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The Myth of Jesus Christ is the esoteric belief that a literal and historical Jesus did not exist but instead portrays abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion of a higher knowledge, awareness and consciousness which is not readily apparent to one who adheres to the perception of reality as defined by the five senses. In this, perception is considered a hindrance to esoteric enlightenment.

The first scholarly proponent of the Jesus Myth idea was probably Nineteenth Century historian Bruno Bauer, who argued that the true founder of Christianity was the Alexandrian Jew Philo. His arguments made little impact on the wider scholarly community of his time, though Karl Marx's collaborator Friedrich Engels was impressed with his theory. . In the early Twentieth Century, however, a few other scholars published arguments in favor of the Jesus Myth idea. These treatments were more influential and merited several book-length responses by historians and New Testament scholars. Since then, the Jesus Myth has had few academic proponents but has been advanced by informed lay-persons such as mathematician William B. Smith and professor of German George Wells.

Presently, most historians and New Testament scholars consider the Jesus Myth idea as resolved in favor of Jesus' historicity . The eminent classicist Michael Grant, for example, stated that "odern critical methods fail to support the Christ-myth theory . . . . It has again and again been answered and annihilated by first rank scholars." (Michael Grant, Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels, p. 200). Nevertheless, Earl Doherty -- who has a degree in Ancient History and Classical Languages -- has infused the Jesus Myth idea with fresh vigor with his website and publication of his book, The Jesus Puzzle. Doherty's treatment of the issue has received much attention on the internet from both sides of the debate, including favorable reviews by Dr. Robert M. Price and Internet Infidels founder Richard Carrier. To date, however, Mr. Doherty's arguments have not impacted the academic consensus in favor of Jesus' existence.

External links

• Earl Doherty's Website
• "Did Jesus Exist? Earl Doherty and the Argument to Ahistoricity" by Richard Carrier
• "A History of Scholarly Refutations of the Jesus Myth" by Christopher Price
• "Shattering the Jesus Myth" by J.P. Holding
• "Did Jesus Exist" a page devoted to the issues raised by the Jesus Myth