Let’s just make it nice and obvious there is evidence for mythicism as well as a lack of evidence for historicity, just to demonstrate that anyone who makes the claim that mythicism has “no evidence” is flagrantly lying. 1. Jesus is a god or demigod. They tend not to exist. Evidence for mythicism: This the starting point from which historicity must recover, which is possible with good evidence. Evidence for the premise: Without doing a formal count of historical figures that accrued theological appellations and wild legends like Caesar Augustus or Alexander the Great versus purely mythological ..read more

Take a close look at the snakes you see above. Notice that it’s not snakes. It’s a moth. Mimicry is the perfect proof of an evolutionary process over creationism. If you are a young earth creationist, how could a butterfly be created disguised as a snake if there was no death before the Fall? Moreover, the mimicry implies a creator would have to use deception in designing things. On the other hand, if this is what Mother Nature has done by natural selection and mutation from the butterflies on the ark, then that’s admitting a very exquisite, “apparently designed” adaptation can be wrought ..read more

Speculation: In the garden of Eden story, the serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly (as if it could previously walk!) after having promised Adam and Eve “they shall be as gods” if they eat the fruit of the tree. Below is the Egyptian god Amen in his primeval form, who promised followers eternal life. Is this what they were talking about? The post Garden of Eden Speculation appeared first on Hume’s Apprentice ..read more

Onus Books are proud to announce the release of a new collection of pieces by atheist counter-apologist, author, former preacher, and philosopher of religion John W. Loftus. The book, Debating Christianity: Opening Salvos in the Battle with Believers, features two parts. Part I comprises a series of debate openers in that Loftus has used against various theistic opponents. Stripped of rhetoric, these pieces stand on the strength of their content. They cover a number of grounds, from philosophical arguments against the existence of God, to the Nativity and Resurrection of Jesus, to suffering. P ..read more

We are a little bit late in announcing the news that Jonathan MS Pearce’s latest book, 30 Arguments against the Existence of “God”, Heaven, Hell, Satan, and Divine Design, is out now for your delectation. He has been busy being interviewed on various channels on YouTube discussing the book. See him interviewed on MythVision with Derek Lambert, Critical Faculty with Hanney Seylim, and Emerson Green’s Counter Apologetics. The God of classical theism, that which Jonathan MS Pearce calls “OmniGod”, is in the crosshairs in the collection of arguments against such a god’s existence. Omnipotence, omn ..read more

There is late evidence of many distinct contexts for Jesus’ life; 100 BC in Joppa, crucified by Caesar Augustus, put to death by Herod as in the Gospel of Peter. That suggests the stories emerged from an original that lacked any of these contexts. Sure enough, the Pauline letters lack context. No geographical markers for Jesus, no specific historical elements, we cannot positively tell whether Paul believed in the Markan Jesus of 30 AD or the 100 BCE Jesus. Thus, there are two corroborating lines of evidence that support mythicism: Many conflicting late traditions and early documents that are ..read more

We are hoping that authors Aaron Adair (The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View) and David Fletcher (Myth Education: A Guide to Gods, Goddesses, and Other Supernatural Beings) will feature for interviews on Derek Lambert’s MythVision podcast on YouTube. The podcast is a popular and successful look at the intersection of religion and mythology, with a host of videos analysing the theology and exegesis of the Bible and biblical claims in a skeptical light. We’ll keep you posted on how this develops and when they might happen ..read more

The popular YouTube podcast show hosted by Derel Lambert, a former evangelical, is serialising the book The Resurrection: A Critical Examination of the Easter Story [UK], by Jonathan MS Pearce, in a YouTube series. You can check out the first two episodes in the series (that should expand to five or six pieces) here: Please check out the book and help skeptical publishing ..read more

Jonathan MS Pearce recently wrote a book on the Resurrection of Jesus, the second in his”Critical Examination” trilogy that looks at the historical basis for religious and theological claims about Jesus. The books weave history, theology, and philosophy to create a concerted salvo aimed at the justification for theistic belief. Please grab yourself a copy of the first two whilst he is busy writing the third, on the Exodus: The Nativity: A Critical Examination [UK] The Resurrection: A Critical Examination [UK] Well, this review might be our favourite yet – what a lovely review: In fact, t ..read more

[By] applying to “Christ entering the world,” the modified verse from Psalm 40:7-9: You wanted neither sacrifice nor oblation, but you arranged a body for me (…) Then I said: See, I have come(…)” (Heb. 10.5-7) the author seems to say that Jesus received his body before leaving heaven. In any case, he excludes that Jesus could have been born and have had a human family because he is a priest according to Melchizedek’s order, who was “without a father, without a mother, without gneealogy, having neither beginning or ending of days, resembling the Son of God: (Hebrews 7:3). Page 208, Jean Magnes ..read more