The Christ Myth Articles

The following is a collection of articles by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S, some excerpted from her various books, while others are original to the internet or have been published in other books and periodicals.

• Apollonius, Jesus and Paul | Men or Myths?
  Who are these famous men of old? Why are their lives so similar?
  apollonius.html
• Attis: Born of a Virgin on December 25th, Crucified and Resurrected after Three Days
  attis.html
• Beddru is Beddou is Buddha
  Is Kersey Graves guilty of fabrication in his seminal work "The World's 16 Crucified Saviors?" To my knowledge no one of the past 130 years or so since Kersey Graves wrote The World's 16 Crucified Saviors has ever looked as in depth as I have into the sources of the many assertions made by Graves.
  beddru.html
• Bone-Box No Proof of Jesus
  The "James ossuary" or bone-box is no proof that Jesus Christ existed. It is an obvious forgery.
  ossuary.htm
• Christ Con Errata
  A page of errors and more noticeable typos found in the bestselling book 'The Christ Conspiracy.' This page does not correct the writing style or grammar, such as misplaced periods, errant commas or wordiness found in the book 'The Christ Conspiracy,' which was released in September 1999. Rather, it serves to provide a list of typos and errors that affect the accuracy of the text.
  christconerrata.htm
• Christ Conspiracy Review | Excluded Middle | Adam Gorightly
  Acharya is relentless – and her research, nothing less than exhaustive – as point by point she blows the figurative fish out of the water, leaving it to flop pathetically about, faced with the overwhelming evidence she has uncovered.
  excludedmiddle.htm
• Christ Conspiracy Review | You are Being Lied To | Russ Kick
  Drawing together an amazing amount of research, Acharya S - a classically trained archaeologist and historian - utterly demolishes the facade of Christianity, showing that it is 100 percent mythology.
  kick.htm
• The Christmas Hoax | Jesus is NOT the 'Reason for the Season'
  Is Jesus the 'reason for the season?' Christmas is the winter solstice celebration, not the birthday of the Son of God.
  christmas.htm
• The Christ Myth | Elizabeth Evans
  Did Jesus Christ exist? Or is he a myth, the same as so many ancient gods?
  christmyth.htm
• Debunking the Christ Myth?
  What is the truth behind the Christ myth? Is it a "new fad?" "This thinking," i.e, that Jesus Christ is a mythical character, is not at all a "new fad."
  kimball.htm
• Did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson Believe Jesus was a Myth? | Benjamin Franklin | Thomas Paine | Count Volney
  Did the American Founding Fathers study the case for Jesus Christ being a mythical figure? There is much evidence that Washington and Jefferson, among other famous and important figures of the day, were influenced by well-known French mythographers and "Jesus mythicists," such as Dupuis and Volney.
  washington-jefferson-mythicists.html
• Dionysus: Born of a Virgin on December 25th, Killed and Resurrected after Three Days
  The Greek god Dionysus has been depicted as having been born of a virgin mother on December 25th; performing miracles such as changing water into wine; being surrounded by or one of 12 figures; bearing epithets such as "Only Begotten Son" and "Savior"; dying; resurrecting after three days and ascending into heavens.
  dionysus.html
• Primary Sources, Publications and Scholars Cited in 'The ZEITGEIST Sourcebook'
  Contrary to popular misconception, the information in the religion part of the hit internet movie, the first "Zeitgeist" film comes from numerous primary sources, including the following, as well as the works of highly credentialed authorities in the best academic publications, also listed here. It should be noted that this list does not include the multitude of other artifacts and writings from antiquity that may be found in the other works of D.M. Murdock/Acharya S.
  zeitgeistsources.html
• Easter: Christian or Pagan?
  What is the meaning of Easter? Is it the time when Christ was crucified and resurrected? Or is it an ancient Pagan holiday? Contrary to popular belief, Easter does not represent the 'historical' crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In reality, the gospel tale reflects the annual 'crossification' of the sun through the vernal equinox (Spring), at which time the sun is 'resurrected,' as the day begins to become longer than the night.
  easter.htm
• Jesus or Horus | Born of a Virgin on December 25th
  Jesus Christ is not the only god supposedly born of a Virgin on December 25th. So too was Horus of Egypt.
  horus.html
• The 'Historical' Jesus? | Gospel Dates | Justin Martyr | Memoirs of the Apostles
  When were the gospels written? With their absence in Justin Martyr's works, we remain with the dating of the gospels to the last quarter of the second century.
  historicaljc.htm
• Jesus the Druid? | Christ in Great Britain
  Another nation in which the native sun god was overthrown by the Jewish Son of God was Great Britain, where the ancient Druidism was likewise appropriated by the later Christianity.
  christ-great-britain.html
• Jesus in India | Christ in Great Britain
  Did Jesus Christ go to India and elsewhere? Was Jesus in Glastonbury, England?
  jesus_in_india.htm
• Josephus on Jesus | Forgery and Fraud? | Flavius Testimonium
  A brief paragraph in "Antiquities of the Jews" by the Jewish historian Josephus (37-100 CE) is cited as proof of the existence of Jesus Christ. Is it really? Or is it a forgery?
  josephus.htm
• How Old is Christianity? | Antiquity of Christian Doctrine
  How old is Christian doctrine? What parts of Christianity come from Paganism? The following is an excellent encapsulation of "Pagan" myths and rituals that preceded Christianity, representing doctrines utilized in its creation. The author is Charles Waite, from his book 'History of the Christian Religion to the Year Two Hundred,' which was published in 1900 and remains an outstanding resource for scholars and aficionados.
  waite.htm
• Is Jesus a Remake of Osiris? | The Lord of Egypt
  The dying and resurrected savior god Osiris was worshipped thousands of years before Christ. Is it Osiris's story in the New Testament? In the myth of Osiris is the great teaching god with the twelve disciples who dies and resurrects, millennia before the Christian era. The evidence abundantly points to Jesus Christ as a nearly identical, mythical remake of the highly popular Osiris, whose story was known by millions of pilgrims for thousands of years in precisely the same areas in which the Christian myth arose.
  osiris.htm
• The Jesus Puzzle | A Review by Acharya S/D.M. Murdock
  'The Jesus Puzzle' provides a vital aspect in the Mythicist School dating back over 200 years. It is a constant source of amazement to "freethinkers," rationalists and assorted (other) scholars and scientists that it is considered virtuous to blindly believe in the words of a man or a group of men concerning the matters of "faith" and "religion," when, if religion were to have any meaning at all, it would be about reality, honesty and integrity.
  jesuspuzzle.htm
• Mithra the Pagan Christ | Mithraism and Christianity | Mithras the Sun God
  Mithra, the Light of the World, is an ancient sun god identified with Sol Invictus, who was born on December 25th. Mithra resembled Jesus Christ in many ways, including having a virgin birth, 12 companions and an ascension into heaven, as well as other doctrinal and ritual correspondences such as baptism and the eucharist.
  mithra.htm
• The Naked Truth | Origins of Christianity
  Who was Jesus Christ? Is the Bible true? Watch this video!
  naked.htm
• Neith the Egyptian Goddess | Virgin Mother of the World
  Neith never engaged in any kind of sexual union; that is, she was eternally a virgin. Yet, as the primordial Being, she was also generative. Thus, in Neith we have one of the earliest appearances of the archetype of the Virgin Mother, the Holy Parthenos, in her original, unadulterated form.
  neith.html
• Is Noah's Ark Real? | The Myth of Noah's Ark
  Is Noah's Ark a true story? Was there a global flood? For millennia, countless people have been taught that there was a real man named Noah who somehow piled two (or seven, depending on which scripture in the "infallible Word of God" one reads) of every animal on the planet into an ark and with his family survived an enormous global flood. Obviously, to thinkers worldwide this story is logically to be considered an impossible fable, not history.
  noah.htm
• Origins of Christianity | Quest for the Historical Jesus Christ
  Shocking as it may seem to the general populace, the most enduring and profound controversy in this subject is whether or not a person named Jesus Christ ever really existed.
  origins.htm
• Pliny, Tacitus and Suetonius: No Proof of Jesus
  Like those of the Jewish writer Josephus, the works of the ancient historians Pliny, Suetonius and Tacitus do NOT provide proof that Jesus Christ ever existed as a "historical" character. Regarding these "references," if they were genuine they would no more prove the existence of Jesus Christ than do writings about other gods prove THEIR existence.
  pliny.htm
• The Problem of Religion
  The concepts of God and religion have varied greatly over the millennia, in the sense that they have been developed within cultural contexts, with odd details and interpretations based chiefly on race, gender, language and environment.
  introduction.htm
• Rebuttal to Dr. Chris Forbes concerning 'Zeitgeist, Part 1'
  Australian historian Dr. Chris Forbes is a senior lecturer in Ancient History and deputy chairman of the Society for the Study of Early Christianity, as well as a member of the Society for Biblical Literature and of the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney. Dr. Forbes's criticisms of the first/religion part of the internet documentary "Zeitgeist" ("ZG1.1") have been widely circulated. However, Forbes is not an Egyptologist, classicist or mythologist, and his comments show a lack of knowledge in the relevant fields addressed in ZG1.1.
• The Shroud of Turin | History | Science
  Is the Shroud of Turin genuine? Or is it a forgery in a long line of 'pious frauds?'
  shroud.htm
• Sun Lore of All Ages
  Who is the virgin-born hero found in legends around the world? Re about the Suns of God.
  sun-lore.html
• Suns of God Review | Danny McNeal
  'Suns of God' is truly a magnificent volume. Its significance is undeniable. It is nothing less than a window into our very future.
  suns_of_god_review.html
• Dr. Robert M. Price reviews 'Suns of God' | Acharya S
  The very learned Acharya S has spoken again. In a sequel to her wide-ranging The Christ Conspiracy, she has redoubled her efforts to show the solar - that is, the astro-theological - basis of all religions and mythologies, and to demonstrate that the great savior figures of the world's religions are late historicizations of the sacred sun myths. At the outset, let me make clear that I regard Acharya ("the Teacher," as she was dubbed by friends and students) as a colleague and fellow-laborer in the field of Christ-Myth scholarship.
  price-sog-review.html
• Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity | A Review by D.M. Murdock | Marguerite Rigoglioso
  Whatever one takes away from "Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity" by Dr. Marguerite Rigoglioso, the book certainly is a tour de force. Phrases like "parthenogenetic creator deity" and "virgin creatrix" readily convey the concept of a virgin mother from remotest times, like a splash of cold water waking up our long dormant female spiritual traditions. There can be no doubt that the virgin-mother concept did not originate with Christianity and that the idea of the Virgin Mary as a historical personage appears unsupportable from this and much more evidence.
  virgin-mother-goddesses.html
• Was Krishna Born of a Virgin? | Devaki
  Was the Indian god Krishna's mother a virgin? Were there other gods and men born of virgins? A recurring theme in ancient religion revolves around the manner of the sun god's birth, as well as the chastity of his mother. In a number of instances the sun god is perceived as being born of the inviolable dawn, the virgin moon or earth, or the constellation of Virgo.
  virgin.htm
• Was Krishna Crucified?
  Was the Hindu Savior God Krishna depicted as crucified? Were any other gods crucified?
  kcrucified.htm
• When Was the First Christmas? | December 25th | Winter Solstice | Birth of the Sun
  Was the first Christmas truly the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th? Or is this holiday much older than that, adopted into Christianity from pre-Christian cultures whose traditions dated back hundreds to thousands of years before the common era?
  first-christmas.html
• Who was Buddha? | Buddhism, Atheism and Christianity
  Is Buddhism atheistic? What is the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity? Many of the numerous lives of Buddha were spent as divine beings; yet, like so many religions that do not subscribe to the typical theology of other cultures, it is claimed of Buddhism that it is "atheistic." This contention was also laid upon early Christianity because that faith likewise did not acknowledge the reigning deities.
  lifeofbuddha.htm
• Who was Mary Magdalene? | Sacred Harlot
  Was Mary Magdalene a 'common prostitute?' Was she the wife of Jesus Christ and the mother of his children?
  mary-magdalene.html
• Who is the Virgin Mary? | Queen of Heaven
  Who was the Virgin Mary? Was she the Mother of God? As is the case with Jesus Christ himself, the godman's parents, Joseph and Mary, never appear in the contemporary historical record of the time they allegedly existed. Nor are they mentioned in non-gospel Christian writings earlier than the purported time of Church father Ignatius (d. 107 CE). Oddly enough, the Islamic sacred text, the Koran, places Jesus and Mary in the same era as Moses, or the 13th century BCE
  mary.html
• ZEITGEIST Sourcebook (PDF)
  The ZEITGEIST Sourcebook is a 100-page ebook citing primary sources and the works of highly credentialed authorities backing up the contentions found in the religion part of the first ZEITGEIST film. This free PDF file also contains many illustrations.
• Les origines du christianisme et la recherche pour Jésus le Christ historique
  La polémique plus profonde et durable dans ce sujet est si Jésus le Christ a vraiment existé.
  francais.htm
• Los orígenes del cristianismo y la búsqueda del Jesús Cristo histórico
  ¿Existió Jesús Cristo?
  espanol.htm
• Religion & Spirituality Articles
  Articles by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S regarding religion and spirituality, such as Buddhism, Islam and others. Also includes book reviews.
• Quotes from Luminaries & Lunatics
  This site map represents quotes from and about various religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Islam, as well as the subjects of God and religion in general. These quotes included, of course, those from the holy texts of these various faiths.
• Stellar House Publishing Articles
  This link opens up the index of articles by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S on the Stellar House Publishing website.

 Stellar House Articles

Astrotheology of the Ancients
The further one regresses in time, the more obvious it becomes that the principal and singular religious worship found globally has revolved around nature.
astrotheology.html

Christ Conspiracy in the News!
On Thursday, July 31, 2008, an article appeared in the newspaper South Shields, England, called The Shields Gazette that highlighted the book The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Acharya S also known as D.M. Murdock.
shieldgazette.html

Christ in Egypt Preface

Over a century ago, renowned British Egyptologist Sir Dr. E.A. Wallis Budge (1857-1934), a Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, as well as a confessed Christian, remarked that a study tracing the "influence of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and mythology on Christianity" would "fill a comparatively large volume." Since Dr. Budge's time, for a variety of reasons, including the seemingly irreconcilable academic gap between historians and theologians, no one has taken up the call to produce such a volume—until now.

ciepreface.html

David Mills's Review of "Who Was Jesus?"

Best-selling author David Mills reviews this "brilliant volume" that "should be required reading in every American classroom."

david-mills-wwj.html

 

Did Jesus Fulfill Prophecy? | Who Was Jesus?

Did Jesus fulfill prophecy? There are many Old Testament "messianic scriptures" that seemed to have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. What really happened?

jesusprophecy.html

Easter: The Resurrection of Spring
Although it is believed to represent the time of Jesus Christ's resurrection, the festival of Easter existed in pre-Christian times...
easter-resurrection.html

Jesus Christ as the Sun God throughout History
The contention that connecting Jesus to the sun constitutes a "modern" phenomenon is easily demonstrated to be false, through the study of ancient texts, including the Bible and works of the early Church fathers, as well as Christian traditions, rituals, architecture and artifacts.
jesussunexcerpt.html

Jesus, Son of Joseph, and Horus, Son of Seb
Is the earthly father of Jesus, Joseph, a remake of Seb, the earthly father of the Egyptian god Horus?
jesusjosephhorusseb.html

The Real ZEITGEIST Challenge, Part 1
Looking for the REAL "ZEITGEIST Challenge?" Here it is.
zeitgeist-challenge.html

Skeptic Mangles ZEITGEIST (and Religious History)

Tim Callahan's declaration that much of ZEITGEIST, Part 1, is "plainly and simply bogus" is false, period. Callahan has evidently not even studied the sources meticulously cited on the ZG website to see from where this material comes.
skeptic-zeitgeist.html

 

The Christmas Hoax | Jesus is NOT the "Reason for the Season"

Is Jesus the "reason for the season"? Christmas is the winter solstice celebration, not the birthday of the Son of God.

christmas.html

 

The History of Mythicism | The Mythicist Position

The history of Mythicism or the Mythicist Position is fascinating and important to our fundamental understanding of the world's religions and mythologies.

mythicism.html

 

The Nativity of Amenhotep III at Luxor | Birth Scene | Temple of Amun | D.M. Murdock | Acharya S

Was Amenhotep II depicted as being born of a "virgin mother?" Or is there more to the hieroglyphs? Could the Christian nativity have been based on the Egyptian divine-birth cycle?

luxor.html

 

The Star in the East and Three Kings

Much has been made of the gospel account of the "star in the east" followed by "wise men" from afar, claimed to have heralded the birth of the newborn savior of the world.

star-east-three-kings.html

 

Was Horus Crucified? | Christ in Egypt

Along with the claim that Horus was born on "December 25th" or the winter solstice of a virgin called Mery comes the contention that he was "crucified between two thieves," as Jesus is depicted to have been in the New Testament.

washoruscrucified.html

 

Was Jesus God, Man or Myth?

Nearly all the solar deities had a Virgin for a mother. The birthday of Jesus, like that of Mithra and other solar gods, was about December 25, and his twelve Apostles correspond to the twelve signs of the Zodiac. When Jesus (who was the Sun of Righteousness) was "crucified," the Sun naturally died; it was eclipsed. Jesus rose with the Sun on the day of the Sun.

jesusgodmanmyth.html

 

Well Known in Egypt?

Were the various important mythical motifs explored in "Christ in Egypt" part of Egyptian religion, and, despite their apparent status as mysteries, were they known to those who created Christianity?

wellknowninegypt.html

 

What is a Mythicist? | The Mythicist Position | Mythicism

The term "mythicist" refers to the perspective that there exists no credible scientific evidence for the "historical" Jesus and other biblical figures.

mythicist.html

 

Who Is Gerald Massey?

In exploring the various Egyptian influences upon the Christian religion, one name frequently encountered is that of lay Egyptologist Gerald Massey (1828-1907).

who-is-gerald-massey.html