only a lifetime later, in unsourced legends written in a foreign land and language. Many sources repeat those legends, but none corroborate them. Why? What exactly was the original belief about Jesus, and how did this belief change over time? In Jesus from Outer Space, noted philosopher and historian Richard Carrier summarizes for a popular audience the scholarly research on these and related questions, revealing in turn how modern attempts to conceal, misrepresent, or avoid the actual evidence calls into question the entire field of Jesus studies--and present-day beliefs about how Christianity began. |
Contents
7 | |
11 | |
2 There Is a Good Chance Jesus Never Existed | 35 |
3 A Plausible Jesus Is Not Necessarily a Probable Jesus | 51 |
4 All the Historians on a Single Postcard | 69 |
5 But Isnt Jesus as Attested as Any Other Famous Dude? | 79 |
6 More Like All the Other DyingandRising Savior Gods of Yore | 111 |
7 How Did Christianity Switch to a Historical Jesus? | 152 |
Common terms and phrases
actually allegorical already ancient apostles argue argument Ascension of Isaiah attested Bart Ehrman believed Bible biological brother brother of Jesus Caesar Caligula celestial century chapter Christ Christians cited claim conclusion contemporary Corinthians cosmic dead death declaring Dionysus dying-and-rising earliest Earth earthly Epistles evidence exactly example eyewitness sources fact fiction Galatians God’s gods Gospel of Mark Gospels Greek Hannibal happened heaven hero historians historical Jesus historicists Historicity of Jesus Ignatius implausible inscriptions invented James Jerusalem Jesus ben Ananias Jesus existed Jewish Jews Josephus later likewise literally Lord Luke Mark Mark’s Matthew means meant Melqart mentions messianic Moses myth mytheme mythical mythologized narrative Nathan’s prophecy never original Osiris outer space passage Passover Paul says Paul’s Peter Pontius Pilate religion resurrection revelation Romans Romulus Satan says Jesus scholars scripture sect seed of David simply Socrates someone Spartacus story surviving Tacitus teachings tell things visions weird writing written wrote