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Goodbye Jesus

Literature on history of the Bible?


Mothernature

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What do you recommend reading for best evidence and accuracy of the history of the Bible? I want to know and understand how the Bible, new and old testament, came to be and to have references to defend these views. I've just gotten hold of "The God Delusion" and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks.

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Any book written by the following authors: Dr. Bart Ehrman, Dr. Robert M. Price, Dr. Richard Carrier, David Fitzgerald, Earl Doherty, D.M. Murdock (Astrotheology) Hermann Detering. There are many others but this list will keep you busy for awhile. Many, if not most, of these scholars have Youtube videos that are quite good. 

 

Yale University School of Religion is also on Youtube and it's free. Both the OT and NT are available. These are real classes that are being recorded and then made available on YouTube. These classes are purely focused on history and they are taught from that perspective. These are really, really, good classes and I highly recommend them to anyone interested in religious history. 

 

The students are paying a lot of money to take these classes and you get to audit them for free. Go to YouTube and search Yale courses religion. 

 

The authors I recommended are historians not apologist. I would strongly recommend you steer clear of apologist if your interest, like mine, is focused on the origins and evolution of both the Bible and the Christian Faith. 

 

I notice that you're new to this site, so welcome aboard. You will find a lot of good information here. 

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God and the Holy Ghost are active on this site, so nice to have Mother Nature join us too. :woohoo:

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@Mothernature,

 

If Carrier, Hitchens, Dawkins et al are a little "up there' then I recommend David Fitzgerald. He quotes and paraphrases the others in a language that  commoners can understand.

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Thanks Geezer and MOHO. Yes I'm wanting a historical account as evidenced based as possible.

Geezer: That is quite a list and I'm grateful for it. Is there a top 1 or 2 books/videos etc out of those that is good to start with? I don't get a lot of spare time so want the most bang for my buck.

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8 hours ago, Geezer said:

God and the Holy Ghost are active on this site, so nice to have Mother Nature join us too. :woohoo:

Thanks!🙄

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12 hours ago, Mothernature said:

Thanks Geezer and MOHO. Yes I'm wanting a historical account as evidenced based as possible.

Geezer: That is quite a list and I'm grateful for it. Is there a top 1 or 2 books/videos etc out of those that is good to start with? I don't get a lot of spare time so want the most bang for my buck.

 

A History of God by Dr. Karen Armstrong is good, anything written by Bart Ehrman such Jesus Misquoted, Forged,  Jesus interrupted is good.

 

The Yale University Religious Studies lectures on YouTube are excellent if history is what you're looking for. They run about 48 minutes each.

 

Dr. Robert M Price is my personal favorite but he isn't an easy read. He's authored a library of books & they are all good.

 

When it comes to history, rather than apologetics, there are two camps. One group believes Jesus was a real person, not divine, but a human by that name existed., The other camp believes the gospels are fictional stories with fictional characters including Jesus. Full disclosure, after a decade or more of studing & researching the origins & evolution of both the Bible & Christianity I believe the evidence strongly leans towards the gospels being myths & and I believe Jesus was a mythical character too, 

 

Scholars that are employed by universities take the position Jesus was a real person, because the university mandates they take that position to keep their jobs. Independent scholars tend to take the position that the gospels & the characters in them are myths. Obviously everyone will have to decide for themselves whether Jesus was a real person, or if it even matters.

 

You will find a lot of good info & references on this site. Don't hesitate to ask questions. If you haven't introduced yourself you might consider doing that. Folks would like to get to know you & your story if you are so inclined. 

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Thanks! I have written an introduction awhile back. I've mostly been reading on this site rather than logging on. Trying to keep a low profile at home while I build up my defenses.

Interesting about the scholars' positions in universities. I can totally see that in the US but is it the same for other countries that are more progressive?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I would also recommend "The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts" by Mark S. Smith. 

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