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| ==Books== | ==Books== | ||
| Her book, ''The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold'', is a development of part of her website. A follow-up book, ''Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled'', discusses her views further. It is largely written as an address to critics of her former book. In it, she comments on the ] story of the life of ], as well as the life of ] (Siddhartha Gautama). She claims parallels to the life of Jesus, presenting this as evidence that the story of Jesus was written based on existing stories, and not the life of a real man. | Her 1999 book, ''The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold'', is a development of part of her website. A follow-up book, ''Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled'', discusses her views further. It is largely written as an address to critics of her former book. In it, she comments on the ] story of the life of ], as well as the life of ] (Siddhartha Gautama). She claims parallels to the life of Jesus, presenting this as evidence that the story of Jesus was written based on existing stories, and not the life of a real man. | ||
| ==Claims about Christianity== | ==Claims about Christianity== | ||
| Acharya denies the historical existence of Jesus Christ, dismissing the New Testament as a work of pure fiction with a hidden subtext. |
Acharya denies the ], dismissing the New Testament as a work of pure fiction with a hidden subtext. The story of Christ, she maintains, is actually a retelling of various ] myths, all of which represent "astro-theology" or the ]. She asserts that the pagans understood these stories to be myths but that Christians obliterated evidence to the contrary through the destruction and control of literature once they attained control of the Roman Empire. | ||
| This purportedly led to widespread illiteracy in the ancient world and ensured that the mythical nature of Christ's story was hidden. Scholars of other sects continued to oppose the historicizing of a mythological figure. Where no evidence exists, Acharya claims that this is because the arguments were destroyed by Christians. However, Christians preserved these contentions, she states, through their own refutations. | This purportedly led to widespread illiteracy in the ancient world and ensured that the mythical nature of Christ's story was hidden. Scholars of other sects continued to oppose the historicizing of a mythological figure. Where no evidence exists, Acharya claims that this is because the arguments were destroyed by Christians. However, Christians preserved these contentions, she states, through their own refutations. | ||
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| ==Criticisms== | ==Criticisms== | ||
| Critics have claimed her work is based on poor scholarship, |
Critics have claimed her work is based on poor scholarship, and trust in secondary sources. Online reviews of ''The Christ Conspiracy'', running into several hundreds, have raised a host of points. | ||
| shares her view that the ] accounts are borrowed from pagan sources |
shares her view that the ] accounts are borrowed from pagan sources. He writes: | ||
| <blockquote> |
<blockquote>''We sometimes feel, in these pages, to be lost in a forest of false cognates. Can it be true, for instance, that “Solomon” is a trilingual synthesis of words for “the sun”? Sol from Latin, Om from Sanskrit, On from Ethiopic. This conceit she derives from ]. Elsewhere she endorses a contradictory theory, from the same writer, that Solomon is instead derived from Suleyman (=universal emperor), a Persian title. It is symptomatic of the “kettle logic” that permeates this book: any argument is good, whether or not consistent with the others in the arsenal, as long as they are all aimed at the same target.''</blockquote> | ||
| ⚫ | His review as a whole was not so negative. He also said: | ||
| Her began by repeating an unnamed acquantance's speculation that he has "professional jealousy", later adding: | |||
| ⚫ | <blockquote>''Murdock presents us with a whole smorgasbord of “unorthodox” theories, some of them quite legitimate, such as a deconstruction of the Rabbinical apologetic that had us imagining for so long that ancient Israelite religion was monotheistic. It is now clear enough (see, e.g., Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 1987, or Margaret Barker, The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God, 1992) that the ancient Hebrews worshipped Yahweh amid a pantheon of gods. If that comes as shocking news to some, so be it. That is a reason neither to reject nor to relish the fact.''</blockquote> | ||
| <blockquote>Furthermore, while Price is oh-so-skeptical about this information, as an evangelist for some years--presumably as a willing adult--he evidently had no problem not only swallowing the absurd gospel fable but also spreading it around! Should we respectable mythicists be afraid of being associated with Robert Price because of his bizarre past?</blockquote> | |||
| ⚫ | See , and also ] for a longer discussion of ] ]. | ||
| ⚫ | |||
| ⚫ | <blockquote> |
||
| ⚫ | See ] for a longer discussion of ] ]. | ||
| ] ] has also her work, to which she replied, "This man, JP Holding, has no integrity, and that his writings should not be given credibility." | |||
| Another refutation, by Christian apologist Mike Licona, may be found . She , and Licona wrote a . | |||
| ==Life== | ==Life== | ||
| Acharya S has been described, by the '']'' website, as a historian, mythologist, religious scholar, linguist, archeologist; and even, by Internet essayist ], quoted on the splashpage of her own site, as "the ranking religious philosopher of our era". While preserving her privacy, she been interviewed on a variety of radio stations, usually discussing her work in ''The Christ Conspiracy''. She is a fellow of the ], a division of the ]. | |||
| She has a ] degree from ]. In an interview she said she came from a moderate Christian background. Though not traumatic or "Fundamentalist", she described it as "boring" and said she ceased attending church regularly at age 12. | |||
| ⚫ | Her inspiration for labeling Jesus Christ a myth was apparently Joseph Wheless' book ''Forgery in Christianity''. Wheless is also one of her primary sources. She then read other ] works, such as ]' '']'', which also serves as one of her main references, and Barbara Walker's ''The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myth and Secrets'',another source she relies heavily upon. | ||
| ⚫ | Her inspiration for labeling Jesus Christ a myth was apparently Joseph Wheless's book ''Forgery in Christianity''. Wheless is also one of her primary sources. She then read other ] works, such as ]' '']'', which also serves as one of her main references, and Barbara Walker's ''The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myth and Secrets'', another source she relies heavily upon. | ||
| Acharya has also given interviews on a variety of radio stations, usually discussing her work in ''The Christ Conspiracy''. She is a fellow of the ], a division of the ]. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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| * | * | ||
| * | *, and | ||
| *, see ] | *, see ] | ||
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Revision as of 21:29, 24 December 2005
Acharya S is the pen name of D. Murdock. A proponent of the Christ-myth hypothesis, she has authored two books and operates a website called "Truth be Known". Her contention is that all religion is founded in earlier myth and that the characters depicted in Christianity are the result of the plagiarizing of those myths to unify the Roman State.
Books
Her 1999 book, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold, is a development of part of her website. A follow-up book, Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled, discusses her views further. It is largely written as an address to critics of her former book. In it, she comments on the Hindu story of the life of Krishna, as well as the life of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama). She claims parallels to the life of Jesus, presenting this as evidence that the story of Jesus was written based on existing stories, and not the life of a real man.
Claims about Christianity
Acharya denies the historical existence of Jesus Christ, dismissing the New Testament as a work of pure fiction with a hidden subtext. The story of Christ, she maintains, is actually a retelling of various pagan myths, all of which represent "astro-theology" or the story of the Sun. She asserts that the pagans understood these stories to be myths but that Christians obliterated evidence to the contrary through the destruction and control of literature once they attained control of the Roman Empire.
This purportedly led to widespread illiteracy in the ancient world and ensured that the mythical nature of Christ's story was hidden. Scholars of other sects continued to oppose the historicizing of a mythological figure. Where no evidence exists, Acharya claims that this is because the arguments were destroyed by Christians. However, Christians preserved these contentions, she states, through their own refutations.
In "The Christ Conspiracy" she states this theory in twenty-five points, such as "The sun 'dies' for three days at the winter solstice, to be born again or resurrected on December 25th", and "The sun enters into each sign of the zodiac at 30 ; hence, the 'Sun of God' begins his ministry at 'age' 30."
Acharya compares Jesus' history to that of other gods—such as Adonis, Krishna, Quetzalcoatl, Odin—claiming that the similarities result from a common source, the myth of the sun-god.
Claims about other religions
Acharya S is highly critical of certain aspects of Judaism, in particular Hasidism, which she has accused in online writings of involvement with conspiracy to create a theocratic New World Order which would impose the Noahide Laws .
In another online essay, she approvingly quoted allegations that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints smuggled uranium to Australia in order to achieve global domination or ignite Armageddon with the help of Israel.
Her criticisms have also been directed against Islam and Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism, saying "it is claimed" that a secret society of Buddhists in posession of magical keys which can "create or destroy on a cosmic scale" when used in conjunction has existed since the days of Asoka .
Criticisms
Critics have claimed her work is based on poor scholarship, and trust in secondary sources. Online reviews of The Christ Conspiracy, running into several hundreds, have raised a host of points.
Robert Price shares her view that the Gospel accounts are borrowed from pagan sources. He writes:
We sometimes feel, in these pages, to be lost in a forest of false cognates. Can it be true, for instance, that “Solomon” is a trilingual synthesis of words for “the sun”? Sol from Latin, Om from Sanskrit, On from Ethiopic. This conceit she derives from John Hazelrigg. Elsewhere she endorses a contradictory theory, from the same writer, that Solomon is instead derived from Suleyman (=universal emperor), a Persian title. It is symptomatic of the “kettle logic” that permeates this book: any argument is good, whether or not consistent with the others in the arsenal, as long as they are all aimed at the same target.
His review as a whole was not so negative. He also said:
Murdock presents us with a whole smorgasbord of “unorthodox” theories, some of them quite legitimate, such as a deconstruction of the Rabbinical apologetic that had us imagining for so long that ancient Israelite religion was monotheistic. It is now clear enough (see, e.g., Mark S. Smith, The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, 1987, or Margaret Barker, The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God, 1992) that the ancient Hebrews worshipped Yahweh amid a pantheon of gods. If that comes as shocking news to some, so be it. That is a reason neither to reject nor to relish the fact.
See her reply, and also idolatry for a longer discussion of Israelite polytheism.
Life
Acharya S has been described, by the Paranoia Magazine website, as a historian, mythologist, religious scholar, linguist, archeologist; and even, by Internet essayist John Kaminski, quoted on the splashpage of her own site, as "the ranking religious philosopher of our era". While preserving her privacy, she been interviewed on a variety of radio stations, usually discussing her work in The Christ Conspiracy. She is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion, a division of the Council for Secular Humanism.
She has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Franklin and Marshall College. In an interview she said she came from a moderate Christian background. Though not traumatic or "Fundamentalist", she described it as "boring" and said she ceased attending church regularly at age 12.
Her inspiration for labeling Jesus Christ a myth was apparently Joseph Wheless's book Forgery in Christianity. Wheless is also one of her primary sources. She then read other freethought works, such as Kersey Graves' The World's 16 Crucified Saviours, which also serves as one of her main references, and Barbara Walker's The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myth and Secrets, another source she relies heavily upon.
External links
- Truth be Known (Acharya S's website)
- Interview with Acharya S in Paranoia Magazine
- "A Refutation of Acharya S's book, The Christ Conspiracy" by Mike Licona, and rebuttal
- Earl Doherty reviews The Christ Conspiracy, see Earl Doherty
- Robert Price reviews The Christ Conspiracy
- ebtx.com reviews The Christ Conspiracy
- Tekton Apologetics Ministries reviews The Christ Conspiracy