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The Origins of Christianity and the Bible

Andrew Benson is author of the book, The True Origins of Christianity & the Bible, -- the "fictitious, forged and fraudulent history" of these two entities.

The Origins of Christianity and the Bible

Andrew Benson

ISBN: 1929372019

Ordering from Book Catalog

The book is available through:

Minnesota Atheists -- http://www.mnatheists.org/pdf/books-11-26-04.pdf -- order it from their catalog.

What's New at Minnesota Atheists

"Buy freethought books and support Minnesota Atheists -- details and ordering information."

http://www.mnatheists.org/pdf/books-2-1-03.pdf --

For more information, or to arrange an appointment to vist our book store in Minneapolis, contact Minnesota Atheists at (612) 588-7031, or mna at earthlink net

BOOKS & PRODUCTS FOR SALE - NOV 26, 2004

# IN STOCK AUTHOR TITLE PRICE

01 - Baird, Robert, ed.......The Ethics of Abortion (pb)

05 - Barker, Dan ..............Losing Faith in Faith (pb) (autographed)

15 - Benson, Andrew....... Origins of Christianity and the Bible (pb) (autographed).. $20

01 - Blackmore, Susan......Dying to Live (hc)

...

Religious-studies.info -- Excerpts

Earlier version: 1997, has no ISBN number, but has "Library of Congress registry # TX 4-665-102". It is a large (8 1/2 by 11 inches) paperback 370 page book.

Later version/title: Origins of Christianity and the Bible, by Andrew D. Benson, was published July 2000 by Prudential Publishing Company. ISBN: 1929372019.

B&N - Amazon.com.

http://www.freethoughtforum.org/Religion Articles/fundamentalism's_gift_to_humanity.htm

http://home.talkcity.com/SpiritCir/gracewatcher/mystery.html [gone?]-- Esoteric Christianity: The Greek Mystery Religions and Their Impact on Christianity (good article copied from Benson's site)

Articles from the Book

Esoteric Christianity: The Greek Mystery Religions and Their Impact on Christianity

Some extracts -- http://www20.brinkster.com/theword/origins

from http://www.atheistalliance.org/aaw/aaipics/AAIPIC5.htm

Search Web

Other books by Andrew Benson

The Bible: Divine or Human Origin? (1998)

An Honest Look at the Bible: The Latest Findings of Over One Hundred Historians, Archeologists, and Biblical Scholars (1997).

Those two titles, both by Andrew D. Benson and both published by Prudential Press, are held by system libraries and should be available via interlibrary loan at a public (or university/college) library.

You can read exerpts of this book by clicking on the underlined chapter titles, but not at the egodeath site -- see the above sites. The book contains over 2,400 footnote references, which explain and document various facts. The footnote references are not included in the samples that you will read.

I. The Old Testament: a Primary Source of Christianity

        1. A Brief History of the Old Testament 3
                1.1 How It Originated 3
                1.2 How It Was Copied and Edited 4
                1.3 How It Was Translated 5
The Practice of Writing Anonymously 7
                      1.4 How It Was Made Official 8

2. How Scholars Assign Dates to the Old Testament Books 9
                             The Dating of Ecclesiastes 10
                                The Dating of Isaiah 10
                                The Dating of 1 Samuel 11
                                Chronological Chart of Biblical Literature 15

3. Who Wrote the Pentateuch? 15

4. Who Wrote Daniel? 17

5. Sources of the Old Testament
                The Sayings of Amen-em-opet: a Source for Proverbs 20
                The Teachings of Ahiqar: a Source for Proverbs, Psalms, and Jeremiah 21
                Other Ancient Sayings: a Source for Proverbs 22
                The Code of Hammurabi: a Source for the Law of Moses 22
                The Hittite Laws: a Source for the Law of Moses 24
                The Neo-Babylonian Code: a Source for the Law of Moses 25
                The Middle Assyrian Laws: a Source for the Law of Moses 25
                The Eshnunna Code: a Source for the Law of Moses 25
The Epic of Gilgamesh: a Source for the Legend of Noah's Flood
Geological Evidence Indicating the Flood Was Regional 28

Sources of Biblical Literary Style 28
Sources of Biblical Expressions 29
Sources of Biblical Curses 29
Sources of Biblical Rituals 29
Sources of Biblical Motifs 31
Sources of the Biblical Concept of Sin 35
Sources of Biblical Divination 36
The Origin of Prophets 37

6. Separating History from Myth in the Old Testament   38

7. The Links between the Early Greeks and the Pre-exilic Jews 40
                                The Philistines 40
                                Ugarit 41
                                The Phoenicians 41
8. Greek Myths Parallel to Old Testament Legends 42
9. Old Testament Chronology 45

II. The History of God from Abraham to 586 BCE 46

10. The History of God From Abraham to Moses
                                The Origin of the Judeo-Christian God 46
                                God's Similarities to the Canaanite God El 49
11. The History of God From Moses to the Exile 53

12. God's Similarities to Ancient Near Eastern Gods 57

13. The Physical Appearance of God 64

14. The Character of God 66

III. The Development of Judeo-Christian Doctrines After 586 BCE 72

15. How Zoroastrianism Influenced Judaism during and after the Exile 72

16. The Origin and Development of Satan 77
                Originally, God Was the Creator of Both Good and Evil 78
                God Played the Role of the Adversary 78
                Later, God Delegated His Adversarial Role 79
                Then Came the Adversary of Men 79
                Then Came the Adversary of God 81
17. Eternal Life and Judaism 82
                17.1 The Absence of Eternal Life From Pre-exilic Judaism 82
                17.2 The Introduction of Eternal Life in Post-exilic Judaism 87
18. How Zoroaster Inspired the New Testament Writers through the Greeks 89
                18.1 Zoroaster's Influence on the Greeks 89
                18.2 Plato's Ideas of  Eternal Life and His Influence on the New Testament
19. How Zoroaster Inspired the New Testament Writers through the Essenes 98
19.1 The Zoroastrian Influence on the Essenes 98
                19.2 The Essene Influence on the New Testament 100
20. Zoroastrian Ideas in the New Testament 108

IV. The Making of Christianity in the Hellenistic Era 113

21. The Culture that Incubated Christianity 113
                 21.1 The Religious Syncretism of the Hellenistic Era 113
                21.2 Greek Influence on Palestinian Judaism 113
                                 Greek Influence on the Essenes 117
                    The Influence of the Pythagoreans on the Essenes 117
                                  The Essene Beliefs Around the Time of Jesus 119
                                  A Brief History of the Doctrine of Predestination 119
                                  The Pharisaic Beliefs Around the Time of Jesus 121
                21.3 Greek Influence on Alexandrian Judaism 122
22. The Apocrypha the Pseudepigrapha and Their Impact on Christianity 124
                22.1 Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 124
                22.2 Tobit 125
                22.3 The Letter of Aristeas 126
                22.4 Second Maccabees 126
                22.5 Fourth Maccabees 127
                22.6 Wisdom of Solomon 128
                22.7 First Enoch 129
                22.8 Jubilees 134
                22.9 Genesis Apocryphon 134
                22.10 The Canonization of the Old Testament Apocrypha 135
23. The Greek Mystery Religions and Their Impact on Christianity 136
23.1 The Greek Mystery Religions 136
                 Christianity: a Mystery Religion 139
                23.2 The Eleusinians 140
                 The Origin of Baptism 142
                23.3 The Dionysians 143
               23.4 The Orphics 145
                 The Origin of Communion 146
                 About Speaking in Tongues 147
                 The Belief of Praying for the Dead 147
                23.5 The Mysteries of Isis and Osiris 148
               23.6 The Mysteries of Attis 151
               23.7 The Mysteries of Mithra 152
24. Philo, the Architect of Christian Ideas 154
24.1 Greek Influence on Philo 154
                24.2 How the Greeks Rejected the Anthropomorphic Gods 156
               The solution to the problem: allegorical interpretation 157
                24.3 How Philo's God Became the God of Christianity 157
               The Body of the Father God of Christianity 160
                24.4 How Philo Inspired the New Testament Writers 161
               Various Quotations from Philo and Their Parallels in the New Testament
25.  Philo's Word: The Forerunner of the Divine Jesus  164
25.1 "In the Beginning Was Philo's Word" ... and This Word Inspired John and Paul 164
                25.2 Philo's Word: by Whom All Things Were Created 166
                25.3 Philo's Word: God's Mediator, the First-born Son of God 168
                25.4 The Word Was Made Flesh 170
26. Other Forerunners of the Divine Jesus 171
   26.1 Romulus 171
                26.2 Asclepius 172
                Magician's Healing Techniques Attributed to Jesus 173
                26.3 Hercules 174
                26.4 Pythagoras 177
                26.5 Diogenes 178
27. How Hellenistic Christianity Was Established 178
27.1 The Jewish Christians: the Original Followers of Jesus 178
                27.2 Schism in the Church of Jerusalem 182
                 Philo's Word: a Model for Interpreting Jesus 183
                 The Death of Eleazar: a Model for Interpreting the Death of Jesus 184
                 Hercules, Romulus, and Asclepius: Models for Embellishing Jesus 184
                                 How the New Testament Writers Misrepresented the Disciples of Jesus
  27.3 The Separation of the Hellenist Christians from the Jewish Christians 187
    27.4 How Hellenistic Christianity Was Founded 193
                27.5 How Paul Promoted Christianity to the Gentiles 201
                27.6 The Continuation of Greek Influence on the Church after Paul 204

V. The Historical Jesus 206

28. Jesus: An Obscure Jewish Rabbi 206
Harmony between the Historical Jesus and Other Rabbis 209
                                Anti-Jewish Statements Put in the Mouth of Jesus 212
29. Jesus: a King-Messiah of the Jews 215
29.1 The History of the King-Messiahs of the Jews 215
                    The Meaning of "Son of God" 217
     29.2 The Reasons Jesus Was Crucified 218
How Much of Jesus' Trial by the Sanhedrin Is Historical?
              Jesus' Trial by Pilate 222
29.3 Jesus' Messianic Movement after His Death 224
30. Jesus' Image before His Death  225
His Family Viewed Him as a Mere man 225
                His Disciples Viewed Him as a Mere Man 225
                Clues Indicating He Was a Mere Man 225
31. Jesus' Image after His Death 226
Immediately after His Death His Disciples Viewed Him as A Mere Man 226
                The Jewish Christians Viewed Him as a Mere Man 226
                Mark Viewed Him as a Mere Man 227

VI. How the Historical Jesus Was Turned into God 229

32.  How Men Became Gods and Saviors after Their Death 229

33. How Matthew and Luke Upgraded Jesus to a Demi-god 232
                Evidence that Matthew and Luke Copied from Mark 232
                Evidence that Matthew and Luke Upgraded the Jesus of Mark 234
The Upgrade of the Virgin Birth 235
             The Trend of Virgins Being Impregnated by Gods 235
                                The Trend of Demi-gods 236
34. The Jesus of Paul: a God 241
                What Paul Meant by "God" 241
                What Paul meant by "Son of God" 242
                More on Paul's View of Jesus 243
                                 The View of the Writer of Titus and Timothy 245
                                 The View of the Writer of Hebrews 245
35. The Jesus of John: a God, Born by God 246

36. The Jesus of the 1st and 2nd Century Church Fathers: a God 249

37. How the Divine Jesus Was Turned into God 250
                37.1 The Origins of the Trinity Doctrine 250
                37.2 Jesus, Part of the Unequal Trinity 251
                37.3 How Jesus and the Holy Spirit Became Equal to the Father 253

39. Questionable Sayings of Jesus 286
                                Pagan Sayings and Teachings that Inspired the Gospel Writers 288

40. Questionable Acts of Jesus 292
41. Questionable Events And Motifs in the Story of Jesus 298

Samples of biblical disparities

Appendix I   344

1. How Culture Causes Biblical Interpretations to Change 344

2. How Culture Defines the Will of God 346

        Bibliography   359

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