The Jesus Problem: A restatement of the myth theory E-Book

J. M. Robertson

• Herausgeber: Youcanprint
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Most of the propositions in mythology and anthropology in this book are founded on bodies of evidence given in the larger works of the author. It seemed fitting, therefore, to refer to those works instead of repeating hundreds of references there given. Readers concerned to investigate the issues are thus invited and enabled to do so. For brevity's sake, Christianity and Mythology is cited as C.M.; Pagan Christs as P.C.; and the Short Histories of Christianity and Freethought as S.H.C. and S.H.F. respectively. In the first three cases the references are to the second editions; in the last case, to the third. The Evolution of States is cited as E.S. Another work often referred to is Sir J. G. Frazer's great thesaurus, The Golden Bough, which is cited as G.B., the references being to the last edition. Other new references are given in the usual way. The Ecce Deus of Professor W. B. Smith is cited in the English edition. Passages in brackets, in unleaded type, may be passed at a first perusal by readers concerned mainly to follow the constructive theory. Such passages deal controversially with counter-polemic.

Leseprobe

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFATORY NOTE

THE JESUS PROBLEM

Chapter I

THE APPROACH

Chapter II

THE CENTRAL MYTH

- 1. The Ground of Conflict

- 2. The Sacrificial Rite

- 3. Contingent Elements

- 4. The Mock-King Ritual

- 5. Doctrinal Additions

- 6. Minor Ritual and Myth Elements

- 7. The Cross

- 8. The Suffering Messiah

- 9. The Rock Tomb

- 10. The Resurrection

Chapter III

ROOTS OF THE MYTH

- 1. Historical Data

- 2. Prototypes

- 3. The Mystery-Drama

Chapter IV

THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULT

- 1. The Primary Impulsion

- 2. The Silence of Josephus

- 3. The Myth of the Twelve Apostles

- 4. The Process of Propaganda

- 5. Real Determinants

Chapter V

ORGANIZATION AND ECONOMICS

- 1. The Economic Side

- 2. Organization

Chapter VI

EARLY BOOK-MAKING

-1. The “Didachê”

- 2. The Apocalypse

- 3. Epistles

Chapter VII

GOSPEL-MAKING

- 1. Tradition

- 2. Schmiedel’s Tests

- 3. Tendential Tests

- 4. Historic Summary

Chapter VIII

SUPPLEMENTARY MYTH

- 1. Myths of Healing

- 2. Birth-Myths

- 3. Minor Myths

Chapter IX

CONCLUSION

Appendix A

THE “TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES”

Appendix B

THE MYTH OF SIMON MAGUS

title

THE JESUS PROBLEM: A RESTATEMENT OF THE MYTHTHEORY

J. M. ROBERTSON

First digital edition 2016 by Anna Ruggieri

PREFATORY NOTE

Most of the propositions in mythology and anthropology in this book are founded on bodies of evidence given in the larger works of the author. It seemed fitting, therefore, to refer to those works instead of repeating hundreds of references there given. Readers concerned to investigate the issues are thus invited and enabled to do so. For brevity’s sake,Christianity and Mythologyis cited asC.M.;Pagan ChristsasP.C.; and theShort Historiesof Christianity and Freethought asS.H.C.andS.H.F.respectively. In the first three cases the references are to the second editions; in the last case, to the third.The Evolution of Statesis cited asE.S.Another work often referred to is Sir J. G. Frazer’s great thesaurus,The Golden Bough, which is cited asG.B.,the references being to the last edition. Other new references are given in the usual way. TheEcce Deusof Professor W. B. Smith is cited in the English edition.

Passages in brackets, in unleaded type, may be passed at a first perusal by readers concerned mainly to follow the constructive theory. Such passages deal controversially with counter-polemic.

THE JESUS PROBLEM. CHAPTER I - THE APPROACH

As was explained in the preamble toThe Historical Jesus(1916), that work was offered as prolegomena to a concise restatement of the theory that the Gospel Jesus is a mythical construction. That theory had been discursively expounded by the writer in two large volumes,Christianity and MythologyandPagan Christs, and summarily inA Short History of Christianity, the argument in the two former combining a negative criticism of the New Testament narrative with an exposition of the myth-evidence. Criticism having in large part taken the form of a denial that the records were unhistorical, it was necessary to clearthe ground by showing that all the various attempts of the past generation to find in the gospels a historical residuum have entirely failed to meet critical tests. Those attempts, conflicting as they do with each other, and collapsing as they do in themselves, give undesigned support to the conclusion that the gospel story is without historic basis.

It remains to restate with equal brevity the myth-theory which, long ago propounded on a very narrow basis, has latterly been re-developed in the light of modern mythology and anthropology, and has in recent years found rapidly increasing acceptance. Inevitably the different lines of approach have involved varieties of speculation; Professors Drews and W. B. Smith have ably and independently developed the theoryin various ways; and a conspectus and restatement has become necessary for the sake of the theory itself no less than for the sake of those readers who call for a condensed statement.

This in turn is in itself tentative. If the progressive analysis of thesubject matter from the point of view of its historicity has meant a century and a half of debate and an immense special literature, it is not to be supposed that the theory which negates the fundamental assumptions of that literature can be fully developed and established in one lifetime, at the hands of a few writers. The problem “What really happened?” is in fact a far wider one for the advocate of the myth-theory than for the critic who undertakes to extract a biography from the documents. In its firstform, as propounded by Dupuis and Volney, the myth-theory was confined simply to certain parallelisms between Christian and Pagan myth, and to the astronomical basis of a number of these. From this standpoint the actual historic inception of the cult waslittle considered. Strauss, again, developed with great power and precision the view that most of the detail in the gospel narrative is myth construction on the lines of Jewish prophecy and dogma. But Strauss never fully accepted the myth-theory, having always assumed the existence of a teacher as a nucleus for the whole. As apart from the continuators of Dupuis and Volney, it was Bruno Bauer who, setting out with the purpose of extracting a biography from the gospels, and finding no standing ground, firstpropounded a myth-theory from that point of view.

His construction, being the substantially arbitrary one of a hypothetical evangelist who created a myth and thereby founded the cultus, naturally made no headway; and its artificiality strengthened the hands of those who claimed to work inductively on the documents. It was by reason of a similar failure to find a historic footing where he had at first taken it for granted that the present writer was gradually led, on lines of comparative hierology and comparative mythology and anthropology, tothe conception of the evolution of the Jesus-cult from the roots of a “pre-Christian” one. The fact that this view has been independently reached by such a student as Professor W. B. Smith, who approached the problem from within rather than by way of the comparative method, seems in itself a very important confirmation.