The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus
The Obsolete Paradigm of a Historical Jesus
“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 of a Historical Jesus 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
About the Book
More than a decade has passed since peer-reviewed studies began questioning the historical existence of Jesus. This study surveys what has happened since, and how biblical studies has continued moving toward that conclusion even while attempting to avoid it. By exploring newly published takes on Docetism, the aims and sources of the Gospels, the interpretation of the Epistles, and the logic of historical reasoning, the old paradigm of biblical studies is here argued to be obsolete. Too much work is being built on the assumption that Jesus existed, and that something about him can be recovered, and this is leading scholars to false conclusions about Christianity and its origins. Historians need to rethink their entire paradigm and begin studying the Bible anew on the assumption that there was no such Jesus to recover. It is here shown how that approach will produce important new knowledge of early Christian history and the interpretation of the New Testament.
About the Author
Richard Carrier, PhD, is a world-renowned author and speaker who specializes in the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, particularly ancient philosophy, religion, and science. He is the author of numerous books, including On the Historicity of Jesus and Jesus from Outer Space. To learn more about Dr. Carrier and his work, please visit richardcarrier.info.
Details
ISBN: 9781634312820
Format: paperback
SRP: $24.95
Page count: 439 pages
Trim size: 6 x 9
Pub date: November 2025
“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“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"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
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