Read Anywhere and on Any Device!

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Join today and start reading your favorite books for Free!

Create Free Account

The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David

Thomas L. Thompson

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Since the eighteenth century, scholars and historians studying the texts of the Bible have attempted to distill historical facts and biography from the mythology and miracles described there. That trend continues into the present day, as scholars such as those of the "Jesus Seminar" dissect the Gospels and other early Christian writings to separate the "Jesus of history" from the "Christ of faith." But with The Messiah Myth, noted Biblical scholar Thomas L. Thompson argues that the quest for the historical Jesus is beside the point, since the Jesus of the Gospels never existed.Like King David before him, says Thompson, the Jesus of the Bible is an amalgamation of themes from Near Eastern mythology and traditions of kingship and divinity. The theme of a messiah-a divinely appointed king who restores the world to perfection-is typical of Egyptian and Babylonian royal ideology dating back to the Bronze Age. In Thompson's view, the contemporary audience for whom the Old and New Testament were written would naturally have interpreted David and Jesus not as historical figures, but as metaphors embodying long-established messianic traditions. Challenging widely held assumptions about the sources of the Bible and the quest for the historical Jesus, The Messiah Myth is sure to spark interest and heated debate.

Language: English

Pages: 414

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)

Release: April 01, 2005

ISBN: 0465085776

ISBN 13: 9780465085774

The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David

Thomas L. Thompson

3.7/5 ( ratings)

Since the eighteenth century, scholars and historians studying the texts of the Bible have attempted to distill historical facts and biography from the mythology and miracles described there. That trend continues into the present day, as scholars such as those of the "Jesus Seminar" dissect the Gospels and other early Christian writings to separate the "Jesus of history" from the "Christ of faith." But with The Messiah Myth, noted Biblical scholar Thomas L. Thompson argues that the quest for the historical Jesus is beside the point, since the Jesus of the Gospels never existed.Like King David before him, says Thompson, the Jesus of the Bible is an amalgamation of themes from Near Eastern mythology and traditions of kingship and divinity. The theme of a messiah-a divinely appointed king who restores the world to perfection-is typical of Egyptian and Babylonian royal ideology dating back to the Bronze Age. In Thompson's view, the contemporary audience for whom the Old and New Testament were written would naturally have interpreted David and Jesus not as historical figures, but as metaphors embodying long-established messianic traditions. Challenging widely held assumptions about the sources of the Bible and the quest for the historical Jesus, The Messiah Myth is sure to spark interest and heated debate.

Language: English

Pages: 414

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)

Release: April 01, 2005

ISBN: 0465085776

ISBN 13: 9780465085774

More books from Thomas L. Thompson

The Mythic Past: Biblical Archaeology And The Myth Of Israel

3.9/5 ( ratings)

Early History of the Israelite People: From the Written & Archaeological Sources

Is This Not the Carpenter?: The Question of the Historicity of the Figure of Jesus

3.8/5 ( ratings)

The Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives: The Quest for the Historical Abraham

3.5/5 ( ratings)

أسفار العهد القديم فى التاريخ

3.5/5 ( ratings)

The Bible and Hellenism: Greek Influence on Jewish and Early Christian Literature

4.6/5 ( ratings)

Jerusalem in Ancient History and Tradition

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Biblical Interpretation Beyond Historicity: Changing Perspectives 7

History, Archaeology and The Bible Forty Years After Historicity: Changing Perspectives 6 (Changing Perspectives: Copenhagen International Seminar)

A New Critical Approach to the History of Palestine: Palestine History and Heritage Project 1 (Copenhagen International Seminar: Palestine History and Heritage Project Subseries)

Biblical Interpretation Beyond Historicity: Changing Perspectives 7 (Changing Perspectives: Copenhagen International Seminar)

The settlement of Sinai and the Negev in the Bronze Age (Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients : Reihe B, Geisteswissenschaften ; Nr. 8)

History, Archaeology and the Bible Forty Years After Historicity: Changing Perspectives 6

The Settlement of Palestine in the Bronze Age

Rate this book!

Write a review?