Dykstra on Ehrman & Brodie

Rene Salm has clued me in to another important new peer reviewed journal article, by Tom Dykstra (M.Div.; Ph.D. in Russian History), who is best known for his critically acclaimed book on how the Gospel of Mark is built out of the Epistles of Paul (Mark,...

The Richard Carrier Exists Tour: Stop 4, Omaha!

I’ll be announcing the events along the Richard Carrier Exists Tour as they are finalized. Second in is Omaha, Nebraska. That’s my fourth stop on the move across country. And that’s Friday night, May 27. Come verify my historicity!...

Appearing at UCLA Next Week!

As I announced earlier, I’m speaking for CFI in two locations this Sunday in Southern California, on why a Jesus was invented at all. But the following Wednesday (April 20 at 5pm), I will be speaking on simply what evidence there is for a historical Jesus, at...

Brief Note on Euhemerization

This is just a brief note for those interested in my thoughts on Tim Widowfield’s article “What Is Euhemerism?” about what he thinks are confusions regarding the terminology of “Euhemerization.” For the context, see my article...

Did the Apostles Die for a Lie?

Do we have good evidence that Paul or any of the original twelve Apostles died for their belief in the risen Jesus? Nope. Nevertheless, Justin Bass claimed so in a lecture you can view online (Evidence of the Apostles’ Martyrdom). I may eventually write a...

Speaking on Ancient Science & Christian Fascism in Florida This May!

An amazing double bill event with David Silverman and myself is going down in central Florida this coming May (2016). Hosted by the Central Florida Freethought Community. Silverman is headlining with a survey of his case for firebrand-style atheist activism in his...

Appearing in Los Angeles & Costa Mesa

I will be speaking on Jesus mythicism in Southern California this April. “If Jesus Didn’t Exist, Why Did They Invent One?” The theory that there was no actual Jesus at the dawn of Christianity is starting to impact academia. But if there was no Galilean...

Mythicist Milwaukee Interview with Carrier & Lataster

A podcast interview of Raphael Lataster and myself has just gone up in advance of the Bass-Carrier debate happening this weekend, also sponsored by Mythicist Milwaukee, the same organization as runs the podcast in question. The episode is “The Jesus Myth Theory...

Can Paul’s Human Jesus Not Be a Celestial Jesus?

James McGrath wrote a couple of years ago about Paul’s Human Jesus as an argument against mythicism—in particular against the Doherty thesis, which in stripped down form is what I find most likely to be true in On the Historicity of Jesus. I have noted...

Tucker’s Review of Proving History in the Journal History & Theory

As I recently mentioned, a Harvard University philosopher, Aviezer Tucker, just published a review of my book Proving History for the academic journal History and Theory (Vol. 55, February 2016, pp. 129-140), titled, The Reverend Bayes vs. Jesus Christ. Tucker is an...

Why the Smart Money Is on the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife Being a Forgery

I was going to do a news roundup of several new developments in ancient manuscript studies, until one of them turned out to be a roller-coaster ride down a rabbit hole filled with all manner of twists and turns. The subject? The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife. The other...

Speaking at Darwin on the Palouse (WA)

This year the annual Darwin on the Palouse event will be on February 6 (2016). I’ll be a featured speaker. The event begins at 6:30pm and is being held in the junior ballroom at Washington State University. Free to all. Details here. The event is sponsored by...

Notes & Interviews

Just some random stuff today: I’ve lost track of all the many pods and vids in which I’m interviewed or featured. But I shall try to link to more of them in notes like this as they come up. Anyone who knows of others from this year, please add them in...

Science Then: The Bible vs. The Greeks Edition

Did the Bible predict modern science better than ancient scientists did? Funny to ask. Because naive Muslims have been making the same embarrassing claim for the Koran. Over a decade ago I published an article showing how silly conservative Muslim apologists were for...

Sex & Sexism in Ancient Rome (Transcript)

Following is a transcript of my Columbus talk earlier this year on Sex & Sexism in Ancient Rome (video and bibliography and backstory here). Much thanks to Jacob Aliet who did most of the work putting this together. -:- TEXT: An event Co-Organized by Poly Columbus...