What is Reddit's opinion of The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God??
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I highly recommend this to all my Christian friends:

The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? https://www.amazon.com/dp/0609807986/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_Yaw2FbXWRD5BC

I’d be happy to add a few more to this thread as they come to mind.

If you want a nuanced answer the this question, I recommend that you read "The Jesus Mysteries" by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Mysteries-Was-Original-Pagan/dp/0609807986/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495525886&sr=8-1&keywords=jesus+mysteries

Hey, you should try reading The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God? by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. You might really enjoy it :)

Also, check out some Gnostic schools of thought. Their way of interpreting the Christian mythos may appeal to you, and fill the need you have that you are getting from 'paganism'. For example, some Gnostics saw Sophia (Wisdom) as mother, with Logs (Christ) as child, and then God the father to complete a trinity of sorts.

I also think that we use the word 'pagan' in a weird way in modern times, especially within neopaganism. If you toss away that word for a second, and think of the world in which Christ lived, you had Judaism interacting with Graeco-Roman polytheism and philosophy. Christianity grew out of that world, and so it is an interplay of various influences that you may consider to be 'pagan,' depending on your definition.

I read a book about this called The Jesus Mysteries. It is among dozens of books that were influential in liberating me from the Bible, which ultimately liberated me from the JWs. This book really spoke volumes because having been taught so strongly all my life that paganism = BAD, wow, it was quite a slap to realize that Christianity itself was wholly a retread of... drum roll: that very same PAGANISM!

Unfortunately, Witnesses aren't encouraged to read books and here's a prime example of why. When you know too much, you see Christianity - and hence the JWs - in a different light. That's an existential problem for them. They fight it, you might say, in an almost cult-like manner.

Have you read <em>The Jesus Mysteries</em>? It offers a lot of insight into the topic. I read it a long time ago, but if IIRC, it provides a lot of evidence that the idea that the Jesus story is simply a rehashing of earlier messiah motifs is valid.

Uhm...

I was never fond of Christopher Hitchens' approach to creating questions in believers' minds. He relied upon castigation of the supposedly "one" god of the bible as if it was a quasi-real personality.

What really demolished any idea that the bible was written by a valid deity, and even more specifically the deity "of the universe", was learning about the mixed, often-pagan and quite self-serving human origins of the bible, from:

https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Mysteries-Was-Original-Pagan/dp/0609807986

And: https://www.amazon.com/Early-History-God-Biblical-Resource/dp/080283972X

And: https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Biblical-Monotheism-Polytheistic-Background/dp/0195167686

And: https://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Have-Wife-Archaeology/dp/0802863949

And: https://www.amazon.com/King-Manasseh-Child-Sacrifice-Alttestamentliche/dp/3110179946

(Note: I don't generally buy from Amazon but I do like their feature that allows a person to preview a book...)

To YouTube channels and videos like: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyuvTEbD-Ei0JdMUujXfyWi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlnnWbkMlbg&t=15s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZECezMYug8c

Bart Ehrman's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/bartdehrman

National Geographic is an okay source, but they aren't considered a scientific journal or even serious archaeological group (anymore).

> Anyway can I ask you to explain to me how to do good research? You seem good at it and I want to light up again my passion for history and use the knowledge to study the Bible with this type of critical thinking

Thanks, but I don't consider myself "good at it". I'm just looking things up on the internet to demonstrate my points in discussions.

Personally I began with this book (in addition to all the history books and National Geographics I'd read as a kid):

https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Mysteries-Was-Original-Pagan/dp/0609807986

I would also recommend starting with Bart Ehrman:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9O8xILJQAs9LxaM4HiMOQ

The Yale Courses on the Old Testament:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9mgdi4rNeyuvTEbD-Ei0JdMUujXfyWi

More books:

https://www.amazon.com/Early-History-God-Biblical-Resource/dp/080283972X and other books by this author.

Some of this author's work has been discredited but I think his work here is still valid:

https://www.amazon.com/Did-God-Have-Wife-Archaeology/dp/0802863949

All of that is just the tip of the iceberg of the information out there about the real origins of the bible.

There's still quite a bit of controversy over the idea that "Jesus" never existed (naturally, since "his" existence is the cornerstone of one of the largest religious systems on earth today.)

But perhaps these will help:

this is the first book I read on the subject:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0609807986/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=28697467647&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6584078992788826778&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_9ikfht1688_e

And I've found these videos very interesting & informative:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn7TEoA9ark

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3jvINxIcwc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb4cMs52-vk

Some more links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

Two different viewpoints:

http://www.catholic.com/blog/jon-sorensen/is-this-mention-of-jesus-a-forgery

http://freethoughtnation.com/josephus-forgery-on-jesus/

I would recommend The Jesus Mysteries, if you need additional arguments about his existence. He may have, but it's unlikely.

I read a book called "The Jesus Mysteries"that convinced me that no, he never existed. https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Mysteries-Was-Original-Pagan/dp/0609807986

I am still very new to the concepts, but I was introduced to Gnosticism by reading The Jesus Mysteries and Jesus and The Lost Goddess. The writing style is very digestible for a beginner IMHO. There is a third book i have yet to read, but I’ve enjoyed the first two so far. I’m not sure how much these relate to other gnostic resources, but they were a nice starting point. YMMV!