The Mythicism Files

[Peter Kirby]

I've now come across this blog:

http://mythicismfiles.blogspot.com/

It's really interesting.

But please tell Quixie to get out of my head... rarely do I agree with someone on so many particulars...

[GakuseiDon]

Excellent website! Looking through it, I found a very good article on a topic that combines two of my interests: Christian mythology and Japan. This is the official claim by a town in country Japan that it actually holds the burial place of Jesus Christ. Apparently Jesus didn't die in the crucifixion; instead he went to Japan, where he married a Japanese woman and had children. He finally died at a very old age in Japan (the Land of the Rising Son!) Article is here:
http://mythicismfiles.blogspot.com.au/2 ... story.html

The author is rightly skeptical of the story. But one theory he left out was that there really was a Christian from Europe buried there, but in the 17th Century rather than the First. He would have been a member of the group called "Kakure Kirishitans", Christians who went underground when the Shogunate banned Christianity completely throughout Japan in the 17th Century. Their Christianity then slowly absorbed Buddhist and Shinto beliefs over the next few centuries, until late 19th Century Japan allowed Christianity again.

Figurine of Mary and child:


Interesting road sign to suddenly encounter in country Japan!

[Peter Kirby]

I'm looking forward to seeing Quixie develop the argument regarding the Pauline epistles and/or present a model of Christian origins. The good/bad/ugly profiles of some of the people involved are great, of course.

[John T]

I found this on the first page of: "The Myth of Jewish Christianity."

"Why is it that people tend to hold on to certain prescribed ideas about a thing even when evidence to the contrary is right in front of them?"...Quixie

However, was it a rhetorical question or does Quixie really want someone to help in understanding the insanity? Just in case it was an honest plea for help I offer this.

Answer: It is called cognitive dissonance and mythisicts tend to have a bad case of it. Sometimes I can't tell who is more religiously gullible, those who see Jesus in the oil stain on their driveway or those who see every ancient pagan religion as the model for Christian origins.

[Stephan Huller]

And every pagan religion being the model for Christianity AT THE SAME TIME.

[Quixie]

I found this on the first page of: "The Myth of Jewish Christianity."

"Why is it that people tend to hold on to certain prescribed ideas about a thing even when evidence to the contrary is right in front of them?"...Quixie

However, was it a rhetorical question or does Quixie really want someone to help in understanding the insanity? Just in case it was an honest plea for help I offer this.

Answer: It is called cognitive dissonance and mythisicts tend to have a bad case of it. Sometimes I can't tell who is more religiously gullible, those who see Jesus in the oil stain on their driveway or those who see every ancient pagan religion as the model for Christian origins.

The funny thing about this is: I didn't mention ANY pagan religion in that piece. In fact, I personally think the only "religion" that influenced the Christ myth directly was the Judean one. That anyone would think that a multi-pagan influence is being espoused in the post is a sign of either a problem with reading comprehension, or automatic/reflexive inattention or antagonism, or who knows what. That's just weird psychology, shadow boxing, windmill charging. I can't take someone like that seriously.

In fact, I even agree that some (SOME) mythicists lean too heavily on parallelomania, which I think is the weakest mythicist argument of all. But I am not silly enough to attribute the sins of a single mythicist to them all.

[outhouse]

And every pagan religion being the model for Christianity AT THE SAME TIME.

Agreed.

Being influenced over hundreds of years, has nothing to do with the Hellenistic Jewish origins, that divorced cultural Judaism.

[Quixie]

oh . . . and it was rhetorical . . . and I even offered my own answer.

[Peter Kirby]

Please excuse John T. When you disagree with almost everybody, like he does in this forum, it must be difficult at times to keep it all straight.

[John T]

I found this on the first page of: "The Myth of Jewish Christianity."

"Why is it that people tend to hold on to certain prescribed ideas about a thing even when evidence to the contrary is right in front of them?"...Quixie

However, was it a rhetorical question or does Quixie really want someone to help in understanding the insanity? Just in case it was an honest plea for help I offer this.

Answer: It is called cognitive dissonance and mythisicts tend to have a bad case of it. Sometimes I can't tell who is more religiously gullible, those who see Jesus in the oil stain on their driveway or those who see every ancient pagan religion as the model for Christian origins.

The funny thing about this is: I didn't mention ANY pagan religion in that piece. In fact, I personally think the only "religion" that influenced the Christ myth directly was the Judean one. That anyone would think that a multi-pagan influence is being espoused in the post is a sign of either a problem with reading comprehension, or automatic/reflexive inattention or antagonism, or who knows what. That's just weird psychology, shadow boxing, windmill charging. I can't take someone like that seriously.

In fact, I even agree that some (SOME) mythicists lean too heavily on parallelomania, which I think is the weakest mythicist argument of all. But I am not silly enough to attribute the sins of a single mythicist to them all.

My bad.

Forgive me for making the snap decision (logical that it may be) that someone who asserts the historical Jesus is a myth, should automatically be pigeonholed in the same camp as Carrier. It is sort of like conservative Democrats, I keep forgetting they still exist although very, very rare.

Sorry about that,
I will take another look.

John T