Ebook: The Jesus Myth

Does the New Testament story of Jesus contain any elements of historical truth, or is it pure legend? Professor G.A. Wells is the foremost contemporary exponent of the purely legendary, or "mythicist" view. In The Jesus Myth he presents an up-to-date, radical, and well-reasoned argument, drawing upon his sure grasp of the wide-ranging evidence.

Wells contends that the accounts of Jesus in the four canonical gospels not only contradict each other, but are also not in harmony with the earliest Christian documents, which never present Jesus as an itinerant preacher, a performer of miracles, born of a virgin, associated with Nazareth, or executed under Pilate.

The gospels were composed after A.D. 70 by unknown individuals who could not have been eye-witnesses to the events they describe. All the earliest non-Christian testimony, pagan and Jewish, is dependent upon Christian accounts. The frequently voiced notion that there is independent corroboration of the life of Jesus from "Roman records" or elsewhere is wishful thinking.

The Jesus Myth, which follows Professor Wells's earlier, highly acclaimed work, The Jesus Legend (see page 15), contains a new investigation of the historicity of the gospel miracles, a detailed look at the earliest non-Christian testimony to the existence of Jesus, and a provocative discussion of the New Testament Jesus as an ethical guide. There is also an afterword by the distinguished Christian scholar Roderick Tyler, whose criticisms of Professor Wells's arguments led to the new presentation in The Jesus Myth. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Is the New Testament story of Jesus history or pure legend? Clearly seeking to provoke controversy, Wells (The Jesus Legend: What's in a Name?) contends that the accounts of Jesus in the canonical Gospels contradict not only one another but also the earliest Christian documents, which never present Jesus as an itinerant preacher, a miracle worker, born of a virgin or executed under Pilate. Combining literary criticism, textual criticism and historical criticism, Wells examines the evidence about Jesus by probing the Gospels and independent testimonies of Jesus's life from the first century A.D. such as the Gospel of Thomas and Q. The author also examines the letters of Paul and contends that Paul bases his portrait of Jesus on the Jewish figure of Wisdom, who sought acceptance on earth but was rejected and returned to heaven. In a detailed and convincing fashion, Wells argues that the Gospel stories of Jesus are myths composed to satisfy the religious longings of the Gospel writers' audiences. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review "In THE JESUS MYTH, the latest in G.A. Wells's series of eagle-eyed scrutinies of the Gospels and of contemporary New Testament scholarship, the author once again takes the role of the Diogenes of the theologians. Charitable yet unflinching, Well's analysis forces one to the inevitable conclusion that the apologists for the historical Jesus are less researchers than spin-doctors, apparatchniks for an ecclesiastical Politburo. His refreshing intellectual honesty is witnessed by the fact that his own views are amenable to evolution and revision." -- Robert M. Price, Editor, The Journal of Higher Criticism This is a book for believers and unbelievers alike, in fact, for anyone who is a serious student of the bible or of the Christian faith. [Wells's] hope is that his readers will come to an informed opinion about the historical reliability of the New Testament, its writers and the life of its central character, Jesus. -- Independent Publisher, 4/15/99