If Jesus Was a Myth...

CS Lewis famously asserted his "Trillemma" argument regarding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth.  It proposes that a man who claims to be God can be one of three things; God, a wicked liar, or a complete madman.  This is usually called the alliterative “Lord, Liar, Lunatic Trillemma”.

There is a fourth option which CS Lewis dismissed based on his knowledge of literature.  Namely, that New Testament is either partly or entirely mythological.  This option is often labeled, "Legend".  It proposes that the Apostles (or other early Christians) embellished Jesus' story with claims to divinity or completely fabricated the man wholesale.

When I encounter someone who has left the Christian faith, I often wish I could give them those three non-Christian options as a sort of exit survey:

The Internet, You Say!

This leads me to a lady I recently met while out at the park with James.  She mentioned that she used to be a very religious Christian but is now an Atheist.   

After a brief pause she asked, “Well, aren’t you going to ask why?”

“Alright, I’ll bite.” I replied, “Why are you now an Atheist?”

What followed was a laundry list:

• The Bible makes no sense.
• God is a sexist and oppresses women.
• The patriarchs were bad, bad men.
• The resurrection narratives differ from one another.
• Prayers don’t get answered.
• Christians have done immoral things.
• Christians never help the poor and suffering.
• Atheists are better people than Christians.

Finally getting a word in edgewise, I asked, “Then what do you make of Jesus of Nazareth?  Who was that man?”

She said, “I’ve researched this on the Internet, and so can you.  There is no evidence that the man existed. It is just a mix of other pagan religions - like Horus and Mithras. I like the teachings, but he never existed.”

 What I Would Have to Believe... 

It is easy to say the words “Jesus is a fictional amalgamation of ancient myths”.  Fitting that assertion into a sensible picture of history, on the other hand, is a bit tougher.

 

So let’s suppose the historical record is at least accurate in recording that the Apostles preached about Jesus in Jerusalem, then all over the known world, and were finally martyred.  What would I have to believe in order to rectify that data with the hypothesis that Jesus was a myth?

The Unusual Suspects:

The first question is what brought the Apostles together in the first place.  I would need to believe a small group of Jewish peasants – some of whom would have been natural enemies – came together for a common cause.  What made them do that?

Well, apparently they assembled to study the mythology of cultures they had no possible interaction with (like the Celts and Aztecs) and others they had historical enmity with (like the Babylonians and Egyptians).  Their goal was to incorporate that mythology into the Jewish religious and cultural narrative and begin convincing people it really happened.

The Missing Man:

They did this by inventing a man named Jesus/Joshua.  They gave him a profound body of public teaching (which no one ever heard him preach), a real hometown (filled with people who had never met him), real kinsmen (who would have had no knowledge of him), real people he met and argued with (but really didn't), and public events he participated in (none of which ever happened).

All of these claims would have been exposed as fraudulent under a modicum of scrutiny by the people supposedly involved, but I guess no one spoke up.

Nevertheless, the Apostles were so committed to this Hebrew-Pagan synthesis that they were willing to forsake all worldly comforts, suffer, and die for the sake of spreading it.  They did this without a single one backing down and admitting it was fake … even when their family and friends started getting killed too.

Jesus Who?

This story centered on a big public execution in Jerusalem … which never happened.  Yet the Apostles began their preaching in Jerusalem to the very people who would have known it was bogus.

The opponents of the Apostles - rather than pointing out that none of this happened - justified their actions (which they didn't do) and accused the Apostles of stealing Jesus’ body (which didn't exist).

Better Call Saul?

Next we have the odd case of Paul of Tarsus.  He was a well-educated and zealous Jew who was killing Christians.  But then he hallucinated a vision of Jesus and decided to join them.   

Despite his extensive education and interactions with Greek and Roman culture … he somehow didn't realize the whole Jesus story was stolen from pagan mythology.  Instead he was convinced this fictional story was the true fulfillment of the Jewish religion.

And once again, despite going to Jerusalem, meeting witnesses, and talking with Jesus’ supposed family.... no one mentioned there was no Jesus.

With all that behind me I would have to turn to the text of the Bible itself. 

A Likely Story!

I would have to believe that when the Apostles wrote down their biographies of Jesus, they crafted fictional tales of their own failures, stupidity, ignorance, cowardice, and cynicism.

They could have just as easily crafted tales of their wisdom and bravery, but nope ... they opted to completely humiliate themselves.  They went into a hostile world essentially using the following as a sale pitch:

“We are complete cowards who never understood Jesus and ultimately abandoned him!  Come listen to us expound on his life and teachings!”

Further, considering that their aim was to invent Jesus as a new fictional God, they also included things in their narrative which made him look really ungodlike.  Things like:

• Saying things which sound like rejections of his divinity.
• Expressing ignorance.
• Experiencing intense fear.
• Praying to God… when he is supposed to be God.
• Being executed.
• Crying out "my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!" 

Lastly, when they recorded the resurrection narrative – the lynchpin of the whole story - these masterminds chose to write accounts which sound different.  But one thing they all agreed on was that the first witness of the resurrection would be a woman with a history of demon possession.   Good move.

Absent Critics:

Looking past the apostles, I’d have to reconcile certain facts from Church history.

The early Christians interacted with the religions which Christianity was supposedly copied from, but the issue of plagiarism just didn’t come up.  The Early Church Fathers spent enormous amounts of time refuting objections from all quarters.  Somehow they never encountered anyone saying, “That’s just a retread of our Horus mythology!”

Looking down through history at my fellow Christians, I’d be forced to conclude that every experience and encounter with Jesus was a mental illusion.  Perhaps I could chalk it up to wish-fulfillment, but I would have to conclude the same thing about non-Christians.

Plus, I would have to conclude that every miracle experienced by both Christians and skeptics alike is just a bizarre and coincidental natural event.

Lastly, and most importantly, I’d have to believe that all those ancient pagan myths really do assert those Christian-ish things, and it isn't just the result of crappy scholarship done by anti-Christian trolls on the internet.

Or Maybe…

Perhaps all of that seems like a bit of a stretch.    Well… there is a much simpler solution available to us.  It goes like this:

There was a real Jesus.  The Apostles and others believed He rose from the dead and began preaching about Him.

Or as Saint Peter said:

 “The God of our ancestors raised Jesus, though you had him killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to grant Israel repentance and forgiveness of sins. We are witnesses of these things, as is the holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey him." - Acts 5:30-32