Easter is the biggest event in the Christian calendar. It is the time when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his confirmation as the son of God. It shows them that by following Jesus they will have a new birth and will be spiritually resurrected with him and receive eternal salvation. How many Christians realise that the whole crucifixion and resurrection narratives are nothing more than myth?
Marks gospel, the one that the other three canonical gospels are based on, has used many sources to fabricate his story of the crucifixion. He has lifted directly from the Psalms and especially Psalm 22. For example;
Psalm 22.18 ‘They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon them’.
Mark 15.24 ‘They part his garments among them, casting lots upon them’.
And also,
Psalm 22.7-8 ‘All those who see me mock me and give me lip, shaking their head, saying “He expected the lord to protect him, so let the Lord save him if he likes’”.
Mark 15.29-31 ‘And those who passed by blasphemed him, shaking their heads and saying, “…Save yourself…” and mocked him saying “He who saved others cannot save himself!’”.
And,
Psalm 22.1 ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Mark 15.34 ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Other texts that Mark mines for his crucifixion narrative include Amos 8.9, elements of Zechariah 9-14, Psalm 69 and Wisdom 2.
Mark isn’t reporting an actual event here. He is providing a standard Jewish myth story of a righteous man put to death by evildoers but then vindicated and raised up by God.
The whole Passover narrative is constructed on the tale of another Jesus. The story of this Jesus ben Ananias who was active in the 60’s AD was told by Josephus in his book ‘Jewish War’ (JW). There are twenty significant parallels and one reversal between the stories of the two Jesus’s, - the following is taken directly from Richard Carrier:-
1 – Both are named Jesus
2 – Both come to Jerusalem during a major religious festival.
3 – Both enter the temple to rant against the temple.
4 – During which both quote the same chapter of Jeremiah.
5 - Both then preach daily in the temple.
6 - Both declared ‘woe’ unto Judea or the Jews
7 – Both predict the temple will be destroyed
8 - For this reason, both are arrested by the Jews
9 – Both are accused of speaking against the temple.
10 – Neither makes any defense of himself against the charges.
11 – Both are beaten by the Jews.
12 – Both are then taken to the Roman governor.
13 – Both are interrogated by the Roman governor.
14 – During which both are asked to identify themselves.
15 – Once again both say nothing in their defense.
16 – Both are then beaten by the Romans.
17 – In both cases the Roman governor decides he should release him.
18 – But doesn’t in Mark but does in the JW
19 – Both are finally killed by the Romans. By execution in Mark and by artillery in the JW
20 – Both utter a lament for themselves immediately before they die
21 – Both die with a loud cry.
The writer of Mark was certainly familiar with the Jesus ben Ananias and may have directly accessed Josephus to obtain the framework for the Jesus Christ crucifixion story. We have to remember that when Mark was written early Jewish Christianity was in a turmoil following the Jewish War and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. Mark was an attempt to replace the Temple cult with the new Christian cult that required no temple or sacrifices.The story of Jesus being the ultimate human sacrifice that washed away all sins was the perfect solution to the destruction of the temple.
See my post on Mark for a little more depth.
The Crucifixion story is just another example of how Marks Gospel is a mythic narrative about an earthly Jesus that is used to convey a system of parables about Christianity and what it represents. This is nothing unusual in ancient writings. Many cosmic gods were treated in such an allegorical fiction like this.
Sources
Richard Carrier ‘On the Historicity of Jesus – Why We Might Have Reason for Doubt’ – Chapter 10 – Section 4 - ‘The Mythology of Mark’.
Images
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My Previous Posts
Christianity originated from Pagan and Jewish mystery religions
Was Paul a schizotype?
Hypotheses of Jesus historicity and Jesus myth
Why many biblical scholars cannot be objective
Jesus Christ - History or Myth?
The Gospels are not historical Documents -
Mark, Matthew, Luke, & John
The Gospels are not eye-witness accounts
A challenge to all religious believers
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No, they're not myths.
The gospels are historical documents written by eyewitnesses or those who talked to eyewitnesses. The internal evidence of the gospels is overwhelming. There's NO external evidence to disprove them.
You're a false teacher seeking to destroy the faith of the weak. You'll receive a false prophet's reward in hell if you don't repent.
To answer the points you made.
(see my post:- Mark).
If I read you correctly you are saying that what the Gospels say proves the Gospels? I'm sorry but that is a circular argument and invalid. Unless you believe the Gospels to be inerrant (and I think you must do) then just because they mention places or people that existed does not make them historically accurate. Homer's Odyssey describes the travels of Odysseus through the Greek Islands and has details of many historical locations. Does that mean we should take Odysseus, the Greek gods and goddesses, one-eyed giants and monsters as literal fact simply because the story depicts geographic locations accurately? Of course not.
What a horrible, selfish and petty god you worship. If I accept for a moment that your god exists (I don't believe in any gods by the way) then it has provided no evidence what-so-ever for its existence apart from - supposedly - a two-thousand-year-old book. Then, when I use the brain it gave me to think critically and question the evidence I will be rewarded with eternal torment. It expects me to mindlessly fall down and worship it under the threat of mortal blackmail. Totally immoral. This god has no redeeming features at all. Why would you worship such a creature?
Once again thank you for the comment. Once more you are the only one. Are other Christians too scared to debate because they secretly have doubts and feel their religion is built on sand?
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