The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus

""Has an entire subfield of biblical historians been barking up the wrong tree? The consensus of all objective historians is that Christianity did not begin with a Jesus who came back from the dead. Now with a thorough review of the latest developments and findings, Richard Carrier leads the charge in demonstrating that not only was a 'risen' Jesus invented--all our available evidence points toward the underlying 'historical' Jesus being just as imaginary. With impeccable scholarly rigor, Carrier lays out how the certainty in a historical Jesus has crumbled, and why the entire field of Jesus studies is in need of a complete overhaul. An exhilarating look behind the scenes at the bleeding edge of a paradigm shift a decade in the making."" --David Fitzgerald, author of Playing God: An Evolutionary History of Western Religion ""After a decade of engagements with Carrier's version of the Jesus Myth Theory, his approach remains viable. There are developments within New Testament Studies that have made it even stronger. From ancient views of the cosmos to even an author's choice of Greek prepositions, this new study guides the reader to understand and appreciate the paradigm of Jesus as a celestial myth rather than a celestialized man. Updating and adding to the case, The Obsolete Paradigm shows that Jesus Mythicism pulls away old barriers and opens up new avenues for exploring early Christianity. Until scholars take this work seriously, historical Jesus studies will remain exceptionally incomplete."" --Aaron Adair, PhD, author of The Star of Bethlehem: A Skeptical View ""With brilliant unrelenting force, Dr. Carrier confronts the present absurd state of Biblical Studies with the obvious: we find no Roman-period historical figure so extensively and consistently mythological as the Jesus of earliest Christian texts. No secular theorist can find any sure ground for asserting that such a man ever walked this earth."" --Richard M. Miller, PhD, author of Resurrection and Reception in Early Christianity ""Carrier is one of the leading proponents of Jesus being mythical. In this welcome new assessment, he offers a vigorous and characteristically meticulous analysis of, and reply to, the objections that have been leveled against his case. His bold suggestion, that the historicity of Jesus can no longer be considered viable, lays down a real challenge to scholars who insist mythicism is not worthy of serious attention."" --Evan Fales, PhD, author of Reading Sacred Texts: Charity, Structure, Gospel