My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus"

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
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MrMacSon
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

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As the father of the gods, Zeus ascertained that each deity perform their individual duty, punished their misdeeds, settled their disputes, and acted towards them on all occasions as their all-knowing counsellor and mighty friend.

As the father of men, he took a paternal interest in the actions and well-being of mortals. He watched over them with tender solicitude, rewarding truth, charity, and fairness, while severely punishing perjury and cruelty. Even the poorest and most forlorn wanderer could find a powerful advocate in Zeus, for he, as a wise and merciful paternal figure, demanded that the wealthy inhabitants of the earth be attentive to the needs of their less fortunate fellow citizens.

http://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Zeus/zeus.html
See a tabulated list of Zeus's 'divine-' and 'non-divine-' "children" here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus#Cons ... d_children
Although etymology indicates that Zeus was originally a sky god, many Greek cities honored a local Zeus who lived underground. Athenians and Sicilians honored Zeus Meilichios ("kindly" or "honeyed") while other cities had Zeus Chthonios ("earthy"), Zeus Katachthonios ("under-the-earth") and Zeus Plousios ("wealth-bringing"). These deities might be represented as snakes or in human form in visual art; or, for emphasis, as both together in one image.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus#Addi ... ts_of_Zeus
The Hellenistic writer Euhemerus apparently proposed a theory that Zeus had actually been a great king of Crete and that posthumously his glory had slowly turned him into a deity. The works of Euhemerus himself have not survived, but Christian patristic writers took up the suggestion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus#Zeus_Velchanos
  • Euhemerism was fashionable among the Church Fathers (the religious teachers of the early church) as an 'account' of paganism.
    • [ie. Euhemerus had [supposedly] 'shown' the Greek and Roman 'gods' were merely deified humans.[
    http://www.britannica.com/topic/Euhemerism
Euhemerism

Euhemerus (Greek mythographer)
author of a utopian work that was popular in the ancient world; his name was given to the theory [doctrine] that gods are great men worshipped after their death (i.e., Euhemerism). His most important work was Hiera Anagraphe (probably early 3rd century BC; 'The Sacred Inscription'), which was translated into Latin by the poet Ennius (239–169 BC).

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Euhemerism
In Euhemerus’s first-person narrative, he is sent by the Macedonian king Cassander (305–297 bc) on an imaginary voyage to the Indian Ocean, where he eventually lands on an island he calls Panchaea. The island is full of marvels, and it has a clear three-class structure: priests and craftsmen, farmers, and soldiers and shepherds. On Panchaea the poet discovers in a temple of Zeus the sacred inscription that gives the book its name. The inscription 'explains' that Zeus and his ancestors Uranus (Heaven) and the Titan Cronus, as well as the other gods, were mortals who were worshipped because of their accomplishments or merits. Euhemerus may have been simply applying to all the gods what was commonly believed to be true of some—e.g., Dionysus and Heracles. He may also have been influenced by Hellenistic ruler cults, which became popular as a result of the success of Alexander the Great.

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Euh ... thographer
... It is generally assumed that the island of Panchea, as well as the rest of what Euhemerus accounts, is more or less fiction of his. Yet, this approach to mythology, seeing behind it some distant historical facts, did not therefore lose their credibility. Myths, also those involving the gods, even the very genesis of them as well as the whole world, tend to be mingled also with the affairs of men. In this (Homer is certainly a good example) having gods and men interact to the extent that they become difficult to tell apart at all.

To the Christian thinkers, the ideas of Euhemerus had that advantage, too; of doing away with the heathen ingredient in the Greek myths, without having to do away with the myths altogether. The stories of old could be nourished and retold, with an interpretation doing pretty much the reverse of what Euhemerus said once had taken place, so that men, [supposedly] 'having been turned into gods', could be 'turned back' into men.

http://www.stenudd.com/greekphilosophers/euhemerus.htm
the mythographer Euhemerus, suggested that the gods were originally human, a view known as Euhemerism.

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Euhemerism
Early Christian writers, such as Lactantius, used the principles of Euhemerus to assert that,

  • because the ancient gods were [supposedly] originally human, they were necessarily inferior to the Christian god.

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Euh ... thographer
  • Euhemerism was fashionable among the Church Fathers (the religious teachers of the early church) as an account of paganism.
    • [ie. Euhemerus had [supposedly] 'shown' the Greek and Roman 'gods' were merely deified humans.]
    http://www.britannica.com/topic/Euhemerism
[/list]
Last edited by MrMacSon on Sat Aug 22, 2015 4:38 pm, edited 11 times in total.
iskander
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by iskander »

It is a book about Euhemerus, then.
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MrMacSon
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by MrMacSon »

What book are you referring to? Carrier's 'On the Historicity of Jesus'?

see http://freethoughtblogs.com/carrier/arc ... nt-1057518


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Last edited by MrMacSon on Sat Aug 22, 2015 3:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
iskander
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by iskander »

OP:My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus"
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MrMacSon
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

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iskander wrote:OP:My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Jesus"
GakuseiDon has posted a review. He likes to try to counter Carrier, often by misrepresenting him.
iskander
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by iskander »

I am responding to what you have written to me
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MrMacSon
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

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iskander wrote:I am responding to what you have written to me
And I am responding to your first post. I suggest you read the thread; I think a blog post of Carrier's about euhemerism was introduced during the thread.
iskander
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by iskander »

So, Euhemerus was introduced by a saboteur ; Only a visionary could find Euhemerus helpful for anything at all.
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MrMacSon
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

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iskander wrote:So, Euhemerus was introduced by a saboteur ..
Yes, by Christians to diminish others' views.
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Re: My review of Richard Carrier's "On the Historicity of Je

Post by iskander »

They have succeeded.
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