WeRead
Powered by ReaderPub
Explore more books like this:
A skeptical, systematic critique argues that the Christ of the New Testament is a constructed myth rather than a reliably attested historical person. It assesses the silence of contemporary writers, the anonymous and late character of the gospels, and the contradictions within infancy narratives, ministry accounts, crucifixion, and resurrection reports. The author evaluates the moral portrait and teachings attributed to the figure and traces parallels with older pagan religions and divinities as possible sources of the myth. The conclusion asserts that supernatural claims lack sufficient historical support and that veneration rests on literary and theological fabrication rather than firm documentary evidence.
Who was their father?
If they were sons of the Virgin Mary, Joseph must have been their father. But Matthew (x, 3) and Mark (iii, 18) state that James the Less was “the son of Alpheus.” According to John (compare John xix, 25 with Matthew xxvii, 56) Cleophas was their father.
Referring to this and the preceding discrepancy, Smith’s “Bible Dictionary” says: “This is one of the most difficult questions in the Gospel history.”